Globalization Myths and Threats - 559 Words

GLOBALIZATION –MYTHS AND THREATS Globalization is not a new concept its has been in existence, where transcontinental trade and human movement has started far back 2500 years over the centuries going down lane of the ancients silk road trade route, the system has brought more about international relationship but the human nature can never change. The word â€Å"Globalization† is bringing people together, that is, arising from the world view, products, ideas and even some area of our culture. Again, with the coming of globalization, industries like the telecommunication and transportation have improved on their workspace, this includes the upgrade of the telegraph and internet which are the two major contributors of globalization processes by bringing more interdependence of the global economic and its cultural programmes. Globalization today may have a stronger pace, which allowed for more wealth and touches more lives, also the concept of globalization is perfect with good ideas that when actualized it will bring about global peace, again, is a dream we accept forgetting our human truth. The idea of globalization is to unite the human race by making the world to see better future with abundance possibilities. On the contrary, globalization is something more purely economic phenomenon showing itself on a global scale. Actually, there are stronger international movement of goods and services, financial capital and people that we can visualize. In addition, there areShow MoreRelatedHow Globalization Went Bad1206 Words   |  5 PagesHOW GLOBALIZATION WENT BAD Article 51: How Globalization Went Bad From Terrorism to Global Warming Emily Hudak Dr. Trautman January 20, 2011 Abstract Steven Weber believes that â€Å"evils of globalization are even more dangerous than ever before.† In his article he describes what has gone wrong, gives reasons for the instability, and provides solutions. Article 51: How Globalization went Bad From Terrorism to Global Warming In the Article â€Å"How globalization Went Bad† by Steven WeberRead Moreis globalization undermining state sovereignty?1559 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough primitive trade and migration, globalization has become a major factor in the world organization since the twentieth century. With the creation of transnational companies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, political and economic associations appeared new powerful actors that cannot be left apart in states’ decisions and whose influence may, according to some, threaten the authority of nation-states. Indeed it can be thought that globalization is causing the end of borders betweenRead MoreHow Globalization Has Influenced Hollywood Essay917 Words   |  4 Pages Globalization is an issue that is a hotly debated topic in the world today. Rarely ever does a conversation about the world go on with out globalization being included. Globalizations appeal has not passed the tentacles of Hollywood, who has taken advantage of all the hot issues that have come out of globalization so that it can maximize its profits. Topics such as blood diamonds, global warming, and ethnocentrism by other cultures in regard the United States have become popular topics for multi-millionRead MoreWhat Are The Benefits Of International Trade?986 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand why people would boycott the practice of free trade, although, it is something that I don’t see us (people in general) being able to live without. It seems a lot is at stake however. There are debates about job loss due to cheaper labor and the threat of US jobs being replaced (Chmielewski), as well as, mass farming which impact the environment negatively. As explained in the article, Neg ative Effects of Free Trade, â€Å"According to critics, the increase of corporate farms in developing countriesRead MoreWhat Are The Benefits Of International Trade?976 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand why people would boycott the practice of free trade, although, it is something that I don’t see us (people in general) being able to live without. It seems a lot is at stake however. There are debates about job loss due to cheaper labor and the threat of US jobs being replaced (Chmielewski), as well as, mass farming which impacts the environment negatively. As explained in the article, Negative Effects of Free Trade, â€Å"According to critics, the increase of corporate farms in developing countriesRead MoreThe Monsters And Their Origin1412 Words   |  6 Pagesprejudices and fears date back to prehistory and the developments in evolution that have occurred throughout in humanity. The prehistory gives an account of the concerns that people have in today s world. The author uses the term monster to describe myths and physical deformities. Stephen Asma uses the term to describe that there are fears in the post-modern and advanced world of technology (11). Stephen T. Asma has satisfactorily achieved the goal of defining monsters. The monsters have changed, andRead MoreGlobalization Is Not A Myth? Essay2166 Words   |  9 Pagesto the issue of definition, but whether or not globalisation is in fact a myth (Scholte 2000). As a result of this, globalisation attracts both advocates and sceptics, each of which present a different interpretation of the term. This essay will examine various sectors in which globalisation is said to be occurring such as economy, technological and culture. In doing so this essay will assert that globalisation is not a myth, however will also note the limitations of the process. Despite the controversyRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention Is An Unacceptable Assault On Sovereignty Essay804 Words   |  4 Pagessupport the humanitarian intervention. The defence of this principle and the realization of this task rely on the UNSC, the only authority accountable of the determination of any threats to the international peace as the article 39 of the UN Charter says: â€Å"The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintainRead MoreRelations Between China And The United States1498 Words   |  6 PagesChina and the United States have considerably evolved since the end of the two Wars, and