Sunday, October 20, 2019
WhiteSmoke Software Review
WhiteSmoke Software Review WhiteSmoke Software Review WhiteSmoke Software Review By Ali Hale Editors Note: WhiteSmoke has been a sponsor of the blog for a while, and we often get emails from readers asking how good their software are. That is why we decided to review it. But keep in mind we did not get paid to do it. Ali Hale did the review for us, and I asked her to be completely transparent with it. First Impressions I found WhiteSmoke very easy to install and get started with. It checks the grammar, spelling and readability of everything that you write (it will do this whilst running in the background, or you can load up the program directly). Itââ¬â¢s a bit like a very advanced and more intelligent version of Microsoft Wordââ¬â¢s spelling and grammar checker. I liked the way it automatically checked my typing in not only Microsoft Word but also in emails and when leaving comments using web forms. It caught a few potentially embarrassing typos before I had a chance to hit ââ¬Å"sendâ⬠or ââ¬Å"submitâ⬠â⬠¦ Testing WhiteSmoke I tried running a few pieces of my regular writing through WhiteSmoke to see what it would say. This passage came from a piece I was writing for my blog The Office Diet: Now you know what calories are and you know how to figure out how many are in your food you just need to know how many you should be eating. WhiteSmoke suggested putting a comma after the words ââ¬Å"calories areâ⬠, and when I clicked to find out why, I was told: Explanation: This sentence requires a comma to separate its clauses and improve clarity. Definition: Two coordinated clauses should be divided by a comma. So far so good: I agree that the sentence is improved when rewritten as: Now you know what calories are, and you know how to figure out how many are in your foodâ⬠¦ The next suggestion, however, was to put a full stop after ââ¬Å"outâ⬠and before ââ¬Å"howâ⬠, which would make the sentence: Now you know what calories are and you know how to figure out. How many are in your food This time, when I asked why, WhiteSmoke explained ââ¬Å"Two distinct sentences have to be divided by a full stop [period].â⬠However, these were not two separate sentences, and putting a full stop here would lose meaning. I suspect the use of ââ¬Å"figure outâ⬠(which is quite informal or colloquial) confused the software. My frequent use of bullet points, rather than conventional paragraphs, also caused a few issues: It suggested putting a period after the first bullet, but not after others. (Conventional advice is that you do not need to use periods for bullets consisting of short phrases, but if you do use periods, you should be consistent.) WhiteSmoke believed that ââ¬Å"Your weightâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Your activity levelsâ⬠should be ââ¬Å"Youre weightâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Youre activity levelsâ⬠respectively. Again, I suspect the use of bullets and fragments rather than full sentences caused this confusion. Sometimes, the software didnââ¬â¢t recognise what role a particular word was playing in a sentence. In the following example, the word ââ¬Å"fastâ⬠is an adjective modifying ââ¬Å"foodâ⬠, but WhiteSmoke believed it was a verb: They found that those who skipped breakfast tended to eat more fast food. I was advised to ââ¬Å"Change more to fasterâ⬠. I can understand where the confusion came ââ¬â ââ¬Å"more fastâ⬠would be poor grammar if the sentence was ââ¬Å"I ran more fast than Billy.â⬠But my sentence was correct as it stood. Enrichment Suggestions WhiteSmoke makes a number of enrichment suggestions which can help improve the flow or style of your writing. For example, one of these came up for me when it recommended changing ââ¬Å"Andâ⬠in: And your muscle mass is also important to ââ¬Å"Furthermoreâ⬠, ââ¬Å"In additionâ⬠, or ââ¬Å"Moreoverâ⬠. I would probably have picked one of these if Iââ¬â¢d been writing a more formal piece, but for a blog post, I donââ¬â¢t think starting with ââ¬Å"Andâ⬠is a problem. Verdict I enjoyed using the WhiteSmoke software, and found it was particularly good at spotting typos as I wrote. It could seem a little intrusive at times (a small window pops up in the right hand side of the screen as you type, when the software is running), so I usually turned it off when writing fiction or informal emails as I tended to get a lot of warnings about these! There were a few occasional slips when the software didnââ¬â¢t understand the meaning of what Iââ¬â¢d written, but so long as you donââ¬â¢t just accept every suggestion automatically, these infrequent mistakes shouldnââ¬â¢t cause too many problems. I think it would be an excellent piece of software for: People learning English as a foreign language Students writing academic essays Anyone producing a formal business-related piece (perhaps a report, or a job application) Freelancers writing for print or traditional markets You might find the WhiteSmoke software frustrating if: You mainly write fiction or poetry (especially if you use a lot of dialogue or your style involves breaking grammatical rules) Your emails and other non-fiction writing tend to be very informal You use a lot of bullet points or other sentence fragments Youre already very confident about your spelling and grammar Overall, WhiteSmoke is a very easy to use, intuitive piece of software, and considerably cheaper than paying a proof-reader to check your work! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterComma Before ButWoof or Weft?
