What Is Computer Graphics Essay Example For Students

What Is Computer Graphics Essay Computer GraphicsWhen I think of art I think of great artists of the past. Artists that have spent practically all their lives to produce visually stunning pieces of work. Artists such as Michelangelo, who spent 15 years of his life to finalize a painting on the ceiling of the St. Peters Cathedral. When I think of art, I think of the legendary sculptures of the classical era. Artists then envisioned a final work from a block of stone. However, It is very difficult for me to consider a person who sits in front of a computer and plays with a pre-programmed software as an artist. As narrow as that statement may sound, In my opinion, it seems true and to the point. My sophmore year at Seton Hall I assumed an art class, Art of the Western World. I took the class because like most classes at the University, I needed it fulfill my requirements. However, by the end of the semester I was amazed about art, more so then I ever was. We will write a custom essay on What Is Computer Graphics specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now In fact, I have never cared about art before in my life. But the class acquired my eyes to appreciate artistic objects around me. I began to realize that art is a long and difficult process. A skill that requires great determination and perfection. Early painters had to face the difficulties of paint drying too fast or the paper fading. Besides that, I witnessed how the great sculptures imagined the final work before it was even begun. Initially, they started from a block of stone or marble, having to carve out each and every layer. I was amazed, I could not imagine how long or difficult this could be. How long it must have took to create certain final works was incredible and for what, the mere satisfaction and thrill?Maybe it is because artists of the past did not have breakthrough technology like we do today. Because if they did, then it is possible they would have taken easier routes to complete their work. But, todays computer graphic designers have it much easier in my opinion. Granted, they too have to spend long hours learning the functions of a program. However, the software has been premade by other programmers. So how can u consider yourself an artist when you are using someone elses program in which you are limited to what the programmer has installed. You cannot go beyond for this matter. You can only create what the program allows you to. My basis is that computer graphics designers already have a three-dimensional world to create images in. Where as, traditional artists did not. If a painter wanted to create an image where a person was walking away from the picture, the artist had to create that image and all the indications so that the person looks like he or se is walking away from us. The painter has to create the three-dimensional image him or her self. A computer graphics designer already has the 3D image there and only needs to create the person and objects around it. First off, a computer artist must understand all the tools and functionalities of the program in order to create images. It is quite possible that it could take a person a decade to learn most, if not all, the tools and functions of a particular program. Computer graphics gives a person all the tools they need to express themselves. It gives a person the ability to create certain things with simple mouse clicks. For the first time, it is possible to convey the bottom of our dreams and really visualize the creatures that live in it. It is efficient, extremely creative, but very controversial. Computer graphics allows room for error. .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .postImageUrl , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:hover , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:visited , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:active { border:0!important; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:active , .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufafb87df5f15196e368676649904027a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Diabetes Essay Now should that validate whether or not it should be included as an art form? Traditional artists did not have margin for error. Well not as much at least. Traditional artists could paint over an error to cover up a mistake or they could carve out an extra piece to make the error look not as drastic. But it is quite evident that they could only make few mistakes before the work would have to be redone or start all over. However, in computer graphics one has the freedom to constantly make errors and the ability to erase or undo them unlimitedly. The magic of computers works wonders in this way. There is an apparent difference between a novice computer graphics designer and an expert. Just like there is between a child who paints his or her first picture and a painter who paints the Mona Lisa. Both are artists in a sense. Both have created images from a stroke of a brush. Both have created something from nothing. So the difference is visible between a person who creates his or her first computer generated scene and one that has generated thousands of scenes. It comes down to practice and time. Getting to know your equipment. In this case, getting to know the tools and software. But, to me I just dont see the fine line of when you can actually label someone as a computer artist if in fact you choose to do so. I think that computers are doing more of the action. I just see it in a way where the software is more important than the actual person. Where as traditional art is the complete opposite. I am in no way putting down the artistic presence of computer graphics. Computers vastly affect the final product in ways that humans could not have done before. The final image could be so realistic that it is mind blowing to the human eye. Not even the finest artists of the past could have portrayed such an image no matter how skilled they were. Computers are the future of our society and computer graphics will continue to improve upon what the human is capable of; distorting, fixing, and altering an image the artist produces. Seeming so realistic, that the public only can admire and accept it.Take, for instance, the images I have attached. Two simple images, in my opinion, but it is clear on how a computer improves upon an image. Ways in which u can reflect light or create shadows are so ideal