especially since 1978, when Deng Xiaoping gained a de facto leading position in China, taking the country out of isolation and introducing it to modernity and globalization. Since then, China and the United States have undergone through periods of antagonism and collaboration. After a long era in which the US dominated the international system as a hegemonic power, China started to rise and to gain more and more importanceRead MoreMotivating Employee Motivation For The Success Of An Organization1003 Words   |  5 PagesAn important factor that contributes to the success of an organization is employee motivation. Organizational size complexity, competition due to globalization, advancement in information technology has led managers to try to figure out ways to motivate employees to get the most out of them to stay competitive. Motivating employees is a challenging task as organization must deal with the diverse work force. Employees change their jobs frequently when employers don’t meet certain expectations

Questions On The Literature Review - 1322 Words

Table of Contents 1 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 The Fear of Allah 3 1.3 The Fear of Hell 3 1.4 The Fear of Apostasy 4 1.5 The Fear of their Life Situation 5 1.6 The Fear of Democracy 5 1.7 The Fear of the West 5 1.8 Al-Bassmala: the Verse of Mentioning the Name of God Being used to Instill fear in their Faithfuls 6 1.9 Surat Al-Ikhlas: Chapter 112, titled The Purity (of faith) Used by Muslim Leadership to inculcate Fear 13 1.10 Ayatul Kursi: The Verse of the Chair 15 1.11 Ayatun Nour: The Verse of the Light that Portrays Muslim God as light and anything else as Darkness that Must be Avoided at all Costs 20 Verses Mentioning God s Physical Characteristics as another weapon Subjugate Believers 24 1.12 Reference†¦show more content†¦They include: Chapter one Fear of the Foreign West Chapter two Fear of the Imam Chapter three Fear of Democracy Chapter six Fear of Freedom of Thought Chapter seven Fear of Individualism Chapter eight Fear of the Past Chapter nine Fear of the Present In looking at numerous of these groups, it is clear that the regular Muslim stays in fear. This is particularly factual to those who currently reside within the West. Here are 6 basis why Islam is a religion of fear. 1.2 The Fear of Allah He is not the affectionate God that we learn in Christianity except one who reigns by means of an iron fist. The Koran informs the readers that they must fear Allah. Not only do they fear their God but also they are deadly fearful of being forever ruined by an enraged Allah. Their religion does not present much guarantee of salvation (Abu-Raiya, Pargament, 2011, p. 95). The simply Muslims assured a spot in Heaven is those who pass on in a Jihad or those who pass on when on a pilgrimage to Mecca. They trust they will be permitted into Heaven, except there is no assurance. This is why Islam is the peak of a works religion. They have to do each that the Koran informs them to perform if they are going to have any possibility of entering Heaven (Abu-Raiya, Pargament, 2011, p. 103). 1.3 The Fear of Hell According to Qutb, (1996) In Islam, Hell is explained in

Corporate Responsibility Is a Part of the Business Approach

Question: How Service Providers Should Maintain Effective Communication With The Clients? Answer: Introducation: At the current scenario, the emergence of child labor has become a raising issue due to which large number of children has to face violence after being associated with a private firm. Due to the social and economic barrier people, belonging to the backward society has to impose their children in earning bread and butter for their family. In this kind of situation, the social life balance is getting hampered day by day. Large sections of people tend to involve themselves in business firms rather than developing their skills and competencies. In this kind of situation, the society is getting underdeveloped day by day. This particular study has provided an in-depth analysis about this specific social issue (Schneider and Schmidpeter 2012). Child labor has become an emerging issue at the current scenario. After the evaluation of this social problem, large number of organizations has stretched their hands to deal with these kinds of social issues. In this specific study, Red Cross has been selected as the chosen organization. As per the current market scenario of Red Cross this particular organization is one of the largest and recognizable brands (redcross.org.au. 2017). This particular organization primarily aims to grab their brand identity and image by fulfill various corporate social responsibility (Carroll 2015). While running their entire business process in the market Red Cross primarily deals with various corporate social responsibilities. Re-connecting families, disaster recovery, child rescue are the necessary activities that this particular organization tends to follow. Among all these corporate responsibility approaches, the issue of child labor is most emerging at the current scenario. The research and development team of Red Cross has observed that millions of children belonging to the backward society tend to invest their entire attention in a business firm. As a result, they get little scope to maintain their e ducation process (Aguinis and Glavas 2012). In this kind of situation, this particular organization has decided to stand beside those children who have to take the burden of their family. In order to deal with those children Red Cross has implemented various approaches towards corporate (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014). On one hand, their approaches help to develop the mind of society people; on the other hand, Red Cross is able to grab the attention in global market after evaluating these corporate responsibilities. Goals and objective of CR approach: Corporate responsibility is a part of business approach that primarily helps a business organization to establish their brand in the global market with the help of maintaining some of the major corporate ethics and responsibilities. People belonging to different geographical market cannot be aware of the products and service process of an organization (Dhaliwal et al. 2012). Therefore, in