Managing and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms a...

v i n n o va r e p o r t vr 2009:06 managing and organizing for innovation in service firms A literature review with annotated bibliography annika schilling andreas Werr stockholm school of economics Title: Managing and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms. A literature review with annotated bibliography Author: Annika Schilling Andreas Werr - Stockholm School of Economics Series: VINNOVA Report VR 2009:06 ISBN: 978-91-85959-47-1 ISSN: 1650-3104 Published: Februari 2009 Publisher: VINNOVA - Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems / Verket fà ¶r Innovationssystem VINNOVA Case No: 2008-02234 About VINNOVA VINNOVA, Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems. VINNOVA ´s mission is to promote sustainable†¦show more content†¦His research has been published in e.g. Organizations Studies, Organization and the Sloan Management Review. The authors show that there are significant gaps in knowledge and a great need for research on how service work can be designed, organized and led in order to promote the innovation potential of employees. Schilling and Werr identified and elaborate the following knowledge gaps and needs for further research: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Understanding the dynamics of the service innovation process Using contextualized models of service innovation Exploring and comparing different types of service firms Service innovation in business networks Knowledge and knowledge processes in service innovation Innovative climate and HRM practices Communication and talk in the service innovation. Power and politics in the service innovation Gender studies of service innovation In spring 2009 VINNOVA launches almost 40 million on research and development to help fill some of the identified knowledge gaps. The literature review is part of the preparatory work on the announcement. In addition, an interview study is initiated and will be released during spring. VINNOVA in February 2009 Pà ¤r Larsson Kerstin Waldenstrà ¶m Programme managers Working Life Department Content 1 IntroductionShow MoreRelatedLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 PagesApplication, Fourth Edition Lois Mai Chan Developing Library and Information Center Collections, Fifth Edition G. Edward Evans and Margaret Zarnosky Saponaro Metadata and Its Impact on Libraries Sheila S. Intner, Susan S. Lazinger, and Jean Weihs Organizing Audiovisual and Electronic Resources for Access: A Cataloging Guide, Second Edition Ingrid Hsieh-Yee Introduction to Cataloging and Classification, Tenth Edition Arlene G. Taylor LIbRaRy and InfoRMaTIon CenTeR ManageMenT Seventh Edition Read MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesthis book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire ISBN 0–19–928335–4 978–0–19–928335–4 ISBN 0–19–928336–2 (Pbk.) 978–0–19–928336–1 (Pbk.) 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 3 FOREWORD ‘ MichaelRead MoreDeveloping Effective Research Proposals49428 Words   |  198 PagesIntroduction to Social Research 1.3 A view of research 1.4 Outline of chapters 1.5 Review concepts Notes 2 The Proposal – Readers, Expectations and Functions 2.1 What is a research proposal? 2.2 Readers and expectations 2.3 Functions and purpose of the proposal 2.4 Pre-structured versus unfolding research 2.5 The research proposal as a plan 2.6 Research questions or research problems? 2.7 A simplified model of research 2.8 Review concepts and questions Notes 3 A General Framework for Developing ProposalsRead MoreQuality Improvement328284 Words   |  1314 PagesMarketing Manager: Christopher Ruel Production Manager: Dorothy Sinclair Production Editor: Sandra Dumas Senior Designer: Kevin Murphy New Media Editor: Lauren Sapira Editorial Assistant: Mark Owens Production Management Services: Elm Street Publishing Services Composition Services: Aptara, Inc. This book was typeset in 10/12 Times by Aptara, Inc., and printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley (Jefferson City). The cover was printed by R. R. Donnelley (Jefferson City). The paper in this book was manufactured

Analysis Of Amazon, Ebay And Alibaba s Different Feedback...

2.1 Feedback System According to above research objectives, the following discussion include analysis of Amazon, eBay and Alibaba’s different feedback systems, as well as identify the advantages of operating feedback systems which enable to promote the growth of the business. A feedback system is a critical factor in determining the success of e-business (Masclet and Penard, 2012). Feedback systems can also be called word-of-month communication which expresses customers’ perceptions and experiences after they receive the products from the marketplaces. Different marketplaces have its own feedback systems. On the one hand, Amazon and eBay provide the opportunities to both sellers and buyers, but on the other hand, they have different rating way. Amazon’s users can score their perceptions from one to five stars (Amazon, 2009a). EBay can be ranked in ‘positive’ (+1), ‘negative’ (-1) and ‘neutral’ (0). With the rating get, the system can reflect it in sellers’ performance rate by adding, deducting or no impact. (Kollock 1999). Alibaba’s feedback system consist of buyers’ opinion only and they have the ability to rank seller’s online stores as well. The lowest ranks are hearts, followed by diamonds, blue crowns and finally yellow crowns (Hongkiat 2015). However, its ranking system is similar with Amazon --- stars from one to five. Therefore, the main difference between Amazon, eBay and Alibaba’s feedback system is their ranking way and whether sellers and b uyers can commentShow MoreRelatedCase - Alibaba Group7315 Words   |  30 PagesAlibaba Group At Alibaba, strategy and organization go hand-in-hand. Every year we change the organizational structure in tandem with changes in strategy. Jack Ma, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, stared through the fog at the cable stays of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge whistling past on his drive to the offices of Taobao (hunting for treasures), Alibabas online marketplace for Chinese retailers and consumers. The longest transoceanic bridge in the world had a long gestation period:Read MoreWhat Is Social Media?2557 Words   |  11 Pagessocial media are helps people to become more interactive freely and to share their knowledge, information, and experiences. In like manner, many studies point out that the users who using these sites are increasing, especially the last two years. The different types of social media such as, Facebook, Twitter, Linked, Instagram, YouTube, have attracted a huge number of users, whom have merged these sites into user’s lives. The chart below, demonstrates how much data in social networks can be generated dailyRead MoreOnline Shopping Website : Web Based Systems Project10604 Words   |  43 Pa ges UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE School of Computer Science Modular BSc Honours in Information Technology 6COM0284 – Web-based Systems Project Final Report April 2015 TITLE OF PROJECT Online Shopping Website Author s initials and surname S.Pourmoafi Supervised by: Mr. Keith Dawkins â€Æ' Table of contents Abstract: 3 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT 4 2. INTRODUCTION 5 3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 9 3.1 Background research 9 3.2 Market Research (Existing Online Websites) 10 3.2 The History of E-commerce: 11 3.3Read MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesCONTENTS: CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY 1 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A): The Role of the Operating Manager in Information Systems CASE STUDY I-1 IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-2 VoIP2.biz, Inc.: Deciding on the Next Steps for a VoIP Supplier CASE STUDY I-3 The VoIP Adoption at Butler University CASE STUDY I-4 Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of New York City CASE STUDY I-5 Read MoreManagement and Teaching Note19520 Words   |  79 Pages(11pp) 207-058-4 EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND RESERVE BANK INTERVENTION: THE CASE OF NEW ZEALAND Structured assignment Gonela, SK; Panuganti, SM IBSCDC 14pp; Teaching note 207-058-8 (11pp) 207-046-1 GERMANY’S ‘GREEN DOT’WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM George, SS; Govind, S ICMR Center for Management Research 21pp; Teaching note 207-046-8 (3pp) 207-059-1 GLOBAL INFLATION: MONETARY POLICY DEBATE Gonela, SK; Kompella, R IBSCDC 8pp; Teaching note 207-059-8 (13pp) 207-059-4 GLOBAL INFLATION: MONETARY POLICY DEBATE

