Interest Levels of Boys Reading at Primary School Essay

Interest Levels of Boys Reading at Primary School - Essay Example Most children entering Key Stage 2 are not certain about their reading processes. Some of these children require specialist assistance and they still require all the experiences offered to the Key Stage 1 children. Other children make a considerable beginning with reading but in the process, they are not able to comprehend majority of the words they are reading in the books with any fluency or speed. They frequently regard themselves as poor readers and they get little pleasure from what they read. These types of children require texts they can manage accurately and those that offer them maximum satisfying experience (Bentley 1999, p93). Data from Lancashire County Council indicates that pupils underperform in reading by; (a) the failure to evaluate the author’s methods in offering an impact on the audience, (b) being not capable of citing evidence for their own opinion from the text and, (c) being not able to draw basic conclusions concerning a character or a situation. Boys fail to perform in reading because they find it difficult to engage with un-macho texts, for instance, they dismiss all female characters as ridiculous (Martin and Waters 1999, p159). It is suggested that in the western societies, the media particularly the television is replacing reading as the main interest of young people. The loss of interest in reading is very worse especially among the boys. The situation has been worsened by the arrival of the Internet and computer games (Goodwyn 2002, p48). It has been argued that â€Å"sex is the major factor in studies of children as readers, being more strongly linked than either social class or ability and attainment with how much children read† (Lockwood and Lockwood 2008, p101). There are many differences on what boys read, how well they read, the much they read, what they discuss in their reading and their performance in certain reading assessments. Researchers have also identified certain elements of English as a subject that tend to alienate boys. The boys are at a disadvantage when emphasis is put on reading narrative fiction specifically realist fiction that deal with daily interpersonal relationships. Outside school, the boys reading interests tend to change when they get older; their interest is more on fantasy than realism and they are engaged more in non-fiction genres than girls. Research shows that boys enjoy non-fiction materials than girls (72 percent of boys as opposed to 57 percent of girls) (Lockwood and Loc kwood 2008, p101). According to the research, the preference for individual responses by the English subject teachers to fiction reading severely disadvantages the boys. This is because the boys are very reluctant to express their emotional engagement with

History of Womens Football in England Essay Example for Free

History of Womens Football in England Essay I have chosen to do my essay about the history of women’s football in England. I’ve chosen to write about this because it is a topic which I am interested in as I play for a girl’s football team inside school and out. Also I would like to find out more about women’s football and where and when it all started. In this essay you will find out about the basic history of women’s football heading all the way back from 1895 to present day. I will also write a comparison between men’s football and women’s and share my opinion about 1895-1920 On the 6th April 1895 the first ever women’s football game took place at Preston Park, Brighton. The event was organised to raise funds for local medical charities. In the match North beat South 7-1. Up to 1920 no more women’s matches took place until the first women’s international game when Dick Kerr’s English ladies took on the French Ladies. The result was a 2-0 victory to England; this game had a huge audience of 25,000 people. On Boxing Day 1920 a match took place between Preston and St Helens, Preston winning 4-0. It was the biggest crowd to date for a women’s match with 53,000 spectators. 1921 In 1921 another big match was supposed to take place between London and Paris. This match never went ahead due to the FA. The FA issued a ban against womens football. They stated ‘the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged’. This meant any women caught playing football on the grounds of an affiliated club would be punished for breaking the law. Many women were disgusted by the decision and thought it was very unfair to do this. If I was around in this time I would also be very aggravated by the decision and I would be offended that they still allow men to play. 1969-1971 After 48 years of womens football being banned women wanted to change this. They started to become very annoyed a started campaigning. After a few campaigns 44 women got together to form The Womens Football Association (WFA). They were hoping that they would slowly gain back the right to play womens football. Two years later in 1971 the FA council lifted the ban against women which allowed women to play football once again. It had been fifty years since they had been allowed to play so they knew that the game would be no longer as popular as it was and it would take a while to get it back to the way it was. Not long after the ban was lifted women were advertising for football teams all around the country. 1991-1994 Since 1971 womens football slowly grew bigger and bigger with many small local leagues playing all around the country. In 1991 the WFA launched a national league. It started off with 24 clubs from all around the country it was pretty similar to the womens league we have today. Two years later they found that the league had been very successful so the WFA decided to host a cup competition. In 1993 the WFA held a national cup competition with 137 teams entering from across the nation. Womens football was slowly becoming bigger and gaining popularity. In 1994 the FA took on the administration of the Womens Nation League and the League Cup competition. The league then became The FA Womens Premier League (FAWPL). 1997-1998 In 1997 the FA decided that they were going to develop womens football from the grassroots to the elite level. This meant that more young girls could get involved to gain popularity. In 1998 the first 20 Centres of Excellence were established for young girls. Sponsors were gained for the league and the cup competitions; this raised the profile of the women’s game. Also in 1998 Hope Powell was appointed as the first full-time coach for the England’s Women’s international side. This was a very big thing for the nation. I think this helped the game increase its popularity because it got more people involved in the game from an early age which meant in the future decade’s womens football should be a very popular game. 1999-2002 In 1999 England entered their first Fifa World Cup. The competition was held in the USA and which saw tickets sold out for most matches and over 90,000 at the Final. There had been a competition called the Womens World Championship. This was just like a world cup and it was held in 1991 but England didn’t participate. In 2002 researchers found that football had become the top participated sport for girls and women of England. The FA had not planned for this to happen for another 3 years, so they were well ahead of schedule. 2005-Present In 2005 the UEFA Womens Championship was held in England. The opening matches attracted around 29,000 spectators per game, with around 2.9 million people watching the games live on BBC Two. The tournament was attended by over 115,000 fans within 15 matches. England went out in the group stages, but got a lot of recognition across the nation. Since then womens football has gradually become more popular and has reached the level it is at today. I think it has done well to regain its popularity after the fifty year ban, but I don’t think it will ever get back to the popular state which it was in before the game got banned. FA’s Plan for the Future of Women’s Football The FA has many plans to increase the growth of womens football. They are introducing it to younger people across the country by holding taster days and trials for many football clubs. Also the FA is trying to expand the womens football league into two different leagues just like the men’s. Here is an extract from the article the FA released ‘The Football Association is considering introducing a two-tier Womens Super League (WSL) in 2014. The eight teams that took part in the inaugural WSL season, which ended in August with Arsenal winning the title, have been offered new licences. Sixteen teams had initially applied for membership in 2010, with Sunderland and Nottingham Forest missing out. An FA statement said: Plans being discussed include exploring the introduction of a second tier in 2014.’ I think this is a good idea because it will make the game become more popular across the country. Also with more leagues being introduced this means more spectators which will mean more money is being funded into the association. What I think of the Future of Women’s Football I think womens football has done very well to get back to where it is today due to the ban for fifty years. However, I don’t think that womens football will ever get to the stage like men’s because men’s football has had a lot more time to reach this popularity. Also there is a huge amount of money in the association and it would be practically impossible for women to get to that amount. I do think that womens football will grow bigger and younger girls will start to get involved. The only problem with this is it will take quite some time but they have to make up the time from the ban. Comparison When it comes to football men and women play the exact same game but one seems to be a lot more popular, the men’s. Men’s football was first found in 1314 which is nearly 700 years ago and womens football was first found in 1895 which is not even 120 years ago. Therefore there was 581 years between men and womens football. Somehow this has managed to affect the popularity in the game as it is very rare to find womens football on television when it is averaged that there is one male football match per week shown on television. If you wanted to be a professional footballer whatever sex you are you would get paid, but there is a significant amount of money difference between the genders. The average male Manchester City player would receive around  £86,280 per week plus bonuses and the average female Arsenal player would receive around  £3,000 per week that means that there is  £83280 different in the wages they receive each week. Opinion I think that womens football is different today than men’s because the FA banned it. I think if women were able to play football all the way through the 20th Century I think womens and men’s football would be similar in popularity and the wages. I also think that is very silly that the games are treated differently because they both play the same game, 90 minutes each week and the male are treated much better and receive the better pay when they both do the same job.

