Miles the autobiography essays

Miles the autobiography essays This book, written by Miles Davis, is the autobiography tht he wrote a few years before he died. In this book I found how he first became interested in jazz. It also explains how he became one of the best jazz players of all time. Miles was born in Alton, Illinois in 1926 and grew up in eastern St. Louis. He learned how to play trumpet while in high school on the trumpet that his father gave to him for his 13th birthday. He was a bog fan of jazz and said that the thing that made up his mind to be a musician was wheh he first heard Billy Eckstines band with Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, and Charlie parker playing the sax. He then moved to New York looking for Charlie Parker and to study classical trumpet at Juilliard School of music. Aftera while parkers drug problem began to take over his life, and this also affected Davis. Davis took some time toget over that, and by the late 50s he was a much bigger star than he had been before due to some of his recent recordings. In 1969, Davis started to record more electronic music, which was the start of the azz-Rock. Later on, when he came out with the albums A Tribute to Jack Johnson, and On the Corner, fans were dissapointed, and thought it was a terrible portrayal of the jazz they knew. Miles then sort of dissapeared from the view of the public eye between 1975 and 1981, but even when he came back, he wasnt as into playing anymore as he had used to be. He played again a couple times before he died in 1991 at 65 years old. As for the authors description of the book, it was all first person, because he wrote the book himself with the help of Quincy Troupe. My conclusion to this book strenghtens what I think about musicians. I dont understand why lots of famous people and especially musicians experiment with drugs. I would think that if their life is going well why mess with it. Another thing this book made ...

What a Java Package Is In Programming

What a Java Package Is In Programming Programmers are an organized bunch when it comes to writing code. They like to arrange their programs so that they flow in a logical way, calling separate blocks of code that each has a particular job. Organizing the classes they write is done by creating packages. What Packages Are A package allows a developer to group classes (and interfaces) together. These classes will all be related in some way – they might all be to do with a specific application or perform a specific set of tasks. For example, the Java API is full of packages. One of them is the javax.xml package. It and its sub packages contain all the classes in the Java API to do with handling XML. Defining a Package To group classes into a package, each class must have a package statement defined at the top of its .java file. It lets the compiler know which package the class belongs to and must be the first line of code. For example, imagine youre making a simple Battleships game. It makes sense to put all the classes needed in a package called battleships: package battleships class GameBoard{ } Every class with the above package statement at the top will now be part of the Battleships package. Typically packages are stored in a corresponding directory on the filesystem but it is possible to store them in a database. The directory on the filesystem must have the same name as the package. Its where all the classes belonging to that package are stored. For example, if the battleships package contains the classes GameBoard, Ship, ClientGUI then there will be files called GameBoard.java, Ship.java and ClientGUI.java stored in a directory call battleships. Creating a Hierarchy Organizing classes doesnt have to be at just one level. Every package can have as many sub packages as needed. To distinguish the package and subpackage a . is placed in-between the package names. For example, the name of the javax.xml package shows that XML is a sub package of the javax package. It doesnt stop there, under XML there are 11 sub packages: bind, crypto, datatype, namespace, parsers, soap, stream, transform, validation, ws, and XPath. The directories on the file system must match the package hierarchy. For example, the classes in the javax.xml.crypto package will live in a directory structure of ..\javax\xml\crypto. It should be noted that the hierarchy created is not recognized by the compiler. The names of the packages and sub-packages show the relationship that the classes they contain have with each other. But, as far as the compiler is concerned each package is a distinct set of classes. It does not view a class in a subpackage as being part of its parent package. This distinction becomes more apparent when it comes to using packages. Naming Packages There is a standard naming convention for packages. Names should be in lowercase. With small projects that only have a few packages the names are typically simple (but meaningful!) names: package pokeranalyzer package mycalculator In software companies and large projects, where the packages might be imported into other classes, the names need to be distinctive. If two different packages contain a class with the same name its important that there can be no naming conflict. This is done by ensuring the package names are different by starting the package name with the company domain, before being split into layers or features: package com.mycompany.utilities package org.bobscompany.application.userinterface

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 17

Management - Essay Example The government will then have the money to take measures of social welfare. The legal dimension proposes that the business organisations should follow the rules and regulations proposed by the government and should not evade taxes. During their operation, business organisations should follow the rules related to health and safety of the staff, rules against racial or sex discrimination, emission norms etc. There are several industry specific rules such as rule related to hazardous waste, which must be followed. The ethical dimension refers to the business ethics of fair competition while protecting the interest of the major stakeholders be it the shareholders, consumers and the employees. It requires the business owners to work with the moral conscience while taking business decisions. The discretionary dimension is the philanthropic part of social responsibility wherein the business organisation make donations for the social cause such as poverty alleviation, education of the poor sections of the social, control of a deadly disease like cancer or HIV AIDS. There are donations made by businesses during any national or global calamity. All these become a part of discretionary philanthropic act. Only two of the four dimensions discussed above has been the part of Friedman’s statement i.e. economic and legal dimension. In his essay, Friedman argues that the ethical and the discretionary dimensions can be the responsibility of any individual be it the businessmen or the employees of the organisation and not the business. As was insisted in the stakeholder theory by R. Edward Freeman, business organisations have legal obligation towards the primary and secondary stakeholders to run in a profitable and fair manner. The primary stakeholders include shareholders, customers, business partners, employees and the community while the secondary stakeholders include the government and the regulatory bodies, civic institutions

