Christian and Muslim Views on the 14th Century Plague,...

The infamous plague, known as the Black Death, was a deadly disease which managed to spread throughout Europe and the Middle East in the 14th century. Although both the Europeans and the Empires of Islam experienced the Black Death, each region had different responses and reasons for the causes of the disease. Empires of Islam viewed the plague as a blessing from God while Europeans believed it was a punishment from Him. As a result of the Black Death, Europeans rebelled whereas Empires of Islam respected authority. Europeans used other religions as an explanation for the start of the Black Death while Islamic empires did not blame other religions, but rather had other explanations that caused the disease. The Black Death was God’s†¦show more content†¦As a result of the Black Death, Europeans rebelled while Empires of Islam did not react unmanageably. As the disease became increasingly prominent, Europeans acted rebelliously. According to William Dene, a European chr onicler, laborers and skilled workmen had such a spirit of rebellion that no higher authority could curb them (Document 6). This demonstrates how the Black Death changed the lifestyle of Europeans, causing people to resort to problematic alternatives for survival. Muslims, however, did not rebel in any way. Michael Dols stated there was no evidence of messianic movements within the Muslim society associated with the disease, unlike Europeans (Document 10). This shows that Islamic empires respected authority and did not rebel, as opposed to the Europeans. In contrast to the Muslims, who respected authority and remained peaceful during the Black Death, Europeans became defiant and rebellious. Europeans used other religions as a reason for the start of the Black Death whereas Islamic empires did not blame other religions, but had explanations that caused the disease. Christians blamed Jews for the appearance of the Black Death. Michael Kleinlawl, a Christian poet, wrote that it was cle ar the Jews were to blame for the Black Death, resulting in the burning of Jews (Document 7). Christians believed terminating the source of the Black Death,Show MoreRelatedBlack Death Dbq1206 Words   |  5 PagesMuslim and Christian DBQ From the depths of the Middle East during the Post-Classical period, two of the most powerful world religions emerged. Islam and Christianity, although sharing many similarities, also had their fair share of disagreements, one being their responses to the Black Death. The religion, demography, and interactions all contributed to the differentiation of Muslim and Christian reactions. Christians thought that the Black Death was sent from God as a punishment and blamed theRead MoreSocial and Economic Effects of the Plague on Medieval Islam Societies1237 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bubonic Plague, known more commonly as the Black Death, was a fatal disease that ravaged Asia and Europe during the mid-14th century. Although the destruction the Plague brought upon Europe in terms of deaths was enormous, the Islamic world arguably suffered more due to the fact that plague epidemics continually returned to the Islamic world up until the 19th century. The recurrence of the disease caused Muslim populations to never recover from the losses suffered and a resulting demographicRead MoreMedieval Anti Jewish Nationalism During The Reformation Of The Roman Empire1919 Words   |  8 Pagesglimpse of power. Who else could draw the ire of the Christians than those who dare stain their fists with the sanguine blessing of the lord? Following the Catholic reformation of the Roman empire was the immediate vilification of the Jews, whose near constant state of poverty in separate settlements allowed the ruling population to maintain control of them while feigning fear. Medieval anti-Jewish sentiment was used by the leaders of the Christian masses as a mitigating force for their societal achesRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagesnot meeting the scheduled start date. We need someone to coordinate the work of various departments to prevent Personnel Department s View of Project Management 27 this continuous redoing of various jobs. We will at least have a chance at meeting the schedule, reducing cost, and improving the attitude of my people. PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT S VIEW OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT After the seminar on project management, a discussion was held between Sue Lyons, director of personnel, and Jason Finney

Driving Distractions Free Essays

Dupreme Cannie English III Mrs. Bailey 22 March 2013 Driving Distractions Have you ever been driving down the road and saw someone texting and driving? What about reading and driving? Or even applying make-up and driving? Driving distractions are plentiful, but it is up to the driver to focus on the task at hand. â€Å"Distractions cause many accidents for both new and experienced drivers. We will write a custom essay sample on Driving Distractions or any similar topic only for you Order Now Taking your eyes off the road for even a few seconds, could have disastrous results† (â€Å"Teendriving. com†). Whether an individual has been driving for many years, or mere days, they are still at risk for distractions. Regardless of age or experience, if a person takes their eyes off the road, the results could be fatal. As previously mentioned, â€Å"Laws restricting cell phone use by drivers may be fashionable, but it is not the best way for the government to make roads safer. Eating, leaning over to change the radio station, talking and reading while driving are bigger culprits than cell phones when it comes to causing accidents, yet, no one is clamoring for legislation outlawing these distractions. To solve the problem of cell phone users disobeying traffic laws, government officials must insist on personal responsibility, rather than ban cell phone use behind the wheel. Those insisting drivers have the right to talk on their phones should be applauded for recognizing that, while people are annoyed by drivers who are distracted by telephone conversations, prohibition of cell phones is needless† (Wilson). Cell phone use is not the only issue. While texting and talking on the phone while driving are dangerous, eating, drinking, reading, and many other activities are still just as dangerous. Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the Summer iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src="https://phdessay.com/compare-contrast-driving-winter-driving-summer/embed/#?secret=gl99C0GSwZ" data-secret="gl99C0GSwZ" width="500" height="282" title="#8220;Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the Summer#8221; #8212; Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"/iframe If laws are going to be passed to prevent cell phone use while driving, then they must prevent the other distracting activities. Even though some people think driving and cell phone use is acceptable, people shouldn’t be texting or talking on the phone while driving because distractions can kill a person without noticing it and turning off your cell phone wouldn’t be a distraction. To keep people from being distracted while driving, the government needs to make the laws stricter. The Pennsylvania cell phone texting ban does not extend to situations where the vehicle is not moving, such as at a stop light or while you are stopped in traffic. It also allows for using a phone hands-free through integration with Bluetooth (such as using Siri on the iPhone to compose and send texts). Interestingly, since the ban overrides any local ordinances already in place, it will actually reduce cell phone restrictions in cities such as Philadelphia, where a local law bans all handheld cell phone use†(Chittom). How to cite Driving Distractions, Papers

