In-focus-remembering-your-audience-and-message - The Writers For Hire

STAY IN FOCUS: REMEMBERING YOUR AUDIENCE AND MESSAGE When you’re in the middle of a copywriting job, there’s an age-old marketing maxim that can be hard to remember – and it can sometimes be hard to convey to clients: You can’t be all things to all people. Good copy does two things: It speaks to a specific, targeted audience AND it has a specific, focused message. The two go hand in hand. If you try to talk to several target audiences at once, or if your message is too broad, you’ll end up with copy that’s the equivalent of lukewarm, watery coffee. No one wants that. How to Find Your Target Audience: A target audience can still be fairly broad, but it needs to be identified. Sometimes it’s just a matter of asking your client. Sometimes, they might not know. A few ways to sort and identify target audiences is by: 1. Gender 2. Age 3. Profession 4. Interest/Hobby 5. Income You may find that, more often than not, your target audience falls in between several of those categories. For instance, I would guess that video game companies traditionally target young men under 30 with time and cash to spare. Another way to identify your target audience is to ask questions such as Who is buying your product or service? and Who do you want to pay attention to you? When you don’t have a defined audience, you can’t have defined copy. You can’t, for instance, write a marketing piece that’s aimed at national advertisers, local businesses, customers, and teenagers. That’s because these group have no common links – they each have their own needs, their own perspective. You’d be better off creating marketing materials for each group, because trying to write a single piece directed to all of them is going to be a jumbled, generic disaster. How to Choose a Specific Message: Your message always comes AFTER you identify your target audience. That’s because you can’t start crafting a message until you know who you’re talking to, who’s going to be interested in this product or service, or why they need it. Now, all copy needs to be persuasive, well-written, and focused on identifying differentiators and benefits. Once again, you can’t be all things to all people. Your message should do two things: 1. It should identify a problem that your target market faces. 2. It should offer a solution to that problem. Once you’ve identified both the problem and the solution, start crafting single sentence theses. This won’t necessarily be your company’s slogan or new campaign, but it will help keep your thoughts organized as you develop your marketing materials. And it will help you identify different angles and avenues for your marketing campaign. For example, a new energy drink could take many different routes with an email advertising campaign. Here are some examples of marketing messages (not slogans) that the company could take: DrinkX gives you the energy you need without the jitters you get from caffeine or the crash you get from sugary drinks. Five great flavors means you won’t only get the energy you need from DrinkX – you’ll actually enjoy drinking it. The first message focuses on the fact that DrinkX doesn’t contain caffeine or sugar. The second message is all about taste (literally). Either message may work, as long as it correctly addresses a problem that the target audience perceives concerning energy drinks (either, a problem with energy drinks causing jitters, or a problem with energy drinks tasting terrible). Now, if the message you use is the wrong one, you may end up wasting a lot of cash. But, if you can’t decide between the messages, you’ll have the same problem: spending a lot of money going back and forth, trying to target different audiences. Applying the Message: Where do you go from there? Well, there are a couple of options. For small campaigns, keep things simple: try two targeted landing pages on your website. Draw traffic with pay-per-click ads and measure the results. Which one does better? That’s the correct message; stick with it. If you’re launching a massive marketing campaign with print, radio, web, and TV ads, you have a few options. You can run complete campaigns in different regions and see which one does better (lots of cash required for this option). A more affordable route is to do some basic surveys on your own – via email or phone – to find out what your target audience really cares about. In Review: There’s a process to it all, a method to the copywriting madness. And it goes like this: 1. Identify your target audience 2. Identify your message 3. THEN start writing †¦

