Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization

Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization And Dephosphorization Technologies Introduction The purpose of phosphorus and sulfur removal is to decrease the concentration of these particles along with the undesired inclusions (oxides, borides, nitrides, carbides, and chlorides) to accomplish the final product quality requirements [5]. Dephosphorization involves low temperature, high slag basicity (CaO/ SiO2 ratio) and high oxygen activity whereas desulphurization entails high temperature, high slag basicity (CaO/ SiO2 ratio) and low oxygen activity. Initially, dephosphorization was performed by the addition of iron ores in the blast furnace runner. Soda ash (Na2CO3) was used in the blast furnace house during desulphurization. Subsequently, dephosphorization was improved by the subsurface injection of reagents in vessels, such as torpedo or submarine cars. Desulfurization was enhanced by co-injection of lime and magnesium into the hot metal transfer ladles [6]. The following dephosphorization and desulphurization technologies are reviewed: 1. Dephosphorization by the multirefining converter (MURC) process 2. Dephosphorization using CaO aggregates 3. Desulfurization by Magnesium 4. Desulfurization by flux injection using a new kinetic model 5. Desulfurization by the CFD modeling 1. Dephosphorization By The Murc Process The multirefining converter (MURC) process claims to improve the efficiency of the dephosphorization procedure by reducing the cost and minimizing the slag volume. It is a new hot metal pretreatment in which dephosphorization and decarburization processes are developed in the same converter for further reduction of the decarburization slag. The MURC process reduces the amount of slag by 50 % in comparison to the conventional pretreatment processes (30 %). The decarburization slag is continuously recycled (Figure 1). A low basicity dephosphorization slag is discharged from the MURC due to the high amount of total iron in the slag (T Fe) and no desiliconization treatment of the hot metal. This results into a valuable utilization of the dephosphorization slag in the steelmaking process. 2. Dephosphorization Using Cao Aggregates The multiphase dephosphorization slag is analyzed through the addition of calcium ferrite flux powder into hot metal. It is observed that high [Si] content (0.15 %) shows a similar CaO efficiency for dephosphorization than low [Si] content (0.00 %). The low [Si] content exhibits calcium phosphate (3CaO.P2O5) whereas high [Si] content shows a combination of calcium silicate (2CaO.SiO2), and calcium phosphate. The formation of these solid phases explains a similar CaO efficiency under different [Si] content. 3. Desulfurization By Magnesium Desulfurization is enhanced by the stirring effect of Mg bubbles in the hot metal. The reaction speeds up by the addition of lime and CaC2. These desulfurization reagents were tested in ArcelorMital Indiana Harbor. The typical inclusions before reagent injection were TiC and MnS. TiO2 is added to protect the graphite lining in the blast furnace. MgS + TiC and MgS were the most frequent inclusions after the reagent injection. MnS inclusions were not observed after this stage. This means, most of these inclusions floated up at the end of desulphurization. Further improvement of desulfurization can be achieved by Al addition. The latter reacts with lime to form lower melting point calcium aluminates. 4. Desulfurization By Flux Injection Using A New Kinetic Model Desulfurization is performed by introducing powder reagents (CaO, calcium carbonate, calcium diamide carbonate) into the hot metal using either core wired or a carrier gas (nitrogen). This creates a complex variety of interfaces in torpedo ladles (Figure 2) [7]. There are two reaction modes that are present in the heterogeneous/ immiscible phases. The first mode is related to the transitory reaction between the liquid steel and powder particles. The second mode is the permanent reaction between the slag on the surface and the molten steel. Desulfurization in torpedo ladles. The interfaces are: (1) Jet zone; (2) bubbles and particles rise in the plume zone; (3) bubbles emerge in the breakthrough zone; (4) slag zone; (5) gas-slag-metal emulsion forms in the dispersion zone; (6) metal reacts with lining in the lining zone; (7) lowest stirring intensity in the intermediate zone Several parameters influence the desulfurization of hot metal and are predicted by a new model of submerged powder injection. The total amount of the flux is considered to be liquid at steelmaking temperature and the injection rate along with the time lapse can be determined. The total sulfur removal rate for both the permanent contact (top slag) and transitory (injection powder) mode is obtained by the following equation, The right hand side of the reaction is related to the transitory reaction. This equation is only useful during the powder injection. After that, the right hand side becomes worthless. Sulfide solubility in slag is restricted. Once the sulfide solubility limit is reached, a pure sulfide phase grows within the slag to absorb the excess of sulfur. Sulfide saturation may occur before the slag and metal reach equilibrium. The speed of the reaction is reduced until the sulfur content is dropped. Excess of sulfur in permanent reactions produces a reversion reaction and further desulphurization cannot occur. The transitory reaction removes the excess of sulfur by the continuously addition of fresh powder into the torpedo ladle. It is also recommended to deslag after powder injection. Figure 3 is divided into [% S] wt % and reaction rate. The experimental results are obtained from the 20 CaO-60CaF2-20Al2O3 (by weight) powder injection under an argon atmosphere into 3.4-3.8 kg cast iron at 1310 Â °C. Once the slag (permanent-contact reaction) experiences an excess of sulfur at 420 s, the sulfur concentration decreases continuously until 950 s. The contributions of the permanent and transitory reactions are also displayed. The permanent reaction increases with time until it is saturated. The transitory reaction never approaches to saturation conditions. The difference between these two reactions is not significant large. Therefore, the contribution of these both reactions is generally equal. 5. Desulfurization By CFD Modeling Synthetic slag is used on the desulfurization process due to its reuse in several treatments. The sulfur is transferred to the synthetic slag followed by slag regeneration. Slag regeneration is performed by the oxygen injection to produce gaseous sulfur dioxide (Equation 3). The sulfur distribution also differs from the slag and the metal once desulfurization begins (Figure 4). A porous plug at the bottom of the vessel is used to inject nitrogen in the hot metal. The fluid velocity is increased to optimize the desulfurization rate to improve sulfur transport. Therefore, CFD analyzes the desulfurization and slag regeneration processes to optimize the plug position and calculate the drift velocity of gas bubbles, desulfurization rate, among other parameters, for future design of desulphurization processes. Conclusions Multirefining converter (MURC) (1) Dephosphorization and decarburization are carried out in the same converter, reducing the slag volume for better industrial, economical and environmental purposes (2) The dephosphorization efficiency is increased by greater amounts of CaO to produce solid phases, such as 3CaOP2O5 and 2CaSiO2 Desulfurization by Mg (1) TiC particles are nucleation sites for MnS and MgS (2) MgS inclusions are the most frequent particles after the reagent injection Desulfurization by flux injection using a new kinetic model (1) A new model is developed to evaluate and identify separately the transitory and permanent reactions (2) This model helps to predict the excess of sulfur to avoid reversion of it in the hot metal (3) The contributions of the transitory and permanent contact reactions are observed to be in a similar proportion, concluding equal influence in the powder injection technique CFD Modelling (1) The desulfurization and slag regeneration are successfully modeled using thermal and transport mechanisms References [1] S.Y. Kitamura, K. Yonezawa, Y. Ogawa, N. Sasaki (2002). Improvement of reaction efficiency in hot metal dephosphorization, 29 (2), 121-124 [2] Q. Liu, H. Pielet, P. Kaushik B. Chukwulebe (2009). AISTech 2009 Proceedings. An investigation of hot metal desulfurization by Mg, 1, 821-827 [3] S. Ohguchi and D.G.C. Robertson (1984). Kinetic model for refining by submerged powder injection: Part 1 Transitory and permanent contact reactions, 11(5), 261-274 [4] S. Pirker, P. Gittler, H. Pirker J. Lehner (2002). Elsevier. CFD, a design tool for a new hot metal desulfurization technology, 26, 337-350 [5] X. LV and L. Zhang (2008). Removal of impurity elements from molten aluminum: part 1. A review. 1, 1-35 [6] R.J. Fruehan (Ed.) (1998). The making, shaping and treating of steel (11th ed.). Pittsburgh: The AISE Steel Foundation [7] M. Sadmi S. Ashhab (2007). Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Application of neural net modeling and inverse control to the desulfurization of hot metal process, 1 (2), 79-84

Decade by Amy Lowell :: English Literature:

Decade by Amy Lowell When you came, you were like red wine and honey, And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness. Now you are like morning bread, Smooth and pleasant. I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour, But I am completely nourished. Amy Lowell produced the majority of her poems after her acquaintance with the actress Ada Russell, a widow eleven years older than Lowell, with whom she shared the last thirteen years of her life. Russell became Lowell’s beloved companion, secretary, and nurturing muse. They lived together in a â€Å"Boston marriage† until Lowell’s death and many of Lowell’s most poignant love poems, including Opal, Madonna of the Evening Flowers etc. were written for Ada Russell. The poem â€Å"Decade† was written as a celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Ada and Amy’s relationship. However, there is no gender specification of a lover so one could dedicate it to someone of the opposite sex. Simple in its form, rich in imagery and symbolism the poem depicts powerfully the deep emotional bond between two people after ten years of relationship. At the beginning of the relationship, the beloved was â€Å"like red wine and honey†, and his taste burnt with its sweetness. The â€Å"red wine† symbolizes the passion felt in the beginning. Red is a color that denotes something sudden, passionate and strong and wine is intoxicant, making someone dizzy with its sweetness and alcohol. The red wine alludes to the forcefulness and passion of love. Gradually, the sweet red wine has become â€Å"like morning bread†, â€Å"smooth and pleasant†. The taste of the bread is familiar and the poetess hardly tastes it. Nevertheless, she is completely nourished. Morning bread is something vital for our everyday nutrition. It is an invaluable article of food and keeps us full and nourished. We need it every day and a meal is incomplete without it. So, now the lover is essential to the other’s life. Life cannot exist without him. Perhaps the passion and the burning sweetness have gone, but what remains is a

Evaluate Learning Activities Essay

After any learning activity it is important to evaluate how the activity went. This is because it gives both the children and staff members a chance to reflect on the learning which has taken place and establish whether or not the learning objective was achieved. To evaluate effectively you should refer to the original learning objective to see what you set out to achieve and then reflect on the outcome and whether or not this outcome was satisfactory and that the targets you set have been met. In order to evaluate accurately you must be sure to make learning objectives very clear at the planning stage. This must be done in a way that ensures learners fully understand what the outcomes mean and the outcomes must be achievable for everyone in the group regardless of ability and within the time that you have available. The learning objective should be set out in a way which makes it easy for you to assess pupils against it. A good knowledge of the success criteria is also important when evaluating learning as children may not necessarily achieve the learning objective despite fully involving themselves in the lesson and showing real enthusiasm. Where this is the case you should record how hard the child worked and take a look at the reasons they did not meet the objective and see how you can help them the next time. The resources you have used also play an important part in how successful an activity is so you should evaluate the resources you used and whether or not they were used correctly and decide if there were other things you could have used that may have been more relevant and beneficial to that particular task. Continual assessment is important to monitor a Childs progress and while you should share the information with other teaching staff it is also important to share it with the child. This allows the child to share with you any concerns they have, things that they find difficult and things they enjoy which allows you to plan activities accordingly. It also gives you the chance to give them praise and encouragement by telling them which things they are doing really well at, how proud you are of what they have achieved and offer reassurance that they should not worry about things they find hard because you can do extra work on these areas and help them to understand. While it can sometimes be difficult to find time during the school day to give feedback to the teacher you must find a way to do this whether it is in a written report brief discussion or phone call. Not only do you need to report on the pupils progress and weaknesses you should also inform them of any difficulties you experience during an activity, such as disruptive pupils so that the problem can be addressed and resolved. It is important to be careful when giving feedback that while you are honest you are also tactful and do not lay blame for the activity on the teachers inadequate planning or the fact that the activity was not stimulating enough. The better the relationship you have with the teacher the easier it will be for you to put your point of view across and work well together to improve the learning environment and achieve better results. Always be positive when making your suggestions or giving feedback. Providing the teacher with feedback on the learner’s progress and participation can be done in various ways. If a child has not been participating you may just need to briefly mention it to the teacher and try and come up with strategies to help them get more involved in future activities. When a child is disruptive you can either discuss this with the teacher or make a written record of how the child was behaving, if you think there was anything that caused the behaviour, the effect it had on the rest of the group, how you tried to resolve the issue and manage the