Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Homophone for Band

Homophone for Band The words band and banned  are  homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. Homophone for Band As a noun, band refers to a musical group or to any group of people joined for a common purpose. In addition, the noun band means a ring, a restraint, a belt, or a specific range of wavelengths or radio frequencies. As a verb, band means to mark with a band or to unite for a common purpose (band together). Banned is the past and past-participle form of the verb to ban, which means to forbid or prohibit. Examples Whenever possible, the individual members of the band travel from gig to gig by rented car.​The diadem is a band of gold more than an inch in width and eighteen inches in length.​The demand for new radio stations in the 1960s prompted the FCC to push new licensees into the FM band.​In 1926, H.L. Mencken was arrested in Boston for selling a banned copy of the American Mercury magazine. Practice (a) Chuck and his friends formed a rock _____, but they had trouble finding an instrument for Amos to play.(b) My father used to hide _____ books in a little vault he had built in the basement.(c) The rival factions were forced to _____ together to protect their homes against a new enemy. Answers (a) Chuck and his friends formed a rock  band, but they had trouble finding an instrument for Amos to play.(b) My father used to hide  banned  books in a little vault he had built in the basement.(c) The rival factions were forced to  band  together to protect their homes against a new enemy. Answers to Practice Exercises: Band and Banned (a) Chuck and his friends formed a rock band, but they had trouble finding an instrument for Amos to play.(b) My father used to hide banned books in a little vault he had built in the basement.(c) The rival factions were forced to band together to protect their homes against a new enemy. Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Tu Quoque - Ad Hominem Fallacy That You Did It Too!

Tu Quoque - Ad Hominem Fallacy That You Did It Too! Fallacy Name:Tu Quoque Alternative Names:You did it too! Fallacy Category:Fallacies of Relevance Ad Hominem Arguments Explanation of the Tu Quoque The Tu Quoque fallacy is a form of the ad hominem fallacy which does not attack a person for random, unrelated things; instead, it is an attack on someone for a perceived fault in how they have presented their case. This form of the ad hominem is called tu quoque, which means you too because it typically occurs when a person is attacked for doing what they are arguing against. Examples and Discussion of the Tu Quoque Usually, you will see the Tu Quoque fallacy used whenever an argument has gotten very heated, and the possibility of civil, productive discussion may have already been lost: 1. So what if I used an ad hominem? You insulted me earlier.2. How can you tell me not to experiment with drugs when you did the same thing as a teenager? As you can see, the arguers in these examples are trying to make the case that what they have done is justified by insisting that the other person has also done the same. If the act or statement in question was so bad, why did they do it? This fallacy is sometimes referred to as two wrongs dont make a right because of the implication that a second wrong makes everything alright. Even if a person is completely hypocritical, though, this does not mean that their advice is not sound and should not be followed. Tu Quoque and Sincerity This fallacy can also occur more subtly, for example, by attacking a persons sincerity or consistency: 3. Why should I take your arguments for vegetarianism seriously when you would accept a transfusion of blood that has been tested using animal products, or accept medication that has been tested using animals? The reason this example qualifies as a tu quoque fallacy is because the argument reaches the conclusion I dont have to accept your conclusion from the premise you dont really accept your conclusion either. This looks like an argument against the consistency of an argument for vegetarianism, but it is actually an argument against a person arguing for vegetarianism. Just because a person fails to be consistent does not mean that the position they are arguing for is not sound. You can be inconsistent in following a sound principle and consistent in following an unsound principle. This is why the consistency with which a person follows what they are arguing for is irrelevant when it comes to the validity of their position. Of course, this doesnt mean that it is illegitimate to point out such glaring inconsistencies. After all, if a person does not follow their own advice, it may be that they dont believe it themselves - and if that is the case, you can ask why they want you to follow it. Or maybe they dont understand what they are saying - and if they dont understand it, it is unlikely that they will be able to present an effective defense for it. You Would Do It Too A closely related tactic is to move from saying you did it, too to saying you would do it too if you had the chance. In this way, people can construct arguments like: 4. The leaders of that country are insane, and would attack us if they had the chance - so we should attack them first and thus protect ourselves.5. Christians would persecute us again if they were given the opportunity, so whats wrong with persecuting them first? This is fallacious for the same reason that the usual tu quoque is a fallacy - it doesnt matter what someone else would do if they had the chance because that alone doesnt make it right for you to do it yourself.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Exploiting Competitive Advantages Using Business Strategy Essay

Exploiting Competitive Advantages Using Business Strategy - Essay Example â€Å"Companies with significant market share create a problem for competitors because these competitors will have to rely on "stealing" market share away from the competition; they can't just create a business out of thin air† (Teenanalyst, 2009). A strategy that the company uses to capitalize on its low-cost strategy is aggressively targeting customers through smart marketing campaigns. The use of marketing has helped the company get the word out about the good prices the company offers. On many occasions, the company offers outstanding value through special sales of products. The best evidence that the strategies used by the managerial staff of the organization are effective is the fact that Wal-Mart is the industry leader in the retail industry. The profitability of the company is further evidence of the dominance of the company. The net margin which is a financial metric that illustrates the absolute profitability of an organization is 4% (Walmartstores, 2012). A few year s ago I worked at a company that utilized the niche generic strategy to market its products. â€Å"A business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers† (Ward, 2012). ... Most people in this hobby lose several planes each year to crashes. The best proof that the niche strategy used by the company was effective was that during the beta test trials the product received outstanding reviews from the clients. Despite the fact that the company had a good niche strategy and an excellent product WRM failed as a business venture due to the fact that the ownership team did not have sufficient operating capital to move into the commercialization stage of the product. A company that is currently using the generic strategy of differentiation is the automobile maker BMW. BMW sells cars that are different than most cars in the marketplace due to the super quality, performance, suspension, design, and luxury. The differentiation strategy has helped this company build a great reputation and brand value Evidence that the strategy the company uses is effective is the fact that BMW charges a premium price for its products.  