order to grab the attention of people belonging to different geographical market corporate responsibility can be considered as one of the most effective business strategy and policy. The primary goal of corporate responsibility approach is constituted with two factors. On one hand, the organization like Red Cross gets the scope to achieve the recognition of their brands and products. On the other hand, the business organization helps to resolve the emerging social problems in order to maintain balance within the society. Based on that particular social problem that is child labor this organization h as raised their voice fervently (Brammer, Jackson and Matten 2012). Red Cross is successful to rescues thousands of children from the private firm and gives them a social peaceful life. After this kind of initiative, this organization has achieved immense recognition and prestige in the market of Australia and beyond Australia as well. However, the primary objectives of CR approaches are as follows: To gain the organizational reputation in the international market by spreading their hands towards the development of society To educate the society so that the people can get the right path for their further progress To provide some of the major recommendations on how the society can be developed by taking some of the most effective measures In this particular study, the various goals and objectives of maintaining CR approach for Red Cross has been highlighted. Red Cross being one of the most prestigious non-profit brands prevailing in the market of Australia has focused to maintain CR approach in order to enhance their entire business process (Servaes and Tamayo 2013). It has been observed that child labor in the market of Australia is an emerging social issue. Larger number of non-profit organizations is taking initiatives in order to resolve this issue. Therefore, Red Cross being a reputed brand had to face major market threat from its competitors. In this kind of situation, the business experts have decided to take an effective step regarding this specific issue. The organizations experts have arranged to make an effective counseling session with the parents of those children in order to make them understand about the value of education (Singh 2016). Ethical consideration: In order to run the business process in the market every organization has to follow a proper ethics, values and beliefs. People belonging to different geographical boundaries tend to face this kind of issue like child labor. Therefore, as per the organizational ethics Red Cross has to pay equal priority and response to every kind of people belonging to different religions and attitudes (Mirvis 2012). However, while leading the organization in the market of Australia Red Cross should follow some of the major ethical considerations and that are as follows: Service providers should maintain effective communication with the clients: After conducting an effective survey it has been evaluated that large number of children have to support their parents to lead the members of family. People belonging to different geographical boundaries can take an effective service of Red Cross. Therefore, the service providers are responsible to maintain an effective communication with the clients. Clients may be from different geographical corners having various linguistic styles. Therefore, the customer service executives have to be flexible in various languages so that they can handle the problems of different clients (Kilkenny 2014). In order to maintain equality the business experts of Red Cross has instructed the customers service executives to follow both verbal and non-verbal communication. The persons who are having language barrier can maintain an effective non-verbal communication so that they can express their needs. One of the most recognizable factors of Red Cross is that the organization is much flexible in dealing with the clients of different geographical markets (Jo and Harjoto 2012). After rescuing the children the organizational experts can provide benefits and facilities for maintaining their higher education: As per the ethical beliefs of Red Cross, rescuing those children from being exploited to a business owner is not the only mission of business experts. After rescuing those children, Red Cross tends to provide necessary facilities and benefits to the children either by cash or by kinds so that those children can settle down in their career (Ju?ius and Snieka 2015). In addition, the organization is very much flexible to communicate with the parents in order to make them understand about the importance of education and skill. It is evident that this specific initiative has saved large number of children from being tortured in the hand of firm owners. Red Cross should follow necessary acts and regulations at the workplace as well for the benefit of employees Along with the outside service process, Red Cross should follow corporate responsibility towards their employees as well. In order to render the success of business the employee performance is one of the most effective factors based on which a specific organization set a goal (Salib et al. 2015). However, large number of employees is intimately associated within the service process of Red Cross. Therefore, the organization has decided to implement some of the major acts and regulations at the workplace such as health and safety act, right to information act, anti-discrimination act, data protection act and gender equity act. Key sites of value creation: In order to enhance the performance level of employees the business experts of Red Cross tends to follow some of the major values in order to get quality service from the employees. Value creation is the business strategy and policy with the help of which the performance level of the employees can be enhanced. This particular strategy motivates the employees towards reaching the business goal (Bank 2012). However, the key sites of value creation that Red Cross tends to follow include skilled corporate management, incentives for the individual employees, growth of financial resource, structured corporate governance and so many. In order to gain the trust and image of an organization Red Cross has