that it is almost too perfect in my eyes. The Bathroom Sink image is very glossy to the point where you can actually believe that the image is real or even right in front of you. Traditional artists could not have completed an image to this extent. No matter how realistic they could attempt to make it, the paints, paper, or tools could not allow it. No matter how three-dimensional they can get, they could not reflect the light or create the texture of the objects to seem real. It would look rougher and the colors would not be as well defined. Another example is the Ocean image. Although in this image, there was not as much help from a computer standpoint. The artist took a photograph and applied some alterations to the clouds, water, and light. But again, without the help of a computer, the image would not look as sharp. In images like this, only small and few alterations are needed to advance upon what the initial image looked like, creating a more ideal image. See Attached Images:It is quite possible that I have not had enough presence with computer graphic programs to understand all the artistic functions it has to offer. But I have been introduced to it enough for me to base my opinion on whether or not it is an art form. .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .postImageUrl , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:hover , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:visited , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:active { border:0!important; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:active , .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u15678d11b0c986176a21ed9fb38fd56b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Pornification in fashion Essay The fact that I have been exposed to traditional art helps me understand true fine art, if there is such a thing. I am not denying the capability of computer-generated images in any way. I do realize that computer software is an advanced instrument and a modern day form of expression with an unlimited amount of potential. Nevertheless, At least to this period of its existence, labeling computer graphics as Fine Art is a stretch.

Observational research Essay Essays

Observational research Essay Essays Observational research Essay Essay Observational research Essay Essay Experimental research. besides known as field research. pertains to a research attack that engages in the direct recording of a phenomenon as it occurs in its natural status ( Zechmeister et al. . 2003 ) . This research attack is distinguishable from the other research methods because it employs a quasi-artificial scenario that is comprised of a figure of factors. of which some could be controlled. The capacity to command at least one of the factors in the environment allows the research worker to execute the scientific method that would reply the developed hypothesis. Observational research could be performed utilizing any of the three classified types of experimental techniques. The covert type of experimental research involves unidentified research workers that straight interact with the survey participants and remain undetected until the completion of the probe. In other instances. the research workers are positioned at a distance from the survey participants. yet are still capable of direct observation of the actions and interactions that each of the survey participants engages in. One advantage of this type of experimental research attack is that the survey participants are non required to collaborate with the research worker. The namelessness of the research worker in the scenario provides survey participants to freely show themselves and to liberally do determinations without being influenced by the research worker. Unfortunately. it is besides possible that certain ethical misdemeanors could be related to this type of experimental attack. chiefly as a signifier of misrepresentation that is associated with the researchers’ namelessness. The open type of experimental research allows the research workers to place themselves to the survey participants. In add-on. the research workers are besides required to to the full unwrap the intent of their probe to the survey participants. One disadvantage that is strongly associated with the open type of experimental research is the impact of the revelation on the behaviour of the survey participants during the full experimental period. It is really natural for an person to be alert of their actions when they are cognizant that at least one person is detecting their behaviour. As such. the survey participant exerts attempt in projecting the ideal personality that is acceptable to the eyes of the perceiver and decidedly non brooding of the existent personality of the survey participant. However. it should be understood that in this type of experimental research attack. there would be no ethical issues related to misrepresentation of the survey participants because the individuality and the ends of the research worker have been disclosed early on. Researcher engagement is another experimental type of research attack that engages the research worker in the scenario that is being studied. One advantage of this type of experimental technique is that the research worker is allowed to straight interact and to straight appreciate an incident that is being studied. Aside from taking notes of the effects and reactions of the survey participants. the research worker besides interacts with the remainder of the scenario and respects himself as another survey participant in the probe. One disadvantage of this experimental type is that the research worker may lose path of the ends of his research survey because he becomes highly engrossed in the activities happening in the survey scenario. In the experimental survey described in this unit. the covert attack was employed. wherein the research worker straight interacted with 50 survey participants with their cognition of his function and his ends in the interaction. In add-on. the survey participants are incognizant that they are being observed in footings of their attitudes and responses to a specific stimulation or scene. The research worker therefore chooses to project a smiling stance as he talks to 50 persons and he takes note of the response of each of the survey participants during his exchange with them. The research worker so rates the response of each of the survey participants as really friendly. friendly or impersonal.

