A LinkedIn Hack to Land More Freelance Writing Gigs

If you decided to become a freelance writer, one of the best ways to start getting out there and telling others you are a freelance writer is to use social media. For freelance writers, I suggest you stick to Twitter and LinkedIn first. Later on you can dabble in Instagram or Facebook if you feel you can land more freelance jobs there. Now, I know for many of you, social media is NOT something you are interesting in doing. I get you. When I first started, I never used Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest. I had a personal Facebook profile to keep in touch with my family. Thats it. I was NOT on social media. So, when I decided to work from home as a freelance writer I had to learn about social media. I didnt even know what tagging was or the purpose of LinkedIn. I had to learn which social media platforms to use for my freelance writing business and how to effectively market my business on those social platforms. How to Market on LinkedIn Of the two social media platforms, LinkedIn is the best platform to network and really find the best type of client for you. I view LinkedIn as the professional Facebook platform. You have a profile that shares who you are and what you do and instead of posting cute and fun things, you post your past work experience. You can join LinkedIn groups and you can follow Company pages. You can also connect with other freelance writers or request to follow other types of freelancers. Now, for years, Ive had my profile sit on LinkedIn as is. Over time I added new projects and occasionally updated my title and bio. But, nothing too drastic. LinkedIn over time has also changed and has updated their profile features. In light of this, I decided to shake things up. In my YouTube Video, I share with you a LinkedIn hack that you can use to land more gigs. Check out the video and make sure to subscribe to my channel to be notified first when new videos get published! Being Visual on LinkedIn The new thing I started doing on LinkedIn was take advantage of the banner image for my profile. Before this hack I just posted a pretty stock photo for my banner image. But, I decided to do some experiments to see if I optimized my banner image would I attract my ideal client – digitally native brands – and get more views to my profile? This is what my new banner image looks like: Heres what I did: I mention my name and my writer website and blog I put a photo of me doing a Facebook Live (talking on microphone) Metrics to show potential client I write digital marketing content but that Im also a digital marketer Remember, most prospects will take a quick look to see if you are the writer for them. You have less than 5 seconds to convince them you can write for them. So, your banner image can help you keep the attention of potential clients. Have The Right Information on Your Banner No matter what niche you are in – pet writing, real estate writing – its important to have the right information on your banner image. Personally, I feel they are your name, your blog and your niche if possible. Its okay to be redundant in your banner image. I have two images of me – thats okay! It makes me more personal. How Does This Help With Landing More Freelance Gigs? Doing this one thing makes you more personable and more unique. Prospects will remember your profile if you have a customized LinkedIn banner image. Once I updated my banner image and did some marketing tactics that I explain show in Write Your Way to Your First $1k, I improved the views to my profile by 57%. This hack is a warm pitching hack as well and takes time to develop clients. But, its my favorite strategy to land long-term recurring freelance work. How to Create a Customized LinkedIn Banner Image The editing tool I used to create my LinkedIn banner image was Canva. Its a free tool that has templates – like the LinkedIn banner template – to use. If you want to see how I created this banner, make sure to check my YouTube video! 3 Marketing Tactics to Help You Land More Freelance Writing Jobs On top of using LinkedIn, you should also be trying other platforms to market your writing business. Here are my top three. 1. Guest Posting Guest posting is by far the best strategy as it has a high ROI – rate of return. By guest posting on other peoples sites you reach a new audience and it may land you work from the blog owner too! Guest posting also helps you build your portfolio. With a bylined article, you can link to that on your Portfolio page or upload this to your Contently portfolio. 2. Networking I have mentioned previously, but networking is the backbone of your freelance writing business. Without networking, you will not succeed! Its that important. Networking can be as simple as following other companies and as complex as guest posting or emailing them. Some of my best freelance writing jobs was a result of networking! 3. Starting a Blog Content marketing still relies on blogging. Businesses use blogs as their lead generation strategy and its no different for you – the freelance writer! You can start a blog to attract some amazing clients. It has happened to me numerous times. If you need help starting a blog for your freelance writing business, make sure to check my totally simple step-by-step video. Get On LinkedIn Okay – I want you to try this LinkedIn hack and when youre done, share your LinkedIn profile so I can view it! Thanks and remember to share this post!