Corporate Social Responsibility at British Airways

Corporate Social Responsibility at British Airways Introduction This report concerns with an investigation of business ethics in British Airways (BA) and in particular an event that happened in August 2005 with its catering contractor Gate Gourmet. The main objectives of this report are:- To examine BAs approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility. To elucidate whether Gate Gourmets employees are part of BAs stakeholder or not. To explain the negative outcome To explore ethical issues involved in the practice of outsourcing. The objective of the report will be achieved by using theories and concepts of business ethics. This report will make possible a number of informative conclusions on how BA handles Corporate Social Responsibility and the particular problem with Gate Gourmet. Page: 3 BAs approach towards corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR): CSR is a type of corporate self regulation integrated into a business model. Superlatively, CSR policy would function as integrated, self-governing device whereby business would observe and make sure that its adherence to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Business would accept responsibility for the influence of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public. In order to weigh up the approach of Corporate Social Responsibility a well known framework has been used which was devised by Elkington (1999) called the triple-bottom line. According to triple bottom line a corporate doesnt have only one purpose that is to add economic value to their corporation but also to add environmental and social values too. Triple bottom line gives a clearer picture of what the components of sustainability actually represents in terms of a goal for business ethics by examining them separately. Social Environment Economic viable Sustainable bearable Equitable John Elkington (1998) Page: 4 Economic perspective: The economic perspective recognizes that continued growth in population, industrial activity, resource use and population could mean that standard of living would in the long run decline. A narrow belief of economic sustainability focuses on the economic performances of the corporation itself: the responsibility of management is to develop, produce and market those products that assure long term economic performance for the corporation. This includes a focus on strategies that set in motion long term rise in share price, revenue and share market rather than short term explosions of profits at the expense of long term possibility. A broader concept of sustainability would take account of the companys attitude towards bribes and building cartels. They could be regarded as economically unsustainable: they are not willing to fund the political institutional system (schools, hospitals, police and justice system) then they eat away at the key institutional basis of co rporate success. From 2000 the airline industries worldwide had been suffering from less number of passenger wanting to fly which was due to 9/11 incident, Sars epidemic and rise in the fuel costs following the war in Iraq. BAs approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility on economic is that to maintain its economic system BA has been outsourcing its services and reducing cost of personnel through redundancies and various other resources. Social perspective: This is a recent improvement in the Corporate Social Responsibility. It has come to pass from apprehension about the effect of business activities on native communities in less developed countries and regions. The addition of social contemplation has marked a move in the way ideas about sustainability were put forward. The major issue in the social perspective of sustainability is that of social justice. In spite of the remarkable advances in standards of living that many of us have enjoyed, there are growing lack of correspondence of income and wealth within many countries. In a more just an evenhanded world, living standards will lead to more economic affluence. BAs approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility on social is that it has decided to enable up to 500 applicants a year to realize their dreams through the London 2012 Great Britons Programme. Page: 5 It is aiming to raise  £1.5 million for Change for Good to help vulnerable children around the world by 2009/10. BA has plans to increase the number of collogue who donate to payroll giving by 50 percent by 2012. It will continue to work with Comic Relief and Children in Need. BA has aims to increase the number of young people participating in educational activities to 8000 per year. Environmental perspective: The notion of sustainability came into sight mainly from environmental trepidation. The fundamental principles of sustainability in the environmental perspective alarm the effective management of physical resources so that they are preserved for the future. All bio systems are regarded as having limited resources and finite capacity and hence sustainable human activity must maneuver at a level that does not threaten the health of those systems. Even at the most crucial point these distress a need to dispatch a number of significant problems like greenhouse gases from industrial plants and consumer products. BAs approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility on environmental is that it is planning to reduce Co2 emission by 50 percent by 2050.it is aiming to reduce noise per flight by 15 percent. BA has plans to recycle its waste up to 50 percent by 2010 and aims to send zero waste to landfill by 2010 across Heathrow and Gatwick. Reference: Elkington, J. (1997) http://www.britishairways.com/travel/csr-corporate-responsibility/public/en_gb It is can be concluded that BA uses or has an approach to Corporate Social Responsibilities put forward by Elkingtons Triple Bottom Line. Those can be divided into Economic, Social and Environmental. Weather Gate Gourmets employees are part of BAs stakeholder It has been made a case that contractors are not legitimate stakeholders for a client. On the other hand in order to find out whether this is the case; the concept of salience of stakeholders will be used. There are three factors that consider the salience of stakeholder and they are Power, Legitimacy and Urgency. Page: 6 Power: it is the apparent capacity of a stakeholder to influence organizational action. Legitimacy: whether the organization perceives the stakeholders actions as desirable, proper, or appropriate. Urgency: The extent to which stakeholder demand are professed to call for immediate attention. Reference: Mitchell, R.K, Agle, B.R., and Wood, D.J. (1997) Gate Gourmet had been losing  £1.5 million a day due to the new contract put forward by BA which had very tough terms. Because of this Gate Gourmet decided to employ new staff on lower wages. So, on 10 August 2005 when 120 new employees were brought in the company the existing workers decided to go on strike while the trade union representatives went to talk to the management. But after three minutes the management of the Gate Gourmet sacked 700 staff without negotiating with the employees. The very following day BAs baggage handling staff at Heathrow airport went on one day strike grounding 700 flights and more than 100,000 passengers in BAs global network. It was nothing to do with BA but the reason of the strike was because BAs suppliers of in-flight meal Gate Gourmet had sacked 600 of its employee who had relatives in the BAs baggage handling staff. BA termed this walkout technically illegal and refused to pay the strikers wages and workers went back to their duty only after on ly a one day strike. On the other hand this incident brought bad reputation to BAs global operation and also lost cost of more than  £60 million. After a lengthy and controversial talks and negotiations BA decided to revise its supply contract with Gate Gourmet on better terms. Gate Gourmet had been losing  £1.5 million a day due to the tough terms put forward by BA but they could do nothing to make BA revise its terms. It shows that Gate Gourmet have no ability to influence the action of BA.