behaviour, whether you were successful in disciplining the child and what you think you could do to avoid the problem arising again. Hopefully the teacher will then respond and give you feedback on whether they have experienced similar problems with that child and how they dealt with it. Keeping records on how a child is progressing is also essential as it allows all staff involved to see which areas the child is ma king progress in and where they need to improve, it also lets everyone know the level that the child is at so that the appropriate level of work can be set. In order to support learning activities effectively it is important to reflect on what you have done and consider how you managed different activities. When an activity is finished you may feel disappointed with the outcome. Activities don’t always go to plan or achieve what you wanted them to and this can be for a variety of reasons When you feel that things didn’t work out the way you expected you have to reflect on the session and ask yourself how it went? Which aspects were you pleased with? What did not go as well as you planned? What would you change if you had to do the activity again? By doing this you can improve the way you plan activities which will benefit yourself and the children. To be able to effectively teach various areas of the curriculum you must ensure that your own knowledge of the subject is of a high standard and if you are out of practice and unsure of some subjects ask for help or update your qualifications. Many establishments provide refresher courses to bring Maths, English and ICT up to an acceptable level for working in a school setting. If you are unsure of a subject or a teaching method your uncertainty will be apparent to the children and your lack of knowledge will confuse them. You cannot possibly teach a child something you know nothing about so you should find out about the subject matter ahead of the lesson by doing some research. You should make sure you communicate with other members of staff to find out the strategies they use and information they pass on to the children so that they do not receive conflicting advice or information and become unsure of what they are supposed to be learning. While I feel that my basic English, Maths and ICT skills are at an acceptable level I realise that it has been quite some time since I studied them and intend to familiarise myself with the curriculum and strategies that schools at the present time use to educate the children so that I feel more confident in helping and advising the pupils that I work with. I intend to do this by accessing the resources the school uses and familiarising myself with them while also asking for advice from other teaching assistants.

How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide from a Bestseller

How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide from a Bestseller How to Become an Author: Your Complete Guide So you want to become an author Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news first: Writing your book wont be easy. If you’re in the middle of that process, you’re nodding right now. But here’s the good news: All that work isa small price for the amazing possibilities it can open to you: Getting published Enjoying a career you love Impacting people with your writing Media attention Royalty income In this extensive guide, my goal is to give you an honest look at how to become a writer- using lessons I’ve learned from 40+ years working with some of the top publishers in the world. Having written 21 New York Times bestsellers myself, I’m confident these lessons will help you in your writing journey. Ready? Let’s do it. What You Will Learn Here’s the short version of everything I cover in this complete, step-by-step post: DON’T Try toBecome an Author Until Youve Studied the Craft and Polished Your Skills Written Things Shorter Than a Book Plugged Yourself into a Community of Writers Writing Your Book Create a Writing Schedule You Can Stick to Research and Plan Keep Your Day Job Become a Ferocious Self-Editor Trying to Land a Publishing Contract How to Get an Agent Selling a Publisher Editing Your Book Like Crazy (Again) with an Editor Should You Self-Publish? An Overview of Self-Publishing How to Set Your Book Apart Choosing the Right Self-Publishing Company The #1 Killer of Self-Published Books Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. 1. DON’T Try toBecome a Writer Until You’ve I get it. You’re antsy. You’re ready to pen your bestseller right now. You’ve read or heard of writers who had never written a thing before and yet scored with a million-seller on their first try. Throttle back. Those stories become big news because they’re so rare. Don’t bank on winning the lottery. If you want your book (and your message) to go anywhere, make sure you’ve: Studied the Craft There’s no need to write a compelling story by trial and error anymore. Others have already done it for you- and written books about it. So your best bet is to follow proven methods. Great writers are great readers. Sohere’s a list of my favorite 12 books on writing to get you started. The competition has gotten so fierce, you’ll do yourself a favor if you learn how successful authors write before you try to get a second look from a publisher. Take the time to learn what you’re doing. You’ll thank yourself later. Written Things Shorter Than a Book A book shouldn’t be where you start any more than you should enroll in grad school when you’re a kindergartner. A book is where you arrive. Start small, learn the craft, hone your skills. Do some journaling. Write a newsletter. Start a blog. Get articles published in a couple of magazines, a newspaper, an ezine. Take a night school or online course in journalism or creative writing. Publishers are looking for authors with platforms (in short: audiences, tribes, followers, fans). So start building yours now. Any of the pieces above will start building steam behind your writing, and boost name recognition for you as a writer. If you’re planning to start blogging, check out this post on creating an author website. Bottom line:Work a quarter-million clicheÃŒ s out of your system, learn what it means to be edited, become an expert in something, build your platform, and then start thinking about that book or novel. Plugged Yourself into a Community of Writers Think you can do it alone? Then you’re a better writer than I. Almost every traditionally published author I know is surrounded by a helpful community. How else would they deal with things like: Frustration Discouragement Procrastination Wanting to quit I’ve written over 185 books, yet I often wonder whether I can finish the next one. At this stage for me, community means knowing I can be encouraged by colleagues whenever I need it. When you’re starting out, another pair of eyes on your work can prove to be invaluable. Ten pairs of eyes are even better. Join a writers’ group. Find a mentor. Stay open to criticism. One caveat with writers’ groups: make sure at least one person, preferably the leader, is widely published and understands the publishing landscape. Otherwise you risk the blind leading the blind. 