Globalization Influencing the Changes to Function of Quality Managemen

Question: Write an essay about the Globalization Influencing the Changes to Function of Quality Management within Present Workplace. Answer: Introduction Quality management is considered to be the most successful tool used by many organizations to enhance the overall performances of their businesses. It provides the preferred viable advantage to the concerned organization by creating differentiation in the pricing strategies of the respective products offered by the firm. The superiority management tools as well as the techniques help in designing and creating the apprehensive products as per the demands and the need of the different customers. This paper will reflect the different quality management methods used by different firms and importance of this quality management process (Abdolshah and Abdolshah, 2011). Six Sigma focuses on improving desired quality outputs by identification and the removal of the desired defects within the manufacturing process. Main context Concepts of total quality management Quality management Quality management is the managing of the desired quality of the services as well as the products offered by a concerned or particular organization as to increase the reliability of the respective customers. This helps in managing the consistent quality of the concerned goods along with the services offered by the desired firm. It consists of the four of the crucial components; they are quality assurance, quality planning, quality improvement and the quality control (lvarez Surez and Fuentes, 2011). There are several firms which have implemented the desired system for quality improvement and this system is mainly the business process which focuses on getting the desired quality objectives as well as quality policies as per the demands of the concerned customers. The Total quality management is the desired approach which came into existence in the 1950s and became popular in 1980s. It defines the desired culture and the attitudes of the different organizations to offer the best qua lity of the services as well as products as per the satisfactory needs of the customers (Amararachchi, Perera, and Pulasinghe, 2014). The primary motive is to fulfill the desired requirements of the concerned customers of the firm by retaining the quality of the products offered to the respective customers. Importance of quality management in todays workplace The quality management techniques have become the most crucial as it helps in increasing the overall performance of the entire firm to a large extent. It is important for the different organization to measure the quality of the products offered by them to the concerned customers as this will help in evaluating the significant growth of the firm within the concerned market segments (Bento, Esteves, and Agarwal, 2013). The most significant factor is that it helps in achieving the satisfaction of the customers by delivering the finest quality of the goods and services. Moreover, it provides the desired competitive advantage to the concerned organization by creating differentiation in the pricing strategies of the respective products offered by the firm (Dale, Wiele, and Iwaarden, 2013). There are certain points which need to be recognizing while delivering the products. These are competitiveness, customer loyalty, reputation costs and the desired compliance. The quality management tools and the techniques help in designing and creating the concerned products as per the demands and the need of the different customers concerned (Deepa, 2014). It has been seen that the differentiation in the pricing strategies also provides the desired competitive advantage to the concerned organization. Furthermore, the managing of the quality as per the satisfactory needs of the different clients increases the productivity as well as the desired profitability of the concerned organization. Contribution of TQM in productivity and performance of the employees and organization The total quality management system increases the reliability and the consistency of the desired products offered by the firm as to satisfy the needs of the different customers. It has been seen that the effective use of the concepts of the Total Quality Management helps to enhance the performances of the employees as well as the whole firm (Fabozzi and Markowitz, 2011). There are some of the crucial points which help in evaluating the desired contributions of total quality management. These are s follows: Creating the desired consistency of the purpose of improving the quality of the products along with the services Adopting a new philosophy Ceasing the desired dependence on the mass inspection End awarding the concerned business on the prices Improving the desired systems constantly of products as well as the services Providing training to the employees Instituting the leadership Driving out of the fear Breaking down of the different departments Removing the desired barriers within the concerned workplaces Taking necessary actions and accomplishing them Moreover, the desired concepts and the theories of the total quality management help in evaluating the desired performances of the employees and finally it increases the profitability of the concerned firm to a large extent. It helps in managing the desired quality of the relevant products according to the crucial needs of the concerned customers. The desired amount of the quality of the products, as well as the services delivered by the firm, helps in generating the desired amount of the impact on the minds of the concerned clients and finally increases the selling of the products (Harris, McCaffer, and Edum-Fotwe, 2013). The concepts of Total Quality Management is a top priority for many of the well-known organizations as it helps in retaining the old client within the firm as well as it attracts the new clients within the concerned organization (Ho, 2015). Identification of organizational factors which influences total quality management There are certain factors which affect the desired implementation of the total Quality Management within a concerned organization (Hung, 2009). These factors are as a top commitment from, the management team, effective leadership, employee's training and the competence as well as the organizational culture. Moreover, the researchers till date have critically evaluated the desired fact that there are five of the important factors which generate enormous impact on the implementation of the total quality management within an organization (Lester and Lester, 2007). These are as follows: Commitment and the effective understanding from the concerned employees of the firm Quality improving culture Continuous improvements in manufacturing and another process Focusing on the requirements of the customers Effective means of control The decision-making process from the leaders of the concerned firm also plays the most vita role in providing the desired elevation of the significant growth of the firm. The management team needs to understand the desired requirements of the customers and they needs to offer the desired quality of the products as per the reliability of the respective clients. Commitment from the employees brings out the desired change which fulfills the demands and the needs of the customers. Changes of quality management in organizations by Globalization Globalization has helped the different companies expand their business process and the use of the total Quality Management has helped in establishing the pillars of the concerned firm throughout the different market segments of the firm. The continuous improvements in the quality of the products, as well as the services offered by the firm, provide the desired competitive advantage over the other competitors. The last two of the concerned decades have witnessed the desired change within the globalization of the concerned firms with the help of the concepts of the total quality management. The concepts of the TQM have significantly helped the different forms typo expand their business process in the different marketplace segments throughout the globe (Nebl and Schroeder, 2011). Use of the Six-Sigma improves the overall quality of the products along with the services offered by the concerned organizations. There are some of the crucial factors by which globalization influences the qual ity management processes, these re as follows: Global forces within the market segments Technological forces Global prices forces Political as well as the Macroeconomic forces The globally integrated system of economy has created a larger impact on the different global operations and this influences the total quality of the management system. Comparing and contrasting between different approaches to quality management for organizational success There are some of the well-knew companies such as Kyoshei and Kaizen use which use the different approaches of the Total Quality of the management system (Papp, 2011). The different techniques or the different approaches of the quality management techniques reveals the same intention of the firm which is to improve the quality of the products or the goods as well as the services s per the satisfactory demands and the needs of the customers. The basic difference between the eastern as well as the western approaches is the optimization of the desired features of the concerned products of the concerned organization. Different techniques and tools for Total quality management Six Sigma, Pareto analysis, and JIT are some of the well-known approaches to improve the quality management of the concerned products and services for the concerned firm. Sig Sigma mainly focuses on the improvement of the desired quality outputs by identification and the removal of the desired defects within the manufacturing as well as the business process (Raj and Attri, 2011). Just-in-Time reflects the manufacturing concepts for the improvement or returns on the desired investments by the reduction in the manufacturing or the variables costs. ParetoAnalysisreveals the desired statistical practice used mainly to recognize a restricted number of jobs that merge to create a considerable general effect (Singh and Dubey, 2013). It has been seen that in many of the well-known firms the removal of the desired defects within the manufacturing process enhances the overall effectiveness and the quality of the concerned products. Differentiating between East/West Total quality management s trategies for steady improvement There are certain features by Feigenbaum in the eastern approach to the quality management such as follows: Quality is the desired saying and expectations of the customers Quality belongs to ethics Quality is the desired style of management Quality requires significant improvements The quality of the desired products is the profit and the desired goal of the some of the well-known Japanese companies (Waldman, 2011). There are certain features of the western quality management approaches for improving the desired execution of the concerned business procedures of the particular firm. According to the western approaches, quality is the desired styles as well as the skills of the concerned employees to improve the products as to satisfy the desired needs of the concerned customers within the concerned market segments. Conclusion The providing best quality of the products and services to the customers, increase the overall productivity and the profitability of the concerned firm. The continuous improvements in the quality of the products, as well as the services offered by the firm, provide the desired competitive advantage over the other competitors. Concepts of the TQM have significantly helped the different forms typo expand their business process in the different marketplace segments throughout the globe. Use of the Six-Sigma improves the overall quality of the products along with the services offered by the concerned organizations. There are certain points such as competitiveness, customer loyalty, reputation costs and the desired compliance. The managing of the quality as per the satisfactory needs of the different clients increases the productivity as well as the desired profitability of the concerned organization. The paper evaluates the desired facts related to the eastern as well as the western appr oach of quality management techniques. References Abdolshah, M. and Abdolshah, S. (2011). Barriers to the successful implementation of TQM in Iranian manufacturing organizations.IJPQM, 7(3), p.358. lvarez Surez, A. and Fuentes, R. (2011). Travel agencies in Alicante, Spain: a productivity analysis.The TQM Journal, 23(5), pp.560-577. Amararachchi, J., Perera, H. and Pulasinghe, K. (2014). Towards Knowledge Management for Healthcare: Effects of Latest Medical Information for the Quality of Healthcare in the Developing Countries: A Case Study.JBEMi, 1(2), pp.1-17. Bento, F., Esteves, S. and Agarwal, A. (2013).Quality management in ART clinics. New York: Springer. Dale, B., Wiele, A. and Iwaarden, J. (2013).Managing quality. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing. Deepa, (2014). Evolution of quality: a study of quality from primitive period to the latest development in India.Pranjana:The Journal of Management Awareness, 17(2), p.21. Fabozzi, F., and Markowitz, H. (2011).The theory and practice of investment management. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Harris, F., McCaffer, R. and Edum-Fotwe, F. (2013).Modern Construction Management. Chichester: Wiley. Ho, S. (2015). Uni-economics: impact of the sunspot on quality, productivity business growth.The TQM Journal, 27(2), pp.169-184. Hung, P. (2009).Services and business computing solutions with XML. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Lester, A. and Lester, A. (2007).Project management, planning, and control. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Nebl, T., and Schroeder, A. (2011). Understanding the interdependencies of quality problems and productivity.The TQM Journal, 23(5), pp.480-495. Papp, J. (2011).Quality management in the imaging sciences. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier. Raj, T., and Attri, R. (2011). Identification and modeling of barriers in the implementation of TQM.IJPQM, 8(2), p.153. Ryall, M. (2010).Bridge management. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Singh, T., and Dubey, R. (2013). Soft TQM practices in Indian cement industry - an empirical study.IJPQM, 11(1), p.1. Waldman, S. (2011).Pain management. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders.

Southern Defiance Essays - South Carolina In The American Civil War

Southern Defiance Days of Defiance by Maury Klein is a very interesting and detailed account of the events leading up to the Civil War. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf inc. in New York City in 1997. It is a four hundred and twenty one-page book. The author of this book is Maury Klein. Klein is a professor of history at the University of Rhode Island. He specializes in American history during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This gives him good credentials to write an accurate book on the coming of the Civil War, since the Civil War took place in the nineteenth century. He has written other books on the Civil War as well as on other books on American History during the nineteenth century. Klein therefore has a vast knowledge on the Civil War and on the time period of the Civil War. This allows him to write a very accurate and detailed account of the events that led up to the Civil War. This book deals with the start and causes of the Civil War. It starts with the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States in 1860 and ends with the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861. The approach of the book is a documentary approach. Klein divides the book into three parts. Part one is entitled The Battle Over Washington, the second part is entitled The Battle Over Secession, and the third part of the book is entitled The Battle Over Fort Sumter. Klein also describes the events in chronological order. He goes through the major events of each month starting with November 1860 and going through April 1861. Overall the book covers six months leading up to the start of the Civil War. The length of the book is four hundred and twenty one pages. it is a very well organized book. It is divided into three parts and twenty-three chapters. For the most part it is told in chronological order, but in some places it goes into the past to discuss events that help the reader understand the current situation. Klein starts off the book by talking about the election of 1860 in chapter one. He describes the different reactions across the country to Lincoln being elected president. Klein describes the reaction to the election of the northern states, the southern states, and the border states as well. Klein also touches a little bit on the problems Lincoln being elected causes, and how these problems are being thrown on the current president James Buchanon until Lincoln would be inaugurated in March. In chapter two Klein starts off by talking about the admittance of Florida and Texas into the Union and expansionism in general. He then talks about slavery and the problems it causes with expansionism. Klein then discusses how the country is divided over the issue from the common people to the government officials. In chapter three Klein goes back to talk about past events that tried to solve the problem of slavery and events that helped lead to more division among the country on the issue. He talked about the Fugitive Slave Act, Harriet Beecher Stowes novel Uncle Toms Cabin, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, the idea of popular sovereignty, the Missouri Compromise, and the Dred Scott decision. In chapter four Klein talks about the two senators from South Carolina; James Chestnut and James Hammond. He describes their lives and the fact that they both owned plantations and the way they both rose to the Senate. In the next chapter Klein talks about three cities: Charleston, South Carolina; Washington D.C.; and Springfield, Illinois. He talks about the cities attitudes and reactions to the current situation of the country. In the next chapter Klein talks about Major Robert Anderson and how he was sent to take over command at Fort Sumter. He then talked about the problems president Buchannon faced with the impending secession of South Carolina. The next chapter discussed the uproar that the possibility of secession was causing in the government and in the country. The next chapter talked about the new governor of South Carolina Francis W. Pickens. Klein then talks about the official secession of South Carolina from

Adolf Hitler5 essays

Adolf Hitler5 essays From A Mediocre Student to A Dictator: Adolf Hitler The day is April 20, 1889 and the place is Austria. It was there that the man who was to save the fatherland was born. Hitler began his schooling in a monastery in Germany and was known as a lazy, bad-tempered, arrogant leader. His dreams of being a great artist quickly went down the drain after he was rejected at the Academy of Fine Arts. Hitler sank deep into himself, living on the street and through his discontentment began to see the uses of hate. His views began to push him to wanting to conquer Germany; he was only 18 at the time. He joined the war with Germany as a dispatch worker. After World War I, Hitler began looking for his opportunity to take control of Germany as their leader. This never would have been accomplished if the economic, social, and political conditions of the day were not all in place for him to take control. After the war the economic conditions of Germany were in shambles. Because Germany was forced to take most of the blame in the war, they were required to pay most of the damages of the war, not including their own debts from the war. Before the war four German marks could have bought one American dollar, but after the war it tool 4.2 trillion marks just to equal one dollar. Inflation was running rampid. People were using money as toilet paper because it cost less. Finally the government did away with the old currency and brought in a new one. The effects of this will be discussed later. Also because of the war there was great unemployment. Unemployment had doubled since before the war and was steadily increasing. Factories were producing more than they needed and so in order to fix the problem they produced less and therefore had to lay off several workers. Just like all over the world, Germany was experiencing their share of the Depression and ju...

