Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Walk On The Wild Side Professor Ramos Blog

Walk On The Wild Side Have you ever heard the expression, don’t judge a book by its cover? You should not base buying a book on just an interesting image on the front of the cover but look at the books description when buying on-line. Jane Friedman a marketing analyst recommends â€Å"an author who wants to sell more books, may want to learn how to advertise through Amazon Marketing Service† (Friedman 52). Marketing tactics and strategies are designed to entice the potential buyer and draw them in to a must have attitude. The authors note is usually infused into the book’s description to give it a sense of credibility and give you a taste of what to expect. Into the Wild was written by Jon Krakauer to unravel the mystery of Chris McCandless’s death after his decomposed body was found in an abandoned bus in Alaska. Those who are interested in finding out what happened to McCandless would be the young men â€Å"who relate to complex bonds between father and son†, people wi th the mindset of wanting to partake in high risk activities or those who just want to simply compare the book to the movie will be lured to the buy of this bestseller (Krakauer 2). The ghost writer’s main focus in the book description is to make the book sound interesting enough to buy it but the writer takes it a step further using rhetoric to appeal to the audience’s emotions through pathos, logos and ethos. The description of Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild conveys a tone of mystery and intrigue, joyfulness, and extreme sadness. Marketing services like Amazon have used marketing strategies to sell books online for many years. The use of rhetorical techniques in the book description of Into the Wild is to entice the consumer to purchase the book but being aware of the different appeals that are used in the book description will help the consumer make a conscientious choice before purchasing the book. The ghost writer uses text from the book, to strategically use pathos to play on the audience’s emotions. In the first paragraph the text appeals to the reader’s sympathy and curiosity, having the reader’s wonder what happened to McCandless so long ago. A mysterious, suspenseful tone describes, a family background, what Christopher did before his death, and how his decomposed body was found. The purpose of this is to draw the reader in and make them aware that the book is based on a true story. This would attract an audience who is interested in reading non-fiction genre, also ignite the curiosity of the reader who may have heard about Christopher McCandless’s death. Therefore, the book would shed some light on what happened. The writer’s gives his thesis stating, â€Å"how McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild†, this confirms the tragic event that had happened to a once promising young man and entices the audience to read a story that they would enjoy and always remember (Amazon.com). The following paragraph introduces factual evidence of McCandless’s life. He is described as â€Å"an educated, young man from a well-to-do family† (Krakauer 1). Leaving behind his family because of issues created by his father, â€Å"he gives away his money to charity, abandons his car in the desert and gives up most of his possession to create a new identity for himself† (Krakauer 1). McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp ventures off into a carefree lifestyle with one thing in mind, to echo his life to his heroes Jack London and John Muir. The text gives substance to Christopher’s character and serves a purpose to intrigue readers with similar ideas of leaving behind the chains of society and vanish into a life of adventure. Glass Stephan wrote in State of Nature that he and his friends â€Å"admired the pure way Alex lived out his wanderlust and desire to be in nature. Briefly he lived my fantasy and dream of leaving New York and living among the caribou† (Glass 42). The author sets a joyous and celebrative tone describing McCandless’s conquest of breaking free from the rules of society, shedding his exterior, and creating a new life for himself through a journey of self-awareness and discovery of one’s own strength and vulnerability. The introduction of Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild, is the focus of the third paragraph. Jon Krakauer being an Academy Award winner in literature, a writer for Outside magazine, and experienced mountaineer gives credibility to the book description. Through his own personal endeavors, he relates to McCandless in a way that allows him to arise like no other to the challenge of telling Christopher McCandless story. According to the writer of the book description Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless’s short life† (Amazon .com). The informal tone suggests the purpose of this part of this introduction to the author is to connect the readers to the author and acknowledge his investigative journalistic skills. The writer writes that â€Å"Krakauer take an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men and the complex charged bond between fathers and sons† (Amazon.com). The impact that ethos has on the audience is quiet alluring. The writer targets a specific group of readers that are be able to relate to Krakauer or who understand to Christopher McCandless’s attraction to the wilderness. In the final paragraph of the book description the writer returns to the use of pathos and appeals to the reader’s empathetic sentiments by humanizing McCandless. The writer uses a sad tone depicting Christopher McCandless as a typical human being who makes mistakes like everyone else, who did not wish to die but simply live his life by his own rules. In the book description the writer states â€Å"when McCandless innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and dismissed for his naivete, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edged† (Amazon.com). The purpose is to persuade the readers to have compassion and feel sympathy for the death of McCandless. The impact on the audience is permanent and those whose curiosity wants to discover what lies in the pages of the book are drawn to the purchase. In summary Amazon Marketing Services helps vendors standout against their competitors and drive traffic to their book description pages. The authors in our textbook claim that â€Å"most of the nonliterary material that you will read is designed to argue, report, or to do both† (Barnet et al.180). The author of the book description for Into the Wild effectively blends rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos and ethos to persuade the audience to buy the book. The book description is directed toward a specific audience. The type of genre and emotional appeal play in an important role in the writing of the book description. Marketing analyst Jane Friedman writes in her article that it is important â€Å"to know enough about your target readers to understand how they discover books to read† (Friedman 52). The incorporation of different tones throughout the book description helped set an emotional mood, delivers facts about McCandless and conveys credibility of the author. The authors of our textbook claim for analyzing a text is to consider â€Å"what appeals does the author make to reason, to emotion and to the sense that the speaker is trustworthy† (Barnet et al.181). The ability of being able to recognize rhetorical strategies used in the book’s description will help the consumer when purchasing their next book online and give them a sense of confidence that they made the right choice for their reading pleasure. WORKS CITED Barnet, Sylvan, et al. From Critical Thinking to Argument. Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017 Friedman, Jane. â€Å"Reducing Marketing Anxiety and Confusion.†Publishers Weekly, vol. 266, no. 4, Jan. 2019, pp. 52–53. Glass, Stephen. â€Å"State of Nature.†New Republic, vol. 218, no. 3, Jan. 1998, p. 42 Into the Wild. Amazon. 20 Jan. 1997, https://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804 Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York, Anchor Books A Division of Random House, Inc,1997. Book Description In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.  Ã‚  How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of  Into the Wild. Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir.  Ã‚  In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his  cash.  Ã‚  He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented.  Ã‚  Craving a blan k spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away.  Ã‚  Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandlesss short life.Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the dries and desires that propelled McCandless.Digging deeply, he takes an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons. When McCandlesss innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naivetà ©, pretensions, and hubris.He is saidto have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandlesss uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity, and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understandingand not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking,Into the Wildis atour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauers storytelling blaze through every page.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Biography of Stephen Hawking, Physicist and Cosmologist