Contemporary Christian Music essays

Contemporary Christian Music essays The purpose of my project was to determine the different feelings and attitudes towards Contemporary Christian music and traditional church music. Both of these genres have the same general purpose of praising and worshipping the lord. However, the general audiences and feelings resulting from this music are very different. To achieve this I interviewed members of The Bread of Life Church in Pine Bush and Most Precious Blood in Walden. Both of these churches observe the Christian faith but thus ends the similarities. The Bread of Life Church is a more casual and friendly environment. Which explains why it contains many young families and teenage parishioners. Music is a vital portion of the mass and members are encouraged to perform. No set songs are consistently involved in the masses and they are not specific to season. It is also a newly established church that relied totally on people joining it. Most Precious Blood is a formal and traditional church composed mostly of older parishioners and families well established in the area. As in most churches of this type music plays a much more minor role in the mass. Many of the songs repeat at every mass you attend and are season specific. This church originates from the initial founding of the Town of Walden. Traditional church music was written to inspire reverence and generally takes on a solemn tone. These songs were written in the days where worship was a duty and should not be enjoyed. The music of this type was basically a repetition of the Bible. Joshua, a thirteen year old from Most Precious Blood states I dont understand most of the words in the song all I know is that we sing with reverence. When asked what he felt the purpose of the music is and how he felt singing it his answers were as I had suspected. He stated that the purpose was to make them remember how much praise God deserves. Joshua said he felt not much of anything when s...

Precedent in English Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Precedent in English Law - Essay Example It is always considered to be the rule-based, legally well-established case law. "The fact that English Law is largely a system of case-law means that the judge's decision in a particular case constitutes a 'precedent'The judge may simply be obliged to decide the case before him in the same way as that in which the previous case was decided, even if he can give a good reason for not doing so," Cross and Harris (1991, p.4). There is no doubt that precedents have not remained what they used to be and as the society evolves, some of the precedents might become irrelevant and it is left to the court's discerning judgement where and how to apply these highly useful precedents. "Rather, what is common to all the various traits of free judicial decision-making is their critical attitude towards the formalist premises of legal positivism and the ideology of bound judicial decision-making," Siltala (2000, p.5) and he argues that legislative techniques have undergone great change in 20th century which has given way to 'judicial anti-formalism'. Precedent spells the legal authority in the form of a forgone legal case that had reached a judgement that could be described as 'out of the track'. It does not say that similar judgement should be established every time; it only becomes a mandatory example from which either the judge could derive inspiration or measure the new case from that angle. Court is expected to consider such precedents before interpreting law for another judgement. Precedent is a landmark decision that could be applied to other cases, but according to independent circumstances. "The rule-based model suggests that the function of precedent is to settle the law so that it can guide individuals and the courts. The reason-based model suggests that the function is to compensate for the erosion of consensus in the common law by simultaneously fixing starting points for decision-making without giving the judiciary lawmaking power" http://journals.cambridge.org/download.phpfile=%2FLEG%2FLEG11_01%2FS1352325205050019a.pdf&code=303b5dd539d0786a50aadfcbedad50cd Precedents could be mandatory/binding or persuasive, depending on the importance of the said precedent, and also depending on the exclusive circumstances under which it was delivered and the authority who created the precedent. Usually binding precedents are created by higher courts for the lower courts to follow. If created by a lower court, it is never binding on the higher court, although it could take it as a matter of sound significance. Even if it is binding, this does not mean that the lower court has to follow it to the letter unless it is 'directly in point' and no additional cases could be formed on the precedent case. Also in rare occasions, a higher court can overturn the judgement of precedent case, or sometimes even limit the scope of the precedent. Even when they are binding, they do so in a certain ratio, which was highly pronounced in Duncan v Cammell. "On that criterion the ratio decidendi of Duncan v Cammell, Laird would have to be "the" reason which explains the holding on "the" material facts and nothing wider. Therefore all utterances in the precedent case which went in verbal ambit beyond such a reason, even though that ambit might seem to govern the instant facts, did not in law do so. For they were simply not a part of the ratio of Duncan's case," says Stone (1985, p.133).