2. Writing Your Book Surprisingly, most people never get this far. Whether it’s fear or procrastination or something else, few writers ever make it to the first page. To avoid becoming part of this sad group, you need a plan. So regardless your personal writing method, be sure to cover these bases: Create a Writing Schedule You Can Stick To When you’re an author, writing becomes your job. So treat it that way. Show up and do the work whether you feel like it or not. Writer’s block is no excuse. In no other profession could you get away with getting out of work by claiming you have worker’s block. Try that and see what it gets you- likely a pink slip. Find at least six hours a week to write. Well, find is the wrong word, of course. You won’t find it, you’ll have to carve out the time. Lock these hours into your calendar and keep them sacred. If you can’t think of what to write, then edit. If you can’t edit, plan. You’ll be astonished at your ability to get stuff done when you finally plant yourself in your chair. Challenge: Don’t move until you have scheduled at least six hours. Research and Plan To give your manuscript the best chance to succeed, skip this step at your peril. Excellent preparation will make or break your book. Two main ways you should be preparing: 1. Outline. Regardless how you feel about outlining, you need an idea of where you’re going before you start. If you’re writing a novel, you’re either an outliner or a pantser- those who write by the seat of their pants. (If you’re writing a nonfiction book, an outline is a given.) On the fiction side, the definition of an outliner is obvious. You plan everything beforehand. But pantsers write by process of discovery- or as Stephen King puts it, they â€Å"put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.† Neither is better or worse. But most writers are one or the other (a few are hybrids, largely one over the other but doing a little of both). But, depending on which you are, you’ll approach the planning phase completely differently. If you’re a hardcore outliner (and a novelist), you’ll enjoy my friend and colleague Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method. But if you’re a pantser, check out this post for non-outliners. Itll teach you how to work within a structure while staying free enough to writeon the fly. 2. Do the research. All great stories are rooted in solid research. If your research stinks, your story sinks. If your character drives 10 miles east out of the Chicago Loop, he’d better be in an amphibious vehicle, because he’ll be in Lake Michigan. (And you thought I was joking about sinking.) To avoid such embarrassing errors, do your research. Immerse yourself in the details of your setting. Make sure no characters are wearing ski jackets when it’s 95 degrees outside. Two online research tools that will help you avoid mistakes: The World Atlas A directory of some of the world’s top almanacs Don’t Quit Your Day Job I didn’t become a full-time freelance author until I had written and published nearly 90 books. I had been advised by a veteran author that my freelance income ought to be around three times what I made at my job before I considered going solo. I was stunned. Why so much more? He started listing everything I would have to pay for on my own. Insurance, retirement, all my benefits. I had always been careful to separate my writing and my office work, but during my off hours on business trips I might do some research. No more. Any travel would be on me. Your day job doesn’t have to keep you from writing your book. You might not like this, but I recommend you keep it and spend your after-hours time writing your book. Why? Two reasons: You’ll have steady income- one less thing to worry about- while trying to build your writing career. The structure will force you to be more productive with fewer hours. So, yes, you can have your cake and eat it too- without sacrificing time with family. You lose three hours per night for what, TV? How big a sacrifice is that for your writing dream? How badly do you want to become an author? Become a Writer Ferocious About Self-Editing This section is so important that it has the power to determine whether your book makes a huge splash with readers and publishers- or slides into the editor’s reject pile after the first page or two. Get serious about self-editing. Editors know from the first page whether your manuscript is publishable. I know that doesn’t sound fair or even logical. You’re thinking, It took me months, maybe years, to write hundreds of pages and you didn’t even get to the good stuff! How could they do that to you? Why did they? First, the good stuff ought to be in the first two paragraphs. And if they see 15 adjustments they need to make on the first two pages, they know the cost of editing three or four hundred pages of the same would eat whatever profits they could hope for before even printing the book. To avoid the dreaded â€Å"Thank you, but this doesn’t meet a current need† letter, your manuscript must be lean and mean, besides being a great story and a great read. Here are my 21 rules of ferocious self-editing: Develop a thick skin. Avoid throat-clearing. Choose the normal word over the obtuse. Omit needless words. Avoid subtle redundancies, like: â€Å"She nodded her head in agreement.† Those last four words could be deleted. Avoid the words up and down- unless they’re really needed. Usually delete the word that. Use it only for clarity. Give the reader credit. Once you’ve established something, you don’t need to repeat it. Avoid telling what’s not happening. Avoid being an adjectival maniac. Avoid hedging verbs like smiled slightly, almost laughed, frowned a bit, etc. Avoid the term literally- when you mean figuratively. Avoid too much stage direction. Maintain a single point of view (POV) for every scene. Avoid clichà ©s, and not just words and phrases, but situations. Resist the urge to explain (RUE). Show, don’t tell. People say things; they don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt, or retort them. Specifics add the ring of truth, even to fiction. Avoid similar character names. In fact, avoid even the same first initials. Avoid mannerisms of punctuation, typestyles, and sizes. 3. Trying to Land a Publishing Contract Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. I’m not going to sugarcoat it- this isn’t easy. But if you have a solid plan (and if you’ve followed the guide), you’ve got as good a chance as any. This section will show you how to become an author by revealing the options available. These best practices can vastly increase your likelihood of getting published. How to Get an Agent Your first step in trying to land a traditional publishing deal should be to land an agent- which can be just as difficult, as it should be. There will seem a dichotomy here, because you are likely writing for altruistic reasons- you have a mission, a passion, a message, something burning inside that you must share with the world. Yet agents or publishers will appear to base their decisions solely on the bottom line. If they see sales potential, they will accept it; if they don’t they won’t. But don’t despair. That doesn’t mean they don’t share your passion. It simply means they must make a profit to stay in business- even faith-based publishers who are all about ministry. Though it’s hard to find an agent, it is possible to get traditionally published without one. Most will not consider unsolicited manuscripts, though some will. Check The Writer’s Market Guide and The Christian Writer’s MarketGuide for publishers that don’t require agent-represented manuscript submissions. Some will allow you to submit at writers conferences or through other clients of theirs. Be aware that it’s not unheard of to submit an unsolicited manuscript to dozens of publishers without success. An agent can make your life a lot easier. A plethora of new doors open because of your agent’s connections. Besides the instant credibility of an agent’s approval and the knowledge that your writing has