6 Little White Lies You Can Tell To Get The Job

6 Little White Lies You Can Tell To Get The Job Lying is wrong almost all the time. And you certainly should never lie about your skills or experience in a job interview. Honesty is almost always the best policy. But†¦there are a few instances where fibbing can’t hurt- and might actually help you land the job. 1. OmissionIt’s okay to leave  one or two jobs off your resume. Maybe you weren’t there very long. Maybe you were fired or doubt that you would get a stellar reference. It’s okay to keep these quiet. Your resume doesn’t have to be a comprehensive list of your career whereabouts, just what’s most relevant and useful to your interviewer.2. How much you loved your former coworkersEven the mean girls and the power-hungry jerks and the spotlight-hoggers and the total bores. It’s okay to lie and say you were honored to work with such a great group. You’ll come off as more of a team player. Accentuate the positive! They’ll never know you used to grumble about eve ryone behind their backs the minute you got home.3. Your saintly interestsNobody’s interests really consist in charity work, volunteering, and fine arts museums. When it comes down to it, most of us would honestly report TV-watching, martinis, and trashy magazines. But it’s okay to be a little aspirational. Don’t stretch yourself too far: stick to an aspirational, but true, version of yourself.4. How fabulous your former boss wasYour last boss was actually a fire-breathing dragon. But there is zero profit in bad-mouthing him to your new potential boss. Try to pick a few good qualities you can mention, and, if all else fails, say you learned a lot.5. Your reason for changing jobsYou’re bored out of your mind and you detest your coworkers. Or your company is rumored to be downsizing, and you want to skip town with the rats. Whatever the real reason, it’s totally fine to say â€Å"I’d love to stay where I am, but this opportunity is just too d azzling to pass up.† They’ll be flattered, and you won’t look like a quitter who abandons ship at first sign of trouble.6. Your greatest weaknessEverybody fudges this one. Don’t share your real worst traits. Pick something (again, at least sort of truthful) that you can turn into a positive of sorts. Emphasize how you’re working constructively to turn that weakness into a strength. They’ll be impressed with your self-awareness and won’t notice that you’ve just flipped the table on them with their own question.Moral of the story? Don’t shoot yourself in the foot in the interests of abject honesty, but do keep mostly to the truth. It’ll be easier to remember and hold to what you said.

Data mining Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Data mining Assignment - Essay Example Generally there are incidences of fraud that have not yet been detected (Borzykowski, 2012 p. 34). With increased cases of fraud, it is a high time for effective measures to be applied to combat these crimes for once and for all. All the merchants, banking systems and the card owners should enroll on application of effective measures. With the application of data mining, one is capable of determining the hot spots which are the target for these crimes. Due to increased technology in businesses, application of computer science Information Technology would help solve this phenomenon (Borzykowski, 2012 p. 34). Efficient fraud detection unveils suspicious behaviors providing alarms to the organization.Cases of fraud experienced in data mining are collected (Tan, 2013, p.345). Metrics for calculating the fraud data are designed and an automated mode of their calculation is developed. Finally the IT expert’s develops a detection model for the fraud. Globally more than 30% of firms h ave experienced fraud in the year 2009.Retail businesses like supermarket have enrolled in usage of closed-circuit televisions in conjunction with POS data in fraud detection (Tan, 2013, p.345). 2. Introduction Fraud detection can be categorized into statistical techniques and artificial intelligence. Statistical data analysis involves pre-processing of data like detection, validation, error correction; missing and invalid data rectification. One can match algorithms in detection of any abnormality in transactions. Forensic accountants specialize in procurement and analysis of electronic data in detection and rectification of an error. Merchandising agents have started using un-supervised methods like Break Point Analysis and Bolton Hand Use Analysis in detection of credit cards accounts frauds. Peer group analysis is capable of detecting individuals who behave in a different way compared to the previous individuals seen. Break point analysis detects the abnormal transactions in a g iven account (Robert, John and Gary, 2009, p.543). A three level profiling operates at the account level to detect any form of fraud. Normal profiling and behavioral profiling are applied. Human pattern reorganization and automated data algorithms are linked to create Domain-Specific Interfaces to visually present the accounts holder’s data (Robert et al 2009, p.543). Banks should start using advanced software to detect any miscellaneous transactions. More security measures like pin and ZIP codes should be provided by the customer whenever he or she is conducting any transaction. The software will detect any transaction done at a far distance from the card owner’s geographical location. More details of the card owner like a passport photo should be displayed every time. The photo will enable the merchant or the bank to compare the physical appearance of the customer and determine if he or she is the authorized person. One will be able to determine the common area in wh ich the owner conducts his or her transaction most frequently (Borzykowski, 2012 p. 35). Card owners should also be vigilant by ensuring that they do perform regular checks of their accounts. They should keep their important documents in safe places and besides being cautious on the people whom they have authorized to perform their transactions. The government needs to take serious measures on any person accused of conducting fraud crimes (Borzykowski, 2012 p. 35). 3. Data Mining Data mining is a field of computer science that deals with

Discuss Karl Marxs critique of capitalism Assignment

Discuss Karl Marxs critique of capitalism - Assignment Example Similarly, Thomas Hobbes’s renowned publication, the â€Å"Leviathan† claims that a valid government is that which unifies the collective will of the majority and unites them under the authority of sovereign power. Though all the three theories have some similarities, their areas of specialization are different. For instance, they all assert that there should be absolute governments though the theories highlight different specializations in regard to the stated governments. The concept of alienation and class inequality focuses more on the relationship between labor and human expression under capitalism. Under this concept, the workers are alienated from their labor since it no longer belongs to the workers but rather to the capitalists. The workers do as at the demands of capitalist rather than to satisfy their own needs. As far as class inequality is concerned, Marx argues there would be more and more members of society becoming proletarians if communism is not going to be practiced (Gergen 23). He further argues that because capitalist are continually accumulating capital, few capitalist exploiting a large number of poor proletarians who are subsisting on low wages will eventually characterize society. This would in turn encourage two social classes: the capitalist (rich) and the proletariat (poor). Communism can help solve the issue of class inequality and alienation the society faces today. Through communism, all goods and services are shared and as such, every need is met. Communism helps to eradicated poverty since no gets rich (Marx 16-40). At a personal level, class inequality and alienation is something that I undergo on my daily life. For instance, because I come from a middle class as the society stratifies, I cannot freely go into a five star hotel and bond freely with other citizens since I am considered not of the status. As far as

Thoughts on Gestalt Essay Example for Free

Thoughts on Gestalt Essay After reading the chapter on Gestalt therapy, it seems that there is certainly more to this type of therapy than I had previously thought. Although Gestalt is not widely used, there are some aspects of it that I think could be useful in any therapeutic setting. The first key concept of gestalt that I think is useful is keeping the therapy focused in the here and now. Certainly we all have things in our past that affect the way we handle ourselves in the present, but bringing those past hurts into the current setting and dealing with them here and now seems like a good plan to me. Of equal importance is the fact of a client having personal awareness of themselves and the environment around them. I think the idea of a client being responsible for their actions and owning their reality could at the very least, be a challenge. The idea of a client reintegrating his or her experience into their whole self in the therapeutic process is the key. I like the idea that the whole is greater than the sun of its parts. Finally, the idea of a person knowing who they are and who they are not as opposed to who they think they should be (Paradoxical Theory of Change) is the catalyst of change. I think this idea transcends many approaches to therapy because it allows the individual to choose what and who they want to be. As stated in the text, gestalt therapy allows a person to try on new behaviors and seeing what works for them and what does not. In conclusion, in certain settings I can see where Gestalt therapy could benefit a client, but the client would need to be screened very carefully to make certain that their psyche could handle such a unique and hands on approach. The idea of a Gestalt group seems a daunting task, but something I may have the opportunity to employ in the future. We shall see what the future ho lds.

The Classification And Formation Of Crystals :: essays research papers

The Classification and Formation of Crystals Introduction Purpose   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My purpose of this experiment is to find out how crystals are formed and how they are classified. For a long time, I’ve been interested in crystals, so I’ ve decided this experiment would be perfect for me! Crystallography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The study of the growth, shape, and geometric characteristics of crystals is called crystallography. When the conditions are right, each chemical element and compound can crystallize in a definite and characteristic form.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thirty-two classes of crystals are theoretically possible, almost all common minerals fall into one of about twelve classes, and some classes have never been seen. The thirty-two classes are grouped into six crystal systems, based on the length and position of the crystal axes. Crystal axes are imaginary lines passing through the center of the crystals. Minerals in each system share certain proportions and crystal form and many important optical properties.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The six crystal systems are very important to a mineralogists and geologists; specification of the system is necessary in the description of each crystal system. Isometric   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with three axes, all perpendicular to one another and all have equal length. Tetragonal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with three axes, all perpendicular to one another; but only two are equal in length. Orthorhombic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with three mutually perpendicular axes, all of different lengths. Monoclinic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with three axes, all unequal in length, two o which are not perpendicular to another, but both of which are perpendicular to the third. Triclinic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with three axes, all unequal in length and is not perpendicular to one another. Hexagonal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This system comprises crystals with four axes. Three of these axes are in a single plane, proportionally spaced, and of equal length. The fourth axis is perpendicular to the other three. Some crystallographers split the hexagonal in two, calling the seventh system trigonal or rhombohedral. Formation of Crystals   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crystals are formed when a liquid becomes solid or when a vapor or liquid solution becomes supersaturated. Some substances tends to form seed