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Should women in the military services be assigned combat duties Research Paper

Should women in the military services be assigned combat duties - Research Paper Example This paper supports women to be in military and fights against the laws kept across to prevent them from combat. People are trying their best to introduce women in combat, by according to the data taken during combat, majority of the death encountered during hostilities are of women. Even though, the paper supports women in combat, they are killed during the war. This paper explains two major factors that resulted to need of women in the forces. During a congress in the military service, they had problems recruiting and retaining a good number of qualified males, turning their attention into training women. The second thing was that there was a movement to have equal rights for women in the 1960s and 1970s. I will use this resource to will avail information in the paper regarding the movement that resulted to equal opportunity in jobs, including national defense and the removal of laws against them. Michele M, and Johnson D. Women in Combat compendium. Washington,DC: Government Print ing Office, 2012.Print. Michele and Douglas are in the U.S army college who conducted research for the army and the department of defense. This book explains the compendium requested by Colonel Putko for the support of a study based on women in combat. Douglas Johnson agreed but had to put a condition to monitor the women’s performance in the field. It is seen that the motion is one of the greatest emotion, and women wish to be part of the military. Research in the U.S army shows that approximately 15 percent are made up of women. This paper still indicates that it is impossible to apply rules that exclude women from combat due to the current battlefield. Enforcing the laws result to the reduction of combat capabilities, putting down the professional development of women and bringing on a serious reduction of readiness during warfare. The two major points supporting the combat of women is that, the combat nature has changed and the rules that were earlier enforced do not fit in the current situation. There is no doubt that women can perform their duties in the combat situation, apply self-defense with great skills, which in essence, is equal to the male comrades. I will use this resource to provide the paper with details on the importance of women on combat duties. Solaro E. Women in the Line of Fire. Emeryville,CA: Seal Press, 2006. Print. This book truly explains the facts of women in combat that was fought in the history of America. Success is shown in women in ground combat after a success in their mission, despite their exclusion. It is inevitable for the U.S to lack tactical and clear frontline women to engage with Iraqi women during the war. The book shows gender discrimination in the military and the government as there is a different in what women are supposed to do and what they are doing. The women capabilities in combat are assumed rather than being assessed. Leadership diversity should be encouraged where women are integrated in all sectors of the military, to make an effective military. Women who have participated in combat services should be recognized, but the bans prevent them from being rewarded materials of combat veterans. Repealing the law put up to prevent women from combat is very necessary for gender equality. Both male and female should be given equal opportunity in combat. In the ranks, distribution women are offered the lowest ranks,

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Ducati Essay Example for Free

Ducati Essay Patrick EnglandDucati individual write up #3 Management 495 2/7/2012 Can Ducati sustain its position in the sport segment? Can Honda and other Japanese manufactures stop its growth in this segment? The ability for Ducati to sustain its position in the sport segment of motorcycles is going to depend on management’s ability to stay focused on keeping their image and story alive and in the minds of the motorcycle community. If management continues its current trend I believe that they can sustain their position, although there are challenges posed by the Japanese firms and changes in Ducati itself can also play a role in their ability to maintain their growth and position as the high end advanced sport bikes. Ducati’s decision to move from a mechanical company to an entertainment company could be the source of its success or its failure. The company to this point in 2001 had become known for their exotic engineering and design, focusing on beating the completion by any means, even if it involved producing a bike that many might call ugly or not the traditional motorcycle, so Ducati was running the risk of turning away the very customers and removing the image that had built them to the company they had become. But the decision made by Minoli, to become more of an entertainment company and to produce products that could be attractable by a wider variety of customers could also spur growth and market share that the company desperately wanted and needed if it was going to continue to compete with the Japanese bikes. I believe that if the management at Ducati can continue to make this â€Å"turnaround† hold and follow through with the goals laid out in it, then yes they can sustain their position, although any deviation or getting lack in the respects of implementing these long term goals will in my opinion hurt them greatly, for it is the image and the brand that Ducati represents that makes their products wanted. If they try too hard to copy the functions and company structure of competitors they very well may be destroying their core competitive advantage of image and product uniqueness. Japanese manufactures have been pushing hard in the sport market and have the capital and business structure to make a full fledge effort to take market share in the sport division. Honda and others have the ability to mimic the aspects of Ducati that have made them so revered by customers (mainly new technology and exotic styling) while still maintain their reliability and cost advantage. They will still continue to struggle with the â€Å"cookie cutter† image that has plagued them throughout their history, and I believe that if they can try to separate products in their sport division and create the image of uniqueness and exoticness that people associate with Ducati, then they definitely can pose a serious threat.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

I Hate Needles :: Personal Narrative

I Hate Needles    Dr. Ross’ comments: As part of our study of American Literature, my class and I explore the continuing theme of â€Å"connection to community† as revealed by the writers. I also offer my students bonus points for performing a community service and writing about their own â€Å"connection to community† as discovered through their act of service. This student chose to donate blood and writes a surprisingly delightful description of her experience. She humorously finds her own good connections. I hate needles. That doesn’t come as a shock to most people who know me. I’m a wuss. I have a fairly long list of phobias, but needles rank right up there at the top. I once read somewhere that public speaking is the number one fear of most Americans. Coming in a not-so-close second place was death. So the way I interpret that statistic, that must mean that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. That’s pretty shocking. So what does this have to do with my fear of needles, you may ask? Not much. I just figured that since this paper is for extra credit, I can pretty much write whatever I want and not have to worry about getting a bad grade for being creative, so I just thought I’d throw that in there for giggles and make it a little more entertaining. But it actually does tie in. Can you guess what the third-ranking fear of most Americans is? Needles. (Okay, not really. I made all that up, but I hear t hat 90% of all statistics are made up anyway, so I guess it is possible that I could’ve read that somewhere.) So I’m terrified of needles, but they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I am certainly banking on that to be true every time I go to the Blood Center to donate blood, which is about every two months. I don’t like it, but it’s just such a good thing to do. I used to give whenever they would come around in those buses, but I stopped doing that after my first visit to the Blood Center. I discovered that you get much more individual attention when you go to the Blood Center at about seven o’clock on a Thursday night.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Communicative Approach

MY BEST APROCHE IN ENGLISH LANGUAJE TEACHING : THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROCHE I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach 2. Two principles of communicative approach †¢ Create a realistic situation †¢ The class should be students-centered III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and speak, and achieve the goal of English teaching 1. Three stages in communicative teaching 2. Communicative activities in class . Achieve the goal of English teaching through communicative approach IV. Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ _________ Abstract Language is a means of communication. Although it is not the only form of communication among human beings, it is certainly the most important. English teaching is to teach the students how to communicate with each other, to train the students good and complete language ability, to express their ideas correctly and to easily adjust themselves to every kind of social situation. English teaching is a case in point. This paper is to discuss some problems of present English teaching approach, to state the principles and advantages of communicative approach, and to give some advice on how to make the English class more communicative and improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems As present, English teaching reform has been carried out in schools, some teaching reform has been succeeded, but there are still some problems in English teaching. The students who have had several years of training in English with classical approaches are still unable to actually use the language. For example, the students can’t understand what the teachers have said and they can’t express themselves, their ability of listening and speaking is not up to standard, and also they can’t communicate with others in English. Now the teachers have been faced with the problem of improving the student’s ability of listening and speaking. II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach Communicative approach refers to the theory of teaching according to the principle that the students and teachers should genuinely communicate with each other using the target language. 