How to Write a Science Fair Project Report

How to Write a Science Fair Project Report Writing a science fair project report may seem like a challenging task, but it is not as difficult as it first appears. This is a format that you may use to write a science project report. If your project included animals, humans, hazardous materials, or regulated substances, you can attach an appendix that describes any special activities your project required. Also, some reports may benefit from additional sections, such as abstracts and bibliographies. You may find it helpful to fill out the science fair lab report template to prepare your report. Important: Some science fairs have guidelines put forth by the science fair committee or an instructor. If your science fair has these guidelines, be sure to follow them. Title:  For a science fair, you probably want a catchy, clever title. Otherwise, try to make it an accurate description of the project. For example, I could entitle a project, Determining Minimum NaCl Concentration That Can Be Tasted in Water.  Avoid unnecessary words, while covering the essential purpose of the project. Whatever title you come up with, get it critiqued by friends, family, or teachers.Introduction and Purpose:  Sometimes this section is called background. Whatever its name, this section introduces the topic of the project, notes any information already available, explains why you are interested in the project, and states the purpose of the project. If you are going to state references in your report, this is where most of the citations are likely to be, with the actual references listed at the end of the entire report in the form of a bibliography or reference section.The Hypothesis or Question:  Explicitly state your hypothesis or question.Materials and Meth ods:  List the materials you used in your project and describe the procedure that you used to perform the project. If you have a photo or diagram of your project, this is a good place to include it. Data and Results:  Data and results are not the same things. Some reports will require that they be in separate sections, so make sure you understand the difference between the concepts. Data refers to the actual numbers or other information you obtained in your project. Data can be presented in tables or charts, if appropriate. The results section is where the data is manipulated or the hypothesis is tested. Sometimes this analysis will yield tables, graphs, or charts, too. For example, a table listing the minimum concentration of salt that I can taste in water, with each line in the table being a separate test or trial, would be data. If I average the data or perform a statistical test of a null hypothesis, the information would be the results of the project.Conclusion:  The conclusion focuses on the hypothesis or  question as it compares to the data and results. What was the answer to the question? Was the hypothesis supported (keep in mind a hypothesis cannot be proved, onl y disproved)? What did you find out from the experiment? Answer these questions first. Then, depending on your answers, you may wish to explain the ways in which the project might be improved or introduce new questions that have come up as a result of the project. This section is judged not only by what you were able to conclude  but also by your recognition of areas where you could not draw valid conclusions based on your data. Appearances Matter Neatness counts, spelling counts, grammar counts. Take the time to make the report look nice. Pay attention to margins, avoid fonts that are difficult to read or are too small or too large, use clean paper, and make print the report cleanly on as good a printer or copier as you can.

3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol n each of the following examples, placement of a phrase obfuscates the sentence’s narrative flow. Discussion and a revision follow each sentence. 1. Ultimately, it isn’t the strongest or the smartest companies that survive and prosper, but those that successfully adapt to change. Because â€Å"survive and prosper† applies to both the point and the counterpoint, it is best located at the end of the sentence; otherwise, the phrases ending in â€Å"that survive and prosper† and â€Å"that successfully adapt to change† appear to be distinct, whereas the second phrase, as part of the larger phrase beginning with but, is subordinate to the main clause: â€Å"Ultimately, it isn’t the strongest or the smartest companies, but those that successfully adapt to change, that survive and prosper.† 2. Anthony Ervin made history in the men’s 50-meter freestyle by becoming the oldest swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal at age thirty-five. This sentence states that of all the individual Olympic gold medalists in swimming who were thirty-five, Ervin was the oldest, but to correctly associate the age with Ervin alone, rather than with all thirty-five-year-old swimmers, the phrase â€Å"at age thirty-five† must be adjacent to Ervin’s name, preferably as an introductory phrase: â€Å"At age thirty-five, Anthony Ervin made history in the men’s 50-meter freestyle by becoming the oldest swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal.’ 3. Nevertheless, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been perpetuating the myth that the movie has an anti-Semitic message since at least 2008. The sentence could be misread to suggest that the myth is that the movie acquired a particular message in a specific year. To clarify that the year refers simply to the advent of the notion itself and is not integral to the notion, it should be placed near the head of the sentence: â€Å"Nevertheless, since 2008, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been perpetuating the myth that the movie has an anti-Semitic message.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†10 Types of Transitions10 Writing Exercises to Tighten Your Writing

The nature of democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The nature of democracy - Essay Example Democracy as defined by Margaret Thatcher was through her policies known as Thatcherism. A simple definition of Thatcherism involves three main themes, which are; it was the peak suitable shorthand portrayal of what Conformist administrations practiced between 1979 and 1990. This ideology shows that every step these governments took had a heavy doctrinal base, and it infers that all the Conservative governments in this era were subject to their leader, Mrs. Thatcher. Gorbachev, on the other hand, was determined on restoring Soviet socialism through peaceful and democratic means. The hitch, of course, was that the Soviet economy was a deranged system that directed people and resources through state commands, threats, and the force of the Gulag (McFaul, 2002). Nonetheless, Gorbachev relentlessly strained to reform the organization, not through orders but using influence and pleas to truth and teamwork. Ronald Reagan, in support of United Kingdom, dared Gorbachev who at the time was the secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a major participant in the cold war. Reagan believed that communist democratic system was going to split down as a symbol of Gorbachev desire to increase unrestrained freedom in the Eastern bloc of Germany restructuring and transparency processes. Thatcherism asserts to promote low inflation, the slight state and free markets through strong control of the money supply, privatization and constraints on the labor movement (Blundell, 2008). It is frequently associated with Reaganomics, which implemented policies founded on supply-side finances and encouraged a traditional liberal and laissez-faire viewpoint, in search of stimulating the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts. Gorbachev also initiated capitalism through the laissez faire ideology. This was a major reason for the fall of communism in Russia. The inflexibilities and deceits of the Soviet economic and political organization demonstrated to be fundamentally resis tant to change, ending in the comprehensive fall of the Soviet government and economy in 1991. Capitalism backs democracy in that it takes very slight upkeep from the government for a capitalist economy to work. Capitalism undermines democracy since wealth in a capitalistic culture ultimately converts to be much lop-sided, and this culminates to a vast gap among the proletariat and the bourgeoisies. This result to the entire democratic developments being tainted by money added in the political course and the effect that money has on the politicians. Democracy and socials, on the other hand, have a curious relationship. Both of these traditions are rooted in the philosophical concept of equality (Duberstein, 2006). However, different characteristics of equality are emphasized. Democracy relates to political equality and socialism relates to material equality. From all these relationships, a deep analysis of Vaclav and Gorbachev depict the latter in their type of ideologies. Equity as a nature of democracy and capitalism was portrayed in Thatcher’s government, and she introduced various political as well as economic initiatives intended to reverse high unemployment rates and the Britain’s fights in the rise of winter of dissatisfaction and on-going downturn. Margret Thatcher’s political view and economic policies emphasized the deregulation specifically on the financial

