How I Self-Published My First Novel at the Age of 50

How I Self-Published My First Novel at the Age of 50 How I Self-Published My First Novel at the Age of 50 Andy Emery  writes fast-paced thrillers set in 19th Century London. Lucas Gedge, the protagonist of Blood Tribute,  had to wait till Andy turned 50 before he could go out into the world. In this guest post, Andy reveals what finally made him take the leap and self-publish his debut novel. Working with ReedsyIt was evident from the beginning that I would need to hire professional help for two important tasks: designing the cover of my book, and editing. I got the cover sorted out early on, but what to do about the editing?I first heard of Reedsy through a webinar run by Nick Stephenson. The fact that I could tap into a large number of potential editors, all vetted by Reedsy and offering services from structural editing through to proofreading, and communicate with them before making a choice, sounded good to me. Using the Reedsy Marketplace is very straightforward. I determined that I would need content and copy editing followed by proofreading. Then I went through all the professionals who seemed to conform to my requirements and requested quotes from five of them.I plumped for Andrew Lowe to do my content and copy editing, mostly because I liked the way he described himself, his relaxed style, and let’s face it, the fact that his fees were not exorbitant. As a first-time novelist, I was apprehensive about the editing process. But early in our first chat on Skype, Andrew put me at ease. He seemed to 'get it',  regarding what I was trying to achieve, and his approach, using Skype sessions and informal email contacts, was very effective. He explained his suggested changes in a constructive and friendly way.After implementing Andrew’s changes, I went straight on to repeat the process for proofreading, and this time chose Katherine Stephen, who again provided a very proficient and professional service.After formatting the book, it was ready to go, and it was published on Amazon on July 12th, 2016. It remains to be seen how it will do commercially, but I’m in it for the long haul, and I’m already working on the second book in the series. It’s been a very satisfying process, and Reedsy’s editors have been a vital part of that.Blood Tribute is available on Amazon, get your copy here!Could your day job also in spire a fantastic thriller? Head to the comments section below and tell us your profession, as well an idea  for a gripping story based on that job.

Merger of Everything Everywhere, T-mobile & Orange Essay

Merger of Everything Everywhere, T-mobile & Orange - Essay Example The new company would have 28.4 million subscribers (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). Another benefit of the merger would be the improvement of the network coverage but also of the network quality (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). According to Gervais Pellissier, the CFO of France Telecom, the merger would help both firms to increase their competitiveness in the UK market, but also ‘to develop new services and technologies’ (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). In the long term, the merger would result to the decrease of the firms’ operational costs, at least by ?445m annually (OFCOM 2010). The merger was set under examination aiming to ensure that it does not violate the British and the European laws on competition. The case was brought before the European Commission, which decided, in the 1st of March 2010, that the merger would be permitted (Orange Newsroom March 2010) since the terms that the European Commission had set were met. In accordance with OFCOM European Com mission allowed the merger mostly because of the commitments of the firms in terms of ‘spectrum and network sharing’ (OFCOM 2010). ... he specific name was chosen in order to highlight the firm’s potential to offer to its customers ‘instant access to the world around them, to everything everywhere’ (T-mobile UK, 1 July 2010). In practice, the specific strategy, i.e. the use of a new name for the firm resulting from the merger, can be characterized as rather risky, taking into consideration the similar practices of other competitors in the UK mobile industry, which tend to use their own brands. On the other hand, the customers of the new firm, Everything Everywhere Ltd would have the chance to use the mobile networks of both brands, being significantly benefited compared to the customers of other mobile operators in UK (Meyer 2010). At this point, it would be necessary to check whether the merger actually benefited Orange and T-mobile. At a first level, it seems that T-mobile has been more benefited from the specific initiative, compared to Orange, which is already well established in the UK marke t. Indeed, the performance of T-mobile across UK can be characterized as low (BBC News 2010); the merger with Orange would help the firm to improve its market position ‘overnight’ (Shaun Collins in BBC News 2010). After the merger, the position of the two brands in the UK industry is still different; indeed, Orange is still more powerful than T-mobile, with a network of about 17 million subscribers, compared to the 13 million subscribers of T-mobile (Meyer 2010). Moreover, Virgin mobile offers to its customers the potential to use the network of Orange, when being in areas where the Virgin mobile network is not available (Virgin Mobile 2011, Mandalia 2011). The firm that resulted from the merger, Everything Everywhere Limited has a key share in the UK mobile market, reaching ‘the 28 million

