Virtual War essays

Virtual War essays Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski, who lives in Salt Lake City, was copyright February 1999. It is a book of the science fiction genre. It is based in the future around 2053. By now the earths population is only around 2 million because of disease, chemical and nuclear war-fare have made much of the planet unsuitable for living. Now citys people live in huge bubbles for ozone and toxin protection. They no longer fight wars. There are too few people. They instead wage virtual wars where a team of three of their finest fight for them. (They are now fighting for an island that has recently became safe for The main character, Corgan is a boy. He is only 14 years old and has lived in a aerogel box for all his life. The world he knows is all holographic. He was genetically made for one purpose, the virtual war. Corgan has acquired the traits of Loyalty, Honorability, and Trustworthiness from the box. He has genetically superior traits of coordination and quickness. He is to be the team leader. He does not know much of the outside world, except for what Mendor Corgans box provided him with everything he needed. A program was written to act as a mother and father to him, called the Mendor. It mended back and forth as parents depending on the situation. His team was of great excellence. The two chosen to be on his team are much different than he, however their roots are very similar. Sharla, he finds out, is to be his code breaker. She was from the same batch of babies as he was. She had golden blonde hair, and blue eyes. Corgan felt embarrassed but he liked her. She was unruly however, and escaped from her box many times as a result of being a code breaker. She was experienced and knew of the outside world first hand. She did not care for nobility and Honor like Corgan, she just ...

Differing Cultural Beliefs in Funny Boy essays

Differing Cultural Beliefs in Funny Boy essays Differing Cultural Beliefs in Funny Boy Between four to ten percent of the general population is homosexual. However, openly admitting to this preference is very uncommon. It is difficult for society to come to terms with the idea of homosexuality because it is different. Being different is looked upon as shameful, especially when it relates to ones sexual preference. One of the biggest reasons for keeping this subject a secret is because most people feel that their families will reject them. Today, we are living in a world that is supposed to favour diversity, yet all that we seem to be doing is mocking the way others choose to live their lives. Shyam Selvadurai, the author of Funny Boy, felt the necessity to write about this issue because it is kept in the dark, especially in Sri Lanka. In addition, Sri Lanka is faced with many cultural problems. The Tamils and Singhalese are in constant conflict because of their different moral values. Selvadurai grew up in this type of atmosphere, he was homosexual and was raised in an environment where fighting took place regularly. Selvadurai decided to write this book not only as therapy for himself but also to lend a voice to those who still have trouble expressing themselves about both of these issues especially children. Selvadurai writes as sensitively about the emotional intensity of adolescence as he does about the wonder of childhood (Hower, 22). Arjie Chelvaratnam, the protagonist in Selvadurais novel, finds himself going through similar problems. He feels lost because his attitudes towards life differ greatly from those around him. In his novel, Funny Boy, Shyam Selvadurai uses character and plot to show how conflicting cultural beliefs can lead to confusion and alienation. The theme of clashing cultural values is brought out through the character of Arjies father, Appa. As Arjie was growing up, he often enjoyed spending his days playin...

Employment Law for Animal Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Employment Law for Animal Care - Essay Example We share different cultures and beliefs inherited from our forefathers. It is one’s sovereign right to gain entry to a job of choice that he has been prepared for. The Anti-Discrimination law allows every man to share equal rights in the workplace by citing potential discriminatory acts committed by employers that are definitely punishable. In the case of animal care keepers and service workers in zoos, more specifically their jobs entail the preparation of the respective diets of animals, cleaning the enclosures or cages, raise their young, monitor eating patterns, physical ailments and ensure the safety of the visiting public. Keepers also serve as guides and ensure the safety of the visiting public. Depending on the zoo keepers they may be assigned to work on a broad group of animals or may work on a limited collection. Animal trainers are also hired to train animals for riding; performance and entertainment; and the process sometimes take months and even years of repetitio n. Employers would often see that a job that requires broad responsibilities would entail a man’s hand to do the work. The advent of sex discrimination legislation in the United Kingdom and the European region in general saw significant cultural changes across the workplace. When the European Convention on Human Rights recognized individuals other than the traditional gender classification of male and female a ground breaking law was established. Under the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the Employment Equality Regulations (2003). ... 1975)1 and the Employment Equality Regulations (2003)2, the limitation of a woman's right to practice her knowledge and skills by virtue of sexual classification as the weaker sex is prohibited. To discriminate a person by virtue of her sex is tantamount to an insult on her person. It is a woman's civil right to choose a career of her own and to earn for herself and her family just like any man. With the advent of this law, we can now see a lot of women allowed to excel in their chosen fields. We share different cultures and beliefs inherited from our forefathers. It is one's sovereign right to gain entry to a job of choice that he has been prepared for. Race Relations Act (RRA1976)3 allows every man to share equal rights in the workplace by prohibiting racial discrimination of workers. Gone are the days when colored workers are separated from the whites. Asians and Mexicans are no longer restricted to work anywhere they like. Everyone is given the opportunity to exercise one's profession or training despite his racial origin. This act creates inter-dependence among men of different cultural backgrounds to share their expertise in the workplace thereby affording the country a stable economic stature. Discrimination also materializes as well during the recruitment and selection process by denying or subjecting a person to a detriment or loss of opportunity similarly in the case of Chanya, a Kenyan woman whose application as a zookeeper at the Middlesex Zoo was turned down d espite excellent training and qualification most likely owing to her gender and race. It should be noted that under the employment-related purposes, the Sexual Discrimination Act has been changed by the Sexual Discrimination Act (Burden of Proof) Regulations 2001(SI 2001 No. 2660)4. As the name