Biography of Stephen Hawking, Physicist and Cosmologist Stephen Hawking (January 8, 1942–March 14, 2018) was a world-renowned cosmologist and physicist, especially esteemed for overcoming an extreme physical disability to pursue his groundbreaking scientific work. He was a bestselling author whose books made complex ideas accessible to the general public. His theories provided deep insights into the connections between quantum physics and relativity, including how those concepts might be united in explaining fundamental questions related to the development of the universe and the formation of black holes. Fast Facts: Stephen Hawking Known For:  Cosmologist, physicist, best-selling science writerAlso Known As:  Steven William HawkingBorn:  January 8, 1942 in Oxfordshire, EnglandParents: Frank and Isobel HawkingDied: March 14, 2018 in Cambridge, EnglandEducation: St Albans School, B.A., University College, Oxford, Ph.D., Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 1966Published Works:  A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, The Universe in a Nutshell, On the Shoulders of Giants, A Briefer History of Time, The Grand Design, My Brief HistoryAwards and Honors:  Fellow of the  Royal Society, the  Eddington  Medal, the Royal Societys Hughes Medal, the  Albert Einstein  Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Member of the  Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Wolf Prize in Physics, the Prince of Asturias Awards in Concord, the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, the Michelson Morley Award of Case Western Reserve University, the Copley Medal of the  Ro yal SocietySpouses: Jane Wilde, Elaine MasonChildren: Robert, Lucy, TimothyNotable Quote: â€Å"Most of the threats we face come from the progress we’ve made in science and technology. We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we must recognize the dangers and control them. I’m an optimist, and I believe we can.† Early Life Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxfordshire, England, where his mother had been sent for safety during the German bombings of London of World War II. His mother Isobel Hawking was an Oxford graduate and his father Frank Hawking was a medical researcher. After Stephens birth, the family reunited in London, where his father headed the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research.  The family then moved to St. Albans so that Stephens father could pursue medical research at the nearby Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill. Education and Medical Diagnosis Stephen Hawking attended school in St. Albans, where he was an unexceptional student. His brilliance was much more apparent in his years at Oxford University. He specialized in physics and graduated with first-class honors despite his relative lack of diligence. In 1962, he continued his education at Cambridge  University, pursuing a Ph.D. in cosmology. At age 21, a year after beginning his doctoral program, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as motor neuron disease, ALS, and Lou Gehrigs disease). Given only three years to live, he has written that this prognosis helped motivate him in his physics work. There is little doubt that his ability to remain actively engaged with the world through his scientific work helped him persevere in the face of the disease. The support of family and friends were equally key. This is vividly portrayed in the dramatic film The Theory of Everything. The ALS Progresses As his illness progressed, Hawking became less mobile and began using a wheelchair. As part of his condition, Hawking eventually  lost his ability to speak, so he utilized a device capable of translating his eye movements (since he could  no longer utilize a keypad) to speak in a digitized voice. In addition to his keen mind within physics, he gained respect throughout the world as a science communicator. His achievements are deeply impressive on their own, but some of the reason he is so universally respected was his ability to accomplish so much while suffering the severe debility caused by ALS. Marriage and Children Just before his diagnosis, Hawking met Jane Wilde, and the two were married in 1965. The couple had three children before separating. Hawking later married Elaine Mason in 1995 and they divorced in 2006. Career as Academic and Author Hawking stayed on at Cambridge after his graduation, first as a research fellow and then as a professional fellow. For most of his academic career, Hawking served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a position once held by Sir Isaac Newton. Following a long tradition, Hawking retired from this post at age 67, in the spring of 2009, though he continued his research at the universitys cosmology institute. In 2008 he also accepted a position as a visiting researcher at Waterloo, Ontarios Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. In 1982 Hawking began work on a popular book on cosmology. By 1984 he had produced the first draft of  A Brief History of Time, which he published in 1988 after some medical setbacks. This book remained on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for 237 weeks. Hawkings even more accessible A Briefer History of Time was published in 2005. Fields of Study Hawkings major research was in the areas of theoretical cosmology, focusing on the evolution of the universe as governed by the laws of general relativity. He is most well-known for his work in the study of black holes. Through his work, Hawking was able to: Prove  that singularities are general features of spacetime.Provide  mathematical proof that information which fell into a black hole was lost.Demonstrate  that black holes evaporate through Hawking radiation. Death On March 14, 2018, Stephen Hawking died in his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76. His ashes were placed in London’s Westminster Abbey between the final resting places of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Legacy Stephen Hawking made large contributions as a scientist, science communicator, and as a heroic example of how enormous obstacles can be overcome. The  Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication is a prestigious award that recognizes the merit of popular science on an international level. Thanks to his distinctive appearance, voice, and popularity,  Stephen Hawking is often represented in popular culture. He made appearances on the television shows The Simpsons and Futurama, as well as having a cameo on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993. The Theory of Everything, a biographical drama film about Hawkings life, was released in 2014. Sources â€Å"Stephen Hawking.†Ã‚  Famous Scientists.Redd, Nola Taylor. â€Å"Stephen Hawking Biography (1942-2018).†Ã‚  Space.com, Space, 14 Mar. 2018.â€Å"Stephen William Hawking.†Ã‚  Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Cheerleading Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cheerleading Practice - Essay Example Although it was difficult to catch up with the professionals, I poured my heart and soul into the routines and quickly caught on. I continued to dance through the pain in the hope that I was strengthening the muscles around the injury. As time passed, I was asked to audition for Atlantic Art’s dance company and was accepted into a family of incredibly talented dancers. The company included me in a great number of shows, community service opportunities, competitions, and theater projects. Over the years, I traveled to New York for Youth American Grand Prix and competed against ballet dancers from all over the world, danced in The Rock School of Pennsylvania and the Orlando Ballet School. The proceeding years I traveled back to New York, performed in the famous Broadway show ‘Wicked’.   Today, after almost six years, my back does not bother me anymore. I believe dancing has helped my mind and body overcome the obstacles that my cheerleading accident caused.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Recognition of the Teaching Profession Coursework

Recognition of the Teaching Profession - Coursework Example Certain jobs earn a lot of money even though they have greater value in society such as entertainment, athletes and many others. However, teaching jobs earn a mere fraction of that amount and yet they are the main contributors to high-quality education. Teachers are the key pillars of a sound and progressive society because they are the main source of knowledge and values to everyone pursuing a different career; hence, they should get higher pay.Teachers perform varied roles in their professional duties, thus teaching is one of the significant roles of a teacher in the learning environment. It includes planning, preparing lessons or courses, assessing students, recording, and reporting on the progression of students. A teacher is required to teach according to the education needs of their students including setting examinations and marking the work of students. Other activities include promoting the general well-being and progress of students in the class, offering guidance and couns eling to students on education or social matters, managing or coordinating, as well as, communicating effectively with the school authorities. Moreover, the value of teachers is based on the contributions that they make to learning or studies of their students. The teacher is a source of information, motivator, character builder and mentor; thus, he or she should act as a role model to the students. This is imperative because teaching is a profession that always demands additional value in order to meet the future demands of learners. Therefore, the value of teaching is that it molds the moral and ethical behaviors of students by preparing them towards a successful life in the future.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The character of Blanche Dubois Essay Example for Free