2. Two principles of communicative approach Among the numerous principles of communicative approach, there are two pieces of principles, which are more important English teaching. 2. 1 Create more realistic situation The current teaching methods don’t emphasize the real world situations and fail to cultivate student’s spontaneity. Artificial conventions and mechanical question-and-answer sequences fall short of the flexible, spontaneous kind of communicative interaction required for performing a task with the context of situation relevant to the real world. Such classroom teaching forces learners to talk about things that are not of their own choosing and not based on their actual needs. Taught in this way, the learners frequently fail when they are faced with the read to produce the language related to a specific situation. Simulation techniques seem to be a better alternative, as they seek to place learners in a situation where they are asked to take on different roles and to. Accomplish their specific tasks, including problem solving. They offer an opportunity for the learners to practice using the language in the right place at the right time and as appropriately as possible. The most obvious advantage of these kind of techniques is that it puts the learners in realistic situations. By simulating the physical circumstances of certain situations, the students can have the opportunity to use and to practice the sort of language, particularly the vocabulary related to that situation, so that learners are rehearsed for real life. In addition, they can express what they want to say whenever the situation calls for it. The teacher provides the best conditions for learning through creating the realist situation. 2. 2 The class should be students-centered The focus of classroom should be shifted from the teacher to students. The teacher does most the talking and always has the whole class under his strict control by lecturing, questioning, correcting students and often supplying correct answers to the exercises. In such a class, the teacher is obviously the most authoritative person. Students always act according to what the teacher wants them to accomplish put not what they themselves want to accomplish. So it appears that sometimes, even if the students have understood the text they are reading, they do not have the courage to speak out when called upon, for fear that they may not be right. The class should be learners-centered. Communicative approach makes learners to be themselves and requires the classroom instructor to play a secondary role, trying to keep focus on the students not on himself and encouraging students to communicate among themselves. The role and relationship between the teacher and students are fixed by the students-centered principle. It is to say that the students are the main part in communication, while the teacher helps the students to communicate. III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and peaking 1. Three stages of communicative teaching The teacher can divide the student’s learning into three stages: 1. – The first stage, the teacher is a sort of information: he selects material to be learnt and presents it so that the students can understand it and remember it as clearly as possible. The students may do little talking but they should by no means be passive. 2. – The second stage is the p ractice stage. Let the students do the talking organized from cue by the teacher: this practice should be meaningful and memorable. 3. The third stage makes the students to be allowed, under the guidance of the teacher, to use the language freely, even if they make some mistakes as a result. This requires a more flexible attitude from the teachers to mistakes, if the student is constantly stopped and corrected, then eventually he will become discouraged and cease to be motivated to speak. If the students can use the language for themselves, then they become aware that they have learnt something useful and are encouraged to go on learning: perhaps the most important factor is to keep up motivation in the learning process itself. We always talk about listening and speaking together. We must be aware of the fact that oral communication is a two-way process between speakers and listeners. In our class, both the teacher and students are speakers and listeners 2. The class communicative activities Communicative activity provides opportunities for positive personal relationships to develop among learners and teachers. Because of the limitation of the classroom, this requires the teacher to create more various social situations and relationships in the class. 1. Simulation: Learners are asked to imagine themselves in a situation which would occur outside the classroom, and they are asked to behave as if the situation really excited. 2. -Role-playing: is one method of getting the students to imagine they are someone else and play that part. 3. -Discussion: They must present their views in a more public context, there are sticker rules governing who speaks, when and to whom, and a higher level of formality is expecte d. The student’s ability of listening and speaking can be improved in discussions. 4. Interaction: There will also be increasing scope which gives learners greater responsibility for creating the interaction themselves. 5. -Pictures: Extremely useful visual aid. Pictures of people and places are much more interesting than ordinary objects. This is another chance for group work and genuine discussion. Other teaching aids are important techniques for creating a wider variety of social situations and relationships. Communicative activities are very important in language learning. It may be useful to consider briefly what the teacher might hope to achieve through the communicative activity in the classroom. Since this will determine his own attitude toward it and what he gives it in his overall methodology. The learners ultimate objective is to take part in communication with others. Their motivation to learn is more likely to be sustained if they can see how their classroom learning is related to this objective and helps them to achieve it with increasing success. . IV. Conclusion The traditional methods of teaching do not allow the learners to express their own ideas, activities and personality, which is though t to be important especially for students. For example, mechanical drills do not allow the students to express their own ideas, therefore, they will not be interested in listening, and their listening efficiency will be impaired. Under the present situation, communicative approach is a better way to improve our English teaching. For the teachers, the new method means more varieties to devise the lessons; for the students as well, the new method more opportunities to practice their listening and speaking, and to have the freedom to express themselves. Thus, the communicative approach makes the teaching more fulfilling. Just as some linguists have said: English language teaching should be made of communication by communication and for communication. English language teaching is an interdisciplinary subject for which human communication is an important source. The communicative approach is no doubt a manifestation of how this theory can be applied in the student’s English learning. It is a good teaching method to improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. Communicative Approach MY BEST APROCHE IN ENGLISH LANGUAJE TEACHING : THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROCHE I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach 2. Two principles of communicative approach †¢ Create a realistic situation †¢ The class should be students-centered III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and speak, and achieve the goal of English teaching 1. Three stages in communicative teaching 2. Communicative activities in class . Achieve the goal of English teaching through communicative approach IV. Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ _________ Abstract Language is a means of communication. Although it is not the only form of communication among human beings, it is certainly the most important. English teaching is to teach the students how to communicate with each other, to train the students good and complete language ability, to express their ideas correctly and to easily adjust themselves to every kind of social situation. English teaching is a case in point. This paper is to discuss some problems of present English teaching approach, to state the principles and advantages of communicative approach, and to give some advice on how to make the English class more communicative and improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems As present, English teaching reform has been carried out in schools, some teaching reform has been succeeded, but there are still some problems in English teaching. The students who have had several years of training in English with classical approaches are still unable to actually use the language. For example, the students can’t understand what the teachers have said and they can’t express themselves, their ability of listening and speaking is not up to standard, and also they can’t communicate with others in English. Now the teachers have been faced with the problem of improving the student’s ability of listening and speaking. II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach Communicative approach refers to the theory of teaching according to the principle that the students and teachers should genuinely communicate with each other using the target language. 2. Two principles of communicative approach Among the numerous principles of communicative approach, there are two pieces of principles, which are more important English teaching. 2. 