Johnson Johnson free essay sample

Johnson Johnson (JJ) was founded in the late 1800s in New Brunswick, New Jersey, by Robert Wood Johnson I and his brothers, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson. When it first began, JJ produced consumer healthcare products including first-aid kits, baby powder, dental floss, etc. (Johnson Johnson History, n. d. ). Overtime, however, JJ has grown tremendously and now operates three different business segments: consumer, medical devices and diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals. Additionally, JJ is made up of more than 250 companies located in 57 different countries around the world (â€Å"Company Structure†, n.  d. ). As of 2012, JJ was ranked 42nd on the Fortune 500 (Fortune 500 2012: Fortune 1000 Companies 1-100, 2012), was a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) (DIJA, n. d. ), and was traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol â€Å"JNJ† (NYSE Euronext, n. d. ). RATIO ANALYSIS (The following figures have been calculated using figures listed in JJ’s Form 10-K included in the 2012 Annual Report. We will write a custom essay sample on Johnson Johnson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Calculations of each ratio can be seen in the Appendix. ) The first ratio considered focuses on JJs liquidity. According to Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan, Liquidity refers to the speed and ease with which an asset can be converted to cash (2012, p. 23). The liquidity ratio being considered in this case, is the current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities), which measures JJs short-term debt paying ability. Based on the figures in the balance sheet from 2012, the current ratio was 1. 90, meaning that the company had $1. 90 worth of current assets for every $1. 00 of current liabilities. JJs current ratio exceeds the industry average of 1. 62 (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. Though a higher current ratio is typically desirable (especially for creditors), a high current ratio could also indicate an inefficient use of cash and short-term assets. The next set of ratios considered are called long-term solvency ratios, which, according to Ross, et. al. , are intended to address the firms long-term ability to meet its obligations (2012, p. 59). The first coverage ratio, total debt ratio, takes into account all debts of all maturities to all creditors (Ross, et. al. , 2012, p. 59). In 2012, JJs total debt ratio was . Which was calculated by first, subtracting total equity from total assets and then, dividing that number by JJs total assets. In other words, Johnson and Johnson has $0. 47 of debt for every $1. 00 of assets. Whether this is high or low, depends on whether the capital structure matters. Regardless, this was very similar to the healthcare industry, which had a total debt ratio of 0. 45 (Profitability†¦, n. d. ). The second long-term solvency ratio to be discussed is times interest earned (or interest coverage), which measures how well JJ has its interest obligations covered (Ross, et. Al. , 2012, p. 61). This is calculated by dividing earnings before interest expense and income taxes by the total interest expense for the year. In 2012, JJ was able to earn interest 26. 89 times as compared to the industry average of 14. 27 (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). A higher ratio is desirable as it suggests that JJ would be better able to cover its interest obligations. If JJ had a low ratio, it would suggest that the company might be unable to cover its debt obligations with current earnings. Nevertheless, JJ is covering its interest obligations sufficiently and could possibly even use some of the excess (over the industry average) to seek out other investment opportunities. An additional category to be considered is asset management, or turnover measures. These calculations measure how efficiently a firm uses its assets to generate sales (Ross, et. al. 2012, p. 61). The inventory turnover, for instance, measures approximately how many times JJ sells its entire inventory throughout the year. It is calculated by dividing JJs cost of goods sold by the amount left in ending inventory. This resulted in an inventory turnover of 2. 89 times for JJ in 2012, which is comparable to the industry average of 2. 80 times (Profitability†¦, n. d. ). In other words, JJ essentially sold its entire inventory almost three times throughout 2012. A high inventory turnover is preferable as long as the company is able to keep adequate inventory on hand and keep sales numbers high enough to sustain the company. This amount can be further broken down by dividing 365 days by the inventory turnover of 2. 89, which results in the average days sales in inventory of 126. 30. This means that the inventory sits approximately 126 days before it is sold. Another asset management ratio is the receivables turnover, which measures how quickly the money can be collected on the credit sales of inventory (Ross, et. al. , 2012 p. 62). It is calculated by dividing sales to customers by the ending amount in accounts receivable, which, for JJ in 2012 gave a result of 5. 94 times. This means that the on average, JJ collects on all of its sales almost 6 times per year or approximately every 61. 45 days (365 days/5. 94 times). This is slightly less than the industry average of 6. Times (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ) or 54. 80 days (365 days/6. 66 times). In other words, JJ collects cash for its credit sales slightly slower than other companies in the industry. While it is typically desirable to have a higher annual receivable turnover and a lower days’ sales in receivables, it is important to look at the company’s collection policy to be certain. For instance, if JJ’s collection period is one month (approximately 30 days), then the current receivable turnover is too low and days’ sales in receivables of 61. 45 is too high. However, if the collection period is two months, then the current ratios are desirable, since they are collecting all of the receivables approximately every 61. 45 days, which is roughly two months. Regardless, JJ’s ratios are very similar to that of the industry and therefore, the company will probably not need to make any adjustments. A third asset management ratio is the net working capital turnover, which measures â€Å"how much ‘work’ we get out of our working capital† (Ross, et. al. , 2012, p. 63). In order to calculate this number, sales are divided by the net working capital. Net working capital is made up of current assets less current liabilities. The net working capital is used to fund operations and purchase inventory, which are then converted into sales for the company. In essence then, the net working capital turnover shows the relationship between the money spent to fund the operations and the money earned from the operations. In 2012, JJ’s net working capital turnover was 3. 08, which is less than the industry average of 4. 16 (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). In this case, a higher ratio is desired, because it implies that the company is earning more for its money. Based on the 2012 financials, JJ is not using its working capital as well as other companies in its industry. The final asset management ratio is â€Å"total asset turnover,† which measures a company’s efficiency at using its assets to generate sales. It is calculated by dividing sales by total assets, which for JJ resulted in a ratio of 0. 55. This means that for every dollar of assets, JJ generated $0. 55 in sales. This is only slightly higher than the industry average of 0. 53. It is desirable, yet again, to have a higher ratio, because it suggests that the company is generating more money through its assets. Another set of ratios that are typically used are called â€Å"profitability ratios. † Profitability ratios, â€Å"are intended to measure how efficiently a firm uses its assets and manages its operations† (Ross, et. al. , 2012, p. 63). These ratios differ from asset management ratios, because they focus on net income rather than the amount of sales generated. The first profitability ratio considered is â€Å"return on assets,† which measures the profit per dollar of assets (Ross, et. al. , 2012, p. 64). It is calculated by dividing net income for the year by the total equity. In 2012, JJ’s return on assets was 8. 94%, which is slightly higher than the industry average of 8. 31% (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). A higher ratio is desirable again, because it suggests that the company is more efficiently using its assets to generate profits. Another profitability ratio that is frequently used is called, â€Å"return on equity. † The return on equity ratio is used to measure â€Å"how the stockholders fared during the year† (Ross, et. al. , 2012, p. 64). JJ’s return on equity in 2012 was 16. 74%, which is less than the industry average of 18. 28% (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). This percentage is calculated by dividing net income by total equity. It ultimately measures how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested, therefore, a higher is percentage is better. The final category of ratios that will be considered are titled â€Å"market value measures,† which are based on information that is not in the financial statements, rather it is based on the market price per share of stock (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). The only market value measure that will be considered is the â€Å"price-earnings ratio,† which is a valuation of a company’s current share price compared to its per-share earnings. This ratio is calculated by dividing the per share price at the end of the year by the earnings per share. JJ’s price-earnings ratio in 2012 was 19. 35 times, which is higher than the industry average of 16. 40 times (Johnson Johnson (JNJ), n. d. ). In general, JJ’s higher price-earnings ratio could suggest that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future as compared to other companies within the industry. Furthermore, the price-earnings ratio represents how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings. For JJ then, investors are willing to pay $19. 35 for every dollar of earnings. Is a company that rates financial securities, including bonds. SP assigns the financial securities one of the following ratings: â€Å"AAA†, â€Å"AA†, â€Å"A†, â€Å"BBB†, â€Å"BBB-â€Å", â€Å"BBB+†, â€Å"BB†, â€Å"B†, â€Å"CCC†, â€Å"CC†, â€Å"C†, and â€Å"D†. â€Å"AAA† is the highest rating and â€Å"D† is the lowest; â€Å"Investment Grade† bonds include those with ratings of â€Å"AAA† to â€Å"BBB†, while those below â€Å"BBB† are classified as â€Å"Speculative Grade† or junk bonds. The ratings are concerned only with the possibility of default. According to SP Rating Services, JJ has foreign and local long-term bonds, as well as foreign and local short-term bonds. The term â€Å"local† refers to bonds held in the U. S. Based on SPs ratings, both JJ’s long-term foreign and long-term local bonds are AAA, meaning that there is an extremely strong capacity for JJ to meet its financial commitments (Standard Poor’s, n. d. ). SP also assesses the potential direction of a long-term credit rating in the short-term. SP projected that JJ’s long term credit rating would remain â€Å"stable† in the short-term, meaning that is not likely the rating will change. On the other hand, both JJ’s short-term foreign and short-term local bonds are rated A. The â€Å"A† rating suggests that there is still a strong capacity for JJ to meet its financial commitments, but there is some susceptibility to adverse economic conditions and changes in circumstances (Standard Poor’s, n. d. ). Nevertheless, all of the bonds issued by JJ are considered â€Å"Investment Grade†. In addition to bonds, JJ also issues common stock on which it has reported increasing dividends for 50 consecutive years (Gorsky, 2013). This year continued that trend as JJ reported an annual dividend of $2. 59 per share, an increase from last year’s annual dividend of $2. 40 per share. The final quarter dividend of $0. 61 per share was declared on October 17, 2013, but will not be paid until December 10, 2013 (Johnson Johnson Investor Relations, 2013). Finally, it should be noted that JJ had a 38. 98% increase in price per share of common stock. Last year at this time (specifically on November 25, 2012), the price for a share of JJ’s stock was $68. 81. Since then, the share price has increased dramatically, as it is now $95. 63. In other words, investors are willing to pay more per share of stock, likely because they are expecting higher earnings in the future. CONCLUSION One important factor that has not been discussed due to its non-financial nature, is the many current product defects and recalls that the company has experienced. Some such recalls have included products such as Tylenol, contact lenses, artificial hips, infant motrin, etc. Though it would seem that the recalls would affect the financial status of the company, after evaluating JJ’s financial ratios, bonds, and stocks, it seems the company is still financially sound. This is likely due to the impact JJ has worldwide. According to Business Insider, JJ touches more than one billion people per day (2012). In other words, JJ has so many products and such a large share of the market that many consumers use the products, because they may not have much other choice. Despite the recalls, we believe that JJ would be a good company to invest in for three reasons. First, JJ has many strong brands in each of its three segments (consumer, medical devices and diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals). These brands will likely remain profitable in the future, since many people will continue to rely on medical products. Second, JJ has nearly all healthy ratios and provides a hefty dividend, which has continued to increase for the past 50 years. Finally, there is a great potential for growth in the healthcare industry as medical problems are not likely to cease anytime soon. With that in mind, we believe that investing in JJ would likely be a wise decision. APPENDIX Johnson Johnson Ratio Calculations J J Industry Current Ratio Current Assets $46,116 1. 90 1. 62 Current Liabilities $24,262 Total Debt Ratio Total Assets Total Equity $56,521 0. 47 0. 45 Total Assets $121,347 Times Interest Earned EBIT $14,307 26. 89 14. 27 Interest $532 Inventory Turnover Cost of Goods Sold $21,658 2. 89 2. 80 Inventory $7,495 Receivable Turnover Sales $67,224 5. 94 6. 66 Accounts Receivable $11,309 Net Working Capital Turnover Sales $67,224 3. 08 4. 16 Net Working Capital $21,854 Total Assets Turnover Sales $67,224 0. 55 0. 53 Total Assets $121,347 Return on Assets Net Income $10,853 8. 94% 8. 31% Total Assets $121,347 Return on Equity Net Income $10,853 16. 74% 18. 28% Total Equity $64,826 Price-Earnings Ratio Price Per Share $76. 25 19. 35 16. 40 Earnings Per Share $3. 94 Percent Change Stock Price Price Today Price Last Year 26. 82 38. 98% (11/25/12 to 11/25/13) Price Last Year 68. 81