The operating statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The operating statement - Essay Example Variable costs are costs are those, which vary with the level of activity while fixed costs are those, which are constant irrespective of the level of activity. However, the increase or decrease of fixed costs is not related to the level of activity alone as they may though change over a period. Variable costs on the other hand are directly related to the business activity; they include costs such as those for raw materials and inventory. They vary in the sense that the more of each you need in production the more the costs will increase (Czopek 2004). When the budgeted of these costs is more than the actual, then the discrepancy is termed as an adverse and a control measure must be put in place in actual/real time (Czopek 2004). The operation statement will therefore help the management in identification of each of the costs, when they are favorable as well as when they are adverse and formulate the control mechanisms for normal operations. As there is no single direct way or strate gy of cost management and control, the mangers will be forced to examine the whole business strategy and make a determination of how to achieve a cost reduction without interfering with the business operations. Variable cost control Variable costs will rise with expansion in production and fall when production falls; this is quite useful for effective decision-making. They include costs such as those for raw materials, packaging and direct labor (Czopek 2004). The operating statement shows clearly a Budgeted gross profit of 18339.30 pounds. As indicated by the variable costs variances, they are adverse as shown: - Sales volume profit variance = (2,130 – 2,100) ? 8.61 = ?258.3 (A) and Sales price variance = (15.0 – 14.5) ? 2,100 = ?1,050.0 (A). Material M3 price variance = (1.55 ? 1,050) – 1,680 = ?52.5 (A), Material M3 usage variance = ((2,100 ? 0.6) – 1,050) ? 1.55 = ?325.5 (F), Material M7 price variance = (1.75 ? 1,470) – 2,793 = ?220.5 (A) and Material M7 usage variance = ((2,100 ? 0.68) – 1,470) ? 1.75 = ?73.5 (A). Direct labor rate variance = (7.2 ? 525) – 3,675 = ?105.0 (F), Direct labor efficiency variance = ((2,100 ?14/60) – 525) ? 7.2 = ?252.0 (A), Variable overhead expenditure variance = (2.1 ? 525) – 1,260 = ?157.5 (A), Variable overhead efficiency variance = ((2,100 ? 14/60) – 525) ? 2.1 = ?73.5 (A). In order to achieve the budgeted profit, the management will have to do something about the adverse variable cost variances, which include those for labor, raw material in terms of material usage and the variable overheads. Material M3 whose price variance is adverse with its usage favorable, the management can look for a cheaper substitute of the same material to curb the negative variance. Depending on the cause of adverse material price variance as indicated by material M7, management will find out, if it is caused by changes in purchase prices, they can find a substitute. If it is caused by substitution of the original with a new material, the management will decide to go back to the original raw material. The management by help of the operating statement will be able to device other ways of controlling the adverse material cost variance by deciding to look for materials which have cash discounts and buying from suppliers who offer transportation and storage as after sales services. Direct labor rate variance is favorable with direct labor efficiency variance being unfavorable at 252.0 pounds. The management is therefore able to know the causes of

