Singapore s Success As A Nation Essay - 1199 Words

In my opinion, Singapore’s success as a nation refers to how Singapore has managed to climb from third world status to first world status today and also how Singapore has managed to handle the continued unrest to maintaining the peace and stability it has today. Hence, I agree to the above statement that the two factors have successfully built a Singapore nation and will continue to be fundamental to Singapore’s future success as a nation. Sustained economic growth has successfully built a Singapore nation as it enables Singapore to have sufficient resources to develop in terms of education, infrastructure, society, health and many others. It also had a major part to play in the transition of our third world to first world status. On the other hand, the presence of a strong military has also successfully built a Singapore nation as it helps Singapore to protect its own sovereignty and control its internal security. With sustained economic growth, comes low unemployment rate and this has helped with the development of the society at large. After the separation from Malaysia, Singapore had a high unemployment rate of about 10%. Over the years, due to sustained economic growth, Singapore has been able to lower the unemployment rate and maintain it at 2% from 2011 to 2014. With more people employed, a sense of belonging is cultivated in the people as they feel that they are able to contribute to the society and the country at large. Also, as monetary issues are less of aShow MoreRelatedSingapore s Future Success As A Nation Essay1237 Words   |  5 Pagesbuilt a Singapore nation. These two factors will continue to be fundamental to Singapore’s future success as a nation.† Discuss. In my opinion, Singapore’s success as a nation refers to how Singapore has managed to climb from third world status to first world status today and also how Singapore has managed to handle the continued unrest to maintaining the peace and stability it has today. Hence, I agree to the above statement that the two factors have successfully built a Singapore nation and willRead MoreEconomy of Singapore 1077 Words   |  5 Pageshow government strategies and economic policy play a crucial role in the success of High Performance Asian Economies (HPAEs) during 1960 to 1990 (World Bank 1993).There are eight countries within HPAEs: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. Its economic development has significantly rise that it was name ‘East Asia Miracle’ (World Bank, 1993). Out of the eight country, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were known as â€Å"Asia’s Four Little Dragon†Read MoreEast Asia is a diverse region housing some of the largest nations in the world as well as some of1300 Words   |  6 Pagesthe largest nations in the world as well as some of the smallest. Remarkably, over the past 20 years, the region of East Asia has experienced overwhelming success and growth rates. East Asia currently ranks as one of the top regions in the world in terms of economic success and growth. According to Thomas Leipziger, (Leipziger, 3) The East Asian countries have a record of maintaining political and economic stability and of pursuing long-term economic goals. The success of East AsiaRead MoreSingapore Is A Third World Country Located On The Southern Tip Of The Indian Ocean And The South China1164 Words   |  5 PagesSingapore healthcare system Singapore is a third world country located on the southern tip of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea (Moh.gov.sg, 2015). It is a well-developed country within Southeast Asia. The territory is an island shaped like a diamond. In late 1960, the island expanded due to land retrieval. Singapore core principles are a meritocracy, multiculturalism, and secularism (Moh.gov.sg, 2015). The country is a parliamentary republic, and the officials languages are English, MalayRead MoreThe Democratic Process Of Southeast Asian Countries1478 Words   |  6 PagesThe democratic process of Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, has seen very little significant changes from civil society action. While each of these countries have claimed to be democratic nations, there has been little change in terms of government rule since their independence. These civil society groups are ones that reflect the ideas and values of a group of people, in pursuit of a common goal. The changes that have resulted are in Malaysia and Singapore’s governmentsRead MoreAsian Tigers Vs. South Korea1473 Words   |  6 Pagescountries named Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. These states were highly developed countries. These countries were the first states that shifted to industrialization. All the four Asian tigers have a lot of people who are very educated and are perfect in undertaking their tasks. These countries developed and implemented different policies and this result in economic prosperity and tried to do them than any other state. For instance, Hong Kong and Singapore became the masters of internationalRead MoreA Company Of Organic Skin Care And Home Products1572 Words   |  7 Pagesmarket. We chose Singapore as a start and as a door to the Asian market. Given Singapore’s location we thought it as the best place to start. Eden is interested in introducing green products and living to Singapore and felt it was the best place to introduce thi s concept. In the country, there are a couple of organic food stores and health stores. There is some competition but with careful planning and smart advertising we believe we will be able to get a good size of the market. Singapore has some ecofriendlyRead MoreKey Contextual Language Differences Between Japan And Singapore And The Different Language Education Policies Of The Two Countries1288 Words   |  6 Pagesintroduce the key contextual language differences between Japan and Singapore and the different language education policies of the two countries. Specifically, the historical background concerning the use of English in the two countries, the political landscape involving the role of English, the mentality towards English and lastly the teaching of English. In the past English was the language of the Singaporean government when Singapore was a British colony. Since then it has been a wellspring of economicRead MoreIntercultural Communication Theories Covering : Hofstede s Value Orientations, Intercultural Sensitivity, Culture, And Culture Shock Essay1697 Words   |  7 Pagesexperienced living, working and socialising overseas with people from different ethnicities. In 1957 he moved from Stamford, England to Seletar, Singapore to take up a job as a manager with the military. Collier continued to live in Singapore for three years until his return to England in 1960. His experiences and insight into the foreign culture of 1950’s Singapore will be explored in this essay, with specific reference to intercultural communicati on theories covering: Hofstede’s value orientations, attributionsRead MoreThe During World War II1567 Words   |  7 PagesDuring World War II, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. British Military Administration was formed to govern the island until March 1946. Much of the infrastructure had been destroyed during the war, including electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, as well as the harbor facilities at the Port of Singapore. There was also a shortage of food leading to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. High food prices, unemployment

The Violent Resistance Movement Of Brazil And Mexico

In Gledhill’s and Schell’s book, New Approaches to Resistance: In Brazil and Mexico, the topic of different forms of resistance is mentioned among different groups of people. These groups had different motivations and goals in achieving systematic social change to their local community. The various resistance groups were made up of the poor, marginalized, working class, religious minorities, and ethnic minorities. Moreover, these subaltern groups faced opposition from the powerful elite, which consisted of the government, multinational corporations, wealthy landowners, Catholic religious elite, and white European dominated institutions. However, these subaltern groups used different forms of resistance that changes our perspective of what resistance really means. The subaltern groups used violent, peaceful, covert, and unorganized forms of resistance to achieve their goals. The use of violent resistance by subaltern groups is the most common form of resistance when we think about revolution and change. This form of resistance occurs when elite power structures are attacked by the marginalized in society. In particular, the violent resistance movement led by Maria Lopez in chapter 3 highlights the brutality that is caused by violent revolutions. This resistance movement used any means necessary to eradicate any people or symbols of the Spanish. This subaltern group used murder, torture, and control as a means to achieve social change. Furthermore, the authors point out theShow MoreRelatedRevolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 1750–185010951 Words   |  44 Pagesauthority and to centralize power by introducing more efficient systems of tax collection and public administration, the people regarded these changes as violations of sacred customs and sometimes expressed their outrage in violent protests. Such protests aimed to restore custom and precedent, not to achieve revolutionary change. Rationalist Enlightenment reformers also sparked popular opposition when they sought to replace popular festivals withRead MoreThe True Beauty Of Music1430 Words   |  6 Pagesand it helped in the development of new traditions and tourism. After slavery was abolished, Campaign movements like black Nationalism and Rastafarianism emerged. â€Å"Within the twentieth century the Rastafari movement, an Ethiopianist - centered - Pan African organization established in Jamaica in the early 1930s, largely by Leonard Howell, has emerged as one of the key signals of this resistance. This spiritual group was established by its leaders to preach and teach the people the teachings of RastafarianismRead MoreGlobalization : A New Wave Of Christian Thought3019 Words   |  13 Pagesreligion that has been very traditional and its forms are being adopted quickly and spreading. Because of its spread over time the majority of Christians will be non-white believer, traditional, and not of European descent. (Jenkins) The southward movement has been influenced by numerous factors. Historically, globalization has contributed in the new modern era and continues to promote growth and development in numerous areas of the world. The idea of a global market trade, monetary gains and politicsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Twenty Theses On Politics 1660 Words   |  7 Pagesanti-Perà ³nist dictatorship. Although, initially the military junta stated its purpose was to eradicate the left-wing guerilla movements, it soon became obvious that their oppressive interests consumed the general population. From 1946 to 1955, Argentina was ruled by the populist government of President Juan Perà ³n. Similar to Getà ºlio Vargas in Brazil and Là ¡zaro Cà ¡rdenas in Mexico, Perà ³n’s hegemonic ruling style relied heavily on the people as the foundation of its power. Writer and philosopher EnriqueRead MoreGreece Case Study1572 Words   |  7 PagesHitler was aware of this, he went back and attacked Greece, where he then let Nazi forces occupy Greece. Still, Greece continued fighting against German and Italian forces. Winston Churchill then decided to get involved, and he formed the second resistance army in Greece: EDES. However, EDES was secretly partnered with Germany and Italy, and so ELAS had to defend and fight for their country. They were successful in their pursuit, and afterward, the Greek people wanted a new government. But ChurchillRead MoreThe History Of Modern Latin America1845 Words   |  8 Pageswar led to increased imports from the West, reducing the competitive ness of Latin American industry. Additionally, falling crop prices led to increasing urbanization. The result of these economic and demographic shifts was the rise of a populist movement throughout Latin America. Populism in Latin America was characterized by a combination of nationalism, often coded with the language of anti-imperialism and anti-Americanism, and class politics. However, populism did not appeal solely to workers;Read MoreThe Relationship Between Revolution, State Reform, And Industrialization2739 Words   |  11 PagesHaitian, Brazilian, and Mexican independence. For the Haitian Revolution, a slave revolt broke out and was led by a man named Toussaint L’Ouverture. Mexico became independent due to Napoleon invading Spain and weakening the royal control of the colonies and