Keep Going - An Interview With Two #1 Amazon Bestsellers

Keep Going - An Interview With Two #1 Amazon Bestsellers "Keep Going" - An Interview with #1 Amazon Bestsellers Mark Edwards and Louise Voss Success doesn’t happen overnight. It is often the result of hard work put in over the years. And Mark Edwards and Louise Voss’ success story tells us as much. They are known for being the first indie authors to ever reach #1 on Amazon.co.uk back in 2011. Now with Amazon Publishing, their latest book is From The Cradle (and the best one, they tell me). Their story begins much sooner, though. They have been through the ups and downs that characterize a writer’s life, but they have been through them together and always determined to keep going.Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing both of them. They share their whole story (not only the success part) and their advice for starting indie authors. They also debunk a metadata-myth, analyze why Amazon Publishing is so powerful and explain how to co-write a book using Dropbox.So sit down with a nice cup of tea/coffee, and hit play. Or alternatively, read through the whole transcript below (courtesy of the Reedsy team). REEDSY: Hi Mark and Louise, I’m really pleased to have you here. You are known for being the first indie authors to have reached the top of the charts on Amazon.co.uk, a few years ago, with two books that you had co-written. But your collaboration started long before that, right Louise?LOUISE: Sure, it’s a good story, though it can make me sound a bit like a stalker. It started years ago, around 1998-99, and Mark was on this TV documentary about â€Å"wannabe writers†. I was in the exact same situation as him: I had an agent but she wasn’t very enthusiastic. We were both getting lots of rejections but they were really positive rejections. So I just sent him a little email via his agent, basically saying â€Å"I really liked your interview†.He wrote back, and we started corresponding via email about books and writing for around 18 months before we finally met in person. And then we thought: rather than just critiquing each other’s stuff, why d on’t we write something together? That’s when we started writing Killing Cupid. We did it all by email, because at that time Mark was in Japan.MARK: Yes, I was in Tokyo, and Louise was in London. We wrote an entire novel without even speaking to each other, literally. This was back in 2001, and Killing Cupid was optioned by the BBC but we didn’t manage to get a publishing deal for it.Then, a few years after, I came back from Japan and we decided to write another one together: Catch Your Death. Back then, however, we didn’t have an agent, we still couldn’t get a publisher, we were really back to square one, so we pretty much gave up at that point, didn’t we?LOUISE: Yes, I think the problem with Killing Cupid was a genre one. When we sent it to publishers, they said â€Å"well, it’s not really enough of a thriller to be a thriller; and it’s a comedy as well, we don’t know what to do with it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And that’s why we decided to write Catch Your Death, because that was unquestionably a thriller.MARK: Yes, so we both more or less gave up. I came back to the UK, got a good job, and thought: it’s really not worth the pain of trying to find a publishing deal.Then, 2010 when was I first heard about KDP. And I got a Kindle for my 40th birthday. So I said to Louise: why don’t we take our two old novels, spruce them up a bit, self-publish them and see what happens? And she was very reluctant.LOUISE: Yes, I thought â€Å"oh, no, it will be humiliating, we’ll sell 4 copies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ MARK: So we spent a few months rewriting and reworking them, because they were really out of date. There were no mobile phones, social media, etc.We put Killing Cupid out in February 2011, and as Louise predicted we sold around 4 copies on our first day, to people that we knew†¦ But then I became completely obsessed about trying to sell it. I had a full-time job, my girlfriend was pregnant, and she still talks about how I neglected her during that time! And Louise did promotion stuff too.LOUISE: Yes, we had a list of all the bloggers that accepted unpublished books - there weren’t that many of them but we put together this list and divided it up. Mark started at A and I started at Z and we worked our way to the middle, contacting all of them. It was a lot of work.REEDSY: And Mark, you did a very good job on the metadata too, right? I read about it on Joanna Penn’s blog, but maybe you can tell us what in your metadata helped make your book successful?MARK: Yes, we used subtitles. On Killing Cupid, I think it was pretty simple: â€Å"Killing Cupid, a psychological thriller†: nothing fancy, really. But we kept rewriting the blurb (book description). Back then, you used to be able to see what percentage of people who