The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon Sometimes, when life at MIT gets too tough, this is what I think of, in all seriousness: Wow in just one more day, I will not have blogged for AN ENTIRE MONTH. tsk tsk. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. Truth is, Ive been MEANING to, but I just simply never got around to it! Actually, in the beginning, I had some time to blog but I was likeuhm I dont have any pictures so Ill wait a little bitand then BOOM 5.12 exam BOOM 7.03 exam BOOM getting the results back BOOM sadness and depression BOOM rhetoric paper? BOOM art history essay (granted, this was very enjoyable) DING 14.02 pset! DING ocrap 7.03 pset? BOOM 14.02 exam tooltooltool BOOM 4.601 midterm DONG studystudystudycrystudystudystudy BOOM 5.12 exam#2. (feel free to intersperse POW Japanese quiz BAM Japanese memorization randomly in between) Me : MIT :: Linguini : cookingFor all you bushy-tailed, eager-eyed young beavers out there (hehe, I love the quote, its from Shuai 07 who I met at Stanford this past weekend), 72 units HURT. Do so at your own risk. Parental discretion advised. Mmmm. Anywhoo, thats enough complaining from me, haha MITs still an awesome place. Cmon, no pain = no gain, right? :D (this is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will, five percent pleasure, and FIFTY PERCENT PAIN) ok. Ill stop being random now. October was a month of fun work, yes, but also fun. iHouse had a retreat with SCRUMPTIOUS food. Listen, if MIT Dining could make this kind of stuff, we wouldnt be having oodles of editorials in the Tech talking about dining problems and most likely the number of restaurants around MIT would decrease like pigeons in the park. We talked a lot about the vision of iHouse and the events that we have planned for the coming year (after all, iHouse is still a really young dorm!) BTW, shameless plug for current students if you want to be involved in iHouse, you can! We invite MIT undergrads to apply to be social members of the house even if you do not have residential membership. As a social member, you are eligible to come to a number of open events that iHouse conducts (such as dinners and certain speaker series) and get to know us better! If you have an interest in global development and iHouse, this is a wonderful way to get involved! And, Autumn came to visit last night, the temperature dropped below the freezing point. I was sad. ='( Last but not least, I travelled with ESP to Stanford last weekend. (I know this is the MIT Admission Blogs, not the Stanford Admission Blogs, but please excuse the following picture =p) (aside about Stanford: Stanford seems to be a huge school in terms of cross-admits with MIT. If you apply to both and get admitted at either, chances are you might get admitted too at the other one. I cant even count how many people I know in the current undergrad population that turned down Stanford during the application cycle) Going to Stanford is not completely all fun and games, although it was an amazing experience. Remember ESP that Ive talked about at some length here? (for those that are just tuning in ESP stands for Educational Studies Program its a completely student-run club/initiative at MIT that aims to provide supplemental educational opportunities to high/middle school students in the Boston area through offering educational programs taught by MIT undergrads) Well, it just so happens that ESP runs this really amazing program called Splash! (plug#2 Splash! is amazing you can teach ANYTHING. ANYTHING you want!). We have 200+ classes registered this year (and were hoping to set a record and break 2,000 students in attendance) w00t! :D Moreover, ESP is actually this really intense and nebulous organization (HAHA this sounds like Tammany Hall or something rest assured we do not conduct voter fraud (not that MA needs any, anyways =p)). ESP goes back AGES we always have alums who had ventured into the dark and foreboding world known as grad school coming back to visit us. Throughout the last year, Ive been involved to some extent in at least 4 ESP programs, but Im still an ESP baby when compared to the breadth of what they did (and are still doing) for ESP! Anywhoo, the point is that some of our alums founded other ESP chapters after they went on to grad school. As of now, UChicago and Stanford also run Splashes (while I believe NYU runs another version of Splash that isnt directly related to ESP). Usually, having ran Splashes for so long and being the founder of Splash!, MIT ESP sends a couple of people to help with set up, logistics, and teach classes when other Splashes start their program. Stanford Splash ran this past weekend, and the chairs graciously allowed me to tag along with them! It was great. Cali was sunny. The students were enthusiastic. Splash ran amazingly well (due to the diligence in preparation of Michael 07 and his enthusiastic team!). Meeting so many MIT people in Stanfords grad school was actually pretty amazing its awesome to be talking about 8.02/5.12 and seeing Brass Rats 2,500 miles away from Boston in a completely non-MIT environment (maybe this is my first ever experience with meeting alums outside of