the independence movement led by Simà ³n Bolivar. Pedro the King’s son agreed to an independent Brazil. Industrialization began through new inventions and use of material. Coal replaced the use of wood. Some of the new inventions included the flutteringRead MoreApush Chapter 1 Notes3298 Words   |  14 Pageselaborate societies emerged in - S/Cent. America and Mexico †¢ Peru- Inca Empire (Cuzco and Machu Picchu)(over 6 million people) o Created a complex Political System o Network of Paved Roads that brought tribes together(under single rule) o No system of writing or paper †¢ Yucatan Peninsula- Mayas (Mayapan) o Written Language o Numerical System like Arabic o Accurate Calendar o Advanced Agriculture †¢ Mayans succeeded by Aztecs- Cent. And S Mexico (Tenochtitlan) o once nomadic warrior tribe from northRead More How September 11th Changed American Culture Essay3788 Words   |  16 Pageseducation. These children also happen to lack in nearly every subject when compared to other nations around the globe. Many of the free nations of the world are dealing with terrorism and we all hope for a solution that will prevent any further violent acts committed against innocent people. The situation in Afghanistan actually began in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded their country. The United States funded money to the mujahedin, or holy warriors, in the name of stopping communism. Read MoreA Critical Review of â€Å"the Ambiguities of Football, Politics, Culture, and Social Transformation in Latin America† by Tamir Bar-on.14147 Words   |  57 Pagesfootball teams and ownership. The view of the nation and especially its victories are perceived as a result of the virility, machismo, strength, trickery, and craft of the de facto masculine entity† (1997:2.2). He goes on to state that in Brazil, there has been some efforts to establish national soccer programs for women, but these teams and clubs are suffering from extreme lack of funds, exposure and leagues to compete in. Bar-On also provides a powerful example when he refers to

Plot and Themes of J.R.R. Tolkiens Book The Hobbit

The Hobbit: Or, There and Back Again was written by J.R.R. Tolkien as a childrens book and first published in Great Britain in 1937 by George Allen Unwin. It was published just before the outbreak of WWII in Europe, and the book acts as a prologue of sorts for the great trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. While it was originally conceived as a book for children, it has been accepted as a great work of literature in its own right. While The Hobbit was by no means the first fantasy novel, it was among the first to combine influences from multiple sources. Elements of the book draw from Norse mythology, classic fairy tales, Jewish literature, and the works of 19th century Victorian childrens authors such as George MacDonald (author The Princess and the Goblin, among others). The book also experiments with a variety of literary techniques including forms of epic poetry and song. Setting The novel takes place in the fictional land of Middle Earth, a complex fantasy world which Tolkien developed in detail. The book contains carefully drawn maps showing various parts of Middle Earth including the peaceful and fertile Shire, the Mines of Moria, the Lonely Mountain, and Mirkwood Forest. Each area of Middle Earth has its own history, characters, qualities, and significance. Main Characters The characters in The Hobbit include a wide range of fantasy creatures, most drawn from classical fairy tales and mythology. The hobbits themselves, however, are Tolkiens own creation. Small, home-loving people, hobbits are also called halflings. They are very similar to small human beings except for their very large feet. Some of the main characters in the book include: Bilbo Baggins, a quiet, unassuming Hobbit and the protagonist of the story.Gandalf, a wizard who initiates Bilbo’s journey with the dwarves. Gandalf causes Bilbo to set aside his reputation for cautious respectability and go on an adventure that will change the hobbit forever.Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of a group of 13 dwarves who wish to recover a treasure horde stolen by a dragon.Elrond, a wise leader of the elves.Gollum, a once-human creature who found and is governed by a great ring of power.Smaug, the dragon and antagonist of the story. Plot and Storyline The story of The Hobbit begins in the Shire, land of the hobbits. The Shire is similar to a pastoral English countryside, and the hobbits are represented as quiet, agricultural people who shun adventure and travel. Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of the story, is surprised to find himself hosting a group of dwarves and the great wizard, Gandalf. The group has decided that now is the right time to journey to the Lonely Mountain, where they will retake the dwarves treasure from the dragon, Smaug. They have nominated Bilbo to join the expedition as their burglar. Though initially reluctant, Bilbo agrees to join the group, and they head off far from the Shire into the increasingly dangerous sections of Middle Earth. Along the journey, Bilbo and his company meet up with a wide range of creatures both beautiful and terrible. As he is tested, Bilbo discovers his own inner strength, loyalty, and cunning. Each chapter involves an interaction with a new set of characters and challenges: The group is captured by trolls and nearly eaten, but are saved when sunlight strikes the trolls and they are turned to stone.Gandalf leads the group to the Elven settlement of Rivendell where they meet the Elvish leader, Elrond.The group is caught by goblins and driven deep underground. Although Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets separated from the others as they flee the goblins. Lost in the goblin tunnels, he stumbles across a mysterious ring and then encounters Gollum, who engages him in a game of riddles. As a reward for solving all riddles Gollum will show him the path out of the tunnels, but if Bilbo fails, his life will be forfeit. With the help of the ring, which confers invisibility, Bilbo escapes and rejoins the dwarves, improving his reputation with them. The goblins and Wargs give chase, but the company is saved by eagles.The company enters the black forest of Mirkwood without Gandalf. In Mirkwood, Bilbo first saves the dwarves from giant spiders and then from the dungeons of the Wood-elves. Nearing the Lonely Mountain, the travelers are welcomed by the human inhabitants of Lake-town, who hope the dwarves will fulfill prophecies of Smaugs demise.The expedition travels to the Lonely Mountain and finds the secret door; Bilbo scouts the dragons lair, stealing a great cup and learning of a weakness in Smaugs armor. The enraged dragon, deducing that Lake-town has aided the intruder, sets out to destroy the town. A thrush has overheard Bilbos report of Smaugs vulnerability and reports it to Lake-town defender Bard. His arrow finds the chink and slays the dragon.When the dwarves take possession of the mountain, Bilbo finds the Arkenstone, an heirloom of Thorins dynasty, and hides it away. The Wood-elves and Lake-men besiege the mountain and request compensation for their aid, reparations for Lake-towns destruction, and settlement of old claims on the treasure. Thorin refuses and, having summoned his kin from the Iron Hills, reinforces his position. Bilbo tr ies to ransom the Arkenstone to head off a war, but Thorin is intransigent. He banishes Bilbo, and battle seems inevitable.Gandalf reappears to warn all of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. The dwarves, men, and elves band together, but only with the timely arrival of the eagles and Beorn do they win the climactic Battle of Five Armies. Thorin is fatally wounded and reconciles with Bilbo before he dies. Bilbo accepts only a small portion of his share of the treasure, having no want or need for more, but still returns home a very wealthy hobbit. Themes The Hobbit is a simple tale when compared to Tolkiens masterpiece  The Lord of the Rings. It does, however, contain several themes: It explores the process by which an untested individual develops the insight and skills to become a leader;It guides the reader to question the value of wealth as opposed to peace and contentment;It builds on Tolkiens personal experience in World War I to consider the question of whether victory, though desirable, is worth the price of war.

New Zealand s Legal Architecture And Constitutional...

Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people. Many theorists believe that New Zealand has a weak constitutional framework and therefore a weak democratic structure. However there are many other theorists who state that unwritten constitutions bring flexibility, and can evolve with modern society. The accuracy of this statement can be evaluated in relation to New Zealand s legal architecture and constitutional arrangements. New Zealand doesn t have a single codified constitutional document, and it is therefore said to be ‘unwritten.’ Our flexible constitution can be altered by Parliament, because Parliament is supreme. New Zealand has a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system of government, meaning we have a majority of minority parties, and this has effected parliamentary sovereignty. Practically, MMP has caused a change to the system of government, and it may not be as easy in reality to alter the constitution, this is because consensus would be harder to achieve. â€Å"Constitutionalism† and the rule of law, implies political responsibility to the people through the legislature, elected by the people. This shows that although in theory New Zealand’s democratic structure may look skeletal and fragile, in practice there are many checks in place that can be said to prevent such weaknesses, these are provided below. Our constitutional documents are sourced in many pieces of legislation. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 holds the origins of ourShow MoreRelatedConstitution India7845 Words   |  32 Pagesgovernor(s), who simply govern an institution, such as a corporation or a bank. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries there are prison governors (warden in the United States), school governors and bank governors. 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Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE Free Essays

string(34) " knew nothing of his hidden life\." CONVERGENCE When Stor Gendibal finally made out Compor’s ship on his viewscreen, it seemed like the end of an incredibly long journey. Yet, of course, it was not the end, but merely the beginning. The journey from Trantor to Sayshell had been nothing but prologue. We will write a custom essay sample on Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE or any similar topic only for you Order Now Novi looked awed. â€Å"Is that another ship of space, Master?† â€Å"Spaceship, Novi. It is. It’s the one we have been striving to reach. It is a larger ship than this one – and a better one. It can move through space so quickly that if it fled from us, this ship could not possibly catch it – or even follow it.† â€Å"Faster than a ship of the masters?† Sura Novi seemed appalled by the thought. Gendibal shrugged. â€Å"I may be, as you say, a master, but I am not a master in all things. We scholars do not have ships like these, nor do we have many of the material devices that the owners of those ships have.† â€Å"But how can scholars lack such things, Master?† â€Å"Because we are masters in what is important. The material advances that these others have are trifles.† Novi’s brows bent together in thought. â€Å"It seems to me that to go so quickly that a master cannot follow is no trifle. Who are these people who are wonder – having – who have such things?† Gendibal was amused. â€Å"They call themselves the Foundation. Have you ever heard of the Foundation?† (He caught himself wondering what the Hamish knew or did not know of the Galaxy and why it never occurred to the Speakers to wonder about such things. – Or was it only he who had never wondered about such things – only he who assumed that the Hamish cared for nothing more than grubbing in the soil.) Novi shook her head thoughtfully. â€Å"I have never heard of it, Master. When the schoolmaster taught me letter-lore – how to read, I mean – he told me there were many other worlds and told me the names of some. He said our Hamish world had the proper name of Trantor and that it once ruled all the worlds. He said Trantor was covered with gleaming iron and had an Emperor who was an allmaster.† Her eyes looked up at Gendibal with a shy merriment. â€Å"I unbelieve most of it, though. There are many stories the wordspinners tell in the meeting-halls in the time of longer nights. When I was a small girl, I believed them all, but as I grew older, I found that many of them were not true. I believe very few now; perhaps none. Even schoolmasters tell unbelievables.