Data design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data design - Essay Example sequences that are to be integrated into the system should be turned into separate sequences in order to ease the procedure of processing information (Terry Halpin, Tony Morgan, Morgan Kaufmann Information Modeling and Relational Databases, Second Edition, March 2008. page 134). c. Feedback: The system should have the capability to provide feedback which is articulate, informative and semantically correct. This will ensure that the information displayed on the user and the client side is reliable and correctly understood (Terry Halpin, Tony Morgan, Morgan Kaufmann Information Modeling and Relational Databases, Second Edition, March 2008 page. 136). d. System messages: The system should be able to provide user centered messages like error messages. (Terry Halpin, Tony Morgan, Morgan Kaufmann Information Modeling and Relational Databases, Second Edition, March 2008 page 139). The system should also avoid using threatening messages or alarming messages. e. Display: The display between screens should be consistent and must show some degree of inertia. Unnecessary information should be avoided since they will be of no use and the interface should use easily recognizable icons. (Ramez Elmasri, Shamkant Navathe, Addison-Wesley Fundamentals of Database Systems (6th Edition), April 2010. Page

Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Katrina Essay Mike Mulally 10-11-19 In 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept through the city of New Orleans and destroyed the lives of thousands. Katrina was one of the largest hurricanes and natural disasters in the history of the United States (Wikipedia, 2009). While most of the casualties’ occurred during the actual storm, still a many took place days after, and were do to the fact that the local, state, and national government were slow to respond. This slow response was due to the nature of federalism. I believe Americans got a glimpse at how federalism and bureaucracy have flaws. These imperfections will be discussed in the pages below. The PBS documentary â€Å"The Storm,† depicts the destruction Hurricane Katrina caused, as well as what went wrong with the evacuation and rescue of New Orleans residents. Local, state, and national government officials were interviewed, such as New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, New Orleans governor Kathleen Blanco, and FEMA Director Michael Brown. Each official gave his or her version of why events happened the way they did. Some of the their accounts contradicted each other. I believe everyone was just looking out for him or herself, trying to save face. This seems to be a common problem in American politics. I will next explore how federalisms can be a inconvenience in a situation such as a natural disaster. Federalism by definition â€Å"is a system in which governmental powers are divided between a central government and smaller units, like states†(Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 3). The officials at all levels of the government were somehow confused during Katrina on who exactly was in charge. Was it New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, FEMA Director Michael Brown, was it President Bush? † (Marcela, 2005). There was also a lack of communication between the different levels of government, which, as was talked about in class, is an obvious downside or barrier to federalism (Oxendine, 2009). In a situation like a natural disaster, communication is key. If one cannot communicate with another, how is anything supposed to be accomplished? Having several le vels of government involved just makes everything in a disaster situation more complicated. I believe the U. S. needs a more centralized form of a disaster agency. If a natural disaster is to happen there ought to be one plan of action carried out by one agency. Having this central organization would have alleviated much of the confusion and frustration that we witnessed with Katrina. According to Director Brown, after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ local government did not communicate very well with FEMA officials. Brown says he was never told what sorts of manpower or supplies were needed (Marcela 2009). However Louisiana National Guard Adjutant General Bennett Landreneau stated in his interview that he specifically sent requests to FEMA for what help was required. A few days after he was interviewed he sent in the documentation that proves he did indeed ask specific needs from FEMA (Marcela 2009). FEMA Director Brown lied on television. So often politicians lie about issues, why can’t they ever own up to their mistakes and just tell the truth. I believe the American public deserves to know the truth on issues, especially when dealing with something like Hurricane Katrina. In a natural disaster it is at first the state that has control. If the state becomes overwhelmed and can no longer control the situation, the state then needs to clearly articulate what