1 Create more realistic situation The current teaching methods don’t emphasize the real world situations and fail to cultivate student’s spontaneity. Artificial conventions and mechanical question-and-answer sequences fall short of the flexible, spontaneous kind of communicative interaction required for performing a task with the context of situation relevant to the real world. Such classroom teaching forces learners to talk about things that are not of their own choosing and not based on their actual needs. Taught in this way, the learners frequently fail when they are faced with the read to produce the language related to a specific situation. Simulation techniques seem to be a better alternative, as they seek to place learners in a situation where they are asked to take on different roles and to. Accomplish their specific tasks, including problem solving. They offer an opportunity for the learners to practice using the language in the right place at the right time and as appropriately as possible. The most obvious advantage of these kind of techniques is that it puts the learners in realistic situations. By simulating the physical circumstances of certain situations, the students can have the opportunity to use and to practice the sort of language, particularly the vocabulary related to that situation, so that learners are rehearsed for real life. In addition, they can express what they want to say whenever the situation calls for it. The teacher provides the best conditions for learning through creating the realist situation. 2. 2 The class should be students-centered The focus of classroom should be shifted from the teacher to students. The teacher does most the talking and always has the whole class under his strict control by lecturing, questioning, correcting students and often supplying correct answers to the exercises. In such a class, the teacher is obviously the most authoritative person. Students always act according to what the teacher wants them to accomplish put not what they themselves want to accomplish. So it appears that sometimes, even if the students have understood the text they are reading, they do not have the courage to speak out when called upon, for fear that they may not be right. The class should be learners-centered. Communicative approach makes learners to be themselves and requires the classroom instructor to play a secondary role, trying to keep focus on the students not on himself and encouraging students to communicate among themselves. The role and relationship between the teacher and students are fixed by the students-centered principle. It is to say that the students are the main part in communication, while the teacher helps the students to communicate. III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and peaking 1. Three stages of communicative teaching The teacher can divide the student’s learning into three stages: 1. – The first stage, the teacher is a sort of information: he selects material to be learnt and presents it so that the students can understand it and remember it as clearly as possible. The students may do little talking but they should by no means be passive. 2. – The second stage is the p ractice stage. Let the students do the talking organized from cue by the teacher: this practice should be meaningful and memorable. 3. The third stage makes the students to be allowed, under the guidance of the teacher, to use the language freely, even if they make some mistakes as a result. This requires a more flexible attitude from the teachers to mistakes, if the student is constantly stopped and corrected, then eventually he will become discouraged and cease to be motivated to speak. If the students can use the language for themselves, then they become aware that they have learnt something useful and are encouraged to go on learning: perhaps the most important factor is to keep up motivation in the learning process itself. We always talk about listening and speaking together. We must be aware of the fact that oral communication is a two-way process between speakers and listeners. In our class, both the teacher and students are speakers and listeners 2. The class communicative activities Communicative activity provides opportunities for positive personal relationships to develop among learners and teachers. Because of the limitation of the classroom, this requires the teacher to create more various social situations and relationships in the class. 1. Simulation: Learners are asked to imagine themselves in a situation which would occur outside the classroom, and they are asked to behave as if the situation really excited. 2. -Role-playing: is one method of getting the students to imagine they are someone else and play that part. 3. -Discussion: They must present their views in a more public context, there are sticker rules governing who speaks, when and to whom, and a higher level of formality is expecte d. The student’s ability of listening and speaking can be improved in discussions. 4. Interaction: There will also be increasing scope which gives learners greater responsibility for creating the interaction themselves. 5. -Pictures: Extremely useful visual aid. Pictures of people and places are much more interesting than ordinary objects. This is another chance for group work and genuine discussion. Other teaching aids are important techniques for creating a wider variety of social situations and relationships. Communicative activities are very important in language learning. It may be useful to consider briefly what the teacher might hope to achieve through the communicative activity in the classroom. Since this will determine his own attitude toward it and what he gives it in his overall methodology. The learners ultimate objective is to take part in communication with others. Their motivation to learn is more likely to be sustained if they can see how their classroom learning is related to this objective and helps them to achieve it with increasing success. . IV. Conclusion The traditional methods of teaching do not allow the learners to express their own ideas, activities and personality, which is though t to be important especially for students. For example, mechanical drills do not allow the students to express their own ideas, therefore, they will not be interested in listening, and their listening efficiency will be impaired. Under the present situation, communicative approach is a better way to improve our English teaching. For the teachers, the new method means more varieties to devise the lessons; for the students as well, the new method more opportunities to practice their listening and speaking, and to have the freedom to express themselves. Thus, the communicative approach makes the teaching more fulfilling. Just as some linguists have said: English language teaching should be made of communication by communication and for communication. English language teaching is an interdisciplinary subject for which human communication is an important source. The communicative approach is no doubt a manifestation of how this theory can be applied in the student’s English learning. It is a good teaching method to improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Hamlet’s Contradicting Traits Essay

William Shakespeare created many complex characters in his play Hamlet. One of these complex characters being the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. Hamlet has many contradictory traits, two of them being that Hamlet sometimes thinks rationally, and that being overcome by the command left by the ghost of his belligerent father, King Hamlet, he tends to make irrational decisions. When Hamlet is first introduced to the ghost’s commands in scene one, act 5, they begin to consume him with thoughts of vengeance, to murder Claudius, his father’s murderer. Throughout the play, Hamlet acts in such a way to provide evidence supporting both traits. Conflicted by these two opposing traits, Prince Hamlet has a war of two spirits in his mind, deciding which side is right. During the length of the play, Hamlet frequently argues with himself. Many of his soliloquies are debates between Hamlet and the warring side of his mind that believes he should listen to the vengeful plan of his father’s ghost. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a rational scholar from Wittenberg. When he returns from Wittenberg, his mother, Queen Gertrude confronts him concerning his melancholy. He replies â€Å"Seems, madam? Nay it is. I know not ‘seems’† (1. 2. 76) He is very straightforward with her and speaks in a sensible and rational manner. This conversation happened before Hamlet encountered the ghost; therefor the militant and vengeful spirit has not yet influenced him. When Hamlet is preparing to rig the play to gage a reaction from Claudius to prove he is guilty of murdering his father, he is thinking rationally. I’ll have these players/Play something like the murder of my father/Before mine uncle: I’ll observe his looks; /I’ll tent him to the quick: if he but blench, /I know my course. † (2. 2. 601-605) it takes and intelligent, sensible, and rational person to develop such a precise and functioning plan, therefor proving Hamlet is able to think rationally. Once Hamlet has met and been influenced to his father’s ghost, he becomes consumed with the thought of avenging his father. Hamlet is not a violent person; therefor the thought of murdering Claudius causes a lot of internal conflict for Hamlet. As Hamlet and Laertes fight in Ophelia’s grave, Hamlet says to Laertes â€Å"For, though I am not splenitive and rash, /Yet have I something in me dangerous, /Which let thy wiseness fear† (5. 1. 265-267). This quote proves that Hamlet is aware that though he is not generally a violent person, he now possesses something dangerous in him due to his dead father’s command. Later, Hamlet claims to Laertes that he is mad. â€Å"Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. /†¦ Who does it, then? His madness: if’t be so, /Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong’d; /His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy† (5. . 