† â€Å"Just the same, Novi, that particular story of the schoolmaster is true – but it was long ago. Trantor was indeed covered by metal and had indeed an Emperor who ruled all the Galaxy. Now, however, it is the people of the Foundation who will someday rule all the worlds. They grow stronger all the time.† â€Å"They will rule all, Master?† â€Å"Not immediately. In five hundred years.† â€Å"And they will master the masters as well?† â€Å"No, no. They will rule the worlds. We will rule them – for their safety and the safety of all the worlds.† Novi was frowning again. She said, â€Å"Master, do these people of the Foundation have many of these remarkable ships?† â€Å"I imagine so, Novi.† â€Å"And other things that are very-astonishing?† â€Å"They have powerful weapons of all kinds.† â€Å"Then, Master, can they not take all the worlds now?† â€Å"No, they cannot. It is not yet time.† â€Å"But why can they not? Would the masters stop them?† â€Å"We wouldn’t have to, Novi. Even if we did nothing, they could not take all the worlds.† â€Å"But what would stop them?† â€Å"You see,† began Gendibal, â€Å"there is a plan that a wise man once devised†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped, smiled slightly, and shook his head. â€Å"It is hard to explain, Novi. Another time, perhaps. In fact, when you see what will happen before we ever see Trantor again, you may even understand without my explaining.† â€Å"What will happen, Master?† â€Å"I am not sure, Novi. But all will happen well.† He turned away and prepared to make contact with Compor. And, as he did so, he could not quite keep an inner thought from saying: At least I hope so. He was instantly angry with himself, for he knew the source of that foolish and weakening drift of thought. It was the picture of the elaborate and enormous Foundation might in the shape of Compor’s ship and it was his chagrin at Novi’s open admiration of it. Stupid! How could he let himself compare the possession of mere strength and power with the possession of the ability to guide events? It was what generations of Speakers had called â€Å"the fallacy of the hand at the throat.† To think that he was not yet immune to its allures. Munn Li Compor was not in the least sure as to how he ought to comport himself. For most of his life, he had had the vision of allpowerful Speakers existing just beyond his circle of experience, Speakers, with whom he was occasionally in contact and who had, in their mysterious grip, the whole of humanity. Of them all, it had been Stor Gendibal to whom, in recent years, he had turned for direction. It was not even a voice he had encountered most times, but a mere presence in his mind-hyperspeech without a hyper-relay. In this respect, the Second Foundation had gone far beyond the Foundation. Without material device, but just by the educated and advanced power of the mind alone, they could reach across the par. sees in a manner that could not be tapped, could not be infringed upon. It was an invisible, indetectable network that held all the worlds fast through the mediation of a relatively few dedicated individuals. Compor had, more than once, experienced a kind of uplifting at the thought of his role. How small the band of which he was one; how enormous an influence they exerted. – And how secret it all was. Even his wife knew nothing of his hidden life. You read "Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE" in category "Essay examples" And it was the Speakers who held the strings – and this one Speaker, this Gendibal, who might (Compor thought) be the next First Speaker, the more-than-Emperor of a more-than-Empire. Now Gendibal was here, in a ship of Trantor, and Compor fought to stifle his disappointment at not having such a meeting take place on Trantor itself. Could that be a ship of Trantor? Any of the early Traders who had carried the Foundation’s wares through a hostile Galaxy would have had a better ship than that. No wonder it had taken the Speaker so long to cover the distance from Trantor to Sayshell. It was not even equipped with a unidock mechanism that would have welded the two ships into one when the crosstransfer of personnel was desired. Even the contemptible Sayshellian fleet was equipped with it. Instead, the Speaker had to match velocities and then cast a tether across the gap and swing along it, as in Imperial days. That was it, thought Compor gloomily, unable to repress the feeling. The ship was no more than an old-fashioned Imperial vessel and a small one at that. Two figures were moving across the tether – one of them so clumsily that it was clear it had never attempted to maneuver through space before. – Finally they were on board and removed their space suits. Speaker Stor Gendibal was of moderate height and of unimpressive appearance; he was not large and powerful, nor did he exude an air of learning. His dark, deep-set eyes were the only indication of his wisdom. But now the Speaker looked about with a clear indication of being in awe himself. The other was a woman as tall as Gendibal, plain in appearance. Her mouth was open in astonishment as she looked about. Moving across the tether had not been an entirely unpleasant experience for Gendibal. He was not a spaceman – no Second Foundationer was – but neither was he a complete surface worm, for no Second Foundationer was allowed to be that. The possible need for space flight was, after all, always looming above them, though every Second Foundationer hoped the need would arise only infrequently. (Preem Palver – the extent of whose space travels was legendary – had once said, ruefully, that the measure of the success of a Speaker was the fewness of the times he was compelled to move through space in order to assure the success of the Plan.) Gendibal had had to use a tether three times before. This was his fourth use and even if he had felt tension over the matter, it would have disappeared in his concern for Sura Novi. He needed no mentalics to see that stepping into nothingness had totally upset her. â€Å"I be afeared, Master,† she said when he explained what would have to be done. â€Å"It be naughtness into which I will make footstep.† If nothing else, her sudden descent into thick Hamish dialect showed the extent of her disturbance. Gendibal said gently, â€Å"I cannot leave you on board this ship, Novi, for I will be going into the other and I must have you with me. There is no danger, for your space suit will protect you from all harm and there is no place for you to fall to. Even if you lose your grip on the tether, you will remain nearly where you are and I will be within arm’s reach so that I can gather you in. Come, Novi, show me that you are brave enough – as well as bright enough – to become a scholar.† She made no further objection and Gendibal, unwilling to do anything that might disturb the smoothness of her mind-set, nevertheless managed to inject a soothing touch upon the surface of her mind. â€Å"You can still speak to me,† he said, after they were each enclosed in a space suit. â€Å"I can hear you if you think hard. Think the words hard and clearly, one by one. You can hear me now, can’t you?† â€Å"Yes, Master,† she said. He could see her lips move through the transparent faceplate and he said, â€Å"Say it without moving your lips, Novi. There is no radio in the kind of suits that scholars have. it is all done with the mind.† Her lips did not move and her look grew more anxious: Can you hear me, Master? Perfectly well, thought Gendibal – and his lips did not move either: Do you hear me? I do, Master. Then come with me and do as I do. They moved across. Gendibal knew the theory of it, even if he could handle the practice only moderately well. The trick was to keep one’s legs extended and together and to swing them from the hips alone. That kept the center of gravity moving in a straight line as the arms swung forward in steady alternation. He had explained this to Sura Novi and, without turning to look at her, he studied the stance of her body from the set of the motor areas of her brain. For a first-timer, she did very well, almost as well as Gendibal was managing to do. She repressed her own tensions and she followed directions. Gendibal found himself, once again, very pleased with her. She was, however, clearly glad to be on board ship again – and so was Gendibal. He looked about as he removed his space suit and was rather dumbfounded at the luxury and style of the equipment. He recognized almost nothing and his heart sank at the thought that he might have very little time to learn how to handle it all. He might have to transfer expertise directly from the man already on board, something that was never quite as satisfactory as true learning. Then he concentrated on Compor. Compor was tall and lean, a few years older than himself, rather handsome in a slightly weak way, with tightly waved hair of a startling buttery yellow. And it was clear to Gendibal that this person was disappointed in, and even contemptuous of, the Speaker he was now meeting for the first time. What was more, he was entirely unsuccessful in hiding the fact. Gendibal did not mind such things, on the whole. Compor was not a Trantorian – nor a full Second Foundationer – and he clearly had his illusions. Even the most superficial scan of his mind showed that. Among these was the illusion that true power was necessarily related to the appearance of power. He might, of course, keep his illusions as long as they did not interfere with what Gendibal needed, but at the present moment, this particular illusion did so interfere. What Gendibal did was the mentalic equivalent of a snap of the fingers. Compor staggered slightly under the impress of a sharp but fleeting pain. There was an impress of enforced concentration that puckered the skin of his thought and left the man with the awareness of a casual but awesome power that could be utilized if the Speaker chose. Compor was left with a vast respect for Gendibal. Gendibal said pleasantly, â€Å"I am merely attracting your attention, Compor, my friend. Please let me know the present whereabouts of your friend, Golan Trevize, and his friend, Janov Pelorat.† Compor said hesitantly, â€Å"Shall I speak in the presence of the woman, Speaker?† â€Å"The woman, Compor, is an extension of myself. There is no reason, therefore, why you should not speak openly.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker. Trevize and Pelorat are now approaching a planet known as Gaia.† â€Å"So you said in your last communication the other day. Surely they have already landed on Gaia and perhaps left again. They did not stay long on Sayshell Planet.† â€Å"They had not yet landed during the time I followed them, Speaker. They were approaching the planet with great caution, pausing substantial periods between micro-Jumps. it is clear to me they have no information about the planet they are approaching and therefore hesitate.† â€Å"Do you have information, Compor?† â€Å"I have none, Speaker,† said Compor, â€Å"or at least my ship’s computer has none.† â€Å"This computer?† Gendibal’s eyes fell upon the control panel and he asked in sudden hope, â€Å"Can it aid usefully in running the ship?† â€Å"It can run the ship completely, Speaker. One need merely think into it.† Gendibal felt suddenly uneasy. â€Å"The Foundation has gone that far?† â€Å"Yes, but clumsily. The computer does not work well. I must repeat my thoughts several times and even then I get but minimal information.† Gendibal said, â€Å"I may be able to do better than that.† â€Å"I am sure of it, Speaker,† said Compor respectfully. â€Å"But never mind that for the moment. Why does it have no information on Gaia?† â€Å"I do not know, Speaker. It claims to have – as far as a computer may be said to be able to claim – records on every human – inhabited planet in the Galaxy.† â€Å"It cannot have more information than has been fed into it and if those who did the feeding thought they had records of all such planets when, in actual fact, they had not, then the computer would labor under the same misapprehension. Correct?† â€Å"Certainly, Speaker.† â€Å"Did you inquire at Sayshell?† â€Å"Speaker,† said Compor uneasily, â€Å"there are people who speak of Gaia on Sayshell, but what they say is valueless. Clearly superstition. The tale they tell is that Gaia is a powerful world that held off even the Mule.† â€Å"Is that what they say, indeed?† said Gendibal, suppressing excitement. â€Å"Were you so sure that this was superstition that you asked for no details?† â€Å"No, Speaker. I asked a great deal, but what I have just told you is all that anyone can say. They can speak on the subject at great length, but when they have done so, all that it boils down to is what I have just said.