How to Create a WordPress Author Website Everything You Need to Know

After spending months, or years, writing your book, it deserves to get the best exposure possible. One way to accomplish this is to set up a WordPress author website for selling your books, sharing excerpts, and showing testimonials.This way, youre able to offer extra value to your readers and establish a platform built around your own brand, not Amazons or Barnes Nobles.Thanks to WordPress, this is surprisingly easy to do. And in this post, Im going to show you the exact steps that you need to take to get your own author website up and running. WordPress hosting. Heres how to pick a good host.A domain name. Ideally, you want this to be your name (or pen name)Most WordPress hosts will automatically install WordPress for you, so its pretty easy to get started! And once you have WordPress installed, you can start making your author website a little moreyours.Step 1. Find a WordPress theme made for building a WordPress author websiteA WordPress theme is the foundation of your author we bsite because it dictates how your site looks and functions at a basic level.You can find free WordPress themes, but some of the best author/book themes cost around $50. These bookstore themes provide galleries, eCommerce tools, page templates, and more.Although you might not need all of these features, keep an eye out for themes that include the following:A landing page or homepage that puts all focus on your book (or library).WooCommerce support for selling both digital and physical versions. You could also consider Easy Digital Downloads if all youre selling are eBooks. Some of the themes have their  own digital download systems.A book detail page with images, Buy buttons, descriptions, and links to marketplaces like Amazon and Barnes Noble.A responsive design that allows users to read the eBook previews right from their devices.Some sort of feature to offer readable previews right from the website.Multiple payment  gateways so you have more options than PayPal.An author pag e to explain more about yourself.A testimonial module.So how can you find such themes? Google can usually turn up some good options but heres a curated look at some of our favorites to get you started:Book Author from TemplaticBookerBrownFlatbookOff the ShelfStep 2. Create a landing pageYour landing page is what readers see when they first visit your sites homepage. Usually, you want to use it to promote your latest book.David Sedaris does a good job of this, where his homepage always promotes his latest work.Some landing page themes or services have more advanced designs than what Sedaris does, but he manages to keep things clean and modern, sending eyes directly to his book covers and Buy buttons.If your chosen theme doesnt have a built-in landing page like this, you can use something called a page builder to create one using drag and drop (no code required!). Here are two tutorials using:ElementorDivi BuilderStep 3. Start an email list immediatelyAn email list is the easiest way to market your book(s) for free. Furthermore, youre able to remind fans about upcoming releases and promos, getting them to come back to your site without much effort.Jeff Goins makes stunning landing pages for all of his books, and they have large cover art right next to an email list signup form.Although this is taking it to the next level, Jeff provides an insane amount of value if you buy a book and sign up for the email listwith multiple file formats, and three extra worksheets and other bonuses.This post shows you how you can create an email newsletter right from your WordPress dashboard. And here are some tips to get more email subscribers.Step 4. Include testimonials or reviewsBoth fiction and non-fiction writers can benefit from testimonials. More often than not you can reach out to influencers in your industry and provide a free version of your book. Then, you ask them for a quick testimonial and hopefully get something in return that you can publish on your website. Some authors also publish Amazon reviews on their websites.As with pretty much all of these points, your best bet is to find a WordPress theme with a testimonial module. If not, we have a guide for making rotating WordPress testimonials for free.Step 5. Provide multiple options to purchase your booksIdeally, you start with an email list and convince readers to buy directly from your website. However, were living in an age where Amazon dominates the book market, and youre likely to make sales across multiple platforms like Barnes Noble, Wal-Mart, and in the Apple Store.Some authors only sell on these marketplaces. But its also fairly easy to create your own bookstore using one of two WordPress plugins:Easy Digital Downloads can help you sell eBooks, but its not a good option if you want to sell physical books. Learn how to use Easy Digital Downloads.WooCommerce can help you sell both physical books and eBooks. And if you dont feel like storing the physical books yourself, services like BookBaby will print and distribute them for you. Learn how to use WooCommerce.Step 6. Display a portfolioSometimes theres no need for a gallery or portfolio, but once you have a respectable collection of books to sell youll want to organize them into a filterable portfolio. Hugh Howey has dozens of books, so he shows all the covers in a portfolio, with filters that help readers filter out specific books.Ideally, the theme you choose should have a gallery or portfolio tool. If not, the Novelist WordPress plugin provides a shortcode for a book gallery: Novelist Author(s): Nose GrazeCurrent Version: 1.1.9Last Updated: August 11, 2019novelist.zip 100%Ratings 10,822Downloads WP 4.0+Requires Are you ready to make your WordPress author website?If you have some favorite authors, go to Google and start browsing their websites. Youll notice that some big-time authors have terrible sites, while authors are top-notch. But by looking at both the good and the bad, you can better figure ou t the specific features that you want for your site.Then, you can mix-and-match the features highlighted on this page to build the perfect WordPress author website  for you.Have any questions about building your WordPress author website? Let us know in the comments! Do you write books? Learn how to set up your own #WordPress #author website to showcase your work!

