Good Writer Tactics

GOOD WRITER TACTICS Being a writer is NOT easy. You know that. Whether you are a freelancer or a Pulitzer-prize winning novelist, an immense amount of work goes into each word you put on paper. And even the most renowned writers have to work at it. Sure, every writer has his own personal tricks to keep the content flowing and the copy crisp, but since I haven’t the time or the energy to track down really famous authors for their advice, I’ll share with you my own tidbits. Chew on them, savor them, but please, don’t spit them out. Write every day. Let me preface this by saying, you don’t have to wake up every day at 5 am yearning to write for the next twelve hours. As stated earlier, writing is hard, but as with everything, it takes practice. Think of it this way. Michael Jordan certainly didn’t become the greatest basketball player of all time by only playing when he felt like it. And the same goes for you. Pick a time everyday to sit down and practice your craft. You can blog, journal, work on a freelance article, write your name over and over and over. The important thing is to get your brain in the habit of working daily. Make the most of your time. There will be days that you will sit down at your computer, and the creativity will flow like manna from heaven allowing you to capitalize on this copy catharsis. But if you’re anything like me, these days are few and far between. So what do you do the other 364 days a year? Read the rest of my blogs, of course. But seriously, keep your day’s writing goal in mind, and make the decision ahead of time to push through. Bounce your ideas, or lack thereof, off of other writers you know, and you may just find another route to the end of your project. Realize you are your own worst critic (most of the time). In my experience, my most praised works have been the ones I personally thought were the worst. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case all the time. Like I’ve said before, as writers, we get do-overs. And even when we feel as if our writing talent has chosen to take a hiatus right before deadline, the best copy can come from embracing the desperation. Think of it as a personal challenge. Get it all down on paper, and refuse to judge it until someone else has given their opinion. If you get good feedback, give yourself a pat on the back. Get negative feedback? Grit your teeth, rewrite it, and then thank God that writers get drafts.

The Need to Care for the Environment Essays

The Need to Care for the Environment Essays The Need to Care for the Environment Paper The Need to Care for the Environment Paper Whether the issue is air pollution, endangered species, re-cycling, or clean water, all environmental scientists, educators, and policy-makers agree that the key to public understanding is public education. Without a thorough understanding of the problems facing the planet in terms of its fragile environment, humanity is on a collision course with disaster. It is not enough to warn people, impose economic sanctions, and establish strict regulations. People must understand why they should recycle, how they can take care of their waste, and what they can do to lessen their own individual impact on the earth. It is also essential that environmental education be appropriate and applicable to the person doing the learning. Too often, environmental education focuses on a topic far removed from the reality of the student. A child living in the mountains can have all the concern in the world for the manatee or the blue whale and be completely unaware of the forest degradation going on in her own mountain backyard. Likewise a Brentwood student can be vitally concerned about the nuclear waste dumps in the desert but still mindlessly damage her own unique environment. In order for environmental education to be truly effective it must be both relevant and applicable. Such awareness may be the only truly viable option that exists that can make a difference in saving or renewing the earths rapidly diminishing natural resources. Such education must be fully integrated so that the student can understand the interrelatedness of all aspects of the environment, including her role within it. Once a person understands that all life on earth, not just human life, is dependent on the health and protection of the environment, it is no longer possible to dismiss the planet as a nothing more than an object designed to meet human needs and desires. The most valuable time to begin such environmental education and awareness is with teenagers while they have not yet lost their sense of connection to all that surrounds them. In order to best communicate the importance of the environment and the need to care for it as vigilantly as human beings care for themselves, students must begin to learn at an early age to respect the earth, its environment and all of its inhabitants. The environment is not some abstract concept. That lesson must continue to be taught and learned throughout life in order to facilitate meaningful change. Each individual must understand the consequences of her actions on the surrounding environment, whether it is in a rural area or city. Teenagers are, admittedly, creatures of self-interest but certainly there can be no greater service to oneself than the assurance that there is clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink, healthy food to eat or sanitary housing. The foundation and encouragement of that self-interest is education. Beginning in the first years of school, children are taught the processes of life on this planet. Even very young kids can easily understand that a strong plant cannot grow in unhealthy soil or that trash does not simply disappear. There can be no more valuable lesson than how to not poison oneself through unthinking or greed-based actions. Active recycling is genuinely a better lesson than algebra and living more simply in the midst of a consumer-driven society is undeniably more useful than memorizing the dates of battles long since fought. Environmental education can and does make a difference and is a valuable ideal for the future.