† â€Å"Apparently,† said Gendibal, â€Å"that is what Trevize has heard, too, and he goes to Gaia for some reason connected with that – to tap this great power, perhaps. And he does so cautiously, for perhaps he also fears this great power.† â€Å"That is certainly possible, Speaker.† â€Å"And yet you did not follow?† â€Å"I did follow, Speaker, long enough to make sure he was indeed making for Gaia. I then returned here to the outskirts of the Gaian system.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Three reasons, Speaker. First, you were about to arrive and I wanted to meet you at least partway and bring you aboard at the earliest moment, as you had directed. Since my ship has a hyperrelay on board, I could not move too far away from Trevize and Pelorat without rousing suspicion on Terminus, but I judged I could risk moving this far. Second, when it was clear that Trevize was approaching Gaia Planet very slowly, I judged there would be time enough for me to move toward you and hasten our meeting without being overtaken by events, especially since you would be more competent than I to follow him to the planet itself and to handle any emergency that might arise.† â€Å"Quite true. And the third reason?† â€Å"Since our last communication, Speaker, something has happened that I did not expect and do not understand. I felt that – for that reason, too – I had better hasten our meeting as soon as I dared.† â€Å"And this event that you did not expect and do not understand?† â€Å"Ships of the Foundation fleet are approaching the Sayshellian frontier. My computer has picked up this information from Sayshellian news broadcasts. At least five advanced ships are in the flotilla and these have enough power to overwhelm Sayshell.† Gendibal did not answer at once, for it would not do to show that he had not expected such a move – or that he didn’t understand it. So, after a moment, he said negligently, â€Å"Do you suppose that this has something to do with Trevize’s movement toward Gaia?† â€Å"It certainly came immediately afterward – and if B follows A, then there is at least a possibility that A caused B,† said Compor. â€Å"Well then, it seems we all converge upon Gaia – Trevize, and I, and the First Foundation. – Come, you acted well, Compor,† said Gendibal, â€Å"and here is what we will now do. First, you will show me how this computer works and, through that, how the ship may be handled. I am sure that will not take long. â€Å"After that, you will get into my ship, since by then I will have impressed on your mind how to handle it. You will have no trouble maneuvering it, although I must tell you (as you have no doubt guessed from its appearance) that you will find it primitive indeed. Once you are in control of the ship, you will keep it here and wait for me.† â€Å"How long, Speaker?† â€Å"Until I come for you. I do not expect to be gone long enough for you to be in danger of running out of supplies, but if I am unduly delayed, you may find your way to some inhabited planet of the Sayshell Union and wait there. Wherever you are, I will find you.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker.† â€Å"And do not be alarmed. I can handle this mysterious Gaia and, if need be, the five ships of the Foundation as well.† Littoral Thoobing had been the Foundation’s Ambassador to Sayshell for seven years. He rather liked the position. Tall and rather stout, he wore a thick brown mustache at a time when the predominant fashion, both in the Foundation and in Sayshell, was smooth-shaven. He had a strongly lined countenance, though he was only fifty-four – and was much given to a schooled indifference. His attitude toward his work was not easily seen. Still, he rather liked the position. It kept him away from the hurly-burly of polities on Terminus – something he appreciated and it gave him the chance to live the life of a Sayshellian sybarite and to support his wife and daughter in the style to which they had become addicted. He didn’t want his life disturbed. On the other hand, he rather disliked Liono Kodell, perhaps because Kodell also sported a mustache, though one which was smaller, shorter, and grayish-white. In the old days, they had been the only two people in prominent public life who had worn one and there had been rather a competition between them over the matter. Now (thought Thoobing) there was none; Kodell’s was contemptible. Kodell had been Director of Security when Thoobing was still on Terminus, dreaming of opposing Harla Branno in the race for Mayor, until he had been bought off with the ambassadorship. Branno had done it for her own sake, of course, but he had ended up owing her goodwill for that. But not to Kodell, somehow. Perhaps it was because of Kodell’s determined cheerfulness – the manner in which he was always such a friendly person – even after he had decided on just exactly the manner in which your throat was to be cut. Now he sat there in hyperspatial image, cheerful as ever, brimming over with bonhomie. His actual body was, of course, back on Terminus, which spared Thoobing the necessity of offering him any physical sign of hospitality. â€Å"Kodell,† he said. â€Å"I want those ships withdrawn.† Kodell smiled sunnily. â€Å"Why, so do I, but the old lady has made up her mind.† â€Å"You’ve been known to persuade her out of this or that.† â€Å"On occasion. Perhaps. When she wanted to be persuaded. This time she doesn’t want to be. – Thoobing, do your job. Keep Sayshell calm.† â€Å"I’m not thinking about Sayshell, Kodell. I’m thinking about the Foundation.† â€Å"So are we all.† â€Å"Kodell, don’t fence. I want you to listen to me.† â€Å"Gladly, but these are hectic times on Terminus and I will not listen to you forever.† â€Å"I will be as brief as I can be – when discussing the possibility of the Foundation’s destruction. If this hyperspatial line is not being tapped, I will speak openly.† â€Å"It is not being tapped.† â€Å"Then let me go on. I have received a message some days ago from one Golan Trevize. I recall a Trevize in my own political days, a Commissioner of Transportation.† â€Å"The young man’s uncle,† Kodell said. â€Å"Ah, then you know the Trevize who sent the message to me. According to the information I have since gathered, he was a Councilman who, after the recent successful resolution of a Seldon Crisis, was arrested and sent into exile.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"I don’t believe it.† â€Å"What is it that you don’t believe?† â€Å"That he was sent into exile.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"When in history has any citizen of the Foundation been sent into exile?† demanded Thoobing. â€Å"He is arrested or not arrested. If he is arrested, he is tried or not tried. If he is tried, he is convicted or not convicted. If he is convicted, he is fined, demoted, disgraced, imprisoned, or executed. No one is sent into exile.† â€Å"There is always a first time.† â€Å"Nonsense. In an advanced naval vessel? What fool can fail to see that he is on a special mission for your old woman? Whom can she possibly expect to deceive?† â€Å"What would the mission be?† â€Å"Supposedly to find the planet Gaia.† Some of the cheerfulness left Kodell’s face. An unaccustomed hardness entered his eyes. He said, â€Å"I know that you feel no overwhelming impulse to believe my statements, Mr. Ambassador, but I make a special plea that you believe me in this one case. Neither the Mayor nor I had ever heard of Gaia at the time that Trevize was sent into exile. We have heard of Gaia, for the first time, just the other day. If you believe that, this conversation may continue.† â€Å"I will suspend my tendency toward skepticism long enough to accept that, Director, though it is difficult to do so.† â€Å"it is quite true, Mr. Ambassador, and if I have suddenly adopted a formal note to my statements it is because when this is done, you will find that you have questions to answer and that you will not find the occasion joyful. You speak as though Gaia is a world familiar to you. How is it that you know something we did not know? Is it not your duty to see to it that we know everything that you know about the political unit to which you are assigned?† Thoobing said softly, â€Å"Gaia is not part of the Sayshell Union. It, in fact, probably does not exist. Am I to transmit to Terminus all the fairy tales that the superstitious lower orders of Sayshell tell of Gaia? Some of them say that Gaia is located in hyperspace. According to others, it is a world that supernaturally protects Sayshell. According to still others, it sent forth the Mule to prey on the Galaxy. If you are planning to tell the Sayshellian government that Trevize has been sent out to find Gaia and that five advanced ships of the Foundation Navy have been sent out to back him in this search, they will never believe you. The people may believe fairy tales about Gaia, but the government does not – and they will not be convinced that the Foundation does. They will feel that you intend to force Sayshell into the Foundation Federation.† â€Å"And what if we do plan that?† â€Å"It would be fatal. Come, Kodell, in the five-century history of the Foundation, when have we fought a war of conquest? We have fought wars to prevent our own conquest – and failed once – but no war has ended with an extension of our territory. Accessions to the Federation have been through peaceful agreements. We have been joined by those who saw benefits in joining.† â€Å"Isn’t it possible that Sayshell may see benefits in joining?† â€Å"They will never do so while our ships remain on their borders. Withdraw them.† â€Å"It can’t be done.† â€Å"Kodell, Sayshell is a marvelous advertisement for the benevolence of the Foundation Federation. It is nearly enclosed by our territory, it is in an utterly vulnerable position, and yet until now it has been safe, has gone its own way, has even been able to maintain an anti-Foundation foreign policy freely. How better can we show the Galaxy that we force no one, that we come in friendship to all? – If we take over Sayshell, we take that which, in essence, we already have. After all, we dominate it economically – if quietly. But if we take it over by military force, we advertise to all the Galaxy that we have become expansionist.† â€Å"And if I tell you that we are really interested only in Gaia?† â€Å"Then I will believe it no more than the Sayshell Union will. This man, Trevize, sends me a message that he is on his way to Gaia and asks me to transmit it to Terminus. Against my better judgment, I do so because I must and, almost before the hyperspatial line is cool, the Foundation Navy is in motion. How will you get to Gaia, without penetrating Sayshellian space?† â€Å"My dear Thoobing, surely you are not listening to yourself. Did you not tell me just a few minutes ago that Gaia, if it exists at all, is not part of the Sayshell Union? And I presume you know that hyperspace is free to all and is part of no world’s territory. How then can Sayshell complain if we move from Foundation territory (where our ships stand right now), through hyperspace, into Gaian territory, and never in the process occupy a single cubic centimeter of Sayshellian territory?† â€Å"Sayshell will not interpret events like that, Kodell. Gaia, if it exists at all, is totally enclosed by the Sayshell Union, even if it is not a political part of it, and there are precedents that make such enclaves virtual parts of the enclosing territory, as far as enemy warships are concerned.† â€Å"Ours are not enemy warships. We are at peace with Sayshell.† â€Å"I tell you that Sayshell may declare war. They won’t expect to win such a war through military superiority, but the fact is, war will set off a wave of anti-Foundation activity throughout the Galaxy. The new expansionist policies of the Foundation will encourage the growth of alliances against us. Some of the members of the Federation will begin to rethink their ties to us. We may well lose the war through internal disarray and we will then certainly reverse the process of growth that has served the Foundation so well for five hundred years.† â€Å"Come, come, Thoobing,† said Kodell indifferently, â€Å"You speak as though five hundred years is nothing, as though we are still the Foundation of Salvor Hardin’s time, fighting the pocket-kingdom of Anacreon. We are far stronger now than the Galactic Empire ever was at its very height. A squadron of our ships could defeat the entire Galactic Navy, occupy any Galactic sector, and never know it had been in a fight.† â€Å"We are not fighting the Galactic Empire. We fight planets and sectors of our own time.† â€Å"Who have not advanced as we have. We could gather in all the Galaxy now.† â€Å"According to the Seldon Plan, we can’t do that for another five hundred years.† â€Å"The Seldon Plan underestimates the speed of technological advance. We can do it now! – Understand me, I don’t say we will do it now or even should do it now. I merely say we can do it now.