A New Definition of Technology - The Scientific Texts That Guide Human Activity

 The advances in technology will send humans to Mars in the near future. Internet of things, 5G, artificial intelligence, automated driving, and so on and on, probably no one is able to list all the new technologies that are emerging https://www.54454474.com/. The complexity of the technological world is wonderful but just as bewildering, and difficult to grasp. Yet, the researchers, engineers, and technicians just need to focus on their own portion of the work. The complex robots are composed of smaller functional units that are manageable by the respective professionals. They are guided by scientific texts and in the minds. Despite the complexity of technologies, they will finally be traced to the simple origin in scientific texts.

Wikipedia defines technology as "Technology is the sum of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation." In the bing.com search, technology is defined as "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry." The definitions are broad, seemingly to include all useful ways of humans achieving something https://goldammo.org/. Indeed, technology is itself a broad term with many valid definitions. Both definitions are correct in that they describe facts. But they don't explain the meaning of the terms such as "techniques", "application" and "scientific knowledge", which are vague terms and could involve all the things in the universe.

Since we defined science in terms of texts in the paper "a new definition of science - the textual foundation that represents the real world", technology should also be defined in terms of texts due to its scientific nature. Science and technology are closely related and inseparable in the modern world.

1. Scientific texts - the core of technology

We consider texts as the core of science, which should also be in the core of technology due to the essentially same nature of science and technology. Now we are not repeating the textual nature of science/technology, interested readers can refer to our article "language - the core of science".

Science is able to represent everything, including human behavior. Not only natural phenomena are represented and accumulated, so are human activities. The procedures, methods, details of making achievement are recorded in texts, which are then established as representations. With the textual representations, human activities are organized, classified, and building upon existing known technologies.

Characteristics of technology

Usually, technology is viewed from the angle of its effect on the societies, such as its relations with culture, its practical use, its relation with the economy, politics, etc. These are more of its manifests than its essence. They are of non-textual nature or centered on non-texts. Attributing the characteristics of technology to the various aspects of societies not only complicates the issue, leading to endless interactions but also switch people's intentions away from technology's true nature.

Facing the complexity, variations of the ubiquitous and ever-changing technologies, we should think deeply into the characteristics common to all technologies, which texts possess. Represented by texts, technology gets its essential features common to all technologies.

Technical documentation

Methods, skills, materials, procedures, principles, and so forth, all need to be documented for understanding, learning, communication, and recording purposes. User manuals, technical specifications are usually the first stuff needed by customers and engineers, either during product shipment or during product development stages. Technical documents even describe a product more accurately than the product's actual operations. Despite the complex operations, deviation in operating conditions and by different individuals, abundant materials, changing personnel, documents are relatively stable, simple, accurate, reliable, and explanatory.

Again, it should be emphasized that scientific texts take effect in mind. The technical documents should take effect in mind and don't equate to the technological texts in mind.

2. Differences between science and technology

It is needed to find the differences between science and technology. Although they have the essential cores, their appearances and emphases are different to account for various aspects of the human world.

Science and technology have similar branches and knowledge. The main difference between science and technology is their goal and objective. Science's purpose is to observe and explain, while technology aims at taking action and making changes. Their direction is opposite to each other. Science is more of observation, while technology emphasizes action. The same texts can be considered as science or technology depending on the objective and usage. For example, the law of motion is itself a science, but it becomes technology when being utilized to make and operate machinery.

Technology is tightly associated with the man-made world. Human activities have changed the world's appearance and the way people live. These are the direct result of technologies, although it can also say the people applied science to achieve all these. By intuition, science is a deeper and basic level of knowledge, while technology is more associated with direct applications. Science tends to be fundamental while technology tends to be detailed. But texts play an equally central role in their formations.

Nowadays, information spreads instantly; products are transported speedily. People increasingly lived in environments surrounded by machine-manufactured products and constructions. It became easier for people to achieve their goals by employing existing knowledge and tools. On the other hand, many curiosities can be answered by entering questions into search engines, in seconds. It seems everyone possesses enough knowledge. All one needs is to take action. As a result, more people became action-oriented, the term "technology" is becoming more popular than the term "science".

3. The text-based definition of technology

Regarding the essential nature of and differences between science and technology, now we provide a new definition of technology as:

The scientific texts that guide human activity.