viewed your book had bought it, which was fantastic, you could see your conversion rate from browser to reader. So I kept looking at th e books in the top 10, especially the self-published thrillers and the ones that had the highest conversion rates, and tried to figure out what it was about those books that incited more people to buy them after they looked at them.So I was continually tweaking the description and I think that at one point I got it right, because it suddenly doubled our sales in just an hour. I had made the description shorter, more straightforward about the book while also making it sound more intriguing.We did something much more interesting for the second book, Catch Your Death. We called it: â€Å"Catch Your Death (For fans of Dan Brown Stieg Larsson)†. This quickly became a controversial point, with people starting to talk about it in The Bookseller magazine.But I actually believe, to this day, that it didn’t make any difference to the sales, because I think we put off as many people as we attracted. If you searched for Dan Brown at the time (and I did it quite a few times), our book didn’t come up, not even on page 30. It didn’t make any difference to the search results.What really made a difference, and this is a lesson for all indie authors, is that we were patient and hardworking in building a readership. We hand-sold every copy of Killing Cupid in the first 3-4 months: every single sale was hard work. And as we did that, we built a momentum and started climbing up the charts, which made our book more visible. And because it was good, word-of-mouth really worked in our advantage and more people started to buy it.We released Catch Your Death around 3-4 months after Killing Cupid, as Killing Cupid was climbing into the top 100. And Amazon then sent out an email advertising Catch Your Death to all the people who had previously purchased Killing Cupid.And it was the day that this email went out - even though we only realized this quite a long time afterwards - that more and more readers started buying both books and we shot up into the top 1 0. A couple of days later, Amazon removed the Dan Brown subtitle, and it didn’t make any difference at all.So there was a lot of hype about our metadata at that time, but I really don’t think it made any difference in the end. It was all about slowly building that readership.REEDSY: I think that’s a great lesson indeed for indie authors. But if we go back to the writing process, Louise, how does that technically work? What tools do you use: Google Drive, Dropbox, †¦?LOUISE: Dropbox, we have everything in Dropbox. It works really well for us, you can see the last things people have worked on and when. Though sometimes it happened that we were both working on the same document at the same time, so when we saved it created conflicted copies, which are a nightmare to sort out. But we don’t do that so much now, we’ve got better at it.We also email a lot, and text, when it’s particularly urgent, but we don’t actually talk that much, un less there is a problem, or in the beginning and the end, when there are things to figure out.MARK: For Dropbox, we have a â€Å"master document† - we do it all in Word - and we write separate chapters in separate Word documents, save them into Dropbox for the other person to make comments. The original author then goes back to that chapter to amend it and when we’re both happy with it we add it to the master document!We also have other Word documents and spreadsheets for our chapter plans. I think that, ideally, we’d use Scrivener, because that’s what we both write on for our solo novels, but you can’t really use it for collaborative work, as far as I’ve been able to work out.REEDSY: Now, with the success of Killing Cupid and Catch Your Death, you were prompted to partner with an agent, who got you into traditional publishing. How was that experience?LOUISE: It’s quite ironic, because we spent years trying to get a publishing deal for both books. But we didn’t have an agent at all until we were #1 on Amazon. I was talking with an author friend of mine and he suggested me to contact his agent. I said â€Å"well, he turned us down a few years ago so I don’t think he’ll be interested†. He answered â€Å"oh, it’s different now, you’re #1†. So we contacted his agent and he quickly got us a deal with HarperCollins, which was fantastic! I don’t regret it, really, because it was just so lovely to finally have this public validation through a traditional publishing deal, and the idea to have our books in shops, the advance, etc.I often wonder, with the benefit of hindsight, whether we would do it differently if we had to do it again, and I don’t think we would change much, other than to get more involved in the marketing and publicity of these traditionally published books. We were thinking that the publisher would do most of the marketing and promotion, a nd it didn’t happen. So I think our