† â€Å"Kodell, you have lived all your life on Terminus. You don’t know the Galaxy. Our Navy and our technology can beat down the Armed Forces of other worlds, but we cannot yet govern an entire rebellions, hate-ridden Galaxy – and that is what it will be if we take it by force. Withdraw the ships!† â€Å"It can’t be done, Thoobing. Consider. What if Gaia is not a myth?† Thoobing paused, scanning the other’s face as though anxious to read his mind. â€Å"A world in hyperspace not a myth?† â€Å"A world in hyperspace is superstition, but even superstitions may be built around kernels of truth. This man, Trevize, who was exiled, speaks of it as though it were a real world in real space. What if he is right?† â€Å"Nonsense. I don’t believe it.† â€Å"No? Believe it for just a moment. A real world that has lent Sayshell safety against the Mule and against the Foundation!† â€Å"But you refute yourself. How is Gaia keeping the Sayshellians safe from the Foundation? Are we not sending ships against it?† â€Å"Not against it, but against Gaia, which is so mysteriously unknown – which is so careful to avoid notice that while it is in real space it somehow convinces its neighbor worlds that it is in hyperspace – and which even manages to remain outside the computerized data of the best and most unabridged of Galactic maps.† â€Å"It must be a most unusual world, then, for it must be able to manipulate minds.† â€Å"And did you not say a moment ago that one Sayshellian tale is that Gaia sent forth the Mule to prey upon the Galaxy? And could not the Mule manipulate minds?† â€Å"And is Gaia a world of Mules, then?† â€Å"Are you sure it might not be?† â€Å"Why not a world of a reborn Second Foundation, in that case.† â€Å"Why not indeed? Should it not be investigated?† Thoobing grew sober. He had been smiling scornfully during the last exchanges, but now he lowered his head and stared up from under his eyebrows. â€Å"If you are serious, is such an investigation not dangerous?† â€Å"Is it?† â€Å"You answer my questions with other questions because you have no reasonable answers. Of what use will ships be against Mules or Second Foundationers? Is it not likely, in fact, that if they exist they are luring you into destruction? See here, you tell me that the Foundation can establish its Empire now, even though the Seldon Plan has reached only its midway point, and I have warned you that you would be racing too far ahead and that the intricacies of the Plan would slow you down by force. Perhaps, if Gaia exists and is what you say it is, all this is a device to bring about that slowdown. Do voluntarily now what you may soon be constrained to do. Do peacefully and without bloodshed now what you may be forced to do by woeful disaster. Withdraw the ships.† â€Å"It can’t be done. In fact, Thoobing, Mayor Branno herself plans to join the ships, and scoutships have already flitted through hyperspace to what is supposedly Gaian territory.† Thoobing’s eyes bulged. â€Å"There will surely be war, I tell you.† â€Å"You are our ambassador. Prevent that. Give the Sayshellians whatever assurances they need. Deny any ill will on our part. Tell them, if you have to, that it will pay them to sit quietly and wait for Gaia to destroy us. Say anything you want to, but keep them quiet.† He paused, searching Thoobing’s stunned expression, and said, â€Å"Really, that’s all. As far as I know, no Foundation ship will land on any world of the Sayshell Union or penetrate any point in real space that is part of that Union. However, any Sayshellian ship that attempts to challenge us outside Union territory – and therefore inside Foundation territory – will promptly be reduced to dust. Make that perfectly clear, too, and keep the Sayshellians quiet. You will be held to strict account if you fail. You have had an easy job so far, Thoobing, but hard times are upon you and the next few weeks decide all. Fail us and no place in the Galaxy will be safe for you.† There was neither merriment nor friendliness in Kodell’s face as contact was broken and as his image disappeared. Thoobing stared open – mouthed at the place where he had been. Golan Trevize clutched at his hair as though he were trying, by feel, to judge the condition of his thinking. He said to Pelorat abruptly, â€Å"What is your state of mind?† â€Å"State of mind?† said Pelorat blankly. â€Å"Yes. Here we are, trapped – with our ship under outside control and being drawn inexorably to a world we know nothing about. Do you feel panic?† Pelorat’s long face registered a certain melancholia. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I don’t feel joyful. I do feel a little apprehensive, but I’m not panicky.† â€Å"Neither am I. Isn’t that odd? Why aren’t we more upset than we are?† â€Å"This is something we expected, Golan. Something like this.† Trevize turned to the screen. It remained firmly focused on the space station. It was larger now, which meant they were closer. It seemed to him that it was not an impressive space station in design. There was nothing to it that bespoke superscience. In fact, it seemed a bit primitive. – Yet it had the ship in its grip. He said, â€Å"I’m being very analytical, Janov. Cool! – I like to think that I am not a coward and that I can behave well under pressure, but I tend to flatter myself. Everyone does. I should be jumping up and down right now and sweating a little. We may have expected something, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are helpless and that we may be killed.† Pelorat said, â€Å"I don’t think so, Golan. If the Gaians could take over the ship at a distance, couldn’t they kill us at a distance? If we’re still alive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But we’re not altogether untouched. We’re too calm, I tell you. I think they’ve tranquilized us.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"To keep us in good shape mentally, I think. It’s possible they wish to question us. After that, they may kill us.† â€Å"If they are rational enough to want to question us, they may be rational enough not to kill us for no good reason.† Trevize leaned back in his chair (it bent back at least – they hadn’t deprived the chair of its functioning) and placed his feet on the desk where ordinarily his hands made contact with the computer. He said, â€Å"They may be quite ingenious enough to work up what they consider a good reason. – Still, if they’ve touched our minds, It hasn’t been by much. If it were the Mule, for instance, he would have made us eager to go – exalted, exultant, every fiber of ourselves crying out for arrival there.† He pointed to the space station. â€Å"Do you feel that way, Janov?† â€Å"Certainly not.† â€Å"You see that I’m still in a state where I can indulge in cool, analytical reasoning. Very odd! Or can I tell? Am I in a panic, incoherent, mad – and merely under the illusion that I am indulging in cool, analytical reasoning?† Pelorat shrugged. â€Å"You seem sane to me. Perhaps I am as insane as you and am under the same illusion, but that sort of argument gets us nowhere. All humanity could share a common insanity and be immersed in a common illusion while living in a common chaos. That can’t be disproved, but we have no choice but to follow our senses.† And then, abruptly, he said, â€Å"In fact, I’ve been doing some reasoning myself.† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, we talk about Gaia as a world of Mules, possibly, or as the Second Foundation reborn. Has it occurred to you that a third alternative exists, one that is more reasonable than either of the first two.† â€Å"What third alternative?† Pelorat’s eyes seemed concentrating inward. He did not look at Trevize and his voice was low and thoughtful. â€Å"We have a world – Gaia – that has done its best, over an indefinite period of time, to maintain a strict isolation. It has in no way attempted to establish contact with any other world – not even the nearby worlds of the Sayshell Union. It has an advanced science, in some ways, if the stories of their destruction of fleets is true and certainly their ability to control us right now bespeaks it – and yet they have made no attempt to expand their power. They ask only to be left alone.† Trevize narrowed his eyes. â€Å"So?† â€Å"It’s all very inhuman. The more than twenty thousand years of human history in space has been an uninterrupted tale of expansion and attempted expansion. Just about every known world that can be inhabited is inhabited. Nearly every world has been quarreled over in the process and nearly every world has jostled each of its neighbors at one time or another. If Gaia is so inhuman as to be so different in this respect, it may be because it really is – inhuman.† Trevize shook his head. â€Å"Impossible.† â€Å"Why impossible?† said Pelorat warmly. â€Å"I’ve told you what a puzzle it is that the human race is the only evolved intelligence in the Galaxy. What if it isn’t? Might there not be one more – on one planet – that lacked the human expansionist drive? In fact,† Pelorat grew more excited, â€Å"what if there are a million intelligences in the Galaxy, but only one that is expansionist – ourselves? The others would all remain at home, unobtrusive, hidden†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Ridiculous!† said Trevize. â€Å"We’d come across them. We’d land on their worlds. They would come in all types and stages of technology and most of them would be unable to stop us. But we’ve never come across any of them. Space! We’ve never even come across the ruins or relies of a nonhuman civilization, have we? You’re the historian, so you tell me. Have we?† Pelorat shook his head. â€Å"We haven’t. – But Golan, there could be one! This one!† â€Å"I don’t believe it. You say the name is Gaia, which is some ancient dialectical version of the name ‘Earth. ‘ How can that be nonhuman?† â€Å"The name ‘Gaia’ is given the planet by human beings – and who knows why? The resemblance to an ancient word might be coincidental. – Come to think of it, the very fact that we’ve been lured to Gaia – as you explained in great detail some time ago – and are now being drawn in against our will is an argument in favor of the nonhumanity of the Gaians.† â€Å"Why? What has that to do with nonhumanity?† â€Å"They’re curious about us – about humans.† Trevize said, â€Å"Janov, you’re mad. They’ve been living in a Galaxy surrounded by humans for thousands of years. Why should they be curious right now? Why not long before? And if right now, why us? If they want to study human beings and human culture, why not the Sayshell worlds? Why would they reach all the way to Terminus for us?† â€Å"They may be interested in the Foundation.† â€Å"Nonsense,† said Trevize violently. â€Å"Janov, you want a nonhuman intelligence and you will have one. Right now, I think that if you thought you were going to encounter nonhumans, you wouldn’t worry about having been captured, about being helpless, about being killed even – if they but gave you a little time to sate your curiosity.† Pelorat began to stutter an indignant negative, then stopped, drew a deep breath, and said, â€Å"Well, you may be right, Golan, but I’ll hold to my belief for a while just the same. I don’t think we’ll have to wait very long to see who’s right. – Look!† He pointed to the screen. Trevize – who had, in his excitement, ceased watching – now looked back. â€Å"What is it?† he said. â€Å"Isn’t that a ship taking off from the station?† â€Å"It’s something,† admitted Trevize reluctantly. â€Å"I can’t make out the details yet and I can’t magnify the view any further. It’s at maximum magnification.† After awhile he said, â€Å"It seems to be approaching us and I suppose it’s a ship. Shall we make a bet?† â€Å"What sort of bet?† Trevize said sardonically, â€Å"If we ever get back to Terminus, let’s have a big dinner for ourselves and any guests we each care to invite, up to, say, four – and it will be on me if that ship approaching us carries nonhumans and on you if it carries humans.† â€Å"I’m willing,† said Pelorat. â€Å"Done, then,† and Trevize peered at the screen, trying to make out details and wondering if any details could reasonably be expected to give away, beyond question, the nonhumanity (or humanity) of the beings on board. Branno’s iron-gray hair lay immaculately in place and she might have been in the Mayoral Palace, considering her equanimity. She showed no sign that she was deep in space for only the second time in her life. (And the first time – when she accompanied her parents on a holiday tour to Kalgan – could scarcely count. She had been only three at the time.) She said to Kodell with a certain weary heaviness, â€Å"It is Thoobing’s job, after all, to express his opinion and to warn me. Very well, he has warned me. I don’t hold it against him.† Kodell, who had boarded the Mayor’s ship in order to speak to her without the psychological difficulty of imaging, said, â€Å"He’s been at his post too long. He’s beginning to think like a Sayshellian.