(Power) BA didnt take any interest to the Gate Gourmets case and refused to pay its workers on strike and thought stakeholders actions as undesirable, improper and inappropriate. (legitimacy) Page: 7 BA didnt try to solve its stakeholders (Gate Gourmet) immediately but took lengthy and controversial talks to revise its terms. BA didnt show any urgency to solve its stakeholders problem. (urgency) Reference: WWW.guardian .co.uk Therefore I conclude that BA is not a legitimate stakeholder according to the concept of Salience of stakeholder. The negative outcome Mendelow created a stakeholder analysis chart for mapping stakeholders power over the corporate and the interest the corporate has over his stakeholder. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Low Interest High Minimum effort keep informed A B Keep satisfied key players C D Low Power interest matrix POWER High Mendelow (1991) Chart of Stakeholder Analysis Page: 8 Segment A represents that the stakeholder has low power which means that the stakeholder has less ability to influence organizational goal and the corporate has less interest in the stakeholder. That is why the corporate puts minimum effort to satisfy the stakeholder. Segment B represents that the stakeholder has low power and cannot influence the corporate goal but the corporate has high interest on the stakeholder because the stakeholder in segment B can be important allies in influencing the attitude of more powerful stakeholder through lobbying. Thus the corporate keep informed about its shareholder. Segment C represents that the stakeholder has high power and can influence the corporate goal but the corporate has less interest in the stakeholder. As the stakeholder is powerful the corporate tries to keep the shareholders satisfied. Segment D represent that the stakeholder has high power and can easily influence the goal of the corporate and the chart also shows that the corporate also has high interest on its stakeholder. The stakeholder has high power and the corporate also has high interest in them so they are a key player to the corporate. Reference: Mendelow, A. (1991) in Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2005) Gate Gourmet had been losing  £1.5 million a day due to the new contract put forward by BA which had very tough terms. As Gate Gourmet couldnt make BA revise its term we can say that Gate Gourmet has low power. Because of this Gate Gourmet decided to employ new staff on lower wages and the existing employee of Gate Gourmet went on strike opposing the decision made by the management. The management sacked 700 staff without negotiating but BA remained quiet during this course of event. It shows that BA has low interest in Gate Gourmet and thus had put no effort in getting involved in the Gate Gourmet situation. Page: 9 When 600 employees were sacked by Gate Gourmet the relatives of the sacked employee who were in the BAs baggage handling in the Heathrow went on strike on support of their colleague. Due to this strike 700 flights and more than 100,000 passengers were grounded. This compelled BA to revise its supply contract with Gate Gourmet on better terms. Hence, in this way Gate Gourmet became a key player from minimum effort. Referencecorporatw: www.guardian.co.uk Ethical issues involved in the practice of outsourcing. Problems with Outsourcing: According to Sheffi (2005) companies should never rely on only one contractor and in case of BA, it should have used more than one caterer or the relationship should have been closer so that it could have known more about what the contractor is doing. Some organization, like banks have been disapproved of for poor customer support from outsourced Indian call centers. Also Nike and Gap have been bothered over the sweat shops allegedly operated by some of their suppliers. Outsourcing an activity does not mean it is no longer an organizations problem. And according to Emmelhainz and Adams (1999), there is a shift towards global supply and competition and individual firms appear to be faced with the outlook of an extended chain of responsibility. Once it was perfectly satisfactory to argue that the ethics of an organizations suppliers, or a firm influence on its competitors, was simply not any of its business, this no longer seems to be the case. Hence, corpora tions have to take their ethical responsibilities much more largely; as a result, the supply chain has to be used as a means of expression for ethics management and regulation. Page: 10 Carolls Model (1991) Economic responsibilities: Companies have shareholders who require a reasonable return on their investments, they have employees who want safe and fairly paid jobs, they have customers who insist good quality products at a fair price, etc. This is by definition the motivation why businesses are set up in society and so the first task of business is to be properly functioning economic unit and to stay in business. This first layer of Carrolss model is the basis for all the successive responsibilities, which rest on this solid basis. According to Carroll (1991), the satisfaction of economic responsibilities is thus required of all corporations. From 2000 the airline industries worldwide had been suffering from less number of passenger wanting to fly which was due to 9/11 incident, Sars epidemic and rise in the fuel costs following the war in Iraq. So, BA outsourced its service (in flight meal served by Gate Gourmet) to reduce its cost and to increase its profitability. The ethical issue of outsourcing regarding economical responsibilities is that it helps to give shareholders a reasonable return, its employees a safe and fairly paid job and satisfy the customers needs. Legal responsibilities: Laws are the codification of societys moral views. For example Microsoft has had to face an antitrust case for abusing its monopolistic position. Page: 11 To outsource cheap labour if a company brings illegal immigrants than it is illegal. Every firm has to follow societys moral view. Ethical Responsibility: These responsibilities compel corporations to do what is right, just and fair even when they are not compelled to do so by the legal framework. For example it was legal to dispose of an oil rig in the sea but was it ethical? Gate Gourmet had been losing  £1.5 million a day due to the new contract put forward by BA which had very tough terms. Because of this Gate Gourmet decided to outsource new staff on lower wages. So, on 10 August 2005 120 new employees were brought in the company which made the existing employees insecure. So they went on a strike but they sacked 700 staff without negotiating with them. Outsourcing must not be use only to fulfill the economic responsibilities of a firm but also try to think ethically by not being unfair and unjust to its employees as the Gate Gourmet. Philanthropic Responsibility: The word Philanthropic is derived from the Greek word which means love of the fellow human. According to this proposal in a business context, the mock-up incorporates activities that are within the corporations judgment to improve the quality of life of employees, local communities and ultimately society in general. This feature of CSR addresses a great range of topic, including things such as charitable donations, the building of recreation facilities for employees and their families, support for local schools or subsidizing of art and sports events. According to Carrolls (1991), philanthropic responsibilities are consequently purely preferred of corporations without being estimated or required, making them less important than the other three categories. References: Emmelhainz, M.A and Adams R.J(1999) A. Crane and D.Matten (2007) www.guardian.co.uk Page: 12 By outsourcing its services BA has increased its profitability but it is also involved with many non profitable organizations which helps the society. In this way outsourcing can fulfill firms Philanthropic Responsibility. So I conclude that ethical issues involved in the modern practice of outsourcing are economic responsibilities, legal responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and philanthropic responsibilities.