224-233) according to Hamlet it was not him who killed Polonius it was his madness. Again, Hamlet is aware that avenging his father has driven him to be something he is not, and to do irrational things such as murdering Polonius. Hamlet had stabbed Polonius through a curtain simply because there was a slight chance it would have been Clau dius hiding. Before checking, he quickly stabbed Polonius, this is completely irrational and risky on Hamlet’s part. This dramatic turn of events caused negative repercussions towards Hamlet. By killing Polonius, Hamlet pushed Laertes to decide to avenge his own father and in the end, he murders Hamlet. The overwhelming urge to avenge his father caused Hamlet to act without thinking, putting Hamlet in a dangerous situation. Due to Hamlet’s strongly contradicting traits, he frequently argues with himself, usually in his soliloquies. Hamlet’s soliloquy â€Å"To be or not to be† is a literal debate between scholarly, rational Hamlet and Prince Hamlet as the soldier-son, seeking revenge for his pugnacious father. In this soliloquy, Hamlet questions his motives and morals. To be, or not to be: that is the question:/Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, /Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, /And by opposing end them? † (3. 1. 56-60) he is debating with himself on whether or not it is worth it to avenge his father. This way of making a decision is a rational and logical thought process in which Hamlet is evaluating all of his options and their repercussions. However, had Hamlet not had irrational thoughts to begin with, he would not have to go through with this process. Eventually Hamlet`s irrational urge to avenge his father consumes him. Most of his rationality has vanished and all of his thoughts concern revenge, or are not fully thought through. In his â€Å"My thoughts be bloody†¦Ã¢â‚¬  soliloquy, the irrational part of Hamlet`s divided soul is convincing him that if he does not avenge his father essentially he has no purpose â€Å"What is a man,/If his chief good and market of his time /Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more† (4. 4. 36-38) Hamlet says if he has no purpose, he is nothing. At the end of the soliloquy Hamlet decides â€Å"My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! (4. 4. 68) this is him saying that if his thoughts are not concerning violent actions towards Claudius, they are worthless. These thoughts are completely irrational, and the benefits and downfalls of this decision have not been taken into consideration. Later when Hamlet is asked whether he would prefer to battle Laertes now, or give himself some tim e to prepare, he quickly responds that he will fight him now, leading to Hamlet’s death. Again, Hamlet has irrationally made a decision without considering each side of the argument. The command left by the ghost of his father has completely overcome his mind leaving him not thinking logically or rationally as he was at the beginning of the play. Hamlet is an irrational rationalist. Before the ghost confronts him, Hamlet is a rational scholar from Wittenberg, however afterwards, the ghost’s vengeful thoughts consumes him, giving Hamlet an irrational and violent mindset. During the play, these two combative traits are warring in his mind, and expressed through soliloquies. Many of Hamlet’s soliloquies are debates between these two opposing traits. Eventually, the vengeful thoughts consume Hamlet and he becomes highly irrational. He does not plan or think anything through as he did at the beginning of the play. Hamlet’s irrationality is potentially the cause of his madness, and death. Had Hamlet not been so irrational whilst making decisions and allowing the vengeful thoughts left by his father to consume him, Claudius would not be seeking to murder him. Though Hamlet is genuinely a rationalist, his need to avenge his father’s death consumes him, causing him to make irrational and illogical decisions.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Film Industry During Cold War

The Film Industry During Cold War Introduction From 1946, the cold war affected almost all aspects of the world’s social, economic, political and cultural life (Quart Albert 214). In 1991, Sir Churchill announced the separation of the Soviet Union from the eastern satellite Nations (Reinhold, 85).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Film Industry During Cold War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This led to the birth of cold war which greatly influenced the film industry especially in American and in the Soviet Union (John Peter 451). In the United States for example, the film industry became a target for Un-American political and social film industry personalities. During the nineteen fifties, film personalities who failed to cooperate with the Hollywood film committee were blacklisted by the studios and worse still, some of them such as ‘the Hollywood Ten’ were made to serve a prison sentence (iMinds 2). The Film Industry durin g Cold War The ‘Hollywood Ten’ were screen play writers, film directors and producers. iMinds asserts that, â€Å"These 10 individuals had been summoned to appear before the congressional house committee that dealt with Un-American activities† (iMinds 1). The end of world war two marked the start of the cold war between the Unites States of America and the Soviet Union. The congressional house committee reflected the climate of fear created by the rise of communism and clash of ideologies, initially over the partition of Germany (iMinds 1). The committee existed to investigate the infiltration of Hollywood by communists in the belief that communist agents were planting propaganda in American movies (iMinds 1). It was illegal in America to join the communist party, and all the ten individuals had been members of the party at one time or another. The ‘Hollywood Ten’ were convicted of contempt of congress, and each of them sentenced to up to a year in p rison and a fine of one thousand dollars (iMinds 2).Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They were also blacklisted by Hollywood, and after serving their sentences, their only avenue for work was to leave America, or to work under pseudonyms (iMinds 2). The ‘Hollywood Ten’ cases was only the beginning. As the blacklist grew, it damaged the careers of hundreds of American artists. Many artists were forced to betray their friendships and their principles in order to continue working, and ideological censorship was promoted across the film industry in USA (iMinds 2). The film industry was co-opted into this hysteria (iMinds 2). The screen actors Guild, led by Ronald Reagan, who later became the United States president, voted to make its officers swear a non-communist pledge in 1944 (iMinds 2). In the year 1950 the screen actors Guild started to make all its empl oyees to take loyalty oath (iMinds 2). In 1952 the Screen Writer’s Guild authorized the studios to delete the credits of writers who failed to clear themselves before the congress (iMinds 2). Ironically three of the ‘Hollywood Ten’ had been members of the Guild when it was founded twenty years before (iMinds 2). The pending cases before HUAC committee finally came to an end (iMinds 2). They were able to prove that some communists held important jobs in the film industry, particularly as writers. However they failed to prove that the film industry was secretly spreading communist propaganda (iMinds 2). By 1960 the blacklisting began to die out. It was undermined by many different events (iMinds 3).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Film Industry During Cold War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One interesting case was that of John Henry Faulk (iMinds 3). He was a comedian blacklisted in a privat e publication and sacked by his employer (iMinds 3). He sued his employer behind the publication in 1957 (iMinds 3). The case dragged through the courts for years but in 1962, John Faulk won the case (iMinds 3). John Faulk’s legal outcome led to so many individuals threatening to sue that private firms against being blacklisted (iMinds 3). Before blacklist was history, it was already being played in films (iMinds 3). The most famous film dealing with the theme of the cold war was â€Å"On the Waterfront†, starring Marlon Brando (iMinds 3). This film was collaboration between director Elia Kazan and screen writer Buzz Shulberg with a plot that dealt with the issues of informers (iMinds 3). This film won academy awards in 1954 (iMinds 3). Types of Movies Released During Cold War Movies which were produced during the cold war era are documented and it is through what they exhibited that we individuals were informed about how the film industry responded to the external soc ial pressures of the cold war and how the film industry reacted to it (Michael 173). External social pressure is very vital when evaluating the effects of cold war era on the film industry (Whitfield 42). The cold war era had started a long time before the film industry started getting affected by it. Many movies are produced based on the social events which take place at the time the movie scripts are formulated, therefore films that were produced during the cold war eventually reflected on ‘the garrison state mentality’ which surrounded many people’s minds during that time (Michael 173).Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The movies produced in the cold war era which had cold war theme, mainly conveyed information touching on America and Russia quest for power (Sayre 122). These movies included movies which deliberately contained anti-communist or anti-capitalism themes. Films in this category were concerned with effects of the cold war to Nations (Gaddis 24). They could best be referred to as propaganda films and were meant to convince the informed public regarding the objectives and strategies of global cold war conspiracy (Whitfield 56). These types of films were mostly directed from Moscow or Hollywood and were intended to underpin the American and Soviet Union’s ways of lives (Elaine 76). The themes in these movies were straight forward and depicted the forces locked in mortal combat. These movies are vital to the historian because of the information of propaganda contained in them (Melvin 88). Some of the movies in this category includes, â€Å"The Iron Curtain (1948)†, â€Å"I m arried a communist (1949)†, â€Å"I was communist for the FBI (1951)†, â€Å"The Conspirator (1950)† and â€Å"Walk East on Beacon (1952)† (Elaine 102). Conclusion In conclusion it can be asserted that, the cold war had a heavy social impact on the film industry. HUAC committee’s verdict in 1944 to black list any Communist party supporter in the USA, had posed a great challenges to the film industry but now that this challenge is long gone, the industry can continues to unleash blockbuster movies without any fear. It is obvious that the cold war era, continues to socially influence the scripting of themes in modern films. Gaddis, John. The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Print. iMinds. Hollywood Blacklist: The Arts. New York: iMinds Publishers, 2009. Print. John, Durham and Peter, Samson. Mass Communication and American Social Thought: Key Texts, 1919-1968. Oxford: Row-Man Littlefiel d, 2004. Print. May, Elaine. Home Ward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. New York: Basic Books, 1988. Print. Melvin, Small. â€Å"Buffoons and Brave Hearts: Hollywood Portrays the Russians, 1939- 1944.