† â€Å"That’s the occupational hazard of an ambassadorship, Liono. Let us wait till this is over and we’ll give him a long sabbatical and then send him on to another assignment elsewhere. He’s a capable man. – After all, he did have the wit to forward Trevize’s message without delay.† Kodell smiled briefly. â€Å"Yes, he told me he did it against his better judgment. ‘I do so because I must’ he said. You see, Madam Mayor, he had to, even against his better judgment, because as soon as Trevize entered the space of the Sayshell Union, I informed Ambassador Thoobing to forward, at once, any and all information concerning him?’ â€Å"Oh?† Mayor Branno turned in her seat to see his face more clearly. â€Å"And what made you do that?† â€Å"Elementary considerations, actually. Trevize was using a latemodel Foundation naval vessel and the Sayshellians would be bound to notice that. He’s an undiplomatic young jackass and they would be bound to notice that. Therefore, he might get into trouble – and if there’s one thing a Foundationer knows, it is that if he gets into trouble anywhere in the Galaxy, he can cry out for the nearest Foundation representative. Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing Trevize in trouble – it might help him grow up and that would do him a great deal of good – but you’ve sent him out as your lightning rod and I wanted you to be able to estimate the nature of any lightning that might strike, so I made sure that the nearest Foundation representative would keep watch over him, that’s all.† â€Å"I see! Well, I understand now why Thoobing reacted so strenuously. I had sent him a similar warning. Since he heard from us both independently, one can scarcely blame him for thinking that the approach of a few Foundation vessels might mean a great deal more than it actually does. – How is it, Liono, you did not consult me on the matter before sending the warning?† Kodell said coolly, â€Å"If I involved you in everything I do, you would have no time to be Mayor. How is it that you did not inform me of your intention?† Branno said sourly, â€Å"If I informed you of all my intentions, Liono, you would know far too much. – But it is a small matter, and so is Thoobing’s alarm, and, for that matter, so is any fit that the Sayshellians throw. I am more interested in Trevize.† â€Å"Our scouts have located Compor. He is following Trevize and both are moving very cautiously toward Gaia.† â€Å"I have the full reports of those scouts, Liono. Apparently both Trevize and Compor are taking Gaia seriously.† â€Å"Everyone sneers at the superstitions concerning Gaia, Madam Mayor, but everyone thinks, ‘Yet what if – † Even Ambassador Thoobing manages to be a little uneasy about it. It could be a very shrewd policy on the part of the Sayshellians. A kind of protective coloration. If one spreads stories of a mysterious and invincible world, people will shy away not only from the world, but from any other worlds close by – such as the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"You think that is why the Mule turned away from Sayshell?† â€Å"Possibly.† â€Å"Surely you don’t think the Foundation has held its hand from Sayshell because of Gaia, when there is no record that we have ever heard of the world?† â€Å"I admit there’s no mention of Gaia in our archives, but neither is there any other reasonable explanation for our moderation with respect to the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"Let us hope, then, that the Sayshellian government, despite Thoobing’s opinion to the contrary, has convinced itself – even just a little bit – of Gaia’s might and of its deadly nature.† â€Å"Why so?† â€Å"Because then the Sayshell Union will raise no objections to our moving toward Gaia. The more they resent that movement, the more they will persuade themselves that it should be permitted so that Gaia will swallow us. The lesson, they will imagine, will be a salutary one and will not be lost on future invaders.† â€Å"Yet what if they should be right in such a belief, Mayor? What if Gaia is deadly?† Branno smiled. â€Å"You raise the ‘Yet what if – † yourself, do you, Liono?† â€Å"I must raise all possibilities, Mayor. It is my job.† â€Å"If Gaia is deadly, Trevize will be taken by them. That is his job as my lightning rod. And so may Compor, I hope.† â€Å"You hope? Why?† â€Å"Because it will make them overconfident, which should be useful to us. They will underestimate our power and be the easier to handle.† â€Å"But what if it is we who are overconfident?† â€Å"We are not,† said Branno flatly. â€Å"These Gaians – whatever they are – may be something we have no concept of and cannot properly estimate the danger of. I merely suggest that, Mayor, because even that possibility should be weighed.† â€Å"Indeed? Why does such a notion fall into your head, Liono?† â€Å"Because I think you feel that, at the worst, Gaia is the Second Foundation. I suspect you think they are the Second Foundation. However, Sayshell has an interesting history, even under the Empire. Sayshell alone had a measure of self-rule. Sayshell alone was spared some of the worst taxations under the so-called ‘Bad Emperors. ‘ In short, Sayshell seems to have had the protection of Gaia, even in Imperial times.† â€Å"Well then?† â€Å"But the Second Foundation was brought into existence by Hari Seldon at the same time our Foundation was. The Second Foundation did not exist in Imperial times – and Gaia did. Gaia, therefore, is not the Second Foundation. It is something else – and, just possibly, something worse.† â€Å"I don’t propose to be terrified by the unknown, Liono. There are only two possible sources of danger – physical weapons and mental weapons – and we are fully prepared for both. – You get back to your ship and keep the units on the Sayshellian outskirts. This ship will move toward Gaia alone, but will stay in contact with you at all times and will expect you to come to us in one Jump, if necessary. – Go, Liono, and get that perturbed look off your face.† â€Å"One last question? Are you sure you know what you’re doing?† â€Å"I do,† she said grimly. â€Å"I, too, have studied the history of Sayshell and have seen that Gaia cannot be the Second Foundation, but, as I told you, I have the full report of the scouts and from that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, I know where the Second Foundation is located and we will take care of both, Liono. We will take care of Gaia first and then Trantor.† How to cite Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE, Essay examples

Legal Research and Writing Supreme and State Court

Question: Describe about the Legal Research and Writing for Supreme and State Court. Answer: Introduction Judiciary is one of the most important branches of Singapore government along with the two other branches namely Executive and Legislature. As per article 93 of Singaporean Constitution, the judicial power is authorized to the Supreme Court and State courts. The head of the Singaporean Supreme Court is the Chief Justice (Supreme Court, 2016b). Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore comprises of the High Court along with the Court of Appeal, which deals with civil as well as criminal cases. The Supreme Court consists of a panel of members, including the Chief Justice, Judges, Judges of Appeal, Senior Judges, Judicial commissioners and International Judges. Registrar is the key individual who heads the registry of the Supreme Court. The Registrar is supported by the Deputy Registrar. In addition, the Registrar is also assisted by the Senior Assistant Manager as well as the Assistant Registrar. The Supreme Court also consists of Law Clerks, who operate under the guidance of Chief Justice. The function of the law clerks helps in research of the laws with regard to the appeals, which is made in-front of the Court of Appeal (Singapore Academy of Law, 2013a). Court of Appeal. Court of Appeal is a judicial body that hears the appeal of the people against the decisions made by the High Court with regards to criminal and civil matters. It is headed by the Chief Justice and consists of three judges. The Court of Appeal is regarded as Singapores highest court and is considered to be the upper division of Singapores Supreme Court (Singapore Academy of Law, 2016b). Under the Judiciary Act, the Judge of the Court of Appeal can also administer the High Court, when he is free from the proceedings of the Court of Appeal. The Chief Justice has the right to appoint an inferior judge to his rank for sitting into to the Court of Appeal, which might tend to increase the effectiveness of courts. The decision taken regarding the Court of Appeal is also obligatory for all the courts in the judicial system (Tan, 2015). High Court. The High Court comprises of puisne judges in addition to the Judicial Commissioners, which consists of appellate as well as original jurisdictions. With regards to the appellate jurisdictions, the High Court focuses more on the appeals of the Magistrates Court. Original jurisdiction involves the hearings that are outside the jurisdiction of the subordinate courts such as Magistrates Court. For example, the High Court deals in cases such murder and cases which involves damages worth $250,000 (Tan, 2015). The High Court in Singapore is the considered to be lower division of the Supreme Court and consists of members such as Chief Justice and High Court Judges. The function of the High Court is to listen to civil cases in addition to the criminal ones. The other function of High Court is to hear the appeals on decisions that have been made in District as well as in Magistrate Courts. The High Court also has supervisory jurisdiction in addition to the revisionary jurisdiction (Singapore Government, 2016). Role of Supreme Court. The role of the Singaporean Supreme Court is to maintain the law and make sure that the justice is provided to everyone. A President is the one responsible for appointing the Chief Justice on the basis of Prime Ministers advice. The Supreme Court being the highest law governing body listens to appeals from both the High Court and States Court. The key role of the Supreme Court ensures that the laws are properly maintained all over the country (Supreme Court, 2016a). Figure 1: Relationship between the Judiciary and the Supreme Court Source: (Supreme Court, 2016a). State Courts State Courts are the law-makers for most of the cases that are filed by the people of the organizations in order to come up with an effective decision (George Yoon, 2016). The shared vision of the State Courts of Singapore is to influence public confidence and trust with the help of effective judicial systems. The mission of the State Courts of Singapore is to serve the society by making quality judgments and providing the public with excellent community services. The core values of the Singaporean State courts their fairness, accessibility, independence, integrity, responsiveness and most importantly impartiality (State Courts Singapore, 2016c). The Singaporean State Courts consists of District Courts along with Magistrates Court. The State Courts are also made up of small claim tribunals and specialized courts. The Specialized Courts of Singapore include Juvenile courts and family courts. State Court is considered to be important in Singapore as it deals in more than 95% of the total judiciary cases. The State Courts are administered by the Chief District Judge. The Chief administrator is assisted by a team of officers, who are responsible for passing the judgment before the cases are taken to the State Court (Singapore Academy of Law, 2013b). Magistrate Courts. One of the components of the Singaporean State Courts is the Magistrate Court, which acts as the law governing body and deals with the cases, where the period of imprisonment is even less than five years. The Magistrates Courts also includes cases that can be solved with payment of fines or penalties. The Magistrates Court of Singapore also has the jurisdiction, which can give order for imprisonment, even exceeding the time limit of 3 years in some cases as per the Common Gaming Houses Act (Cap 49). The company can also charge an individual as per their Miscellaneous Offences Act (State Courts Singapore, 2016b). District Court. The District Court of Singapore is the judiciary body that looks after the criminal case in which the imprisonment for crime is less than ten years and can be solved with the fine payment by the offender. With regard to the fine, the District Court can only charge the offender with fine, which is below $30,000. The District Court can pass any combined sentences that are authorized as per the law. The Court has jurisdiction to sentence the offender for more than ten years time-period, as per the Companies Act (Cap 50) along with the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185). The