Cambridge? man, roots definitely run DEEP after youve been through MIT). I taught The Art of Money (money yes, money in your pockets but more generally money from all over the world is an amazing way to preserve history and the cultural context of a nation. ive been collecting for 13+ years and still loving it. ask me about it sometime!) and (harhar) Hardcore College Admissions. Twas fun :D Man, I love speaking about college admissions now. Maybe Ill go work for Princeton Review when I graduate ;) (plug#3 Ill be teaching these classes again for MIT Splash happening a month from now! if youre a high school/middle school student that will be dropping by, definitely come for Splash! even if youre not interested in college admissions or money, theres like 198+ more courses you can explore =p) So yuppp. Thats my month, more or less, in a nutshell, if you take away the nights of tooling in deserted locales on MIT campus (I should write an entire blog on this), numerous take-outs ordered after being famished from studying, and punting working with fellow beavers in the wee hours of the morning (like right now). Whats up next in blogs? Remember the whole flood of bloggers posting their essays (and then arguing about them?) Ive actually meant to write a blog on the essay this application season since Ive talked a bit about interviews last year. Actually, aside from the interviews, I believe the application essay is the other significant window into your life and to who you are aside from the numbers and the blanks on your application form. So stay tuned! And I promise to make it yummy too, since Ill be comparing the college essay to froyo! (seriously though, Ive never heard of that term before coming to Boston =p)

Attic Romanticism Reason And Imagination - 1705 Words

â€Å"Here, the lofty and highly much praised artistic achievement of Attic tragedy and the dramatic dithyramb presents itself before our eyes, as the common goal of both artistic drives, whose secret marriage partnership, after a long antecedent struggle, celebrated itself with such a child, simultaneously Antigone and Cassandra.† (Friedrich Nietzsche on the relationship between the Apollnian and Dionysian) How do both reason and imagination shape poetry? Reason and Imagination are two concepts that seem opposed to one another. Reason is the ability of humans to make sense of things, and is grounded in reality while Imagination is a more abstract concept that is variously described as recreating experiences without them physically occurring,†¦show more content†¦Shelley argues against this, putting forth that â€Å"whatever strengthens and purifies the affections, enlarges the imagination, and adds spirit to sense, is useful† defending Imagination as a basis for poetry since he is able to exemplify the positive effect Imagination has on art forms. Friedrich Nietzsche held similar views on how Reason and Imagination shape a literary work to Shelley (though Nietzsche’s views on Reason without Imagination are perhaps more extreme than Shelley’s), dividing them into his own unique categories: the Apollonian and the Dionysian. Reason is represented by the Apollonian as the â€Å"the art of the sculptor† in that it produces something ordered and tangible, much as reason does, while Imagination is represented by the Dionysian as something â€Å"with which we will become best acquainted through the analogy of intoxication†, in that it is chaotic and abstract. Like Shelley, Nietzsche believes the downfall of Greek Tragedy came when Reason began to surpass Imagination. For both writers, Reason must be the basis of the ideas, and Imagination must â€Å"colour them with its own light†. Without Imagination, or the Dionysian, Poetry and other literary works are a realistic mimicking of â€Å"thoughts and emotions devoid of any trace of the ether of art†. It is clear from this that while Nietzsche believes the ApollonianShow MoreRelatedJohn Keats: Ode on a Grecian Urn1778 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Keats: Ode on a Grecian Urn Ode on a Grecian Urn is one of the most emblematic poems of the English Romanticism written by John Keats. The urn acts as a time machine which guides the poetic persona into the antique Greek culture, which faded into oblivion and obscurity throughout the centuries. However this urn still captures the essence of this ancient yet golden age. John Keats is one of the most celebrated English romantic poets. He is often called as the Poet of Beauty, becauseRead More Women’s Self-Discovery During Late American Romanticism / Early Realism3300 Words   |  14 Pagesbeen successfully done over and over by men. Even though these men write convincingly about a woman’s thoughts and feelings there’s no way they will really ever know. Based on a critical essay, The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman writer and the Nineteenth century Literary Imagination the authors state that â€Å"Unlike her male counterpart, then, the female artist must first struggle against the effects of a socialization which makes conflict with the will of her (male) precursors seem inexpressiblyRead MoreJane Austen’s Novels and the Contemporary Social and Literary Conventions.12979 Words   |  52 Pagesvarious aspects. It means that women are deprived of free will and individuality, bearing in mind the simple aim: attractin g a suitable man who would be the one to â€Å"govern her† (Dobosiewicz 45). 