Poor Boys Blimp Essays - Airships, Blimp, Trout Mask Replica

Poor Boys Blimp There once was a little boy that grew up in the Brooklyn projects. He was extremely poor. Some how he managed to have some of the better things of life like a treadmill and an obsolete computer from the 80's. His life long dream was to own a $650 Lead Zeppelin remote controlled blimp. He asked his parents every year for six years if he could have it and every time they would say no they couldn't afford it. So on the boys fourteenth birthday he went and applied for a job at the local Nathaniel's. After talking to the manager Steve and getting the job he ran home and told his parents that he started the job tomorrow. The next day the when he got to work he looked around and noticed Steve was gone. He asked another worker where Steve was. The worker responded he was fired for being too stupid. The boy laughed and returned back to work. After weeks of hard work he finally made $600 of the $650 he needed for the blimp. On his way home one day he noticed a new store. He read the stores name "Iraqi Pete Discount plutonium and models". So only being human he walked in to look around. The moment he walked in he was surrounded be a green glow that was so bright it would put a helicopter's searchlights to shame. After his eyes adjusted to the glow he saw the storeowner eating pineapples and watching TV in black and white. The owner of the store heard the door shut and went to the boy and said hello. The boy being polite said hello as well. The owner asked if there was a certain item he was looking for. The boy asked if he had a Led Zeppelin remote control blimp. The man said yes we do right there in the corner. So the boy thanked him and walked to the corner and his eyes lit up brighter than the radiation from the plutonium. It was the blimp for $600 tax-free. The boy asked if the blimp was really $600 the owner said yes why wouldn't it be. The boy grabbed it, bought it, and left the store. Quickly he ran home and saw his father. Daddy, daddy he said look what I bought. The father yelled shut up. I just worked double time triple time at the hospital I need coffee and sleep. Not affected by his father's routine yelling the boy went to his 5th story window and read the directions and then started the blimp. The sound of the engine thrilled the boy. Now the time had come for the first flight the boy flew it out the window and outside where everyone could see it. He was having the time of his life until it happened. The blimp for no apparent reason went putt, putt and started on its first and last decent. Crashing into the courtyard in a loud flaming mess the boy almost passed out. He ran down the stairs fast to see how bad the damage was. It was totaled the blimp would never fly again. He started to cry when he noticed something he didn't smell gas. He dipped his finger in the gas tank and tasted it. It was watered down desil he was swindled by Pete. Angry, sad and confused he ran back to the store he walked in screaming and crying. Then all of a sudden he noticed something there where ten INS agents in Pete's store. He also saw Pete in handcuffs. One of the agents saw him and quickly took him out of the store and drove him home. When he got home the boy walked slowly up the stairs like a lifeless zombie. When he finally got back to his apartment he sat in front of the window and watched the birds thinking to himself why couldn't I have just waited. The moral of the story is if it seems to good to be true it probably is.

buy custom Combating Compassion Fatigue essay

buy custom Combating Compassion Fatigue essay A lot of care, given to patients, can be hurting to caregivers. When caregivers turn their focus on other people without practicing self-care, disparaging behaviors can result. Loneliness, apathy, substance abuse and bottled up emotions are among the many symptoms, linked with the secondary shocking stress disorder, now referred to as compassion fatigue. It is obvious that compassion fatigue causes suffering and pain. All the same, learning to identify and deal with the symptoms of compassion fatigue is the first move towards healing (Chen et al., 2009). Caregivers need to be aware of real, sustainable self-care and help organizations in their objective of offering compassionate and healthy care to the people being served. There are quite a number of warning signs for the concepts of compassion fatigue. Undoubtedly, there comes a time, when there are thoughts coming repeatedly into the head and becoming difficult to put them out (Bush, 2009). There is a feeling of irritation and boredom. These are some of the behavioral signs. Nevertheless, there is possibly the absence of a feeling about the satisfaction of the work a person does. There is a feeling that such satisfaction is not there and that it is not in balance. There appears to be no correlation between the energy put out and the benefits, coming as a result. The following can be regarded as the major concepts of compassion fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), burnout, emotional contagion, vicarious traumatization and traumatic counter-transference. Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is the most parallel concept to compassion fatigue and can be used to define it. STS is basically a set of emotional and psychological factors through a specific occurrence or a series of occurrences, affecting the caregivers indirectly. While STS is assisting an individual in harms way, primary traumatic stress takes place, when a person is in harms way. STS is nearly similar to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), even though PTSD usually takes place, when an individual is directly traumatized. For caregivers coming back from a warfare surrounding, the threat of individual harm and exposure to injury for others shows connection to PTSD. Burnout, on the other hand, is also another concept of compassion fatigue. Burnout can be defined as the state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion that is a result of lasting involvement in situations that are very much demanding on emotional matters. All the same, burnout of the healthcare professionals is basically a consequence of low morale, high turnover of job, job stress and absenteeism (Gupta Woodman, 2010). There are also other three concepts, linked to compassion fatige: emotional contagion, vicarious traumatization and traumatic counter-transference. Usually, these concepts, as mentioned here, involve the psychotherapy of the victims and the therapists as well. Emotional contagion is a very successful process, through which a person, making observation over another individual, encounters emotional reactions that are parallel to the anticipated or actual emotions of the person. Vicarious traumatization and traumatic counter-transference can be defined as the transformation of the inner experience of the therapist, emerging from empathetic involvement with the trauma material of the client (Program to combat 'compassion fatigue', 2010). Most of these different concepts have been used interchangeably in literature. The common connection of these concepts is in the sense that, working with victims or trauma patients impressively affects the emotional welfare of the healthcare practitioners, nurses and therapists. The slight differences are realized in the manner, through which the impacts of working with a traumatized person end up in either direct or indirect distress emotionally on the part of the caregiver. Generally, compassion fatigue is taken as a more natural outcome of emotional fallout from caregivers, offering close care to the patient (Bush, 2009). Compassion fatigue is acute and almost sudden. One important thing to know is the fact that burnout is a steady wearing down of the healthcare practitioners, coupled with lack of job satisfaction. Even though the burnout concept is different from compassion fatigue, it could be a risk factor and, in a real sense, the precursor to compassion fatigue (Espeland, 2006). Two responses can be expected from a group of caregivers, concerning whether they love their job or not. Suppose the answer turns out to be a NO, then, it is most likely that the care giver is anguishing with burnout. On the contrary, if the answer is YES, then, the caregiver is more prone to be undergoing compassion fatigue. There are quite a number of warning signs for healthcare practitioners, concerning self-auditing that they can work out to monitor compassion fatigue (Bush, 2009). One of the symptoms is an instance, where an individual keeps hearing and seeing the things that have been told to them. They always focus on a specific problem of the patient. Therefore, the warning signs would be that the caregivers are laying a lot of focus on this and that they are not doing what they are supposed to do in other areas and they do not feel any satisfaction out of it. In the event that caregivers do not experience any satisfaction in what they do, it would be important for them to use a checklist to monitor their work, rather than merely having these thoughts (Chenn et al., 2009). The caregiver is supposed to attend to his or her physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. This is aimed at ensuring high quality services to the people, looking up to them for healthcare support as a human being. The physical needs of the caregiver include a good diet, fighting fatigue, exercise and time to relax. Most times, the caregiver may forget to eat but should always try to find good time and eat. The caregiver also needs a lot of exercise. This helps in lowering blood pressure and easing any anxiety and depression. It also decreases mental and physical tension. Exercise helps to ease the mind, take a break from dealing with the patient and at the same time stay in shape to promote good health. Exercises are needed to deal with overwhelming situations. Relaxation is also needed in reducing emotional and physical stress that comes along with caregiving. The caregiver, therefore, needs calmness, rest and ability to deal with life stresses (Program to combat 'compassion fatigue', 2010). With a lot of attention, focused on the patient, the caregiver may emotionally feel less important and invisible (Ekedahl and Wengstrm, 2008). This comes along with such needs like anxiety, guilt, sadness, grief and frustration that need to be addressed. While the caregiver administers his or her role, spiritual needs such as wanting to know why God has allowed such an ailment, making the best effort out of the situation and keeping the faith are also evident. The care giver also needs social support, maintaining his or her life and enjoying what he or she is doing. Based on the needs above, there are coping strategies and resources that can really be useful to the caregiver. For physical needs, caffeine should be avoided but a lot of water be taken instead. At least three balanced meals should be taken as well. A doctors advice on exercise will also be good, while the care giver can choose the best exercise to do. Listening to caregivers music choice can also help. Reading books, getting a massage and taking some day to relax would be useful to the caregiver. The caregiver can be open-minded and share out the challenges, while showing an appreciation of family support and from other close associates (Espeland, 2006). Getting at least six hours of sleep during the night is useful in fighting fatigue to maintain good physical and emotional wellbeing (Chen et al., 2009). It would also be important on matters of spirituality for the caregiver to keep praying and meditating together with practicing spiritual rituals. Attending religious services and talking to a spiritual figure can really help the caregiver in dealing with compassion fatigue. Buy custom Combating Compassion Fatigue essay