Legalizing Marijuana in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legalizing Marijuana in Canada - Essay Example One of the bodies that have been vocal on the issue of the use of marijuana in Canada is The Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The body earlier this year introduced a new evidence based report for marijuana policy framework with recommendations of strict regulations on controlling the harm associated with the use of marijuana. In 1960s, the laws against marijuana were tough with where an offender found to possess small amounts of marijuana was to be sentenced for six months or a $1000 fine. However, in the recent past, pressure on the parliament to legalize marijuana has amounted with the House of Commons special committee on non-medical drugs releasing a report suggesting the reform of laws on marijuana possession and supply. Even as the issue of whether to legalize marijuana or not is debatable, legal access has been granted to people with HIV/AIDS and other individuals with serious illnesses.   With these deliberations on the policies that has been stipulating on th e control and use of marijuana in Canada, the focal point that has been echoed by different stakeholders articulates on the viability, and applicability of legalizing the drug. Factors to be considered when deciding on whether to legalize it or not are depicted below.      Evans and Berent (1992) argued that legalizing marijuana would lead to more jobs creation.   This would go a long way in growing the economy of the country. In addition, the government will be in a position to earn revenue from the taxes.

Anabolic Steroids in the Enhancement of Muscle Development Essay Example for Free

Anabolic Steroids in the Enhancement of Muscle Development Essay People nowadays have been more conscious of their physical appearance. The will of others to be physically fit, enables them to enroll in different programs or even engage themselves in the administration of drugs that help enhance muscle development. One of these drugs is the Anabolic steroid. Anabolic steroids are defined as synthetic substances that are similar to the sex hormones in men. These are used as treatment for other conditions, and may also be used to increase the testosterone level in men. In addition to this, the use of such steroids also enhances the muscle mass of its users. Most of these, if not all, require a prescription upon purchase, for these may have effects on the body of the individual, causing irreversible health problems (National Institute of Drug Abuse, March 2007). These drugs are often used by athletes, bodybuilders, and people who are in need of excellent physical performance. Steroids are known to help in the increasing of the strength, aggressiveness, and body mass of its users. In addition to this, the continuous use of this drug increases the muscle size of users, at the same time helps in the improvement of the physical appearance through the reduction of the body fat (Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 6 March 2006). The Mayo Clinic website defines that steroids may be administered in a number of different ways. Two of the most common routes of administration were oral and parenteral. For oral administration, these come in the form of tablets (Mayo Clinic, 1 January 2008). They may also be administered parenterally, either through the subcutaneous and intramuscular routes (Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 6 March 2006). Some of the most common oral steroids used include Oxymetholone (Anadrol), Oxandrolone (Oxandrin), Dianabrol (Methandrostenolone), and Winstrol (Stanozolol). Injectable steroids, on the other hand, include Nandrolone decanoate (Deca-Durabolin), Nandron phenpropionate (Durabolin), Testosterone cypionate (Depo-Testosterone, and Bodlenon undecyclenate (Equipoise) (National Institute on Drug Abuse, April 2000, p2). Steroids help in the increase of muscle development in the body. This occurs when hypogonadal men receive treatments to increase their testosterone levels. The continuous use of anabolic steroids contribute to the increase in muscle mass of the user, most specifically in the mass of the upper part of the body. Furthermore, studies have shown that the administration of these drugs have an effect in the biochemistry and the morphology of the muscles. Biopsies have shown that there was a dramatical increase in the muscle fibers and the average fiber size, especially in the trapezius muscle upon continuous use of the steroid (Kuhn, 2002). The excessive use of anabolic steroids may result in negative effects in the body. Some of its major effects include liver tumors, jaundice, fluid retention, hypertension, trembling, severe acne, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps, and stunted height. Some people take these symptoms for granted, associating them with another illness other than steroid use. Aside from these effects, there were also gender specific effects of steroid use (ATOD Prevention Center, n. d. ). Even adolescents, when given excessive doses of steroids are greatly affected. Puberty changes arise, with their skeletal system growing prematurely. Men, being the most users of steroids, are also affected. Their testicles tend to shrink, with their sperm count greatly reduced to that of normal. There is also a great risk of baldness and the possible development of breasts, and worse, the risk of acquiring prostate cancer. Women on the other hand, tend to grow facial hair, and have male-pattern baldness tendencies. Steroid administration also results to the stopping or irregularity of the menstrual cycle, and the tendency to be moon-faced. For others, the drug administration may also result in a deeper speaking voice, accompanied by clitoris enlargement (Narconon Trois-Rivieres, 2 April 2008). Aside from all these effects, steroid abuse may also have psychological effects on the user. Depression, irritability, distractions, forgetfulness, paranoia, aggression, and manic episodes are the most common psychological effects of steroid use (ATOD Prevention Center, n. d. ). The continued use results in the sudden change in an individuals way of thinking and their urge to hurt other people. The Drugtext website has stated that a test was made on three cases, marking their changes on their steroid use. All three resulted in a higher rate of aggression rates with the use of steroids, as compared to those who do not use the drug (Williamson, 1994). With the given data, it is just but necessary for people to learn how to control the use of these drugs. More lives may be saved, and addictions may be avoided. Let us all contribute to the upheaval of a healthy environment towards a drug-free life. Works Cited â€Å"Anabolic Steroid Abuse. † National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Report Series 4 (2000): 1- 8. â€Å"Drug Rehabilitation Center: Steroids. † 2 April 2008. Narconon Trois-Rivieres. 8 April 2008 http://www. narconon. ca/steroids. htm. Kuh, Cynthia M. â€Å"Anabolic Steroids. † 2002. Recent Progress in Hormone Research. 8 April 2008 http://rphr. endojournals. org/cgi/content/full/57/1/411. â€Å"NIDA: InfoFacts: Steroids (Anabolic-Androgenic). † January 2, 2008 National Institute On Drug Abuse. Retrieved 7 April 2008 http://www. nida. nih. gov/Infofacts/Steroids. html. â€Å"Steroids. † ATOD Prevention Center. 8 April 2008 http://www. umes. edu/atod/abuse/drugs/steroids. htm. â€Å"Steroids. † 6 March 2006. Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Retrieved 7 April 2008 http://www. gdcada. org/statistics/steroids. htm Williamson, Doug. â€Å"The Psychological Effects of Anabolic Steroids. † The International Journal of Drug Policy 5. 1 (1994): 8 April 2006 http://www. drugtext. org/library/articles/945104. htm.