† California Rhetorical Quarterly (1973): 327-37. Print. Michael, Paris. From the Wright Brothers to Top gun: Aviation, Nationalism and Popular Cinema. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. Print. Quart, Leonard and Albert, Auster. American Film and Society since 1945. New York: Praeger, 1991. Print. Reinhold, Wagnleitner. Coca-colonization and the Cold War: the Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria after the Second World War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Print. Sayre, Nora. Running time: Films of the Cold War. New York: Dial Press, 1982. Whitfield, Stephen. The culture of the Cold War. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. Print.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Content Marketing Process The Most Complete Guide to Get Organized

Content Marketing Process The Most Complete Guide to Get Organized Content marketing is deceptively complex. On its surface, it may appear simple: create content, push it out into the world, and watch the leads pour in. However, in actual practice, there are a lot of moving parts that need to be synchronized for success. From strategy to execution to measurement, there is more involved than what immediately meets the eye. This disconnect between expectations and reality can quickly derail an organization’s attempts to get started with content. When CMOs and client stakeholders lack a clear understanding of the strategy and workflow development required to achieve success, the results can easily fail to produce a measurable return on investment and keep those stakeholders happy. Developing an understanding of how the complete content marketing process functions doesn’t have to be difficult though. Having an outline from start to finish illustrating how things work can help convince clients and stakeholders that success isn’t as simple as starting a blog, shooting some videos, or publishing an optimal number of social media posts. In this blog post, you’ll get: A clear explanation of how content marketing works through the entire process. Tons of links to related blog posts that dive deep into each area. Templates to help your team get started with documenting strategy and workflows. This is a high-level process summary that’ll take you from the beginning planning stages, all the way through to measurement and analysis. If this post offers the â€Å"what† and â€Å"why† around what needs to be done, then the links to more granular posts provide the â€Å"how† on executing each piece. Approach this as a bookmarkable hub, and remember, there’s no pressure to absorb all of this right away. Manage Your Content Marketing Production Process With 30 Templates, Infographics, and More Executing effectively throughout this process isnt easy. To help you on your journey, weve pulled together 30 free resources you can start using right now. This bundle includes templates, guides, worksheets, and more. Theres something for every part of your content marketing workflow, and wed encourage you to download it now before moving on. What Does a Content Creation Process Look Like? There are a lot of different models and maps charting out the content marketing process. For our purposes, we’ll break it down into the following five buckets: Content Planning and Strategy:  This includes everything involved in developing an overarching plan and strategy for your content. Content Creation: This includes everything involved in creation processes and workflows. Content Publishing:  This includes everything involved in establishing publishing schedules and cadences. Content Distribution and Promotion:  This includes everything involved in promoting a piece of content. Content Measurement:  This includes everything involved in analyzing performance and extracting insights to refine your content strategy in the future. At a high level, here’s what this all looks like in diagram form: Your Content Marketing Process Library When writing this post, we realized that tackling the entire content planning, creation, promotion, and measurement process in one post is a tall order. If you're looking for something specific, click through to one of the following posts: Content Planning and Strategy How to Plan and Execute an Effective Content Strategy That Will Quadruple Your Results (Template) How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy You'll Actually Use (Template) The Ultimate Marketing Campaign Planning Checklist That Will Get You Proactive Spark Your User Persona to Life With These 9 Important Tools How to Find Your Target Audience and Create the Best Content That Connects Content Creation 40 Content Writing Tips to Make You a Better Marketer Now The Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be a Social Word Ninja The Most Massive SEO Copywriting Guide That Will Make Your Traffic Soar The Ultimate Blog Writing Process to Create Killer Posts The Email Copywriting Process You Need to Get More Conversions How to Work With Designers With Authentic Advice From 's Designer How to Make an Infographic Like a Pro in 7 Easy Steps Content Publishing The Best 2019 Content Calendar to Get Organized All Year When is the Best Time to Publish Blog Posts? What 14 Studies Say About the Best Time to Send Email The Best Times to Post on Social Media According to Research The Social Media Schedule That Will Boost Your Traffic By 192% Content Promotion and Distribution 21+ Easy Ways to Build An Email List That Will Skyrocket By 140% in 1 Year How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Plan For Your Content The Way to Write Email Subject Lines That Get More Clicks How to Boost Traffic With 34 SEO Tips You Need to Know Now (+ Free Kit) Content Measurement and Analytics 3 Hidden Google Analytics Reports to Help You Understand Your Audience How to Build a Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template) How to Use Social Media Analytics to Create the Best Content Phase 1: Content Strategy + Planning Everything starts with smart planning. Understanding Your Audience Who are you creating content for? What are their greatest wants, needs, and pain points? These are some of the first questions you’ll need to answer when developing your process. Figuring out who your audience is doesn’t have to be as hard as it sounds. Do some digging, though, and you might find that your real audience differs from the one you thought you had. To begin, answer four questions: What  problems does my company, product, or service solve? If you’re in business at all, this should (hopefully) be easy enough to answer. How do you make customers lives better or easier? Who are our current customers? Who’s buying your product right now? Make a mental note if that’s different from who you want to be buying your product. Who is my competition? You probably know who your top competitors are. However, do some quick keyword searches on Google, Facebook, and Twitter to see if you can turn up any more you weren’t aware of. What sets us apart from our competition? Why would people choose you instead? Once you’ve nailed these down, you’ll know: What topics your content needs to cover and which questions it should answer. Who is going to read, watch, or listen to that content. What your competition is doing (and start thinking about how you can improve on their efforts). What you need to do to set your content apart (so people consume your stuff instead of your competitors’). Next, develop a simple audience statement that summarizes who you’re trying to reach. Use this template and fill in the blanks: â€Å"[OUR COMPANY] creates content to help [INSERT DEMOGRAPHIC] do [INSERT ACTION] better.† Then, establish what we call your â€Å"content core.† This means identifying two things: What you do (and the topics that matter most to your company). What your audience cares about (which probably includes topics you should cover, even if they only loosely correlate with what your company does). Here are a few simple ways to get started doing this: Dig through your social media followers feeds. What are they sharing on Twitter? Run an audience survey. Use something like Polldaddy  or Survey Monkey  and ask customers or blog readers what they’re interested in (and what topics they want your content to cover. Look at your competition’s content. You shouldn’t necessarily copy what they’re doing. However, taking note of what they’re creating can give you some clues at what their audience finds relevant (provided they’re doing a good job). Recommended Reading: How to Find Your Target Audience and Create the Best Content That Connects Developing Personas If you’re not deeply familiar with your audience, then building personas can be vital for understanding who you’re targeting. This is especially true when working in industries where you don’t consider yourself a deep subject matter expert (SME). This process can get fairly involved, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be overly complicated. What makes personas such an importance piece of the content marketing process? This graphic summarizes that with a few powerful stats: A persona is a simple character description of your average customer or audience member. To build out a simple user persona, you should include the following information: Age Location Occupation Income Level Level of Education Hobbies Challenges and Goals Personality Summary Values and Fears Favorite Blogs, News Sources, and Companies That’s the high-level description of what you need in a persona. For a more detailed guide, check