Wealth and Want in the United States essays

Wealth and Want in the United States essays In Democracy for the Few, Parenti illustrates how our society is primarily divided into two categories: the owning class and the working class. He explains those who are considered the owning class, are the extremely well-to-do people; those who are independently wealthy and mostly live on profits from their investments. This class consists of wealthy stockholders of large corporations, but also includes the struggling small business owners. Parenti compares these giant corporations and small businesses to elephants and squirrels, in order to give a better perspective as to who is better able to bully their way around the markets. The other class mentioned by Parenti is the working class, who primarily live on wages, salaries, and pensions. This class ranges widely from blue collar workers and includes anyone who is not independently wealthy. Parenti goes on to explain how seldom the hard work of someone in this class can ever make them rich. As a matter of fact, the ones who become wealthy or maintain their wealth are the stock holders of the giant corporations. The majority of stockholding owners who are collecting a substantially large income from the labor of others have yet to step foot into the corporations factories or offices. Parenti notes that a workers wages stand for a diminutive part of the capital produced by their labor. The profit, or unpaid portion, goes straight to the owner. Parenti reports that a private sector employee works maybe two hours for themselves(wages), and the remaining six or more hours they work are for the owners(profit after expenses). Parenti illustrates how when capitalists say theyre putting their money to work, what they mean is that they demand more labor from their employees, to produce larger quantities in a shorter amount of time at less pay. He also advises that the purpose of large corporati...

Food & Beverage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Food & Beverage - Essay Example Being a consultant, I will pay 35% of the total time and energies on people development, due to the very reality that staff members are the identification and uniqueness of an organization, behavior, performance, qualification and professionalism of which means a lot to the organization. It is staff on the basis of which people visit the organization. Second priority would be given to operations department, which will take 25% of total time and energies. Like people, products are also the sign of an organization’s recognition and individuality. If clients are not satisfied with the products and services offer to them, they will never trust an organization. Moreover, if product and services are satisfactory, they will surely leave significant impact upon both sales and profit. Lastly, I will suggest equal concentration to be paid to sales and profit, which will be 20% of the total investment for each. Sales phenomenon is the department that determines future planning and strate gy making of an organization for future. Moreover, profit ultimately soars up provided customers and clients are satisfied with the performance of the staff on the one hand, and quality and excellence of the products and services on the other. Being a consultant of the food chain I aim to pay due heed to the products and services of the organization, which will surely increase the food cost from 26.5% to 31.3% over the same period. One of the main reasons behind such a sudden as well as an imperative jump in the food cost is certainly applying most hygienic products with proper sterilizing of all the crockery including dishes, glasses and cooking range etc, as well as keeping the area extremely neat and clean. Moreover, use of fresh and high meat, vegetables and fruit will also increase the expenditure of the food to be presented to the customers. In addition, presentation and

Positive Action Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Positive Action - Case Study Example Because positive action is not geared towards eliminating competition, its initiatives usually end before the selection process is started. During short listing and selection of candidates, the person must show merit and capability to do the job. Positive action can also come in the form of training courses designed for specific groups to ensure they can compete with others on level ground. Yet another mode of action of positive action is through implementing changes to discriminatory practices and policies in light of findings. In the United Kingdom, positive action initiatives include "Tomorrow's planners'" initiative. Positive Action Training Highway, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Planning Inspectorates together have been working to oversee the success of the Tomorrow's planning initiative (Nancy, 1996). This particular initiative aims at increasing black, Asian and other minority group representation in planning over the coming decade. THE HUMAN RESOURCE FUNCTION IN RELATION WORKFORCE DIVERSITY Employee recruitment and selection is increasingly becoming important with more attention being paid to avoid the costs that are associated with poor selection. Several methods are applied in selecting an organization's human resource and generally include advertising, testing, screening, completing application form, interviews and through correspondences with prospective employees. It is the mandate of the human resource team to recruit and select a team that is effective in the organisation's running. The HR department must also come up with polices that will ensure that the process of employee recruitment and selection is carried out within the laws of the country, is above... This essay focuses mostly on the analysis of the positive action initiatives, that give potential employees from under-represented group’s legal backing for equal opportunity with other applicants. Positive action, however, does not involve treating some people more favourably than others, nor does it seek to eliminate positive competition. It also is not positive discrimination which actually is unlawful in the United Kingdom. The researcher analyzes the initiatives for positive action, that are generally designed to make employers be able to encourage minority groups to apply for promotions and jobs. This is because some members of society tend to feel that they do not â€Å"fit in† because of their backgrounds or lifestyles to some organisations. Some people, due to past experiences in other organisations have come to a conclusion that they are unwelcome to work in certain organisations. The researcher then concludes that it is the primary objective of positive actio n to dispel such untrue notions and show the potential employee how much change has occurred in the way organizations are managed. Positive action creates an emphasis that applications are in particular welcome from people that are considered to be from minority groups. Adopting a recruitment policy that is based on affirmative action while driven by good motives can pose a great challenge to the human resource function. The organization or its employees could quite easily face litigation on grounds of discrimination.

International Economics, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Economics, - Essay Example The success of RTA is mainly due to low trade barriers with all global partners. This means the most positive impact will be gained from free trade as researches show that least amount of tariff or no tariff is most advantageous for a regional trading agreement to become successful. Custom union, common market and economic union, all impose a certain amount of tariff on the goods. This greatly affects the amount of goods to be traded as an economist said: ‘the successful expansion of trade among the members of a regional trade agreement tends to be associated with increasing extra regional imports as a share of GDP and with the growth of world trade.’, and extra regional imports will only be increased if there will be no or minimal tariff. Economic unions and custom unions are only beneficial for international trade and can only produce positive results if implemented in conjunction especially in case of EU, and this what happened in 1990’s. Trade can only be flourished if the country undertakes international trade and involves in exchanging goods and services from different countries around the globe. International trade means starting trading of goods with foreign countries which means foreign exchange pouring in the country, leading to more GDP and resulting in more finance for the industries to make exportable goods. As exports will increase due to more exportable stock, trade will be flourished. International trade improves the relations between two or more countries. Improving relations means more chances of your own good to be sold in their markets, thus fostering trade (Nayan et al, 2010). International trade increases the productivity of a country; more production takes place leading to more people getting employed in the country, and therefore with more share in the GDP, there will be more growth in the world of trade.