Lucid Dreams. What are the possible benefits of lucid dreaming? Essays

Introduction Starting from the ancient times human was always interested in strange phenomenon of sleeping and especially in dreams. Dreams were described in different ways. For instance, dreams were explained psychologically like images of sub consciousness and feedback of neural processes in human’s brain. Spiritually, it was described like messages of god (C.S. Lewis, nd). Remarkable that not only human have ability to see dreams but several species of animals (Wilkerson R. 2003). For example, rat’s sleep is almost same as the human’s they have multiple stages of sleep starting from slow wave sleep to REM stage of sleep (Animals have complex dreams, 2001). Another fact is that living beings, including humans, have more REM sleep in younger age (Siegel, 2005). In summary, dreams are well known for strange, amazing and impossible thing to happen in them, but almost all people don’t actually realize that they are sleeping during the dream. To conclude, dream itself co uld be defined as the complexity of images and emotions that occur during certain stages of sleep ("Dream". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000). It is proved that dreams are linked with rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep which occur every 1.5-2 hours of sleeping and with time progress they become longer. The REM stage usually includes rapid eye movement, heavier breath, increased pulse rate and temporary weakening of muscles (Dream Basics: Understanding Sleep, 2007). It seems that dream can happen not only in REM stages of sleep, but it’s easier to remember a dream by awaking during the REM stage (Dement 1957; Kleitman 1957; Hobson 2009). It is noticed that if the person lives with emotionally rich life and his hormon... .... In addition, every person could use such dreams in practical life not only to gain motivation or overcome social frights by themselves, but also to expand artistic side, and even to develop physically. But, lucid dreams are not so popular, despite the fact that there is plenty of information about what is needed to be done to get ability of viewing lucid dreams, it means that advertisement is needed, so almost everyone will know about that in order to not miss a chance to touch with something that sounds such fantastic. Nevertheless, certain precautionary measures to prevent lucid dream addiction. Moreover, more reliable and affordable devices should be invented, because not everyone has needed amount of time to develop skill of lucid dream. Thus, based on the conclusion, lucid dreams have a great potential, and could give humanity plenty of positive benefits.

The Cash Flow Statement

The Cash Flow Statement * A Cash flow statement is a financial report that shows the sources of a firm’s cash and its uses of cash. In other words, it answers the questions, â€Å"where did the cash come from? † and â€Å"where did the cash go? † Measuring Firm’s Cash Flow You can explain the cash inflows and outflows of a business by looking at three cash flow activities. * Cash flow activities: 1.Generating cash flows from day-to-day business operations It is the informative to know how much cash is being generated in the normal course of operating a business on a daily basis, beginning with purchasing inventory on credit, selling on credit, paying for the inventory, and finally collecting on the sales made on credit. 2. Buying or selling fixed assets. When a company buys (or sell) fixed assets, such as equipment and buildings, cash outflows (or inflow) result. These cash flows are not part of the regular day-to-day operations and, consequently, are not included in the income statement.They appear only as changes from one balance sheet to the next. 3. Financing the business. Cash inflows and outflows occur when the company borrows or repays debt; when it distributes money to the owners, such as when dividends are paid; or when the owners put money into the business in the form of additional equity. Profits versus cash flows * Entrepreneurs need to be aware that profits shown on a company’s income statement are not the same as its cash flows. * An income statement is not a measure of cash flows because it is calculated on an accrual basis rather than a cash basis.This is an important point to understand in section. * In Accrual-basis accounting, profits are recorded when earned- whether or not the profits have been received in cash- and expenses are recorded when they are incurred- even if money has not actually been paid out. * In Cash-basis accounting, profits are reported when cash is received and expenses are recorded whe n they are paid. * There are several reasons, including the following, that profits based on an accrual accounting system will differ from the firm’s cash flows; 1. Sales reported on an income statement include both cash sales and credits sales.So the total sales do not correspond to the actual cash collected. 2. Cash spent for inventory doesn’t represent all inventory purchases since some inventory is financed by credit. 3. The depreciation expense shown in the income statement is a noncash expense. It reflects the costs associated with using an asset that benefits the firm’s operations over a period of several years, such as a piece of equipment used over five years. What every small business owner should ask and understand is, â€Å"How do you compute your firm’s cash flow? †