The character of Blanche Dubois Essay Explore the ways in which dramatic ways in which Williams presents the character of Blanche Dubois in a streetcar named desire. Tennessee Williams presents Blanche Dubois as Stellas older sister, until recently a high school English teacher. She arrives in New Orleans as a chatty, witty, arrogant, fragile, and ultimately breakdown figure. From the beginning of the play, the character of Blanche is depicted as a very shy character. The setting and talk of the other characters help illustrate the contrast between the arrival of the Blanche, the southern, old-fashioned belle and New Orleans, a very cosmopolitan place at the time. It is a bustling, busy, hectic city. Negro entertainers at a bar room around the corner. Race is less of an issue here then it was in the rest of the U. S at the time, and it is really publicized at the beginning of the book with a white woman (who we find out is called Eunice) and a negro woman. It is accentuated by the fact that the women are talking comfortably to each other, no sense of tension can be found during their speech. Soon enough, Blanche arrives, and the stage directions and her facial expressions give us an immediate idea of what kind of person she is. Her appearance is incongruous to this setting She looks incredibly out of place in this rough surrounding, in her dainty white dress. As the stage directions put it: There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes that suggests a moth A moth is delicate and fragile, which is what Tennesse Williams is trying to get at when comparing her to a moth. The light, which Blanche shuns away from, makes the reader feel that she is very pure, white, the colour used suggests a virgin. We can tell she has put a lot of effort into her looks and appearance and seems very well off in the clothes she is wearing. She is daintily dressed in a white suits with a fluffy bodice ,necklace and earrings of pearl All this suggests that this well off, well dressed, delicate and fragile women is very out of place in these rough, mean streets of New Orleans. Tennese Williams then goes onto show, that our first impressions of Blanche are perfectly correct, she seems faintly hysterical and distressed when she speaks, due to the fact that she cannot believe that her little sister is living in such surroundings. She enters the house, after finding out that this is the correct address, and sits down in her sisters kitchen in a stunned state. This is where we learn that Blanche is from an aristocratic background, the name Dubois is originally French, and so her ancestors must have been French immigrants. She is unused to the negro woman being so close and friendly to her and finds is unsettling and rather rudely shoves her away. What I meant was Id like to be left alone The next actions Blanche make, have a deep impact on our perspective of Blanches character, not only is she a drinker, but it seems like she is an alcoholic, and a heavy one at that. She pours half a tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down After the two sisters meet up again, from Blanches speech, we learn that she still treats Stella like her little sister, talks to her in a very patronising way, almost as though she is trying to relive, or recount on past days. Oh, my baby! Stella! Stella! Stella for a star! Precious lamb! Another important part of the play is when she lies, she pretends to look for an alcoholic beverage, knowing where it actually is. She pretends to her sister, lying that its her first and that shes not an alcoholic. From her actions, we can she that Blanche is highly strung up, shes very nervous, anxious and worried. Their conversation eventually leads to talking about the house, which she describes as something out of an Edgar Allen Poe horror book, although it shows her having a good education (shes an English teacher after all), Blanche isnt very tactful at all. If its on her mind, she will say it, without any consideration to the person it may be offending. Tennessee Williams, in the first 11 pages, has given us a glance into the fragile life of Blanche Dubois, as a main character, she will have an important part to play, what that part is we will have to wait a see.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

My Story :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Story Early in the morning, twenty four years ago on the twelvth day in the month of July, a baby boy was born at St. Mary's hospital in Athens, Georgia. The Pollock household of three had grown by one. Jennifer, the new boy's three year old sister, had already named him. The new boy was to be called Jody Lamon Pollock. Jody was the name she picked, and Lamon was the mother's father's name. So this is how I came to be Mr. Jody Lamon Pollock. My parents both grew up in a small south Georgia town called Pelham. My mother, Nancy, was the daughter of a farmer and a seamstress. She was the oldest of four girls. My father, Howard, was also the son of a farmer and a house wife. My dad was the ninth of eleven children. Mom and dad were high school sweethearts through out their high school days. They got married August 15, 1971. They will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this next month. My father started working for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) when he graduated high school. My father nor my mother attended college. The USDA moved my parents all around the state for the next couple of years until they finally ended up in Jefferson, GA where they have been ever since. My mom landed a job as a secretary at the First National Bank of Jackson County when they first moved here. Since then she has worked her way up through the ranks by hard work and perseverance where she is now the Senior Vice President of Regions Bank. I have only one sibling as I mentioned earlier. Jennifer, who is three years older than I am. She graduated from Jefferson High School. She has since earned an Associate Degree from Gainesville Community College and is also employed by Regions Mortgage. In April of 1995 she married Jon Ray and they continue to reside in Jefferson, Georgia.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Cinderella Trend Analysis

Cinderella, directed by Clyde Geronimi, is a movie about a pretty girl who has been made a servant by her ugly stepmother and stepsisters, and deserves a better life. Cinderella is the fairy tale basis for all other movies, in which the underdog prevails against all odds. Ever After, directed by Andy Tehnant, is a movie based on Cinderella. Besides some differences in characters and a change in setting, it has the same good beats evil concept. Maid in Manhattan directed by Wayne Wang is a newer version. It brings motherhood and a difference in ethnicity to the table. Although the servant girl also prevails in this newer version, she does so by working hard at her job and keeping her independence. The article, â€Å"Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality†, by Catherine Orenstein, is about the non-realistic fairy tales that media today still displays. Between picking bachelors and winning game shows, these unrealistic shows give people false perceptions. â€Å"Commercialism, Materialism, and the Drive to Fulfill Beauty Ideals in the United States† by Katie Hickey, is an article that discusses some of the media affects on girls. All of these sources deal with the trend of girls trying to become the perfect image. During the process of idealizing the perfect image, many girls suffer psychological problems with themselves and their own body image. Since the times when artists inaccurately drew their models to create a more appeasing painting, the media has always touched up women. This trend is demonstrated from paintings, magazines, fairy tales, and television. Shows like â€Å"The Bachelor† and â€Å"Joe Millionaire† demonstrate how easily won over a man can be by a simply beautiful woman. Many of the women are far from intelligent but one standard to be a participant seems to clearly be looks. From Katie Hickey's article, â€Å"women stare at beautiful female faces out of aesthetic appreciation, to look for potential tips-and because a beautiful woman could be a rival worth monitoring†. Women in media almost always measure up to the physical perfection standard. Because of this, competition also is a motive in this trend. People learn from fairy tales that if a prince gets a choice between two women, he will pick the most attractive one. This is true for everyone and is pure genetics. One of the first lessons taught is to not judge from the outside, but that it is what’s inside that counts. Realistically, first impressions are mostly visual and make huge impacts. People understand this and go to the media to know what they are supposed to look like. Causes that lead this trend to continue are mostly pressure from expectations of society. Media, advertising, and fairy tales people grow up with, all play a role. In Ever After, Jacqueline is treated worse than her sister is because their mom believes she could not possibly have a chance with the prince. Margaret, however, is displayed as a petite figure with blue eyes and blonde hair while her sister is thicker in size with black hair and brown eyes. Margaret gets special treatment and the adoration of her mother while Jacqueline, at one point, even gets chores thrown at her like she is a servant. Again, in Cinderella, the stepsisters are portrayed as ugly and deviant without a chance at the prince. Cinderella on the other hand, is petite, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and although she is deviant, viewers long her to win the prince’s heart. She lies just as much as the stepsisters but has more of a chance at the prince because the charming prince could only want a charming wife. When young girls grow older, they drop the fairy tale role models and move on to models that are more realistic; the ones on television that are lean, mean, dieting machines. Mothers always tell their daughters not to idolize models because the magazines