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to strategically analyze a multinational company of our choice. Our case study is Google Inc. which we will analytically break down, using various sources. We chose Google because we found really interesting due to the fact that not only it is the biggest internet search engine to date, but also a pioneer in its industry. Based on existing literature and web references, will try to analyze its internal and the external environment. INTRODUCTION Google has occupied the dominating position in its industry since the beginning due to its unique product which is a result of its unparalleled working environment. It has gone on to attain the largest share of the online search engine market as it provides its users with a product that is difficulty substituted even though there are numerous competitors. By analyzing the internal and external environment of the corporation, it is evident that Google is running a well oiled machine, paying attention to even the least significant detail in order to ensure that it provides a prompt and reliable product to its customers. History Google was founded around 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were still university students. The idea was based on pages PhD research project called Backrub. This involved mathematical properties of a link structure on the internet. Having indexed over 50 million web addresses, Google was formally incorporated by 1998.it has such significant influence that a company could either greatly benefit, or be seriously harmed depending on the search rankings. Besides being the top search engine, Google features other functions such as Gmail, Google Earth and Google Docs. Moreover, Googles extreme success and constant expansion and development are due to their unparalleled working environment which not only aims to keep everyone happy, but successfully does so. (Google, 2011, Keller et al, 2008) INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Resources Capability Theory Sources The combination of sources and capabilities, defines a good strategy of a company. Google achieved to combine ideally its sources and capabilities, as we can see that its strategy, is working. Ones company resources can be separated to tangible, intangible and human. Referring to Googles tangible resources are the financial sources from advertising companies, raw materials, mechanical equipment, modern facilities, innovative design of homepages and hardware. As for the intangible resources they are, high technology, worldwide reputation with users and suppliers , strong brand name , huge data-base, patents like Google Earth and eco friendly Blackle. Another important intangible factor is the business culture of Google which does not only care about the service of users but also cares about vast working environment. Moreover as for the human resources, Google has a large amount of high-skilled and capable staff. Furthermore, another important factor of Googles success is its know ho w which cant be imitated by any other rival firm. In addition all employees are experienced in the market of information based services. Google has strong leadership combined with training which resulted in loyal staff. (Christodoulou, 2010, David 2007) Capabilities The combination of sources, tangible, intangible and human resources create the appropriate capabilities. Capabilities separated as marginal capabilities which cannot easily imitated and fundamental capabilities which can. By combining its resources, Google creates some very effective capabilities. Flexibility, quick response and speed of distributing the information are produced by the combination of huge data base with the highly advanced software. These capabilities are fundamental because they cannot be copied easily. Another fundamental capability of Google is innovative and effective human resources management. This is also a result of good leadership with highly skilled and specifically trained staff. Furthermore, the combination of human resources with the software and innovations has the result of design capability, which is imitated. The right transmission of information between leadership, employees and the culture of Google results in good communication, as a fundamental capability. The combination of the right organization in human resources with the program system creates the fundamental capability of quick responsiveness to customers. (Christodoulou, 2010, David, 2007) Competitive advantage Value Google provides a high value product which satisfies its consumer needs, whatever they may be, quickly and efficiently. A costumer can use its search engine when looking for information on literally anything as well known, or not, that would be. This is what keeps it in its market dominating position as the leading search engine as it provides such a rare product. Furthermore, Google uses a program call AdSense which is vital I order for businesses to generate income. This is due to the fact that there is more traffic, hence more exposure, which consequently leads to an increase in sales. (Morrow, 2009, Thompson and Strickland, 1998) Rarity Googles rarity can be seen even on its homepage which is unlike any of the rival companies. There is a 28 word limit policy for the homepage, meaning that it is the only one that which is completely clutter free, letting customers focuses on what they want to use the product for without any distractions. This in turn shows that Google inc. wants to provide a high quality product that meets consumer needs, rather than trying to gain profit from annoying advertisements .Furthermore, the relevancy of the results of the search engine make it evident that Google succeeds and reaches its aim to provide a product of the highest quality for each customer. Compared to its competitors, yahoo and Microsoft, it is the most efficient and accurate when providing a consumer with the result. (Morrow, 2009) Imitablility Googles unique homepage has not been imitated by its competitors due to the fact that they are more interested in what consumers need to feel relaxed using this search engine, rather than profiting from advertisements. In addition even if competitors try to imitate Googles results, they would require an enormous database, extremely fast computer memory, and servers all around the world. Furthermore, Google try traces what you search each time and in a way gets smarter in order to provide you with the most relevant results each time you search. It basically can tell what you are looking for even the word which have been used has more than one meaning. (Morrow, 2009) Substitutability The fact is that Google has substitutes, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask and Bing however it continues to dominate the market as it provides the best product and therefore gaining strong customer loyalty. (Morrow, 2009) Value chain Due to the fact that Google provides information based services, which is a nonphysical product, its value chain differs from the traditional form. Their raw materials are the web users who use Google to search. The same users are then directed by text advertisements into their advertising partners websites where the sales occur, which is also the finished program. Furthermore, the search engine works in such a way that it keeps record of the users previous searches in order to provide more relevant results in future searches, which in turn means that web users are directed to websites where there is more probability that purchases will occur. In addition, due to highly skilled and qualified staff, the dependency of primary activities on human resource is quite high and so causes an increase in costs. Operations, sales, distribution and services are conducted with the aid of Googles servers and its internal software, all of which contribute to the value chain as they increase the fir ms profit. It also spreads its operations globally in order to be constantly aware of changes which in turn help Google maximize its profit. (Morrow, 2009) Mission Statement To organize the world information to make it universally accessible and useful From this statement we can see that Google Inc is not interested in profit maximization but strives to meet the needs of its customers with a high quality product. Also Google states that sharing information and giving access to it, so that every person in the world could find whatever he needs from a source of his preference. (Morrow, 2009) EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT PESTEL Political As for the political environment, Google has few political restrictions. Firstly, one of the political problems that it faces is with the Department of Justice, due to the fact that there are plenty of inappropriate content and classified documents. Secondly, it has problems with the Chinese Government, because of censorship of searching results. Google tries not to have problems with censorship globally, because of its cooperation with the U.S Government and the protection of personal privacy. For this reason, it has created privacy terms on its homepage, where users can find information. In addition, many countries of Asia have limitations on what can be searched, but generally the majority of countries around the world do not have restrictions. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Economical Nowadays, there is an economic crisis all over the world witch significantly affects global sales. Furthermore, one of the countries that have been hit the most are the United States, where Google is located. However, this crisis has not affected Google, because it does not sell direct products, but services which are funded by advertisements. Also, the free provision of Google leads to an increase in its popularity, which in turn maintains its good relations with advertising firms. Finally, its excellent knowledge of the market allows Google to be able to respond to any kind of crisis. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Social Googles great advantage is that there are no social restrictions, because its services can be used by everyone despite age, religion, nationality and living conditions. Another advantage is that is not a seasonal company, for the reason that its services are always desired. Also, the development of technology and the trend of using Internet through computers and mobile phones have increased in the last years, impacting Google expansion all over the world. Google has no geographical dependence because the technology of internet is widespread worldwide. An example of geographical power is that more than 115 countries use Google, many of which are not economically developed. Googles social environment is global, meaning that is a Multilanguage society. For this reason, Googles services have been translated into numerous languages. Furthermore, it allows access to sites which may be inappropriate or appropriate. However in many countries there is a prohibition to them due to cultural and religion differences. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Technological The technology is always advancing, so this phenomenon makes Google expand rapidly. For this reason, it has to be updated constantly in order for it to follow its revolution. New technology in computers systems may aid Googles services to work faster and better, so it has to prevent its opponents from taking this new technological knowledge. Another advantage of technology for Google is that the costs are decreasing, while the quality of the services that it offers is improving and the innovation are strengthened. It also improves the speed of information, the ways of communication and transportation. These reasons help Google to expand and more important to survive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Legal The legal environment is an issue that concerns everyone who uses the Internet. Copyright is an issue that exists in legal environment because of the ability that third party persons and companies can copy pictures and steal information from others. As a result, Google has created a page with copyright information about what is legal and what is not. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Five Forces As always analyze of five Porter forces play very important role for the study of business elements and contributes to develop the right strategy to be able to survive and become more competitive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Entry Barriers Regarding the search engines, they have accumulated a large amount of information on customer service. Therefore, Google updates its material, in order to compete with other online search engines. For a newly introduced company it is necessary to serve and meet its customers expectations and the services should be provided at high speeds with flexibility in search. When Google was established around 1998, there were other similar companies like Yahoo, AltaVista and Excite, which had big influence in the market place but Google achieved to dominate. The web environment of search engines is more enriched, compared with the past years and its more familiar for users. As a result, the entry of new firms is not such a big threat for existing companies, especially for Google. (Morrow, 2008) Suppliers The main suppliers of Google are advertisements of companies, which expect to be popular in the world, so this factor contributes to the direct profit. Therefore, the negotiating power of suppliers is relative low, because Google is the pioneer of searching services. Over the years, technology evolves rapidly and because of it, Google achieved to install new software in mobile phones. But in this case the negotiating power is very high, because there is other companies software, like Microsoft with more experience in the market place. (Morrow, 2008) Competitors The main target of Google is to be able to face the competitiveness and become dominant company in the world of search engines. The main source of income is based on advertisements, due to reliable information that is collected daily. Since 2007, Google noted an upward evolution with annual profit rate at 110%. The main competitors of the company are Microsoft and Yahoo which have significantly lower profit. For the achievement of their profits, trademarks like MSN and Live-search played very important role. The companys high market share gives it the advantage to improve the quality of information and make the search easier. As a result, Google creates successful advertisements rapidly in comparison with its competitors. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Customers Since 2007, almost entirely, the profits of Google come from advertisements. The strategy of the company is to obtain new and more advertisements, of which the profit is maximum 3%. So it accumulates the profit from many small advertisements. Many firms want to advertise themselves and users have the opportunity to find them through keywords. Then, the percent of profits increased, because it is considered as an extra service. This attracts many companies which results in Google buying power in low levels. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Substitutes In recent years the world of Internet is the first option for the users, who search direct information. Due to the uniqueness and immediacy, there arent specific substitutes for data search. In order to Google to serve the users and become more competitive, with the help of some tools, classifies the data by date. The leading position of Google and the possible future entrance of competitors depend on the satisfaction of customers and shareholders. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Complementary The complementary goods are directly connected with services of Google and depend on them as these are portable computers and mobile phones. Generally, it is an industry with restricted amount of complementary goods. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) SWOT analysis Strengths There is a wide range of functions offered such as Google docs, Google earth, Gmail, Google translator and Blackle, besides its main operation as a search engine. Good reputation and strong brand name Loyal customers Google has developed very well its know how, Googles efficient and prompt results Pay high attention to the users Unique product-service Friendly working environment Does not distract its users by flooding the homepage with advertisements Weaknesses The requested search does not always coordinate with the results You cannot always find the information that you want in the fullest extent The information is mostly in English Hackers create many dummy site with spam Whoever is interested in using Google for advertising purposes does not have a clear idea where it would be more profitable to place their advertisements as the cost or click charging is very confusing There is a lot of useless and invalid information Opportunities Google can expand by merging Using higher value context on the web Can increase the internet usage Can local vendors advertisements on every local search It can provide more hand-held devices to capture a larger share of the market It can increase the advertising spending online Threats There are a lot of competitors and rivals Censorship A lot of legal trials due to users invasion of privacy The confusing policy for advertisements may disappoint the potential clients and Google may start losing them If it decides to follow its competitor by changing it minimal user friendly interface it may lose a lot of its users Privacy issues regarding the contents ownership It can lose its brand loyalty if it merge with other large firms (David, 2007, Thomson and Strickland, 1998) FINANCIAL Google is a company that has increasingly become popular since 2004. In recent years it has achieved to increase its incomes that helped it become a profitable company. Googles revenue is 99% from advertisement, because the products that it sells are free to use. According to the financial statement, Google is better than its main competitor, Yahoo because, it has 2.4 times more of its revenue. Additionally, Google is more profitable than Yahoo as it manages its debts better. In recent years, Google has slowed down the sales growth, income growth, assets growth, the profit Margin and the return of assets as we can see in table 1. However, it is still at a good level and it does not declare to be in a downward path, because it is still first in sales. This is a result of its steady growth, as know that no company can achieve an upward course. Googles revenue is increasing annually, even if it is not at the same rate as previous years, however, it has never been less. (Morrow, 2009) CONCLUSION To sum up, throughout its progress, Google has kept its dominant position over its competitors in the information based services industry. Furthermore, it is very important to note that Google has not only been consistent when it comes to providing a product of the highest and quality, but is also constantly developing, adapting, but more significantly revolutionizing the industry. In addition, what makes Googles product so unique in comparison to its competitors is the attention that it gives to consumer needs in order to provide a reliable and difficultly substituted product rather than focusing on maximizing its profit with every given chance which may compromise the quality of its search result; its product. Having analyzed the corporations internal and external environment it is evident that Google pays attention even to the smallest detail to ensure that it will be the leading company amongst the numerous other online search engines and has been able to create loyal customers t hat are constantly increasing. SOURCES-BIBLIOGRAPHY Morrow, B. (2009)Internal Analysis of Google Inc., 22 February, 2009. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/internal-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Morrow, B. (2008) External Analysis of Google Inc., 15 October, 2008. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/external-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Google (2011) Company Overview Corporate Information. Christodoulou, I.P. (2010) Strategy Strategic Management Perspectives. [PowerPoint slides] Lecture handouts. University of Hertfordshire.22 December, 2010 Keller, K.L., (2008) Strategic Brand Management. A European Perspective. 1st edn. England: Pearson Education Limited David, F.R., (2007) Strategic Management Concepts. 11th Ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Thompson, A. A. Jr and Strickland, A. J III (1998) Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. 10th Ed. USA: Irwin/McGraw Hill (International Edition)