How to Write a Book Step by Step Essentials for a Good Book [Video]

How to Write a Book Step by Step Essentials for a Good Book [Video] How to Write a Book Step by Step: Essentials for a Good Book [Video] Writing a book is hard without the right help. Without someone whos done it before, you can end up making crucial mistakes.Anyone who says learning how to write a book is easy has neveractually tried. If they did, theyd know writing a book takesa lotmore than a helpful piece of grammar software.It takes help from someone whos done it before.If you’ve ever tried to write a book, you know how it goesYou stare at a blank page for 5 minutes, but it feels like hours. To combat the boredom, you stand, stretch, and brew yet another pot of coffee.Anda week later someone asks how your book is coming, and you think, â€Å"Book? What book? I havent even come up with a book idea yet!†But now youre ready to start writing a book- and were going to help make sure you do.Heres how to write a book step by step:Prevent procrastination when writing a bookAdopt the Mentality of a WriterPreparing to Write a BookSchedule writing timeGet book writing toolsWriting Your BookAvoid Book Writing M istakesLaunching After Writing Your BookReady to get started as a serious writer right now? Check out your free training below before reading the rest of this post! How to Write a Book Despite ProcrastinationThere are plenty of reasons why writing a book, whether youre writing a fiction novel or nonfiction, puts most writers directly into procrastination mode.These are some common reasons you procrastinate when writing a book:Youre not sure how to get startedIts terrifying to spill your guts to the world in a bookYoure insecure about your writing and have writers block before youve even startedYoure afraid of getting negative book reviews when you do eventually publishYoure worried that even if you do write your book, nobody will buy it and youll end up with low book sales for lifeYoure not sure how to take your idea and turn it into an actual bookTake a deep breath (but no more coffee, you’ve had enough). Remember that all authors have been exactly where you are right now. E very successful writer- from William Shakespeare to Walt Whitman to Stephen King- began by staring at a blank page.You’re in illustrious company!Ready to learn how to write your first book and go from blank page to published author in just 90 days? Then let’s get started!Do you have what it takes to become a published author?How to Write a Book Step 1:Think Like a WriterBefore you sit down and type a single word, it will pay off if you take some time to address a few attitude questions and adopt the right mindset.This is one of the most frequently overlooked steps in becoming a published author, which is a big reason why so many people fail to finish their book.Take it from me- it’s worth your time to complete these steps. They will make the rest of your book-writing experience much, much easier and more satisfying.#1 Find Your â€Å"Why† for Writing a BookBefore you open your laptop and start daydreaming about which photographer should take your best-se lling author headshot, or about getting interviewed on Oprah, you need to answer one question:Whats your reason for writing a book? It’s not enough to have an inspiring book idea. Before you put pen to paper, you need to know your purpose.I won’t lie. Writing a book is rewarding, but it requires hard work. It requires emotional labor, long nights (or early mornings), extended weekends, and facing a constant self-critical process that is unlike anything you’ve experienced before.Solidifying the purpose fueling your book will carry you through this difficult process.Ok, you’re thinking- â€Å"Don’t worry, I know why I want to write a book. I want to write to feel important!† That’s an interesting thought, and feeling important may be a byproduct of becoming a self-published author.However, feeling important isn’t the same as your purpose- your WHY. Feelings are fleeting, whereas a purpose is a deeper, intrinsic motivator which wi ll keep you burning the midnight oil to power through Chapter 23 when the rush of feelings have long dissipated.These are some popular reasons for authors to write a book:Authority: To build credibility.Money: For financial gain, business success, or to make a living writing.Grow a network: To meet and connect with others in the industry.Passion project: To share an empowering story for the greater good.To have an escape: A mental escape can help you deal with real-world problems.To give others an escape: If you write fiction, you might want to give others struggling a safe place to go.To change lives: Books change lives and your message could empower others to make a change in their life.There are no wrong or right purposes for writing a book.Your WHY will be unique to you.Once you’ve honed in on your WHY, let that purpose help focus your writing. By keeping your purpose at theforefront of your creative process, you’ll make the writing process quicker and smoother tha n you thought possible.#2 Get Rid of Your Excuses for Not Writing the BookYou’ve figured out your WHY and articulated your unique purpose for writing a book. And right on cue, something is going to try to derail your progress already: your writing excuses.When there’s nothing standing in your way, it’s sadly typical to start letting excuses for not writing your book become the obstacle to your success.But you can overcome it.It’s worthwhile to spend a little time addressing some common excuses many of us make to prevent us from writing.Once you’ve cleared out the cobwebs and smashed those mental roadblocks, you’ll be better prepared for the writing process ahead. Getting your mind ready is one of the first steps to producing valuable work, whether than a publishing an ebook, the next great American novel, or a passion project.Excuse #1 You don’t know what to write.You may not realize it, but you have a story worth telling.In fact, y ou may be pleasantly surprised to find as you write that you have more than one story and you’re having a tough time narrowing down the content.The easiest way to start writing your first book is to choose a topic you’re comfortable with. You can literally write a book about anything, so go with what you know.Heres how you can figure out what to write about:Look at a list of writing prompts or story ideas and choose an ideaWrite a list of all the things youre most passionate aboutWrite down a list of everything youre very knowledgeable aboutWrite a list of areas you want to be seen as credible inCompile all of these lists and rank your ideas in order of what youre most passionate aboutImagine which idea youd be most proud to have your name onChoose the idea you know the most about and are the most passionate aboutOnce you have an idea narrowed down, you can go ahead and start your mindmap and outline.Excuse #2 You don’t have enough time.Today, we’re all busy. I get it.Plus, how long does writing a book take in the first place?But I have some good news: Writing a book takes less time than you think. Find an hour a day you devote to something mindless- social media, video games, internet, or TV- and start writing instead.And if you don’t have an hour, try 30 minutes. Even 5 minutes 3 times a day can be a source of massive writing productivity. Think about it.The average person can type 60 words a minute. 60 words x 5 minutes = 300 words. Do that 3 times a day and you’ll produce close to 1,000 words a day.You’ll amaze yourself at how an hour per day adds up to something productive! Excuse #3 Good writers spend all their free time reading.Think you need to read all day long to be a writer? Think again.In fact, many prolific writers cut down on their reading- at least temporarily- in order to give themselves enough time to write.Besides, you don’t need to be a literary connoisseur to write a great book. Your writing style and voice is your own.And the best way to discover your own natural writing voice is by sitting down and writing (not reading what others have written).Here are some tips to use reading to help you write a book while reading less:Only read a chapter or two at nightRead in a genre different than your own (this helps avoid being influenced too heavily by another book)Be intentional about what you readHave designated reading time that doesnt interfere with writing timeStop reading for a while if you have very little spare timeExcuse #4 You’re â€Å"not an expert.†A lot of people get tripped up on this. They think, â€Å"Oh, I’m not really an expert on ___. I can’t write about that.†The truth is that the whole concept of â€Å"expert† is very subjective. An amateur astronomer wouldn’t seem like an expert to Stephen Hawkingbut to 99% of the rest of the world, they would be an expert.You don’t need to know everything about your topic. As long as there’s a knowledge gap between you and the reader- and as long as you’re helping to fill that gap by teaching them the things they don’t know- then you’re expert enough to write a book.So stop worrying about â€Å"not being an expert!† If you’re passionate and knowledgeable about a topic, then you are 100% qualified to write a book about it.Excuse #5 Your first draft must be flawless.A draft is a work-in-progress, and the goal is simply to get it on paper. A draft will have mistakes and that’s okay- that’s what the self-editing process is for.Even experienced professional writers who finished a book that ended up covered in the red pen of an editor or numerous red changes in a document, just like the one pictured below.As Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said, â€Å"Done is better than perfect.†If it works for a multi-billion-dollar company, it should work for your first self-published book.Don ’t get me wrong, as I’ve already said, writing is hard work. But shedding these excuses should help get you into a positive frame of mind for the writing process.#3 Realize You Don’t Need to Be PerfectThe thought of writing a book causes many people to think, â€Å"I’m not a good enough writer. I need to do _____ before I start writing.†Well, I’m here to tell you that:You don’t need a creative writing class.You don’t need a writing mentor or coach (though it does help).You don’t need to read thousands of good books.You only need one thing: a system for finishing your book.There’s no such thing as a perfect book or a perfect writer. When you get down to it, the most important distinction is between authors who finish their books and authors who don’t.Don’t worry about being perfect. Just focus on your book, and your writing will get better and better over time.As with anything we learn, writing is a skill. It requires practice to hone over time. So let go of the idea that you’re not good enough and work to improve by reading expert writing tips and practicing daily.This will help you make the mindset switch from â€Å"I can’t† to â€Å"Let’s get this done!†How to Write a Book Step 2: Pepare to Write a BookNow it’s time to start your prep work. Before you start putting any words onto the page, you need to focus on a few important preparations.Take the time to complete these steps and you’ll be setting yourself- and your new book- up for success.#1 Schedule Your Book Writing TimeHere are 3 things you can do to create your own customized book writing plan.Without a plan, it’s too easy to let your book writing goals get pushed to the background, eventually fading into the soft mist of â€Å"someday.† Step 1 Develop a writing habit and plan it outDon’t let your book end up in the graveyard of dreams. In order to realize your end goal, you need actionable steps to follow.Assess what’s going on in your life in the next 30 days, then block out when you can write, and when you can’t. It’s common for new writers to set unrealistic time goals, which in turn generates stress when it’s impossible to meet those arbitrary deadlines.Avoid this and stay realistic, since developing a writing habit is most important at this stage in learning how to write a book.Thirty minutes (or even 5 minutes) spent writing is better than nothing, so resolve to make it happen and find the time.Look at Laura Bennett, a Self-Publishing School student. She was working full-time, running a business, and working on her Master’s degree- busier than most people- yet she found the time to write her book Live Your Dream: How to Cut the Crap and Prioritize Your Purpose in 2 months!If Laura could make it happen, then writing your book is certainly an attainable dream.Step 2 Choose the time of day you plan to writeYou might decide to get up early and write before the obligations of your day crowd out your writing time. But if you’d win the gold medal in the Olympic sport of snooze-button slapping, then choose a different time or make sure you get to bed earlier so you’re fresh in the morning.If your evenings are free, but your brain is mush and you’re only good for sinking deep into the couch cushions, then choose a different time or rearrange your schedule so you aren’t so burnt out in the evenings.Alternatively, you can grab some time on your lunch break, or sneak small blocks of time into your workday, such as when you’re transitioning between activities, or waiting for a meeting to start.Whatever time of day is convenient for you, stick with it so that it becomes a predictable part of your day. This will establish a writing habit.Step 3 Set a deadline for writing your bookSetting an end date forces you to stay on schedule and keeps the forward momentum going. So consider giving yourself a deadline for your book.You may be wondering: How do you choose a deadline when you have no idea how long the book-writing process will take?One month is a good benchmark to start with. Self-Publishing School recommends writing until you hit a daily word count of 500-1,000 words, but this ultimately depends on how many words are in your book. If you can commit to an hour a day, you should be able to reach that goal. After 30 days of daily writing sessions, you will have completed a 30,000-word draft.Consistency is key. Small, consistent actions toward writing your book is how it comes to life.If that schedule doesn’t work, then commit to a time period and a daily word count that does. It’s okay if that’s 15 minutes per day.The ultimate goal is your rear end in the writing seat for that allocated period of time each day.Share the end date of your first completed draft with others so you have extrinsic motiv ation to keep moving toward that finish line.It’s a good idea to choose an editor for your book (before you finish your first draft) and schedule when you’ll have the completed first draft of the manuscript in that person’s hands.That way, if you’re tempted to flake out and put off a writing session, that looming deadline can help keep you going.#2 Create Your Writing SpaceThe physical space where you write your book is important. If you try to write in an environment that’s too loud, too busy, or too cluttered, and you’ll find yourself getting frequently distracted.True, some authors can write in a disheveled environmentbut I suspect that most of these authors would become even more focused and productive if they cleaned up their writing space to make it easier to focus on their writing.However, that’s just my opinion. The truth is that the â€Å"best† writing environment is going to be personal to you. We all work well in di fferent settings, so with that in mind, consider these general guidelines to boost your productivity:How to Start Writing TipExecutionMinimize Distractions- isolate yourself from family/friends/even the family dog - remind everyone it's YOUR time - Turn your phone off - Close ALL web browsers - Close your emailGet Comfortable- invest in a GOOD chair - or resort to using a stand-up desk for more energy - fill the area with motivational quotes - make sure you're physically comfortable for the next 30 minutes or an hourChoose Beneficial Background Noise- turn off all sounds if it distracts you - turn on lyric-less music to help you concentrate - choose energizing music to help you focus(To get the sound of a cafe from the comfort of home, check out Coffitivity.)You might need to experiment to find the writing environment that allows you to focus and write freely.Bottom line: Find the writing environment that makes you comfortable and go with it. Once you find the best creative process for you, you’ll even look forward to writing!#3 Equip Yourself with the Right Writing ToolsWould you try to construct a piece of furniture without a hammer, nails, or wood?Of course not! You need the right tools for the job.Well, the same principle applies whenwriting a book. And when it comes to writing, your most important tool is your choice of writing software. Unfortunately, most people don’t really put much thought into which program they use to write their book. They just use whatever word processor they’re most familiar with.But doing this can cause you to really miss out- especially if there’s another program out there that would work much better for you.There are countless options out there, but most people end up using one of the â€Å"big 3† word processors:Microsoft WordScrivenerGoogle DocsWell cover all of them for you below.Microsoft WordIf you just want a time-tested program that works, Word might be the program for you. It’ s the most widely used word processor in the world, which means it’s highly reliable and consistent. It also provides a lot of formatting options and even has a navigation pane you can use to easily find the chapter you’re looking for.One of the biggest downsides to Word is that it’s fairly expensive as far as word processors go.ScrivenerIf you like advanced features, definitely check out Scrivener. It was created specifically for authors, and it contains all sorts of tools that are really helpful for both fiction and nonfiction authors.For example, you can use the corkboard view to organize how youll write your book using virtual notecards:The biggest downside to Scrivener? Because of all the advanced features, it has a steeper learning curve than other word processors.If you do decide to go with Scrivener, heres a Scrivener tutorial for you to learn how to use it best: Google DocsYou can think of Google Docs as sort of a â€Å"Word Lite† program that yo u can access online, for free. While it doesn’t boast as many features as Word or Scrivener, it’s the hands-down most convenient program out there for sharing and collaboration.Because everything is stored online, you can access your work from anywhere. And it’s easy to share your work with others and collaborate by leaving comments in the margins:The big downside to Google Docs? It lacks the more sophisticated features of Word and Scrivener.Of course, these are only 3 options- there are many more great writing tools out there.How to Write a Book Step 3: Actually Write Your BookOK, we’ve got the preliminary stuff out of the way- time to sit down and actually write this thing!This is an exciting part of the processunfortunately, it’s also the part where many people get overwhelmed and give up.But there’s good news: actually writing a book can be a lot easier than you think- if you have the right system. A system that guides you from your idea through your outline and all the way up to your final, polished, publication-ready draft.Here are the most important things you need to do when writing your book.#1 Come Up With Your Book IdeaBefore you can start typing, you need to have a topic. That might seem obvious, but it can still be a stumbling block if you don’t know what to write about.Fortunately, there are countless book ideas that could turn into bestselling books.I recommend brainstorming a long list of book ideas. This way you’ll have a lot of options- giving you the freedom to choose the best possible book topic.You can even utilize lists of writing prompts to get your mind moving in the right direction. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Self-Publishing School (@self_pub_school) on Feb 25, 2019 at 4:29am PSTHere are a few questions to ask yourself tocomeupwithabookidea:What are you passionate about?What’s your favorite hobby?What do you get paid for? What’s your expertise?What are people coming to you for advice on?What’s a topic you know a lot about or can’t stop talking about?These are all great ways to come up with bestselling book ideas. In a nutshell, you’re trying to find topics that you’re knowledgeable or passionate about. Because these are the topics that you’re going to do a great job writing about!Notice that I highlighted the question, â€Å"What do you get paid for? What’s your expertise?†That’s because this is a particularly useful question for coming up with book ideas. A lot of people seem to forget that there is usually at least one topic on which they are a bona fide expert- and that’s their job!It might not seem that exciting or special to you, because you’re so used to it, but to someone else who’s trying to learn what you already knowyour job-related knowledge can seem very valuable indeed.#2 Don’t Censor YourselfWhen you’re brainstorming idea s, don’t censor yourself. Just let the ideas flow. Realize that there is no such thing as a crazy idea. Anything can make a great book topic.So don’t ever let yourself feel silly or start to judge yourself- doing so is a surefire way to stop your creativity in its tracks.On the other hand, don’t feel bad if your topic sounds too commonplace either. Even if you’re writing about an age-old topic- like a weight loss book or a romance novel- that’s OK!The truth is that there are no â€Å"new† ideas. Everything has been written about before.But it hasn’t been written from your unique perspective. And that’s what really matters.Realize that a writer’s job isn’t to come up with never-before-seen ideas. Doing that is pretty much impossible in this day and age.Instead, a writer’s job is to explore topics from their own point of view. To lend their unique spin on them.