maintained their corporate management process effectively in the market. Millions of children who had been exploited in the hands of business owners had been rescued. As a result, people belonging to different geographical boundaries would have been treated with equal respect and dignity. As per the value creation strategy of Red Cross, it is undeniable that employees play a major role in rendering the performance of an organization. Therefore, employees motivation is one of the most effective factors based on which employees can be encouraged towards the business process (Hopkins 2012). Employees of Red Cross get incentives and other rewards and recognitions while providing good services towards the business organizations. On one hand, the organization is getting benefited. On the other, employees receives immense courage for performing well towards the business process. Summary: While maintaining the corporate responsibilities Red Cross had to face innumerable challenges in order to make the business strategy successful. After identifying the social problem, the business experts intended to visit the residence of those parents first. As per the concept of those parents the education and mental development is less important than earning money. In order to lead a family children have to work hard. Therefore, to some extent parents are helpless in this kind of situation. However, after collecting data from the parents, the volunteers of Red Cross intended to take an effective session with those parents. While conducting the session the concerned persons had to face innumerable difficulties. Parents were unable to make an effective response to the volunteers due to their language barrier. On the other hand, their way of approach was not very much suitable for the employees of Red Cross to an effective communication. However, despite facing innumerable challenges the volunteers intended to take an effective measure for convincing the parents. At the same time, it is also undeniable that people belonging to different geographical markets have issues with psychology. Red Cross as per their ethical issue was not restricted within certain geographical boundaries. Therefore, in order to expand their entire process of business in various geographical markets the business experts had to design their service process in an innovative way. As a result, the customers of different psychological backgrounds and beliefs can use the service. However, before gathering data regarding the current needs and demands of market, this particular business organization had to make an effective marker review. The survey executives had to face innumerable difficulties while collecting necessary information regarding the needs and demands of the customers belonging to various boundaries and markets. Reference List: Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A., 2012. What we know and dont know about corporate social responsibility a review and research agenda.Journal of management,38(4), pp.932-968. Bank, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility.retrieved on,19(12), p.2012. Brammer, S., Jackson, G. and Matten, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: New perspectives on private governance.Socio-economic review,10(1), pp.3-28. Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility.Organizational Dynamics,44(2), pp.87-96. Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to finance.Strategic Management Journal,35(1), pp.1-23. Dhaliwal, D.S., Radhakrishnan, S., Tsang, A. and Yang, Y.G., 2012. Nonfinancial disclosure and analyst forecast accuracy: International evidence on corporate social responsibility disclosure.The Accounting Review,87(3), pp.723-759. Hopkins, M., 2012.The planetary bargain: Corporate social responsibility matters. Routledge. Jo, H. and Harjoto, M.A., 2012. The causal effect of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility.Journal of business ethics,106(1), pp.53-72. Ju?ius, V. and Snieka, V., 2015. Influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive abilities of corporations.Engineering Economics,58(3). Kilkenny, S., 2014. Corporate Social Responsibility.Network Journal,21(3), p.24. Mirvis, P.H., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility.The Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management: Short Entries, pp.153-159. Mousavi, Z., Beiranvand, F., Moeinfar, Z. and Amouzesh, N., 2013. Corporate Social Responsibility.Life Sci J,10(6s), pp.8-10. Redcross.org.au. 2017.Humanitarian Aid - Donate or Join Us | Australian Red Cross. [online] Available at: https://www.redcross.org.au/ [Accessed 13 May 2017]. Salib, J., Sun, D., Wu, J., Wen, X. and Huang, C.C., 2015. Corporate Social Responsibility. Schneider, A. and Schmidpeter, R., 2012. Corporate social responsibility.Verantwortliche Unternehmensfhrung in der Praxis, Berlin ua. Servaes, H. and Tamayo, A., 2013. The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value: The role of customer awareness.Management Science,59(5), pp.1045-1061. Singh, B.J.R., 2016. Corporate social responsibility in India.International Journal of Higher Education Research Development,

Shirley JacksonS The Lottery Essays - Dystopian Literature, Films

Shirley Jackson'S ?The Lottery? Shirley Jackson's ?The Lottery?, raises many questions in the back of a reader's mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. ?The Lottery? clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind's evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of the short story with the use of symbols and setting. The setting of ?The Lottery? supports the theme. Settings are constructed to help build the mood and foreshadow things to come. In the lottery though, the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. The story begins with a description of a seemingly cheerful environment. Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere by describing the activities of the residents of the town. She describes children breaking into ?boisterous play and their talk still of the classroom? (310). Men and women are gathered in the center of the town talking about farming and taxes or into gossip. The date of the story is June twenty-seventh which Helen E. Nebeker states in American Literature, has ?symbolic overtones which alerts us to the season of the summer solstice with all its overtones of ancient ritual? (102). Jackson's description of the setting supports the theme of the story by showing how mankind is capable of cruel acts regardless of their environment. Symbolism in the story also supports the theme of ?The Lottery?. The very names of the characters in the story are laden with meaning. The names of Summers, Graves, Warner, Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the true nature of the characters. Mrs. Delacroix's name means of the cross in Latin; therefore hinting at Tessie's sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs. Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs. Hutchinson it is she who is shown to pick up the largest rock and promotes other people to stone Tessie. Mr. Summers' name symbolizes life but in reality it is he who is in charge of the lottery which instead of giving life to its winner it gives death. Graves is the man who carries in the black box and the three-legged stool. His name hints to what will happen to Tessie Hutchinson. It is also from Mr. Graves whom the citizens get the papers from, therefore it is almost like he is the one who has the most influence over whose grave it will be next. Old Man Warner, as his name indicates, warns the villagers of the unknown danger of stopping the yearly ritual. The irony here is that even though the old are know for being wise, Old Man Warner seems to be a very ignorant and superstitious being who blindly follows tradition. The names of all the prominent characters in ?The Lottery? support the idea that everybody hides their evil nature by way of hypocrisy. Tessie Hutchinson's character also provides considerable information on the theme of the story. Her name reminds one of the historical Anne Hutchinson not only because of the name but also because of the small town setting. Anne Hutchinson was a willing martyr who died for her religion and was exiled from her town. Tessie Hutchinson though may at first of the story appear to be a very good-natured and good human being by the way she comes in to the story. She comes in jokingly kidding with a friend of hers about how she almost forgot about the lottery but as soon as she remembered came running. Tessie seems to be a willing participant at the start but when her family's mane is drawn she shows her true nature. Instead of trying to protect her children she instead demands that her married daughter take part in the drawing just to improve her own chances of survival. Mrs. Hutchinson is a perfect example of how evil exists in everyone and when pushed it can take a mother to risk her own child's safety. The symbolism found in the black box is a key point in understanding the importance of tradition in the theme of ?The Lottery?. The introduction of the black box into the story changes the mood and atmosphere of the crowd of people. The reason

Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire

Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire Lithium batteries are compact, lightweight batteries that hold considerable charge and fare well under constant discharge-recharge conditions. The batteries are found everywhere  -   in laptop computers, cameras, cell phones, and electric cars. Although accidents are rare, those that do occur may be spectacular, resulting in an explosion or fire. In order to understand why these batteries catch fire and how to minimize the risk of an accident, it helps to understand how the batteries function. How Lithium Batteries Work A lithium battery consists of two electrodes separated by an electrolyte. Typically, the batteries  transfer electrical charge from a lithium metal cathode  through an electrolyte consisting of an organic solvent containing lithium salts over to a carbon anode. The specifics depend on the battery, but lithium-ion batteries usually contain a metal coil and a flammable lithium-ion fluid. Tiny metal fragments float in the liquid. The contents of the battery are under pressure, so if a metal fragment punctures a partition that keeps the components separate or the battery is punctured, the lithium reacts with water in the air vigorously, generating high heat and sometimes producing a fire. Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire or Explode Lithium batteries are made to deliver high output with minimal weight. Battery components are designed to be lightweight, which translates into thin partitions between cells and a thin outer covering. The partitions or coating are fairly fragile, so they can be punctured. If the battery is damaged, a short occurs. This spark can ignite the highly reactive lithium. Another possibility is that the battery can heat to the point of thermal runaway. Here, the heat of the contents exerts pressure on the battery, potentially producing an explosion. Minimize the Risk of Lithium Battery Fire The risk of fire or explosion increases if the battery is exposed to hot conditions or the battery or internal component is compromised. You can lessen the risk of an accident in several ways: Avoid storing at high temperatures. Dont keep batteries in hot vehicles. Dont allow a blanket to cover your laptop. Dont keep your cell phone in a warm pocket.  You get the idea.Avoid keeping all your items containing lithium-ion batteries together. When you travel, especially on a plane, youll have all your electronic items in one bag. This is unavoidable because the batteries have to be in your carry-on but usually, you can keep some space between battery-containing items. Although having lithium-ion batteries in close proximity does not increase the risk of a fire, if there is an accident, the other batteries can catch fire and make the situation worse.Avoid overcharging your batteries. These batteries do not suffer memory effect as badly as other types of rechargeable batteries, so they can be discharged and recharged many times nearly back to their original charge. However, they do not fare well if they are completely drained before recharging or are over-charged. Car chargers are notorious for overcharging batteries. Using any charger other than the one intended for the battery can increase the risk of damage.