Throughout Ken Keseys tremendous novel Essay Example for Free

Throughout Ken Keseys tremendous novel Essay It is another meeting though with McMurphy which causes the most drastic and evident change to Chief Bromdens character. In the midst of a bed time conversation with the Chief, McMurphy gives him a packet of chewing gum, the Chief replies Thank you. The chief then goes on to state this again. This comment from the Chief can be taken in two separate ways; metaphorically the Chief has said thank you to McMurphy, but, on the other hand he has thanked McMurphy for the allowing him to open up and talk and realise that he is not, in fact, insane. As well as that, it also shows how all along McMurphys inclination about the Chief was right. During that night time conversation with McMurphy the Chief talks about how small he is, demonstrating how the combine has affected him. Youre lot bigger, toughern I am. McMurphy then replies, You stand a head tallern any man on the ward. There aint a man here you couldnt turn every way but loose, and thats a fact! The Chief then dismisses this comment No. Im way too little. I used to be big, but not no more. Youre twice the size of me. This repetitive negative, Not no more, illustrates how he feels negative towards himself too, and how broken a man he is due to his time spent in the combine. McMurphy realises that, with the size of the Chief, he could use him to lift the control panel which he hadnt been able to lift at the beginning of the novel. He begins to build up the chiefs morale by complementing him in a descriptive metaphor, giving an image of how life will change for the good, Oh man I tell you, youll have women trippin you and beatin you to the floor. He offers him a free place in his special body-buildin course, and as McMurphy walks down the hall to sign the Chief up for the fishing trip he pulls the covers off him and states Look there, Chief. Haw what did a tell ya? You growed a half foot already. This again is used by McMurphy to build Chief Bromdens self image. Due to the character building of McMurphy and the Chiefs ability to find the cause of his illness he grows into a new man, a man able to be rebellious and able to pull away from the tight grasp which the combine has upon him. This point of rebellion expresses the Chiefs refusal to mop the hall. They stuck a broom out for me to do their work up the hall, I turned around and walked back to the dorm, telling myself, the hell with that. This emphasises the change in Chief Bromdens character as he is now confident enough to refuse duties from the black boys. This alliteration in the description of the boys is used extensively throughout the novel, emphasisng there colour, in 1962 (when it was first published) there was a lot of racism, white people were far more superior, and also their age, showing how even boys are running the institute, telling the white men what to do. But the main change to the Chief is his ability to laugh. I could look down and see myself with the rest of the guys and watch them, us, swinging in laughter. This is an effective use of imagery, as this metaphor emphasises how the Chief has grown mentally stronger as a man, as earlier on in the novel he states, You cant really be strong until you can see the funny side to things. His mental strength is illustrated through his physical strength in the shower room. So I picked him off and threw him in the shower. He was full of tubes; he didnt weigh moren ten or fifteen pounds. Demonstrating how McMurphys plan of making the Chief grow back to his real size is working. The character of Chief Bromden develops even further as when he notices a fog being produced by the combine and refuses to, slip off and hide in it. No never again, as he knows, this time I had them beat, thus emphasising how he has nearly recovered from his sickness. Finally the Chiefs transformation is complete, when McMurphy comes back down to the ward after his lobotomy the chief kills him out of compassion and escapes by throwing the control panel at the screened window. After the lobotomy, McMurphy states that he cannot do things like he used to, hobbled like this, the metaphor highlights that the institute has now got total control over McMurphy, even though he is not literally hobbled, as in cannot walk properly, he cannot think for himself, is a vegetable, he is hobbled. However though, the path the Chief ventures out on after escaping from the hospital is the same as the ill fated dog took earlier on in the novel when chasing a goose as it met the oncoming headlights of a vehicle, thus emphasising the battle between animals and machinery and how machinery will always win. In conclusion Chief Bromdens character develops extensively through out the novel from being a fully fledged member of the chronics to conversing with McMurphy and even going on a fishing trip with the other patients. As the novel develops the Chief grows back to his original size, commits an empathy killing on McMurphy to save him from the life of a chronic and escapes from the grasp of the combine. However, the reader is left in a state of uncertainty at the end of the novel as they are unsure whether the story is being told by the Chief as a free man out with the hospital or if the combine have taken him back into their tight grasp and he is telling the story from recollection to another inmate. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Ken Kesey section.

The Twenties and Thirties :: American America History

The Twenties and Thirties The twenties and the thirties were very unusual time periods in American History. In some ways they are alike, but in most ways they are very different. The twenties were a time of fun and partying. This is probably the reason it is called the Roaring Twenties. All of the thirties were known as The Great Depression. It was probably called that because of the stock market collapse and the millions of people without jobs. In the twenties, industry took a very big step. The automotive industry was the largest industry there was. The assembly line made mass production possible, and the industry boomed. Henry Ford's assembly line, located in Detroit, Michigan, was the largest one in the country and possibly in the world. When Ford first started making cars, the only car he made was a black Model-T. Almost everybody in the United States had a car. Three-out-of-four families owned one or more cars. With the assembly line they made a lot more cars in one day than they did before. Instead of paying for the cars with cash, people could now use credit to purchase items. Since most families didn't have the money, they would buy the car with credit and pay off the debt later. The thirties was a bad time for the automotive industry. By now Ford had made a Model-A and had three new colors: tan, purple and black. All of the companies were making more cars than they could sell. Nobody had enough money to buy a car because of all of the banks going under. Millions of people lost whole fortunes. Since no one had the money for a car, the cars were not being sold. This caused a big problem. The dealers were very optimistic. They continued to make cars hoping that sales would go up. The new credit law was a wonderful idea. It allowed people to purchase items like a television or radio. The invention of the radio united the nation. The news that was heard on the radio was heard by everyone that had a radio. It was the best form of entertainment of its time. Soon thereafter, the television was invented. Once again people took advantage of the credit and purchased televisions. The television still did not take place of the radio. The radio was still used for listening to music. Many people were spending more money than they had.