Postmodernist Features in Vonneguts Cats Cradle Essay -- Cats Cradl

Postmodernist Features in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Cat's Cradle is a book, which enables many points for literary discussions. One possible topic of them could be the postmodernist features in this book. In this examination Ihab Hassan's essay "Toward a Concept of Postmodernism" was used as a source of secondary literature for defining of postmodernist features. The most visible and prevalent features are postmodernist metonymy, treatment of the character, dynamic tension, anarchy and a postmodernist look at religion as a whole. To put Vonnegut's Cradle into a definite time span, let me start with a bit of personal data about the author. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although from a wealthy family, the Depression caused a rapid lost of their fortune. After having no success with his study of science, Vonnegut found pleasure in writing. Poor academic performance made him leave the university and join the U.S. Army. It is hard to state for sure, if his inspiration for writing laid mostly in his genetically inherited poetical cells or in his life experience. When we look at his father's occupation, we find nothing striking that would have something in common with writing. His father was an architect. So let's have a look at his mother. She had a long history of mental instability and consequently committed a suicide. As well known, in each talented writer is a piece of insanity. After taking into account Vonnegut's science fiction themes, we can lead discussions about this connection to his mother's sanity. Some inherited features can be se... ...nnegut. New York: Warner Books, 1972. Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Zelenka, Petr. Zelenka, Petr. Novà © nà ¡boÃ… ¾enstvà ­ Kurta Vonneguta. Jinoà ¨any: H&H, 1992. http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/personal/bokonon.html 16.3.2002 (The Books of Bokonon) http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/kv_life.html 16.3.2002 ("A life worth living" essay by Nick McDowell) www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/catscradle/cats_magill.html 16.3.2002 (Synopsis: Cat ´s Cradle) http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/kv_religion.html 16.3.2002 ("Understanding Religion Through Cat's Cradle" essay by Liana Price) http://home.eduhi.at/user/tw/vonnegut/vnetlnk.htm 16.3.2002 (Vonnegut ´s life) http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catscradle 25.11.2001 (Vonnegut ´s life) "KdyÃ… ¾ povà ­dka byla krà ¡lem." HN Và ­kend 2.November. 2001, natl.ed.: 21. Postmodernist Features in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Essay -- Cat's Cradl Postmodernist Features in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Cat's Cradle is a book, which enables many points for literary discussions. One possible topic of them could be the postmodernist features in this book. In this examination Ihab Hassan's essay "Toward a Concept of Postmodernism" was used as a source of secondary literature for defining of postmodernist features. The most visible and prevalent features are postmodernist metonymy, treatment of the character, dynamic tension, anarchy and a postmodernist look at religion as a whole. To put Vonnegut's Cradle into a definite time span, let me start with a bit of personal data about the author. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although from a wealthy family, the Depression caused a rapid lost of their fortune. After having no success with his study of science, Vonnegut found pleasure in writing. Poor academic performance made him leave the university and join the U.S. Army. It is hard to state for sure, if his inspiration for writing laid mostly in his genetically inherited poetical cells or in his life experience. When we look at his father's occupation, we find nothing striking that would have something in common with writing. His father was an architect. So let's have a look at his mother. She had a long history of mental instability and consequently committed a suicide. As well known, in each talented writer is a piece of insanity. After taking into account Vonnegut's science fiction themes, we can lead discussions about this connection to his mother's sanity. Some inherited features can be se... ...nnegut. New York: Warner Books, 1972. Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Zelenka, Petr. Zelenka, Petr. Novà © nà ¡boÃ… ¾enstvà ­ Kurta Vonneguta. Jinoà ¨any: H&H, 1992. http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/personal/bokonon.html 16.3.2002 (The Books of Bokonon) http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/kv_life.html 16.3.2002 ("A life worth living" essay by Nick McDowell) www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/catscradle/cats_magill.html 16.3.2002 (Synopsis: Cat ´s Cradle) http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/kv_religion.html 16.3.2002 ("Understanding Religion Through Cat's Cradle" essay by Liana Price) http://home.eduhi.at/user/tw/vonnegut/vnetlnk.htm 16.3.2002 (Vonnegut ´s life) http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catscradle 25.11.2001 (Vonnegut ´s life) "KdyÃ… ¾ povà ­dka byla krà ¡lem." HN Và ­kend 2.November. 2001, natl.ed.: 21.