mistake wasn’t taking the deal, it was not pushing the books as much as we had when we were self-publishing.MARK: Louise literally just took the words out of my mouth. I definitely don’t regret it either, it was â€Å"a dream come true†. Louise had already had a traditional publishing deal in the past, but for me it was something I’d wanted for years.LOUISE: Yes, I guess I was a bit more cynical about it, because I already had had an experience with a publisher who dropped me after not promoting the books - and that was back in the day when you could do little yourself. But I still don’t regret it, we had a lovely editor, who did an excellent editorial work, really improving the books. It’s just that not many people got to see them.MARK: Yes, that was the frustrating thing. What happened is that after the first and second books didn’t do as well as they hoped, the third and fourth ones were pretty much dead in the water.LOUISE: It basically took the exact same trajectory as my first publishing deal: sales got smaller and smaller and the publisher’s interest got smaller and smaller. Also, one thing to take into account is that two of the four books had already been self-published before and picked up by a lot of people. So I think that didn’t help us as much as we thought it would.MARK: That was the problem, really. Catch Your Death and Killing Cupid came out a year after we first self-published them, which means the sequel to Catch Your Death came a year and a half after the first book, and by then, everyone had lost interest. And it wasn’t pushed at all, it wasn’t in any shops, it had no visibility.I actually think that we were a little bit like guinea pigs, because we were the first â€Å"indies† to go through that process over here in the UK. The publishers learned from what happened with us for some of the following indie success stories that they picked up.REEDSY: So you were with a publisher that didn’t do as much as you hoped on the marketing side of things. But now you’re with Amazon, right? Which is almost the opposite.MARK: Yes, but there is a stage in between. In January 2013, we were in a dark place. We’d had a very disappointing 2012 with the two paperbacks, and when the third one came out in January it just disappeared without a trace. Literally without trace, it left nothing.I had gambled by quitting my job to be a full-time writer, and I was in a very difficult financial position, with massive tax and credit card bills, plus my wife and I had another baby on the way. So I really was in a state of constant panic, thinking â€Å"what am I going to do?† I can laugh about it now, but it was terrible at that time. Every now and again I think â€Å"I can’t believe I managed to get myself out of that dark pit that I was in†.I remember Louise and I had this meeti ng with our agent in London and he - now, he would probably deny it - but he had lost a bit of interest in us as well. But we were determined to make it work so we decided we would not give up, and start a new series of books instead.Now, I had this book â€Å"The Magpies† that I had had sitting in my bottom drawer for years, and I’d been tinkering with it, on and off. Louise said: â€Å"why don’t you just do it, just self-publish it?† So I went home that day, read through it, and thought â€Å"actually, this is quite good†. So I self-published The Magpies via my agent (it’s called â€Å"agent-assisted self-publishing†) and it basically completely transformed everything, because The Magpies ended up selling (in its self-published version) 170,000 copies. It simply changed my life, and it’s what led to the deal with Amazon.Amazon Publishing bought the rights for it and for another solo novel from me. And when Louise and I fini shed our new co-written one, it did go out in submission to various publishers, but Amazon pre-empted it and our commissioning editor there read it in a few days. They made an offer, and because I’d had such a great experience with them already, Louise thought: â€Å"why not?†Everything so far with Amazon Publishing has been fantastic. I mean, I’d like to sell more books in the US, but in the UK it couldn’t have gone any better I think.REEDSY: Yes, and we actually interviewed another Amazon-published author, Bob Mayer, a few weeks ago who highlighted the â€Å"marketing reach† of Amazon publishing imprints. What does that mean exactly? What do these imprints do in terms of marketing that makes it worth it signing away royalties to them?MARK: Well, they’ve got the most amazing database in the world. They’ve got anyone who has ever bought anything, including anyone who has ever read a psychological thriller! That’s what sets them apart from all the other publishers. Plus, they’ve got the platform of their website, and they also do a lot of on-device marketing. So if you’ve got a Kindle Fire, you’ll see that whenever you turn it on, an advert will appear on the home screen, and they rotate, but they’re often books.That visibility that you get with Amazon publishing is just fantastic. The restriction of being with them is that you’re pretty much only on the Amazon platform, although they do print books and they are making efforts to get them into the shops. But they’re not on any of the other digital stores, so you’re in kind of a walled garden, like a luxury gated development!When somebody from a big publisher said to us: â€Å"well, wouldn’t you rather be with a traditional publisher and have your books in the shops?