Analysis of Barbie Doll Essay

The Devastation of Social Pressure One would think that growing up would be a fun, not a worry in the world, happy experience. Yes, that is the way it should be, but that’s not always the case, especially for women. As girls season into women they realize they not only have to face the fact that they’re in a patriarchal society, but also the influences and pressure they face in the social aspect of things, such as their looks and body image. There is so much competition amongst girls, especially when transitioning into a woman and through most of their adulthood. So instead of being able to enjoy life and absorbing the true quality of it, we are side tracked with superficial, stereotypical, shallow thoughts and images of how we think life is supposed to be. Although, who’s to say what’s right and what’s wrong with the way we interpret things? Marge Piercy, who wrote the poem â€Å"Barbie Doll†, has a very strong view of how destructive social pressure can be to a girl through her transitioning stages into a woman. She expresses how the Barbie doll, the toy figurine that woman idealize, is, in fact, a method of corruption to a young girl. First and for most we must understand who the persona is in the poem, which is a woman, and more specifically Marge Piercy herself. She is observing a young girl going from Wolfe 2 childhood, adolescents, adulthood and then death in a roundabout way. Starting with the first stanza, of four, the persona explains of a young girl, and her playing with a doll, the Mattel’s Barbie doll to be precise. This doll is to be described as tall, blonde hair, blue eyes and it has the perfect body. The girl, â€Å"†¦presented dolls that pee-pee/and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy† (2-4). The words iron, stove, and lipstick are all play-things for the girl, but are also identity markers. Such that the doll represents the ideal body image, the iron and stove tells us what type of work is expected of the girl when she becomes an adult (keep in mind that this poem was written in the nineteen seventies and that woman in the work force was still a very small percentage, thus women were still very domesticated) and the lipstick is to imply a sexual innuendo. In the last line in the first stanza the girl goes through puberty and no time is wasted before a classmate judges and criticizes her, â€Å"You have a great big nose and fat legs† (6). Going through puberty is a stage of growth. Adolescents become more aware of their social standing and sexual being. As we read further, the doll, she once played with, will create a major impact on her; in the aspect of her body image and the pressure she faces from her peers. In the second stanza we see how the woman is dissatisfied with herself even though she is â€Å"healthy and tested intelligent/possessed strong arms and back/ abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity† (7-9). The persona continues to say, â€Å"She went to and fro apologizing/Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs† (10-11). The traits that this woman possesses, is in every way correct; however, she is so sure her physical traits are unacceptable to the culture. No matter what she sees in the mirror or what she hears, this won’t change her opinion about herself image. She has been brainwashed about her looks and she doesn’t think she is good enough. She goes around apologizing to everyone about the person she has become, believing there is no way she can change, at least in a healthy manner. In the third stanza we read how society is forcing the woman to change her healthy ways, physically, into something she isn’t. She does what she can to fit into society by, â€Å"†¦play[ing] coy/ exhorted to come on hearty/ exercise, diet, smile and wheedle† (12-14). She had so much pressure from every direction, she felt obligated to try and conform her body into what society viewed as ideal, which we know of as the Barbie doll toy. This idea was short lived. Instead of standing her grounds and accepting the individual that she is, she drowns. Society got the best of her, â€Å"Her good nature wore out/ like a fan belt† (15-16). She gave up and paid the ultimate price to be accepted in society, â€Å"†¦she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up† (17-18). Now that she has removed her flaws she temporarily relinquishes her depression, weakness, and anxiety. Now that she has met the, impossible, unrealistic, standard, she can permanently wash her existences away and leave her shell of beauty behind. In the final Stanza, Piercy highlights the theme of the poem. Simply put, women aren’t accepted into society unless they represent the ideal woman. Now that the woman is free of body flaws and has had a makeover, she can be accepted into her culture even though we know this isn’t her true self. What must this say about the society she has been exposed to? In order to survive in this specific culture, if we’re not perfect, is to become someone we’re not. So not only do we have to try to live up to a standard that is not comprehendible but we also have to be fake. In the middle of the last stanza Piercy explains, â€Å"with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on/a turned-up putty nose/dressed in a pink and white nightie† (20-22). The woman now has the superficial , but perfect, looks. She is manipulated (physically) so she can finally be recognized. Letting a society make this woman frail and surrender to being her own individual shows a lack of values and morals within herself. Having our own opinions, life experiences and ethics make us who we are and if we were all the same or are held up to the same expectations what would life be like? Would we all act like robots? Clones? As the woman has been re-configured, shallow talks are amongst her, â€Å"Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said/Consummation at last/To every woman a happy ending† (23-25). Mission complete, she achieved her goal; she is pretty, unflawed, and looks like the ideal woman.