#3 Take a Reader-Centric PerspectiveWhile thinki ng of your book topic, here’s a piece of advice that I strongly recommend you follow:Think from your reader’s perspective (not your own).Many people are too self-centered when they write. When I say â€Å"self-centered,† I mean that they’re thinking only of themselves: their interests, their hobbies, their passions.Yes, it’s true that those are great topics to explore when coming up with your book topic. But during this process, you’ll need to switch from a self-centered perspective to a reader-centered perspective.Ask yourself questions like:What would my reader be most interested in?What would my reader most like to learn?What are my reader’s biggest problems?Whats the biggest question my readers are asking?When you start to think this way, it becomes much easier to write your book in a way that provides immense value for the people who matter most- your readers.#4 Figure Out Which Book You Should Write FirstBy now you should have a long list of book topics. And you might be wondering, which topic should I write about first?Here are a few tips to help you choose the best starting project:Which one can you finish the fastest? Usually, this is the topic where you have the most experience. This is a good thing to keep in mind because the faster you can finish your book, the faster you can get it out in the world where it can earn you money and help people. (And the faster you can get started on your second book!)Which one are you most likely to finish? Usually, these are the topics you are more passionate about. For your first book, I highly recommend choosing a topic that you’re really passionate about to help make sure that you’ll remain interested throughout the entire process.Which one is going to make you happy? This is a little harder to define, but it might be something that strikes a chord with you. Maybe there’s a certain book topic that stands out for one reason or another. If that ’s the case, then go for it! Remember, writing should make youNow with these tips in mind, choose the topic for your very first book before proceeding to the next step.#5 Come Up With a TitleThe most important words of your book are the ones that appear on the outside cover:Your book title.You don’t have to decide on your final title at this point, but your title is so important that it’s worth thinking about up-front. But knowing how to write a book title can be tricky. Here are a few tips on creating standout, marketable titles.For a nonfiction book, your title should†¦Include the solution to the reader’s problemUse a subtitle for clarityBe unforgettableAnd for a fiction book, your title shouldBe appropriate to your genrePique the reader’s interestTake its inspiration from your charactersIt always helps to do a little research on Amazon. To do that, just head here and select your book genre on the left-hand side of the page:Then you can tak e a look at some of the best-selling titles in your genre. You can even sub-niche down several times: â€Å"History Ancient Civilizations Mesopotamia.† Now pay attention to the titles and look for common themes or trends to use for your own book.Remember that you’re just starting, so you can always change the title later. But for the time being it can help to have a â€Å"working title† (a temporary title that you may change before publication).#6 Fill Out The BookMapThe BookMap is a free downloadable book outlining template you can use to quickly gather all the important information you’ll need for your book - fiction or nonfiction.Essentially, the way it works is you’ll create a mind map- sort of a brain dump with a line connecting related ideas together- on your book’s topic.Start your BookMap by writing your intended topic in the center. From there, answer the questions and add as many related ideas as you can think of. (Again, conne ct related ideas with a line.) The BookMap gives you the benefits of writing in free-form and creating structure from all the connections you make.Click here to learn more about the BookMap and download a free PDF template.#7 Turn Your BookMap Into an OutlineOnce you’ve completely filled out your BookMap, the next step is to group all the related ideas into categories. There’s no hard and fast rule for how to do this; just combine your ideas in the way that makes the most sense to you.One way to do this is to rewrite each idea on a fresh piece of paper, this time grouped together in related topics. Or, you could simply use different-colored highlighters to categorize your ideas with different colors.Either way, the result is the same: when you’re done grouping your ideas, those categories will form the outline for your book- each category is a new chapter. So now you know exactly which topics to write about, and you know which points to cover in every chapter o f your book. #8 Capture More Notes with The Sticky Note MethodYou can use this method instead of the BookMap, or as a supplement to it.For about a week, carry around sticky notes and write down anything and everything that crosses your mind regarding your possible book topics.When the week is up, organize all your sticky notes into sections and themes. Then, organize these themes into the patterns that would make sense in the context of chapters of your book. You can then elaborate in areas where you notice missing pieces to the puzzle, and use all of the material you’ve gathered and organized to create an outline.This method may be helpful if you’re struggling with the notion of committing to writing a whole book since it lets you break down the process into manageable pieces. The ultimate outcome of using this method is deeper thinking, clarity, and concise organization of thoughts and patterns.#9 Now Write Your BookOne Chapter at a TimeYou now have a chapter-by-ch apter outline for your book. The only thing left to dois to actually sit down and write it!There’s not necessarily a right or wrong way to write your book. But there are some ways that are easier, faster, and more successful than others.And in my experience, there’s one writing method that works better than any other. Here’s how it works:Complete a mini-BookMap for that chapter, brainstorming everything you know about this topic. (10 minutes.)Organize your ideas and turn that BookMap into an outline. (10 minutes.)Write or speak the chapter by following the outline you just created. (45-60 minutes.)Repeat this process, chapter by chapter, until your book is completed.Steps 1 2 should be familiar by now- they’re the same steps you followed to create your overall book outline. You just repeat those steps on a smaller scale for each chapter.Then in step 3, you have a choice: you can type out your chapter on a computer, or you can use a recording device tran scription service to dictate your chapter.If you like the idea of dictating your book, rather than typing it out, here’s how to do it.#10 Speak Your BookThis method works well if you’re a strong speaker and you prefer speaking to writing. The ultimate outcome is that you can create your book draft as quickly as possible, with no actual â€Å"writing† on your part. Cool, huh?Once your chapter outline is complete, the next steps are:Speak your first draft aloud into a recording app or device such as Voice Memos or Audacity.Get that audio file transcribed using a transcription service like Rev.Read through the transcription and revise/polish it up.As I mentioned, one of the benefits of this method is its speed. Just how fast can you write a first draft using speech dictation?If youre writing a nonfiction book specifically, this method will work great for you.Well, if the average book is 15,000-25,000 words long, and if the average person speaks at about 150 words/ minute, then you can easily speak your entire book in approximately 2-3 hours.Of course, your spoken transcribed book will need some polishing and revision to get it publication-ready. But it’s still the fastest way of writing a book I’ve ever come across.#11 Speed Up Your WritingWriting faster means getting to publication- and to profits- that much sooner.Try these pro tips to maximize your daily word count:Flex your writing muscles each day. The more you work, the more efficient you’ll get. Create your writing routine and stick to it.If you get stuck on a particular section and stop making progress, find a different part of the book that appeals to you today and write that section instead.Planning and research can be necessary- or a method of procrastination. Limit your prep work to a reasonable timeframe so it won’t stop you from writing. Use a timer if it helps you stay on track.An accountability partner can keep you on track. Set up weekly meetings to review work and cheer each other on.Spots are limited!Click Here to Save Your SpotHow to Write a Book Step 4: Avoid Potholes Along the WayIf you’ve been following along with steps 1-3, then you’re in the process of writing your book. You’re working from a solid outline, which means you know exactly what to write in every single chapter.So nothing could possibly go wrongright?Unfortunately, no. Even when you have a solid plan, a proven system, and a detailed outline, you can still get tripped up by some of these sneaky book writing roadblocks.Luckily, I’ve got some tips to help you overcome the most common book writing problems.#1 Beat Writer’s BlockWriter’s block can rear its ugly head in many ways. For some, being blocked means no words at all, while for others, it means trying to nail down a functional draft in the midst of a tornado of swirling ideas.Most of the time, writer’s block is a symptom of a paralyzing fear of othersà ¢â‚¬â„¢ opinions. The harsh reality is, if you write, at some point you’ll be on a first-name basis with a bout of the block. The only way to deal with it is to beat it.Here are 8 methods I’ve found personally useful when fighting writer’s block:Circle back to your BookMap or outline and see if there’s useful info that sparks fresh inspiration. Sometimes it just takes looking back at the bigger picture to remind you where you’re going with your draft.Change up the physical way you’re writing; sometimes a simple shift can boost creativity. If you use a laptop, put pen to pad. Try some new music, a new location, or new beverage to sip at your desk.If you find you start writing slowly and warm up as time goes on, allow adequate time during your writing sessions to get the creative juices flowing.Review what you wrote yesterday to refresh your memory.Talk it out. Sometimes a quick conversation with yourself is enough to work through writerâ€⠄¢s block. Or call a friend and bounce some ideas off them if you’re truly stuck.Remember that what you’re writing doesn’t need to be perfect- you’re writing a first draft. If you have a case of perfectionist syndrome, tell yourself it’s okay to write something you’ll think is terrible. Making something good is what second drafts and the editing process is for. Always remember: Done is better than perfect.Go for a walk. You might be surprised at how a walk outside, or a brief bit of exercise, helps refresh and recharge your creative juices.Read another author who has a style you like. Read their book for 10 minutes and then start typing, holding their voice in your head.#2 Don’t Edit While You WriteTell me if this sounds familiar:You sit down to write and you bang out a page or two. Then you stop and reread what you just wrote. And instead of continuing, you go back and start editing those first few pages of writing.In your mind, you ’re just fixing up your work. You want everything to be just right before you continue on ahead.But in reality, you’ve just stopped all your forward progress. You spend the next hour trying to make those pages PERFECTand when perfect doesn’t happen, you get frustrated and stop writing.Usually, when this sort of thing happens, it becomes very difficult to do any more writing. Why? Because writing and editing use different parts of your brains- and when you allow yourself to slip into a more critical/judgmental frame of mind, it becomes almost impossible to start creating again.That’s why, even though editing is an important skill, you need to resist the urge to edit your work while you’re still writing.Dont start editing your book until AFTER you’ve already created the entire first draft.#3 Format Your Book ProperlyFew things are more irritating than having to go back through your entire book to fix the formatting.The take-home lesson? Think about how you want to format your book before you write it, and then be consistent. It’ll save you a lot of time in the long run.And take the time to figure out how to format your book for publication. For example, did you realize that fiction and nonfiction books typically use different indentation styles?Nonfiction books tend to use block paragraphs, like this:Whereas fiction books, like TheSaviorsChampion by Jenna Moreci below, use indentation instead:Here are a few more book formatting tips:Avoid using hard indents. (Don’t hit â€Å"tab† at the beginning of a new paragraph; instead, change the paragraph settings to automatically give each paragraph the indentation you want.)Only use one space after a period. (Using 2 spaces was necessary with typewriters, but not with computers.)If you want to create a page break, do not hit â€Å"Enter† repeatedly until you reach the next page. Instead, use the â€Å"Page break† function. This is the only way to ensure that your page break will work even after people resize your book on their Kindle.#4 Keep Going, Don’t Stop- You’re Almost There!Now you know not only how to get started writing your book, but how to complete your book project in a mere 90 days!Remember to keep your WHY at the forefront of your mind, and you’ll be able to crush any and all obstacles that get in your way. If any of the common challenges or obstacles we’ve mentioned rear their ugly head, you’ll know how to deal with them.With just a little bit of time and a lot of determination, you are on your way to officially calling yourself an author.How to Write a Book Step 5: Launch Your Book SuccessfullyBy this point,your book is completed- congratulations! You’ve done something that most people will never do.You’ve written a book.But you’re not done yet. Not quite. Because you still need to launch your book in a way that sets it up for success; in a way that maximizes your readers, your income, and your influence.Unfortunately, most people who succeed in writing a book never get this whole â€Å"launch† thing figured out. They throw their book up on Amazon without really having a plan, and as a result, they get very few sales, make almost no money, and are frustrated at the lack of response to their work.It’s true that self-publishing your book on Amazon is a great way to go. But you can’t simply publish your book and expect people to find it. Instead, you need to dedicate some time to mastering the publishing and marketing processes on Amazon to sell more books. This is the only way to make sure that your book makes its way into the hands of the people who will benefit from reading your words.If you follow this simple launch plan, you can rest assured that your book will come out with a bang and will generate steady sales right out of the gate and for years to come.#1 Get a Good CoverWe all know you shouldnâ€⠄¢t judge a book by its cover. But in reality, people do exactly that- all the time. And that’s why, if you want your book to sell, having a powerful book cover design is important.Really, really important.And a good book cover does 2 things:It grabs people’s attention.It instantly tells people what the book is about.Here are a few examples from some of my own books:Notice a couple things. First of all, it’s orange- which helps it to stand out and grab attention. Second, it’s super-clear what the book is about. The title is in the upper third of the book in large print, so you can read it even in a thumbnail.Both covers were designed using the same basic principles. They’re simple, bold covers that stand out. They also have subtitles that clarify exactly what the book is about.Now this style of cover works great for my niche, but it won’t necessarily work for every type of book. For example, it would make a terrible cover for a romance novel !Why? Well, in short, it doesn’t look like a romance novel. Remember that part of a cover’s job is to tell people what the book is about. And in many genres of fiction and nonfiction, readers have come to expect a certain type of book cover.In order to clearly communicate what your book is about to your ideal readers, you need it to fit in with their expectations- while also standing out enough to grab their attention. This is another reason why it pays to head over to the Amazon bestselling books list and study some of the most successful books in your genre.What do those covers look like? Do they share a similar layout? Color scheme? Font style?For example, if you were writing a romance novel, you would want to study these covers:Find out what the most successful books in your genre look like, then imitate that look- but change it up just enough so that it stands out and grabs your readers’ attention.#2 Build a Launch TeamOnce youve chosen whether to go with self-publishing versus traditional publishing, the real key to a successful book launch is building and leveraging a launch team.So what is a launch team? In a nutshell, your launch team is a small team of people who are supporting your book. They could be friends, family, associates, online affiliates- anyone.At first, your launch team might be limited to your immediate friends family. That’s OK! Launch your book with their help, and work on continually building your launch team every chance you get.When you build a launch team, you need to make 2 things clear for everyone:What are they agreeing to do for you?What are they getting in return?Step 1 is pretty simple: you want them to read your book, leave a review, and share it with their own friends and family.This is how you spread the word about a brand-new book when you don’t have an email list or a social media following.Step 2 can vary from person to person. What do your friends family get in return for helping you? In many cases, they get things like:A free copy of your bookTheir name mentioned in the â€Å"Acknowledgements† part of your bookThe chance to be part of something inspiringThe personal satisfaction of helping to create something meaningfulAs your launch team grows bigger, you might need to offer more than that. For example, maybe another person in your niche agrees to promote your new book to their email list- but in exchange, they want a percentage of your profit.(This is called affiliate marketing, and it’s a great way to grow your audience and your revenue while letting somebody else do the marketing for you.)But don’t worry about that for now. Just reach out to anyone you know who would be willing to support your first book launch and ask for their help.#3 Get Ongoing ReviewsIf there’s one thing we know about the Amazon algorithm, it’s this:It loves reviews.One of the biggest indicators of success with self-publishing is getting Amazon r eviews.If you want your book to show up in search results and as a â€Å"Recommended† book when people are looking at similar products, you need to continue generating ongoing reviews to keep the algorithm happy.When you do, your book will start to show up at the top of Amazon results:Reviews are a fantastic form of social proof. They’re a credibility sign that lots of people have read your book and loved it- and that makes other people more likely to want to read it, too.But you have to be careful about how you go about trying to get Amazon reviews. For example, you can get in big trouble if you try to pay for reviews, swap reviews with other authors, or offer free gifts in exchange for reviews.You can solicit reviews, but they cannot be â€Å"incentivized† reviews.So how can you generate more reviews without offering people something in return? Well, I’ve discovered a few tips that work incredibly well. Click here to learn my 8-step process for generati ng more Amazon reviews. #4 Get Help From a Mentor Who’s Done It BeforeI’d like to leave you with one final message:The best way to learn how to write a bestselling book is to get help from somebody who’s been there before.People often ask me how I was able to make so much money and sell so many copies of my very first book. And I always tell them the same thing:Because I sought out a mentor. Someone to teach me a proven book-writing process that had been tried and tested. A book-writing system that was almost guaranteed to work, as long as I followed it properly.Well, that’s the real secret to my success as an author. I sought out the help I needed to give my very first book a major head-start.My Final TipforLearningHowtoWriteaBookAnd now I’m sharing the opportunity to learn from someone whos mastered writing and self-publishing books with you. To learn from a mentor who can help you achieve your dream of writing and publishing your very first boo k.