Macbeth vs. Henry V Essay

Shakespeare’s play Macbeth shows the roots of all evil, our own human nature. The play is centered on the coexistence of good and evil. Macbeth, unlike any other Shakespeare play has the protagonist convert to evil. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as a hero in the Scottish army, that is ironic because Macbeth defeats a traitor and he himself becomes one later. Macbeth knows his place in the world. He is fully capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Macbeth purposely disregards his own moral judgment to rise to power which is again ironic and goes against his own beliefs. Macbeth stands as a symbol for Satan’s sin of ambition. Like Satan, Macbeth’s thirst for power and ambition drives him to commit evil.Contrary to the theory of supernatural forces he is responsible for his own actions. The Three Witches and Lady Macbeth were only influencing factors in Macbeth’s demise. Macbeth was pressured to do a horrible deed which was driven by evil. The beginning of the evil was rooted in his wife and the witch’s but quickly spread into his mind and heart. The Three played a part in predicting the evilness of Macbeth which is known as the prophecy and Macbeth receives it from them. After receiving this prophecy, Macbeth starts to transform into an evil man who will not let anything stand in his way. For instance, when Macbeth is questioning whether or not he should murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth fools Macbeth into thinking about how any real man would commit the murder. She quotes â€Å"What beast was’t/ then, / that made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man; / and to be more than what you were, you would/ be so much more the man† (Act 1 scene vii lines 53-58).she sees the opportunity to kill Duncan and make Macbeth king. She knows Macbeth’s ambitions, but says he lacks the ruthlessness, and although Macbeth will take an opportunity, he wants to earn his honours honestly. He also knows the murder would be wrong and he would end up paying for it. Macbeth makes a firm statement saying that â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†(I.vii.32). But after speaking with Lady Macbeth he counter d ecides and proclaims, â€Å"I am settled, and bend up/Each corporal agent to this terrible feat†. Macbeth now proclaims himself king, fore-filling his ambition. Macbeth’s guilt is recognized after the killing of the king; when he is unable to answer himself. Macbeth’s final words in this scene tell us he has committed himself to the path of evil. â€Å"I am in blood, stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning was as  tedious as go o’er.† He acknowledges his torturous pain and knows there is no way of stopping it. He has ruined his life forever. Macbeth now doesn’t have a place among the others. He became enraged as he knew that that was true but later accepted it by going to meet with his own evil kind, the witches. Macbeth becomes ruthless and kills at will without feeling guilt. He is now a tyrant, ruling with fear until the bitter end. The thought that one can use language, rather than the conventional brute strength exemplified by Hercules and Beowulf, to achieve a beneficial outcome can be supported by Henry’s character in William Shakespeare’s Henry V. King Henry V assumes his role as king after the death of his father, Henry IV. Prior to ascending the throne, Harry, as his friends call him, was known for his debauchery. Harry was an immature prince, but as the King of England, he suddenly becomes mature and wise. Henry’s bishops convince him of his right and duty to acquire the throne of France. Soon, Britain is preparing for war and fully supporting their king in his pursuit of the French crown. Henry’s powerful words prove his ability to rouse his troops and frighten the enemy. Unlike more traditional heroes, Henry’s heroism is not shown in battle, but rather before the battle. Because Henry is able to put fear into the enemy with his threatening messages, the opposing army may not fight as well as one might expect. As seen at Harfleur, the governor surrenders to save the lives of the citizens.The speech that Henry makes demonstrates Henry’s clever tactics with his enemies. The king does this so that the governor will surrender and Henry can conquer Harfleur without a bloody battle. Although his speech sounds menacing, a quality not found in the characteristics of a hero, it is only a tactic Henry uses to achieve the outcome he wants. Henry’s reluctance to make good on his promise of this massacre is proven when he states, â€Å"use mercy to them all† (III.3. 54). Henry is not the monster he appears to be; instead, he is a leader using any method he can to gain land while keeping his troops out of harm’s way. At the final Battle of Agincourt, Henry’s ragged army expresses concern about their odds against the French; the British are outnumbered five to one. Henry’s Cousin Westmoreland. Henry, being the talented rhetorician that he is, soothes the army’s fears by delivering the inspirational speech: â€Å"[†¦] If we are marked to die, we are now To do our country loss; and if to live,  The fewer men, the greater share of honor. [†¦]But if it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive.† (IV.3. 21-30). Henry explains that there is a certain amount of honor to go around once the British defeat the French. It is fortunate of those soldiers that are at the battle that they do not have to share that honor with men who are fearful and therefore unworthy of honor. Henry says that honor is most important to him and that it should also be important to his army. The soldiers, feeling a renewed sense of purpose, will go into battle and claim that honor – not just for their king, but for England as well Henry explains what the British do Will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named this day, and comes safe home, on this day will be with them for the rest of their lives: He that outlives And rouse him at the name of Crispian [†¦ ]The he will strip his sleeve and show his scars, [And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispian’s Day.’]†¦. (IV.3. 42-52). What feats he did that day.† Henry somewhat shows his softer side by expressing concern for his troops. Henry tells them he knows some will die, but those who survive will be well respected for the rest of their lives. With the reward of greatness being dangled in front of him, a speech like this can sway even the most fearful soldier into becoming the fiercest fighter. It can be argued that Henry is not a hero at all because he is fighting a meaningless war and that lives are being lost for no reason. While that might be true in one’s opinion, Henry’s opinion is quite different. Henry believes this war is for the greater good. If the British win the war, they gain land and Henry attains the crown of France he believes he deserves. Henry and the British people believe this war is justified; they cannot be faulted for doing what they believe in. Henry satisfies the qualities in the definition of a hero in using his masterful rhetoric. Henry has fought an impossible war against the French. In the final battle, the British were greatly outnumbered, but managed to escape with minimal casualties. The French, however, were not as fortunate and lost a total of ten thousand. This embarrassing defeat of the French proves just how effective Henry’s speech was in improving the morale of his doubtful army. Henry’s coldness and ruthlessness are masks that hide a man who would do anything to protect his countrymen. He uses scare tactics in his rhetoric to belittle the enemy while at the same time inspiring his men.  Remember, the definition of a hero states that bravery and firmness in any course of action qualifies one for the classification as a hero. Henry’s bravery and firmness are represented in his words, rather than his sword, therefore proving him to be a rhetorical hero. Of the two heroes Henry the V and Macbeth the more intelligent and ruthless is Henry because Macbeth was always cautious about making his decisions and needed the help[ of his wife who played the leading role in taking decisions be it to murder someone or to plot plans to get the throne. She was the more stronger person therefore she took the decisions as to what to do. Henry on the other hand did everything on his own and never liked the interference of anyone in his plotting.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Essay

There are different research methods that have been guided by different philosophy of science that were developed by philosopher, researcher and sociologist at their time of era. The well-known research methods are quantitative research methods. Quantitative are numerical methods associated with deductive approaches. Quantitative research methods are usually guided by the principles of positivism as it takes on objective reality and accepts single reality. Quantitative methods are usually used to measure size, observe numerical change over time, audience segmentation, testing hypothesis, and, quantifying attitudes, behaviors and opinions. The main importance of quantitative research is on deductive reasoning which tends to move from the general to the specific. The validity of conclusions is shown to be dependent on one or more premises being valid. For example, All students who study MBA in Kathmandu University works in a bank. Seema studies in MBA in Kathmandu University. Based on the premises, we can say that Seema works in a bank. Premises used in deductive reasoning are important because faulty premises can lead to wrong conclusions. Another popular method is qualitative method, which are usually associated with inductive approaches. Qualitative research methods are used on subjective matter, as in-depth study to explore subject matter. Qualitative research methods are guided by philosophies as post-positivism, critical theory, and constructivism. Qualitative research methods offer different kinds of ways to investigate on research problems as interview methods, focused group discussions,case studies and many others to understand the certain circumstances or culture in the society. The approach adopted by qualitative researchers tends to be inductive which means that they develop a theory or look for a pattern of meaning on the basis of the data that they have collected. This involves a move from the specific to the general and is sometimes called a bottom-up approach. However, most research projects also involve a certain degree of deductive reasoning (Trochim, 2005). Quantitative Research is more about collecting numerical data to study about certain phenomena. For example, what percentage of Nepalese student who go to US for foreign degree complete graduate course in United States? Other examples may be what percentage of Nepalese students who are studying in TU have negative attitude towards TU administrations. One usually has to use quantitative research when one wants answer in numbers. However, one has to study about complex situations and go with in-depth studies then qualitative methods should be used. For example, researcher wants to know how people view politics in Nepal? Similarly, a researcher wants to do ethnographic study of the culture of Tharus of Nepal and lives with Tharu for some years, immerse himself/herself in that environment to discover the meanings, convention of behavior, and ways of thinking important in tharu cultures. Similarly, even though the selection of research methods are based upon the problem selected, resource available, the skills of researcher and audience of the research, both the methodologies are also used together in a research which is known as mixed methods. â€Å"Mixed methods often combine nomothetic and idiographic approaches in an attempt to serve the dual purposes of generalization and in-depth understanding—to gain an overview of social regularities from a larger sample while understanding the other through detailed study of a smaller sample. Full integration of these approaches is difficult, hence the predominance of component studies†(Pat Bazeley, 2004) References (Bazeley, 2004) Social Research Methods. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2012, from www.socialresearchmethods. net: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/positivism (2005). In W. M. Trochium, Research Methods (2nd ed.).

civil war and reconstuction essays

civil war and reconstuction essays Although some historians feel that the Civil War was a result of political blunders and that the issue of slavery did not cause the conflict, this interpretation fails to consider the two main causes of the war itself: the expansion of slavery, and its entrance into the political scene. By considering the personal opinions of people living in both the North and the South at the time of the war, as well as the political decisions made, one can understand the reasons behind the war, and then The revisionists believe that the issue of slavery was not a major cause of the war. Some argue that the war was caused by careless decisions made by politicians, who caused people to react with emotions that were out of proportion with the issues involved. Others feel that the slavery problem could have been solved without war. The problem with these theories is that the revisionists do not recognize slavery as the main difference between North and South. They also fail to realize that it was not simply political blunders that caused the war, but the discussion of slavery publicly among politicians. In his theory of the war, Michael Holt primarily considers the timing of the conflict. He feels that the breakdown in the two party system created a panic among citizens and that this panic erupted into war. The only problem with this theory is that it is not the citizens of a country who decide whether or not to go to war, it is the politicians. The reason that slavery could exist without war in the United States until 1861 was because up until that time there was always enough land to expand. It was when the amount of land available for expansion became scarce that the North and South began to feel friction as to who would control more states, free or slave. The South wanted more slave states, where the North wanted more free states, to give them more land and power in ...