History of Taxation in Britain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of Taxation in Britain - Research Paper Example The twentieth century started with high spending, which was based on war spending. The First and Second World Wars both lead to very large increases in public spending and rather smaller increases in tax. The Korean War is reported to have a discernible effect, but neither the Falklands (1982) nor the Gulf (1991) conflict seems to have had an impact on spending. The need for more revenue during the war led to increases in tax rates, increases in the coverage of existing taxes and the introduction of wholly new taxes. Perhaps the most dramatic change was to income tax. Prior to the war, income tax had never been a mass tax. It was first introduced in 1799 and was permanently in place from 1842, but there were still fewer than 4 million taxpayers in 1938. By the end of the war, the number of taxpaying families had increased to over 12 million, an increase which was sustained into the following decades. The two marked periods of growth in the last quarter of the century, in the early 1980s and the late 1980s / early 1990s; both the period experienced turmoil in the economic activities of the country, which led both to shrinking GDP and to higher cyclical government spending as unemployment increased gradually. ... pretend as, for each UK household the government allocated 14,000 and 15,000, the amount is equivalent to the post-tax income a childless couple would need to be in the middle of the income distribution, or the amount required by the retired UK national. Local taxes have been an important type of revenue for the UK economy, it accounted for one-third of total revenues, however, its importance declined after World War I and II. 'In the early twentieth century, these accounted for up to a third of total revenues, but their importance declined as the taxes required to pay for both World Wars were raised at the national level', (A. Dilnot and C. Emmerson, 'The economic environment', in A. H. Halsey with J. Webb, Twentieth Century British Social Trends, Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2000). Revising the British history of tax returns, local taxes, (chiefly a property tax called 'rates', which had both business and household components) was estimated to be seven percent of GGR. However, after 196 0, the local taxes represented more than 10 percent of GGR, and have remained consistent throughout. However, from 2000 onwards, local taxes have again become much less significant, representing only between 3 and 4 percent of revenues in the last decade of the twentieth century.  Ã‚  