Leanpub Serial and Continuous Publishing, by Len Epp

Leanpub Serial and Continuous Publishing, by Len Epp Serial and continuous publishing, an interview with Len Epp of Leanpub Last updated: 07/31/2017Serial publishing is not new. Many of Dickens books were published serially. This and Eric Ries' Lean Startup approach is what drove co-founders Len Epp, Peter Armstrong and Scott Patten to create Leanpub. This fascinating (and successful) startup has built  a lean publishing model where you "publish early, publish often" in order to build an audience.Our co-founder and CEO Emmanuel decided to have a chat with their co-founder Len Epp. Press "play" below if you want to hear a passionate discussion about publishing, Dickens, serializing, book marketing, and new forms of writing. Basically, they're imagining the future of publishing, and their vision might be quite accurate. Alternatively, we have supplied, as always, the transcript right below! Welcome to a new Reedsy podcast. So today I'm very happy to talk with Len Epp, Lead Customer Development and Co-Founder of Leanpub. So well Sir, good morning or good afternoon - depending on wherever you are. Yes, it’s morning here on the West Coast of America.Yeah, it's evening now in London, so dark! So I'm pretty excited to have you today. I've been a big Leanpub fan for a while actually and think the model is super interesting. You guys created a concept where authors can continuously publish their books – and even if they’ve only written the first chapters, people can already buy it. We also decided to do this interview to announce that Reedsy and Leanpub will start working together to help Leanpub users create beautiful covers for their books - since it's one of the main things to discover books on Leanpub. So just for our listeners, who may not know about Leanpub, can you tell us a bit about yourself, and then about the vision for the company and the team? So Leanpub has 3 co-founders - Peter Armstrong, Scott Patten and myself. Peter and Scott actually had the idea back in 2010, when Peter had written a programming book.He’d realized that he didn't want to wait until the book was completed before he started getting it out to readers. And there were a number of reasons for that, one of which was motivation and another one was community copy editing. And so he creatively added a link to a special chat room that you could access if you bought the book. He built this community of avid followers of his computer program – they would help him if they found errors and make suggestions. And it was a feedback loop of motivation. People were asking for the next chapters, and he wanted to give it to them - and that worked really well.So how would it work for fiction? Isn’t it harder to work with your readers to release new chapters based on their feedback?Fiction is a really interesting application. Serial fiction is a really old idea. Many of Dickens books were published serially: "The Brothers Karamazov", "Crime and Punishment", "'War and Peace", and "Middlemarch" all started out being published serially. And serial publishing was more or less the norm. "Many of Dickens books were published serially: serial publishing was more or less the norm." @leanpub That opens up really interesting ideas. For example, a novel is not a book, right? Like we say, "I wrote the book", but you actually wrote a text. It's only a book if it's published in that particular format. For example, if I had all of the copies of all the magazines in which one of Mary Elizabeth Braden’s novels were published, I've got the novel but I don't have the book. I also have the pamphlets that â€Å"Middlemarch† was published as: I don't have a book, but I have a novel. So Leanpub enables serial publishing so you would publish chapters as separate books serially.Now, I think what you're getting at, which is really good, is the idea of â€Å"in-progress publishing†, which is different from serial publishing (serial publishing is publishing finished works in serial).Exactly.I think the only person working on a novel that way is me. But that's kind of like performance art in a way, right? I think most people would find it frustrating to read the first c hapter of a novel and have the author go, "I changed it."You came up with that continuous publishing concept and now you're coming up with this idea: a book is only a book if you decide to make your text a book. But in fact maybe people don't want to read a book, they want to read a series of novels or something that's constantly evolving.I’d like to come back to the fact that Leanpub is mainly for technical writers at the moment. And for it to work well, you've integrated Leanpub with many services such as GitHub, Dropbox and a few others. What's the proportion of the authors using them and how does it change the way they write their books?Most of our authors use Dropbox, fewer use GitHub. We've got an option on Leanpub to download what you've been working in the e-pub, PDF or mobi formats - or all 3 if you want.All authors say that working with Dropbox is kind of magic because when you're working through Dropbox, you've got a file on your computer, and you just press "save" when want to. And you work on whatever text editor you like. And then, because you're sharing that file with Leanpub through Dropbox, when you want to publish a new version - you just go to Leanpub and hit the publish button, and it's done! There's no emailing back and forth, nothing. It just takes away a huge amount of complication from the conventional process.You