out the post below. Recommended Reading: Spark Your User Persona to Life With These 9 Important Tools Establish Your Goals Have a plan for how you’ll set goals for each project and campaign you execute. While goals may vary based on each project, having one set methodology for determining goals makes setting them easier. One common goal-setting framework we recommend is the SMART system. SMART goals are: Specific. Goals should be laser-focused on moving set metrics KPIs. Measurable. They should be quantifiable and able to be backed up with real numbers. Actionable. Can you take specific steps to achieve this goal? Realistic. Increasing revenue by 1 million percent is probably not realistic. Use your best judgment. Timely. Achieving goals should help move your organization forward in ways that are relevant right now. Then, to write a simple goal statement (whether for your overall business and marketing goals, or for a specific channel, campaign, or project), follow this template: You can adjust the specific verbiage as necessary. What’s necessary is that you plainly state the following: What you hope to achieve. When you hope to achieve it by. For more specific guides on setting marketing goals, dig into these guides: How to Set Marketing Goals You Can Actually Achieve  from Kissmetrics How to Set Marketing Goals Based on Business Goals  from ImpactBND How to Define SMART Marketing Objectives  from Smart Metrics Here's how to set SMART marketing goals (and manage the rest of your content marketing process,...Develop Your Content Strategy This is an enormous topic in itself. In fact, several books have been written on the subject (and you should read them). Arguably, a lot of what we cover in this post also covers content strategy and content marketing strategy (there’s a subtle difference). For our purposes here, we’ll break down content strategy into its absolute most basic elements. Then, we’ll point you in the right direction to learn more. To begin, let’s answer three questions: What will you create? This means the kinds of content and channels you’ll use. Why will you create it? This ties back into your goals and the specific needs your content should address. How will you measure success? This entails establishing the specific metrics you’ll track against. Performing Content Audits How can you make sure you create more content that works, cut out what doesn’t, and avoid duplicating effort? The answer is by performing regular content audits. Pam Neely put together this excellent guide (and content audit template)  that dives deep into this process. At a high level, here are some things to look for when evaluating past content: Generating Ideas How will you generate ideas for projects and campaigns? Quality creative concepts and campaign ideas don’t happen by accident (most of the time). Everything you create should also be connected to your overall goals. So, how do you come up with great ideas that actually move the needle? Start by figuring out who will be involved in your ideation process: Clients or internal stakeholders. Campaigns often start as solutions to problems your clients or your company is facing. Your CEO, CMO, and senior strategists. These folks are close to your organization’s overall goal-setting. Your do-ers down in the trenches (writers, designers, etc.). You hire creative people to be creative, right? Then, establish frameworks for ideation. There are a couple ways to approach this: Solo strategy sessions where individual team members generate project, content, and campaign ideas on their own. Group brainstorming sessions where multiple team members collaborate on ideation. The easiest brainstorming process we’ve had success with at looks like this: Get your team in a room and have them write down every idea they can think of in ten minutes. Have one person read every idea out loud. Then, have each team member rate those ideas on a three-point scale. Three’s are definite ideas you should execute, two’s are ideas that need some work, and one’s are, well, crap. If you do this right, the process will yield ideas all across the board (and that’s okay). Take every idea that’s a unanimous three and narrow down the ones you’ll settle on. This process works for all kinds of different projects and in all kinds of scenarios. Feel free to adapt it to fit your purposes. Recommended Reading: The Best 30-Minute Content Marketing Brainstorming Process Phase 2: Content Creation You’ve got your planning processes in place. Now, let’s move onto the execution steps. How will content marketing projects and ideas be brought to life? Establish Team Roles Team roles may be different than actual job titles. What we’re looking to know here is what people will actually be doing when it comes to planning, publishing, and promoting content. Recommended Reading: How to Structure Your Marketing Team to Create the Best Content Understanding Keyword Research Keyword research is vital for creating content your audience wants. At its simplest level, it should achieve three goals: Helping you understand what people want to read. This typically means stuff that answers questions and solves problems for them. Helping you understand the intent behind keywords. Carefully analyze search results for keyword terms to ensure people are really looking for what you think they are. Helping you understand what you can rank on. Most keyword tools show keyword difficulty and competition. In order to do quality keyword research, you’ll need the right tools. Here are some we can recommend: Google Keyword Planner Moz’s Keyword Explorer Ahrefs Keywords Explorer Keyword Studio Serpstat Recommended Reading: Your Ultimate Content Marketer’s Guide to Keyword Research Building Checklists, Templates, and Other Reusable Assets Having pre-built checklists and templates for every type of content you produce can help make creating content that’s consistent easier. They help reinforce productive workflows and ensure that every project gets executed the right way, every time. There are a couple of ways to approach this: Use our pre-built checklist here, or any of the templates bundled within this post you’re reading right now. Build your own checklists and templates. To create your own checklists, follow these steps: List everything that’s needed to complete a specific type of content. Be thorough. Assign each task to the appropriate team member. This could be either a specific person or just the role required. Estimate how long each step takes to complete. If you’re not sure, track your time over the course of creating a few pieces to set benchmarks. Document all of those steps and make your checklist easily accessible to your team. Consider using something like a shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder to store all your checklists. Writing + Design Getting writers and designers working well together is key for content marketing success. By establishing clear processes for each, you can eliminate a lot of confusion and head-butting around expectations. A basic workflow might look like this: Writer drafts content in a template or document. Then, writer and designer discuss images to include. Designer takes direction and adds other images where necessary. Generally, whatever type of content you’re creating, this is loosely how it works. Recommended Reading: https://.com/blog/content-writing-tips https://.com/blog/how-to-make-an-infographic/ https://.com/blog/blog-photography-tips/ https://.com/blog/social-media-images Phase 3: Content Publishing Once workflows and processes for content creation have been put in place, determine how often content will be published, and establish processes for managing your cadence. Establish How Often You'll Publish Each Type of Content You Create There are no objectively correct answers to how much content is enough or how much is too much. But, the following posts can help offer some starting points: How Often to Post on Social Media [Proven Research From 14 Studies] The Best Email Sending Frequency [Backed By 20 Studies] The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#à ·x [Whiteboard Friday from Moz] Planning Your Content Marketing Calendar We strongly recommend planning every piece of content you publish on one unified marketing calendar. Whether you use a spreadsheet or an app (we’re partial to ourselves), your calendar should achieve the following objectives: It should give your entire team one place to see every project in progress. A place to map out all your deadlines. A means of keeping everything organized so nothing gets lost or forgotten. If you need a calendar template or a guide on how to use one, we have several. Check out the following posts below: Recommended Reading: How to Boost Success With a Content Marketing Editorial Calendar Phase 4: Content Promotion + Distribution Content promotion often gets overlooked. If you’re not thoroughly planning your promotion processes, though, it’s time to start. Social Media Assuming you’ll be creating social media posts to promote other content (in addition to standalone social content), you’ll need to plan a few things: Your channel selection. Which channels are you on, and which are most important for you? A promotional posting schedule for each type of content you’ll be promoting. Planned posting templates save time wondering how many posts to prepare. An understanding of social media analytics. Monitoring what works and what doesn’t will help you make the most of your time in the long run. Recommended Reading: How to Align Your Content Marketing and Social Media Strategy in 9 Steps The Social Media Posting Schedule That Will Boost Your Traffic By 192% The Best Way to Plan a Social Media Strategy in Five Steps With a Template Email Marketing Email marketing delivers 4,000% ROI. According to Campaign Monitor, it also 40 times more effective for customer acquisition  than social media. So, have a plan to make the most of it. Develop a strategy to build your email list. Gated content upgrades  in blog posts and building landing pages  with opt-in forms  are two ways to do this. Plot out an email sending schedule. This guide  will help you select the best days and times to send e-newsletters. Plan an email content creation process. This will entail: Writing your email copy. Designing email templates  (if you’re coding your own emails) or placing content into a template