Community Development - Ku'nsaka Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Community Development - Ku'nsaka - Essay Example Ku’nsaka was formed in January 1997 by a group of friend who felt that there was a gap in the community for facility provision for the African-Caribean community. A large proportion of the Ku’nsaka community is from the Southern part of Africa mostly from Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ku’nsaka also welcomes a wide range of people who are in need of their services as it believes that they could benefit from its services. Ku’nsaka works towards providing the Black, and Ethnic Minority community is served with necessities that some community members need but are not in a position to acquire. Within the office premises, Ku’nsaka has a project office telephone facility, this is to ensure that the service users who do not own a telephone can use the guidance of the office staff. The members who have basic knowledge of computers have the use of computers in the office. The office workers help users with benefits applications that require performing online. Service users also have the facility to borrow equipment such as lawn mowers or vacuum cleaners and other domestic equipment. Books and leaflets are available in different languages to facilitate those with language and communication problems. Ku’nsaka provides service users with advice relating to welfare benefits, housing and financial problems as well as issues relating to health and education. Since the user does not use English as their first language, Ku’nsaka provides that confidential setting that some users need for someone they can trust to read and interpret their correspondence. There is a spirit of community involvement at Ku’nsaka as people feel confident enough to plan or organise activities with the help of staff and get involved in community group activities. At Ku’nsaka, offering support serves as a way of creating conditions conducive to the Black and Ethnic Minority community. It is also a way of enhancing their social functioning and self-esteem as