Sammy will definitely feel this event all his life

The basic plot of John Updike’s A & P is that Sammy clerks in a grocery store.   Stokesie is a young man who also works at the store, but he is there to support his family.There are some bold girls that come into the store and are frowned upon by the management.   The girls are dressed in beach attire and when Lengel (the manager) refuses to serve them, Sammy quits his job.   Lengel warns him â€Å"You’ll feel this for the rest of your life,† (Updike) and Sammy agrees.Sammy will definitely feel this event all his life.   By quitting his job, he is rejecting Lengel and his middle-class, uptight attitude.  Ã‚   In Sammy’s mind, the girls should be able to come in dressed in beach ware and not be judged.   Frivolous behavior should be tolerated and not frowned upon.  Ã‚   If they are dressed to scantily and cause people to look at them, that’s okay.   They’re young.   If men look at them, that is okay too.   It’s okay to look at pretty girls without feeling guilty.Sammy really grows up throughout the course of the story.   As Sammy walks away from the store he realizes â€Å"how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter† (Updike).   Sammy realizes that much of the world is filled with people who think like Lengel, and that he will be the one to buck the system.   He is not willing to go along with the status quo, and that will make his life difficult.The Lengels of the world are just too narrow to simply enjoy watching a pretty girl.   Sammy will be able to enjoy those simple pleasures without condemning them.In rejecting Lengel’s values, he is also rejecting the values of his family or his circle of society.   He decides that he wants more in life than vying for a manager position in an A & P.   He refers to the shoppers as â€Å"sheep† and decides that he does not want to be a sheep.The girls in their swimsuits simply help bring about that epiphany.   Sam my has really won according to his own values, but in the minds of many others, he has lost.   Everyone will know that he quit.   His parents will most likely be disappointed and might think his reasons frivolous.   It is only the beginning of bucking the system for Sammy.Works CitedUpdike, John.   A & P.

Mark Twain Quotes on Education and Schooling

Mark Twain Quotes on Education and Schooling The genius writer and father of American literature,  Mark Twain, was not educated beyond elementary school. His expresses cynicism toward the mediocre education system of this time in his quotes about education. He believed that schooling was different from education and learning. He warns us of the hazards of following the education system with blind faith. In Praise of Learning and Training Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that can not read them. There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones; it can lift men to angel ship. Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. Its like feeding a dog on his own tail. It wont fatten the dog. It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others - and less trouble. A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered - either by themselves or by others. Learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity. Criticism of Schooling Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned. We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that a savage has because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter. God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board. Just the omission of Jane Austens books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadnt a book in it. I never let my schooling interfere with my education. Everything has its limit - iron ore cannot be educated into gold. All schools, all colleges, have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal valuable knowledge. Mark Twain Quips on Specific Subjects The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid prejudice. I dont give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. Classic. A book which people praise and dont read. I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didnt know. Why shouldnt truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense. We could use up two Eternities in learning all that is to be learned about our own world and the thousands of nations that have arisen and flourished and vanished from it. Mathematics alone would occupy me eight million years. Many public-school children seem to know only two dates - 1492 and 4th of July, and as a rule, they dont know what happened on either occasion.

Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success

Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success Over here we have the goal: I want to make tons of money from my online business. And over here we have the reality: I have a website. I’m making some money, but I wouldn’t call it â€Å"success† just yet. The question you have been wrestling with for months now is, â€Å"How do I get from my reality to my goal?† Or in other words How do you turn your website into a real money-maker? If you’ve been been in the blogging game very long, or if you’ve simply read 10 total marketing articles at any point in the last 5 years, you know that the money is in your email list.  Email marketing has the highest ROI  of any marketing channel, and for content producers, its your #1 source of traffic, social shares, and revenue. The Complete, 4-Step #Email List Building Strategy That Will Make You Successful via @jmcmillen89There are many places you can go for email list building  tips. Here’s a great list of 21 ways to build your email list. But articles like these require you to have a competent system already in place AND to understand what you are ultimately trying to do with that system. Today, we are going to go through the full process from start to finish- everything you need from email list creation to effective monetization. The basic process looks like this: I’m going to show you how YOU can implement this process without any outside help whatsoever. For those of you who like to skip the tinkering or take things to the next level, there’s a special offer  for you at the end. Let’s start with Step 1 of your email list building strategy. Step #1: Create Your Email List This is the easiest step, but how many of you reading this have yet to start your list, because... research. You don’t want to select the wrong provider or you don’t want to spend money and then not put the work in. Well guess what? I’m solving both of those problems for you right now. If you’ve been waiting for a solid beginner email provider, go ahead and click here  to immediately start your FREE account with MailChimp. There’s no costs until you reach a handsomely monetizable 2,000 email subscribers. Problem solved. Now, select â€Å"Lists† in the top bar and then click â€Å"Create List†. Fill in a few admin details, and BAM, you’re done! Now that you have your list, let’s move on to tricking out your website for email collection. Step #2: Optimize Your Website For Email Collection This is where you  get to have some fun, at least, if you're anything like me. If you want your website to perform as a business funnel, your highest core value should be simplicity. Think simple and then think simpler. Simple design Single goal Necessary features only If you want to build a serious email list, that list has to be one of the #1 goals of your website. And on that note, immediately axe EVERY feature that doesn’t facilitate email signups. (If you can sell to your customers immediately via product trials or e-commerce, those are great features to keep around.) There’s a only a handful of features you  need to collect email effectively: Some form of compelling lead magnet Above-the-fold email opt-in CTA Email opt-in popup End-of-content email opt-in Let’s take a closer look at each of these. Recommended Reading:  How To Blog With As Little As Possible Create a compelling lead magnet. While some users will like your content so much, they will simply hand over their email address, these users are the exception rather than the rule. You need to have a few cards up your sleeve that will compel visitors to become subscribers. You need to have something valuable that you can freely offer visitors in exchange for their email address. These are called â€Å"lead magnets†. A great example can be found right here at , which uses its restricted-access resource library to invite readers like you to become subscribers. Check out 's resource library as an example of a compelling lead magnet. Just look at the top of your screen. See the light blue bar that says â€Å"Get 60+ Free Resources Now!†? Yep, that’s a lead magnet. There is virtually no limit to what you can use as a lead magnet: Restricted resource library Topical e-book Collection of templates Exclusive content only given to subscribers Audio or video downloads Email course training series Checklist PDFs Software tool access etc. When evaluating something as a potential lead magnet, it needs to answer â€Å"Yes† to two  vitally important questions: Is this something my marketing target audience would LOVE and no one else would really care about? Is this something that can be automatically distributed upon signup and doesn’t incur marginal cost at my expense? Virtually everyone wants a free laptop, but giving out laptops in exchange for email addresses breaks both or these rules. People who have zero interest in your website’s topic/product will claim the laptop with zero return on your investment, and the marginal cost of purchasing a laptop per subscriber is an insanely inefficient way to collect email addresses. Pick something that answers â€Å"Yes† to both the above questions, and you’ll be good to go. Place an email opt-in CTA above the fold. When we are discussing a desktop setup, your above-the-fold real estate is by far the most valuable. It absolutely must include a CTA that leads to email signup or information collection of some nature. A great example of this is Noah Kagan’s blog OkDork. As soon as you show up on the home page, you are immediately propositioned for your email address in exchange for Noah’s lead magnet. The entry box gives visitors a no-friction, one-click way to give you their email. Noah’s company SumoMe  recently released an application called Welcome Mat  that helps  you to implement this exact same technique on any website, landing page or blog. Here’s an example of the free version in action on my men’s blog. This is my homepage hero shot: You’ll notice I already have an opt-in form above the fold at the top of the right sidebar. I’m using this simple MailChimp for WordPress plugin, which can be inserted via the widget area of your WordPress dashboard. When Welcome Mat is installed, the following screen immediately drops down for new users visiting my website: This not only allows me to collect email, but it also gives me a chance to immediately hit users with a targeted value proposition. Visitors who show up to my site and resonate with â€Å"taking an honest look at manhood†, are more likely to subscribe or continue reading and subscribe later. Collect emails above the fold with immediate value propositions. Here's how. #listbuildingAs a final example, I want to address the freelancers and direct-service providers among you who are wanting to build your email, but honestly, your biggest priority is direct contact for currently interested clients. I feel you. I’m in a similar boat. I help business owners do a lot of what I’m talking to you about in this article, but at level 1,000. Here’s how I handle those dual goals. This is my services landing page: The red button takes visitors through my sales pitch, which will end in a request for their email. The green button takes visitors directly to the form where they give me their email. Since I am focusing on lead generation here, this strategy won’t be as effective for scaling out a massive email list as what I’ve discussed above. However, I am still acquiring a list of SUPER targeted emails of people interested in my services who I can retarget at a later date or invite to view my blog content. Have segmented  #emaillists based on your goals to really drive conversions.Create an email opt-in popup Let’s be honest. No one really thinks about popups with fond thoughts and fuzzy memories. Except website owners interested in collecting emails. Those gals and guys LOVE popups, because they work. They really, really, really  work. In fact, I doubt you can find a single, high-traffic marketing blog that doesn’t currently use popups. I’m using- you guessed