use effects and touch-ups to create their beauty. Although this is true, those models are still something to compare to and thus still create a competition atmosphere. They are the ones that create the fashion, hair, and make-up fads. They are the ones people read about getting thinner and getting plastic surgery. Why should advertisers stop this? After all, â€Å"In 2006 alone, the top 20 global beauty companies accumulated one hundred and four billion in sales† (Hickey). Television is broadcasted for one thing and that is to sell. As long as people are willing to buy, these media messages will not be stopped. The social impact of this trend is the growing amount of girls and women with bulimia, anorexia, drugs, and plastic surgery. With the perfect bodies and models in majority of the media, the next step for the women around the world is a quick and easy way to have the same image. With new technology, there is more and more ways to quickly change your body, many being in unhealthy ways. †According to a survey, sixty-seven percent of women in the U. S. between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five are trying to lose weight. Fifty-three percent of these sixty-seven percent are already at a healthy weight and are continuing to try to lose more† (Hickey). In Maid in Manhattan, Marisa Ventura does not get noticed in her aid uniform. It takes her dressing up in expensive clothing to get a man to notice her. This is the same in Cinderella and Ever After. Not only do the men not notice the underappreciated women, but when they find out the women are lower class, the men are furious and appalled. The message that is getting across to women is if you are not naturally a Cinderella, change yourself to become what society expects to be able to be saved by prince charming. The pressures of media and of having a perfect body image can cause psychological problems to many. When young girls grow up reading fairy tales and happily ever afters, the princess who prevails is clear to them. As girls get older, this trend does not go away, it only changes idols. Pressures of the media, friends, and even pressures of one’s own standards can cause things like bulimia, anorexia, or the rise in plastic surgery. This will also cause many health problems to more and more girls at strikingly younger ages. Self-esteem can also be lowered when constantly comparing one’s self to the high standards the media feeds us. This trend is likely to continue because of advertising, and expectations of society.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Foxconn

Just when positive news about Foxhound's efforts in improving the working conditions of its Sheehan factories for the workers and increasing wages was heard this year, the worker's riots in September 23, 2012 at the Foxhound's Taiwan (Shania) factory sparked another global outcry (Roberts, 2012). Foxing is a multinational company based in Taiwan and is one of the world's largest electronics manufacturing company. One of the major clients of Foxing is Apple; others include Sony and Hewlett Packard (Wisped, 012).According to reports by China Labor Watch (201 2), some of the unfair treatment and exploitation carried out by Foxing factories in China include â€Å"excessive overtime hours, forcing workers to work ‘voluntary overtime, maintaining an extremely high level of work intensity by setting the daily production quotas, exercise discrimination by hiring only young and healthy workers, and creating a system in which official resignation is nearly impossible and the only way ou t is to ‘voluntarily/ resign hence forfeiting a significant amount of their final wages (China Labor Watch, 2012).Due to increasing pressures from the media coverage of the suicide cases of its workers and from its image-conscious client (Apple Inc), it was claimed that Foxing had made efforts to improve working conditions by increasing wages of workers and instituting a program called â€Å"Care-Love† (Northern, Culpa and Ghent, 2011). However, after Foxhound's suicide incidents subsided, in 23 September 201 2, it was announced that Foxing Taiwan factory had to shut down production for the day due to rioting of the workers. The event involves around 2000 workers, with more than 40 hospitalized.It was reported that he riot was sparked off by a dispute between two workers, but most likely due to tensions between the guards and workers (Roberts, 2012). This was because the originally insignificant argument between the workers escalated into a riot involving the collective rebellion of thousands of workers only after the security guards of Foxing interfered aggressively with force, causing the situation to get out of hand to the point of requiring 5000 policemen to be dispatched to control the angry workers (Pilling, 2012).This riot has raised concerns about Foxhound's harsh and heavy-handed ways in managing the errors as mentioned by Geoffrey Charcoal, Research Director at Hong Songs China Labor Bulletin. It was reported that the guards constantly monitored the workers closely and spoke fiercely to them in an authoritative manner. There were no communication between the workers and guards, whereby the workers were expected to follow orders and rules without knowing the reasons (Roberts, 2012).Also, the workers work long hours and sleep in dormitories with poor conditions (Ho and Culpa, 2012). It was suspected that the Foxing Taiwan factory workers were forced to work overtime hours to et up with the production due to the recent launch of Apple's pho nes (Pilling 2012). According to a worker interviewed, it was known that Foxing has shifted its production of phones to the factory in Taiwan (Ho and Culpa, 201 2) and its Sheehan factories were now focused on product development (Roberts, 2012).Hence, it seems like though Foxing did improve the situation in its Sheehan factories, its efforts were only limited to the two factories in Sheehan and the other in Changed that were under inspection by Fair Labor Association and under extensive media coverage, hill neglecting its other factories distributed around China. Foxing has around a million workers working in its 13 factories in China (Yen, 2012) and has been expanding its factories into provinces located in the interior of China such as Taiwan, Squeezing, Human and Cocooning (Roberts, 2012).The shift in production may be because labor is about one-third cheaper in inner provinces of China (Northern, Culpa and Ghent, 2011 Sociological Interpretations for the Foxing Worker Riots The workers' riots in Foxing Taiwan factory could be understood from many perspectives, however it all boils down to modernization and capitalism which gave rise to a complex division of labor with an exploitative nature. It all started the rise of a new international division of labor, one that was characterized by the relationship between post-industrial nations and newly industrialized nations, based on exploitation (Serene, 2006).In fact, according to Marxist theory, the underlying logic of capitalism is exploitation (Howard, 2002). While capitalists (owners of production) compete to stay competitive and to achieve the most profit, workers compete to offer the cheapest labor possible, often driven to the level of subsistence. This IS because in this global ere market economy, it is determined based on the survival of the fittest. When there are winners, there will always be losers.We can view this international division of labor as a cycle in which on one side post industrial natio ns continuously experience wealth accumulation through the services and investments they provide via products manufactured with minimum cost, while on the other side the newly industrialized nations are continuously being exploited through their provision of cheap labor and resources (Serene, 2006). However, nations are also interdependent based on modernization and dependency theories.Modernization theory states that â€Å"modernity is needed for the economy to prosper and thus nations need modern technology to break out of poverty† (Serene, 2006). Developing nations need to open up and welcome foreign capital into their market as they will bring in the needed expertise and necessary technology to prosper. Thus, newly industrialized nations compete to attract transnational companies to invest and set up factories in their nations. However, these means offering the cheapest labor possible.At the same time, dependency theory states that the poorer and newly industrialized nati ons were pendent on the post industrial nations, as they brought jobs needed for survival and capital to drive the economy, which also brought domination and exploitation (Serene, 2006). Hence, based on the case in the previous section, it can be interpreted from this international division of labor that Apple Inc seems to be the biggest winner, while Foxing is second to it and the major losers would be the China workers. Apple is the capitalist owner that owns and controls all the products under its brand such as phone 5.In order to achieve the greatest efficiency and lowest production cost, Apple adopts the dead of outsourcing based on the division of labor and national specialization, whereby every an phone is actually a global effort (Serene, 2006). E. G. The phones start out being developed and designed by Apple engineers in California, the sourcing of the components and materials stretch out to different parts of the world, using parts from nine major suppliers in five countri es and then assembled by Foxing in China (The Straits Times, 2012). Thus, Foxhound's role is simply just one of the manufacturers employed by Apple to assemble its products.Apple has the biggest share of the profits, to Foxing. Whereby Apple is the overarching power, dominating Foxing, in turn Foxing dominates the workers due to pressure from Apple to meet