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4
Analysis - Case Study Example Each of these departments performs a specific task that relates to supporting the main goal of enhancing oil exploration and manufacturing activities. Oil is the main item for the company. Therefore, it is the main item considered as the cost driver for RDS. Monitoring of cost per barrel is a major indicator on the prospects of gaining profit or making loss. The parameter is a direct indicator on whether the company is taking right measures in their cost management. Given that cost per barrel depends on demand supply and other market shocks among other uncertainty this parameter gives a general outlook on the market behaviour and therefore essential for its efforts in managing costs. Besides, assessment of cost per barrel helps RDS examine their operating cost against other players in similar market segment. 2. Computing the cost of activities in the provide IT and Telecommunication services Provision of SAP support is an activity or the initiative of the parent company and, therefore, was not considered for calculations. Other parameters provide important accounting information for the analysis. There are several methods that assist in evaluating whether departments or products within a company are meeting the targets. Traditional costing method and the activity-based costing are the common approaches for products. However, is a department makes some sales or gets some income from their involvement in the business it is possible to determine their performance as well. These measures assess the market changes, uncertainties that may occur and their possible influence. However, comparison with other companies competing in the same market segment may give a better picture that could assist the company in evaluating whether selected activities are optimal. These analyses depicts that the barrel cost of oil is not the cost driver
Friday, October 18, 2019
Training and development management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Training and development management - Case Study Example Training need analysis will be extremely beneficial for the Omaha warehouse workers to meet the warehouses objectives (Jean 28). Training is a tool extremely powerful for a smooth functioning of an organization, but it is usage goes hand in hand with care in order to derive all the benefits. Here is the recommendation of performing a TNA: - First,Ã Learn about the proficiency and needs of each employee before the warehouse invests it effort, money and time on training. It is better for needs identification the shortcomings and needs before actually imparting training an employee (Jean 30). Secondly, Experienced and skilled trainer, who possesses an amount of understanding and knowledge that is good about objectives of an organization, the abilities of an individual and the present environment, should offer training. This will help in the improvement of the program in warehouses and plants (Jean
COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL Essay
COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL - Essay Example In order that the costing system is effective so as to support the management control systems, a consideration of various financial and non-financial performance measures is undertaken to introduce the costing systems. This so because the functions of the management control systems is not only to collect the information but also to act upon an analysis of such data and information to steer the organization towards success. Hence arises the need for these performance measures. Some organizations present financial and non-financial performance measures for their subunits in a single report called the Balanced Scorecard. Different organizations stress different elements in their scorecards, but most scorecards include Considering the incorporation of the financial and non-financial measures in the management control systems, an Activity Based Costing system (ABC) would be appropriate for the new online company as well as the existing merchandising division of the company. Activity based costing systems refine costing systems by focusing on individual activities as the fundamental cost objects. An activity is an event, task, or unit of work with a specified purpose; for example designing, setting up machines, distribution.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Unpaid internship argument essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Unpaid internship argument - Essay Example spending efficient summer vacation becomes a duty for students. Many companies required high expectation of specifications from students. To fill out owns resume blanks, students need to invest their vacation for their future. Commonly, they are looking for volunteer jobs or internships. Especially, internship is a very attractive title for oneââ¬â¢s resume and career experience. However, unfortunately, in this tough reality, the purpose of internship has been changed. Many companies and institutions offer unpaid internships for photocopying or making coffee. It is hard to expect real tasks as an intern. Moreover, through unpaid internship, it would bring many economic problems on individual interns to our society. Unpaid internship is just a way for companies to have free workforces. Companies and institutions use studentââ¬â¢s future to satisfy their own profits and it will hurt economy and education markets in our society. Unpaid internship realistically is not designed for common students who have loans and debts. In NYC, a city that offers many unpaid internships but also one of high inflation cities in America, many unpaid interns are suffering because of this unrealistic opportunity. However, there are some students who are really suitable for unpaid internships. Their common factor is rich. For example, to do unpaid internship at the White House, a student is required to get financial support from the home front. Living in Washington, one of expensive cites in America, is not easy for common students; if they are not living in Washington, the costs are increased because they need to pay for a rent, transportation, and food, etc. However, the rich students donââ¬â¢t even consider this inquires. This gap between these students are called ââ¬Å"blatant class discriminationâ⬠.(Lind) In reality, college tuition has been increased with the percentage of studentââ¬â¢s loans. Moreover, to get a fine job, students unavoidably