services they are in need of, and that is when FEMA will then intervene. Several days after the storm, Director Brown apparently believed the state of Louisiana had the situation under control (Marcela, 2005). While the Mayor and Governor thought FEMA was going to step in and help. There was a period of time where nobody knew who was in command. Consequently there was a period of time where the many of the people of New Orleans had no food, water or shelter, and that is when many lives were lost. It bewilders one to think that this sort of miscommunication and misunderstanding could happen to a country like the United States. One would assume that our country would have one of the best disaster protocols in the world, considering our global supremacy. I will now touch on another part of U. S. government that I consider to have flaws, and that is bureaucracy. A bureaucracy as defined by Greenberg Page (2009) is â€Å" A large, complex organization characterized by a hierarchical set of offices, each with a specific task, controlled through a clear chain of command, and where appointment and advancement of personnel is based on merit† (Ch. 13). Individuals are appointed not elected and therein lies a problem. Anyone that the president chooses can be in a position of power. Many believe Michael Brown was absolutely not qualified for the position of FEMA Director (Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 13). After all he had no formal training in disaster relief or anything of that sort in his resume. Positions like FEMA director should have to have some sort of qualifications. One cannot just be put into that situation like Director Brown was. I believe that positions such as director should be an elected one. When someone who is not qualified is put in charge of one of biggest natural disasters in U. S. history, nothing good can come from it. And indeed that is exactly what happened, total chaos and confusion took place due to Director Michael Brown’s incompetence. After the attacks of 9/11 President Bush reorganized FEMA into a Bureaucracy. FEMA was downgraded and became a sub department of homeland security. Many believe this reorganization really hurt FEMA. Personnel, IT systems and other resources were dramatically reduced due to President Bush’s budget cutting agenda. The President also cut project impact, a program started by FEMA to help communities become disaster resistant, due to tax cuts (Marcella 2009). In addition 80 million dollars was taken from FEMA and distributed to other sectors in homeland security. This is just another problem of FEMA becoming a part of the U. S. bureaucracy. How would anyone expect an organization to do their job when they have had significant funds and resources cut? Clearly part of FEMA’s inadequacies can be linked to President Bush’s choice to make tax cuts and cut parts of their program. Again, the reorganization of FEMA was really detrimental. Hopefully in the future leaders will make more conscientious choices about which agencies should be cut back. Most would believe a disaster relief program such as FEMA should have some of the most funding and personnel available. Apparently former President Bush thought otherwise. Although President Bush does deserves a little bit of a break considering â€Å"the sheer size and complexity of the executive branch. There is so much going on, in so many agencies, involving the activity of tens of thousands of people, that simply keeping abreast of it all is no easy task† (Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 13). He is in charge of so much in the U. S. there is no way he could keep an eye on everything. So while the President may have indirectly affected FEMA by inducing budget cuts, he cannot be held directly responsible for the government’s lack of involvement in Katrina at the national level. The president relies on his appointees to do their jobs, which Director Brown did not fulfill. However, President Bush choose Michael Brown, so maybe Bush is in fact responsible for FEMA’s inadequacies. Obviously having a large federal bureaucracy is an inconvenience to say the least. I believe Hurricane Katrina has taught our country a few lessons. First of all that while having a federal bureaucracy has its pluses, it also brings with it it’s many flaws, and the main one being communication. Our government should be striving for interoperability. The ability for several groups at all levels of the government to communicate what resources are needed during a natural disaster will prove to be the single most important tool during a relief operation. I hope that in the future, Presidents will choose more wisely when filling high-level positions such as FEMA Director, and not just appoint those who helped with their campaign. I also hope more cities around the country have better evacuation plans than those of New Orleans. I hope National Guard buildings are better equipped with resources and manpower in the future, especially along costal areas that are known to have hurricanes.