Jp Morgan&Co./ Chase Manhattan Bank Merger

JP Morgan&Co. / Chase Manhattan Bank Merger 1. Introduction The combining of two or more companies, generally by offering the stockholders of one company securities in the acquiring company in exchange for the surrender of their stock. (referenca 1) Mergers are a common practice in the business world because they enable increased efficiency and market share. 2. History 2. 1. JP Morgan&Co. J. P. Morgan & Co. , was founded in New York in 1871 as Drexel, Morgan & Co. by J. Pierpont Morgan and Philadelphia banker Anthony Drexel.The firm made its first big splash in 1879 when it sold financier William Vanderbilt’s New York Central Railroad stock without driving down the share price. (referenca 4) During the late 19th century and early 20th century J. P. Morgan & Co. financed a lot of engineering and innovative projects. Some examples funded by it are the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal construction. Besides these projects it was also present at the birth of aviation, providing banking services to the pioneering Wright brothers from the early years through their invention of the world’s first successful airplane. referenca 4)During the years of World War I r, J. P. Morgan & Co. aided the British and French, arranging a $500 million loan r, J. P. Morgan & Co. aided the British and French, arranging a $500 million loan. In 1959 Morgan merged with Guaranty Trust Co. (commercial and investment banking) to create Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York, later forming a holding company that restored the famous J. P. Morgan & Co. name. (referenca 4) 2. 2. Chase Manhattan Bank Chase Manhattan Bank was formed in the year 1955 with the merger of Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company. referenca 2) In the 1970s, Chase added nearly 40 new branches, representative offices, affiliates, subsidiaries and joint ventures outside the United States. In 1973 Chase opened a representative office in Moscow, which was the first presence for a U. S. bank i n the Soviet Union since the 1920s. It also became the first U. S. correspondent to the Bank of China since Chinese Revolution . (referenca 4) During the 1970s and 1980s the Chase Manhattan Bank was led by David Rockefeller, and it emerged as one of the largest and most prestigious banking concerns.It had leadership positions in syndicated lending, treasury and securities services, credit cards, mortgages, and retail financial services. (referenca3) The Chase Money Card was the first Visa debit card offered by a bank in New York. In 1985 Spectrum was launched, which is an electronic home banking service that not only permitted banking transactions but also allowed customers to buy and sell stocks through a discount broker affiliated with Chase. (referenca 4) Chase Manhattan Bank is the product of two megadeals that came earlier, its mergers with Manufacturers Hanover and Chemical. In 1991, Manufacturers Hanover Corp. erged with Chemical Banking Corp. , under the name of Chemical Ban king Corp. , then the second-largest banking institution in the United States. (referenca5) Then in 1996 Thomas G. Labrecque merged the Chase Manhattan Bank with the Chemical Banking Corp. (referenca2) This merger created the largest bank holding company in the United States at that time, and it was prior to the merger with JP Morgan&Co. 3. JP&Morgan Chase & Co. On December 31 of year 2000 the two banks J. P. Morgan &Co. and Chase Manhattan Bank united to create the name of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. keeping two of the most established names in U.S. banking. This merger created a financial services powerhouse and became a strong rival of firms such are Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. (refernca 6) Before the merger the CEO of the Chase Manhattan Bank was William Harrison, and of the J. P. Morgan & Co. was Douglas Warner. After the creation of the combined company, J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. the Chief Executive and president was assigned William Harrison while Douglas Warner was retained as a chairman. (referenca 7) The merger was approved by the Federal Reserve Board on December 11 and by the New York Banking Board on December 14, 2000. referenca 8)   Ã‚  In 1999, the two banks combined had net income of approximately $7. 5 billion and revenue of approximately $31 billion. With the settlement of the deal, valued $36 billion, it acquired $660 billion of assets. (referenca 6) Under the deal J. P. Morgan stockholders received 3. 7 shares of Chase. The newly created company is a financial holding company, a global financial services firm and a banking institution in the United States of America. It operates worldwide, in more than 60 countries to provide corporate banking solutions to clients. referenca 3) It is engaged in different kinds of activities such are in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. (referenca 9) After the merger of the year 2000 came more mergers and acquisitions of the Company with other institutions that would shape it to its final form. Below are listed some of the most important ones: * In 2004, Bank One Corp. merged with J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. , keeping the name JPMorgan Chase & Co. by uniting the investment and commercial banking skills of J. P.Morgan Chase with the consumer banking strengths of Bank One. (referenca 5) * In 2008, J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. acquired The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. , strengthening its capabilities across a broad range of businesses, including prime brokerage, cash clearing and energy trading globally. (referenca 4) * In 2008,   J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. paid $1. 9 billion to the F. D. I. C. to acquire all of WaMu’s assets, branches and deposits. With WaMu, J. P. Morgan had $905 billion in deposits and 5,400 branches nationwide, rivaling Bank of America in size and reach. (referenca 9) The major businesses of the J. P.Morgan a re: * Investment Banking- The firm serves 8,000 clients in more than 60 countries. Clients include  corporations,  financial institutions, governments and  institutional investors. (referenca 10) It offers a full range of investment banking products and services in all major capital markets. * Card Services- The company has 94 million cards in circulation and $135 billion in managed loans. (referenca 10) They are distributed and designed to satisfy the needs individual consumers, small businesses and partner companies. * Retail Financial Services-It is formed to help consumers and businesses with their financial needs.This sector includes  consumer banking, small business banking, auto, education, insurance and home finance. * Commercial Banking-Serves its clients with activities like lending, treasury services, investment banking and asset management. (referenca 5) * Treasury & Securities Services- Is one of the largest cash management providers in the world to support the CFOs, treasurers, issuers and  investors. (referenca 10) * Asset Management- A global leader in managing investments and wealth for its clients. References: 1. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/m/merger. asp#axzz2IEmsQoNR 2. http://www. ndb. com/company/684/000052528/ 3. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase#Controversies 4. http://www. jpmorganchase. com/corporate/About-JPMC/document/shorthistory. pdf 5. http://www. jpmorganchase. com/corporate/About-JPMC/jpmorgan-history. htm 6. http://www. forbes. com/2000/10/18/1016topdeals_2. html 7. http://cnnfn. cnn. com/2000/09/13/deals/chase_morgan/ 8. http://www. innercitypress. org/jpmcmb1. html 9. http://topics. nytimes. com/top/news/business/companies/morgan_j_p_chase_and_company/index. html? offset=10&s=newest 10. http://www. marketswiki. com/mwiki/JPMorgan_Chase_%26_Co.