it- SumoMe’s free popup application: Since installing this simple popup, my subscription rate has doubled. I’ve had 2x the subscribers over this last year as I did before, and I have probably posted half as much content this year as I did the year before. Popups work. Since I’m using the free version, I am unable to offer a lead magnet within my popup, but if I were to upgrade, I could display something like this, which would probably improve my signup rate even further: If you want to install SumoMe’s Listbuilder popup application, simply follow the directions here. Create email signup opportunities at the end of your content. You probably already know this, but most visitors to your blog posts won’t read the full post. Maybe they will skim and maybe they will just read a few points and leave. If they make it all the way to the end, they are â€Å"picking up what you’re putting down†. This is a golden opportunity for you to capture these casual visitors into your email list â€Å"fold†. Don’t waste it! Include a signup opportunity at the end of every post. There is an easy way to do this with a moderate return, and then there is a more difficult- AKA  time consuming- way to do this that will net you a much higher return. The easy way involves nothing more than including a signup form at the end of each post, like this: ... OR offering your standard lead magnet, like this example from CoachTube: Simply create a graphic like the one from CoachTube  and display it at the end of your post with a link to your email signup page. That’s the easy way. The more difficult way is to make a different lead magnet for every single one of your posts. This is called a â€Å"content upgrade†, and it gets better results because it is directly related to what your visitors were just reading about. Note: By the way, there's a content upgrade in this post right in the introduction to help convert visitors into subscribers right away. has seen this as an excellent way to turn organic traffic into long-term, engaged subscribers. Here’s an example from Brian Dean’s blog Backlinko: Content upgrades have been the primary fuel in the emergence of several new leading blogs in the marketing blogosphere. I’ve seen case study after case study of unbelievable results. While it requires a bigger investment on your part, It’s worth giving this strategy a try. To learn more about posting content upgrades, check out Bryan Harris’ guide. Step #3. Implement Email Marketing Within Your Content Strategy While email is your best single tool for building an audience, it’s still just one piece of your content strategy. Your overall content strategy should be targeting your desired audience via recurring, well-promoted content that gets people to you website and into position for email capture. If you aren’t getting people to your site, you won’t be getting any email signups. Recommended Reading:  How To Publish More Consistent Content That Will Help You Grow A Successful Blog Fortunately, your email list can play the star role in getting traffic to your website. Sometimes, people overcomplicate the email marketing process. They get scared of sending too many emails and wait too long to contact their audience, or they aren’t really sure what to write, so they just throw a bunch of stuff in. Before I describe a ridiculously simple (yet effective) way to run your email marketing, let’s review our goals. The goal of any content marketing campaign is twofold: Build an audience of people interested in your chosen topic. Build trust within that audience and an expectation of quality from your brand. We want everyone who comes into contact with your brand to think, â€Å"Wow, they don’t mess around. That was good stuff.† We DON’T want people subconsciously   thinking, â€Å"I’ve seen this 100 times before. You think I’m going to buy your paid product when this free stuff is so weak?† Now that we’ve established our goal, let’s look at how email can play a part. Here’s a ridiculously simple, beginner strategy for email marketing that will get your content some great results. Anytime you publish a new blog post, send out the following email: Subject line: â€Å"Compelling headline meant to grab maximum email opens† (check out 's headline analyzer for some help.) Header image taken from published post. Short introduction setting up a hook to get people to your post. Link to your post. Button(s) to click for instant shares. It’s that simple. Check out this example: How easy is that? And guess how well this hopelessly simple email performed? I will take 50% opens and 30% clicks every day of the week. Don’t overcomplicate this. Your emails don’t need to be complicated to be effective. In fact, they should be decidedly uncomplicated. Now that we’ve identified a simple template for each individual email, how should we incorporate these emails into a fuller content strategy? I’m glad you asked. Again, this is a baseline strategy anyone can do and everyone should be doing (at minimum). I’ve found from working with countless clients over the years that many bloggers have trouble finding a repeatable process off which to base their content strategy, so I’m condensing it into a few simple tips. Publish your blog between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m. ET. The easiest way to do this is to schedule it to automatically publish via WordPress, or if you’ve made the incredibly wise decision to get a subscription, you can schedule posts easily  through their dashboard. Recommended Reading:  When Is The Best Time To Publish A Blog Post? Schedule an email to go out the day your post goes live. The specific time will vary based on your topic and audience. For weekday posts, I’d recommend sending out emails around 7 a.m. ET, as that will put your content at the top of most readers’ inboxes when they either get to work or check their emails before  work. Promote your content across social channels. You can do this manually, or, if you have a account, you can automatically schedule postings across your networks AND repostings at later dates. These three tips  are  a great beginning baseline if you aren’t already doing it for each new post. Step #4. Monetize Your Email List I want to quickly take you through all four email monetization strategies, because they’re worth knowing and you can achieve big wins with each one. Sell affiliate offers to your list. Sell advertising placement in your â€Å"newsletter†. Make your email newsletter a paid subscription. Sell your own product. Let’s start with the first email list building monetization strategy. Sell affiliate offers to your email list. Affiliate marketing is as old as the Web itself. It made millionaires in the late-90’s/early-2000’s, back when lots of people  who stumbled online were becoming millionaires. Today, you are far more likely to be sold an expensive course on becoming a millionaire affiliate marketer than you are to actually become one yourself. It’s not that affiliate marketing can’t work, it’s just a much less efficient way to make money than creating and selling your own product. Furthermore, you typically have no control over the quality or customer service attached to an affiliate product, so you risk losing trust every time a subscriber makes a purchase. The BIG exception and the RIGHT way to implement affiliate marketing is to select a few products/services you trust that generate RESIDUAL income. Here’s the only example you really need to know. Pat Flynn is considered a veritable influencer  in the marketing blogosphere. You’ve almost definitely heard of him, and you most likely read his blog. Pat made $116,891.83 last August. That number may boggle your mind at first glance, but let’s take a look at the numbers: Pat earned revenue from 13 total affiliate offers. His affiliate earnings made up 72% of his total income for the month of August. But most significantly, Pat made 55% of his entire August revenue from just two offers. Both these offers, Bluehost and LeadPages, are subscription-based services, meaning every time Pat signs up a new