Response to Decolonizing the Mind

In â€Å"Decolonising the Mind† Ngugi Wa Thiong’o makes the call to African writers to begin writing literature in their own languages, and to make sure that literature is connected to their people’s revolutionary struggles for independence from their colonial regimes. He begins with the historical meeting he was invited to with his fellow African writers in Kampala, Uganda. In this conference, writers who wrote their stories in African languages were automatically neglected.He also continues to point out about how English and other European languages are assumed, until today, to be the natural languages and unifying forces in both literature and political views among African people. For instance, to explain his point, Ngugi uses Chinua Achebe, one of the major African writers, who embraces the use of an English Language in his works. Ngugi quotes â€Å"For me (Achebe) there is no other choice, I have been given the language and I intend to use it† (Achebe , 62).Finally, Ngugi concludes that writing in African languages is a necessary step toward cultural identity and liberation from centuries of European exploitation. Firstly, I support Ngungi’s claim that an educational system that focuses and embraces only foreign works, such as language and culture is destructive: â€Å"Thus language and literature were taking us further and further from ourselves to other selves, from our world to other worlds†(266). Obviously, there is a need to create a literature that embraces the real African experience starting from the perspective of the locals, not the intruders.The local language is an integral part of conveying that experience, this is simply because much of the local tradition is preserved in that language. For example, Ngugi insists that stories and songs are effectively passed down from one generation to the next through oral (story-telling), and the fact that both the story teller and the listener are interested and inv olved in the conversation. Therefore, the benefits of embracing and working in the local language and within the local traditions bring the entire community together.Secondly, I support Ngugi’s view that colonialism has deemed African languages unworthy of use – both by the colonizers and the colonized. He explains how a â€Å"cultural bomb† was dropped on Africa so the minds and consequently the resources of Africans were controlled. In my view, not only colonizers understand that it is not enough to take over Africa with guns alone, but they also need to take over the mind of its people through language and the fine education they offer through that language.This is seen in the schools where European languages are idolized, in the streets where African languages become synonymous with the language of the peasantry, and at the prison cells were those African writers who choose to stay true to their mother tongue are held. I strongly agree about Ngugi’s c hoice to write only in Gikuyu rather than English language: â€Å"I believe that my writing in the Gikuyu language, a Kenyan language, an African language, is part and parcel of the anti-imperialist struggles of Kenyan and African peoples† (267).He reminds me my native country, Kenya, and Kamba is my mother tongue, so if I choose to write in Kamba as Ngugi did, I will not be doing something abnormal. It true that â€Å"imperialism† has turned African people’s minds upside down: African people view abnormal as normal and normal as abnormal. For example, Europe and America became rich and continue to get rich from using both Africa’s natural and human resources, but African people are made to believe that they cannot become poverty free without European and American intervention.Therefore, Ngugi’s decision to abandon English completely in his writings and embrace Gikuyu in attempt to align himself with the people (Gikuyu-speaking population) is one s tep toward cultural identity and independence from European exploitation. I also agree with Ngugi that colonization is not simply a process of physical force rather â€Å"the bullet is the means of physical subjugation, and Language is the means of the spiritual subjugation†(265).In Kenya, colonization propagated English as the language of education; as a result, oral literature in Kenyan indigenous languages gradually faded away. This is devastating to African literature because, as Ngugi writes, â€Å"language carries culture and culture carries, particularly through orature and literature, the entire body of values by which we perceive ourselves and our place in the world†(267).This means that Language as culture, it expresses and carries the culture of people; therefore, it becomes the storehouse of its images, ideas, wisdom, experience and history. It ties me to my people and becomes part of who I am. And finally, language as culture, it shapes how I look at the w orld and myself. Lastly but not least, I think â€Å"Decolonising the Mind† is an integral to understanding an anti-colonialist struggles. Europe and America view colonialism in terms of the most visible aspects of a nation, namely its leadership.People fail to see and recognize the long-term effects of colonialism, such as the widespread poverty. Decolonizing the Mind reminds me of another aftereffect, specifically, the domination of language by the Western World. In a sense, the language barrier enables social apartheid where legal separation is considered anachronistic. By dominating African languages, and asserting the superiority of European ones over them, Western nations, including some African nations, do perpetuate a system where educated whites rise to the highest.As a result, native Africans resign to the working classes and peasantry. This domination of language effectively prevents any native African from rising into intellectual ranks because, as Ngugi puts it, the use of European languages splits African soul in two, forcing him to give up his roots if he wishes to climb the social ladder. Work Cited Currey, James. â€Å"The Language of African Literature† Decolonising the Mind: The politics ofLanguage in African Literature. London: 1981. 263-267

The New Super Power essays

The New Super Power essays What is the debate on weather or not China should retain favored-nation trading status all about? Is it really a decision on what is best economically for the United States, and China. Or is it: the issue of Chinese human rights violations and the fact that if the United States where to revoke the favored nation status of China it would have a profound negative impact on the U.S. economy alone. (+)Most-favored-nation trade status started in the United States as a version of the European preferential trade system. The Carter Administration first granted most-favored-nation trading status to China in 1980, following the historic efforts of President Nixon during the 1970s to restore diplomatic ties. Historically, a significant difference existed between the unconditional most-favored-nation clause in European trade law and the American version of conditional most-favored-nation. Under unconditional most-favored-nation status, one country's extension of tariff concessions guarantees the same concessions to all nations associated with it through commercial treaties. American conditional most-favored-nation status provided treaty signatories only the opportunity to negotiate most-favored-nation status when most-favored-nation status was extended to another trading partner. Thus meaning that the United States gives significant economic advantages to one nation in the form of mo st-favored-nation trading status. Under the Trade Act of 1974, most-favored-nation status could only be granted to China through a Sino-American bilateral commercial agreement and satisfaction of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment requirements. The Jackson-Vanik amendment states that the President of the United States may grant a communist country such as China most-favored-nation trade status if it was in conjunction with a trade agreement and upon proper improvement that China would permit emigration. Also China would have to satisfy that they are moving tow...