Issues in Teaching the English Language Essay -- English Writing Teach

Struggle as I may, I cannot avoid James Berlin’s statement: â€Å"To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality† (234). If I’m going to be successful in any academic field, in any language, there are certain conventions that I must follow, but what I say and how I think is inexorably linked to the available resources of any particular convention. For my part, I just can’t escape the confines of the English language. I see this most poignantly when I try to teach a Chinese writer how to cite sources or when I attempt to read a text in translation. To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality, and the best way of knowing and communicating it. . . . All composition teachers are ineluctably operating in this realm, whether or not they consciously choose to do so. (Berlin, 234) The language in which we think, speak and write effects the meanings we are able to construct; it molds our versions of reality. One of the more famous instances of this dynamic at work can be observed in translating Sophocles’ Antigone. There is a word in the first and second lines of the Second Stasimon, popularly referred to as â€Å"The Ode to Man,† which brings this issue to the foreground. The word is deinoj [1] (deinos). It is conventionally translated as â€Å"wondrous.† Its meaning, however, is far more complex than â€Å"wondrous.† If any one word in the English language comes closest to approximating its meaning in the given context, the word is awesome. In Greek, its meaning runs the gamut of terrible, fearful, awful, danger, implying force or power for good or ill, mighty, wondrous, marvelous, strange, passed into that of able, clever, skilful [2]. It is utterly impossible to translate this Greek idea into English without somehow tempe... ...uns on the French word differer, which means both "to differ" and "to defer." The result is differance, which is a misspelling of 'difference.' Since words are only signifiers and have no inherent meaning, there is a distance between the signifier and the signified. The meaning is deferred. And since words are identified by what they are not, their meaning is defined by difference. Hence, differance. When spoken in French, differance sounds no different than difference, a clever subtlety that, again, is lost in the translation. Derrida is no doubt aware that the two words sound the same, a fact which exhibits a weakness in spoken language† (http:65.107.211.207/theory/maslin/Difference_750.htm). Please note that the author didn’t define this term in his paper because the author has taken a decidedly anti-academic-jargon stance in so far as he can never actually stand. Issues in Teaching the English Language Essay -- English Writing Teach Struggle as I may, I cannot avoid James Berlin’s statement: â€Å"To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality† (234). If I’m going to be successful in any academic field, in any language, there are certain conventions that I must follow, but what I say and how I think is inexorably linked to the available resources of any particular convention. For my part, I just can’t escape the confines of the English language. I see this most poignantly when I try to teach a Chinese writer how to cite sources or when I attempt to read a text in translation. To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality, and the best way of knowing and communicating it. . . . All composition teachers are ineluctably operating in this realm, whether or not they consciously choose to do so. (Berlin, 234) The language in which we think, speak and write effects the meanings we are able to construct; it molds our versions of reality. One of the more famous instances of this dynamic at work can be observed in translating Sophocles’ Antigone. There is a word in the first and second lines of the Second Stasimon, popularly referred to as â€Å"The Ode to Man,† which brings this issue to the foreground. The word is deinoj [1] (deinos). It is conventionally translated as â€Å"wondrous.† Its meaning, however, is far more complex than â€Å"wondrous.† If any one word in the English language comes closest to approximating its meaning in the given context, the word is awesome. In Greek, its meaning runs the gamut of terrible, fearful, awful, danger, implying force or power for good or ill, mighty, wondrous, marvelous, strange, passed into that of able, clever, skilful [2]. It is utterly impossible to translate this Greek idea into English without somehow tempe... ...uns on the French word differer, which means both "to differ" and "to defer." The result is differance, which is a misspelling of 'difference.' Since words are only signifiers and have no inherent meaning, there is a distance between the signifier and the signified. The meaning is deferred. And since words are identified by what they are not, their meaning is defined by difference. Hence, differance. When spoken in French, differance sounds no different than difference, a clever subtlety that, again, is lost in the translation. Derrida is no doubt aware that the two words sound the same, a fact which exhibits a weakness in spoken language† (http:65.107.211.207/theory/maslin/Difference_750.htm). Please note that the author didn’t define this term in his paper because the author has taken a decidedly anti-academic-jargon stance in so far as he can never actually stand.