†, my answer was that that all sounds great, but when we did have that opportunity, our books were barely in the shops anyway†¦REEDSY: So, do you now still produce some marketing effort yourselves or is it all Amazon?LOUISE: We’ve worked very hard on building up our Facebook page. It’s not like we have tens of thousands of followers, but the ones we do have are so loyal that it’s really helping us get the word of mouth thing going, which is the holy grail of marketing anyway. But we still do work very hard, especially when we do online launches.REEDSY: To finish on an encouraging note for other authors out there: you’ve been through everything, both of you, in a writer’s career; the ups, the downs, so what would be your advice for an author who’d be in a â€Å"dark year† like you had in 2012?MARK: I think it’s certainly nurturing your existing fans and readers. That is what goes through in our Facebook group, where we have really loyal readers as Louise pointed out. They were really really helpful and acting as cheerleaders to keep us going. And then when we did start selling well, they were there and helped spread the word.REEDSY: And Louise, what would be your advice?LOUISE: Keep going!We lost the rest of Louise’s advice due to recording problems, but feel free to ask her (or Mark) anything in the comments below!Sharing is caring, so here are our Twitter handles: @ReedsyHQ, @mredwards and @LouiseVoss1

Analyzing langguage Communities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing langguage Communities - Essay Example The modern society has developed a different meaning of the term queer in comparison to what was known two decades ago. The society viewed gay, lesbians, and bisexuals as individuals who had queer character traits. The morals of lesbians, gays or bisexuals were queer to the society. In many cases, the society would refer to these groups of people as queer. In response to this term, the gay, lesbians and bisexuals decided to defiantly apply this name. The term queer loses its original meaning when gay; lesbians or the bisexuals feel that the term is okay with them. It has become a common language in the streets. Some gays or lesbians respond to it by claiming that they teach the straight people how to dress or introduce new fashion to the straight people in the society. Whenever the gays or lesbians react in this manner, the term queer does not seem to have a negative impact or meaning to their morals. I think that in trying to cope with the humiliation brought by the term, they have resorted into mocking the society or the straight people. History indicates that lesbian and gay activists started using queer in 1980s as a self-identification. On the contrary, it did not appear to them as an insult, but as a means that promoted their motives to the society. When lobbying for their activities and principles in the society, the activists propagated the name to identify themselves as people who are queer to the society. It is true that their moral is queer, as the name would seem to suggest. The continuous or the public use of the term queer by the lesbians, gays, and bisexuals has led to erosion of the real meaning of the term. Notably, the society would adopt names according to the immediate meaning. The next generation may not know the genesis of the term queer, but would adopt it in their normal language usage. Many people still feel that queer is a term that insults on the behavior or the conduct of an individual. This especially applies when the individual in question belong to the gay or lesbian community. The term has a greater harm to the individual especially in an environment where people associate the term to gay or lesbian practices. Some people may not treat any insult lightly; it might result into shady show in the streets. The insulted individual may decide to retort back by hulling abusive words. The society regards a name as an important tool that markets a character. Any situation that taints the name of an individual may elicit heated reactions. Culturally, gay or lesbians have no place in the society. People who advocate for good cultural practices believe that gay or lesbians have raped good morals. The social acceptance of an individual in the society depends of cultural inclination of the society. Queer means cultural rejection of a particular trait of an individual. Names given to events or occurrences define the social values of the community. Gay and lesbians value their characters in contrasts to the society. The so ciety attributes the term queer to a lost value or something that is worthless. Each individual would wish to have some value in the society. Gay and lesbians exert their worthiness in the society by identifying themselves using this term. In the past the term elicited negative reaction, but today it has taken a new drift. Gay and lesbian lobbyist