This definition contains two points:

First, technology is scientific texts.

Second, these texts are employed as guidance.

Our definition doesn't attempt to invalidate current definitions. Instead, we view from a different angle, focusing on a deeper level, situating on the text-centered model of the world.

Usability of technology

Usually, human activities are purpose-oriented. Hence, technology usually has practical applications. But the extent of application varies depending on specific technologies. Also, a technology useful on one occasion or for some people might not be useful on another occasion or for other people. The activities might be beneficial or bad for society.

Possible extension of the definition

Animals and machines might employ technology in the future and probably currently, such as AI. In those cases, scientific texts exert their effect not directly via human activities, but via animals or machines. Their use of technology is imitations of human intelligence, without essential differences. The definition could be expanded to all human and non-human activities that are guided by scientific texts.

Unifying the non-textual technology with textual technology

People might argue illiterate societies and even animals possess some form of technology, although not so advanced as the modern form. Without going into deep confusion with endless, some are ambiguous, examples, we focus on principles. Sequentiality, clarity, and representation of reality are the three defining features of science. Modern, true-sense technology also possesses these features. In essence, the technologies in illiterate societies also came from the sequential minds with scientific properties in primitive form, which manipulate non-texts instead of texts, in a less efficient/effective manner. Scientific texts truly demonstrate those properties, facilitate visual processing, and make progress in the capability of human minds.

4. A text-centered model of science and technology

We can now propose a text-centered model of science and technology that starts from investigative observations, which derive scientific/technological texts, which in turn lead to actions through proper application. That is to say, science and technology are both integrated into the texts. If the purpose is in the non-text to text direction, focusing on deriving theories, these texts are more about science. If the purpose is in the text to non-text direction, focusing on taking action, these texts are more about technology. The actions change the environment, which becomes a new subject of observation, leading to the derivation of new scientific/technological texts. In this way, scientific and technological activities form endless iterations, surrounding texts in the center.

5. Conclusion

By this new definition, the nature of technology is made known. The relation between science and technology is defined and integrated into the texts. The complexity of understanding technology is reduced. A new basis is provided for future discussion of our technological world.

The effectiveness of technology use in the classroom has become a controversial issue. While many teachers and students feel that it's best to use technology because it enhances teaching many others feel that it causes too many challenges and that it is a waste of time. If technology is as effective in the classroom as many teachers believe it to be; why do some students dislike it so much?

In order to objectively respond to this question, 3 articles were examined. 2 out of the 3 relate how the use of technology in the classroom frustrates students while the last one translates the thoughts of students who feel that technology in the classroom has responded to their need. So the issue is not that technology is not effective but rather that some teachers need to be mindful about technology use in the classroom and others need to be trained in order to properly use technology to teach so that students do not view technology as obstruction learning but as an enhancing tool.

After summarizing the 3 articles that have been reviewed we will be able to prove that there are 2 groups of students who claim to dislike technology in the classroom: Those who are improperly exposed to it by their teacher and those who did not give themselves enough time to familiarize themselves with it. We will then be able to get to the logical conclusion that those same students would appreciate the value of technology in the classroom if their teachers used it properly. Let us first summarize the articles that we are referring to.

The article "When good technology means bad teaching related that many students feel that teachers and professor use technology as a way to show off. Students complain of technology making their teachers "less effective than they would be if they stuck to a lecture at the chalkboard" (Young) other problems related by students include teachers wasting class time to teach about a web tool or to flab with a projector or software. When teachers are unfamiliar with the technological tools, they are likely to waist more time trying to use them the technological software that is used the most according to students is PowerPoint. Students complain that teachers use it instead of their lesson plan. Many students explain that it makes understanding more difficult "I call it PowerPoint abuse" (Young). Professors also post their PowerPoint Presentation to the school board before and after class and this encourages students to miss more classes.

Another problem reported in the article with the use of technology in the classrooms is that many schools spend time to train their staff about how to use a particular technology but it does not train them on "strategies to use them well" (Young). The writer believed that schools should also give small monetary incentives to teachers and professors to attend workshops.