survived a vetting process, you also get valuable input and coaching on how to fashion your query and proposal from someone who understands the publishing industry, knows the players and who’s looking for what, and has experience successfully pitching publishers. Obviously, there are good agents and bad agents. How do you know whom you can trust? The credible agent welcomes scrutiny. So find reviews. Check with other clients. Ask: How did their book turn out? Did they feel taken care of? Were they pleased with the results? Feel free to ask agents: What kinds of books have they succeeded with? Have they succeeded in your genre? Once you compile a list of agents who seem to be a good fit, follow their submission guidelines. They’ll likely ask for a query letter, synopsis, proposal, and perhaps a few chapters. If any ask for any sort of reading fee or other payment up front, eliminate them as candidates and do not respond. Before you do anything else, check out these submission guidelines from two agents I’m familiar with. I’m not necessarily evaluating or endorsing them, except to say that I know them to be ethical and trustworthy and find their guidelines helpful and sound. Their pages will give you a good idea of what typical agents are looking for. Steve Laube’s guidelines Hartline Literary’s guidelines Two things you may be asked for- and which some writers struggle with: 1. A query letter This is an easy way to reach out to an agent, but many prefer more- like a full proposal, which we’ll get to. Most agents prefer submissions of any kind to be electronically submitted as an attachment, not as part of the body of your message. Avoid snail mail. Make your query letter crisp and short. The shorter (while saying what you need to say) the better. A query letter is just what its name implies- it queries the interest of the agent in your book idea. So make it stimulating and intriguing. Remember, you’re selling your book to the agent. Four essential parts of an effective query letter: a. Your elevator pitch This is a summary of your book’s premise, told in the time it would take for the editor to reach his floor if you happened to find yourself in the same elevator car. So it has to be fast and convincing. Here’s the elevator pitch for my very first novel: â€Å"A judge tries a man for a murder the judge committed.† It worked. b. Your synopsis In a paragraph, tell what your nonfiction book is about and what you hope to accomplish with it. Or tell the basic premise of the plot of your novel. The synopsis would naturally go beyond the elevator pitch and tell what happens and how things turn out. (Note: Almost any plot, when reduced to a one- or two-paragraph synopsis, sounds ridiculous.) c. Your target audience and why they’ll enjoy your book Agents need to believe they can sell it before they’ll ask you for more. Help them envision how to pitch it to publishers, but be careful not to oversell. They know the business better than you do and will not be swayed by your assurance that â€Å"everyone will find this amazing.† You can say that your audiences have been enthusiastic or that beta readers have expressed excitement. d. Your personal information Sell the agent on yourself. What qualifies you to write this book? What else have you published? What kind of tribe have you built? Where can they read your blog? Of course you’re including all your contact information. Other query letter tips: Keep it to one page, single-spaced, and 12 pt. sans serif type. Don’t sell too hard- let your premise speak for itself. Follow the agent’s submission guidelines to a T. Proof your letter before sending. Any typo on such a short document makes you look like an amateur. Here’s a great example of a query letter, with a breakdown of why it works, by Brian Klems of Writer’s Digest. 2. A book proposal You’ll find that for most agents, this is the most important document they want to see. Some want only this. Succinctly and completely describe the details of your idea and make them want to read your manuscript in its entirety as soon as it’s ready. Leave nothing out. For nonfiction, include every major issue you’ll cover and the basics of what you’ll say about it. For fiction, rough out the entire plot in a few pages. With a proposal, your query letter becomes a cover letter. Resist the urge to write a long cover letter. Allow your proposal to do the heavy lifting. Three trusted colleagues have produced masterful works on how to write book proposals, so check out what they have to offer: Michael Hyatt: Writing a Winning Book Proposal Jane Friedman: How to Write a Book Proposal (Jane also has some great material on query letters, so search her site for that, too.) Terry Whalin: Book Proposals That Sell Proposals can contain any number of possible components, such as: Premise Elevator pitch Overview Target audience Chapter synopses Marketing ideas Endorsements Your analysis of competing books, and where yours fits Up to three sample chapters More book proposal tips: Tell why you think your book can succeed. Every page in your proposal should make them want to flip to the next page. Despite that a proposal is longer, keep it tight and terse, as short as you can without cutting crucial information. Every word should be designed to pique an agent’s interest, your goal being to be asked to send your entire manuscript. Which should I choose, query or proposal? The competition is so fierce these days, I would lean toward a full proposal almost every time. The only instances when I might fire off a query would be if an incredible opportunity fell in my lap and I thought an agent could help me jump on it before I had time to craft a proposal. For instance, if a major celebrity wanted help with a book and chose you to write it, a fast letter to an agent might get a quick response. Otherwise, take the time to put together a professional proposal that shows an agent you know how to work and can be thorough. But know this: If you spark an agent’s interest, they will immediately ask for more information. So you’ll need a proposal at some point. Keep that in mind and be ready to get busy. Connecting with the Right Publisher Regardless whether you secure an agent, there are five guidelines for submitting your proposal and/or manuscript to publishers: Follow their submission guidelines to a T. Customize your cover letter to each. Know what the publisher wants, and tell them why you believe your book is right for them in light of that. Let it show in your attitude and tone that you realize how few manuscripts are chosen for publication each year, and by the fact that you have done your homework and covered all the bases to ensure you’re giving the publisher everything they need to make a decision on your manuscript. Avoid gushing and flattery, like adding the obvious sentiments, â€Å"I’ll do anything you say, make any changes you want, meet any deadline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Just present your complete proposal and professionally express that you look forward to hearing from them. A rule of thumb for first-time authors: If you’re writing fiction, while some publishers may ask you to send your completed manuscript after reading your proposal, synopsis, and sample chapters, it’s highly unlikely they will actually offer a contract before they see that completed manuscript. That’s because many people can come up with great ideas, and some can produce promising starts to novels. But few can see their way through to the end. So you’ll have to prove you can do it. If you’re writing nonfiction, you might be able to secure a publishing contract before you have finished your entire manuscript, though that is also rare. Should it happen, the publisher is likely to offer a lot of guidance and input for shaping the rest of the writing- and you’ll have a much better chance of success if you work nicely with your editor. Regardless your genre, publishers won’t take a second look at your manuscript unless it’s presented professionally. Use these submission guidelines: Use Times New Roman font (or at the very least avoid sans serif fonts). Use 12-point type. Left-justify your page. (This means your text should be aligned at the left margin, but not the right. This is also called â€Å"flush left, ragged right.