An Analysis on the Design Phase of Euro Shuttle Wagons Project Essay

An Analysis on the Design Phase of Euro Shuttle Wagons Project - Essay Example Euro tunnel shuttle service is a shuttle transport service that expresses street vehicle by rail through the channel tunnel. The wagons used for the shuttle have a large loading capacity.The Tunnel project usually has a very tight timescale and heavy liquidated damages (LDs) linked with delays and so this one. Eurotunnel’s success rate is dependent on the timeframe of the tunnel being finished and ready to start its operations in particular season, otherwise, interest payments would start to devastate the profit of the project.There are many aspects of design, construction and operation of the Euro Channel Tunnel Wagons project that needs approval from the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), a body of British and French civil servants. The main focus of project manager during development phase of the project is and should be on safety, defence, security and environmental issues, as IGC takes these issues as criteria to evaluate the performance of channel tunnel project.The saf ety clause was not clearly defined at the start of the project and was later gradually defined; this was not only because of the unfamiliarity of tunnel channel to safety regulators but also because of the allegation of events such as the UK Kings Cross Fire in November 1987. Due to lack of safety, changes are required to meet IGC considerations and the effect of those changes was not only delays but it also had impacted on other related elements of the project and characteristics of the product, and on the image of TML.

Divorce: A Global Problem Essay -- Informative Essay

In any married couple's relationships there are going to be times when their relationship is put to the test. Some couples make it through their relationships without any and live the rest of their lives happily married, but most can not fix their problems and are forced to get a divorce. Couples marry with the intent of staying together for the rest of their lives, but unfortunately that is not the case for many marriages. In fact, more than 50% of married couples end up getting a divorce. Divorce is the dissolution of marriage by a court. Since the married couple is getting a divorce they do not only have to handle the stress of the divorce, but also the financial problems it brings. Divorce affects everyone differently, and there are many different types and laws that influence divorce. Divorce is looked at differently by every state. Not all of the states have the same laws for divorce. There are two ways that states look at divorce they are called â€Å"community property† and â€Å"equitable distribution.† â€Å"Community property.† This is when all property that was bought during the marriage is owned by both people involved in the divorce, and there are many states that look at divorce like this. The states are: Arizona, California, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Washington. The community property rule does not count inheritances or gifts the couple received during the marriage. â€Å"People facing divorce sometimes do not get what they deserve, because they are anxious to get it over with, or they hope to reconcile and do not want to alienate their spouse, or they want to get back at their spouse for real or imagined wrongs† (Fowles 5). The other way that states divide up the married couples possess ions... ... people emotionally, financially, and it can be very stressful for anyone to handle. The laws around divorce can be very confusing and if the couples do not know their way around the laws. They could end up spending a lot more on the divorce than they needed to. Annotated bibliography Beech, Hannah. â€Å"Breaking Up is Easy to do.† Time World Magazine. Time, 30 Oct. 2006.Web. 17 Oct. 2011. D'antonio, William. â€Å"Walking the Walk on Family Values.† Boston News. The Boston Globe, 31 Oct. 2004. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. Didi, Tatlow. â€Å"Chinese Law Could Make Divorce Women Homeless.† The New York Times. The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. Divorce Staff. â€Å"Divorce Law and Separation Advice.† Free Divorce Information. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. Flowers, Deborah. â€Å"Dealing With the Financial Impact of Divorce.† About.com. About.com, 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.