District can also sentence the offender as per the Securities Industry Act (Cap 289) and Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap 241) (State Courts Singapore, 2016b). As per the case of Public Prosecutor v Tan Kim Hup [2016] SGHC 237, the offender was convicted under the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185). As per this, the accused was guilty of having 27 diamorphine packets in his possession as a part of his trafficking business. The case was serious enough for the high court to deal with as the offense might results in death-sentence. (Singapore Academy of Law, 2016a). Conclusion It can be said that the Supreme Court of Singapore is a Judiciary body, which looks after both the criminal as well civil cases. The Supreme Court is divided into two groups, which are Court of Appeal and High Court. The Court of Appeal is the highest division of the Supreme Court and the High Court is the lower division of the court. The Supreme Court is administered by the Chief Justice along with other officials. State Courts of Singapore are essential part of Judiciary systems as it handles more than 95% of the total cases relating to civil and criminal matters. The State Court of Singapore is made up of Magistrates Court and District Courts. These courts deal with cases which can sentence the offender for lesser time period or can even order the offender to pay certain amount of fine. 2. Primary and Secondary Sources of Law Introduction The Singaporean law is based on constitution, legislation, laws made by the judge and subsidiary legislation. The Constitution of Singapore has created primary principles and framework, under which the three branches of government operates, namely the executive branch, legislative and judicial branch. The Executive branch consists of the President along with the Cabinet, while the Legislature branch comprises the President with the support of Parliament, who are together responsible for passing the legislation. The Judicial branch finally entails an independent body, whose function is to administer justice and is protected by the Constitution of Singapore (Singapore Lawyers, 2016). Primary Sources of Singaporean Law Primary sources of law are statements that have been authorized by the government body such as the president, the courts and legislature (Oesterle Library, 2008). The primary sources of law in Singapore are primary legislation, electronic sources of legislation, treaties, common law and case law. Primary Legislation and Electronic Sources. The primary legislation is a joint plan made by the Chamber of Attorney General along with Finance Ministry, Management of Excellence Office and the Singaporean Statutes Online, which gives the people of Singapore full access to the acts that are enforced by the Parliament. The Statutes Online of Singapore is often regarded as the division of versioned legislation database (VLDB). This includes official bills along with Singaporean subsidiary legislation and the Acts. The Singapore Statutes also provides the public with the facility to search for any act (IBP, Inc., 2015). The electronic sources of law include the bills introduced during the initiation of the 10th Parliament. The bills are available on the website of Singapore Parliament. The statutes of Singapore are regarded as the source for primary legislation that is widely available in the form of printed documents (Sim, 2007). Common Law. The common law of Singapore is characterized by the principles of judicial standard. As per the doctrine, the laws are enforced by the judges with the help of legal principles with regard to the facts taken from some of the cases. The judges therefore apply for the ratio decidendi, which refers to the reason for making the decision. The use of the ratio decidendi, thus can be seen in the Court of Appeal along with the decision making process in the High Court, District Court and the Magistrates Court (Sim, 2007). General Primary Sources. LawNet is one of the general sources that have helped in the key legal research on Singapore, which is controlled by Singapore Academy of Law. The LawNet provides access to the legislation, treatises and case laws of Singapore, which includes subsidiary legislation, statutes, decisions made by various courts, law reports and unreported judgments. The primary sources also include Singapore Law Watch, which provides the public with legal news in addition to the RSS feeds on the basis of judgments that are taken by the Supreme Court of Singapore (National University of Singapore, 2014). Secondary Sources Secondary Sources of law are the materials that describe, interpret and analyze the nature of the law including law reviews, treatises and newspapers. The secondary sources are helpful in providing extensive citation with regard to the primary information in addition to other appropriate sources. The secondary sources of law provide examination of the primary laws, which helps in understanding the importance of primary laws in a better manner. The secondary sources of laws are used for the purpose of locating and explaining the primary sources, as it might affect the legal decisions without having any control over the primary sources. Library provides an extensive collection of secondary sources for law. Legal directories can also be taken as secondary sources as it provides detailed explanation of the legal terms. Another form of secondary law source comprises the interpreted law reports providing information about a particular law. The annotated report focuses on narrow legal matte rs and provides insights of the cases with regard to every jurisdiction. The annotated law reports also provide references with regard to the statutes, treaties, texts and law reviews (Library of Congress, 2015). Treatises are also a part of secondary sources. The treatises are helpful in focusing on a particular area of law. The reason for treatises to be considered as a part of secondary sources is its tendency to describe the law. The treatises are often considered good finder of the laws because of their influential nature, thereby providing an in-depth study of an area of law. Other secondary sources of law are the legal periodicals. These are the articles refer are important sources of law, which provides detailed information about the narrow area and issues of law. Legal periodicals are the articles comprising legal journals, which are theoretical and largely persuasive in nature, used primarily t for describing the laws effectively (Yale University, 2016), Some of the legal periodicals include Singapore Academy of Law Journal, Singapore Law Review and Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, which can be found both in printed as well as in electronic form (Bodleian Libraries, 2015). Conclusion The primary and secondary sources are immensely essential as it provides a large amount of information and helps in understanding of law. Primary sources include texts that are related to the law itself including the court cases. The importance of primary sources of law is that it enables the public to understand the operations that need to be undertaken. The primary source of law includes the punishments that are given to the individuals for breaking the law. With regards to the court cases, the primary sources of law also include information regarding the existing law. The secondary sources of law are often the written facts and information that helps in comprehending law followed by interpreting and analyzing the primary sources such as court cases. The importance of the secondary sources of law is that it provides other facts and information in addition to the analysis of court cases. The secondary sources are not the law but act as a commentary. The use of the secondary sources is helpful in understanding of laws and mostly includes journals and reports. References Bodleian Libraries. (2015). Singapore law journals. Retrieved from https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/c.php?g=423097p=2889031 George, T. E. Yoon, A. H. (2016). Who sits in judgment on State Courts. The Gavel Gap, 2-28. IBP, Inc. (2015). Singapore criminal laws, regulations and procedures handbook: strategic information, regulations, procedures. USA: Lulu.com. Library of Congress. (2015). Guide to secondary legal resources. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/law/help/secondary-rsrcs.php National University of Singapore. (2014). Primary sources of law. Retrieved from https://libportal.nus.edu.sg/frontend/ms/c-j-koh-law-library/research/legal-resources-on-the-web/law-in-singapore/primary-sources-of-law#LegGen Oesterle Library. (2008). Primary and secondary sources in law. Oesterle Library Information Literacy Instruction Program, 1. Sim, T. Z. (2007). A guide to the Singapore legal systemand legal research. Retrieved from https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Singapore.html#_Primary_Sources_of_Law Singapore Academy of Law. (2013a). State Courts of Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/singapore-legal-system/2013-01-28-11-14-34/state-courts Singapore Academy of Law. (2013b). Supreme Court of Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/singapore-legal-system/2013-01-28-11-14-34/supreme-court Singapore Academy of Law. (2016a). Public prosecutor v Tan Kim Hup [2016] SGHC 237. Retrieved from https://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/20443-public-prosecutor-v-tan-kim-hup Singapore Academy of Law. (2016b). Section 1 introduction. Retrieved from https://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/overview/chapter-1 Singapore Government. (2016). Supervisory and revisionary jurisdiction. Retrieved from https://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;ident=cb89582a-2235-45bc-a255-8c2c72d46b46;page=0;query=DocId%3A%224a6359f9-a3f3-45b9-aa01-c366b2b7c844%22%20Status%3Ainforce%20Depth%3A0;rec=0 Singapore Lawyers. (2016). Law of Singapore. Retrieved from https://singapore-lawyers.com/laws-of-singapore.html State Courts Singapore. (2016a). District courts. Retrieved from https://www.statecourts.gov.sg/CriminalCase/Pages/District-Courts.aspx State Courts Singapore. (2016b). Magistrates' court. Retrieved from https://www.statecourts.gov.sg/CriminalCase/Pages/Magistrate's-Court.aspx State Courts Singapore. (2016c). The justice statement. Retrieved from https://www.statecourts.gov.sg/AboutStateCourts/Pages/TheJusticeStatement.aspx Supreme Court. (2016a). Role of Supreme Court. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.gov.sg/about-us/the-supreme-court/role-of-supreme-court Supreme Court. (2016b). Structure of the courts. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.gov.sg/about-us/the-supreme-court/structure-of-the-courts Tan, K. Y. L. (2015). The Constitution of Singapore: A contextual analysis. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Yale University. (2016). Secondarysources. Retrieved from https://library.law.yale.edu/secondary-sources