Vanity Press How to Dodge Scams Self-Publishing Companies to Avoid

Vanity Press How to Dodge Scams Self-Publishing Companies to Avoid Vanity Press Scams and Self Publishing Companies to Avoid The awful news for authors out there today is that there are plenty vanity press scams and self-publishing companies to avoidunless you want your money stolen, that isIf you are a self-published author, publishing your book today has never been easier. With a quick Google search, you’ll come across dozens of self-publishing companies offering publishing services for authors.But, how do you know if the company isn’t just another vanity press scam?Before making any decisions, you want to check out all your options carefully. If not, you could find yourself the victim of a self-publishing scam, forking thousands of bucks over to a shady publishing company with nothing to show for it.In this post, you’ll learn how to recognize the self-publishing scams when they cold call youand the companies you can really trust to get your book published!Here’s what we’ll cover in this post on self-publishing scams:Why authors fall for vanity press scamsEarly warning signs of self-publishing scamsYour self-publishing optionsTaking down the scammersRed flag list: Self-publishing companies to avoidWriters beware and watchdog groupsEducate yourself in self-publishingAre you ready to self-publish your book?NOTE: If youre ready for a system and method to actually succeed in the self-publishing industry (not to mention keep ALL the money you earn), check out our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereAs with any lucrative industry, there are a wide range of self-publishing scams in business for one reason: To take your money.A Vanity press publisher charges sky-high prices for author services that includes editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing.But, all of this is outsourced to the lowest bidder and in the end, the author is left with a poor quality book and no way to market it.â€Å"You get what you pay for† doesn’t equate when it comes to vanity press and the publishing scams they represent. You do pay top dolla r, often tens of thousands, and what you get back for your investment lacks anything of value.So, how can you avoid these self-publishing scams?Let’s take a look.Why Authors Fall for Vanity Press ScamsThere could be many reasons why someone would sign up with a scammy publishing company that wants you to pay big money up front.There is no shortage of scams out there when it comes to self-publishing. The biggest reason authors fall into these scams is becausewell, they dont know what they should know to avoid being scammed in the first place.The fact that you have to pay a publisher to get your book published is warning sign enough: The lies are on the wall. Most authors who fall into this trap are not published authors yet.You are either thinking of writing a book, youve started writing it, or you’re done and can’t wait to get it out there.So, when a publisher comes along offering to get their â€Å"just finished† manuscript into the hands of thousands of readers and sell millions of books worldwide, I would grab at it, too. Who wouldn’t want that?As a first time author, you are most likely not going to write a book that sells thousands of copies. And if you do, it will not be through a company that you just paid $5,000-$10 to for this to happen.Most soon-to-be-published self-publishers fall into the lap of predatory publishers because they need help.For someone who wants to become a successful author, your passion to publish is so strong that it overrides the sudden impulse to take the first offer on the table.Here are several reasons why you might fall for the vanity press trap:You are desperate for the know-how of book publishing.The publishing process is too complex.You are scared of â€Å"not publishing† and want it done right now.You are not tech-savvy and would rather pay someone to overcome the hurdles.Your friends keep asking you â€Å"When is your book coming out?†You know nothing about book marketing and need to hire the experts. Guess what: Vanity publishers don’t know much about it either and youll have to market no matter the avenue of publishing you choose.You watched a video of a self-published author who just signed a 6-figure deal with a large publisherand you think that is what usually happens.Before you make any hasty decisions, stop and breathe. If you need help with publishing your book [and everyone does] there is a right way and†¦The other way that steals all your hard-earned dollars.My hope is that you read this post before signing anything. If you can know the danger signs to watch for, you’ll pull yourself back from making a decision that costs you thousands of dollars, not to mention the heavy burden of regret later.Early Warning Signs: The Lies of Vanity PressVanity presses are generally a bad idea all around, but well cover some specific ways they can scam you and why theyre often on the list of self-publishing companies to avoid.How Vanity Press Publishers Scam YouIt is actually easy to spot a predatory publisher. I only hope you get to this post before they get to you. Here are the 5 big signs you are at risk of being scammed.#1 - The company asks for publishing fees. This should be enough right here. Although Hybrid Publishers require authors to pay for all the publishing services upfront, they usually split the fees later.A vanity press publisher will charge thousands for a publishing package. You are told that the book sales will be recouped later through book saleswhich almost never happen. Don’t listen to the so-called â€Å"reviews and testimonials† on the websites. These are rigged, of course.#2 - â€Å"We will publish your book for you on Amazon.† Let me be clear about this: Publishing on Amazon is super easy, even if you have limited tech skills. Not to mention Amazon has an excellent support system in place. The response time to inquiries is less than 24 hours and they are very detail ed when it comes to responses.A vanity publisher will make this sound more complicated than it really is. They will â€Å"take care of everything† and upload the book for you. What this also means is you lose control over making any future changes to the book. The only person that should be uploading the book to Amazon is YOU under your own account.#3 - Charges for A Reading Fee. Never. This just isn’t done. A traditional publishing house never asks for this. If you are told by the sales rep they will read your book for a certain fee, red flag this. The â€Å"reading fee† scam is less common today, but just in case you do run up against a company that tries this old scam.With a real publisher, nobody makes money until the book is selling. Actually, this practice has fallen the wayside these days and it would be rare to come across. But there is always someone willing to try†¦#4 - The publisher will buy you an ISBN [because they are so hard to get]. You ca n buy an ISBN through Bowker.com if you reside within the USA. The cost is $125.00. In the U.K. you go through Nielson. In Canada ISBNs are free through ISBN Canada. If you buy this through IngramSpark they offer a slight discount. Again, this is just another ploy to make you think it is a difficult process that is better off left to the â€Å"professionals.†#5 - â€Å"We will take care of all the marketing, because we know how difficult it is.† Yes, marketing is difficult, especially for authors. But a vanity press company won’t market the book to sell, they will do the bare minimum required so it appears as if the book is being placed in the proper channels.My advice: Grab a book on marketing for authors or enroll in a course. Learn it. You can even outsource it out so that you do Sell More Books. But in the end nobody is better at marketing their own book than the author.#6 - Excessive use of flattery. The first time I spoke to a vanity press sales rep I re member the praise she gave me for my book. I felt as if I had written a book that was going to sell thousands of copies in the first week.The rep was quoting passages from the book and referencing everything from the first page. Mind you, I later realized, everything she was quoting was from the first few pages. So did she read it? Of course not.