In an interview made with 13 students, "some gave their teacher a failing when it came to using Power Point, Course Management systems and other classroom technology" (Young ) some of the complains were again about the misuse of PowerPoint's and the fact that instructors use it to recite what's on the scale. Another complaint was that teachers who are unfamiliar with technology often waste class time as they spend more time troubleshooting than teaching. The last complain mentioned is that some teachers require students to comment on online chat rooms weekly but that they do not monitor the outcome or never make reference to the discussion in class.

Similarly, the article "I'm not a computer person" (Lohnes 2013) speaks to the fact that students expectations as far as technology is concerned is very different. In a study done with 34 undergraduate university students, they advise that technology is an integral part of a university students life because they have to do must everything online from applying for college or university, searching and registering for classes, pay tuition and that in addition to being integrated in the administration, etc. technology is also widely used to teach and is valued by higher education.

Those students, however, feel that technology poses a barrier to success as they struggle to align with the ways in which the institution values technology." A student explains that technology is used in her freshman year to turn in assignments, participate in discussion boards and blogs, emailing the professor, viewing grades and for a wide range of other administrative task including tracking the next school bus. This particular student whose name is Nichole says that she does not own a laptop but shares a family computer. She has a younger brother who also uses the computer to complete his school work so she consequently has to stay up late to complete assignments. She states "technology and I? We never had that connection" (Lohnes). Nichole dislikes the fact that her college requests that she had more contact with technology than she is conformable with. Nonetheless, she explains that as she started doing those school online assignments so frequently she came to realize that they were not that bad.

One of her issues though with technology is that she had come from Puerto Rico about a year prior entering college and that she never had to use the computer so much there. The articles relates that other college students like Nichole have admitted that they are "reluctant technology users" (Lohnes) The article wants to explain, in essence, that although most people would expect that college students prefer technology and are already familiar with it," that assumption is faulty" (Lohnes).

On the other hand, the article "What Screenagers Say About... " High school age students were asked about what they thought of technology but most expressed liking it. One of them said about PowerPoint: "My history teacher did a good job with Power Points. He would put them online, which made for really great reviews." (Screneagers, 2011) Others expressed how technology was really who they are and that teachers should understand for example that when they text in class, they are not being rude but that they have gotten used to multi tasking. Another student invites teachers to not be afraid of technology "Teachers shouldn't be afraid of technology. Understand that it's how we live our lives. So don't just push it out. Learn to cope with us and how we work." (Screenagers, 2011)

Another student however, expressed how she prefers simpler technology that her teacher is comfortable with rather than high tech that the teacher does not manipulate well "The most important thing for teachers is to be comfortable with what they're using. It doesn't have to be super high tech. My math teacher used a projector, and it was one of my favorite classes. Then I would go to this other class where the teacher used Power Points and the SMART board, but I didn't get any more out of it because she wasn't comfortable with the technology" (Screenagers, 2011) Students spoke about their appreciation for virtually all types of technology used in the classroom. Another said "One of my teachers used Skype. That's face-to-face interaction. If I had a problem with some math problem I was working on, I could take a picture of it and put it on the Skype screen. She could see where I was making my mistake. It really helped." (Screenagers, 2011) The bottom line is that those high school students wanted to let teachers know that they really like technology and that it is already a great part of their daily routine but that it had to be used properly in order for them to enjoy it.

Similarly, they summarize a few things that they dislike as well. Among the list, they said: reading on the computer, paying a lot for an online textbook and the fact that they often forget everything else when they get caught up with using technology.

Nonetheless, they had much more positive things they liked in technology like for example that some teachers would text a question for them to think about before class, so if they do not know they answer, they would communicate with classmates to discuss the possibility for the answer before class. This allows them to go to class prepared. They also like using Skype, emailing their teachers instead of going to speak to them in person. They also enjoy discussion boards. The advice they would like to convey to their teachers is to make sure that they are comfortable with whatever technological tools they are using, to give them more freedom to use the good sites and those in the middle range when they are surfing the net using school computers and to understand that technology is part of their lives.