Quals Direct Knowledge Task Essay Example for Free

Quals Direct Knowledge Task Essay 1.1 Define the following types of abuse: • Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury Sexual abuse is any sort of non-consensual contact Emotional/Psychological abuse is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma. Playing mind games, shouting and threatening behavior. Financial abuse telling you what you can and connot buy or requiring you to share or take control of your bank account and with holding monies from you. Institutional abuse is the mistreatment, neglect or inadequate care and support of adults in groups. Self neglect is failure of one adult to take care of himself or herself. Neglect by others ignoring the persons medical or physical care needs, Deliberate and unnecessary deprivation of a resource to the service user. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Good answer 1.2 Identify the signs/or symptoms associated with each type of abuse. physical abuse bruises withfound in different states of healing, small clusters indicating finger marks, friction burns from carpets, injuries inconsistent with explanation, reluctance to seek medical help Sexual abuse bruises and bleeding round the rectal and vaginal areas, stained or torn underclothes or night wear, love bites, overt sexual behavior or language not previously used or conversely fear of any type of physical contact.  Emotion/psychological abuse symptoms of stress, on set of bed wetting, anxiety, tearfulness, low self esteem, unexplained paranoia and lack of eye contact. Financial abuse suddenly unable to pay bills or purchase necessities, unexplained withdrawals from saving Institutional abuse lack of privacy around toileting and bathing, lack of giving a choice of food, bedtime, clothing Self neglect lack of attention to personal care needs, rashes, pressure sores, dirty clothing and or wet, weight loss. Neglect by others lack of attention given to personal care needs, failure to ensure privacy and dignity, dirty clothes, rashes, being left alone for long periods of time. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 1.3 Describe factors that may contribute to an individual being more vulnerable to abuse factors may include if the individual has a mental disability such as dementia or not having the mental capacity. If the individual is secluded or isolated or vulnerable there could be factors for the abuser which could include the abuser having lack of training, also abusing their power. Sometimes personal issues have a part to play which could include the carer/abuser being stressed or having a history of abuse and continuing the cycle. The factors include if one has low self esteem or self worth. if they have had abuse before, nobody to protect them, and the mentally ill. Other factors could be they may not be aware of their rights, may not be able to express themselves clearly. their home may unsuitable with no aids or adaptations to help give appropriate care. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Outcome 2 know how to respond to suspected or alleged abuse 2.1 Explain the actions to take if there are suspicions that an individual is being abused. Always report suspected or alleged abuse to the appropriate person(s), record the facts on appropriate paperwork, listen do not judge, stay calm and collected, do not tamper with any evidence. Appropriate persons to report suspected or alleged abuse would be to my manager first of all, police, social workers, family(if family is not the abuser) and possibly their doctor. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Who would be the appropriate person to report to? well answered 2.2 Explain the actions to take if an individual alleges that they are being abused Always establish what it is that has occured and report any suspicions to the appropriate manager. Reassuring the individual at all times take every allegation seriously. Always date the paperwork and have it signed by any witness (if any). take photos of any evidence if possible. Speak clearly and precise and avoid any leading questions. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 2.3 Identify ways to ensure that evidence of abuse is preserved Always record facts immediately dated and signed (by any witnesses also), report any evidence immediately to line manager, do not tamper with any evidence. Taking Photos if possible, and try avoiding any leading questions that may make them think alternatively to the situation. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. What other steps might you take to preserve the evidence? You have mentioned some ways in the previous question could you ple those points and a few others you can think of. Outcome 3 Understand the national and local context of safeguarding and protection from abuse 3.1 Identify national policies and local systems that relates to safeguarding and protection from abuse National policies safeguarding vulnerable groups act 2006, the vetting and barring scheme run by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), Criminal Records Bureau, Human rights act 1998. Local Systems Safeguarding Adults Boards, Safeguarding policies and procedures for vulnerable adults. Data Protection Act 1998 Care standards Act 2000 Health and social care act 2008 The Equality Act 2010 No secrets, Department of Health 2000 Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Amanda I can clearly see you get this question however The Police and CQC are not national polices or or local systems. This facts question fully http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS78_Safeguarding_older_people_from_abuse_fcs.pdf?eps 3.2 Explain the roles of different agencies in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse The police their role is to safeguard vulnerable adults, investigate all reports of vulnerable adult abuse and protect and  uphold the rights of vulnerable adults. The CQC to monitor and provide guidance on what all health and social care providers must do to safeguard vulnerable adults from abuse, the safeguarding policies, procedures and systems developed are in place to prevent vulnerable adults from being abused. Social services Their role is to build managing safeguarding risks and benefits in care planning, review care plans, identify and respond to any concerns, lead and support enquiries in in the events of any abuse or neglect. Clinicians Report incidents of abuse neglect or undignified treatment, follow up referrals, consult patients taking responsibility for ongoing care, lead and support enquiries where there is need for clinical input. Health care provider Show leadership and routinely monitor activity, meet the required service quality standards, train staff in safeguarding procedures, investigate and respond effectively, take disciplinary action against staff who have abused or neglected people in their care. Social care and health commissioners Build safeguarding into commissioning strategies and service contracts, review and monitor services regulary, intervenewhere services fall below fundamental standards or abuse is taking place. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. This leaflet will help you answer this question fully http://www.pasauk.org.uk/upload/public/featurebox/Safeguarding%20Adults.