The Use of Torture in Interrogation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Use of Torture in Interrogation - Essay Example Law enforcement agencies are sometimes forced to inflict torture on suspects in order to retrieve trial information from them. The information that suspects may be hiding could be exceptionally vital in saving the lives of citizens. Therefore, law torture should be used in circumstances when law enforcement agents are seeking vital information from suspects; information that is likely to save the lives of the general public. McCain is one of the prominent people in the U.S who have vehemently opposed the use of torture during interrogation. McCain might be justified to push for legislations that illegalize the use of torture because he underwent torturous moments when he participated in the Vietnamese war. However, the debate on whether to legalize or illegalize the use of torture should not be discussed from the perspective of individuals past experiences. Taking such as perspective might make emotions cloud people’s judgment and limit sound decision making on the matter. Acc ording to Krauthammer, the debate would be healthy if the three kinds of war prisoners are brought into the picture. Krauthammer argues that for the purpose of torture and prisoner maltreatment, three kinds of war prisoners exist. The first category involves an ordinary solder caught on the field of battle (Krauthammer). This situation does not amount to exceptional circumstances that permit the use of torture for interrogation. Krauthammer indicates that the detention of such a soldier is for one sole purpose; â€Å"to keep him hors de combat†. Furthermore, if there is another just way of keeping such a prisoner away from the battle field, it should be employed. Krauthammer argues that because the main reason of keeping such a prisoner under those circumstances is to prevent him from becoming a commandant again, and he deserves all the protections and dignity of an ordinary domestic prisoner. Torturing such a prisoner would be inhumane, and it is not necessary. The second ca tegory involves a captured terrorist. By definition, a terrorist is an unlawful combatant. Krauthammer argues that â€Å"a terrorist lives outside the laws of war because he does not wear a uniform; he hides amongst civilians and targets the innocent† (Krauthammer. Such a terrorist is not entitled to protection at all. When the third category of the terrorist is mentioned, the discussion on torture becomes complicated. Consider a circumstance where by the captured terrorist has information on a bomb that has been planted in a city, and the bomb might go off in an hour’s time. Most probably, the lives of one million people are in danger. These are the exceptional circumstances where torture needs to be applied in order to secure the lives of civilians. In case the suspect has vital information, and he is unwilling to cooperate, then acts of morality and humanity become dependent on the ultimate goal; to save the lives of civilians. It would be logical to use torture and retrieve the much need information so as to save the endangered population. Krauthammer notes â€Å"the complications reflect precisely the dilemmas regarding all coercive interrogation, the weighing of the lesser of two evils: the undeniable inhumanity of torture versus the abdication of the duty to protect the victims of a potentially preventable mass murder†. Zandt argues that the overriding public safety becomes a priority when compared to the prisoner’

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

Leadership - Essay Example The video, How to Win Power and Influence People features Jeffrey Pfeffer giving loads of wise words on how managers can wield power over their staff and increase production and profitability of their organizations. Jeffrey’s pronouncement that power is the most precious resource for a manager is indeed a new viewpoint to those who believe in democratic management. A close overview of these videos together with an Interview with David Ulrich gives guidelines that can transform operations of many organizations. As Garry points out, innovation, resilience, inspiration and accountability are core principles that every manager determined to succeed must possess. A manager capable of exercising profound expertise and emotional commitment will certainly make a landmark impact on an organization. Coupling these abilities with a rare capacity to win people’s affection and favor makes such a manager an idol and a treasure to the company he runs. As a manager in a Convenience Store, putting all these cherished secrets of success into practice will tremendously improve operations of my department. With the power to influence the staff under me I will have a sizeable staff that is enthusiastic to carry out errands in the store without grumbling. Being an emotionally attached manager to the operations of the store will not only make me an efficient manager, but will encourage and motivate the junior staff to perform to the same standards of