1.4. Characteristics of ideal female features The reason of inventing the universal ideal of womanhood is for Dobosiewicz, clearly visible. Using Fordyce’s own words that the purpose of his work is to establish â€Å" what a woman should beâ€Å", she confirms the fact that a great deal of males pursue to achieveRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagesconcerning the duration and tempo of the revolution. The reader should not, therefore, look to these essays for a complete scientific system. Despite this the book does have a definite unity. This will be found in the sequence of the essays, which for this reason are best read in the order proposed. However, it would perhaps be advisable for readers unversed in philosophy to put off the chapter on reification to the very end. A few words of explanation — superfluous for many readers perhaps — are due for

Essay about anger in communication - 1405 Words

Anger In Communication Communicating is the means of transmitting or the exchange of information. These types of exchanges usually occur in many different forms or means. Humans communicate both verbally and nonverbally. The term also refers to sharing or to make common and is defined as a process of understanding. (Pearson amp; Nelson, 2000 p.18). This process is an activity, an exchange, or a set of behaviors.(Pearson amp; Nelson, 2000 p.170). These processes or exchanges can lead to anger, which may in some cases, produce results of serious consequences. Anger can be defined as a great feeling of displeasure, wrath, fury, or indignation. Misunderstanding during the exchange of information will create conflicts. These conflicts must†¦show more content†¦In all her replies she would become very loud and boisterous, never giving an inch. She would be so close that her breath felt like a puff of strong wind. Whilst at the said time she would be hurling insults, and daring me to collect the funds owed to me. Eventually, to avoid the constant barrage of insults both verbally and nonverbally I would forfeit and inform her, that she was welcome to keep same. The outrageous behaviors that are displayed by my partner, most times are annoying to me. On one occasion I had to take my car to the shop, and I asked her to pick me up and take me to work on a particular day. Before leaving to drop my car off at the repair shop, I woke her, and informed her to get ready, as she would have to do some extra driving. This will therefore require an early start to avoid us being late for work. I stood at the repair shop and waited for a very lengthy amount of time and had less than ten minutes to get to work, which was 15 miles away. She came and picked me up and started out on the highway. I noticed that the speed she was driving had reached 105 mph. I requested she slowed down in fear of us getting into a terrible accident and being killed.. At this time she promptly pulled the car over and ordered me to get out of her #@$@% car. IShow MoreRelatedStress and Anger Management and Communication Styles3563 Words   |  15 PagesIntramuros, Manila COMMUNICATION STYLES AS CORRELATED TO THE STRESS AND ANGER MANAGEMENT OF SELECTED BS PSYCHOLOGY FRESHMEN STUDENTS In partial fulfilment of the requirements in Psychological Statistics, 1st semester, SY 2012 – 2013 BS Psychology 3 – 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study But once you are in that field, emotional intelligence emerges as a much stronger predictor of who will be most successful, because it is how we handle ourselves in our relationshipsRead MoreAnger Response Inventory To Evaluate The Effect Of Shame And Guilt On Interpersonal Communication Skills746 Words   |  3 PagesOomen, J., Rhea, D.J., Wiginton, K. (2004). Using the anger response inventory to evaluate the effect of shame and guilt on interpersonal communication skills. American Journal of Health Education, 35(3), 152-157. DOI: 10.1080/19325037.2004.10603631. Introduction/ Purpose: We know that positive interpersonal skills are good and teaching those skills is important (Joint Committee on Health Education Standards, 1995). Shame is related to negative reactions in interpersonal conflicts (Balcom, 1991)Read MoreCritical Analysis Of William Blakes A Poison Tree926 Words   |  4 PagesAnger, frustration, and hate are all emotions that build up the burning wrath inside of our bodies. The more we keep these emotions buried away and fail to communicate them to others, the more the wrath continues to grow until it eventually boils over and by this time it is too late. This concept is defined and illustrated in William Blake’s poem â€Å"A Poison Tree.