production demands and cost budget. In the case illustrated, the workers in Foxing Taiwan factories were rushing out the phones for Apple, due to increasing popularity leading to increasing demands since the launch of the phones. With the market mechanism driven by demand and supply, Apple had to keep up with the demands of their products by producing enough supply.Foxing had no choice but to exploit its workers by making them ark overtime hours of almost 80 hours per month, past the legal limit of 36 hours with hourly wage of around 1 Euro (Deutsche Well, 201 2), and workers were required to sign an overtime working agreement pri or to employment that claims that Foxing is not responsible for their long hours of working. This voluntary agreement was actually used to overrule Chinese State regulation (Change, 2010). The reason was due to the competitive nature bred in the capitalist system and free market economy.Adam Smith mentioned that competition drives efficiency, but Marx also mentioned that capitalism reared a continual crisis of profit for owners (Serene, 2006). Indeed, due to increasing competition from competitors such as Samsung, rising up with its Samsung Galaxy SO, Apple felt the pressure to speed up its productivity' and at the same time maintaining the affordability Of its products. Like all Other multinational corporations, Apple is constantly in search for manufacturers that would allow it to incur the lowest cost. Hence, if Foxing proved to be no longer competitive in offering the lowest manufacturing cost, it will soon be replaced.Driven by competition and desire for profit too, Foxing had to maintain business contacts with Apple and remain attractive to investors and outsourcing companies by constantly relocating its factories to cheaper venues once wages cost too high, even if it means exploiting the workers in order to stay viable. This is because it was either Foxing passing the cost of the products on to the customers like Apple which obviously will deter them away, resulting in loss of profits, or Foxing trying to reduce the cost of the product.Hence, since most production cost including distribution and physical materials are rather inelastic, the only way was to reduce manufacturing costs and this was passed on to the workers meaning lesser wages with more work done (China Labor Watch, 2012). Next, this brings us to the role of the newly industrialized countries (Nick) in this international division of labor, countries that actually compete to attract these capitalists like Apple and Foxing, to relocate their manufacturing plants in their countries with abunda nt cheap labor. One of the Nick would be China.We can try to understand this worldwide competition to be driven by the idea of comparative advantage introduced by David Richard (Serene, 2006). After China's communist leader, Eden Ixia Ping launched the open door policy in China (Chance, 201 0), China obviously had a comparative advantage over the other countries with its huge supply of low cost and unrecognized peasant workers, due to the introduction Of the household based contract system (Stating Launch Changeable Zeroing) that allowed millions of peasant workers from the rural areas to work in urban factories set up by transnational companies (Chance, 2010).China joined in the global competition characterized by the phenomenon â€Å"race to the bottom† (Serene, 2006), gather with other countries to compete to offer the lowest labor cost possible. That was also the start of the widespread labor exploitation in China by the multinational corporations (Macs). Like the other M acs, Foxing saw China's abundant cheap labor attractive. Foxing Taiwan factory is just one of the many factories Foxing has in China.According to dependency theory, China allowed Foxing to exploit its workers as the state depended on Foxing to create jobs. This can be understood with modernization theory too, whereby Foxing locating their factories in China ill bring in the technology needed to modernize, income to the state through taxation, and create jobs for their people who will help drive their economy. Modernization and dependency tend to happen side by side (Serene, 2006).Hence, the dependency between the state of China, Foxing and Apple in the division of labor as explained above and the competitive nature of the capitalist system adopted throughout the world, resulted in exploitation of the workers in Foxing Taiwan factory to be an inevitable consequence of the free market economy. Exploitation led to build up pressure in the workers causing them to riot. This can be under stood from Marxist theory of rising class consciousness (Serene, 2006).Capitalism resulted in growing divide among the people between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the people that own and control production and those who could only obey orders silently. Hence, there was a class division in Foxing itself, a division between the exploited workers and the managers, supervisors, guards and all those who have control over the workers. These workers felt oppressed. Their every action was monitored closely by the guards who often use violence on them if they did not obey the ales and orders (Ho and Culpa, 2012).The manager criticized those that too slow and did a bad job, however good performance was never praised. Hence, workers knew they would never advance no matter how hard they work. There was no freedom of speech, only obedience. There was even a slogan hung on the factory walls, â€Å"Outside the laboratory, there is no high technology, there is only obedie nce and discipline† as a kind of corporate culture Foxing promote (Deutsche Well, 2012). However, the workers did not quit their jobs due to their position as vulnerable deskilled workers which an be understood from Marxist theory (Serene, 2006).They worked up to a minimum of 10 hours a day on their routine monotonous work at high intensity, only stopping to eat and sleep (Change, 2010). Overtime, their deskilling work makes them vulnerable as they were easily replaced. Thus, the workers were willing to get exploited rather than lose their jobs. The heavy staff turnover also makes long-lasting relationships impossible, their whole day were spent on nothing but working, left with no time to socialize at all. They came from rural parts of China and live in the on-site dormitories, far away from their families.With no social safety net, these workers have no place to turn to if they lose their jobs which makes them even more vulnerable and manipulative by the capitalists. The ass embly-line work had slowly euthanized the workers (Ramey, 2010). Slowly, a sense of alienation was developed in the workers (Serene, 2006). While the cost of living had increased, their income only managed to increase slightly. The Foxing workers were working on parts of the phone that meant nothing to them as they could not afford them at all.Overtime, these alienated and oppressed workers felt greater solidarity as they belonged to the same exploited class. It was a sense of organic solidarity among the workers, according to Druthers (Serene, 2006). At the same time, with the increased influence of communication devices, social media and increased level of education, there was growing awareness of the better lifestyle richer people around China and other parts of the world led, causing a build-up of dissatisfaction and increased class consciousness.The young workers in Foxing were generally better educated; hence they were more aware and assertive of their rights and had higher ex pectations for work (Roberts, 2012). All these feelings within he workers had contributed to the riot on 23 September 2012. When the guards of Foxing Taiwan factory used force to attempt to control the workers' dispute, it led to the outburst of the growing dissatisfaction of the workers with more than 2000 workers joining in to rebel (Ho and Culpa, 2012).Recently, there had been news that another 3,000 – 4,000 workers were involved in a strike in Foxing Squeezing factory on 5 October, 201 2, Friday afternoon. The reasons were suspected to be due to the unhappiness from the â€Å"over-exacting quality controls and demands to work through the week- Eng National Day holidays† (Reuters, 2012). Hence, it seems like it is evident that there is a growing class consciousness among the Foxing workers due to reasons as explained above. Also, probably due to uprising of riots in China that made them feel embolden and the need to rise up using collective efforts to make their rig hts known.Globalization and the Widespread Exploitation of Labor in China Globalization has allowed the boundaries of national borders to be broken down, it was no longer about individual states, and instead they have integrated into one single global economy (Chance, 2010). The resultant effect was that the global economy has divided the world into only TV classes. The powerful core, made up of wealthy nations, the state government, transnational companies that continuously experience wealth accumulation, and the neglected periphery, made up of struggling poor nations and the working class people who are exploited by the powerful core (Serene, 2006).With this phenomenon, the people could no longer find themselves being protected by the state, because in this global economy, there are only two choices: to be neglected at the periphery or to join the powerful core. Hence, with globalization and the widespread capitalism, the states have decided to join the powerful core with the othe r elites, helping the multinational companies fulfill their insatiable greed for profit, in turn helping themselves fulfill their own needs and wants, ultimately for profit too.The widespread exploitation of the China workers in Foxing all boils down to the state of China being in cahoots with Foxing to fulfill their greed for profits in this one big global economy. Hence, there is a high possibility that the problem lies in the ineffective enforcement of law by the authorities in China. The reason behind this conclusion is the question of why the state did nothing to stop the exploitation of its people, despite being aware of the situation and why no one had successfully filed a lawsuit against Foxing (Yen, 2012).China adopts a socio-political system incorporating ideas of the capitalist system, free market system and party-state authoritarianism; with different government branches integrated together to ensure the centralization of power. This is to enable easy penetration into th e judicial system to undermine justice. Hence, it is not possible for checks and balances ender the centralized system China creates, which makes it very convenient for the authorities who have close relationship with Foxing to manipulate according to their benefits (Yen, 2012).Apteral, China would not hope to force Foxing to retreat from China with all its factories and investments, when Foxing is such a major taxpayer to China and that would mean that more than a million of its people working in these Foxing factories will be unemployed. However, there is the possibility that the exploited workers could harness the power of globalization, to effectively utilize the influence of he new media to let their situation and rights be known.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