3 Grammatical Errors and Funnies from DollarsandSense Coupon Flyer!

3 Grammatical Errors and Funnies from DollarsandSense Coupon Flyer! Magazines and flyers are constant sources of grammatical errors and other interesting blog material for The Essay Expert.   This week Im writing just a few examples of what I found in the ads populating a recent Madisons DollarsandSense coupon flyer.   These examples are good reminders to pay attention to your writing! 1.   Ad for ChoreCare (www.ChoreCareMadison.com) Original text:   All jobs work is customized to meet your needs. Commentary:   Jobs work are two things and the verb should therefore be plural. Correction:   All jobs work are customized to meet your needs. This error is very common and I find myself making it more often than I’d like to admit.   A few days ago, I wrote, regarding the improvement to one of my client’s resumes:   The other bullets show his success on both the artistic and strategic side of marketing. I quickly caught my error and changed â€Å"side† to â€Å"sides,† since I was talking about two sides – plural! What makes this one slippery is that in speech, we often do not distinguish between the singular and plural in situations such as the ones above.   I see this as another example of purist vs. progressive language (see Top 10 Obsolete Grammar Rules – by Steven Sawyer). Whether you are a purist or a progressive on this one, I encourage you to pay attention and make a choice, rather than make a blind potential error.   Please share if you find yourself challenged by this issue! 2.   Ad for Mother Natures Diaper Service, Inc. Original text:   Reserve a Pre-birth Delivery Date Today! (click for full size ad) Commentary:   Is this line an intentional joke?   It seems the writers might be unaware that they have made a pun on Delivery Date. How can there be a pre-birth delivery [of a baby]?   OH†¦Ã‚   a *diaper* delivery.   I get it. Is it just me, or does pre-birth remind you of afterbirth (the placenta and fetal membranes that are normally expelled from the uterus after the birth of the baby) now thats something I dont want delivered to my door!   I just dont like the phrase â€Å"Pre-birth Delivery† at all, even if it was intended to be clever, which I’m not convinced it was. My suggested correction:   Reserve a Diaper Delivery Date Today! Now thats cute, and it plays well on the word Delivery without being downright perplexing. 3.   Ad for Sierra Concepts, LLC Basement Waterproofing Specialists Original text:   $50 OFF Crack Injections Commentary:   I realize crack injection is a trade term, but really!   Am I the only one who immediately calls up an image of desolate streets and needles and crazed looking drug addicts? My suggested correction:   $50 OFF Basement Crack Repair. Boring, maybe.   But it gets the point across safely. What are your favorite examples of incorrect or funny ads?   Please share them here!

Google's Internet Business Model Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Google's Internet Business Model - Term Paper Example Google is presently touted as the "world's best search engine" ("Company Profile"). They pioneered the use of text-based ads with a search engine that has a clean, spartan layout. The creators also devised a system of page ranking that assesses a site's value on the premise that the number of sites pointing to a particular page is an indicator of its importance. This system, coupled with a match to a searcher's text query can give out the most relevant and accurate results. Their innovative take on the search engine is the foundation of their success, and they have branched out to offer a wide array of services. Google's content-based advertising scheme results in a service that accurately zeroes in the appropriate market. This produces a " higher than the industry average " ("Company Overview") click-through rate for their text ads compared to traditional forms of Internet advertising (banners, animation, e-mail, etc.). Their philosophy regarding advertising includes the precept that one "can make money without doing evil" ("Corporate Information"). They maintain that the ads on their results pages can actually "provide useful information" ("Corporate Information") and are only shown on the basis of relevance to the person's query. The company also adopts an unconventional approach to its business model. Instead of promoting their company as a brand, like what their competitors do, their focus is in enhancing the technology of their primary service-that is a faster, easy to use, and effective search engine. Their initial popularity is owed more to word-of-mouth, rather than to marketing and brand promotion. This has enabled them to tap into greater revenue-generating services such as AdWords and AdSense ("Corporate Information").Google proclaims that its company's mission is to provide a superior search engine "organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful" ("Company Profile"). It also projects a relaxed corporate atmosphere which is elucidated by their philosophies such as "work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun" or "you can be serious without a suit" ("Corporate Information").  Ã‚  

Compare one of the two indian captivity narratives, of either mary Essay

Compare one of the two indian captivity narratives, of either mary rowlandson or mary jemison with the film the searchers - Essay Example The story begins when the Jemison was kidnapped from outside her home in Pennsylvania. She did not speak for several days, and the first time she uttered a word, she said â€Å"I want to die† (Jemison 13). After arriving at Fort Duquesne, she again spoke only to tell her captors her name (Jemison 21). However, in the course of her silence, Jemison slowly began to accept the Seneca culture. She began speaking in Seneca language and comforted two sisters who lost their brother in a combat against the English (Jemison 25-6). The two small events started her immersion in the tribe’s culture, and it was even furthered by her marriage to a Delaware member, Sheninjee. She built a family with her spouse, and even before her son Thomas was born, she is almost completely immersed in the Indian-American culture (Jemison 31). She felt contented with her life there, and even when she was widowed, she pursued a second marriage within the tribe, even proclaiming to an escaped slave th at she is â€Å"one of the Indians and she is a Seneca† (Jemison 44).

Position Statement (outline) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Position Statement (outline) - Essay Example II. Another reason for decriminalizing marijuana may be the benefits the government will receive. This is through the amount of capital they might save in terms of the war against drugs. Billions of dollars are used in this expensive battle to catch, prosecute and house those who purchase and sell drugs (Gerber 59). When dealing with marijuana, the costs are soaring high, and it is no more harmful than other regulated drugs. III. There is also the issue of the capital lost in terms of tax collection when it comes to drugs. Revenue lost because the government cannot tax illegal drugs is proving costly in modern day. By decriminalizing marijuana, the government may earn tax revenue from legalizing marijuana than fighting it off the market, losing revenue in the process (Gerber 64). I. The implications of legalizing/decriminalizing marijuana are tremendous. Like anything else legalized in the economy, the government is likely to get involved in the stakes of marijuana production, harvest, and sale. This means that; it would be just like any other drug in the economy at the moment; controlled to profit of a few corporations (Morgan 79). The economy should not be controlled by these few corporations, and neither should the production, harvest, and sale of this drug. II. Just like any other drug, legalizing marijuana may lead to the growth of other trades. Other drugs may make their way into the market, which leads to rise in illegal and illegitimate trade. This implies that, the government might use extra capital annually to fight and combat other drugs off the market (Morgan 98). A. Through decriminalizing marijuana, it is highly likely the revenue a state may receive annually will benefit it tremendously. This is through tax collection, and reduction in costs incurred trying to fight the drug (Gerber 64). B. Decriminalizing marijuana also means the growth of employment opportunities. Many people will get employment through the