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equal Opportunities and Diversity - Case Study Example The business case chosen for review is Tesco Ireland. This is one of the leading employers in Ireland and is also a classic example of an organisation that has to deal with diversity. Among its eleven thousand employees, the Company has a large percent of them coming from different parts of the world like America, Africa, Asia and other parts of Europe. The Company has a fair representation of people from various age groups that start from fifteen to eighty five. Besides this, the Company has also recruited and managed people with disability, different religious beliefs among others. Correspondence/similarities between equal opportunities and diversity have been demonstrated even in customer care by Tesco Ireland. The Company has made some changes that make shopping easier for persons with disabilities; first the Company has wide aisles that enable a person on a wheelchair or any device that helps in movement to use their stores easily. Secondly, Tesco has installed shelves that can easily be reached by children, undersized people or those on wheel chairs because those shelves are lower in height. Besides this, the Company has also incorporated wide ranges in its stores. All these changes were made after surveying Customers in a routine program managed by the Company called Customer Question Time Panels. (Mckillion, 1999) However, differences between equality and diversity were shown in the treatment of Polish Immigrant Workers during the year 2005. In the month of August, there were some agency workers of Polish origin who felt that they were not being granted equal opportunities in comparison to other workers. They engaged in a strike that highlighted the following discrepancies; Unequal salary payments between non-Polish workers and them Minimal chances of permanent employment for Polish Workers Poor working conditions These Polish workers were engaged in the distribution section of the Company. The Company tried to stand up for itself but their words to the press had already tarnished their image. In light of this strake, Tesco Ireland demonstrated that it did not treat its diverse workforce in an equal manner. (Berry, 2005) Equal opportunities and diversity in recruitment In the year 1999, Tesco Ireland worked hand in hand with North side Partnership to hire a number of employees perceived to be needy. These included; Travellers People with disability Recovered drug addicts Former prisoners (Thomas, 1990) These groups of people were hired to work in a new supermarket that would be opened five years from that time. The Company did not decide to hire these needy persons because there was lack of a better alternative; it did this because it wanted to grant equal opportunities to people in that area-Clare Hall. In actual sense, there were very many other people in need of employment in that area as unemployment was at a record high of sixteen percent in Clare Hall. By so doing, Tesco Ireland has shown that equal opportunities can be available to a diverse workforce thereby demonstrating that there are similarities in the latter two concepts. Similarities between equal opportunity and diversity have also been demonstrated by the Company by recruitment of people who have exceeded the official