Impacts of natural disasters on tourism Research Paper
Impacts of natural disasters on tourism - Research Paper Example This proposal is a combined study that incorporates the aims and objectives that would be the basis for the research studies, discussion of relevant literature review of the concerned topic coupled to the overview of the themes, issues, theories, and/or concepts. The research methodology that comprises of the introduction with rationale for the research design and data collection methods is also an integral part of the proposal that ends with the research philosophy and approaches with ethical considerations as a conclusion. Background The natural disasters are the profound environmental impacts that not only bring huge losses to human lives but also subject to arouse immense financial losses such as property damage. In addition, the aftereffects of the natural disasters emerge the fact that underdeveloped nations are the worst hits of the natural adversities as they have the least resources to cope and recreate their lives back to originality (Mechler, 2004). The natural disasters h ave been one of the most unfavorable and devastating episodes have come under the experiences by the human kind of the globe in numerous instances in time. The statistical data and evidences have proved the fact that the natural disasters have made a strong influence and tragic impact on the civilizations around the world. In addition, plentiful states, territories, nations coupled to populace of the particular areas cause to undergo recurring and overwhelming natural disasters as the world in entering into the level of advancements and innovations. The natural disasters have not only affected the human lives but also made the coral reefs, tropical ecosystem, aquatic... The research describes natural disasters that are the profound environmental impacts that not only bring huge losses to human lives but also subject to arouse immense financial losses such as property damage. In addition, the aftereffects of the natural disasters emerge the fact that underdeveloped nations are the worst hits of the natural adversities as they have the least resources to cope and recreate their lives back to originality. The natural disasters have been one of the most unfavorable and devastating episodes have come under the experiences by the human kind of the globe in numerous instances in time. The statistical data and evidences have proved the fact that the natural disasters have made a strong influence and tragic impact on the civilizations around the world. In addition, plentiful states, territories, nations coupled to populace of the particular areas cause to undergo recurring and overwhelming natural disasters as the world in entering into the level of advancem ents and innovations. The natural disasters have not only affected the human lives but also made the coral reefs, tropical ecosystem, aquatic temperate climate and terrestrial or global ecosystem fragile and weak. Tourism industry is one of the departments of the country that comes under mammoth impact from the natural disasters. Indeed, there is a very close connection between tourism and natural disasters. This is because the occurrence of any natural hazard would lead to disruption and destruction of the tourism industry, which would then require re-development and modifications.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Unpaid internship argument essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Unpaid internship argument - Essay Example spending efficient summer vacation becomes a duty for students. Many companies required high expectation of specifications from students. To fill out owns resume blanks, students need to invest their vacation for their future. Commonly, they are looking for volunteer jobs or internships. Especially, internship is a very attractive title for oneââ¬â¢s resume and career experience. However, unfortunately, in this tough reality, the purpose of internship has been changed. Many companies and institutions offer unpaid internships for photocopying or making coffee. It is hard to expect real tasks as an intern. Moreover, through unpaid internship, it would bring many economic problems on individual interns to our society. Unpaid internship is just a way for companies to have free workforces. Companies and institutions use studentââ¬â¢s future to satisfy their own profits and it will hurt economy and education markets in our society. Unpaid internship realistically is not designed for common students who have loans and debts. In NYC, a city that offers many unpaid internships but also one of high inflation cities in America, many unpaid interns are suffering because of this unrealistic opportunity. However, there are some students who are really suitable for unpaid internships. Their common factor is rich. For example, to do unpaid internship at the White House, a student is required to get financial support from the home front. Living in Washington, one of expensive cites in America, is not easy for common students; if they are not living in Washington, the costs are increased because they need to pay for a rent, transportation, and food, etc. However, the rich students donââ¬â¢t even consider this inquires. This gap between these students are called ââ¬Å"blatant class discriminationâ⬠.(Lind) In reality, college tuition has been increased with the percentage of studentââ¬â¢s loans. Moreover, to get a fine job, students unavoidably
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