The Labour Party and New Labour

The Labour Party and New Labour The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the left in Britain. Its formation was the result of many years of hard effort by working people, trade unionists and socialists, united by the goal of changing the British Parliament to represent the interests of everybody. The labour Party had been a promoter of social democracy. Social democracy is a form of socialism which aims to reform the capitalist system to reduce social inequality and promote social justice. The core values of the social democracy can be seen in the old Clause IV which supported; equality, redistribution of wealth, social justice, nationalisation, full employment and welfare for all. The dominance of the Conservative Thatcher government with its New Right policies in British politics created a situation which made it increasingly difficult for labour to have any credible influence in the running of the country. The Labour party was seen as a spent force, with its tired policies being viewed as irrelevant and out of touch with the modern world. Something had to change ideologically within the party in order for Labour to have any realistic chance of being re-elected in the near future. When Tony Blair was elected the leader of the Labour party on 21 July 1994, the Conservative party had been in power for 15 years. One of Tony Blair statements about the need for modernisation of the party was very upbeat .Writing in the New Statesman, he stated that the reason we have been out of power for fifteen years is simple -that society changed and we refused to change with it(Marxism Today, 1998;p11) In previous general elections the British electorate had chosen to be governed by the Conservative party. Blairs goal was to make the Labour party electable again with the help of his New Labour rebranding. One of the first tasks Blair took was to re-write Clause IV from the Labour constitution in 1995, to eleminate the commitment to common ownership and in effect to the old style social democracy. These were replaced by commitments to the free market, to the environment, to the ending of discrimination and to equality of opportunity for all. New Labour was first termed as an alternative branding for the Labour Party, dating from a conference slogan first used by the Labour Party in 1994 which was later seen in a draft manifesto published by the party in 1996, called New Labour, New Life For Britain. After becoming leader of the party in 1994, Blair made a decisive break away from Old Labours traditional political stance. In policy terms New Labour often refer to themselves as The Third Way between Old Labour, which they believe to be too radical, and New Right which they consider to have been overly concerned by the principle of laissez-faire and individualism. The Third Way sought to find a middle ground between two rather conflicting ideologies. Traditional Socialism proposed collectivist solutions to most economic and social problems: state ownership of the means of production and major industries, an extensive welfare state, strong trade unions and high levels of personal taxation to finance the redistribution of wealth and income. The New Right, on the other hand, championed free market capitalism, the pursuit of individual self interest, a smaller, reduced role for the state, free labour markets and low levels of personal taxation. Debate and questions have been raised about the political nature of the New Labour and Third Way. The core of them is a question if the Labour party has been changed and modernised indeed, or whether New Labour is in fact Old Labour, which had to use prefix new in order to recall the votes and to return in power? The public discussion of this issue become more intense with labours landslide victory in 1997 .In the late 1980,s party went through a process of policy review. This process provoked reactions from many scholars Some critics argue that new labour is indeed new in the one or the other way (e.g. Heffernan, 2001) other state that it does not represent a break with its younger past but remarks a return to an older paradigm of social democracy (e.g. Shaw,1996) Dealing with specific ideological problem two standpoints can be observed. On the one hand ,some scholar define New labour in many ways as Neo-liberals project which is, in many aspect ,similar to Thatcherism (Hay ,1999 : Heffernan 2001,) Others argue that it does not embrace the absolute social-democracy orthodoxy but still belongs to the family of socialist ideas-even if in a more modern way. Some in this group claim that New Labour managed to find the third way indeed: trying to keep balance between economic success and social i nclusion, between market and society (e.g. Giddens 1998; p7-9). One part of the debate consists of discussion if new labour includes renewed ideology or it if it only presents a new image. Tony Blair implied that new labour ideology, instead of giving importance to state control, class struggle and equality as would be the case with Old Labour-gives much importance to a stable and competitive market, social inclusion and the attainment of economic growth. In Blairs words higher educational standard are the key to international competitive and inclusive society for the future (Blair,1998:p18) New labour strategy is not based on class-distinction .different from old labour which is biased in favour of the working instead ,new labour puts forward an all embracing category that focuses on community .The enemies of new labour are no longer portrayed as belonging to the ruling or middle classes, but are those who are portrayed as harming the community . Such findings relate to class identification. Tony Blair famously declared in 1998 that were all middle class now and has consistently maintained that the class war is over those are the old divisions that we need to get over by, for instance, restructuring education and the labour market . For example ,as Blair argued, education is the best economic policy there is(Driver and Martell,1998:p57) New labour seeks to move from a passive to an active, preventive welfare state. The welfare system should be proactive ,preventing poverty by ensuring that people have the right education, training and support. Tony Blair will commit himself to equality, rejecting Old Labour demands for equality of outcome and defining it as equal opportunities for all in education, employment and as citizens. Opportunity for all was indicated as a goal of New Labour with other similar expressions such as fairness, and social justice as well as other concept of objectives were, sometimes, added with it like equal worth in New Labours language. Then what does actually opportunity for all mean in their context? White (1998) argues that it involves a commitment to real opportunity for basic goods such as employment and education. First of all, as Driver Martell (2000) and Fairclough (2000) indicate, opportunity for all contrasted with, traditional socialists value, equality, in particular, equality of outcome. In other words, it shifted the meaning of social justice from equality of outcome to equality of opportunity. Public spending and taxation is one of the areas where the New labour under Tony Blair is most clearly different from old labour. Policies towards state pensions provide a clear example. Many scholars hold that New labour ideology, strategy and policies are adopted by the Conservative Government. Some key parts of its inheritance from the conservative are identified like attempts to control public spending .privatisation, the growth of means testing and the growth of inequality. New Labour has been very enthusiastic towards the voluntary sector just as the Thatcher government embraced the voluntary sector in the name of liberty and enterprise, New Labour has in the name of community renewal and contributory citizenship. New Labours economic policy is built around the consolidation of a close working relationship between the government and employers, where trade union power hardly features. Although economic policy would not be different from the one that Conservatives introduced, some policies like social welfare aspects would be adjusted in such a way that it would be in favour of society for example, giving extra funding for health and education without significant changes to income taxation. There is a stress on discarding the Conservative reforms that failed, but keeping those that worked .New Labour phrase what counts is what works (Powell, 1999) Tony Blair argued that some things the conservatives got right; we will not change them, where they got things wrong that we will make change (Labour Party, 1997) Blairs conservatism is also reflected in his adoption of the language of the new right: Labours policy documents on welfare and poverty are permeated by the notions of welfare dependency, community, family, obligations,,duties and responsibilities. Rights and entitlements to benefits, and decent schools, healthcare and housing hardly feature at all in this perspective. Under slogan of making work pay, it is intended that the minimum wage, and a partial fusing of the tax and benefit system will ensure that people who move from welfare to work should be financially better. The New Deal Policy of welfare-to-work ,The Working Families Tax Credit scheme are clearly set out within New Labours 1997 Election Manifesto and are seen as a key part of New Labours Third Way policy, which is phrased by the acronym PAP (Pragmatism and Populism). In a series of publications from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1998a and 1998b), the Department for Education and Employment (1997), the Department of Social Security (1998) and the Social Exclusion Unit (1998), the institutional structure to progress New Labours urban policy objectives was set out. It was clear from these publications that New Labour saw area-based urban policies as no more than add-ons to mainline policies for housing, health, income support and education. Like Conservatives, Blairs government stressed the interactive nature of urban policy: centrally funded local programmes were set within the wider context of New Labours national programme of social policy reforms in such areas as health, education and the New Deal Welfare for work. In his speech to the 1997 Labour Party conference Blair argued that a decent society is not based on rights. It is based on duty. Our duty to each other. To all should be given opportunity; from all responsibility demanded. There is a pervasive conservatism at the heart of New Labour which forms the basis of Blairs much vaunted vision of a new society. Blair talks of creating a new settlement between the individual and society, wherein the stress on the individual will be accompanied by a new role for social institutions such as family, community and the state. At the forefront of this process is an attack on those on a range of benefits, but this is a wedge to drive a wider agenda of welfare restructuring where we all have the responsibility to provide for our pensions, our healthcare, the education of our children and so on. State provision is to be removed or, at the very least, residualised and stigmatised. This is an agenda to continue with the Tories strategy of privatising what is left of the public sector and cutting the social wage. Although there seems to be a significant continuation of policy in many areas there ate differences as well. The similarities and differences between New Labour and Thatcherism hold varying degrees of importance in these theories. Tony Blair demurred from the Thatcherites in a number of areas, although they were never keen to emphasise them too hard. Unlike her, he wanted a much more cordial relationship with the European Union: unlike her, he wanted a more socially liberal society, and many of his supporters see the introduction of civil partnerships as one of New Labours most enduring changes. Unlike her, he enacted changes to the constitution. Certainly Labours first move was pure free market. The Bank of England gained the freedom to set interest rates and pursue inflation targets. It was bold. Even the Tories had refused to do it, despite pressure from the Adam Smith Institute. The Labour also managed to introduce legislations for Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly and reform House of Lords. Conclusion Although the majority of the policies which have been adopted by New Labour seem to be pushing for a neo-liberal or free market political agenda, it is difficult to collectively identify the party under a single ideological heading, because of the varying political stance it has taken on a range of issues. Furthermore I have explained to what extent New Labours social policies can be considered similar to those pursued by previous Conservative government. In general New labour has a clearly distinctive approach from Old Labour, however some policy adoption can be noted with the Conservatives, particularly in the areas of public expenditure, privatisation, the mixed economy, and welfare-to-work. Bibliography: Atkinson, R. and Moon, G. (1994). Urban Policy in Britain. The City, the State and the Market, Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Blair, T. (1998). The Third Way: New Politics for a New Century London: Fabians Society Blair, T. (1996). New Britain: My Vision of a Young Country. London: Fourth Estate. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1998a: Regeneration Programmes the way forward, London: DETR. Department for Education and Employment, 1997: Welfare to Work Employment Zones. Department of Social Security, 1998: New Ambitions for Our Country: A New Contract for Welfare. London: DSS Giddens, A.(1998). The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press Giddens, A. (2000). The third way and its critics. Cambridge: Polity Press Hay, C. and Marsh, D. (2000). Demystifying Globalisation Basingstoke: Macmillan Heffernan, R. (2001). New Labour and Thatcherism: Political Change in Britain. Basingstoke: Macmillan

Detrimental Aspects of Animal Experimentation Essay -- Animal Rights

An intense and polarizing deliberation concerning the issue of animal experimentation and the utilization in research has been raging for years. This issue often catches newspaper headlines and strikes the heart of the American public. The opinion of advocates of animal research and the opinion of those who oppose it are quite visible in the media. Both sides tirelessly strive in advancing their unique beliefs. So far as this discussion is specifically focused on the attainment of favorable legislation by one side or the other, special interest groups have been formed by both parties in order to sway the legislators and numerous bureaucrats to their desired side. The frequently hostile dispute regarding animal testing has grown since its inception, predominantly as a result of the efforts and actions taken by numerous celebrities and influential activists. One such group that has intensified the dialogue is PETA, people for the ethical treatment of animals. In an effort to att ain the ultimate goal of their organization and fulfill the charter upon which this advocacy group was founded, a number of employees along with the assistance of millions of fellow sympathizers engage in informative and influential campaigns. These campaigns often use provocative operandi as a means of drawing attention to their cause and furthering their agenda. Estimates given by various animal rights organizations and government institutions yield figures that show upwards of fourteen million rats and mice, and nearly one and a half million species of other animals such as cats and dogs are utilized in experimental research on a yearly basis. What, then, does this experimental research encompass? There are in fact two different variations of ... ...roductsonanimals.com/info/draizetest Accessed April 18, 2012. 3. Psychological and behavioural animal experiments and research testing. International Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals Website. 2011. http://www.iaapea.com/psychological_experiments.php Accessed April 16, 2012. 4. Greek R, Greek J. Is the use of sentient animals in basic research justifiable? Phil, Eth & Human In Med. January 2010;5:14-29. DOI: 10.1186/1747-5341-5-14 5. Pycroft L, Marston H. Is animal testing necessary to advance medical research? New Internationalist. July 2011:34-36. 6. James-Enger K. Beyond animal testing. Vegetarian Times. Oct 1998:104. 7. Archibald K. Test people, not animals. New Scientist. Sept 2005: 24. 8. Microdosing: current and the future. Future-Science Website. 2010. http://www.futurescience.com/doi/abs/10.4155/bio.09.177 Accessed April 13, 2012.