† This poem directs the readers to the importance of communication and willingness to forgive. The moment the speaker refuses to communicateRead MoreThe Effects Of Interpersonal Competence On Interpersonal Communication1053 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Interpersonal competence is an aspect of communication that is rarely given attention despite being a crucial facet of human interaction. In fact, Beebe et al. argue that it is comparable to breathing for being do critical to human growth (2). According to Beebe et al., this aspect of communication is necessary to maintain relationships and to improve affairs between lovers (6-7). To enhance our competence in interpersonal communication, we need to learn and master ways of verbally relatingRead MoreA Case of Conflict During Communication1831 Words   |  7 Pagesagain. Anyway, thank you.† Candy gratified. Case Analysis: Transactional model of communication Experience shown above can be analyzed as a transactional model of communication. In the above case, the staff and I are both sender and receiver. We can be served as speaker and listener simultaneously. We were encoding and decoding at the same time during the conversation. Therefore, the element of this communication is interdependent. According to the definition of this model, verbal content andRead MoreThe Group Rules And Norms978 Words   |  4 Pages________________________________________ ANGER MANAGEMENT Anger management: Clients will learn and practice anger management and assertive communication techniques for better relationships and mental health. Clients will be educated on individual beliefs toward anger and how family of origin can perpetuate these beliefs. Clients will be shown how anger is often a secondary emotion, and how CBT is helpful when utilizing â€Å"I feel† assertive communication. Clients are encouraged to participate inRead MoreThis group proposal paper is written from my perspective and experience. It describes a purpose to1100 Words   |  5 Pagestransitional age youth (TAY) from the agency of Beyond Emancipation and the key issues includes emotions, anger and conflicts. In addition, four external citations of scholarly journal articles dealing with group work similar to this proposal group is incorporated starting with the rationale, objectives, practical considerations, procedures and ending with evaluation. â€Æ' Helping TAY Deal with Emotions, Anger and Conflict Rationale As a MSW Intern at Beyond Emancipation, I am in a position to offer informationRead MoreAnalysis Of A Mothers Day Kiss Off1037 Words   |  5 Pagesunappreciation women feel and the anger they feel because of the lack of their spouse’s support in wanting to be employed. In the article, â€Å" My Problem With Her Anger,† author Eric Bartels explains that he does not receive enough acknowledgement for the effort that he puts into the relationship and the privileges he has surrendered. Bartels describes how women in general could be more supportive of their feelings and accept them as well. He talks about his anger, about the situations that they withstandRead MoreA Brief Description Of The Client1404 Words   |  6 Pageswho resides in a foster home. She has difficulty with sleep and communication concerns. The foster parent reports that the client may be promiscuous, has poor hygiene, suffers from anxiety attacks and lacks anger management. Client has an IEP because of a learning disability. When residing with her biological parents, client s school attendance was poor, being absent from school more than 50% of the time. She has poor communication with her siblings and reports screaming and hitting her 6-year-oldRead MoreContent Oriented Communication By J. Eum1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe couple’s conversation described above demonstrates a content-oriented communication, which deals with just a specific topic or issue (Weeks Fife, 2014). In their conversation, the husband is upset with their daughter’s poor academic performance, which he can hardly understand because he was a good student with outstanding grades at school during his own childhood. Obviously, the topic of their conversation is their daughter’s poor academic performance. And, their attention is on what they are

American Revolution Short Free Essays

During the American Revolution what caused the people to make radical changes The American Revolution was radical in the ideals established throughout the revolution. The American Revolution had significant effects on American society as a whole radically changing certain aspects including its social, political, economic, and religious contexts. Also, the status of women, slaves, and Loyalists were radically changed. We will write a custom essay sample on American Revolution Short or any similar topic only for you Order Now A new democratized political system was formed through the constitution, which incorporated radical ideals such as the equality of all men, the separation of church and state, religious freedom/tolerance. The first successful English settlement on the American continent was established in 1607. And from then on, until 1732, thirteen English colonies settled on the continent. Great Britain was the first and the only country to send its people as colonists and to settle in that part of the continent. The Colonists had two reasons to leave England and it was to make money. But the major part of the colonists was running away from religious persecutions. However they managed to develop their colonies and to make money. But how did Great Britain regard this development? England, which was trying to enlarge its empire did not stay unemotional in front of this new development of prosperity, and in need of money, it reacted first, by imposing taxes to its colonies. But, the colonists were not still subjects of the crown and following different influences they began to want their own freedom. And by the way they reached an expected war with England. How to cite American Revolution Short, Papers