How Planning Your Blog Content Can Help You Get More Done

How Planning Your Blog Content Can Help You Get More Done I dont like planning out my blog content, she said. My friend and I were talking about editorial calendars and I, of course, was singing the praises of them. Id been using to plan my own blogs content and seeing great results. Why? I asked. I think content is better when it is spontaneous. More fresh, she said. When its planned out, its boring and dry. And I never end up actually writing the stuff on my calendar, which makes me feel bad. The Case For Doing More Blog Planning Before You Write via @JulieNeidlingerI could relate. Sort of. Most of my blogging existence has been one of writing at random. On a whim. When I felt like it. When the inspiration was flowing.  And it was also super sporadic, once every two weeks, and then three posts in one night. But I still felt that I needed to defend the idea of planning blog content ahead of time, before it was written, to my adamant friend. So is planning your blog content the answer to great content or its nemesis? If to plan or not to plan was a concept that was on trial, lets see how it would all pan out. The Case For Planning Your Blog Content In the case of to plan or not to plan, we have six witnesses for blog planning  defense: Inspiration can be used better. Systems have a chance to work. The rule of thirds means excellence. Rants and regrets dont exist. Research is better. Ideas are better fleshed-out. Strategy needs planned content to work. 1. Use your inspiration better. When that amazing inspiration hits, thats when you can get some serious blog planning done. The thing is, inspiration isnt always a regular friend. It often hits at inconvenient times and places (in the shower, or 2 a.m., or driving down the highway). Its wonderful when you get in the zone and the words fall out of your head into magical order, but most of the time, writing is an exercise that you practice to get better. Look at it pragmatically- you could use that wave of creative goodwill on just one post, or you could use it to brainstorm and write quick notes and ideas down for many posts. When your inspiration hits, you could write one blog post. Or use it to plan a dozen.When inspiration hits, brainstorm: Headlines Post ideas Content themes Series Ebook titles Email autoresponder courses As a writer often crunched for time and distracted from getting things done, Id rather get a lot of ideas lined up than just one post published. 2. A  chance to put a great  system to work for you. Writing systems are not magic bullets.  You can become so obsessed with finding the perfect system that you get nothing done and end up with no system at all. So no, a blog planning system isnt magic. But it is a way to shift into gear, get some momentum, and let the words flow easier. Systems are exactly like priming the pump. A system to plan your blog content isnt magic. But it can help you get more done.When you plan your blog content, you dont have to be afraid of not knowing what to say. Your system will help you. And, youll have time to properly use your system to achieve good final results because you planned and arent working in a rush. Here are two examples of writing systems that work great when youre planning ahead: The snowflake method for planning your blog content. This is a system novelists sometimes use. The idea is that you start small and build structure. The goal is to avoid major rewrites because you do the foundational work in such a way that the final structure falls into place. The snowflake method has writers start with a one-sentence summary of their book, then a paragraph to describe the plot. Then the characters are developed in a similar way, and so on down the line. While your planned content might not be a novel, a system that gets you to summarize and build from that summary to create a blog post could easily work. This type of system, where you start small and at the top of the pyramid, working down to the broader content, is best for detail-oriented people who like control. Julies four-step system for planning your blog content. Ive talked in detail about a four-step method I use to write blog posts. It starts wide and loose, unlike the snowflake system, allowing people who work best from inspiration or large ideas dump everything out on the page. Then it systematically helps you prune it back through editing and locating the excess. This type of system, where you start big and work from the bottom of the pyramid, working up to tighter content, is best for people who get large ideas first and then write them down to details. Or, for people who have a rush of inspiration and ideas and have to write them down before they lose them. 3. Time to perfect the final one-third. By planning your blog content, you have the chance to work on it, rework it, and finesse it. You have the time. Blog planning gives you the time to work, more than anything. And that means you can reach that final one-third. To simplify Tim Hursons idea in his book Think Better, we work in thirds. The first third is bad. The second third is better. The last third is the keeper. Thats the idea behind writing 25 headlines  to get one keeper, thats the idea of waiting until youve finished your blog post before writing the introduction. What you write initially is like rebar. Its basic, crude, rough. Just the start. Then you pour concrete or put up the drywall in your second round of work. Finally, you finish it out and add the final touches. Thats the final third, where you find the gold. Too many blog posts out there are rebar content. The initial idea, the bare-bones writing, the surface treatment. If they had had the time, they would have really been finished.  What does perfection in that final third involve? Time to identify lazy writing mistakes. Time to proofread and make edits. Time for other team members to complete the duties they have to do. When you plan your content, you get enough time to get past that first third into the good stuff. 4. No regrets for rants. With a long and storied history of ridiculousness, I am familiar with the insta-rant that you write and publish in a nanosecond and then spend the next few weeks putting out online fires. Rants and off-the cuff content can get you into trouble. Letting them sit as a draft for a day or two is the best option. But whats even better, particularly for a brand? Sticking to an editorial calendar and not relying on rants at all. When it comes to off-the-cuff content, rants frequently bubble to the top. Yikes. Spare yourself regret, avoid writing and publishing in the same fell swoop, and always stick to the plan no matter what youre angry or frustrated about in the moment. Spare yourself regret. Avoid writing and publishing in one fell swoop.5. Better research is possible. When you know what you have to write, you can research better. You can find better ideas using methods like the skyscraper technique. I know that having a plan in place and knowing what I will be writing about makes me more aware of what I could use in upcoming blog posts as Im reading and hopping around the Internet. This actually saves time in the long run. You cant do that when you dont plan. 6. A chance to use your organized ideas. Organizing ideas so that you can find and use them when you need to is a challenge. Much of the time, the reason people write in the moment is that they lack a system of storing that idea for a later time when they could write the content better. So they just toss it online so they dont lose it. When you plan your blog content, you can plug those ideas into your plan. Its one of my favorite things about , the ability to gather notes, research, links, conversations, and files right where Im planning. I dont have to feel the panic of writing now and hoping I can make it work in the first round. I can put it all together as time allows, and write later according to the plan. 7. You can create and implement strategy. Cant plan your blog content? You sure as heck wont be able to create a content strategy. Cant plan your content? You sure as heck wont be able to create a content strategy. How can you do any A/B testing if you never plan anything ahead of time? How can you pick out relevant patterns in your analytics? How can you attempt to make improvements to your content, your conversions- your anything- if you dont plan? No strategy, no direction, no budget. Planning ahead with your content goes hand-in-hand with planning your content marketing strategy as a whole. The Case Against Planning Your Blog Content Are there times when planning your blog content is detrimental? In the case of to plan or not to plan, lets have a look at the witnesses for the prosecution: You miss out on trends. Topics are not interesting anymore. Topics are now irrelevant. True inspiration is always better. Planning leads to procrastination. Planned content is dull. Are these legitimate witnesses or do they fall apart under scrutiny? Lets have a look. 1. Miss out on hot trends. You definitely cant know what the big trend is going to be a month or two ahead of it. That is true. But planning your blog content means you allow for flexibility when necessary. Your plan can absorb those last-minute trend blog posts if they are an important part of your niche. Trendy posts are the sprinkles on a cupcake- great to have, but you still need the cupcake or they are just lame sprinkles. The plan gives you the ability to sprinkle trending content on top. 2. Topics are no longer interesting. Sometimes planned topics arent as interesting to you when it comes time to write them, even if you thought they were a few weeks or months ago. This could lead to boring posts, lackluster writing, or missed deadlines as you put off writing the post. Well. Im sorry for your pain. Thats the business and work of writing. But if you simply cant bring yourself to write the content that you arent interested in anymorefine. Dont write it. Plan extra content ideas so you have the freedom to reject ideas. Give yourself some leeway as part of your plan. Guess what? This very blog post was planned more than  three months ago. When I opened up my editorial calendar to start my scheduled post, I looked at it and thought: Ugh. I have nothing to say about this. In that moment, I didnt particularly like planned content, either, because writing the plan was not very inspiring. So I reverted to my usual writing system, began the process, primed the word pump, and got the post written. And heres the big secret: What might seem like a boring post gets more interesting as you actually start writing it. Truth. What might seem like a boring post gets more interesting as you actually start writing it.3. Topics are no longer relevant. The topics you picked a month ago are not relevant or appropriate anymore. Again, fine. So what? Discard them, find something new, or tweak them so they fit. The scrap cookie dough left over after cutting out shapes doesnt make the cookies any less good. In the same way, the topics that cant be used dont make the planning any less beneficial. 4. There really are inspired moments to write. There truly are moments when you are more inspired to write. Yes. There are moments when the writing gods smile down on you and gift you with the golden words. So write. Use that. But dont make that your go-to system for creating content. They are horribly fickle gods, those jerks, and they are the patrons of blogs that have five fantastic posts spread out over six years. 5. Planning feeds into procrastination. Admittedly, excessive planning is one of the great procrastinators tools. Im quite fond of planning. Planning is exciting. It feels like youre getting things in order  while skipping out on the hard part of actually doing something.  So, if youre prone to procrastination, planning your blog content can be a way you make yourself feel better about not actually creating the content. But thats your problem with procrastination, not planning. Find topics that you want to write. Find a system that makes the start of content creation less formidable so you dont keep putting it off. Dont blame your blog planning. Figure out why you are procrastinating instead.