Communication in the digital economy , Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Communication in the digital economy , - Essay Example It is the management’s ability to build and maintain flourishing association with their target consumers. External factors involve both opportunities and threats which change continuously with the changing environmental factors (accenture.com, 2010). In addition, marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing management’s ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers. The marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats. The environment continues to change rapidly. The marketing environment is composed of Micro-environment and Macro-environment. Micro environment includes actors which are close to the company. These include customer markets, suppliers, advertising mediators, competitors and community. The Macro environment constitutes several other factors which are basically the larger communal forces that influence the micro environment. These forces are: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. The transformation in the business environment is due to many reasons. Some of them are discussed keeping in view the automobile industry (Jain & R. K. Garg, 2011). 1. Demographic shifts Due to increase in population and urbanization, there has been a steady change in demographic factors. These factors affect market demand and consequently supply as well. With the change in the target market, the company has to maneuver its strategies accordingly. Customers desire newer, superior products at a lower price. The company’s primary target market is young men aged between 20 years and 30 years. These men are most likely having a couple of part-time jobs that put them in a better position to finance the cost of their cars. The main reason for targeting young men in their 20s is that they like to show off flashy cars. 2. Technological development and Innovation It is compulsive for organizations to keep up with the pace of techn ology. These changes in technology affect the mechanism in which the products are made and also the way in which they recruit and eventually their business culture. Invention of Smartphones has increased communication while social media have made it possible to reach target audience in a more convenient and effective way (Root et al., 2012). 3. Changing Global and Economical setup Due to recessions in the economy, there has been a market intervention approach, which has increased the coordination and dependency between public and private sector. Considering the prices of car specifically Prestige Auto-serve has segmented their cars in two categories which are luxury cars and super luxury cars. Both of these categories are focused specifically to the elite class of the society. The company sells prestigious cars including Mercedes, BMW, and Audi. It as well offers a couple of services including servicing cars, driving lessons, insurance services and financial services (Corwin et al., 2012). 4. Increased competition Due to the certain reasons, like increased valuation, customer awareness and competition, companies are required to venture into new markets, adopt new techniques, and formulate innovative strategies to gain that competitive edge which will make them stand out. If new businesses want to emerge as more compatible than it should have innovative ideas

Moral Issues In Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Moral Issues In Business - Research Paper Example Moral Issues In Business Amazon’s product-service has two components: a service component and a product component. The service component has a product-service mix width of two, since the company provides two types of services: provides customers with easy access to online purchases of goods at a fee; and provides sellers with an online platform to sell their goods and services through Amazon’s library of software. The product component of Amazon’s product-service mix has a very large width that is undeterminable since the company provides customers with almost all types of products. Similarly, the length, depth and consistency of the product mix are indeterminately large (Griffin, 626). Some aspects of Amazon’s operations are characteristic of a manufacturing organization while some are characteristic of those of a service organization. The manufacturing aspects are manifest in the company’s library of software. Although Amazon provides this software for free to merchants and independent programmers, it charges a fee when these users use the software to sell their products and services through Amazon. Amazon’s operations that are characteristic of a service organization include the online platform it provides to its customers, which enables them to purchase goods through a simple mouse click. What I have read in real life for the Americans is that as a result of wealth accumulation under control by a few, the interest of laborers in the USA gets less attention and importance to the business entities. Since the interest of capitalism is profits and it relies on supply and demand, the management of an enterprise seeks out ways and means to lower labor costs in order to make its products and/or services more competitive.