The collapse of Barings Bank Essay Example

The collapse of Barings Bank Paper Although books and biographies have been written about the fall of Englands largest and most prestigious bank, the following will give a synopsis of the tragedy that was filled with deceit, possible conspiracy, and definitely unethical behavior. On February 25, 1995, Barings Bank announced to the world that it was insolvent to meet its losses accumulated on the SIMEX, Singapore International Monetary Exchange, by a trader named Nick Leeson. As amazing as it sounds, Nick Leeson had lost the bank 869 million pounds in less than three years. How is it possible? Who is responsible? Why did it happen? The story started in July 1992 when a twenty five year old futures and options trader, Nick Leeson was sent to Singapore to be a telephone clerk for Barings newly established Baring Futures (Singapore) Ltd. However Leeson was not simply an order taker, he was the Floor Manager as well as the Head of Settlement Operations. To completely understand the duties of each position are complex but each position is suppose, to keep an eye on the other. Barings management claimed in court that Leeson was only hired as a Telephone Clerk, but his ability to demand more money from the London office and to manipulate accounts showed otherwise. We will write a custom essay sample on The collapse of Barings Bank specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The collapse of Barings Bank specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The collapse of Barings Bank specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Nick Leeson was primarily trading Nikkei 225 futures on the SIMEX and Osaka exchange by using a trading strategy called arbitrage. There is nothing illegal about that, he was simply trying to take advantage of the spread in trading prices between the two exchanges. He set up the relevant accounts for Barings customers and an error account for any mistakes that might be made. Errors are a common facet of the trading business but most often these errors are negligible to the trading (Broker Dealer) firms bottom line. Oddly, Leeson numbered this error account 88888 rather than utilizing a standard account number beginning with the number 9. Although the home office was not concerned with this, a new error account was established with the number 99002. However, Leeson never closed the original error account, 88888, because he was in fact using the error account for his own trading purposes. This was relatively easy for Leeson since the Monetary Authority of Singapore refuses outside regulators permission to inspect the operations of subsidiary banks working on the SIMEX and because the Baring home office had left Leeson and the Singapore group to do their own reconciliation (matching trades and accounts). Leeson had complete control of the daily operations, but how did he get access to so much money? Although discovered after the Banks collapse, Gordon Bowser, the Derivatives Manager in London, had given full discretion to Leeson to ask for whatever funds he needed to cover margin calls for clients without having to provide any details. A margin call is when you leverage your cash to a point where the exchange requires more capital to insure your solvency to cover your outstanding positions. By having this open doorway to capital, Leeson could create false margin calls and errors in order to fund and support his 88888 account. By the Fall of 1993, Barings top executives considered Leeson a trading genius because he was reporting incredible profits. In reality, Leeson was taking the trading losses in his secret error account and thereby improving his reported performance. Leeson was promoted to Assistant Director and General Manager and was even given discretion to the time and price of all trades. According to his own testimony, Leeson had already lost 25 million pounds by the end of 1993. The real destruction of Barings came when the Bank decided to consolidate their entire capital under one roof rather than keep it separate between Bankers and Brokers. This solo-consolidation allowed Leeson to use more of the firms capital. Instead of being limited to 25%, Leeson had leveraged 44. 