Toys R Us Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Toys R Us Company - Research Paper Example The Toys â€Å"R† Us firm went public during 1978 and started to branch out its products (Brohan, par 3). In the 1980’s Toys â€Å"R† Us stretched out into global markets as well as expanded its brand line to encompass children’s clothing. In the 1990’s, Toys â€Å"R† Us further grew into the baby product marketplace with Babies â€Å"R† Us (Lombardi, par 4). Additionally, Toys â€Å"R† Us assimilated the renowned New York toy store FAO Schwarz together with its online websites during 2009. Items from this New York high-end shop are now in Toys â€Å"R† Us stores too (Brohan, par 4). Toys â€Å"R† Us Inc. runs more than eight hundred and seventy five Babies â€Å"R† Us and Toys â€Å"R† Us shops within the U.S., more than six hundred and twenty five worldwide stores as well as over one hundred and forty licensed shops within 35 nations as well as its jurisdictions. Toys â€Å"R† Us board of dir ectors is comprised of nine members with Gerald Storch as the Chairman as well as the Chief Executive officer (Brohan, par 6). In an ever developing online retailing marketplace, Toys â€Å"R† Us has also developed itself as a virtual retailer. Toys â€Å"R† Us operates many online retail websites. Babiesrus.com and toysrus.com have various international websites and are among the highly visited websites for clients looking for kids’ products (Lombardi, par 5). ... During 2012 Toys â€Å"R† Us sales of toys went down by a percentage of 3.5 to 20.47 billion dollars within the U.S, the global major toy market, rendering to a research company NPD Group. Previously, Toys â€Å"R† Us articulated that its same-stores sales within the US had gone down by 4.5% within the 9 weeks from 28th October to 29th December, a crucial time for toys’ sales (Brohan, par 8). Toys â€Å"R† Us total sales of toys went down by 4.7% in that period. Toys â€Å"R† Us Inc. has not stated toys’ sales results for its current fiscal year. During the year that concluded during 2012, January, same-store sales went down at home as well as within the global business, whereas total sales rocketed from 45 million dollars to 13.9 billion dollars (Lombardi, par). From this analysis, the Toys â€Å"R† Us Inc. is feasible to venture into emerging markets such as India. Despite the toy sales drop, Toys â€Å"R† Us total sales incre ment shows that the company can afford to venture new markets or emerging markets, which can boost its toy sales and generate more returns for the company (Brohan, par 5). India’s economic development was grounded upon socialist-inspired policies following the independence. It encompassed state-ownership of numerous sectors, regulations as well as red tape that was referred to as ‘License Raj’ in addition to safeguarding from the global markets. India’s political economy has rapidly transmuted with the economy’s liberalization during the 1990s (Maps of India, par 1). India has currently moved into a market-based structure and it is the global second speediest growing quintessential economy following China. India documented the highest gross domestic product rate of 9 percent in 2007. India’s growth has currently reached 7.5