Harm Reduction And Zero Tolerance

Harm Reduction And Zero Tolerance In this essay the author will explore and critically evaluate harm reduction in drug rehabilitation versus zero tolerance approaches, with reference to public policy issues in drug use. Drawing on available literature on the policy context, and on literature and evidence from the rehabilitation domain, the author will develop a discursive analysis of how harm reduction can present a workable and potentially valuable intervention solution in developing concrete policies which might effectively address this rapidly increasing social need. Harm reduction is a process by which those involved in the rehabilitation process with illegal drug users attempt to reduce the risks of drug taking behaviour rather than trying to eradicate drug use altogether. In Australia, drug users have traditionally been addressed with a zero tolerance approach, in which the drug user is counselled towards complete abstinence from drug use (Wodak and Moore, 2002). Socio-politically this approach is both lauded and condemned and both for good reason. A reorientation away from legal and punitive, law enforcement approaches to controlling illegal drug trafficking and use and towards a health-oriented model of rehabilitation of drug users is now taking place (Wodak and Moore, 2002), mimicking international trends based on research evidence. Thus the policy context has been subject to pressure to engage in new approaches to drug rehabilitation (Wodak and Moore, 2002). Thus policy responses to the moral model of drug use have been viewed as insuffici ent, and the disease model of drug use has grown in popularity in socio-political and therapeutic arenas (Hamilton and Cape, 2002). Australia and New Zealand have both adopted this approach, which is both pragmatic and forward thinking (Hamilton and Cape, 2002). However, it could be argued that this approach represents societies and their governments affording license to an immoral trade which has a significant negative personal, social and medical, not to mention economic, impact on society. This approach accepts that drug use is a common feature of human experience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ recognises that abstinence may be the ultimate goal, but accepts that this may not be achievable (or desirable) at least in the short-term (Hamilton and Cape, 2002, p 24). Thus social and political critics can view this as a tolerant attitude which fails to punish those who perpetrate the drug trade and cause significant suffering amongst those who abuse illegal and harmful drugs. All psychoactive drugs have the potential to cause some type of harm (Rumbold and Hamilton, 1998), and as such, represent a risk to the individual and society. However, drug use is viewed by many as normal social behaviour (Rumbold and Hamilton, 1998), and therefore policies which totally outlaw drug use can be viewed as inappropriate. Harm reduction strategies in Australia as enshrined in the National Drug Strategy (Rumbold and Hamilton, 1998), and as such present a more cohesive approach to managing the multiple facets of the problem or social phenomenon that is illicit drug use. Although law enforcement advocates argue that harm reduction strategies are not as effective as their own, economically, treatment and rehabilitation are actually much more cost effective in decreasing drug consumption (King, 1998). However, it is also possible to view legal, legislative and law enforcement approaches themselves as a form of harm reduction. Kutin (1998) shows how leglisative and law enforcement approaches have reduced violence associated with alcohol use. Harm reduction approaches, therefore, need not be viewed as diametrically opposed to the law enforcement approach, and this would argue that current policy orientations which encompass both approaches are actually the ideal way in which to approach the ongoing social an d public health drivers requiring an effective response from the policy level right down to the therapeutic level. According to Hellawell (1995 in Kutin, 1998, p 181): More realistic goals include attempting to reduce the frequency of sue, the quantity and toxicity of drugs consumed and to reduce harm to drug users and the community generally. Harm reduction must be embraced. Police strategies must encompass all these elements. There is ample evidence that harm reduction strategies are beneficial to indvidual clients, and represent the opportunity for significant public health improvement (Ritter and Cameron, 2006). However, McKeganey (2006) shows that in relation to the growth of the prevalence of drug abuse, and the increase in occurrence of drug related harms, including drug related crime, it is now the time to make drug prevention, rather than harm reduction, the focus of policy and practice. Futterman et al (2005) suggest a therapeutic approach which combines effective therapies with harm reduction strategies, working on behaviours with an overall end point of reducing drug use. But the ongoing arguments both for and against harm reduction policies are subject to forces which relate to key features of harm reduction, including: the primary goal being reducing harm rather than reducing drug use; the acceptance that drugs are a part of social life and cannot be eradicated from this; harm reduction is a c omprehensive public health framework; the priority is achievable and immediate goals; and that harm reduction is based upon values of pragmatism and humanism (Ritter and Cameron, 2006). This means that while reducing harm may be an improvement for the individual, and may be more realistic and achievable, there will always be groups and individuals who do not believe that this is a sufficiently aggressive approach, and while harm reduction produces individual benefits (Riley and OHare, 2000; Christie and Anderson, 2003), it does not prevent drug use or remove the threat, risk and harm associated with this practice, and it does not punish those who are effectively breaking the law. Ultimately, many will always reject a humanistic approach which is so pragmatic as to tolerate law breaking and the potential causing of harm to others, as well as to the self (Christie et al, 2008). Yet the evidence remains clear that harm reduction strategies can impact on drug use rates, on risk-associated behaviour such as needle sharing, and on transmission of blood-borne diseases and engagement in rehabilitaton (Hunt, 2005; Stoltz et al, 2007; Strathdee et al, 1999). Therefore, public policies may be subject to an ethical imperative to address illegal drug use via every possible (and effective route), because the long term social costs of untreated drug dependency are of such significance (Wall et al, 2000). Therefore, it could be argued that the zero tolerance approach is, as already demonstrated, not sufficiently effective on its own, and that the harm reduction approach, as one element of a wider policy framework, is likely to bring benefits in the longer term.

Essay --

The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative. As previously mentioned, the point of view in this narrative is from Scout. Her upbringing has been respectful to the African-Americans in her society and she shows this with her relationship with her maid, Calpurnia. Other children her age have adopted their parents' racially prejudice views, causing her of many problems. Atticus's lawsuit seems to isolate his children and Scout is taunted with remarks in the playground. Her only retort is violence and Atticus, as an virtuous father, does not condone this behaviour either: "My fist...