Pablo Picasso2 :: Essays Papers

Pablo Picasso2 Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is considered to be the greatest artist of the 20th century. In his prolific career, which spanned 78 years, he created more than 20,000 works of art including paintings, lithographs, etchings, and sculpture. In 1947, for example, he created 2,000 pieces of ceramics and in 1968, in a seven-month period, he returned to some of his earlier themes such as circuses, and bullfights to create 347 etchings. His work encompassed many styles -- from realism to cubism and surrealism -- making it impossible to categorize into a single movement. He and fellow painter Georges Braque are credited with creating the cubist style. Another of Picasso's innovations was the creation of collage -- he pasted pieces of paper and oilcloth to a canvas and painted on the surface in a 1912 work titled Still Life With Chair Caning. Although he is best known for his innovative, cubist work Picasso had an extraordinary drawing skill, rivaling the expertise of 19th century neoclassical ar tist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Picasso was born in MÃ ¡laga, Spain on October 25, 1881, the son of an art teacher. Prior to 1898, he used his father's name, "Ruiz," and his mother's maiden name, "Picasso," to sign his paintings. After 1901, he signed his work simply with the name "Picasso." A child prodigy, he painted his first picture at the age of ten; by 15 he was accepted at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts where he won a gold medal for his academic painting, Science & Charity, 1897. Picasso's major periods can be roughly divided into the following, although in his later years he returned to earlier themes. Blue Period: After trips to Paris between 1900-1902, Picasso settled there in 1904 where he was influenced by Paul Gauguin and the group of symbolist painters called The Nabis. The influence of Edgar Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec is reflected in The Blue Room, 1901 -- which was the start of his evolution towards his Blue Period. In this phase, the color blue dominated his work as did the theme of portraying human suffering and misery, in many cases also reflecting the style of El Greco in the use of elongated figures.