%20Roles%20and%20responsibilities%20in%20hea 3.3 Identify reports into serious failures to protect individuals from abuse A report about Orchid View care home in West Sussex that failed to ensure that the vulnerable adults were adequately protected from risks, including the risks of unsafe practice by its own staff. it was revealed that residents at Orchid View care home in Copthorne, west Sussex, were given  wrong doses of medication, left soiled and unattended because of a lack of staff and suffered because of serious failures in the homes management. There was institutional abuse throughout the home which lead to the deaths of 5 residents. After an investigation the CQC found it had failed to meet eight of it essential quality and safety standards. The inquest heard that Jean Halfpenny, 77, was given an overdose of blood-thinning drug warfarin while at Orchid View, Which had failed to monitor and administer her medication properly. One of the staff at the care home said she was asked to shred forms after Halfpenny had been admitted to hospital for bleeding. The coroner heard that the Orchid View manager Meera Reed, looked at the medication administration record (MAR) brought into the office by a nurse and said We cant send her to hospital wit those. they will shut us down. Five people were arrested, including some on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence in relation to Halfpennys death, but insufficient evidence existed to support a prosecution and the case was passed to a coroner. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Some good research has gonr into the answer for this question 3.4 Identify sources of information and advice about own role in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse My manager, colleagues My companies policies and procedures Local authority services department like social services The internet Care Quality Commission Books Independent Safeguarding Authority health and social care act 2015 Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. The 2015 Care Act perhaps? well answered Amanda Outcome 4 Understand ways to reduce the likelihood of abuse 4.1 Explain how the likelihood of abuse may be reduced by: • Working with person centred values • Encouraging ac choice and rights Person centred values include the individuality of the person, the rights of the individual, choice, privacy, independence, dignity, and the individual being respected. If person centred values are taken into consideration when supporting an individual there is less likely to be abuse as all the staff will be working in the same way. If a person is considered to have a say in what he or she wants and is at the centre of any decision, it will be more unlikely that there is abuse. I always put the service users i work with at the centre of any decision about them and they are an active partner in their own care. service user decide what to do, shower, wash or bath, what clothes they want to wear and are treated with dignity, respect, confidentiality and are able to make their own choices. Active participation is a way of working that recognises an individuals right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible. So if the individual participates actively in their daily activities, then the risk of abuse is low. For example I would prompt the service user to pick out what clothes they would like to wear, what meals they would like and encourage them to take part in preparing and cooking the meal the way they like it. Individuals are supported to make their choices in anything they want, like food or drink, what to wear, whether they want a bath, shower,, or wash. No individual will choose something that will hurt them self therefore abuse is reduced to the minimum. Individuals rights are promoted throughout the service, service user have the right to as they wish to do and if its what they want as long as it is not dangerous, a risk assesment will then be done to stop any abuse happening. I ensure that i promote service users rights and choices by allowing them to make their own choices and support them to have the same rights of anyone else. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Excellent answer 4 .2 Explain the importance of an accessible complaints procedure for reducing the likelihood of abuse The complaints procedure gives the complainant the right to be heard and supported to make their views known. an accessible complaints procedure is understandable and easy to use. It sets out clearly how to make a complaint, the steps that will be taken when the complaint is looked into. An accessible complaints procedure resolves complaints more quickly as the complainant feels that they are being listened to and their complaint is is taken seriously. Making sure that abuse will not be tolerated in any form and encourages the complainant to not accept this. If a staff member is being abused, it would be reported to the line manager as an informal grievance, employees should aim to resolve most grievences informally with their line manager and are therefor encouraged to discuss all matters openly as they occur. If the grievance cannot be settled informally then it should be raised through the formal procedure of a grievance. Formal Grievance should be raised with their line manager or next level of management if grievance is related to the line manager, in writing, at the earliest time. the manager will organise a meeting within 5 working days, Employees will be allowed to explain their complaint,and suggest a way it should be settled. meeting could be ajourned if the manager feels they need further advice. the manager will give full consideration to the complaint and confirm the outcome in writing. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. You have looked at this question from the perspective of the client. How about the staff who may be getting abused please include colleagues in this answer Outcome 5 Know how to recognise and report unsafe practices 5.1 Describe unsafe practices that may affect the well being of individuals Unsanitary conditions can spread infection as cross-contamination can occur and can affect the well being of the individual and others. examples of these unsanity conditions can be dirty kitchen work surfaces and equipment, improper hand washing, not covering hair when cooking can pose a risk, as can not reporting faulty equipment when working or not, having cleaning materials can also be unsafe. Not having risk assessments in place when a service user hurts themselves, Staff not checking when service user is ill or unsteady on their feet. Staff not recording in the care plan any issues if a services is unwell or unable to support themselves as much, not monitoring their wellbeing. Other unsafe practice that can amount to abuse is leaving a service user on the toilet too long, ignoring or not listening to them.  Marks on the body not taken seriously and not listening to complaints can put them at more danger, harm and risk of abuse. staff that are untrained or have out of date training, unsanitary uniforms can spread infection to clients and other colleagues, Management giving their colleague/s a large work load, making them exhausted and having a lack of concentration. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. You have looked at this question from the perspective of the client. How about the staff who may be getting abused please include colleagues in this answer 5.2 Explain the actions to take if unsafe practices have been identified If I identify unsafe practice then I must follow the whistle blowing procedure and report to the appropriate person. I will report to my manager immediately or if it involves my manager then I would report it to another appropriate person. I will monitor all unsafe practices and make sure that I record and report in full all the evidence, then I will talk to my manager as I am aware all unsafe practices are dangerous that could cause harm. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 5.3 Describe the action to take if suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported but nothing has been done If suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported but nothing has been done in response or if it has to do with my manager then I would report it to the next level or manager. Then I would report to the social worker and safeguarding team and to the care quality commission and even the police depending on the response i get. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question.