Death and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt Essay

Throughout the ancient world, it was commonly believed that individuals survived in some form after death. From earliest times, people laid out and drink for dead relatives and performed rituals on their behalf. In many places, people shared communal meals with the dead. These practices were meant to ensure the well-being of the deceased and also to soothe the spirits of the dead and to protect the living from their displeasure (Taylor). The great exception to common ancient beliefs about the afterlife was provided by ancient Egypt. Here life was imagined to follow the cyclic pattern of nature. The sun-god Re and the god Osiris exhibited a pattern of death and resurrection. The transition to the afterlife required certain rituals. The body had to be preserved through mummification, to serve as the basis for the life of the spirit. To reach the realm of the dead, the deceased required special knowledge. From a relatively early period, there was also a judgment, symbolized by the weighing of the heart in a balance. In Egypt we find what are probably the earliest foreshadowings of hell: a place where unrighteous people are subjected to torments and â€Å"the second death (Johnston). † Death The Egyptian approach to the problem of death and the afterlife was the most optimistic solution ever elaborated until their time. The end of life, death, was simply unacceptable. This reflected their optimistic nature, their love of the body and the joys it procured, a contrario to the Hindu solution to the problem of death which reflected a pessimistic nature and the rejection and destruction of the body. Death was intolerable for the Egyptians; it was desirable for the Hindus. Perhaps, above all, the Osirisian revolution represented the highest point of optimism and hope reached in the ancient world the evolution (from the sixth century BC) of Zoroastrian/Hebrew/Christian resurrection/afterlife concepts. Death posed such difficult problems for man that it took over 60,000 years or more, the interim between the Neanderthals and the Egyptians, to come up with radically new ideas and launch a new trajectory of wishful thinking and illusion which would eventually lead to the inventions of Paradise and Hell based on morality and the final judgment and final destiny of all mankind. Egypt, probably largely independently and right from the start of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100-2868 BC), innovated, made major breakthroughs and may have exercised significant influence on other peoples in the search for the solution to the problem of death. What had somehow occurred in Egypt was a fabulous bringing to fruitition of all of man’s imaginative efforts and abstract reasoning concerning death. The Egyptians sketched out and invented a new type of afterlife aimed at permanently defeating death (Najovits). Mummies of Ancient Egypt In the modern mind no single type of artifact from the ancient world excites more interest that the Egyptian mummy and no other kind of object is considered more typically Egyptian. The very word mummy brings to mind a host of associated ideas – the Egyptian belief in life after death, the seemingly pervasive concern with the notion of death, and the elaborate preparations that were made for it. It is well to state at the outset that religious beliefs made it necessary to preserve the dead, and what it seems a preoccupation with death was actually the outgrowth of a love of life and an attempt to prepare for a continuation in the next world of life as it is known in this. A considerable literature, much of it of a speculative nature, has grown up around the modern interest in the process of mummification. In recent decades the progress of science has done much to dispel earlier misconceptions, but many of these have become firmly fixed and die hard. The process of mummification is still considered to be a ‘lost art’ by many who would rather remain content with an intriguing mystery than be disappointed with a simple explanation. The process was the result of a continuous development based on trial and error and observable results. The details of technique can now be discussed with some confidence and accuracy (Taylor). Through the use of various physical/surgical and chemical processes, the Egyptians devised artificial means to preserve corpses. The process of mummification was introduced very early in Egypt’s dynastic history, in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. Even before then, the Egyptians must have noticed that the hot, dry sand of the desert often desiccated and preserved bodies without any artificial processes. A variety of techniques evolved over many centuries to conserve the bodies of Egypt’s nobility; these included removing the internal organs, soaking the body in natron, and wrapping it tightly in linen. When Herodotus visited Egypt in the 5th century he documented the mummification methods that were still known, even though the art and science of embalming was not important as it had been earlier (Monet). Afterlife The origins of an afterlife, Paradise and Hell are enveloped in considerable obscurity. At least sixty thousand years ago, the Neanderthals imagined phenomena which did not necessarily exist or certainly did not exist. Perhaps based on their experience of dream life, they seem to have imagined the existence of an afterlife, invented ritual burial for entry into the afterlife, and possibly believed in the existence of the soul. Even if we can have no exact idea of what the afterlife meant for the Neanderthals, the decoration of some dead bodies and the inclusion of foods, goods, weapons and ornaments in their graves, clearly indicate that they believed that life somehow did not end with death that as aspect of life, or a spirit, continued. The seeds of Paradise, the concepts of immorality or consolation, or paradisiacal reward, for the first life, are already at least potentially contained in such a view. However, the Neanderthals and all other peoples at least until Egyptian times seem to have sought solutions to death which were not explicit (Najovits). The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt If you say the word â€Å"pyramid,† most people will think of ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians built many famous pyramids. The pyramids were created by the ancient Egyptian civilization, which began about 5,000 years ago. The pyramids were built to serve in the afterlife. These serve as staircases for the dead pharaoh to ascend in the sky, funerary practices involving rituals, spells and amulets and techniques designed to facilitate entry into the afterlife and protection and well being once there. Ancient Egyptians believed that each person had a spirit, or ka, that lived on after the person died. A person’s most important task during their lifetime was to prepare for life after death. Rulers and wealthy people built tombs to be homes for their kas. The earliest tombs were simple structures that resemble large benches. Then, around 2750 B. C. , King Zoser built the first pyramid. It was not a true pyramid. It looked like giant steps, so it became known as the Step Pyramid. King Snefru built the first true pyramid about 150 years later. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of the Egyptian pyramids, was built nearly 4,500 years ago and stands 481 feet (147 m) high. It is located in northern Egypt near the city of Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built to be the grave for King Khufu. Pyramids provided a place where a king’s body could safely pass into the afterlife. Many great riches were held rooms within the pyramids. The ancient pyramids are engineering marvels. We still don’t know exactly how they were built. We do know that their construction required impressive knowledge of math. We can learn more about the pyramids and the people who built them by using our math skills to study the most famous Egyptian pyramid – the Great Pyramid (Down). From the Old Kingdom to the beginning of the New Kingdom, kings were buried in pyramid tombs, comprising a massive superstructure of stone or mudbrick with adjacent mortuary temple or chapel. In the New Kingdom, the pyramid ceased to be a royal prerogative, and small brick pyramids were incorporated into private tombs (Taylor). Works Cited: Down, David. â€Å"The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt. † Creation Magazine 26. 4 (2004): 44-49 pp. November 13, 2007 . Johnston, Sarah Iles. Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard USA: Harvard University Press, 2004. Monet, Jefferson. â€Å"An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt. † Tour Egypt (2005). November 13, 2007 . Najovits, Simson R. Egypt, Trunk of the Tree: A Modern Survey of an Ancient Land. New York: Algora Publishing, 2004. Taylor, John H. Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