†) Double-space your page with no extra space between paragraphs. Each paragraph should be indented one-half inch. One space between sentences. Microsoft Word .doc or .docx file format. 1† top, bottom, and side margins (or whatever is standard in your Word program). Editing Your Book Like Crazy (Again) with an Editor By the time you get to this point, you’ve already spent hours editing your own work. You’ve rearranged, improved, and cut things that hurt to cut. Be ready to do more. Once a publisher agrees to take your manuscript, you’ll be assigned an editor to make your manuscript the best it can be. This editor will suggest changes, maybe major ones- especially if it’s your first book. Don’t get touchy. Writing is not a solo. It’s a duet between the writer and an editor. Sometimes you’ll have to kill sentences that took hours to write. It’ll feel like disowning your children. Remember, the editor is on your side. Throw a private temper tantrum if you must, but then cool down and listen. Let them to do their job. You can push back respectfully if you feel strongly that they’ve missed your point on something, but do this only when the sting of criticism has worn off and you’re thinking rationally. Keep an open mind and beeasy to work with. They’ll remember. 4. Should You Self-Publish? Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. If you can score with a traditional publisher, do it. Exhaust your efforts to traditionally publish before resorting to self-publishing. Even honest self-publishing executives will give you this advice. Why? Because with traditional publishing, the publisher takes all the risks, and you’re paid an advance against royalties and royalties based on sales. So nothing comes out of your pocket. With self-publishing, however, you pay for everything from design to editing. Packages can cost upwards of $10,000. Back when self-publishing was referred to as â€Å"vanity publishing,† you could always tell a self-published book from a traditionally published book due to the lack of quality. Schlocky covers, boring titles, the word by before the author’s name on the cover. Too much copy on the front and back covers. Poor typeface and interior design. Lousy writing, editing, and proofreading- sometimes clearly nonexistent. But the game has changed. Publishing your own book is vastly different than it used to be. Your end product can now look much more professional, and your price per book is much more reasonable. Print-on-demand technology now allows for low-cost printing, so you can order as few as two or three books at a time for the same cost per book as you would pay if you were buying hundreds. So, you no longer need to store countless copies in your garage or basement. And self-published books look nicer these days too, because writers have demanded it. How to Set Your Self-Published Book Apart If you resort to this route, realize that you are the publisher now. You have to advertise, promote, and market your own book. But because you’re earning the profits after expenses, not just a royalty, a successful book will net you more money per copy than a traditionally published one. Admittedly, selling enough self-published copies to actually net you more money than you would make selling more traditionally at a lower royalty rate is rare, but it happens. It’s also rare that a self-published book finds its way to bookstore shelves outside the author’s own town. (The hard truth is that it’s not easy for even traditionally published books to place their books in bookstores. Experts say as few as one percent of all published books can be accommodated by bookstores and that the rest must be sold through other channels like the Internet, direct mail, and by hand.) To give your self-published title the best chance to succeed, you need to invest in: A great cover, which will involve purchasing a photo or artwork, type design, and layout Inside layout, type design, and typesetting Editing (resist the urge to use a relative who majored in English or even teaches English; book editing is a specific art) Proofreading (same caveat as above; friends and loved ones who are meticulous spellers are not enough; there are myriad style matters to deal with) Each of these elements will dramatically increase the professional look of your final product and, thus, your hope of selling more books. Do NOT skimp on them. If you’ve ever built a house without a contractor, you have an idea of how complex this will be if you do it right. So despite the fact that many self-published authors swear by it and believe it’s fairer to the author than traditional publishing, I maintain that traditional remains the ideal for authors- except for those unique titles that are targeted to deserving but very limited audiences. Choosing the Right Company to Self-Publish Your Book More than 400,000 books are self-published every year in the United States alone. So there are many companies to choose from. But sadly, many are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They’ll let you create a poor product and tell you it’s great. They’ll â€Å"award† you a contract, telling you their publication board has â€Å"evaluated† your manuscript and â€Å"found it worthy† to be published. They’ll tell you that they’re â€Å"not a subsidy publisher† or â€Å"not a self-publisher† or â€Å"not an independent publisher.† But they’ll use another euphemism to justify the fact that you’re paying â€Å"only for promotion† or â€Å"only for [this many] copies,† or â€Å"only for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  something else, when the fact is that the fee will cover all their costs and will include their profit. They’ll imply they can get your title before the eyes of every bookstore owner and manager in the country. They might even give examples of a few titles of theirs that have sold into some stores or even made some bestseller list. But they can’t guarantee your title will be sold into any store. Because that list your title is on that is â€Å"available† to every store owner and manager is merely a master list of all the books on some distributor’s Internet site of every title in their catalogue. That means your book will get no personal attention from a salesperson and no more emphasis than any of the tens of thousands of other titles on the list. Such companies are using you as little more than a content generator, pretending to have â€Å"chosen† your book from among the many they have to choose from, when the fact is they would publish anything you send them in any form, provided your accompanying check clears the bank. Be wary of any company that: Doesn’t take seriously the editing and proofreading of your book Lets you commit embarrassing typos such as spelling foreword as forward, foreward, or forword Allows the word by before your name on the cover Over-promises what you should expect in the way of personal sales representation, public relations, marketing, distribution, and