War on Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

War on Drugs - Essay Example On the one hand, the "war on drugs" helps criminal justice system to control illegal drug trade and reduce a number of drug addicts. The creation of the threat estimate is a logical and orderly examination of all the factors which when combined give shape to the threat. The circularity of effects should be dear. As American communities changed, fear of the unfamiliar and unknown, and consequently that of crime, rose. As a result, when people encounter illegal acts they are more likely to call the police, out of fear, whereas in the past, when the situation did not contain the element of unfamiliarity, the issue would be handled informally. So increasing fear is a cause of acceleration in reported crime when the actual incidence of crime has remained stable. In contrast to this view, "many critics claim that current drug control strategy is not only unnecessarily punitive but also largely ineffective". The majority of survey respondents str not satisfied with the present situation, ch aracterizing information/intelligence exchange as being "hit or miss," with actual "intelligence business" being conducted by personal contact and investigator meetings-in short, on a case by case basis. They cited limited connectivity between existing and planned networks and limited integration of federal efforts with those of state and local. Some investigators query systems but are reluctant to provide information to input. Fears of 'claim jumping' lucrative cases have prompted previously cooperative agencies to act much more cautiously." Additionally, "guarding drug intelligence and concealing major. â€Å"The current "prosecute-or-extradite" system functions through national prosecutions aided by ad hoc international cooperation. It leaves the enforcement of narcotics laws to individual nation-states, as nations may choose to assert jurisdiction and prosecute drug traffickers within their national justice systems, to extradite them to a requesting state, or to avoid taking an y action" (Mcconville 2000, p. 75). In addition, "the war on drugs" becomes a real burden for criminal justice system and prisons. Crowding in penal institutions may produce the most volatile situation of all. Many prisoners do not have a chance to be put on parole, so the effects of crowding apply steady pressure on them. That pressure is exacerbated by the violence, racism, and sense of hopelessness found in prisons. Crowding affects prison life in two ways: control of the prison population is more difficult as individual disciplinary problems and major disturbances increase, and individual deterioration is fostered (Miller, 2004). Prisoners living in crowded facilities for sustained periods commit suicide, die, are murdered, create disturbances, become ill, and have interpersonal problems more often than inmates not living in crowded surroundings. Both the actual amount of living space available to each inmate and the total number of men or women incarcerated are related to the negative impacts of imprisonment. Larg e institutions produce more severe physical and psychological effects than smaller facilities (The War on Drugs