Incarceration of African American Males Essay

Introduction The trend of African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 has seen a dramatic increase of incarceration. Attention has been focusing on areas of housing, education, and healthcare but the most prominent problem for African American males is the increase in the incarceration rate. African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 incarceration rate has been thought, by many, to be caused by economic factors such as under employment or unemployment, poor housing, lack of education, and lack of healthcare. Yet, others believe it is due to the imbalance of minorities within the criminal justice system, such as judges, lawyers, and lawmakers. This paper will explore two different outlooks; society has come up with so far, as to why African American Males between the ages of 25 and 29 are increasingly incarcerated. Finally, the information will give awareness to the problems that is faced by African American Males between the ages of 25 and 29. Prevalence – Problem 1 More than 40% of all American prisoners, men and women, are African American men, yet they make up just 13% of the U. S. male population (Roberts, 2004). This statistic does not include those African American men who are in local jails nor does it include those African American men under custodial supervision (Table 2). They enter the state and federal prison system, at the prime of their economic and reproductive lives and yet they exit prison behind both economically and socially. The high rate of incarceration among African Americans has been noted by the interconnection of poor economy, lack of affordable housing, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, absence of a strong black male role model, lack of access to education, or some type of combination of these factors. Statistics don’t even give African American males a good chance to stay out of jail. They have a one in four chance of being incarcerated, while Hispanic American males have a one in six chance, and white males only have a one in twenty three chance of incarceration. The color of African Americans sets them apart and makes them targetable. Prevalence – Problem 2 There is evidence, in our American Justice System, of structural inequality as seen in the percentages of minorities to the percentage of majorities employed in high ranking positions, within the system. The percentage of United States judges by race are 79% Caucasian, 12% African American, and 2% Hispanics American (Federal Judicial Center, 2012), as for the thousands of lawyers in the United States it is approximate of 3% are African American (National Law Group, 2010-2011), and about 1 in 4 police officers are members of a racial or ethnic minority in 2007 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013). An investigation into racial profiling showed that African American and Hispanic American offenders, who often are young unemployed males, are more likely than their white counterparts (Spohn, C., 2000). Their prison sentences are also typically longer or they receive differential benefits from guideline departures than do similarly situated white offenders (Spohn, C. , 2000). We must acknowledge the problems of racial disparity within the criminal justice system, communicate racial disparity within the criminal justice system with those we who are not informed of the problem, and stay committed to changing racial disparity within our justice system for change to begin. Causes In researching the high rate of incarceration in America it is more likely than not that the increase in African American Males being incarcerated is due to the War on Drugs (Table 1). It is public knowledge that drug crime ranks high among the effects of poverty. These poor neighborhoods not only endure crime they have poor schools, poor food, cramped living areas, and shortage of jobs if any jobs at all. Drugs and drug crime has become regularity in low income communities, arrests of Hispanics made up 55% of cocaine powder offences and 52% of marijuana offenses and 49% involving opiates: African Americans were suspected in 75% of crack cocaine cases; White males were suspected in 41% all methamphetamine cases (Motivans, M. , 2011). Decades of failed public and private remedies for chronic disparities and disadvantages in communities of color invite us to reexamine systems and institutions that provide and restrict opportunity in new ways (Lawrence, K. , 2011). The causes seem to be intertwined being poor equals, equals a poor education, equals lack of employment, and ultimately equals an increased rate of crime. Consequences The causes seem to be intertwined being poor, equals lack of education, which equals lack of employment, which equals increased rate of crime which equals impossibility to join criminal justice system. Also, many of these men are incarcerated while all the other non-incarcerated American young men are finishing school, starting careers, earning seniority at work, marrying and having children thus gaining capital. Even when released from prison, these men return back to their communities with a felony record that will pose extreme problems for them. The incarceration leads the released convict into a lower social class even if they were considered lower class Americans prior to their incarceration; they now are lower in social class standing in most instances. This leads to a poor African American community, perhaps as many as 50% of the male population will have been in prison. These incarcerated African American Males, who are in their prime of life, also are leaving half the families in this community facing such things as poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental illness, substance abuse, violence, absence of a strong black male role model, lack of access to education, or some type of combination of these factors. The community ultimately will become poverty stricken, struggling to survive, and ultimately vulnerable to the situation repeating. Solutions – How can this be changed? There are four key aspects to addressing racial disparity, in my opinion: 1. Acknowledge 2. Communication 3. Setback = Strength 4. Commitment Not only is the problem of racial disparity under recognized by society it is not being communicated effectively to make change. Majority groups needs to acknowledge racial disparity and minority groups need to communicate their knowledge regarding racial disparity. As each group majority and minority begins to become share their information with each other and work together for a common solution acknowledging there will be setbacks but with continued commitment systemic change will happen. Conclusion By refusing to tolerate disparate treatment of people of color or anyone within the criminal justice system we empower ourselves and our country. It is time that everyone including our legislators, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges work collectively and courageously to eradicate this negative stigma. Despite, America being known for its equal rights we are living proof that in this era inequality is a factor that cannot be taken lightly. The statistics that are surrounding African American males is astounding. We need to empower African American males with the knowledge that they have a one in four chance of becoming incarcerated. It is also important to know that Hispanic males have a one in six chance, and white males have a one in twenty three chance of incarceration. All of these statistics need to be addressed to empower each and every one us. Throughout history we have not seen a change in majority groups (White, Male) and minority groups (Women, anyone that is not White) although we have seen numbers of minorities increasing at a fast pace. Today, however, the election of Barack Obama, not once but twice, may set the new ideal of what an American actually is. As we embrace different cultures and their ethnic backgrounds society will prosper. As society increases their knowledge, in regards to each person’s differences, they will acquire greater strength and prosperity. The only issue, that can occur, will be in the short term empowering others to embrace diversity. When we look beyond short-term, focus will shift to diverse empowerment through embracing the knowledge of our differences thus making us stronger as a society. TABLE 1: BLACK PROPORTION OF DRUG ARRESTS, EXCLUDING MARIJUANA POSSESSION YEAR BLACK % 1999 40. 1 2000 39. 3 2001 39. 1 2002 35. 8 2003 33. 8 2004 33. 1 2005 33. 2 Data calculated from drug arrest figures by race provided by the Uniform Crime Reports division of the FBI TABLE 2: FBI CRIME REPORT Arrests By Race, 2006 [11,249 agencies; 2006 estimated population 216,685,152] Total White Black American Indian or Alaskan Native Asian or Pacific islander Total White Black American Indian or Alaskan Native Asian or Pacific Islander TOTAL 10,437,620. 7270214 2924724 130589 112093 100. 0 69. 7 28 1. 3 1. 1 Drug abuse violations 1376192 875101 483886 8198 9607 1000 63. 6 35. 1 0. 6 0. 7 DUI’S 1034651 914226 95260 13484 11681 100 88. 4 9. 2 1. 3 1. 1 Liquor laws 466323 398068 50035 12831 5389 100 85. 4 10. 7 2. 8 1. 2 Drunken-ness 408439 344155 54113 7884 2287 100 84. 3 13. 2 1. 9 0. 6 Dis-orderly conduct 5117264 325991 179733 7606 3934 100 63. 0 34. 7 1. 5 0. 8 (The FBI: Uniform Crime Report, 2010) References Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013, http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/index. cfm? ty=tp&tid=71 The FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2010, Table 43, http://www. fbi. gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u. s/2010/crime-in-the-u. s. -2010/tables/table-43 Federal Judicial Center, 2012, Overview of the United States Court System, http://www. fjc. gov/public/pdf. nsf/lookup/FJC_Standard_PPT_English_June_2012. pdf/$file/FJC_Standard_PPT_English_June_2012. pdf Lawrence, K. , 2011, Race, Crime, and Punishment: Breaking the Connection in America, http://www. aspeninstitute. org/sites/default/files/content/docs/pubs/Race-Crime-Punishment. pdf Motivans, Mark, 2011, Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/fjs09. pdf National Law Group 2010-2011, http://blacklawyers. net/ Roberts, D. , 2004, Measuring the Social and Moral Cost of Mass Incarceration, in African American Communities, http://www. law. fsu. edu/faculty/2003-2004workshops/roberts. pdf Spohn,C. ,2000, Thirty Years of Sentencing Reform: The Quest for a Racially Neutral Sentencing Process, http://www. justicestudies. com/pubs/livelink3-1. pdf.