Brent Staples A Brothers Murder Essay -- essays research papers

Brent Staples' A Brother's Murder A belief I feel very strongly about proposes that all problems faced by our society have solutions. If this belief is true, why do problems still face us today? The answer could be a result of either laziness by the people in our society in finding these solutions or just the fact that there are too many problems to solve. Maybe this belief I have is too far out of reach to be true. On the other hand, Brent Staples, a well-respected writer, seems to share this idea with me. In his works, he displays a great deal of motivation to solve particular problems faced by society. In "A Brother's Murder," he uses a personal account of murder within the streets caused by social placement to illustrate the problem within the lower class. After reading this article, I questioned the stability of our society, and the overall severity of this problem of murder in the streets. The inner streets of our nations' cities have, over the years, proven to be war zones. Gangs are roaming the streets to protect their territory, making gunplay an everyday task. The smell of fear, death, and misguided souls reek to the nose of the onlooker. Brent Staples does an outstanding job of describing the severity of these problems. His brother, Blake, leads a life molded by this street life. His official cause of death was murder. However, at the young age of twenty-two years old, they should have noted h...

Rewarding and Punishing the Same Behavior

In this report, the reasons are explained with examples that lead managers of organization toward an unethical decision. People believe that deep unethicality distorts ethical decision making. But according to Ann Tenbrunsel and her colleague David Messick, the top level management of an organization often takes such unethical decisions out of thinking business purely rather than considering morality. The phenomenon is named as â€Å"Ethical Fading†. Sometimes leader’s ill-conceived goals lead employees to involve in unethical activities. For example management wants employees to maximize sales rather than profit. As a result employees force customers to sell their product and sometimes they become ridiculous. Also sometimes they overcharge for the unexpected service which the customer doesn’t want actually. Leader’s setting goal should take the perspective of those whose behavior they are trying to influence and think through their potential responses. This will help head off unintended consequences and prevent employees from overlooking alternative goals. People ignore some information which can affect their interest can termed as motivated blindness. For example some rating agencies rate organizations positively since the agencies are paid by those organizations. So people fail to judge organizations due to due to serious violation of ethical practices by the agencies. Bazerman and Harvard Business School Professor Francesca Gino explored to a situation termed as slow emergence of unethical behavior. This slow poisoning is often overlooked by the management which led to ultimate failure to hold the objective of the organization. For this managers should be heightened alert for even trivial-seeming infractions and address them immediately. Another common practice in corporate world is to overvaluing outcomes. Like rewarding unethical decision for its good outcomes and punishing ethical decisions for bad outcomes is a recipe for disaster in the long run. Managers should beware this bias; examine the behaviors that drive good outcomes and reward quality decisions, not just results. Companies are trying to improve the ethicality of employees according to Bezerman and Tenbrunsel. But this ethical practice should not be forced. Management should create such environment or make structure where employees willingly accept ethical practices and work accordingly. Above all, a leader should should be concern about his own blind spots, which may permit or even encourage, the unethical behaviors that he is trying to extinguish.

6 Fascinating Facts About the Earths Mantle