As I Get Older, My Toys Cost More Essay

As I mature, pursue my education, expand my interests, and become more involved in the working world, I am introduced to more technology and different types of people.   As my education is increased, the need and desire for technology to accompany this education increases as well, i.e., computers, lap tops, DVD burners, etc.   With these expanding horizons and increased contacts come responsibilities for higher priced socializing. Technological advancements and improvements occur at incremental rates compared to just 5-10 years ago. Technological advances are centered in transportation, medicine, and entertainment categories.   Examples of entertainment technology that have been introduced in just the last 3 years include Apple’s IPOD and all the existing technological paraphernalia that accompany it.   With innovation and improvement come higher price tags.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a woman who values education, I desire to purchase books rather than rent from the library in many instances.   Purchasing titles by classics writers are relatively inexpensive, but the investment is more costly than buying the teen magazine or weekly magazine that I have now outgrown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a part of the working world, I am continually introduced to new people, making new friends along the way   As I get older, my interests naturally are more involved and intricate and therefore cost more money.   Examples of this are the theater, ballet, symphonies, etc.   These are all more expensive than a weekend movie, or even buying a new movie DVD on the market. . New friends introduce me to their interests.   Therefore, socializing and participating in these events can cost more money than a quick lunch at Taco Bell when I was in high school.   In comparison, when I was younger, playing at the park or playground cost nothing.   Shopping with a pre-teen friend meant insignificant little purchases, i.e., gum, candy, inexpensive jewelry. Naturally, as I continue throughout my lifetime in the working world in the career of my choice, my success will naturally bring with it a higher income.   The higher income will allow me the freedom to buy â€Å"toys† I would not have been able to consider as a younger woman.   Economic freedom frequently comes with age, continued education, and experience.

The War of 1812 essays

The War of 1812 essays By any criteria the years following the War of 1812, otherwise known as the Era of Good Feelings, must be considered a time of exceptional growth and development in the United States, but above all, it may be considered a time of evolution and ripening of American nationalism, unification, and economic prowess. The war of 1812 was a very problematic war. States did not fulfill their duties, while commanders and leaders were not informed or supplied enough to keep up the war. But what awakened during this time and afterwards is something much greater then victory. The war wasnt just about Britain holding land and impressing American sailors into their navy; it was a second war of independence. It was the first war as a united country, and it was a small new nation against a large European empire. That we survived woke us up, and let us know that we did have a nation. For the first time, we were united, not for a fight of our homes and freedoms, but for ideals (The Awakening of Ameri can Nationalism, AAN). The war of 1812 began long before war was declared. It began right after the war of Independence. The British were not too fond of us breaking away from their empire, and they soon figured out that many revolts were because we had fought and won. They taxed our merchants, and hassled our ships, but they crossed the line when they began to impress our sailors into their navy. They claimed that these people had deserted the royal navy and should be given back. Though they may have been right on a few occasions, it has been proven that many innocent people were forced to be in the royal navy. On June 22, 1807, the English frigate Leopard attacked the United States frigate Chesapeake, and took from her certain of her sailors who, the Leopards captain claimed, were British citizens. (John K. Mahon, The War of 1812) This is what broke the straw on the proverbial camels back. Many citizens wanted...