Meteorites from Other Planets

Meteorites from Other Planets The more we learn about our planet, the more we want samples from other planets. Weve sent men and machines to the Moon and elsewhere, where instruments have examined their surfaces close up. Given the expense of spaceflight, its easier to find Mars and Moon rocks lying on the ground on Earth. We didnt know about these extraplanetary rocks until recently; all we knew was that there were a few particularly strange meteorites. Asteroid Meteorites Almost all meteorites come from the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter, where thousands of small solid objects orbit the sun. Asteroids are ancient bodies, as old as Earth itself. They have been little altered from the time they formed, except that they have been shattered against other asteroids. The pieces range in size from dust specks to the asteroid Ceres, some 950 kilometers across. Meteorites have been classified into various families, and current theory is that many of these families came from a larger parent body. The eucrite family is one example, now traced to the asteroid Vesta, and research into the dwarf planets is a lively field. It helps that a few of the largest asteroids appear to be undamaged parent bodies. Almost all meteorites fit this model of asteroid parent bodies. Planetary Meteorites A handful of meteorites are very different from the rest: they show chemical and petrological signs of having been part of a full-sized, evolving planet. Their isotopes are unbalanced, among other anomalies. Some are similar to basaltic rocks known on Earth. After we went to the Moon and sent sophisticated instruments to Mars, it became clear where these rare stones come from. These are meteorites created by other meteorites- by asteroids themselves. Asteroid impacts onto Mars and the Moon blasted these rocks into space, where they drifted for many years before falling on Earth. Out of many thousands of meteorites, only a hundred or so are known to be Moon or Mars rocks. You can own a piece for thousands of dollars a gram, or find one yourself. Hunting Extraplanetaries You can look for meteorites in two ways: wait until you see one fall or search for them on the ground. Historically, witnessed falls were the primary means of discovering meteorites, but in recent years people have started looking for them more systematically. Both scientists and amateurs are in the hunt- its a lot like fossil hunting that way. One difference is that many meteorite hunters are willing to give or sell pieces of their finds to science, whereas a fossil cant be sold in pieces so its harder to share. There are two kinds of places on Earth where meteorites are more likely to be found. One is on parts of the Antarctic ice cap where the ice flows together and evaporates in the sun and wind, leaving behind meteorites as a lag deposit. Here scientists have the place to themselves, and the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) harvests the blue-ice plains every year. Stones from the Moon and Mars have been found there. The other prime meteorite hunting grounds are deserts. The dry conditions tend to preserve stones, and the lack of rain means they are less likely to wash away. In windswept areas, just as in Antarctica, fine material does not bury the meteorites either. Significant finds have come from Australia, Arabia, California, and the Saharan countries. Martian rocks were found in Oman by amateurs in 1999, and the next year a scientific expedition by the University of Bern in Switzerland recovered some 100 meteorites including a Martian shergottite. The government of Oman, which supported the project, got a piece of the stone for the Natural History Museum in Muscat. The university made a point of boasting that this meteorite was the first Mars rock that is fully available to science. Generally, the Saharan meteorite theater is chaotic, with finds going into the private market in direct competition with scientists. Scientists dont need much material, though. Rocks from Elsewhere We have also sent probes to the surface of Venus. Might there be Venus rocks on Earth as well? If there were, we could probably recognize them given the knowledge we have from the Venus landers. But its extremely unlikely: not only is Venus deeper in the Suns gravity well, but its thick atmosphere would muffle all but the very largest impacts. Still, there just might be Venus rocks to be found. And Mercury rocks are not beyond all possibility either- in fact, we might have some in the exceedingly rare angrite meteorites. We need to send a lander to Mercury for ground-truth observations first. The Messenger mission, which is now orbiting Mercury, is already telling us a lot. PS: Just to take things a little farther, consider this: impacts on Earth have undoubtedly knocked Earth rocks into space too. Most probably fell back, melted, as tektites, but some must be sitting on the Moon right now, while others could have landed on Venus and Mars. In fact, in 2005 we found a big iron meteorite on Mars surface- why not Earth stones too? If life really did exist on Mars, as some evidence suggests, it could have traveled there from Earth. Or was it the other way around? Or, indeed, did both come from Venuss early oceans?