have also built the Leanpub editor where authors write using Markdown. How popular is it?For anyone who isn't familiar with Markdown, Markdown is a mark-up language or syntax that was developed to make it easier to write webpages. And so Leanpub books are written in what we call â€Å"Leanpub flavored Markdown†, which is essentially plain text: you don't see the bold thing turn bold in the text that you're writing - any more than you would if you were writing on a typewriter, and it's very very simple.And do you think this tool could be adopted more broadly, outside of the tech community?I do, but I know from exp erience that for a lot of people, as soon as you tell them they have to learn something new and you use a technical word they're not exactly running to the hills. But the analogy for that is the typewriter, right? When the typewriter came out, you had to buy and object and learn how to use it, which was time-consuming.I think that people are going to learn Markdown, in the same way that they learned to use the typewriter. The 5 minutes it will take you to learn this new way of typing out books is way better. It will catch on. It will become a convention. People will understand that it's better but it's going to take time. "People are going to learn Markdown, in the same way that they learned to use the typewriter." @leanpub So let's say, so I've written my manuscript and I'm publishing it with Leanpub, now what happens?You would create a landing page for your book with information like â€Å"about the book†, â€Å"about the author†, maybe a bit of a teaser and then you would hit one button: "publish". If you've used our writing workflow, from one source text you get all those ePub, PDF and mobi versions magically created, then your book is up for sale on Leanpub.You can also set up variable pricing: you set a minimum and a suggested price for your book and as soon as you hit "publish" it's available for sale at those prices. Readers will see a slider at the suggested price, but they can slide it down to the minimum price that you've set, or they can slide it up and pay more.Since Leanpub pays such a high royalty rate compared to other publishing platforms, 90% minus 50 cents per sale, how much we pay authors is a feature. So underneath the slider that shows how much you pay, it shows how m uch the author is getting. This is why we'd see people paying strange prices like $11.67 and we'd be like. In fact, that corresponds to $10 to the author. So they were taking the author slider, "How much do I want to give the author for this book?" 10 bucks.So this variable pricing totally changes the relationship with readers: if you go into a conventional bookstore, you're automatically in consumer mode, "I want to pay as little as I can for as much as I can get." "If you go into a conventional bookstore, you're automatically in consumer mode." @leanpub But with Leanpub and with variable pricing, because it gives you a choice, all of a sudden you're making a decision about how much you can afford to pay and how much you think it's worth. "With Leanpub and variable pricing, you make a decision about how much you think a book is worth." @leanpub There are tons of people setting up a crowdfunding campaign for their publishing projects. And they're like, "Okay, I'm going to raise some money so that I can keep on writing my book, and then produce it at some point." What you're doing with Leanpub is you say, "Okay, I'm going to write the first chapter and I'm going to find readers who are really interested in what I'm writing and start making money out of my book so I can potentially invest more for the coming chapters." Do you feel like crowdfunding for books should work this way, and not the way Kickstarter works - where you wait for months before you can actually read the book?I would say that when it comes to writing, for most projects, the best thing to do is to make a little bit first and get it out there, and see if you are getting attention before you ask people to start giving you money for it.At Leanpub there's a page where you can ask people if they'd be interested in reading a book if you wrote it. It's possible at s ome point we'll do pre-sales, because pre-sales are becoming quite big in publishing land. Personally, I don't think I would want to personally give a writer an advance on a book they hadn't started writing yet though.My co-founder Ricardo has interviewed quite a few publishing startups and that concept of customer validation before you actually invest everything into your book keeps coming back.So let’s say I've decided to put my book out there on Leanpub, then what happens? How do you help authors find their readers?We’ve got a bookstore that has various categories, sellers. But mostly, right now, it's up to Leanpub authors to go outside the Leanpub ecosystem. It's up to them to bring readers.So how many books have been published through Leanpub so far?Nearly 2,000 authors, and we've had nearly 3,000 books published.You talked about that mailing list that authors can build on Leanpub. Is it mainly for people coming from the Leanpub community, or just anyone coming to the book’s page and thinking, "I'm interested, I'm going to sign up." And then, the author can use this mailing list the way they want?The way the mailing list works is that if you express interest in a book that hasn't been published, you can subscribe to get notified when it gets published. You choose whether or not you want to share your email address with the author. If you do, we have integration with