advertising That said, when you do need to self-publish, legitimate companies with proven track records are ready to assist you. Do your homework and go beyond an Internet search, which will likely turn up beautiful websites for countless companies putting their best foot forward. So find previous customers and ask about their experience. You want a company who will answer every question straightforwardly and without hesitation. If you feel hard-sold, run. A litmus test question for the publisher: Ask if they would advise you to exhaust your efforts to traditionally publish first. I asked this of the head of WestBow Pressâ„ ¢, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, and he said he always advises customers that this is the ideal route. That kind of refreshing honesty bodes well for a company. The #1 Killer of Self-Published Books When writers run out of money to invest in their book, too often the first place that suffers is the content itself. Writers may understand that they are not experts in cover design, layout and typesetting, marketing and promotion, warehousing, distribution, and sales. But they overrate their writing and editing and proofreading abilities. So, they invest in those other services and cut corners on editing and proofreading. What they wind up with is a handsome product that looks like a real book but reads like the manuscript that made the rounds of the traditional houses and was rejected. You must determine what will set you apart in a noisy marketplace. That certain something that will set you apart is what it has always been: Writing quality. Having been in the writing game for 50 years and the book business for 40, that is something I am able to tell you. To use an ancient adage, cream rises. That may sound like something scratched on a cave wall. But it simply means that readers recognize quality. You or your agent may be looking for a deal from a traditional publisher. Or you may have chosen to self-publish online, in print, or both. Regardless, you want your manuscript to be of the highest editorial quality you can make it. What does that mean? It means you must: Learn the craft and hone your skills. Rigorously study writing, do exercises, write stories. It can all pay off. Just as with physical exercise, the more the better, but anything is better than nothing. Recognize that writing well is much harder and more involved than you ever dreamed. If you thought writing was merely a hobby, this realization could crush you. So, to push through, remember why you wanted to become a writer in the first place: You have a message, and people need to hear it. Dont trust friends’ and relatives’ flattery. Sure, they’re great for keeping you from quitting. But when you need solid input on your writing, their enthusiasm won’t translate to sales. Accept criticism and input from people who know what they’re talking about. Find an experienced writer or editor who’ll offer honest feedback on your work. Join a writers group. Attend writers conferences. Get a mentor. Free Download: Want your own copy of this guide? You can grabthe full PDF version by clicking here or on the image below: If you really want to become an author, it can be done. You’ll know you’re ready when you’re willing to carve the time from your schedule to write. So how badly do you want it? Tell me in the Comments below.

The Sumatra Earthquake of December 26, 2004

The Sumatra Earthquake of December 26, 2004 A minute before 8 oclock in the morning local time, a colossal earthquake began to shake the northern part of Sumatra and the Andaman Sea to its north. Seven minutes later a stretch of the Indonesian subduction zone 1200 kilometers long had slipped by an average distance of 15 meters. The moment magnitude of the event was eventually estimated as 9.3, making it one of the largest recorded earthquakes since seismographs were invented around 1900. The shaking was felt throughout southeastern Asia and caused devastation in northern Sumatra and in the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. The local intensity reached IX on the 12-point Mercalli scale in the Sumatran capital of Banda Aceh, a level that causes universal damage and widespread collapse of structures. Though the intensity of shaking did not reach the maximum on the scale, the motion lasted for several minutes- the duration of shaking is the main difference between magnitude 8 and 9 events. A large tsunami triggered by the earthquake spread outward from off the Sumatran coast. The worst part of it washed away whole cities in Indonesia, but every country on the shore of the Indian Ocean was also affected. In Indonesia, some 240,000 people died from the quake and tsunami combined. About 47,000 more people died, from Thailand to Tanzania, when the tsunami struck without warning during the next few hours. This earthquake was the first magnitude-9 event to be recorded by the Global Seismographic Network (GSN), a worldwide set of 137 top-grade instruments. The nearest GSN station, in Sri Lanka, recorded 9.2 cm of vertical motion without distortion. Compare this to 1964, when the machines of the World Wide Standardized Seismic Network were knocked off scale for hours by the March 27 Alaskan quake. The Sumatra earthquake proves that the GSN network is robust and sensitive enough to use for expanded tsunami detection and warnings if the right resources can be spent on supporting instrumentation and facilities. The GSN data includes some eye-popping facts. At every spot on Earth, the ground was raised and lowered at least a full centimeter by the seismic waves from Sumatra. The Rayleigh surface waves traveled around the planet several times before dissipating. Seismic energy was released at such long wavelengths that they were a substantial fraction of the Earths circumference. Their interference patterns formed standing waves, like the rhythmic oscillations in a large soap bubble. In effect, the Sumatra earthquake made the Earth ring with these free oscillations like a hammer rings a bell. The notes of the bell, or normal vibrational modes, are at extremely low frequencies: the two strongest modes have periods of about 35.5 and 54 minutes. These oscillations died out within a few weeks. Another mode, the so-called breathing mode, consists of the whole Earth rising and falling at once with a period of 20.5 minutes. This pulse was detectable for several months afterward. (A startling paper by Cinna Lomnitz and Sara Nilsen-Hopseth suggests that the tsunami was actually powered by these normal modes.) IRIS, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, has compiled scientific results from the Sumatra earthquake on a special page with plenty of background  information. The U.S. Geological Survey also offers a number of beginner and non-technical resources about the quake. At the time, commentators from the scientific community decried the absence of a tsunami warning system in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, 40 years after the Pacifics system began. That was a scandal. But a greater scandal was the fact that so many people, including thousands of supposedly well-educated first-world citizens who were there on vacation, just stood there and died as the clear signs of disaster arose before their eyes. That was a failure of education. A video about the 1998 New Guinea tsunami- was all it took to save the lives of a whole village in Vanuatu in 1999. Just a video! If each school in Sri Lanka, each mosque in Sumatra, each TV station in Thailand had shown such a video once in a while, what would the story have been instead that day?