Conscious Efforts Equate to Saving Lives

Livery cab driver killings — the challenge that New York City had to combat and a situation that allowed authorities to prove that they were doing their job. The killing of livery cab drivers was a time that united the people of New York (Rashbaum, 2000). Livery cab driver killings had been a major problem in New York for over 30 years. Every year, policemen and the government had to deal with countless investigations to provide justice for dozens of killed drivers each year. Not only were the livery cab drivers killed — they were also robbed (Rashbaum, 2000). The people who had enough means and power to do something about it, like the government and the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, did something about it, and here are as follows: The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers led by Fernando A. Mateo employed several safety measures to reduce livery cab driver killings. Mateo and his subordinates obliged all livery cab drivers to put bulletproof partitions inside the livery cabs. Because of this, the livery cab drivers were divided into parts where the livery cab driver was protected from his passenger who may have been a potential robber or murderer, through a wall or divider. While the wall or divider, or what the federation technically terms as partition, can prevent robbery, it obviously may not keep the livery cab drivers from murder at all since bullets can pass through walls. This possibility was a major concern of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. To counterattack what was left of the problem, the federation ordered livery cab drivers to use bulletproof partitions. Bulletproof material prevented the livery cab drivers from getting shot. To further make this protective measure effective, livery cab drivers were ordered to close the partitions all the time. While it was true bulletproof material was used as a shield from gun shots and other means of killing, these partitions still made a driver susceptible to killing once it is left open. The use of surveillance cameras was also ordered by the city and the federation. Through this, a livery cab driver was given the chance to put another eye at the passenger's area. The driver can readily see the potential harms a passenger may do even before he does it. A passenger, for example, who releases a gun from his bag, will be readily seen by the driver. The time the potential murderer is releasing a gun is also the time a driver can call the police or employ other preventive measures to protect his own life. That time, every time a driver became suspicious of a passenger, he can readily report it to the policemen who were monitoring him through a secret alarm system. The city's mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, showed his support for these safety measures by providing each livery cab driver with enough financial assistance. The city released $5 million worth of protection equipment. Each livery cab driver in New York City was given $325. This amount of money served as an assistance to pay for the needed equipment like partitions and bulletproofing. Surveillance cameras cost $700. This means that the city paid for half the total expense of a driver for one surveillance camera. If a driver chose to put up a partition inside his livery cab, then he may put up one which cost $275 on the average. The city, together with the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, employed other preventive and protective measures without the use of material things. The city revised its law regarding the punishment for liver cab driver killers and robbers. Tougher sanction was applied in which another two to three years were added to the years a convict will have to spend in jail. Police decoy was also widely used. This was another preventive and protective measure to investigate murder and robbery cases more efficiently. With the use of police decoy, an officer pretended to be a livery cab driver. He went around the neighborhood to get passengers and picked up their fares. This was an effective step since robbery and murder reduced from 2,000 to 455 cases. The efficient investigation allowed for this impressive change in the statistics. Aside from police decoys who served as patrols, protection was maximized especially when livery cab drivers were required to stop at areas where there were police officers. These officers obliged drivers to pull over to see their current condition. The police officers ensure the safety and protection of drivers by checking the passengers. Police officers were able to prevent 50 possible livery cab driver killings by spotting 50 passengers with guns. Such intense conscious effort caused very pronounced victory than expected. Before 2000, no single year has passed without dozens of livery cab drivers being killed. When these aforementioned measures were employed, the year came when no single case of livery cab driver killing or robbery was reported. With this change in statistics, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and the government of New York City proved that with efficient action, achieving a goal becomes possible. Because of this, the federation and the city became more inspired with employing more measures to totally alleviate killings so that such victory won't last for only a year. To maintain positive changes, the federation and the government worked hand in hand to put up tracking systems for the drivers. This way, the drivers were always monitored. The police tracked down the whereabouts of every livery cab driver. Adolfo Carrion, Jr., New York City's councilman, was willing to co-sponsor this to further improve livery cab driver killings. In 2000, statistics dramatically changed from drastic to impressive when it comes to cases of killings. Every livery cab driver did not just begin to feel safer and more secured with his job — his children and wife patiently waiting at home were finally able to sleep soundly at night. All they needed to wait for was a goodnight kiss from their father. References: Michaelluo. (2004). Police Measures Avert Livery Cab Killings. New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/07/nyregion/07livery.html ?ei=5007&en=f4b0e5806c7261c&ex=1391576400&adxnnl=1&partner= USERLAND&adxnnlx=11143479799ScWbxozk+DIlE+9e5ddS Rashbaum, W. K. (2000). After Deaths, City Plans Millions for Livery Cab Safety. The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2007 from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html ?res=950CE2DA1631F936A25757C0A9669C8B63 Â   Â   Â