Sustainable Transportation Policy In Malaysia

Sustainable Transportation Policy In Malaysia Climate Change, or Global Warming, is one of the most serious environmental threats of the 21st century. According to NST article on Top 10 list Global Warming Cause, Carbon dioxide emissions from burning gasoline for transportation responsible for about 33% of emissions. With the population growing at an alarming rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing. The problems of greenhouse gas emissions and urban air quality are focusing attention on sustainable transport. There are many definitions on sustainable transportation. A sustainable transport system as defined by The Centre for Sustainable Transportation (Gilbert and Tanguay, 2000) is as follows: Allows the basic access and development needs of individuals, companies and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem, health, and promotes equity within and between successive generations. Is affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a competitive economy, as well as balanced regional development. Limits emissions and waste within the planets ability to absorb them, uses renewable resources at or below their rates of generation, and uses non-renewable resources at or below the rates of development of renewable substitutes while minimizing the impact on the use of land and the generation of noise. How can transportation become more sustainable? According to The Center for Sustainable Transportation it is defined as: With respect to society, transportation systems should: Meet basic human needs for health, comfort, and convenience in ways that do not stress the social fabric. Allow and support development at a human scale, and provide for a reasonable choice of transport modes, types of housing and community, and living styles. Produce no more noise than is acceptable by communities. Be safe for people and their property. With respect to the economy, transportation systems should: Provide cost-effective service and capacity. Be financially affordable in each generation. Support vibrant, sustainable economic activity. With respect to the environment, transportation systems should: Make use of land in a way that has little or no impact on the integrity of ecosystems. Use sparingly energy sources that are essentially not renewable or inexhaustible. Use other resources that are renewable or inexhaustible, achieved in part through the reuse of items and the recycling of materials used in vehicles and infrastructure. Produce no more emissions and waste than can be accommodated by the planets restorative ability. According to the Center for Sustainable Transportaion also, there are several barriers to the attainment of sustainable transportation. Four of the most important are these: More than for most other areas of human endeavour, decision-making about transportation by governments, corporations, and individuals has become locked into modes that reinforce the present unsustainable arrangements and trends. There is a mindset that achieving sustainable transportation is too costly, difficult, and will threaten our quality of life and lifestyle. Combustion of low-cost oil provides more than 99 per cent of the energy for motorized transportation and creates many of the environmental problems that result from transportation. Harnessing renewable alternatives will be a major challenge. Mechanisms for identifying improvements in sustainable transportation, and disseminating resulting success stories, and beneficial trends are inadequate. The effort towards achieving sustainable transport includes technological improvements of cars and lorries, fuels and infrastructure. However, using vehicles more efficiently (higher load factor for lorries, and fewer single occupancy private vehicles) would be a good start towards a smarter use of transport. Walking and cycling are the greenest and most sustainable forms of transport. However, public transport is a key option but it is not receiving the priority which it should be. Transport becomes sustainable only when it does not harm the environment or uses fuel from renewable sources such as wind and solar. In terms of human mobility, this means more use of public transport (including integrated mobility services), and non-motorised modes of transport like walking and cycling. For movement of goods, rail freight is more fuel efficient than trucking. The public transportation system in Klang Valley includes busses, commuter Light Rail Transit (LRT), monorail, buses and taxis. Public transport passengers are just as inconsiderate as the drivers. Lining up is a practically unknown phenomenon is frustrating and time consuming 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Whenever a car is started, sitting idle or driving it is producing emissions that are filling our atmosphere. These emissions include nitrogen gas (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapour (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2, together called NOx). Bryant et al. 2008. Carbon dioxide represents about 80 percent of the manmade greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. 15% of the manmade carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earths atmosphere comes from cars, trucks, airplanes, trains, and ships. The remaining 85% of atmospheric CO2 comes from industry, buildings and agriculture. Current trends show atmospheric CO2 concentration would double by the end of the century (Jan Fuglestvedt 2008) Figure 1: Projected concentration levels assuming continuing business as usual behaviour (Source:University of Maryland) According ESMAP, Traffic congestion can affect human health due to pollution with high levels of particulates, hydrocarbons, lead and NOx. there are three principal sources of particulate air pollution: vehicle exhaust, re-suspended road dust, and solid fuels, The Federal Highway Administration has documented the levels of these emissions and how much of each compound is produced by cars (see Figure 2). Air Pollutant Proportion from On road Motor Vehicles