#7- A sales rep calls you several hours after you sign up to their newsletter with a sales pitch. I tested one of these sites by enquiring about their services, and I downloaded a freebie. The next day I received a call from my â€Å"Publishing consultant† ready to help me fulfill my dreams as an author. Wow. The sales pitch was impressive, but if you already knew the situation, it was a total scam. You can smell it.But, for a new author excited to be part of the publishing journey, listening to someone else tell you how excited they are to publish your boom is a very tempting catch. In the end, they don’t care about your book or you. Whether it is Author Solutions or another of the dozens of publishing scammers out there, they get your money and keep milking it with constant upsells.#8 - Make â€Å"over the mountain promises† to get you endorsed by Hollywood. It is not unusual for these companies to tell you that your book has a shot of being featured in Oprah’s book club, or that they will send your manuscript to one of their agents in Hollywood for review.I can promise you one thing- Your book will never see the inside of a movie studio. Not unless you are a well-established author who has already proven themselves, and even then, it will not be through a vanity press company that you get there.#9 - Promises to get your book into barnes and noble and other bookstores. In this case what happens is, they put your book into a large catalogue where bookstores and libraries can order it. But realistically, you’ll be hard pressed to sell a single book in any bookstore if you publish t hrough a vanity press company. Libraries and bookstores won’t even consider it in most cases.#10 - Insists you sign a contract handing over exclusivity. If this final dose doesn’t make you run the other way, I don’t know what will. By any and all means, as a self-published author, you do not sign over your material rights to anyone. This gives the vanity publisher the right to further exploit your work and profit from all sales. The author, in this case, gets a lower end percentage.Now that you’ve seen the red flags, you are well-informed to make a decision if you come across what appears to be a shady publisher. You don’t need to sign anything or pay huge amounts of money for the publisher to â€Å"publish you to Amazon† or set you up with a movie deal.Now, let’s take a look atYour Self-Publishing OptionsWe are not living in the 1990s anymore. Back then, choices to self-publish were limited. You either paid a company- like a vanity press- a lot of money. Or, you went on your own and hired a printing company to run off tons of copies that were not cheap.Today, you will see that you have many good choices these days that make it easier for you to get your book published.#1 - Self-Publishing CoursesThere are quite a few reputable self-publishing courses out there. You buy the course, and work through the modules to write and ultimately publish your own book.There are costs to publish your book, including creating it, cover design, editing, and launching your book. You still have to pay for these services, but at least you get to choose who is working on your book.It is up to each individual author to outsource his or her own book. Publishing courses provide the content you need to get it all done, but you do all the work and take on additional costs outside the cost of the course.You have to pay for the basics that any author pays for: A good cover design, hiring an editor and formatting, and maybe a budget for marketing services such as book promo sites or a media package.But many new authors are weary about self-publishing and think uploading to Amazon- or other publishing companies- is a complex ordeal. It isn’t. I have been coaching authors for years and, nowadays, the system is built in that all you have to do is plug your book info into the Kindle Direct Publishing Bookshelf and away you go. The cost for actually self-publishing your book is O.The production cost for the average book is about $1500. If you pay $1000-3000 for a course + $1500 for the book production, you are still under $5,000. If you continue to write more books, you’ve already paid for the course that usually gives you access for a lifetime.Taking a self-publishing course is the best option we think. You learn how to do so much of the process yourself, and can rinse and repeat for future books. You still pay for everything but, who you decide to hire is up to you and the creative decisions are all you rs.#2 - KDP [Kindle Direct Publishing]The KDP platform is Amazons book publishing platform. Publishing a book is so much easier now than it ever used to be, especially with Amazon self-publishing.You no longer need to go through painstaking efforts to land a book deal which locks you into unrealistic deadlines and cuts you out of most of the earnings. You don’T have to sign up and fork over thousands to a vanity press company.You can now have complete control of your book – and its revenues – by publishing directly through Amazon self-publishing.Setting up your KDP account is easy, and should be the first step you complete.Here’s how to set up your Kindle Direct Publishing account:Go to https://kdp.amazon.com and register with either your Amazon account or with your email address.Next, click â€Å"Update† in your account information and fill in your tax information. It’s important to note that you need to complete your tax information BEFOR E you can publish your first book. So don’t skip this step!Once your tax information is complete, click â€Å"Finished† and return to the main page.Your profile is complete!#3 - Print On DemandIf you are a new author reading this, with the print on demand services offered by Kindle Direct Publishing and Ingramspark, you can order your own author copies and pay print costs plus shipping to your location. Buy your own ISBN, copyright your book, and own what you create.To start printing your own books with IngramSpark, visit their website and set up an account. Do the same with Amazons’ Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Do it yourself. It’s not the difficult process many would have you believe, and there is lots of support on these sites ready to help you right away.How much is the cost to print a book?It depends on the book size but, for a book that is 30k in length with little to no photos or graphs and text only, expect to pay less than $4 per copy. The average scammy publisher will charge new authors $15-20 dollars per copy.But for them, they print the books at the same cost as an author who sets this up through KDP or IngramSpark.In fact, many vanity press publishers use IngramSpark for the print-on-demand service only just to sell the books back to the author at 5x the print cost.#4 - Vanity Press PublisherVanity press publishing, also called subsidy publishing, differs from selfpublishing in that the author assumes all the risk and pays the publisher for everything.The editing, formatting, cover design, and even marketing the book are paid for by the author through the various packages offered when an author signs up.But, there is a trap here: The costs are more than you initially pay for, and they don’t tell you this until later when you’re mired deeper into the project. Once invested, most authors are compelled to publish the book no matter the costs.The emotional investment is what these companies prey on. Kn owing how you feel about your book, they are ready to help you do anything to get it to marketand that means offering more expensive services.By the time you are done and the book is published, potentially you have just spent $10k. With close to 0 book sales.Vanity publishers make money, not from selling books for you, but from the author buying their own books back from the publisher. It is a scam where the author always loses.