Effective communication for and about individuals Essay

Promote effective communication for and about individualsExercise HSC031A) What are the legal requirements on equality, diversity, discrimination and rights, relating to: individuals language and communication preferences?Equal treatment for language and communication. When completing records?As I work within the NHS, the ICU follows the National Institute for Clinical Excellence Equal Opportunities (2000) policy it states that“It is the policy of the Institute to work towards ensuring that no recipient of its services, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of:- age, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, social status, trade union membership” (NICE 2000)This affects communication as it states that we must do everything in our power to provide equal service levels to everyone. For example if a patient speaks a foreign language, there is a communication barrier, so we must provide any information to them in their native language, whether that be through an interpreter or translated leaflets. The trust recognises that promotion and regular communication of the policy is important to ensure that individuals understand their commitment to equal opportunity and are aware of their own responsibility regarding equal opportunities and know how to raise concerns or make complaints and are confident that these will be handled effectively. E) What is the code of practice and standards and guidance relevant to your role, responsibilities and accountability, and duties of others when communicating difficult, complex and sensitive issues and reporting and recording?As a health care assistant the official code of practice and standard that I should follow and understand are laid down by the General Social Care Council in the Codes of practice: for social care workers and employers (2002) this covers most of the core standards which as a care worker I must follow. But I am also under the guidelines set down by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2005). To ensure that I gain the trust of my patients, I should recognise them as equal partners, use language that is familiar to them and make sure that they understand the information you are  giving. As far as record keeping goes, I should make sure that any records I make must be clear, legible and accessible to the patient or client, as outlined by the NMCÂ’s document Standards for Records and Record Keeping (NMC 89346) and under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990). Both these documents state that all communication about patients whether written or verbal are completely confidential. F) Where can you seek advice from regarding an individuals communication and language needs, wishes and preferences?When a patient has communication and language needs the first person I would ask would be the patient, to access for myself the communication needs. I would then look at the patients notes and finally I would ask the staff nurse looking after the patient or the district nurse if they are in the community. If I still need more advice or there are still communication difficulties, I could refer the patient to the speech and language therapy department. If the difficulty is a language barrier I could try to contact a language and interpretation service. It is vital to understand that wherever possible the patientÂ’s wishes should take priority in the decision taking over communication needs. G) How can you and were can you access information and support to update your knowledge and gain further assistance to meet the individuals communication needs. There are several places that you can access information to update your knowledge both on a personal level and on an individual client basis. You can update your communication knowledge by keeping up to date with all the guidelines surrounding communication, such as the journals on new communication methods and studies or spend time with the speech and language therapy unit to improve your communication skills. On an individual client basis, the first place to look for information on  improving your communication with the client is from the client themselves. By checking for responses and reactions, both verbal and non verbal you can judge whether your communication methods are effective. Then to further gain knowledge and understanding, you can refer them to a specialised service to meet their needs depending on what the communication need is. For example there may be a language barrier, in this instance, first see if there are members of family who could translate (where appropriate with patients understanding) as patients often feel more comfortable with a relative translating for them, if this was not available or inappropriate, I would track down the translators service and refer the case to them. H) What are the theories relevant to the following:-Specific conditions in your area of practice that can affect communication skills, abilities. In Intensive care effective communication can be difficult for a number of reasons, they can be environmental problems, physical or mental problems, like the patients consciousness levels could be effected, either drug induced or pathologically based, there may be visual and hearing problems and environmental problems, such as poor lighting or a noisy situation. The patient may not be able to make sense of the communication, they may use a different language or dialect or may not understand the jargon or professional terms used. Many of the patients on Intensive care are heavily sedated, so effective two way communication with then is almost impossible, also most of the patients that are not sedated are on high levels of medication, which can cause drowsiness and confusion. Of the patients that are lucid enough to communicate coherently, the most common communication problems are the problems of those who have ventilation support, either they have a tracheotomy tube in place, which means that air does not pass through the voice box so they have no voice, or they have a BiPAP mask to assist with breathing, which restricts the ability to speak and be heard. How can communication and language differences affect the identity, self esteem and self image of those you work with?“Self-esteem means  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœappreciating your own worth and importance’ – and it helps you to cope better with the challenges of life” (Tracy Turner BBC)In ICU patients that have a Glasgow coma score (GCS) of 14 or 15 and are on little or no sedation, in other words able to understand where they are and what is happening to them. Communication problems can have a huge influence on identity, self esteem and self image. Especially in ICU as the communication difficulties are usually new problems for the patient due to illness and the treatment. For example a person has a tracheotomy, firstly they loose their voice, which many people feel is part of them, it make who they are, so this detracts from self image and identity. But the main factor is that they loose the ability to express themselves with ease, so they can loose self-esteem. One of the major thing is, as they canÂ’t express themselves in the way they are used to, so a person whose self-esteem is low, will tend to feel that what happens to them is beyond their control. Studies have suggests that self-esteem is likely to have a major effect on their mental and physical health. How can power be used to abuse people when communicating on difficult, sensitive and complex issues?One major thing that people with communication difficulties experience, is loss of power. The person/carer who is looking after someone with communication difficulties, whether they be sensory deficits or other difficulties, is that they ( the carer ) is acting as interpreter and has the power to interpret the patients needs and wishes in their own way, even ignoring the persons wishes and carry out tasks that they want to. This is why training is essential for effective two-way communication. An example of this would be the situation of a stroke patient with paralysis down one side, so was unable to feed themselves and has mild dysphasia. In a lot of cases the care giver thinks they know what is best for the patient, with no consideration for the patients wishes, In many cases all the carer wants to do is feed the patient so they have a full diet but the patient may not like the “mashed carrot” but because time is tight and the carer just wants to get the plate cleared, they pretend not to understand the patients attempts to communicate that they would prefer the  Ã‚“mushy peas”. A lot of abuse is not actually intentional, much of this comes from lack of proper communication skills and the carer not taking the time to listen or try to understand the patient. They have a job to do and a set amount of time to do that job in and in most cases think they know what is best for the patient. Often when patients do try to communicate their unhappiness the are treated to a barrage of patronizing ‘awwsÂ’ and ‘come on dears you need to do thisÂ’, orÂ’ arenÂ’t you being silly todayÂ’ almost treating patients like children, they can even be labelled as trouble makers. It is much different for the patient who can communicate fully, they state their discomfort in a clear and concise way, it is much harder to make somebody do something if they say straight out ‘no I donÂ’t like thatÂ’. On ICU the situation is slightly different as a lot of our patients are on medications which will affect their mental capacity and perception so their communication difficulties are harder to resolve. So to determine if someone is of sound mind we use assessment tools to determine how able a patient is to make there own decisions (GCS & Sedation score). I) What factors can affect communication skills, abilities and development of those you support?In the ward environment there are many factors that can affect communication with the patient, they can be broken down into two main categories, environmental factors and personal factors. Trying to talk to someone in a noisy environment where there are continual interruptions leads to frustration, lack of understanding and poor concentration. Similarly individuals are often disinclined to discuss personal information or express strong emotions if they can be overheard or seen. Other environmental factors may relate to time available to talk. Carers often feel under pressure to ‘get the job done’ and their workloads may either inhibit clients ‘I don’t want to bother the nurses they’re so busy’ or result in the carer communicating poorly because of pressure of work. VanCott (1993), Identified some of the personal factors that can effect patient communicationIndividual Carers may lack the knowledge, experience and skills to promote effective communication. Also in health care medical jargon is common, but can appear as a foreign language to someone receiving care. Use of words that are not within the client’s own vocabulary generally results in misunderstandings and poor communication. There is also a tendency to use vague, ambiguous or unclear questions or statements along with failing to verify their own understanding of the other person’s statements. A communication failure that often occurs is completing tasks with little or no explanation behind purpose behind actionsM) What conflicts and dilemmas may be created by difficulties in communication in your workplace?Moving away from patient/career conflict, one of the main sources of conflict in ICU it that of conflict between families and friends and ICU staff. As with any ward and care situation the next of kin debate comes up regularly and what is best for the patient. The law around patient consent and advocacy is a massive topic and very hazy in some areas as to whether the doctor has the right to decide treatment or whether a next of kin should be involved. Also there is visitation rights who can come in and who canÂ’t and who decides. N) What procedures do you follow when dealing with conflict?In most of the cases where conflict arises there are strict procedures to follow this usually means reporting the problem to a higher level of responsibility. A good example of this it the case of Luke Winston-Jones (BBC 2004) there was direct conflict between the doctors and parents over the best case of action for the child. In the end the problem was passed to the highest responsibility the courts. This would be the same in my workplace so far I have only had to report minor conflict up to my line manager. R) What is the difference between factual, opinionated and judgement? Why is this important when completing records?It is important when completing records to only fill in what actually happened or what your clinical  judgement was, not what your opinion is. An example of this would be when documenting what dressing you applied, you would state that in your clinical judgement what the best dressing would be and a factual account of applying that dressing. It is not good practice to document opinions unless your opinion clashed with that of somebody else, then you would state in the records that that was your opinion. A Factual account is something that is known to have happened or to exist, especially something for which proof exists, or about which there is information. Opinionated means having and expressing very strong feelings and beliefs, and believing that your own ideas are the only correct ones. Whereas an opinion is a person’s ideas and thoughts about something. It is an assessment, judgement or evaluation of something. An opinion is not a fact, because it is not possible to prove (or disprove) an opinionJudgement is the act or process of judging; the formation of an opinion after consideration and deliberation especially a formal or authoritative decision

Coffee and Starbucks Background

Fourthly, the threats of substitute product is very likely to be high as coffee, juices, soft drinks, tea and many more can be easily substituted. In the mean time, consumers can also choose to go to pubs and bars and spend their time or to meet up to substituted struck. Lastly, the threat of competitor rivalry of struck in high as there are many presence of strong impetigo with deep pockets like Mcdonald's, coffee beans and dunking donuts. Not forgetting hundreds of small local coffee shops and houses fighting for the same market share. 7.Recommendation Based on the SOOT, PEST and Potter five forces that is conducted, I have made several recommendations. We can use concentric diversification to further expend the firms by making or obtaining new product and services which are related to the business. This is good for the business because it will bring down the cost and the main competencies can be move the the new business. Struck can also choose to use acquisition or restructuring diversification process to purchase other firms Or even merge with other firms to gain market share or even expend into a new market.Struck might also think of using differentiation strategy which involves conveying products and services that customers recognize as unique or special and must be better than what other people are doing in the same market. 8. Conclusion This is the completion of the environment analysis on struck in Singapore that have conducted. All in all with the SOOT analysis proves that struck s a very attractive company and struck is a very experienced company.PEST analysis that is conducted also proves that Singapore is a very safe and reliable country to invest in. Although Potters five forces shows that the industry is not very adjective but it also have some big limitations in today's market environment. Market environment sometimes changes as fast as we can anticipate but Potters five forces and other analysis can only serves as a guide to management to enab le them to think as a beginning for farther analysis. And vie made three suggestions base on all the analysis conducted.