Note Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) 34% precursor to groundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ level ozone (smog), which damages the respiratory system and injures plants Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) 34% precursor to groundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ level ozone (smog), which damages the respiratory system and injures plants Carbon Monoxide (CO) 51% contributes to smog production; poisonous in high concentrations Particulate Matter (PM10) 10% does not include dust from paved and unpaved roads, which are the major source of particulate matter pollution (50% of the total) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 33% thought to be primary contributor to global warming Figure 2: Transportation Air Quality: Selected Facts and Figures 2002. Sterba 2009 According to study on Hybrid Cars (Michael et. al 2010), their higher price turns consumers away and makes the vehicles a less attractive economic investment. Energy efficient processing techniques need to be developed before the advanced materials in hybrids can help add to their clean image. Widespread change to advanced hybrid technologies is not a feasible option in the near future because of both cost and the limited amount of hybrids on the road today. Overall, hybrid technology has a lot of potential in the distant future, but as for right now they are not a significant improvement over todays internal combustion engine. To deal with the severe traffic problems in Malaysia especially in Klang Valley the transportation planners will have to look to solutions such as using public transport and introducing more environmental friendly vehicles. In the 10TH Malaysia Plan, a sum of RM2.8 billion is allocated for improving urban public transportation was chosen as one of six National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), which are priority areas under the Government Transformation Programme. During the 10MP period, connectivity across different modes of public transport will be improved through the establishment of multi-modal transfer hubs for services within cities, from suburban areas into cities and for intercity travel. The Strategic Plan is a document which determines the direction of future transportation system in Malaysia. According to The strategic Plan of The Ministry of Transport (2008 2015), development of transport infrastructure a seamless, integrated, sustainable and competitive to meet the aspirations countries is emphasised. One of the plan objective is to ensure that environmental not contaminated by the land transport, air and maritime. TERAS 2 The strategy highlighted is to optimize new technologies in transport by promoting the use of environmentally friendly vehicles and providing seamless transportation system by improving the park n ride facilities at all stations of urban transport to meet the objective to strengthen and provide world-class integrated transport infrastructure. Park and Ride (PR) system are known as incentive parking system. This facilities system consists of car parks with connections to public transport. The user will use public transportation to travel into city and leave their personnel vehicles in a car park. PR system are generally located in suburbs of metropolitan areas or on the outer edges of large cities. Many countries had using this system such as United Kingdom, United State, Japan and Singapore. Park and Ride was first initiated in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 1960s and 1970s that enjoy most success in cities historic in nature and quite small capacity of controlling that balance to their inhibiting urban structure. In a range of settings across the UK, however, some of which very different in size and nature to the earlier host centres, Park and Ride has subsequently emerged as a major component of local transport policies. In Malaysia, the government starts using Park and Ride system such as Kuala Lumpur, around Klang Val ley and Putrajaya According to CASE STUDY ON AWARENESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF PARK AND RIDE AT PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA the awareness level for both Putrajaya citizens and visitors is not high enough to reach the target of the Park and Ride system. This is because, about only half of the people is using the system while the rest refuse to use the system and do not know to us the system. The understanding about the system need to be well explicate to the both Putrajaya citizens and also the visitors. Therefore, the user of Park and Ride may increase and many traffic problems could reduce. Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) provide an illustration of how criteria and targets can be linked to significant environmental and health quality objectives. These targets are long-term specific intermediate targets and milestones should be set to focus action. The quantitative target levels below are not prescriptive and could be adapted according to national, regional or local circumstances. What is essential for the EST approach, is that target levels are set to achieve environmental and health quality objectives. CO2 Climate change is prevented by reducing carbon dioxide emissions so that atmospheric concentrations of CO2are stabilised at or below their 1990 levels. Accordingly, total emissions of CO2 from transport should not exceed 20% to 50% of such emissions in 1990 depending on specific national conditions. NOx Damage from ambient NO2and ozone levels and nitrogen deposition is greatly reduced by meeting WHO Air Quality Guidelines for human health and eco-toxicity. This implies that total emissions of NOxfrom transport should not exceed 10% of such emissions in 1990. VOCs Damage from carcinogenic VOCs and ozone is greatly reduced by meeting WHO Air Quality Guidelines for human health and ecosystem protection. Total emissions of transport-related VOCs should not exceed 10% of such emissions in 1990 (less for extremely toxic VOCs).2 Particulates Harmful ambient air levels are