MailChimp.So let's talk about when the book is ready. Peter, your co-founder was telling me about Leanpub authors who were looking to get a finished product to distribute on different ebookstores or even a physical version of their book. And that’s why there is now a referral program in place for Leanpub authors who can get a Reedsy coupon of $20 towards editing or design services on Reedsy. Awesome. It's really exciting. We've had our most successful Leanpub authors make a print version and also try other channels like putting their book up on Amazon or the iBookst ore.People say "don't judge a book by its cover". In the 20th century romantic modernism, the publishing house made the cover with very little input given to the author. So my joke is that you can't judge a book by its cover†¦ if a traditional publisher publishes it. Traditional publishers have this whole apparatus for selling that has nothing to do with writing. "  You can't judge a book by its cover†¦ if a traditional publisher publishes it." @leanpub But with a self-published book you can often judge a book by its cover: if the author took the time and care and chose a good designer to make a good cover, it means that they probably wrote a good book too. Having a cover that shows care is profoundly important. "Traditional publishers have this whole apparatus for selling that has nothing to do with writing." @leanpub It's also a form of art. There’s a deep relation between that cover and what you've been writing. It's going to be interesting in the coming months to see if there are great covers coming from this collaboration. I look forward to it. So thanks a lot I think that was really interesting for our readers to learn more about Leanpub.Okay, thanks very much and I look forward to interviewing you next week for the Leanpub podcast!Follow Leanpub and Reedsy on Twitter:  @leanpub  and  @ReedsyHQWhat do you think of Leanpub's publishing model? Would you be ready publish early in order to build an audience? Leave us your thoughts, or any questions for Len, in the comments below!

American Government and Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Government and Constitution - Essay Example They had wanted the government to disperse its operations. America comprises of people of different diversities; different religions, Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Quakers and Calvinists, people from different origin, Sweden, Canada, England, France and many other parts of the world. They therefore, had and still have differing opinions on how the government should be run. In the past years, the number of immigrants into the United States has grown; therefore, diversity has augmented, making the nation grow stronger in unity. The constitution defends the rights of people without considering their backgrounds and by limiting the powers of both the state and national governments. In the bill of rights, amendment I states that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and the government for a redress of grievance † (Schultz, p 273). This amendment does not include that a certain race is not represented; it includes all the American people. Many of the features of the constitution are meant to ensure that not any department of the state achieves control over the others and anything that can oppress its citizens. However, the constitution did not resolve the crisis of majorities imposing oppressive rules on the minority groups. The problem of tyranny until today has not been determined and needs to be addressed appreciably. This is an area that the federal government has been unsuccessful Race, ethnicity and color are the key characteristics of the minority groups in the United States of America, and although the government is trying to phase out the problem, it is extremely hard because people have it all in their minds. For example, some private schools cannot admit students from some ethnic groups or some races. In the earlier days of slavery, slave trade was operational in the south because the economic and communal status of the southerners was remorseful, and was justified to depend on the trade to make a living. The white homes in the south had been depending on slavery, ending the vice would have been a significant blow for them and the north still needed them for supply of raw materials. The blacks did not have any other option other than to be slaves, without education, socialization and a majority of whites living in the south. It is no surprise that the southerners felt that they were not being properly represented in the government. Their representatives’ were not heard whenever they tabled a problem in the congress. In my judgment, the idea of phasing out the majority rule by the federal government does not seem to be happening soon. Firstly, the federal government is composed of two houses, the House of Representatives and a senate with the representatives being more than the senators (Edwards, Wattenberg and Lineberry, p 34) If the government would have been aware of the rule of majority, it could have established one ‘major house’ whereby they cold have voted out the tyrannical rule. Senators alone, being 100 cannot vote out the majority rule since the majority vote wins. Liberal governments do not value the rule of minority; this means that a small number of the elected council will make rules and verdicts that govern the country as a whole. According to the constitution, democracies must apply majority rule and safeguard minority rights; many Americans consider that it is very