7 Things You Should Be Doing For Every Image On Your WordPress Site

7 Things You Should Be Doing For Every Image On Your WordPress Site Adding an image to your website is not as simple as just uploading and clicking the publish button. Of course, that is an option – you can do it the lazy way – but if you want a perfectly optimized website and favored search results, there are a few things you need to do to make sure that the images are optimized before you publish them. You may find it tedious and annoying, and time consuming, but taking the time to do this right will be worth it when you see your A+ grade on Google and Bing Webmaster Tools and are rewarded with stellar search rankings. Editing Your Images: If you don’t own an Adobe Photoshop license, don’t worry, there are plenty of free online photo editing tools that can help you get the job done. Using high quality photos on your website is as important as using proper grammar.  These websites offer free tools that make it easy to crop, resize, and edit your images:  Ã‚  PicMonkey https://www.picmonkey.comFotor http://www.fotor.comPixlr https://pixlr.com Optimise and Compress Your Images: Large image files take up a lot of valuable space on your website and will slow down your site speed and hinder its performance considerably. Before you upload any image to your site, compress it or at as a minimum, make sure you have the Ewww Image Optimizer Plugin installed as advised by Kyle in the lessons.  In Adobe Photoshop, select â€Å"compress for web† before saving the file. You can also achieve similar results using some of the free image compression tools available online. Site speed is a ranking factor so the faster the better.  TinyPNG -https://tinypng.comPNGGaunlet http://pnggauntlet.comPunyPNG http://www.punypng.comResults vary, but in one test, Adobe Photoshop reduced a 236 KB image to 108.1KB, while TinyPNG reduced the same file from 236KB to 110.4KB. So, Adobe Photoshop does perform slightly better, but you can get pretty close using other programs. Consider Your File Names:  Once you have readied the image for uploading, make sure to name it properly. Search engines use file names to identify and index results so this is a really important step. If you name a file with a bunch of letters and numbers that doesn’t give search engines any information about what the image portrays. However, if the file has a specific name such as, â€Å"New York at Dawn† then it can be categorized and indexed, whereas naming the file something like, â€Å"New York† doesn’t describe the image very well. Use keywords in the file name to boost your search results. Be sure to use hyphens in the file name to separate words.    Image URLs: When you upload your edited, compressed, properly named image to your website, WordPress will show the attachment details in a box on the right side of the Insert Media page showing the automatically generated permalink URL based on the file name, this is essentially the web address of the image. You can’t change this once it’s uploaded so if you forgot to change the file name before uploading your file, you’ll have to delete the image and re-upload the newly named image. Image Title Attributes:  The image title box is right below the URL box. Here, you can name the image whatever you like. This title should complement the Alt Text Attribute, but not repeat it. Though, Google primarily uses the Alt Text Attribute to determine information about an image file, it’s helpful to add additional relevant information about the image in the Title box. Something short and specific will do. Your Image Captions:  Ã‚  Adding a caption is not necessary for SEO purposes, but may be helpful for user experience. The content in this box will display on the front end of the site while the Alt and Title Attributes will not.  The Alt Text Attribute  The â€Å"Alt† is short for alternative. Search engines refer to the alt text when trying to determine information about the image – a textual representation of the image content. The best use of an Alt Text box is to provide a word pairing for the image. Specificity helps here, too. This is a very important element for SEO because it provides a description that lends to search results. Don’t use the same content for the Alt Text and Title Text or Description fields. They each need to be unique. This is the content that will appear if a browser is unable to display the image. Your Image Descriptions:  The description information will be displayed on the attachment page of your image. In this field, you can be as descriptive as you like, such as telling the story behind the image or what kind of camera you used to take the photograph. You can add links in the description field. Again, don’t just copy and paste the information from the Title or Alt Attributes. Hopefully this gives you an idea of best practice when adding images to your website.

Edgar Degas' Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Edgar Degas' Biography - Essay Example According to the research "Edgar Degas' Biography" findings at the young age of twenty, he decided that art was the field for him and urged his father to let him try. Before entering the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he took lessons from an unknown artist of his time Louis Lamothe, who himself had learned from Ingres. This association was more than enough for Degas who had nourished a lifelong fascination with Ingres’ work and admired the artist immensely. Luckily for him, he also managed to meet Ingres himself whom he considered a master in Arts. Ingres gave him a good piece of advice that Degas fondly recalled many years later. He told him to: "Draw lines, young man, and still more lines, both from the life and from memory." Degas never forgot this advice and kept it close to his hear throughout his career. In 1856 Degas went to Italy to reconnect with his Italian relatives and stayed for extended the time in both Rome and Florence. At that time, it was considered important for every serious student of art to visit Italy at least once. For Degas, there was more than one reason to see Italy since it is where his relatives lived and this is where art is present in all its historical glory. Once he returned to Paris, he made Paris his home for the rest of his life with an occasional trip here and there. Upon Degas’ return to Paris in 1960, the artist was still very young and had been deeply under the influence of the Old Masters. This classical training was the norm in his time and he drew many copies of the paintings by the Masters.