avoided by reducing emissions of fine particulates (especially those less than 10 microns in diameter). Depending on local and regional conditions, this may entail a reduction of 55% to 99% of fine particulate (PM10) emissions from transport, compared with 1990 levels. Landuse/Landtake Land use and infrastructure for the movement, maintenance, and storage of transport vehicles is developed in such a way that local and regional objectives for air, water, eco-system and biodiversity protection are met. Compared to 1990 levels, this will likely entail the restoration and expansion of green spaces in built-up areas. Noise Noise from transport no longer results in outdoor noise levels that present a health concern or serious nuisance. Depending on local and regional conditions, this may entail a reduction of transport noise to no more than a maximum of 55 dB(A) during the day and 45 dB(A) at night and outdoors. Minister of Transport Malaysia in his speech mention that The transport sector has now entered the new era of a more challenging and requires a high commitment from all sides. It is now requires a mode of transport and more integrated services and quality system. In addition environmental aspects should also be given emphasis in the planning of all projects for the Ministry of ensure sustainable development. (Message from DATUK ONG TEE KEAT, Minister of Transport Malaysia) 3.0 METHODOLOGY This is Life Cycle Analysis academic writing which needs a lot of journals and article readings, internet surfing and knowledge. Some articles were from Ministry of Transport, 10th Malaysia Plan and Malaysian Strategic Planning to ensure that suggestion proposed relevant to the direction of Malaysia development (Dasar Pembangunan Negara). However, more detailed studies should be done to get ideas that can contribute to achieving the goals. 4.0 DISCUSSION What are the holistic approach toward sustainable transportation policy in Malaysia? Several strategies can be developed such as: 1. Develop of national transportation strategy Transportation networks are an important piece of the communications infrastructure of a country. We are completely dependent on our transportation networks to move goods and people throughout the country. A national transportation strategy such as highlighted in The Strategic Plan would help Malaysia create a sustainable transportation policy. More strategies must emphasis on green technology. 2. Enhance national public transportation strategy In order to reduce the number of private cars on the road, the government must plan their short term and long term strategies for public transportation. People must be encouraged to choose public transport for the movement of goods and people. Long term strategies need to plan on how people can move around in the future by using public transport as a priority and reach the destination faster, convenient and comfortable. The Malaysian government has stated a goal to have 40% of the population using public transportation in the future. Unfortunately, at a meantime we have limited choices for safe, convenient, reliable public transportation. For example, we have a very limited train to travel from North to South. Road accidents which involved express bus are often happen in the country. Thus, task force group which include expertise from relevant field must be formed. This group will come out with the national public transportation strategies and also to advice the stakeholders on how to achieve the mission 3. National public transportation department Public transportation should not be run as a profitable business. It must be look as a choice of transportation that people can choose. Minimum fare should be charge to the people. More subsidies must be given to this department. People will surely use public transport if it is convenient and comfortable with the low fare. It is time for the government to upgrade the public transportation to the first class facilities by locating more money in this department.Research and development unit must also form in this department. This unit will always do research on new technologies to upgrade the transportation systems or transport which environmental friendly like was done in Seoul as an earth friendly transportation city. 4. Expanded national railway network Railway technology is still the most efficient way to move goods and people. Successful rail networks in Europe, Japan, India, China, Taiwan, and soon in Argentina, show us that the movement of passengers by rail is faster, easier, and better than car or air travel. Thanks to the English Channel Tunnel and the Eurostar High Speed Train, London and Paris are now two hours apart by train. Trains move more people, avoid congestion on the roads, use less energy, and are far more appealing than planes or cars. A nation like Malaysia should have a reliable railway transportation network for freight as well as a fast passenger railway network connecting all major cities. High Speed rail connections between Kuala Lumpur and neighbouring capital cities must be explored. Thus, the full double-tracking and electrification of all rail lines within Malaysia is necessary. In addition, triple tracking and the construction of additional rail lines should be considered. 5. Regional/local public transportation authority As we can see in the urban area, there is a more than one public transportation company. for example in Klang valley, Rapid KL and XXX are the famous bus companies. It is suppose to be only one authority which responsible for the planning, regulation and oversight of public transportation. This local authority has the duty to control the bus systems so that it operates under an effective an efficient system. This would eliminate unnecessary and wasteful competition and encourage stability and reliability in public transportation. 