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development Research Paper

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development - Research Paper Example The first section gives an overview of HDI - what it does and its role in the technical support industry. The next section gives an explanation of the contributions of HDI towards increasing the professional knowledge and abilities of its members. This paper concludes with a discussion on how the knowledge and skills acquired from HDI can have a significant impact on my chosen career path. At the core of HDI’s creation is the desire to help individuals in the IT service and support profession improve their practices and increase work efficiency. As expressed in its mission statement, HDI aims to â€Å"lead and promote support professionals by empowering members through access to timely and valuable industry information, encouraging member collaboration, establishing open standards and providing globally recognized certification and training programs† (Migliazza, 2008, para. 1). HDI, therefore, provides a venue for technical support and service professionals to come together and discuss the prevalent issues and problems in the help desk, as well as share best practices in an effort to find solutions to these problems. HDI also has a wealth of information from reports, research and articles from experts that provide relevant and up-to-date data about the latest trends in help desk services, as well as benchmarking tools. Each year, HDI gathers experts and leaders in the field of technical support and service during its annual conference and expo in a spirit of learning and participation. Furthermore, HDI offers standards-based training and certification programs that are internationally recognized. As pointed out by Baschab and Piot (2007), â€Å"sponsoring help desk staff for HDI certification is a worthwhile investment in their productivity, and sends a clear message to the team about the major importance of their role in the IT department† (p. 276).  Training and certifications will propel me to advance in my career path in the technical support and service field.   Of course, there is undoubtedly a wealth of insights gathered from my work experience.   The theoretical knowledge will put these insights in context, strengthening its validity and allowing me to innovate as I learn more about the theory behind the practice.   Training also prepares me to deal with multiple clients from various fields with different bac kgrounds, an important tool in this profession.   Becoming a member of HDI membership will help me keep abreast with the latest developments in the help desk profession.   Having a venue for discussion and collaboration with other professionals will allow me to contribute to the improvement of the profession.

Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Katrina Essay Crisis and Disasters On August 23, 2005 the tropical depression 12 formed in the Caribbean then it rapidly became tropical storm Katrina on August 24, 2005 as it drifted toward southern Florida. Then on August 25 it strengthened into hurricane Katrina. No one at this time had any idea of what was coming, that this would be on the five deadliest hurricanes in Untied States History. Resulting in the death of around 1, 820 people. From the Gulf coast along Florida to Texas much damage was caused from storm surge. The main amount of damage was in New Orleans, Louisiana which flooded due to levee systems failing, resulting in 80% of the city being flooded and the flood waters lasted for weeks, destroying homes, buildings, and entire communities. . Hurricane Katrina began in the Bahamas on August 23 and as it made it was into southern Florida it became a category 1 hurricane before it grew rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf in became a category 5 hurricane but weakened before it hit southern Louisiana on August 29 becoming a category 3 hurricane. In just 9 hours the storm went from a category 3 to a category 5 hurricane, this was due to the storms movements over the warm waters of the loop current, which increased the wind speeds of the hurricane. On August 26, the National Guard was activated in Mississippi to help prepare for the oncoming storm. The next day the state activated its Emergency Operations center along with 57 other emergency shelters opened along the coastline and evacua tion orders were put into effect. Louisianas hurricane evacuation plan calls for local governments in areas along and near the coast to evacuate in three phases, starting with the immediate coast 50 hours before the start of tropical storm force winds. Persons in areas designated Phase II begin evacuating 40 hours before the onset of tropical storm winds and those in Phase III areas (including New Orleans) evacuate 30 hours before the start of such winds although many people at the time were unwilling to evacuate due to the fact they didn’t want to leave their homes, business, or even pets. Many private facilities that relied to bus companies and ambulance services to evacuate people failed due to the fact that they waited too long. This happened when the Governor did not sign an emergency waiver to allow licensed drivers to transport evacuees on  school buses. On August 27, George W. Bush, President of the United States, declared a state of emergency in certain areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. On August 28 almost all infrastructe had been shut down along the coast making it even harder to evacuate people. On the morning of August 28 with winds up to 175 mph and category 5 statues it hit Louisiana. On August 2 9 Katrina made its second landfall as a category 3 with winds up to 125mph near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. Katrina’s third landfall was near the Louisiana/ Mississippi line as a category 3 hurricane with 120mph winds. After reaching Tennessee it was downgraded to a tropical depression and finally lost it’s power over the Great Lakes region. From the Gulf coast along Florida to Texas much damage was caused from storm surge. The main amount of damage was in New Orleans, Louisiana which flooded due to levee systems failing, resulting in 80% of the city being flooded and the flood waters lasted for weeks, destroying homes, buildings, and entire communities. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said this was â€Å"probably the worst catastrophe, in the country’s history.† The aftermath from Katrina had many negative effects. The economic effects from the storm were the worst. The Bush Administration asked for 105 billion dollars in repairs and reconstruction for the area. Katrina destroyed 30 oil rings in the Gulf Coast and caused 9 to permeably close. Mi ssissippi’s forestry industry was affected being that 1.3 million acres of timber was destroyed, this was around 5 billion dollars worth of damage. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without jobs after Katrina. Hundreds of thousands of people were sent all across the United States to different shelter locations. The levee failures in New Orleans are accounted to be the worst civil engineering fail in U.S history and a lawsuit was filled against the U.S Army Corps of Engineers who built the levees by Judge Stanwood Duval but this was thrown out due to the sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1965. There was also another investigation of federal agencies which resulted in the resignation of FEMA director Michael D. Brown. On September 12, 2005 Brown resigned, stating that it was â€Å"in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president.† Before his resignation Brown had already been taken away from his job as coordinator in federal efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast by Homeland Security secretary Michael  Chertoff . It was been said that Brown was forced out of the administration rather that voluntarily resigning.. . Katrina destroyed many wildlife habitats and breeding grounds for marine mammals such as turtles, fish, birds, and many marshes for migrating ducks were destroyed. Seven million gallons of oil were leaked into the ocean. Many spills were cleaned up but some managed to leak into the ecosystem and some towns were even flooded with oil mixed waters. During the clean up, flood waters were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, which took 43 days. Those waters contained many toxic things to wildlife such as bacteria, raw sewage, pesticides, toxic chemicals, and oil. Many citizens starting looting stores in New Orleans in search of food, water, and many other items for personal gain. The news media reported rapes, murders, thefts during this but many reports turned out to be inaccurate. The National Guard was sent in to restore order and over the first week that’s what they accomplished. The Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team was sent into Louisiana to to verify, document, and cha racterize deaths caused by hurricane Katrina. It was found that there were 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states. Drowning was the cause of (40% of deaths, injury and trauma caused 25% of deaths, and heart conditions caused 11% of the deaths that were the major causes of death among Louisiana victims. After hurricane Katrina many state, local, and federal agencies were aware of the serious devastation of the area but were unable to communicate with each other properly into order to coordinate a rescue response such as help citizens, provide law enforcement, and evacuate the rest of the city. During the first two days the federal government forces had no commutation with the states national guard . resulting in either agency being able to operate at full efficiency. No one had any idea what the other agency was doing or had already done. This resulted in the delay of many ground forces be assisted to the area. FEMA requested assistance from DOD not knowing what the National guard had already done to fill the same needs. This also resulted in no formal command relationship which caused confusion o n what jobs both sides need to do. The destruction of communications infrastructure made it impossible for emergency responders and citizens to communicate effectively. With 70 percent of the city’s  police officers being victims themselves there was not enough law enforcements to restore order. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security had to send it different agencies of law enforcement t to help the New Orleans police department . Many hospitals were destroyed during Katrina and with thousands of people needing assistance it was devastating. Most local and State public health and medical assets were overwhelmed by these conditions, placing even more responsibility on federal agencies.. The process for approval for the reimbursement for medical and public health services provided by Federal agencies created delays and frustrations among health care providers, patients and the general public. Triage was also a big factor during Hurricane Katrina considering the fact that the number of people needing help was much greater than the number of first responders. Many people needed to be rescued and were injured and with the conditions of the city it was a hard task to find people and be able to transport to them a care center. This was a long task considering first responders had to locate a victim, transport them somewhere for help, get back to the same area and keep looking only to repeat the process over and over. It was hard to pick and choose to would get help first considering the fact that only numbers of people would be found at a time. During Hurricane Katrina DMORT set up the Find Family National Call Center in Louisiana. This was the center of operations for finding the location and reuniting families that were separated during Hurricane Katrina. Out of 13,000 people that were missing, around 7,000 were reunited to their families thanks to the DMORTS operation. DMORT were given two missions during Hurricane Katrina. One was to set up a base camp for DMORT and the other was to set up a base camp for the 1600 person Urban Search and Rescue crew. Other duties were to set up temporary morgue facilities, do victim identification, forensic dental pathology on diseased bodies, processing, preparation of diseased bodies. One major thing that was learned during Hurricane Katrina is that during such a major disaster declaring a state of emergency and an evacuation of a area is not enough to reduce the amount of fatalities during a disaster. A big problem was that During Katrina many agencies had no ways to communicate and set up a chain of command in order to operate at full efficiency of their abilities. When it is known that a natural disaster is going to take place , the agencies that are going to respond being state or federal need   to know in advance in order to set up a plan for each agency so that no one is doing the same thing over. Good communication methods need be planned out before hand since this way such a major issue during Hurricane Katrina. Another major issue during Katrina was triage and the lack of first responders. Once it is known that a major disaster is about to take place local medical centers can not be relied on being that there is a great chance they can be destroyed or without any power as seen during hurricane Katrina. Centers need to be set up away from the danger area and transportation of these civilians need to be prepared in advance. Small issues that can lead into big problems such as the Governor during Katrina w did not sign an emergency waiver to allow licensed drivers to transport evacuees on school buses are objectives that need to be taken care of in advance to avoid such issues. Centers that are set up need to be well equipped and supplied to handle the amount to people that will be sent there. Organizations such as the American Red Cross should be asked in advance for their assistance, not after the disaster has already taken place. Assistance on how hospitals to get paid back by federal funds for their assistance should be taken care of during advance being that this was a major issue during Katrina. Federal teams that will be needed just be warned in advance for their assistance and be told to be on immediate standby. This should include professional search and rescue teams , the National Search and Rescue Response team, the National Guard, DMORT, Psychologists, EMS, Firefighter, state and federal police agencies, and DMAT should all be prepared .

Jane Austen - Star of the Literary Sky :: Biography Biographies Essays

Jane Austen - Star of the Literary Sky      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in a town called Steventon, Hampshire, near Basingstoke, England. In a family of eight children, she was the second eldest. Her mother was called Cassandra, as well as her older sister and her father was George Austen, the local rector (clergyman). When her sister Cassandra, who was only three years older and to whom she was really close, wanted to go to Oxford, she followed, but the two girls had to come back home after only a few months. They were inseparable. Their mom even declared once, "If Cassandra were going to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her fate." Despite the Oxford drop out, Jane did not lack education. Her brother James helped her study and with his help, she could afterwards "lay claim to a good knowledge of history as well as a little Latin, Italian and musical training." However, Jane decided in 1787 to dedicate all her spare time to writing. She wrote mostly in her parents' living r oom, accompanied by all her family. Her very first work consisted of three volumes of "Juvenilia," a series of parodies and satirical stories, which was only published after her death. At the age of only 19 she started working on "Lady Susan," who was going to be later known as "Northanger Abbey." In 1795 she started working on "Elinor and Marianne," which eventually became "Sense and Sensibility." Only a year after, she began "First Impressions," which later turned into the much appreciated, and the author's personal favourite, "Pride and Prejudice."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The surroundings of Steventon impressed Jane Austen immensely, which is why a lot of the landscapes in the outdoor scenes of her novels, resemble the gardens and walkways of her hometown. Unfortunately, Jane did not live in Steventon her whole life. In 1800, her family moved to a small town called Bath. Later, when her father died in 1805, Jane, Cassandra and their mother moved to a small village from southern England, called Chawton. After her father's death, they became very poor, as the funds that came from her father's clerical affairs stopped when he stopped breathing. This resembles the situation that Austen describes in "Pride and Prejudice," where it is explained that if Elizabeth Bennet's father died, her whole family's money, house and furniture would go to the closest male relative of the family.