6% of the firms consolidated capital by the end of 1993. In 1994, Leeson would attempt to earn back the money by partaking in even more aggressive trading activities in the 88888 account. He would take the losses from 25 million pounds to over 800 million by the end the year. With Leesons trading activities utilizing some much of Barings capital, the bank decided to pay more attention his activities and to do some its own reconciling. Unfortunately, it was not until February 1995 that Barings sent Tony Railton to Singapore to reconcile all client accounts with margin calls. It took only ten days from Railtons arrival for Barings to realize that they were insolvent. Barings Bank conceded to the world their demise two days later on the 25th of February. Leeson was caught at the airport and sentenced to 6 years in Changi jail. He was released after serving only 4 years due to colon cancer. Since his release in July 1999, he has been giving seminars and speaking publicly about his activities during his employment with Barings. However, he will receive nothing from these public appearances, his book, Rogue Trader, or the movie Rogue Trader. All money received will be put towards paying off a 100 million pound plus interest and costs injunction placed against him by the creditors of Barings Bank. After the collapse, the Dutch Bank ING, the Internationale Netherlanden Groep, bought Barings Bank for 660 million pounds. Today, the Bank goes by the name ING Barings. Obviously, Leeson acted in an unethical manner, but is he the only one to blame? Many people have argued that the Barings executives should also be held accountable because of their poor management and lack of responsibility to the stakeholders of the company. Sources: Fay, Stephen. The Collapse of Barings. Richard Cohen Books, London. 1996. Leeson, Nick. Rogue Trader. Little, Brown and Company, London. 1996. British Airways After years of being a government run business, British Airways was privatized in 1983. Several years later, after the market was opened to competition, Richard Branson entered the fray. Branson, well known as one of Britains premier entrepreneurs, founded Virgin Atlantic Airways. The airline was new territory for the successful Branson, as he was best known for founding Virgin Records over a decade earlier. Although Virgin in the late eighties and early nineties had only eight planes and British Airways had 230, British Airways presumably found the high profile start-up a threat. Apparently, British Airways employees engaged in quite questionable practices to ensure its small rival would have even less of the market share. Richard Branson of Virgin filed a libel lawsuit against the airline giant in Great Britain due to some of these unseemly business practices. In court, evidence of British Airways unethical behavior was presented. Allegedly, the company broke into Virgins computers for information on their passengers. British Airways also hired a Public Relations specialist, Brian Basham, to find and release negative information about Branson and Virgin to the media. British Airways employees also engaged in poaching-they contacted or approached Virgin customers and falsely claimed their flights on Virgin had been cancelled or over-booked. Then agents asked if the passengers would be interested in flying on British Airways, instead? Other allegations surfaced as well, such as break-ins at the homes of Virgin employees. Please see: http://www. businesswire. com/webbox/bw. 081997/455117. htm, As more information came out, British Airways decided to settle out of court. In early 1993, British Airways paid Richard Branson 2. 5 million to settle the libel portion of the suit. This was to compensate Virgin for the damage to its reputation. The executives admitted they had engaged in a campaign against Virgin, but did not reveal the extent of their campaign. (Dwyer, Paula. BRITISH AIR-NOT CRICKET, Business Week On-line, January 25, 1993. ) Virgin again filed suit against British Airways in Britain in 1993 to review the poaching charge. Unfortunately, the top managers at British Airways have never fully disclosed their unfair business practices. (Coleman, Brian. Virgin Group Sues British Airways Over Dirty Tricks, Wall Street Journal, May 7, 1993) Later in 1993, Branson later filed suit against British Airways in the United States, alleging an anti-trust situation. In total, Bransons lawsuit filed in the United States consisted of six different charges. Virgin claimed damages in the amount of one billion dollars. During 1997, the court dismissed three of the six charges and allowed Virgin more time to gather additional information. In November of 1999, all remaining charges against British Airways were dismissed because Virgin had not met its burden of proof in the claims. For more information, see http://press. britishairways. com/cgi-bin/view_article_month In 1997, Virgin filed against British Airways with the European Union Court, and Virgin won. British Airways was forced to pay 6. 8 million in fines for unfair business practices. Virgin accused British Airways of compensating British travel agents through extra commissions to book passengers on British Airways instead of Virgin. In fact, the European Union warned British Airways its incentives were illegal, prior to Bransons lawsuit, and the company chose to ignore the warning. Regardless of the truth ever emerging, the tactics of British Airways had little affect on stakeholders. In 1993, the companys stock fell over ten percent. By the end of 1993 the stock value jumped to more than recover any of those losses. In addition to temporary stockholder losses, the company lost money in the form of various fines and legal costs. These fines were quite small in comparison with British Airways revenue of over 8. 