Case Study Of Alpaca Clothing Private Limited †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Case Study Of Alpaca Clothing Private Limited. Answer: Introduction: The most important factor that decides the fate of the international expansion is the cross cultural communication. Intercultural communication can be defined as the concept of communication styles and approaches that enhances the connection among people across different culture and societal groups. It can be considered as a construct that explores and analyses the effect of culture on communication and interaction. Common variables of intercultural communication includes social attributes, thought patterns, traditional values, principles, and cultural norms associated with different groups of people belonging to different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. It includes interconnected school of thoughts and theories that define intercultural communication and along with different attributes of communication (Chaney and Martin 2013). The concept of intercultural communication also explores the communication barriers that exist between two or more cultural backgrounds and how to overcome t hem. This assignment will utilize multiple domains of intercultural communication in order to explore, analyze, and overcome the communication barrier that exist in between two cultural backgrounds when it comes to a business scenario taking the help of a case study. Case description: The case study represents the scenario where clothing company by the name alpaca clothing Private Limited that has entertained a satisfactory sales in retail outlets in Australia This small scale company had had the first opportunity to expand to the Asian territory by the virtue of signing a contract for fibre processing service in China. However the company representative in the Chinese location chosen by the company is an Australian born marketing professional by the name of Jonathan Jones. However despite the expertise and professional competence of Jonathan, he had no basic idea of Chinese culture and has never lived abroad, hence his intercultural understanding was very limited. It has been already mentioned above that in case of cross-cultural business dealings the role of optimal intercultural communication is profound. It has to be mentioned in this context that Jonathan had no better understanding of the Chinese culture and had failed to facilitate effective and successful intercultural communication between the Chinese company site and his Australian counterpart and as a result, a few misunderstanding and negotiation flaws have had already occurred. For reviving the situation well planned and strategic intercultural communication and intervention is required taking help from cultural analysis and intercultural communication theories and core competencies. Intercultural theories and competencies: There are many theories that can be associated with the concept of intercultural communication. And each of the theories has a profound impact on the development of the intercultural communication competencies which are extremely required for any crosscultural representative to do his work properly. In the case study the most important flaw in Jonathan had been the fact that he had never lived outside his own country and had no understanding of how to blend in different cultural backgrounds (Jandt 2017). In order for him to succeed in his position and the present it is very important for him to understand different intercultural theories and develop the core competencies of intercultural communication. According to the theory of intercultural adaptation, the most effective method of intercultural communication is through learned communicative competencies. This theory directs the individual towards understanding the foreign culture and then adapting the communication pattern to blend in. The next theory is co cultural theory, which defines communication with our interactions among underrepresented individuals (Samovar et al. 2014). This theory directs individuals to be accepting and open minded about the differences between two cultures and exercise equal position between the groups to facilitate optimal and culturally competent interaction. The theory of communication acculturation represents the cross cultural adaptation to be a task that can be accomplished with only collaborative effort between the parties involved. And on the other hand the communication accommodation theory relies on different linguistic strategies to decrease the communicative distance between two cultural backgrounds. Linking the main Idea behind the theories it can be mentioned that intercultural communication competencies can be developed with better understanding of the cultural differences, compassionate acceptance of the cultural differences, honest and strategic adaptation techniq ues, and most importantly collaborative effort between the parties involved (Carbaugh 2013). Now coming to the modern core competencies of intercultural communication the most important factors has to be proficient knowledge about the host cultural background and linguistic characteristics. Along with that communication can never be effective without emphasis on the nonverbal characteristics of the communication. For example traits like tone of voice, posture, communication approach, eye contact, time and space, and gestures account for the most important influencing factors of effective communication (Neuliep 2013). Core competencies of intercultural communication can never be complete without mentioning key personality traits like flexibility, open-mindedness, empathy, equality, and adaptability in the individual. Hence, Jonathan as a company representative has to develop all these competencies in order to facilitate effective interaction between the both of the countries. Cultural difference between Australia and China: In order to entertain effective intercultural interaction between both the countries, Jonathan will also need to have a thorough analysis of the cultural differences between the two countries. Australia can be considered a very open minded, westernized, and modern society with an individualistic and progressive take to the lifestyle. China on the other hand is very traditional Confucian cultural societies where traditional values and principles are given the most importance over any modernized are progressive change. In order to better understand the cultural dimension differences between both the countries the help of hofstede cultural dimensions analysis can be taken. Each of the cultural dimension looks at different aspect of culture and its importance effect on the society. On elaboration of the very first dimension, power distance in which Australia scores much lower than China at 36 indicating that the business culture of Australia is not dependent on unequal distribution of po wer. Accessible, collaborative, and shared decision making is the main structural components of industrial culture of Australia and communication is informal direct and participative. China on the other hand is a Confucian society is a very high at the score of 80. It's very clearly indicates that the clear stratification of power among the organizational hierarchy and a very formal and respectful. The next dimension is individualism in which China ranks very low at score of 20 indicating a very collectivist culture in the society showcasing a Cooperative and collaborative lifestyle. Whereas Australia at the score of 90 shows a very individualistic and person based society. In the component of uncertainty avoidance Australia has a very intermediate score with no clear indication on whether the societal culture is appreciative of uncertainty or not, and on the other hand China had a much lower score of 30 indicating no acceptance towards uncertainty of change. In case of long term or ientation, China has a score of 87 showcasing a very responsible and pragmatic social culture, and in contrast, Australia at 21 shows a normative culture. Indulgence is the next dimension where China scores very low at 21 showing a very restrained and disciplined society and Australia at 71 is an indulgent country with least importance to discipline and restrain (Hofstede Insights 2018). Effect on the cultural difference on business: Hence it is clear that there are vast cultural differences between the both countries and inevitably in there are profound impact of the cultural difference on the business dealings and etiquettes of both the countries. For instance China is a Confucian society and the business etiquettes of this country is based on a strong power distance, discipline, and punctuality. Here the business dealings are very formal and everyone is expected to maintain a certain composure during the business interactions (Kleinman and Lin 2012). Formal courtesy and justice is also very important to the business etiquette of China and maintaining the respectful relationship is very important to the business etiquettes of the country. Communication is very formal, pleasantries and greetings are exchanged in a formal yet warm manner and conflict is avoided at all costs. Coming to nonverbal communication, in China, body language and posture is always expected to be formal and attentive that exhibit self contr ol and respectfulness that the country thrives on (Law 2012). Australia on the other hand is a much more organized and open minded country with a straight forward and innovative business mentality. The business hierarchy is open, accessible, and decision making is shared among the different organizational sectors with a warm participative communication statistics. There are not traditional restrictions to nonverbal communication, body language and appearance and the business etiquette is very similar to European cultural characteristics. Organizational hierarchy interacts warmly and regularly with the lower employees and their significant power distance in the Australian business etiquette and is very appreciative of change and innovation (Lantis and Charlton 2011). Barriers to effective communication: With such a vast difference between the business culture and societal norm among the both of the countries, defective communication is inevitable. However in order for the company representative to effectively counteract the barriers, identification and analysis of the barriers is very important. The very first barrier among the both of the countries and effective communication among them is the linguistic barrier. Australia is a mainly English language operated country and in China English is not the dominating operational language. Along with that another very common barrier to intercultural communication is the non verbal communication components. It has to be mentioned that China is a very formal and traditional country and Australia is a loud and open country (Casmir 2013). Hence factors that tone of voice, gesture, eye contact, body language, and vocal characteristics have a huge impact on the communication between both countries. Another key issue can be the stereotypic prejud ices among both of the cultures. Cultural competence and knowledge is acquired which is only developed through direct experience which Jonathan lacked terribly. Hence the differences between both cultures might have acted as prejudice refraining him from blending in with the cultural norms of China (Mindess 2014). Informal understanding and personality traits can also serve as communication barriers and cross cultural settings. It has to be understood that Jonathan had a very European and open minded are bringing and while, understanding of societal pleasantries might be very different from what is appreciated and accepted in China. Hence the lack of adaptivity to Chinese culture and basic knowledge about their lifestyle is a great hurdle that affected the communication significantly (Neuliep 2013). Recommendation: According to most of the authors, cultural competence is an acquired quality, and it can only be enhanced through effort and experience. The communication on misconduct among Australia and China in this case study has been facilitated by the lack of knowledge and intercultural competence in the chosen representative. However the culture intercultural communication analysis and cultural difference analysis done about can provide useful Framework based on which recommendation strategies can be devised for Jonathan to follow in order to improve his intercultural communication capabilities and aid to this position better. First and foremost, Jonathan will need to have a thought of cultural analysis of the traditions and societal norms of Chinese society so that he can understand the impact of the social traditions on the business etiquettes. Enforcement can be considered the key to understanding of foreign culture. Jonathan will also have to mingle with the natives on interpersonal level to understand the route to the tradition and be able to respond to their cultural etiquettes better (Neuliep 2013). Along with that the basic intercultural communication competence a should not be ignored either, and Jonathan can easily take the assistant of online courses and workshops to enhance his verbal and nonverbal communication qualities and core competencies of intercultural communication. Last but not the least maintaining a self reflective journal will be very beneficial for Jonathan so that he can keep track of his own progress and learn from his own mistakes. Cultural competence is associated with empathy respect and equality towards all cultures. Jonathan will have to entertain honest effort towards understanding and respecting different cultural backgrounds as his own to be able to blend in with Chinese culture as efficiently as he could with his own native background (Carbaugh 2013). Conclusion: On a concluding note, it has to be mentioned that International expansion can only be effective when the cross-cultural factors are respected and addressed in an efficient and strategic manner. This case study is a excellent example of the impact lack of strategic planning and actions towards better intercultural interaction between two internationally cooperating business entities can have on the overall productivity and profitability of the business operation. Hence, for any international business dealings a thorough cultural analysis and comparison adjustment is needed before attempting the cross cultural business. Jonathan in this case had been chosen to represent the company in the Chinese society where has he had no idea about the cultural norms of the country or any core competencies of intercultural interaction. 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