BNZ Situational Analysis Essays

BNZ Situational Analysis Essays BNZ Situational Analysis Essay BNZ Situational Analysis Essay There are 4. 42 million people living in New Zealand, and over 470,000 enterprises operating in New Zealand, which means their potential market size is very large. Competitive Environment The main competitors of the BENZ are Kickback, Western, ANZA and ASP. There are other smaller banks in New Zealand but these are their main competition. Kickback is 100% New Zealand owned and operated, while the BENZ is part of the National Australia Bank group. Customers may feel more comfortable banking with an entirely New Zealand owned business. Western offers free workshops on managing money to their customers. Customers who do not have good skills in managing their money may be more inclined to bank with Western because they offer this service. ANZA offers bonus bonds, which give New Slanderer a unique way to save and a chance to win cash prizes. Macro-Environment (PEST) Technological Environment: Technology is constantly evolving. This gives BENZ the opportunity to gain competitive advantages over their opposition by developing and expanding their services. Due to the increased ownership of smartness and tablets, consumers have become more reliant on Internet banking and mobile banking APS. Political Environment: The BENZ is registered as a bank under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The Act gives the URBAN the powers to register and supervise banks for the purpose of promoting the maintenance of a sound efficient financial system and: avoiding significant damage to the financial system that could result from the failure of a registered bank. This means they can legally operate as a bank in New Zealand. Economic Environment: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has put restrictions on lending to customers who have a Loan to Volume Ratio (LIVER) of over 80%. This means homebuilders with a deposit of less than 20% will find it difficult to get loan. TOWS Analysis Threats Competitors. There are other large banks operating within New Zealand. These other banks are constantly competing to attract customers by offering them the best deals and other products that may set them apart from the BENZ. Restrictions on LIVER. Due to a recent change in law, banks are only allowed to have a certain percentage of their loans on a high LIVER which could lead to a reduction in home loans as due to rising house prices many people cannot afford a large deposit on a home. A deduction in home loans could potentially lower the banks profit. Opportunities Technological Advances. Technology is evolving quickly and people are becoming more reliant on it. The BENZ have one of the top Internet banking systems and mobile phone banking APS, Younger. Technological advances give the BENZ the opportunity to build on these products and look into developing new, innovative banking APS which could potentially give them an advantage over their competitors and attract more technology as. N. Y customers. An ever-increasing labor force. The growing labor force provides a greater potential customer base. Weaknesses The BENZ are not 100% New Zealand owned and operated . The BENZ is part of the National Australia Bank Group. Customers may feel hesitant about banking with a bank that is not entirely New Zealand owned. Strengths They are a trusted NZ bank with a large customer base . The BENZ have a large number of loyal customers who can potentially attract more customers to the BENZ; parents who are customers may open up an account for their children or tell other family members or friends about their positive experience banking with BENZ. They have an advanced and easy to use Internet banking system. The BENZ has recently created Younger, an Internet banking programmer that works like your brain does. This gives them an edge over their competitors, and is likely to attract students, workers and other people who rely on Internet banking. They are an environmentally friendly business. The BENZ places a large focus on the sustainability of their business and pride themselves in being environmentally conscious. For example, their newest buildings are constructed with sustainability in mind and have all attained a green star rating. This may attract customers who value environmentally friendly businesses. Bans target market is NZ businesses and individuals who are aged 18 years and over. However, they target businesses and individuals who are aged 25 and over more strongly. This is evident from their website homepage which feature advertisements on home loans, travel insurance and their Asian business team. It is important the BENZ continues to embrace the constant advances in technology in order to maintain upper hand over competitors in the technological environment. They can do this by being the first to invent state-of-the-art ways to bank such as using creating a way for smartness to be used to pay for things. To overcome the weakness of not being 100% NZ owned and operated, the BENZ should advertise to customers that although they are a subsidiary of The National Australia Bank Group, a fully empowered New Zealand Board of Directors governs the BENZ locally. This should reassure customers and make them less hesitant about banking with the BENZ due to them being Australian owned. The BENZ targets businesses and people aged 25 and over very successfully, although, it would be beneficial for them to expand their target market and place a greater emphasis on the younger generations. Younger generations are becoming more educated with a rising proportion of young people entering the workforce with tertiary qualifications. For the BENZ, this means a vast potential customer base of educated individuals. They have begun to target this generation by offering students, graduates and apprentices discounts on products such as Younger and also discounted interest rates. Another way they could target this younger market links back to utilizing technological advances since generation Y is more technically adept than any other generation.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Create Amazing Content Upgrades for Your Blog - CoSchedule

How to Create Amazing Content Upgrades for Your Blog If you know anything about online marketing, you are aware of the power of email. After all, email has a 3800% ROI. Yes, email is that  powerful. But in order to use email to grow your business, you first need to have an email list. And to get one, you need to acquire subscribers. There are many tactics you can use to get more subscribers for your email list, but theres one that has been the darling of the online marketing world for the past few years. Im talking about content upgrades. If you dont know what they are, I will explain you everything you need to know about them. Lets get started. How to Create Amazing Content Upgrades for Your BlogWhat Content Upgrades Really Are A content upgrade is any kind of extra content that your blog's visitors can get access to in exchange for their email address. In a way, they resemble to lead magnets, in the sense you send them something for their email address. But what sets them apart is what makes content upgrades so effective. First of all, a content upgrade needs to be relevant  to the content piece that visitors are already consuming. Then, they need to add extra value  to the reader for free. Content upgrades need to add extra value to the readerFor example, the content upgrade you can find at the bottom of this article, a checklist with everything you will have learned, was made just for this article. On the contrary, if I had created a highly detailed and actionable yet unrelated lead magnet, it wouldn't have the same impact on you. You may not be as enticed to download it compared to the lead magnet because it may not be relevant to you. The key of a content upgrade, however, isn't just to let a visitor download something related to an article. In the case of this article, I could have offered you a resource list with related articles to this one. That could work because it's related to this article. But would it add extra value to you? Probably not. I could easily link to those articles and that would be it. What matters the most, and what makes people want to download content upgrades so much, is that they add a lot of extra