customer, he begins getting paid on a monthly basis for as long as that customer remains a customer. Pat has been selling Bluehost website hosting since at least March 2010. When he first began referring Bluehost, it accounted for less than 8% of his monthly revenue, but after 5 years of accumulating referred users, he is collecting monthly checks worth 40% of his total revenue from just this one referral. Now, it’s your turn. Pick a subscription-based service that meets the following criteria: You already love it. It’s a no-brainer for your customers. It's intended to be used indefinitely. Slap that referral link into your next email and talk it up big to your email subscribers. You should also create a targeted landing page (like this)  on your website, pitching your visitors. Boom. Done. Sell ad placements on your â€Å"newsletter†. I place â€Å"newsletter† in quotes because your emails really shouldn’t look like a traditional newsletter, and I’m a stickler for semantics. Quirks aside, I’m not really talking about banner-style ads here. Banner ads are tacky in a newsletter, and it’s not really what your customers subscribed for. Paid ad placement in your newsletter should look a lot like affiliate marketing, with the primary difference being you are getting paid to place rather than paid based on subscriber engagement. Have you considered including native advertising in your email newsletters?This works particularly well with niche newsletters, because the smaller the market, the more valuable it is for a new brand to get its name in front of relevant viewers. How do you get such placements? Sorry, the answer is direct sales. Pick 10 brands in your niche, and email them something like, â€Å"I have 1,000 email subscribers centered around your niche, and I think they would be very interested in learning more about [brand]. I’d love to discuss running a [brand] promotion in an upcoming newsletter.† It’s really that simple. What brand doesn’t want to be promoted? From there, it’s just a matter of negotiating payment. Make your email newsletter a  paid subscription. I’m including this one because it’s a relevant option, but I wouldn’t recommend you try it as your core email list building monetization strategy. People are very used to being asked for their email in exchange for content, and they are becoming increasingly hesitant to give that email address away. If you have the audacity to ask for money in exchange for your emails, your email content better include the following: Highly valuable, world-class type content. Exclusive content that can ONLY be found via your email list. Unless your newsletter is offering in-demand content that can’t be found anywhere else, this strategy could be a bit difficult to implement super successfully. Create and sell your own product. This is, in my opinion, the best strategy for monetizing your email list.  Create a product and sell it to your list. That’s it. That’s the goal. You should be aspiring to do this, and then you should stop aspiring and just do it... now. As Jeff Walker  says, â€Å"The best way to launch a product is to build an email list, and the best way to build an email list is to launch a product.† But why is this the best monetization strategy? Higher margins: There’s no middle man when it’s your product. Better targeting:  Your audience can tell you exactly what they want. Life-time value:  You retain all customer behavior data, allowing for much more effective retargeting and upsells over the customer’s lifetime. Follow these tips  in order to do it right: Collaborate with subscribers on identifying a product they want Create the product. Pre-sell the product. Launch the product. Improve the product. Let’s walk our way through a basic version of this process. Collaborate The easiest way to create a product people want is to ask them what they want. Brainstorm a few possible product ideas and ask your subscribers to give you feedback on what they like/dislike about them. Ask them specifically if they would consider buying each option. Once you’ve found an idea people are really into- preferably one that doesn’t require significant investment for your first attempt- it’s time to create. Recommended Reading:  5 Easy Lead Conversion Tips For Your Email Marketing Program A great example for beginners would be an info-product like an e-book. Create Product creation is a massively complex topic outside the scope of this post. For the purpose of this article, let’s just say you're creating an e-book. Here a few keys to compeleting an e-book that doesn’t suck: Create an outline first. Set unchangeable deadlines for each section in your outline. Write the dang thing. Supplement each point with facts/case-studies/examples/data of some kind. Don’t check â€Å"done† until it’s something you would pay to read. Next. Pre-Sell Never â€Å"cold sell† to your email list. You should always pre-sell before you sell. This process is intended to prime your audience for your product by getting them thinking very heavily about the problem your product solves. Send emails and write posts discussing this problem. Discuss beginner-level strategies for solving that problem. Talk about how you’ve solved it using your product or the information contained in the product. And then close... Launch Now it’s time to actually launch the product. The key to a successful product launch is getting all hands on deck. Get everyone you know with a relevant audience to help you promote your launch. Call in every favor. Get your product in front of every possible channel. Recommended Reading:  How Will Outreach Marketing Make Your Blog More Successful? It’s dangerous to go alone. Your product launch is the time to promote. A lot. Put the work in to create something you’re proud of and then share it with the world. Improve Your launch is just the beginning of your product. Get feedback, improve your product, and keep marketing it. How Will You Improve Your Email List Building Strategy? We’ve covered quite a bit of ground in today’s post. If you’re still reading, you are most likely serious about implementing an effective email list building strategy  via your website. Having helped numerous clients through this process (my last client went from 500–10,000 subscribers in two months), I can tell you that  these are super important steps for successful implementation: Create your list: Anyone can do this with zero help. Just follow the instructions in this post. Optimize your site: If you're willing to take the time to tinker, test, and tweak, anyone can set up their website for email optimization using the method I described in this article. You will need to familiarize yourself with copywriting and conversion rate optimization in order to properly utilize the tools I showed you, but you can absolutely do it yourself.  If you’d prefer to just have a pro do it for you, I’m offering a special setup rate for readers here. Run your content strategy:  Unless you have some big bucks to shell out, you will need to do the bulk of this on your own.   is a great resource for actually running a successful content strategy. Launch your product: Product launches are extremely technical and entail a lot of moving parts. I wouldn’t recommend doing your first launch by yourself. One client I worked with had 150,000 social followers but virtually zero website engagement. I gave his team a content strategy, and within two weeks, they had a blog generating 4k shares per article and nearly 100 comments per post. I’m offering a one-time, discounted rate for readers who would like me to map out a step-by-step strategy  for them. If you want to try it solo anyway, go get ‘em cowboy! You’ll want to follow Bryan Harris’ outline for his first product launch. Thanks for taking the time to read, learn, and grow as a blogger or online business owner. Like you, the world of online business never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. Feel free to ask a question or leave a comment, and if you enjoyed this article, don’t hesitate to give it a share!