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors By Ali Hale Writing and publishing a book is a huge (and wonderful) undertaking – and you’ll want all the help you can get. There are loads of great downloadable tools out there for book authors, like Scrivener (for writing), Calibre (for producing ebooks) and KDP Rocket (for finding good keywords to use on Amazon). But in this post, I want to focus on online tools – ones that you can use through your web browser. Here are ten of the best, for different stages of your author journey: Tools for Writing and Editing Your Manuscript I’ve already taken a look at some useful tools to help you focus and get your writing done in Top 10 Online Tools for Writers – so here, I want to focus on a couple of tools that will help you edit your book manuscript: #1: Visuwords (free) Do you ever struggle to find the right word? If a traditional thesaurus isn’t helping, try using Visuwords, which shows you the links between different words (including opposites, related topics, and words that derive from your original word). It might just help you find the perfect word or phrase when you’re struggling. The map above shows the word â€Å"anarchy† and related terms. Tip: By running your cursor over a word, you can view a definition – and you can double-click a word to see its related words on your map, too. #2: WordCounter (free), Steven Morgan Friedman It can be tricky to spot which words come up just a little too often in your own writing – but if you keep using the same ones again and again, readers will start to notice. That’s fine if you want to repeat a particular word for effect, but problematic if it’s unintentional. Once you’ve got your list of potentially over-used words, you can do a â€Å"Find† in your document to check each instance and see whether you want to vary it. Here’s a list from my novella-in-progress: (I’m happy with many of those – Flint, Jonathan, Corwin and Ruth are all character names, so it’s perfectly normal that they appear a lot. I suspect I’m using â€Å"go† and â€Å"just† a bit too often, though!) Wordcounter is quite bare-bones, and I found that while it ignores punctuation like commas and periods, it includes quotation marks and apostrophe, meaning that some words will get listed twice, and also occasionally lists some odd words (I apparently have 60 instances of the word â€Å"ey† in my novella, which I haven’t ever used!) Tip: There’s also a WordPress plugin version of the tool, which you might want to use if you’re writing blog posts – either to check for words that you overuse, or to check if you’ve included keywords as much as you wanted to. Tools for Publishing Your Book I’m going to assume here that you want to self-publish your book – so if you’re planning to seek an agent and publisher, you’ll want to skip this section. (However your book is published, though, you’ll find the â€Å"Tools for Marketing Your Book† list useful.) #3: Smashwords (free), Smashwords, Inc Smashwords is a tool for self-publishers to format and distribute their ebook(s) to readers through a variety of different platforms (such as through Apple’s iBooks stores and through the Kobo store.) They offer loads of advice on self-publishing, too, particularly through the Smart Author Podcast. You can also sell books through – and indeed buy books from – Smashwords itself. Most authors, though, use it primarily as an easy way to get their ebook into lots of different online stores. The one big exception is Amazon: you can’t easily get your book onto Amazon through Smashwords. That’s not too much of a problem, though, because Amazon’s own system (KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing) is straightforward and easy to work with. We’re going to cover that in a moment. It’s completely free to create an ebook through Smashwords, but Smashwords will take a small commission on each ebook you sell – and the stores you sell through will also take a cut. Tip: You need to format your manuscript carefully according to theSmashwords Style Guide. If you don’t, it’ll either be rejected, or you’ll find that it comes out looking a bit weird! #4: Amazon KDP (free), Amazon Amazon is the biggest ebook retailer there is and they make it pretty straightforward to add your own ebook to their vast catalogue. You can sign up for KDP using your existing Amazon account (or you can create a new Amazon account). The KDP dashboard allows you to publish (or update) your ebooks and to see reports on your ebook sales. While it’s free to use Amazon’s KDP to publish your work, Amazon will take a fairly hefty cut of everything you sell – paying you â€Å"royalties† out of your book’s cover price. If you price your ebook between $0.99 and $2.98, or above $9.99, you’ll get 35% royalties; if you price between $2.99 and $9.99, you’ll get 70% royalties. (You can’t price an ebook lower than $0.99.) Tip: Before Amazon can pay you, you’ll need to enter your tax information. You don’t need to have this to hand to start selling your ebook(s), though. #5: CreateSpace (free), Amazon While it’s possible to publish a paperback version of your ebook through KDP, CreateSpace is a more established option. (KDP’s paperback publishing is becoming better all the time, though, and you might want to check out this article by Dave Chesson for a side-by-side comparison of KDP Paperback and Createspace.) As with KDP, you can use your existing Amazon details for CreateSpace. You don’t need to pay anything upfront to publish a book through CreateSpace – but you’ll find that the printing costs eat up a fair percentage of the cover price. The paperback version of my novel Lycopolis, for instance, is priced at $12.99 in the US; I get a royalty of $3.32 on each copy sold. Tip: Although CreateSpace offers a â€Å"cover creator† so you can design your own ebook cover, it’s not the greatest tool to work with. If you just want to publish a print version for your personal use, or perhaps to give to a few friends, it’ll do – but I’d avoid using it for a professional-looking book. Tools for Marketing Your Book Once your book is up for sale, the hard work really begins! Marketing a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, is a huge task but these online tools can give you a helping hand. #6: A-FWD (â€Å"Link Globalizer for Amazon Affiliates And Authors†), Woboq If you haven’t already signed up to Amazon’s Affiliate scheme, I highly recommend doing so. You can earn a little extra on books you sell via your affiliate links (and you’ll be able to track how many sales you’re making through your own website, tweets, etc – as opposed to sales you’re getting through other channels). Unless your book is very specific to a particular country, you’ll probably be selling it worldwide, on different versions of Amazon’s site. Ideally, you want potential new readers to land on their version of Amazon. That means using a special link that can direct readers based on their location. And that’s where A-FWD comes in. Just paste in your affiliate link – the full version, not the short one – from your local Amazon, and you’ll get a single link that should direct readers to their Amazon (regardless of whether you have an affiliate account there or not). Tip: If you have affiliate accounts for more than one version of Amazon, make sure you paste those in under â€Å"Tracking IDs† (or you may find that your affiliate sales don’t get counted). #7: WordPress (free), WordPress Foundation At some stage in your author journey, you’re going to want to have a website or a blog. WordPress is a great way to build either. You can opt for WordPress.com aka â€Å"hosted WordPress† (which is easier and cheaper to get started with, but more limited) or WordPress.org aka â€Å"self-hosted WordPress† (which offers lots of flexibility and full control, but has a slightly steeper learning curve and means paying for a domain and hosting up-front). There’s a handy summary of the differences on the WPBeginner.com blog. Keep in mind that you don’t have to blog as an author – you might simply want to use WordPress to create a straightforward websites that showcases your books. Tip: You can set up a completely free blog using WordPress.com, so if you’re feeling a bit daunted by the idea of blogging (or having a website), why not create a â€Å"practice† one so you can try it out? #8: MailChimp, The Rocket Science Group If you read any blogs aimed at book authors, one key piece of advice you’ll come across is to â€Å"create a mailing list†. This allows you to email interested readers who’ve signed up to receive updates from you. You might think you could simply email readers through your regular email account – but this is a really bad idea. First, it means collating email addresses manually, which is an administrative headache. Second, and most importantly, it could easily see you falling foul of laws like CAN-SPAM (in the US) and GDPR (in the UK). There are plenty of online tools, though, that you can use to create an email list: readers can sign up and get added to the list at any time of the day or night, and you can create nicely formatted emails to send them. I’ve chosen MailChimp here as it’s free up to the 2,000 subscriber point but there are plenty of other good options, like Aweber and Constant Contact. Tip: Email marketing, like blogging, can seem very daunting at first. Do give it a try: you can always set up a small mailing list with just yourself (and maybe a couple of willing family members or friends) on it, so you can test out your emails before sending them to readers. #9: Canva (free), Canva You can use Canva to create almost anything that involves images and graphics – from book covers to posters, leaflets, and designs for Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. If you’re not yet at the stage of your author career where you can afford a professional designer, Canva could be a great option for you. There are lots of premade templates that you can use and thousands upon thousands of images – creating the perfect Facebook cover or business card could be just a few clicks away. Note that not but all images are free: you’ll need to pay $1 in order to use some of them. Plus, some of Canva’s features (like being able to use your previous designs as a template) are only available at the premium, paid-for level. Tip: While Canva is a great way to create promotional materials, it’s still a very good idea to go with a professional designer for your book cover itself (unless you’re an artist/designer and know what you’re doing). #10: NovelRank (free), NovelRank LLC NovelRank lets you track your sales across different Amazon sites (.com, co.uk, .fr, etc). It tells you where your book ranks in the charts, estimates sales made, and more. It’s free to use at the basic level – in fact, you don’t even need to create an account if you only want to track one book. Note that NovelRank can only show your sales from the point at which you set it up, as Amazon doesn’t provide historical data. Tip: As well as NovelRank, there are plenty of other tools that offer similar services, like BookCore (which is more basic, but works across multiple platforms). #11: DesignWizard (free with paid features) DesignWizard is another tool you can use to create the graphical assets of your book, including its cover and related marketing material. You will find that it offers virtually all the features of competing solutions while charging a lower price for the premium plans, so it is worth to check it out. I hope you’ll find the above tools helpful in your own journey to publication. Don’t feel that you have to use or even try all of them: pick and choose based on what you need right now, and take things step by step. Best of luck with your book! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words"Certified" and "Certificated"How often is "bimonthly"?