6. Additional, secure funding for regional/local public transportation Public transportation service is important infrastructure. It should not be operated like a business. There should be no reason why a bus company should even try to operate a sustainable business. All world-class public transportation services do not make money. They in fact lose money, and their additional costs are borne by a combination of government funds, bonds, and additional investments. The best way to build stable, reliable public transportation infrastructure is to fund it properly and fund it early on. This means capital investment and regular operations subsidies are necessary. No world class transportation agency should even be attempting to recover 50% o more of their revenues from fares paid by passengers. Instead, they should be receiving money from public and private investment. Currently the state government of Terengganu is planning the introduction of Rapid Terengganu, a state-level bus service. While any bus service improvements are good news, this news is even better because it shows that the state government is committed to improving public transportation through government regulated service. One small point, however. The name Rapid is overused, and perhaps should be limited to big cities only. A state-level service should have an appropriate name that reflects the service being offered, not a marketing tool. I personally like Bas Negeri Terengganu and I think the acronym Bantu (for Bas Negeri Terengganu) would be a very appropriate as the word bantu reflects the concepts of helping and supporting each other. 7. Expanded KTM Komuter Service We have to realise that KTM Komuter has the lowest costs and greatest potential for expansion among all modes of transportation. An expanded KTM Komuter service (that means, higher frequencies, longer trains, faster trains, and more lines) would encourage people to use rapid transit. It simply costs too much to build enough LRT lines to make a difference in the transportation infrastructure in the Klang Valley. KTM Komuter expansion plans include new networks in the north and south, extensions from Sentul to Batu Caves, Rasa to Tanjung Malim, and Seremban to Senawang. A plan is underway to rebuild more than a dozen damaged electric-multiple unit (EMU) trains, which would allow higher frequency and more reliable service. The government must commit to a real expansion of KTM Komuter service, meaning more lines, enough trains for five minute frequencies, and reliable service. 8. More urban mass-transit lines LRT and mass transit should be built in urban areas, rather than suburban or rural areas. The cost of construction is increasing daily, and this is why the government should be committing to build lines in urban areas, not suburban or rural areas. There is no reason, for example, to build an LRT from Kuala Lumpur to Klang, when Kuala Lumpur itself still needs at least four more LRT lines (in addition to the new Kota Damansara-Cheras line). Urban areas need mass transit. Urban areas have vast numbers of people and they have the population density to make mass-transit cost effective. Suburban areas do not need mass transit such as LRT lines. They really need enhanced, frequent and reliable bus service to move the vast numbers of people spread out over a wider area. The planned Kota Damansara-Cheras LRT line will travel through Kuala Lumpur. The Sentul-Batu Caves extension will change transportation in the northern areas of Kuala Lumpur. However, additional lines are needed in Kuala Lumpur to create the core of a mass-transit network. The government should be building in urban areas, not the suburban areas. Extensions are for the future. The core of the mass-transit network needs to be built now. 9. Promoting Park and Ride The government should enforce the user of Park and Ridein urban area. But before that the quality of service of Park and Ride system need to be improved where more frequent service of the buses to fetch the people from one point to another. Besides improve the service, other strategies to increase the number of bus user is provide enough information to the customer. Kiosk and information centre is suitable to notify the information about Park and Ride system to the people. Marketing and promotion such as image advertising, new resident promotion and fare incentives may also affect the number of bus user. Malaysians seem to have an obsession with LRT and a misunderstanding of traffic congestion. We also think that traffic problems can be solved with massive projects rather than simple solutions. I wont bore you with the details of why. LRT is a mass-transit, and it is costly. As stated before, there is no possible way to build all of the LRT lines that are needed to create quick, reliable, convenient public transportation. This means that other rapid transit alternatives must be explored. Alternative forms of rapid transit include rapid trams, and bus rapid transit. Even simple things like traffic signal priority, bus lanes, and traffic monitoring cameras will make a huge difference. Sadly, the majority of people in Malaysia still cling to the belief that traffic lights, reduced number of lanes, and roundabouts contribute to traffic congestion. The truth is that traffic congestion is caused by having too many cars on the road at the same time. Fewer cars equal lower congestion. There is hope that the arrival of local public transportation authorities will make a big difference, expanding and enhancing public transportation. Radical ideas need to be implemented to reduce the number of cars on the road. Bus lanes are only a start but they are easy to implement. Bus Rapid Transit would be the next step. A reliable Bus Rapid Transit service running along major roads like Jalan Puchong, Jalan Klang Lama, the Federal Highway, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Kepong, and others, would also help. The government must announce a plan to invest in tram lines, not just additional LRT lines. 