within your email marketing service provider. Analyzing the performance per email. Repeat.Recommended Reading: Killer Email Marketing Planning Best Practices With 19 Examples The 4 Simple Stages of an Engaging Email Funnel Strategy What 14 Studies Say About the Best Time to Send Email Search Engine Optimization Search engine optimization is necessary for ensuring your content garners continued traffic (even after your social media and email promotion have run their course). On a basic level, be sure to check off the following for every piece of content you publish (assuming you’re creating blog posts or website pages): Title tags. These are the blue links at the top of search results. They should include your target keyword and accurately describe your content. They should be 70 characters or less. Meta descriptions. This is the descriptive text beneath the blue links in search results. They don’t directly impact rankings but do influence click-through rates. They should be 150 characters or less (but not too short). To test your title tags and meta descriptions before your content is published, consider using one of these free tools: Portent’s SERP Preview Tool:  It’s a little bit outdated (Google no longer uses pixel width to cap title tag length), but it can still help you see what search snippets will look like: Spotibo SERP Preview Tool:  Another free option that works well. Yoast:  If you’re using WordPress and Yoast, you’ll see a preview of your title tag and meta description before you publish. There are also some other basic on-page SEO elements to consider. These include: Keyword targeting. Does your content target a specific keyword phrase? Latent semantic indexing. In plain English, does your content include terms relevant to your primary topic? Keyword placement within your content. Is your primary keyword in your URL, H1, and body content? Are secondary keywords naturally integrated into your copy? For more detailed guides on SEO execution, read through the following: How to Boost Traffic With 34 Important SEO Tips You Need to Know How to Improve Your Keyword Research With Latent Semantic Indexing How to Maximize Your On-Page SEO in 2017 With One Awesome Checklist SEO Content Strategy: How to Skyrocket Your Traffic By 594% PR / Outreach What’s one of the best ways to promote your content? Tell people directly who might be interested in it! Of course, you’ll want to be genuine and sincere in your outreach. Content marketing and public relations are asked to join forces now more than ever. As these fields increasingly overlap, it’s important to have plans and processes in place for how these cross-discipline teams work together. According to Search Engine Land, there are at least five different ways for PR and SEO to cooperate: Product education. Whether they’re talking to customers, partners, or the media, PR spends a lot of time explaining how things work to people. Great content can be a quality asset for supporting this. Obtaining backlinks. When you tell people about your content, it’s more likely to be found by people interested in linking to it. Managing media outreach. Keeping messaging consistent between content and PR. What one team says is true, the other should say, too. Sharing content. Your PR team probably knows better than anyone who might be interested in seeing the content you’re creating. Lean on their contacts and tools like Cision  to find quality outreach targets. So, what can content marketers and PR pros do to combine efforts for maximum impact? Here are a couple ideas: Build lists of trusted contacts to reach out to with new content. Do you have news reporters or other content marketers you’re frequently in contact with? If so, consider compiling their contact info into a shared list. That way, when you have something of interest (either for content or PR), you can easily reach out. Make an account on Help A Reporter Out (HARO). This database of sources for journalists makes it easy to list yourself as a trusted source. Use content to support your claims that you’re an expert on your industry or topic. Learn more here. For more information on making this relationship work, this beginner’s guide to PR from Kissmetrics  is a great place to start. So is this guide from Smart Insights. Recommended Reading: How to Write a Pitch Email That Will Get Your Guest Post Accepted Phase 5: Measurement, Analytics, and Reporting If you’re going to earn your paycheck, you need to prove your work is making an impact. This is where reporting comes in. Good content marketing reporting shows your organization how your efforts are driving KPIs and making money. Good reporting shows your organization how your efforts are driving KPIs and making money.Setting Up Analytics Tools There are a lot of different analytics tools out there. Which ones you use will depend on the type of you’re doing. Here are some common options to consider. Google Analytics:  This one is near-ubiquitous for content marketers. Piwik: This is another freemium alternative to Google Analytics. Heap: Freemium analytics platform that tracks without using tags. Kissmetrics: An advanced behavioral metrics platform (we use them heavily here at ). Adobe Analytics: Enterprise-grade analytics platform. These are some popular options. To find more, check out this list from G2 Crowd. You might also choose to connect several different tools into one dashboard. Here are a couple different options: Cyfe: Basic custom dashboard tool that integrates with tons of different services. Klipfolio: Advanced marketing dashboard tool that connects to a wide variety of other tools and platforms. It also includes API access for connecting unsupported tools (although setting them up this way may require technical knowledge). Lots of different SEO and content marketing platforms offer built-in analytics, too. Here are a handful of examples: Moz: All-in-one SEO software platform with built-in analytics functionality. Raven Tools: Similar to Moz but with a heavier emphasis on analytics and reporting. Ahrefs: Offers robust metrics for rank tracking, link building, and other areas of content and SEO. Whichever toolset you’re using, ensure that the right people have access to the right tools. Depending on the size of your organization, that could mean individual contributors are given access to analytics tools, or you might have dedicated analytics staff. Recommended Reading: How to Crush Google Analytics Spam in 2017 Establishing a Reporting Schedule Next, determine when marketing reports will go out (and who needs to receive them). Depending on the tools you use, you might be able to set this up automatically. In fact, this guide from Google  covers how to setup monthly reporting automatically in Google Analytics. To set your reporting schedule, answer the following questions: How often do we need data updates? If you have weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual reporting meetings, set up your reporting schedule accordingly. Which data needs to be shared at which time? Data that’s closely tied to day-to-day performance (both for yourself, your team, and company-wide) may need to be shared on a weekly or monthly basis. Long-term goals may be more appropriate for monthly, quarterly or annual reporting. Who needs to know this data? If you manually email reports within your company, build a list of people who need to receive that report. Let’s break down common content marketing metrics into a sensible schedule: Weekly / Monthly: Specific metrics connected to the performance of your do-ers. Quarterly: Higher-level summary of progress toward long-term goals. Annual: Very high-level goals. In short, the more impact a goal or metric has on day-to-day performance for your team in the trenches, the more often those metrics likely need to be reported on. For more guidance on planning your reporting schedule, check out this guide from Chris Penn. Building Reporting Templates If you rely on automated reports from your analytics tools, this is cut and dried. However, what if your organization expects customized reports because your tools can’t quite pull everything you need into one Excel sheet or PDF? In that case, you may need to build your own template. Fortunately, we’ve created one here  to help get you started.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Concept of Customer Perceptions and Expectations With Respect To Essay

The Concept of Customer Perceptions and Expectations With Respect To Service Quality - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the service quality of the travel and tourism industry has declined over the years with the rise in the number of passengers and decrease in the price of the tickets. The dimensions of service quality are also measured that are presently delivered by the industry. A comparative analysis of quality perceptions among a number of organizations in the same industry had helped in determining the gap in the quality of the perceived and expected service. The present article has focused on an exhaustive study and the findings are based on a number of tools and strategies, which is recommended for the success of the industry. These tools help in improving the service quality of the travel and tourism industries. Academics and researchers have been constantly focusing on measurement and conceptualization of factors associated with service quality as well as its influence on the performance of businesses. Despite the extreme importance service quality exerts on the o verall strategic planning procedure and corporate success, no precise or ideal definitions have been developed surrounding the concept of service quality. The most precise and followed concept of service quality was given by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry which defined service quality as â€Å"a global judgment, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service†. Most of the researchers and academics agree to the aforementioned definition and follow it regularly. Service quality can also be explained as the overall impression of a consumer regarding the relative superiority or inferiority of an organization as well as its services. Delivering unparalleled service quality required conforming to the expectations of the customers on a regular and consistent manner and offering them a better quality service that their expectations.