6 billion dollars. Please see: http://www. hemscott. com/EQUITIES/company/cd01593. htm The succession plan of management did not change despite suspicion of active involvement in the tactics. During the initial lawsuit, John L. King was President and Chairman of British Airways. He fulfilled his plan to name Sir Colin Marshall as his replacement as Chairman upon his scheduled retirement in July of 1993. Witnesses in trial proceedings actually stated that tactics they had used were known and approved of by management. Marshall continues to sit on the Board today. British Airways lost some of its credibility and damaged some of its future partnerships. When the facts came out, the general public viewed the airline with disdain. The allegations of the unethical practices and the ensuing lawsuits endangered potential partnerships with American Airlines. Eventually, though the partnership culminated. Also, British Airways had to withdraw a bid for a substantial portion of US Airways at one point as well because the United States government would not approve of the deal. Several years later, British Airways formed a partnership with US Airways. See http://flug-revue. com/FRHeft/fr9609e. htm; (Dwyer, Paula. BRITISH AIR-NOT CRICKET, Business Week On-line, January 25, 1993. )Today, the companies have what is now known as a friendly rivalry. Several years ago, Martyn Gregory and Nick Rufford wrote a book called Dirty Tricks: The Inside Story of British Airways Secret War Against Richard Bransons Virgin Atlantic which told the story about the unfair, unethical, and illegal tactics of British Airways against Virgin. Unfortunately, this book went out of print within weeks of its first publication, and is still extremely difficult to find. Both companies are thriving in todays healthy business climate. Additional resources: www. virgin-atlantic. com www. british-airways. com.

Self-Publishing a Family Memoir

Self-Publishing a Family Memoir Self-Publishing a Family Memoir Having previously published many children's books, Malaika Rose Stanley is no stranger to publishing. Yet with Loose Connections, she attempted something completely different from her usual style of writing. Read on to know what it was like for her to  self-publish her book and go on a familiar yet new adventure.Loose Connections is my first independently published book, my first book for adults and my first non-fiction book. But I have a history of writing traditionally published books for children dating back to 1996. I had to look back and check - and I’ve completely shocked myself with the realization that I’ve been involved in this writing and publishing malarkey for twenty years!‘Write what you know’ is a well-worn authorial snippet of advice, a clichà ©. At times, I’ve taken heed but at others, I’ve totally ignored it. My motivation for Loose Connections and for all my books has been to write what I love, to write what stirs my soul ; I don't plan them so much as channel what flows through me.My sons were born in the 1980s and I started writing children’s books when I realized that the lack of diversity in children’s and young adult books had persisted from my childhood to theirs – and I wanted to do something about it. I started to write Loose Connections because I wanted to tell another invisible story - of my mother’s incarceration in a mental hospital as an unmarried mother of a mixed-race child, and of what came before and after. At first, I tried to write the story as fiction; I tried to write it without including myself so the transition to ‘creative non-fiction’ and ‘family memoir’ was a lengthy process. I have files buried on my hard-drive that are at least ten years old.Why I chose self-publishingI decided to go down the route of self-publishing partly because I am familiar with and realistic about the barriers into traditional publishing for peop le like me. I’m not a bright, young thing with a literature degree from Oxbridge or a creative writing master’s degree from East Anglia or City East, at the beginning of my writing career.I’m not seen as ‘commercially viable’ or ‘marketable’ with a blog with thousands of followers, a huge social networking platform or a reality TV fan-base. I’m more likely to be perceived as a grizzled old cynic, with a chip on my shoulder and an axe to grind.It’s not true, of course - I’m actually rather delightful, with a story to tell! Loose Connections was published at the beginning of June - and my first Amazon review says it’s a ‘†¦wonderfully moving book†¦ really well written, clear and simple but heartbreaking too.’ Also true! I decided to self-publish even though I didn't have a huge social networking platform or fan-base. The Reedsy experienceThe Reedsy marketplace was a revelation. Although there is an option to ‘shortlist’ up to five professionals, I quickly narrowed down my choice to two editors and sent them a request for a quote for a structural edit together with a synopsis and the first chapter of my book. They both responded very quickly and it was clear that they were highly skilled and experienced. I thought either would be able to do a good job so my final choice came down to cost, although I definitely struck gold with Gillian Holmes. She did a first read-through, followed up with a phone call about possibly libelous content and my overall intentions for the book, a few minor copy editing corrections and queries about continuity, proposed cuts and a couple of gaps, in tracked changes – and then a detailed restructuring proposal. Wow! Her recommendations were straightforward and simple but I clearly hadn’t been able to see the wood for the trees – excuse th e continuing lumberjack analogies – and her suggestions were spot on!How to Write a Memoir: Breathe Life into Your Story in 8 Steps Read post What were, for me, the unforeseen advantages of self-publishing have been huge: creative control of my own work, choosing my own editor and designer and yes, compared to traditional publishing, which can take months – or years – even the speed of the process from word doc manuscript to e-book download and beautifully typeset, beautifully packaged paperback book! I would definitely recommend Reedsy and the self-publishing option to any new and aspiring authors and to grizzled old cynics alike. Two months ago, I swore blind I would never do it again, but now I’m already planning my next project, an anthology.Loose Connections  is available on both  Amazon US and Amazon UK, get your copy now!Ever thought of writing a family memoir? Would you self-publish it like Malaika did? Leave your  thoughts and experiences, or any questions for Malaika, in the comments below.

Review of the Book Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner

Review of the Book Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner Chris Gardner’s life story is impressive. Despite having never gone to college, and after a period of being homeless, he became a wildly successful stockbroker and wrote his memoir, Pursuit of Happyness. It’s not surprising that Hollywood turned his story into a blockbuster film starring Will Smith. Pursuit of Happyness  tracks this happy, rags-to-riches story, starting in early childhood and including Gardners adult progression through a few different careers. About the Book Chris Gardner went from an impoverished childhood to become a wealthy stockbroker and entrepreneur and managed to juggle single fatherhood before it was culturally accepted. His memoir, Pursuit of Happyness, spends a lot of time recounting that difficult childhood and his transition to the military and to time spent working in medicine. The story picks up more speed two-thirds of the way through when Gardner is living in San Francisco determined to raise his son and succeed as a stockbroker, despite having never gone to college. Gardner’s message can seem inconsistent. On the one hand, he was moved by his own troubled childhood to vow that he would be a good father to his children. On the other hand, a flashy red Ferrari caught his eye one day, prompting him to adopt the goal of becoming a stockbroker in order to earn enough money to buy his own Ferrari. The two goals aren’t incompatible, of course, but Gardner doesn’t mention any tension he may have felt between his selfless love for his son and his more superficial-seeming financial goals. Any self-reflection present in Gardner’s story seems to be mostly the self-reflection of a motivational speaker, which Gardner has become. There is much discussion of working hard to overcome the paucity of other African-Americans on Wall Street, not to mention Gardner’s lack of a college degree. The Pursuit of Happyness makes for an enjoyable story, and an inspiring one, but leaves the reader looking for something more. What Makes the Book Worth Reading (or Not) Chris Gardners story is unique in more ways than one. A child who grew up largely in foster care, he found the tenacity, strength of character, and talent within himself to become extraordinarily successful. A black man growing up in poverty, he built a reputation that turned him into a major motivational speaker for people of all backgrounds. Perhaps most significantly, Gardner is a father (not a mother) who did whatever it took to ensure that his son would grow up in a safe, loving home. If you are struggling against the odds, you may well find reassurance and motivation in Gardners experience. If you dont find motivational biographies inspiring, you may also want to read the book as background before viewing the movie version starring Will Smith. The movie includes only a portion of the full story, and skips or changes some of the details. Both book and movie, however, have similar pros and cons. As with many rags-to-riches stories, the emphasis is on the grit and determination of the individual and not on the systemic issues that placed the individual in a seemingly  impossible situation. Much of Gardners achievement is related, not to relationship-building or self-discovery, but to the ability to find a niche in which he could fit in and make the money he craved. For many people, Gardners story will be inspirational; for others its likely to be frustrating.