Heart Of Darkness 4 Essays - Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness

Heart Of Darkness 4 Essays - Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness Heart Of Darkness 4 In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow chooses to go against his beliefs by lying to Kurtz's intended. Although Marlow feels that lies are detestable, he is justified in falsifying Kurtz's final words to the Intended. Marlow feels that there is a taint of death and a flavor of mortality in lies, comparing lying to biting into something rotten. However, much of the world is filled with deceitfulness and lying, as it is almost a custom in the man's world. Lying makes Marlow physically ill, therefore to lie would be to give up his convictions and submit to the reality that the world is characterized by lying. Outside of the men's world is the women's world, epitomized by the Ladies' Drawing Room. Here, men and women are on their best behavior and manners are crucial. Inside the Ladies' Drawing Room, there is no sense of reality, deceitfulness or selfishness, as seen in the man's world. Here, the women are ignorant to the issues in the real world. Men come to the Ladies' Drawing room to escape the harsh reality that awaits them outside. Society was dependent on the Ladies' Drawing Room as an escape from reality. Following Kurtz's death, Marlow goes to see the Intended, where she asks to hear Kurtz's final words, "The horror! The horror!" These words condemn mankind in the realization that all men have the capacity to do evil. Marlow lies to the Intended telling her that his final words were her name, which suits the ignorant, fairy tale-like world of the Ladies' Drawing Room. As Marlow referred to earlier, he hates the taint of death and the mortality of lies. Had Marlow told the Intended Kurtz's actual final words, the taint of death would have hung over the truth. Marlow escaped having to bear the weight of this truth by lying, the more moral option of the two.

Reason and Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reason and Faith - Essay Example Faith is the opposite of reason, and it does not require any evidence for an individual to believe in a given issue or authority. On this basis, faith is a demonstration of assent or trust (Albl, 22). Faith, therefore, involves an act of commitment that emanates from the believer, in relation to a given belief. Religious faith involves the belief of an individual to a supernatural deity or God. The root cause of this faith always comes from an individual revelation of God, or the workings of God (The Bible, 3). On this note, revelation can either be direct, personally experiencing the powers of God. It can also be indirect, that is experiencing the powers of God through the testimonies of other people. Faith that emanates from religion is of two types, namely evidence insensitive faith, and evidence sensitive faith. Evidence sensitive faith is built upon by demonstrable truths, which includes testimonies brought forth by believers or people who ascribe to the same Faith. Mueller (27) denotes that this type of faith is also built on the teachings and lives of people who believed in God. On the other hand, Mueller (29) denotes that evidence-insensitive faith is built upon the individual experiences of a person with his God. All (26) explains that it is possible for a person to believe in God, through faith, or through reason. This paper takes a stand that the Bible is the main book that provides guidance on an individual’s Christian faith. The reason is only used to confirm and provide support for the various religious beliefs. Prickett and Robert (36) denote that the main factor that led to the problems associated with reason and faith comes from the concept of revelation. All religious beliefs are based on revelations. Revelations always entail an individual’s experiences with God, which in turn they are described through sacred pronunciations (Prickett and Robert, 33).  Ã‚  

Aids in New York City Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aids in New York City - Essay Example According to the paper, New York City make is among the largest cities in the United States with representation of different kinds of people. The population of New York City is made up of people who differ in different ways in terms of their race, sexual orientation, level of education and age. According to Reilly et al., people in their diversity are affected differently with this epidemic in New York City. The different effect the diseases have on different races is attributed to the different behavioral practices of these people. Since the disease was diagnosed, in New York City alone, over one hundred thousand people have died from the disease since the year 1981. As of February 2014, there were 110,736 new Yorkers who had been diagnosed with aids and presumed to be living with this infection. In the year 2013 3481, new diagnoses of these diseases were made of these: 76.6 percent of the people were men with 23.4 percent being women. 48.3 percent is made up of men who have sex w ith men, while the heterosexuals were made up of 21.4 percent. Hispanic and blacks made the larger population of people affected with aids with a percentage of 78.6 percent. Lastly, 35.1 percent of the new infections were comprised of people who are under the age of 29. 1.4 percent of new Yorkers live with aids, with the Spanish and black Americans being the most affect since they represent about 78 percent of this population. Young people rate of infection follows closely at 35.1 percent. This percentage is quite high now that these young people are more active and likely to spread the disease more than when it affected older people. Aids is a thorn that has to be dealt with accordingly in order to mitigate its effects on the disease burden and various sectors of the New York City. Its effects are far felt in all areas that work towards maintaining the great economy of the city.