Bay of pigs invasion intelligence failure compared to the sucess of Research Paper

Bay of pigs invasion intelligence failure compared to the sucess of the cuban missle crisis intelligence - Research Paper Example Speculation and the lack of accurate information led to the failure of one and the reliance of accurate intelligence and proper planning led to the success of the other. Bay of Pigs Invasion Intelligence Failure Compared To the Success of the Cuban Missile Crisis Intelligence In 1961, the US attacked Fidel Castrol’s Cuba in a bid to overthrow his government. This attack was that came to be known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which turned out to be a complete failure. The US had used an attacking force that had received thorough training and aid that was enough to launch a successful attack anywhere (Hughes-Wilson, 2004). Instead, the military operation at the end was a disaster that completely humiliated the US government at the time. The operation also did not achieve its initial objective which was to bring down Fidel Castro and his government. On the contrary the attack only increased the Cuban’s support for their leader (Walton, 2010). The events leading to this inva sion started way back in 1960. The whole process had been well planned from the word go. On March 17 of that year, President Dwight Eisenhower started this elaborate program to get rid of the government of Cuba. The operation was a CIA project from the very beginning. The intelligence body not only provided necessary information on the invasion details, it also recruited and armed Cuban exiles who would carry out the attack. President John F. Kennedy is the one who authorized the failed attempt to oust Castro and his government. Taking a beachhead, establishing a government and gaining US recognition was all part of the plan (Jones, 2008). Some of the reasons associated with the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion include: the inability of the US forces to defeat the Cuban air force, the overestimation made by the CIA about the willingness of Cubans to support an armed invasion on their government and the selection of an unfit landing site. Before this invasion the CIA, which the Ei senhower had entrusted with the responsibility of removing Castro from power, had tried many other options to get rid of the president. There were attempts made to poison him, there was support of anticommunist groups in Cuba, and radio broadcasts against the Castro regime were aired to Cuba from Florida. There were even some reports that the CIA made contact with the mafia so that they could work together to get rid of Castro. However, none of these tactics worked, but the CIA was not done yet. They planned and executed the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, but even this adverse action failed (Walton, 2010). The invasion was organized with only 1,297 troops that comprised mostly of Cuban rebels who were not in any position to lead an attack against a formidable military. Within two days, the invasion of the US had been quelled by Castro’s forces and several rebels rounded up. The failure of the CIA during the invasion of Bay of Pigs can be contrasted with the success in which the Cuban Missile crisis was handled. This was another crisis that ha the potential to go awry had the intelligence not been accurate. In fact, a few weeks before the crisis, the Special National Intelligence Estimate (SNIE), which was a branch of the CIA, predicted wrongly that the USSR would not place missiles on Cuban soil (Hughes-Wilson, 2004). However, the intelligence gathered after that was enough for the US to plan and identify the missiles before they could be launched. The CIA also gathered enough

Discuss Three Points of Convergence Between Emerson and Spinoza Essay

Discuss Three Points of Convergence Between Emerson and Spinoza - Essay Example Though each and every single concept of their demands a series of comments, yet for the purposes of this document, three spheres of congruency in thought shall be discussed. It shall be obvious in due course, that how the essence of concept remains congruent, despite a shift in the vocabulary. Both these concepts depict unanimity in frame of thought. These ideas coincide over the fact that the mind can never really perish in its existence, because what entails the being of the mind is pure and inaccessible to us. Spinoza clearly believes that the existence of the mind which is nothing to be questioned, and in many ways, it is actually the defining part that distinguished one human from the other. No matter what we do, the roots embedded in the crux of the mind of a person always stay in tact. Giving so much importance to the mind also signifies the linkage being established with the concept of existence of man. On the same lines, Emerson believes that the integrity of the mind is imperishable. In the perspective, the meaning can be inferred as the same. The mind alone can have no integrity - it has to be associated with man himself. Therefore, again extrapolating the fact that the mind is sure to dominate the proceedings of life, despite what course of actions are undertaken. The Mind as an entity can never destroy, as it is the true emblem of existence for man - his distinguishing factor. Uniformity of Existence Regarding this issue, the following was implicated: "No one wishes to preserve his being for the sake of anything else" (Spinoza, 1677). "With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do" (Emerson, 1841). The concept of uniformity of behavior and thought has always triggered the minds of thinkers. However, it is interesting that both of these present a similar stance on the said subject. Spinoza is of the opinion that it is not naturally desirable for anybody to maintain an existing thread of ideas and/or actions. Preservation of one's being, therefore, in lieu of something else is not an instinctual yearning that man can go ahead with. Further, it is rationalistically not practical as well that the same should be accomplished. Similarly, Emerson puts forward the notion that consistency can not be correlated with a being. The factor of change is not only necessary, but it is imperative. With the dynamics that the human beings portray, consistency is not only incompatible, but impossible. The journey of every soul's towards its destiny is considered to be embedded within the concept of not staying preserved; in not maintaining the status quo. Only in regular amendments, adjustments and constant evolution is the key to the supremacy and existence of human beings. Significance of Nature The respective viewpoints in this domain are: "It is impossible, that man should not be a part of Nature" (Spinoza, 1677). "I suppose no man can violate his nature" (Emerson, 1841). On the significant role played by nature in the behavior of man,