#5 - Traditional PublishersThis is not a self-publishing route but, if you want to take the traditional path, you can begin by querying your manuscript with agents. Keep in mind, you may not see your book in print for a couple of year due to the lengthy process of first finding an agent, and then having them submit it to publishers to buy.What is a traditional publisher?â€Å"A traditional book publishing company buys the rights to an authors manuscript. Buying rights from the author is how book publishers have traditionally acquired books. The advance is d educted by the book publisher from any royalties the author receives from the sale of the book.†That’s right, they pay you an advance for the book. You don’t pay them anything. It depends on the publisher’s contract but they will pay for [some] marketing.The editing, cover design and formatting is taken care of by the publisher [in most cases].There are a lot of nightmare stories of authors signing on with traditional publishers, but that usually equates to the publisher not trying hard enough to sell any books. In this case the author may end the contract and, after that, many authors take up with self-publishing and find better success. After all, why not be in charge of building your own book business?#6 - Hybrid PublishersA hybrid publisher is what you will find between a traditional publisher [pay nothing upfront but get paid an advance] or a vanity press publisher [pay for everything upfront and keep all royalties.The hybrid publishers model is simp le: An author pays for everything upfront but gets a bigger cut of the royalties after book sales, upwards of 50%. The initial cost means that the author assumes all the financial risk in order to get the book to market.One other difference between traditional and hybrid publishing is, the hybrid has to pay the author a higher percentage of royalties than a traditional publishing house.In order for a company to be called a hybrid publisher, there are 9 criteria set out by the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) that must be adhered to:In order to not be classified as a vanity press, ALL book submissions must be reviewed. This means if your book does not meet the criteria, it should be rejected. A vanity press doesn’t care. Anything and anybody will do.Hybrid publishers must clearly define a vision to follow for their company.Must report reputable sales on all titles they publish.Authors who sign with hybrid publishers must be paid a higher royalty than that of stan dard traditional publisher rates.The quality of the production- cover design, editing and formatting- must meet industry standards.The publisher must publish as its own defined imprint and request its own ISBNs.Manage all distribution services for the works.Hybrid publisher must manage the rights of the works they publish as well as any subsequent rights acquired.Hybrid publishers must meet the standards and best practices set out by the publishing industry.Butthe vanity press publishers are bad seeds. Lately they are disguising their services as â€Å"hybrid publishers† but still operate with the same scammy tactics.Take caution here that, while a hybrid publisher might look legit on the surface, there is a possibility you could get ripped off if you are not 100% sure.Taking Down the ScammersAs a coach and self-publishing authority, I have worked with at least a dozen authors who’ve come away from a vanity press publisher broke, not just financially, but emotionally a s well.Like most authors, they just wanted to fulfill a dream and publish a book. But as soon as you sign up with a self-publishing scam company, your dreams are ripped apart and so is your bank account. By the time the not-yet-published author realizes it, they are invested by thousands of dollars and bound by a contract.Over the years several class-action suits have been launched against scammy publishers for bad business practice. The worst of these publishers is Author Solutions, a company with a bad rap and a long history of complaints targeted against it by authors who have been exploited.This company boasts on its website â€Å"300,000 authors published.† I would be hard-pressed to believe this and to go a step further, the percentage of those authors who would use Author Solution service again?Chances are if you have been down this road, you realized before you were half way there that you’d taken a bad path.Author Solutions is at the top of the chain of seedy publishing houses promising to get your book to market because the world needs to hear your story. And for a publishing package upwards of $5999 it could all be done for you. Well, initially you are led to believe.Author Solutions is the parent company of several subsidiaries that operate, not only in the US but now have an International reach as they have set up in countries worldwide.How do they make their money?It isn’t from helping authors to sell books.The authors usually end up selling nothing. Instead, they are made to buy the books they want from the publishers at a high cost just so they can have their own copies to sell or giveaway.Recently, several companies have been shut down in class action lawsuits, and this is still continuing today, with authors taking a stand and fighting back against the book publishing thieves.Fortunately, authors are better educated these days on the publishing options available. Vanity publishers are disappearing. But do return â€Å"we aring different clothing†, disguised as the next best company to get you that bestselling book.Red Flag List: Self-Publishing Companies to AvoidI have compiled a list of publishing companies you should avoid at all costs. This is not a complete list but includes names of the major companies flagged by Writer Beware and Alliance of Independent Authors.For a very thorough listing, I would recommend you check with the Alliance of Independent Authors. ALLi stays up-to-date on the scammy reports, warnings and lawsuits taken against bad publishers.Here are some self-publishing companies that have made the list of those to watch out for:Author SolutionsAuthorHouse UKArchway Publishing [Simon and Schuster]LifeRich Publishing [Reader’s Digest]iUniversePalibrio [for the Spanish-speaking community]Dorrance publishingChristian faith publishingWestbow pressBalboa press [a Division of Hay House]Newman Springs PublishingPartridge PublishingTate PublishingTrafford PublishingXlibris [UK , AU, and NZ]Outskirts PressDog ear publishingWriters Beware and Watchdog GroupsRemember: Always do your homework. To make sure if you are buying into a legit business you should check in with these sites listed below.Writer Bewareâ€Å"Shining a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.†Preditors and EditorsProviding up-to-date action against possible publishing scammers.ALLi [Alliance of Independent Authors] / Watchdog Postsâ€Å"Each month on the ALLi blog, the excellent Watchdog John Doppler explores key issues regarding the provision of self-publishing services around the world.†The Independent Publishing Magazine / Publishing Service IndexA detailed breakdown of self-publishing companies and their ranking based on service and reliability.Educate Yourself in S elf-PublishingPublishing scams will always be around as long as authors are paying for their services.How do you, as an author, avoid falling into this trap?The self-publishing arena is like a vast oasis of information and a never-ending learning process. Vanity press publishers are banking on you having no idea what to do, which is why you might consider turning to a publishing company in the first place.Our advice at Self Publishing School is this: Educate yourself on how to publish a book. You’d be surprised the things you actually don’t have to pay for.Take control of your self-publishing career today.Are you ready to self-publish your book?Enroll in an online self-publishing courseYou can check out this list of best self-publishing courses. I highly recommend joining an online self-publishing course for achieving all your publishing goals.You will learn how to write and market your book your way and all of it within your control. You won’t have to give up a nything or sign your book rights over to a publisher that will exploit your creativity.