value to the article, and most importantly, to the reader. Content upgrades are so hot right because for one reason: they work. Let me show you some examples of famous people that have used content upgrades to grow their businesses: Brian Dean from Backlinko  increased his conversion rate from 0.54%. to 4.82%. Clay Collins, co-founder of LeadPages, said that content upgrades  were the number one factor  in growing their email list. James Scherrer from Wishpond, found content upgrades convert  their visitors 575% better  compared to the articles that don't feature one. One company that uses content upgrades, not surprisingly, is , the company that hosts this same blog. I can't speak for their results, but I can imagine given the amazing job they are doing with their content marketing and promotion, and the relevancy of their offers, they must be doing great. For example, in one of their most recent articles, as soon as you start scrolling down they offer you a "template bundle" with information that is related and expands the idea of the article. I don't know about you, but downloading a bundle of templates sounds really good. This is how uses content upgrades, and they do it great. Now you know what they are and well they work, I will show you how you can create one to start getting these same results. Recommended Reading: 113 Content Types to Organize With Your Marketing Calendar How to Create Content Upgrades for Your Blog Step #1: Define the Problem Your Content Is Solving As you already know by now, content upgrades have to be relevant to your visitors' problems. As a consequence, before you create your content upgrades, you need to make sure you know what these problems are. You may think  you know, but you need to be 100% sure to be able to improve your conversion rate and make your visitors happy. In order to find your visitors' problems, you need to ask yourself a few questions that will help you dig deeper on the problem at hand: What is the content piece about? What is the audience? What problem is your content trying to solve? What are you trying to teach them? What can you  teach them? Let's take this article as an example. The answer to each question in the order they were asked would be: This article is about what content upgrades are and how to use them to get more email subscribers. The audience is made up of bloggers, content marketers, and marketing managers that are trying to grow their email list. Your problem is you want to grow your email but you can't or don't know. You may also want to grow it faster than you currently are. I'm trying to teach you how to grow your email list with a technique called content upgrades. I can teach you why they are so powerful because I have case studies to show, and also how to implement them because I have done it many times in the past. As you can see, all these questions put in evidence the problem this article is solving. This gives me a good idea of what you are trying to accomplish by reading this article, and how I can help you solving it. But most importantly, it gives me a better idea of how I can deliver extra value through the content upgrade. Creating content upgrades? Ask, "How can I deliver extra value?Step #2: Develop the Content Piece In this step, you only need to do what you normally would: you create your content. Since you already know the problem you are trying to solve, you only need to deliver that solution within your content piece. In the case of this article, it took me over 2k words to deliver all the value I could to help you solve your problem: growing your email list. Now, it's time to see how we can expand this value through the content upgrade. Step #3: Expand the Value You may know what problems your audience have, and you have already created the solution to that problem in the form of an article. Now it's time to expand on its value. First of all, remember there's a finite amount of problems you can solve for your audience, mainly because your audience is (and should be) finite as well. If you have ever created buyer personas for your blog, you know you need to target your content  towards a small group of people with a clear set of problems. With that said, you need to ask yourself, how will overdeliver  on your value? Just giving them a PDF without adding anything extra won't make much of a difference on your visitors' life. Always focus on adding more value, so it's a no-brainer for your visitors to download your content upgrade. The easiest way to expand on the value of your content piece is by taking the biggest lessons and insights, and make them better. There are plenty of ways you can do that: Expand on the insight Make it more actionable Make it easier to understand Show a step-by-step process of how you can implement it Show pictures of how it's done Show videos of how it's done Provide templates Provide transcriptions Provide a mind map with all the insights or concepts Create a graphic explaining them These ideas will help you provide the additional value your visitors are looking for, and what will make them want to download your content upgrade. Recommended Reading: The 6 Types of Social Media Content That Will Give You the Greatest Value Step #4: Define the Type of Content Upgrade Before we move on to the creation of the content upgrade, which is the one that most people focus on first, you need to define what kind of content upgrade you will create. Here's the thing, there are many types of content upgrades you can use. There's no right or wrong content upgrade per se, as it depends on your content piece, your style, and the value you are giving away. The most common ones are: Article in PDF Audio version Cheat sheet Checklist Resource list Templates Transcription Video Worksheets My favorite one is the checklist, as it takes a whole article, and condenses its value in a few pages. Not only that, but they are also action-focused. I've personally found they work better than the other ones as well. Still, you should try a few types and see which one works better for you. If you are still wondering what these different types of content upgrades look like, here there are some examples that will hopefully inspire you: Optin Monster Type: Cheat Sheat Article: 700+ Power Words That Will Boost Your Conversions Value: Get the each of the 700 words in one simple list, organized by type. Backlinko Type: Checklist Article: SEO Strategy Case Study (#1 Ranking 963% More Traffic) Value: Take a step-by-step look of the specific actions you need to implement to get more inbound links with guesto-graphics. Video Fruit Type: Video training Article: Expanded Guest Post: How to 100x the effectiveness of your next guest post Value: See a video screencast with Bryan Harris implementing the steps mentioned in the article to expand the value of the guest posts. Nerd Marketing Type: Audio transcription Article: Podcast 27: A â€Å"One-Two Punch† Email Campaign to Increase Order Frequency Value: If you can't listen to the podcast, or prefer to read and not listen (like I do), read a word-by-word transcription of the email campaign Drew Sanocki uses to increase order frequency. LeadPages Type: Worksheet Article: The Unique Content Process: How To Write What No One Has Ever Written Value: Find the most important insights of the unique content process explained in the article without having to sift back through the post later. Recommended Reading: How to Generate and Nurture Leads With Brittany Berger from Mention Step #5: Create Content Upgrade Now that you have everything in place, it's time to (finally!) create your content upgrade. Here's when you want to take some time to make sure you make your content upgrade as awesome as possible. After all, if you are giving away a lot of extra value, you can't do it while you are multitasking or in between calls. When creating your content upgrade, there are a few different roads you can take, from the best and most expensive to the cheapest (and probably worst quality). Hire a Designer This is probably the best way to go. Unless you are a designer yourself, you don't have the skills nor time to create a good-looking content upgrade. However, if you are going to hire a designer, make sure to get a good one. Remember that you always get what you pay for. If you have a designer in-house, then this is a no-brainer for you. But if you don't, it may end up being a bit expensive for you. Still, it may be worth the investment. If you are going to hire a designer, make sure to get a good one.Two companies that may help you create and design a high-quality content upgrade are Design Pickle  and Pug Shop Design. They offer design services for a flat free and at a good price. Use Beacon One tool that was created just to create content upgrades and lead magnets is called Beacon. It's probably one of the best-hidden marketing tools out there, so I highly recommend you take a look at it. It's a bit buggy, but it does its job at a good price. It has everything you need for any kind of content upgrade you want to create. They let you import your content, pick a template, customize it, and once you have it finished, you only need to click "Save" and "Export PDF" and you are done. If you end up downloading my content upgrade at the bottom of the article, you will see how their content upgrades look like. Use Canva Canva  is like Photoshop for amateurs (like me). You can make some pretty neat designs, and if you are creative enough, you may end up with a cool simple design. This is best for small checklists and the like, not for long or complex ones. Do It Yourself You can always fall into the common DIY trend and try to do something with Word, Pages, iBooks Author or Photoshop. Depending on your skills, this may be a good idea or not. If you are like me, it's probably not. I used iBooks Authorfor a while, and it