10. Reduction in petrol subsidy and incentives to encourage the use of public transportation Petrol subsidies may make the lives of some people easier, but economics say that anytime you fix the price of an item below its natural price, demand will increase and this will ultimately result in shortages of the product. We have seen this happen in Malaysia with cooking oil, sugar, and diesel fuel. Petrol and wheat may be the next items facing shortages. The price of petrol in Malaysia is low (compared to world markets). Malaysians are driving more and demanding more petrol. The supply is less and less reliable. Any imbalance is paid through taxes and government funds. Other countries such as Indonesia (2005) and Myanmar (2007) have seen huge increases in the price of fuel after the government could no longer afford the subsidies. One way to reduce the demand for petrol is to reduce the subsidy (thereby raising the price at the pumps) and directing that money into enhanced public transport service. The government needs to accept that this decision, though unpopular at first, will be in the best interests of the people. To make their point clear, the government should reduce the petrol subsidy by an amount of RM0.08 per litre, which would lead to an increased pump price of RM2.00 per litre. An 8 sen increase in the price of petrol (after the election, of course) would be much easier to accept than a 60 sen hike in 2 to 3 years time. The government should allocate the funds saved towards improving and enhancing public transportation. There are many simple things that the government can do to enhance public transportation across the country, and these can be implemented quickly. An expanded Touch N Go service, subsidies for bus operations, tax incentives on the purchase of monthly transit passes, and investment in funding of public transport authorities would make a huge difference for Malaysia. Summary The proposals here are relatively uninteresting and less glamorous than new LRT lines or monorails in every city that asks for one. The fact is that public transportation can be interesting and glamorous and inspiring. However, before that can all happen, there must be changes in the attitude of the government and the people. It is good to think that improved public transportation is part of the solution to traffic congestion in Malaysia. However, many people do not speak out and demand better public transportation, and do not actually intend to use the improved public transportation. They are missing the point. We can only have inspiring, glamorous, interesting and effective public transportation if there are changes at the government level. Once the government makes the necessary changes, creates a national public transportation strategy and a National Public Transportation Department, then we will finally be on track to a great future. a regular user of public transport, is deeply concerned that government plans to encourage the use of public transport will ultimately fail because of poor planning and lack of support from the public. 5.0 CONCLUSION Ensuring progress towards sustainable development suppose to be a priority of the Malaysian government. Transport is a particularly challenging sector. It is indispensable to modern life, but has many adverse effects on health and environment. Most transport trends are unsustainable. More effort must be put on to develop public transport because study found that using public transport can minimize the environmental pollution and impact of health to human. Although there is a lot of bad news the good news is its not too late! We can implement solutions, but we need to act fast and we need our government to take the lead.

Essay on Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Evil Exposed in The Pardoners Ta

The Root of Evil Exposed in The Pardoner's Tale    "The root of all evil is money."   Because this phrase has been repeated so many times throughout history, one can fail to realize the truth in this timeless statement.   Whether applied to the corrupt clergy of Geoffrey Chaucer's time, selling indulgences, or the corrupt televangelists of today, auctioning off salvation to those who can afford it, this truth never seems to lose its validity.   In Chaucer's famous work The Canterbury Tales, he points out many inherent flaws of human nature, all of which still apply today.   Many things have changed since the fourteenth century, but humanity's ability to act foolish is not one of them.   Perhaps the best example of this is illustrated in "The Pardoner's Tale."   His account of three rioters who set out to conquer Death and instead deliver it upon each other, as well as the prologue which precedes the tale, reveal the truthfulness of the aforementioned statement as it applies to humanity in general and the Pardoner himself.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before he even begins his tale, the Pardoner delivers a sort of disclaimer, informing the pilgrims of his practices within the church.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Pardoner was an expert at exploiting parishioners' guilt for his financial gain.   He sold them various "relics" that supposedly cured ailments ranging from sick cattle to jealousy.   And if the relics didn't seem to work, it was obviously because of the sinful man or woman who purchased them, and no fault of the Pardoner.   He had a few lines he would routinely say to his potential customers;      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Good men and women, here's a word of of... ...aucer does a great job of pointing out flaws of human nature, as well as the hypocrisy of organized religion.   He shows in several ways that money is indeed the root of evil.   In addition to the obvious message of "The Pardoner's Tale", Chaucer also paints a vivid picture of the Pardoner's character and uses this to further reinforce his point.  Ã‚   By examining both "The Pardoner's Tale" and the Pardoner himself, it isn't hard to see that the statement continues to ring true just as it did 500 years ago:   The root of evil is money.    Works Cited and Consulted Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale. In The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 6th ed. 1 vol. New York: Norton. 1:164-178. French, Robert Dudley. A Chaucer Handbook, 2nd ed. New York: Appleton Century Crofts Inc., 1955.