Part of Report of Strategic HRM in Mater Hill Hospital Essay

Part of Report of Strategic HRM in Mater Hill Hospital - Essay Example At the same time, employees are becoming attracted to the element of control. For example, at the moment, most employees prefer to exercise some degree of influence over when and how they work. If implemented effectively, e-rostering can create safer, sound, and more dynamic schedules (Sharma & Goyal 2013: 65). In spite of these benefits, research and the experiences of nurses show that e-rostering can also be exploited by management as a way of discouraging employees and limiting their potential (Maitland & Thomson 2014: 16). In fact, despite the limited effectiveness of modern systems, they are the precursors to more advanced systems that will completely revolutionise how nurses work. However, the final resting position of the pendulum will determine whether such a transformation will benefit or hinder the effective execution of nursing processes. According to Mello (2014: 35), manual scheduling mechanisms have occasionally failed to meet expected staffing standards. This has opened the door for e-rostering, which is viewed as a solution to this problem (Vincent & Beduz 2014: 57). In spite of this, a professional (nursing) standpoint reveals that e-rostering creates some dilemmas that must be handled discretely to avoid compromising the potential benefits of the system (Mcdonnell 2012: 1 508). Some of these dilemmas include inflexibility, fairness, borderlines between staffing and rostering levels, incorporating changes that are made after the approval of the schedule, and whether promote employee empowerment or managerial control (Smith 2014: 193). In reality, e-scheduling alone cannot improve nursing outcomes. It can, however, develop trust to comprehend the challenges confronting nurses and establish how best practices in nursing care can be instituted (Watson 2014: 150). According to Cushway (2014: 38), e-rostering systems enable nurses to design schedules by supporting numerous vital functions,

Management and Supervision Today Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management and Supervision Today - Assignment Example A supervisor is the person responsible for managing the assigned team and to ensure enough productivity (Management help, n.d.). A supervisor is also a part of the management of an organization. However they are also employees of the organization but hold some power and authority to facilitate some courses of action. A supervisor in general has the following authority within the organization. Provide instruction as well as orders to the team members in order to accomplish a task or carrying out a particular course of action. A supervisor is also held responsible for any under performance of the team members. He / She is also liable to answer the higher authorities about the issues related to work. In the context of the project an article has been chosen, which will demonstrate the dilemmas faced by the supervisors and how they manage employees. The article is by Laurie Weiss, Ph.D. and titled as ‘A Tricky Supervision Challenge’. The article was published in CRM Learning in the year 2012. The article offers a real scenario about how a supervisor has able to overcome a complicated situation. Hence this article is regarded as the most appropriate one purpose of conducting the study. A Tricky Supervision Challenge: A brief Overview The author feels that many managers or supervisors think that treating their team members as responsible will help to exhibit superior standard of work. However this is not the scenario for every manager. In this article the author stresses about a real incident which revolves around an Ellen, supervisor of a rehabilitation hospital unit and one of his team members namely Angelique. The supervisor point out the problems she is facing to direct Angelique due to her lack of seriousness. The supervisor describes that whenever she gives her some direction, she pretends to understand it, but does the work when she wishes to do so. This is a serious violation of the rules and regulation. The supervisor also emphasized that Angeliq ue frequently remains absent from her duties. Even on verbal warnings she did not even bother to feel sorry and assure to rectify it. However after getting the written notice she cried and assured to put it right, but still the story remains same. This has given rise to the power struggle between both of them. Such situation has given rise to micro management. However later Ellen revealed that Angelique was already on micro management. It is about close observation and managing the employees with more control. The supervisor then tried many different ways for guiding Angelique to work properly, but all the attempts were fall down. Finally Ellen developed a plan, which was the only way out to resolve the issue. Ellen decided to warn Angelique that if she does not maintain the working rules and regulations i.e. working forty hours in a week will lead to termination from work. Now it was all in the hands of Angelique and the manager could feel relaxed (CRM Learning, 2012). Relationship of the article with supervision and management The article has a strong view point in respect with supervision and managerial capabilities. It states that only treating the employees as responsible always does not work. Some employees need stiff consequences for carrying out their task. Some employees like to work according to their wish, but even working according to thei