worked pretty well. But they didn't look very professional, so I stopped using it once I started with Beacon. You can still use these tools for simple resource lists and PDF versions, not for checklists and worksheets, or any other more complex kind of content upgrade. Recommended Reading: How to Create an E-Book and Publish it on Amazon KDP Step #6: Create Landing Page If you remember what I said in the beginning, you give out content upgrades in exchange for someone else's email. But where do you make this exchange? It's not that your visitors will send you a postcard with their email address so you can add them to your list in 3 to 5 business days. That's a bit old-fashioned, don't you think? You need to do it in a convenient and seamless way. That's what landing pages are for. You create a page just for people to visit, put their email information, and download the content upgrade. My favorite tool to do this is by far LeadPages. You only need to pick a template, put the copy where it belongs, add your content upgrade, create a simple autoresponder email sequence, and publish it. This is how you do it: First, open an account with them. They don't have a free trial, rather they offer a 30-day money back guarantee. Either way, I highly recommend you spend the money on their tool, as it's one of the best and most fundamental pieces of any online marketing campaign. Once you have opened your account, you will be taken to My Page, which is kind of a dashboard for your account. Before creating the LeadPage, we need to add the content upgrade. To do that, click on your username on the right, and click "Lead Magnets". Click on "Create New Lead Magnet" button on the right. Then, give your lead magnet a name, upload it, choose a sender email and name. Finally, add a simple message that the recipients of the email will see when they get the content upgrade on their email account. Don't overcomplicate this, because you can change it later. Once you are done with this, go back to the LeadPages page and click on the "Create New Page" button. Then, pick any of the dozens of free templates they show you. Filter by "Opt In" and sort by "Highest Converting". Pick one of the first ones you see. For the sake of this example, I will use this article to create the landing page. As you can see below, I simply added the name of this article in the landing page's title, and nothing else. Before clicking the "Publish" button, we need to integrate the content upgrade. To do so, click the CTA button and then the little link icon that shows up below it. Then, click the "View/Edit" button as you can see below. Then, click once again the big CTA button, and when the "Edit Your Form" sidebar shows up to your left, click the "Follow-up" tab. In there, below the "Add a File", choose the content upgrade you previously uploaded. Then, click "Save Close Form". Then I clicked "Publish". Just remember people are already sold to your content upgrade, so you don't have to overcomplicate this. Look at my landing page below and you will see. It's uber-minimalistic. Just the name of the article, the download button, and nothing more. Just remember people are already sold to your content upgrade, so you don't have to overcomplicate this. Look at my landing page below and you will see. It's uber-minimalistic. Just the name of the article, the download button, and nothing more. Step #7: Promote Within Your Post Now it's time to put the content upgrade where it belongs: in your articles. You need to make sure people know there's something valuable waiting for them. Otherwise, they will most likely ignore it when they see it. You have a few options to do so. Create a Knowledge Gap This is something I learned from Bryan Harris. He recommends opening what he calls a "knowledge gap", like the one you found at the intro of this article, and then close it at the end, as you can see below. This creates a "gap" in the mind of your visitors that makes them want to scroll down and see what's the article about, and how they can get that extra value. Add Banners and Slide-Ins Another way is to add a static banner or a slide-in within your article so people "bump" into it as they read. This is what usually does, as I showed you before. Put It at the End (and Hope for the Best) This is what many people (or most?) do. They just put the content upgrade at the end with just a link, and hope people will find it. Apparently, these people think since they already took the time to create the content, they don't have the time to actually promote it correctly. Don't make this mistake. Make sure everyone finds and click on the link that leads to the content upgrade. Using the awesome Pareto Principle, 80% of your results will come from 20% of your time. This is your 20%, so make sure you use it right. Promote your content upgrade. Grow your list.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Research Paper Example Depending on the severity of the problem, professionals choose an appropriate means of treatment of OCD among cognitive-behavioural therapy, pharmacotherapy, and neurosurgery; the latter is regarded as less effective. Overall, obsessive compulsive disorder is often underdiagnosed and undertreated, which means it requires more attention on the part of specialists as well as patients’ families. Obsessive compulsive disorder (abbreviated and usually used as OCD) is an anxiety disorder which is characterized by â€Å"recurrent obsessions and / or compulsions that interfere substantially with daily functioning† (Foa & Franklin, 2001). In this context, obsessions are defined as recurrent and unwanted thoughts, images or impulses which cause great anxiety. Individuals with OCD try to suppress and ignore these thoughts with other actions and / or thoughts, and they recognize the fact that the ideas and thoughts are only products of their mind (Abramowitz, Taylor & McKey, 2009). Among the most wide-spread obsessions are fear to causing harm to other people, fear of contamination, fear of behaving in an inappropriate way, fear of harm coming to self, fear of making a mistake, religious, sexual obsessions etc. (Heyman, Mataix-Cols & Fineberg, 2006). Compulsions are defined as repetitive mental acts or behaviours a person, who suffers from OCD, performs in response to obsessi on with the aim to prevent some daunting event or to reduce distress (Abramowitz, Taylor & McKey, 2009). The most common compulsions as the following ones: cleaning, hoarding, checking, handwashing, ordering and arranging, asking for reassurance (behaviours); ruminations, repeating words silently, counting (mental acts) (Heyman, Mataix-Cols & Fineberg, 2006). In accordance with Yaryura-Tobias and Neziroglu (1997), there are two groups of symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder,

Friday, November 1, 2019

Book Report Asian Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Book Report Asian Americans - Essay Example Considerably, this fact is noticeably evident in her book thus aiming to show how much importance there is in need of being placed so as to be able to describe and define a society that lives within another society and how that particular matter affects the people in a rather direct manner. In the society, cultural diversity is an evident and become dominant concept wherein it commonly affects the social structures and processes in the society. This is mainly because cultural diversity significantly cause the society to be segregated into their respective social minority groups with their cultural differences serving as the gap and blocking wall between these groups. In addition, cultural diversity also has caused certain negative social problems such as discrimination and oppression worsening the difficulty of social separation. Because of which, the negative aspect of multiculturalism and the social tension it has produced should be sufficiently addressed. Different social groups and institutions are making different steps and approaches to bridge the gap of multiculturalism in every individual and social minority. ... addition, community groups are also establishing social groups and institutions that request participation from different cultural groups giving them a chance to communicate and relate to other groups tearing down themselves the walls created by multiculturalism. These programs and community efforts are established to promote communication and social involvement of each social minority in the campaign to address social unity. Multiculturalism in the present society serves as a hindering wall thus, this hindrance must be torn down using intercultural communication and social participation. Intervention must also be done in facilitating cooperative approaches to ensure its advantage. With this approach implemented, society as a whole would be one-step closer in making a harmonious relationship between culturally diversified social groups. With the growth of worldwide globalization systems, it could not be denied that many people are transferring from one country to another. Some for business reasons, some for educational reasons and others just transfer for tourism purposes. Whatever it is that the different races transfer places, it could not be denied that in many ways, the said progressive movement of the human society towards the future raises several points of consideration in the human identity belonging to a certain ethnic group. Along with the global development come the exchange of culture and other aspects of racial contributions such as language have been exchanged through immigration activities. This is the reason why it is very important for people to see to it that even though there is so much diversity in the world, language is still one of the keys by which a certain race's ethnicity could be identified amidst diversity. In many continents around the