After summarizing those articles, we can see that the students mentioned in Youngs, 2004 dislike technology because their experience with it was not satisfactory. In other terms, a group of students dislike technology because some teachers are not mindful about technology use or they need additional training. For example, some students are frustrated because they feel that instructors waist their time when they are not properly trained to use the technological tools. Others disliked the fact that some teachers had PowerPoint presentations which were either not meaningful or they would just read whatever they wrote and add no additional comments. Those examples are called "bad teaching (Young, 2004) and they are in fact terrible examples that teachers should not follow because technology is not meant to help teachers do the least work or to adopt poor teaching practices. Somme students related that PowerPoint was widely used by teachers so they even call it PowerPoint abuse.

I can relate to what is being expressed by those students. I observed a Teaching Assistant teach a grammar class recently. He purchased a device to allow him to monitor the screen without touching the computer. He was able to walk throughout the class while changing slides. It all looked so impressive but despite all of this show, students were left so confused at the end of the lesson. When they asked questions, he went back to the slide that had the grammar rule and read it over to the class. The PowerPoint was a duplication of the textbook chapter. The same examples of the book were used. At the end of the course, he felt that he had done a great PowerPoint when in fact, it was not meaningful. It was a copy/paste project from the text book to the screen. This example shows that we need to use common sense when using technology. When teaching grammar, a teacher has to be able to come up with examples other than those in the book, you have to write on the board, have student practice what they have learned. PowerPoint use was a real bad idea, in my opinion, for teaching this course. It was just not the right technological tool for the lesson.

Students in that class may decide that they hate Power Points because it confuses them more while the issue is not with the use of PowerPoint but instead with the teacher's poor choice of technology. The point I also want to make here is that teachers may sometimes be unaware of their improper use of technology. This is why, as educators, we sometimes need to ask students for their feedback so we may make corrections where needed.

We can then conclude that those students dislike technology as a result of improper technological use by teachers, and also because many teachers do not attend workshops or training sessions to help them obtain a broader knowledge of technology since they are so busy. Like suggest (Youngs, 2004) and (Lohnes, 2012), those same busy teachers would have attended those trainings if there were given an incentive. In the article "Technology Standards in a Third-Grade Classroom" (Kovalik, 2001), it is related how a study done on a 3rd grade class of 25 showed that students were properly using technology. There is no indication that those students dislike using technology. The article also mentioned how the teachers were highly trained because the Ohio board pays incentive to teachers to participate in technology training which teaching them not only how to use technology by teaches them strategies on when to use them.

Boards from other states should consider doing the same thing to ensure that their teachers are responding to the technological need of their students and that they are teaching them according to the standards. The Ohio school mentioned above met the standards as far as technology is concerned because of the technology coaching received by the teachers. If teachers learn how to properly use technology in the classroom, it will be a less frustrating experience for them and for the student who will less likely dislike technology since it will meet its purpose to enhance teaching.

The other groups of students who dislike technology are those who were not exposed to it for long enough. The College Freshman, Nichole advises that she was not exposed to so much technology while she was in high school in her home country; consequently, it seemed to be a burden to her to have to need a computer to complete most of her school assignments but also to interact with her classmate via a discussion board. What is interesting though is that even though she claimed to dislike technology so much, she advised that once she started to spend so much time using it, she realizes that it is not so bad. Even though it is likely that some people do not like the telephone and texting so much, the computer and some website have become part of most people daily routine. In Nichole's case, she does not own a laptop and has to wait for her turn to use the family computer which means that she has no attachment to this media because her use of it is controlled. However, once she gets to own her own computer, it is a guaranteed that her view of technology will change.

I returned to school after about 12 years. When I was in college the 1st time around, nothing was electronic but when I contacted USF to apply, they told me that everything was online. At first, I asked why everything was online but once I got used to it, I started to understand the value of having the convenience to do a lot of things without having to live my home.

Therefore, Nichole will certainly not continue to dislike technology that much once she gets more familiar and more attached to it. The fact is that she stated that she started to realize that it was not that bad once she started doing so many assignments. She came to the conclusion that the computer was not yet a friend but that it was no longer an enemy; it became to her an acquaintance.

With this understanding, depending on the background of some ELL students and depending on whether or not they were exposed to technology in their home country, they may not like technology at first but this should not be a sign that they will never come to appreciated it. As teacher, we will need to allow them time to familiarize themselves with it while we continue to properly use it so that we do not advocate against it or involuntary send missed information about its true value.

On the other hand, the last article testifies to the fact that the new generation is technology driven and that when used properly https://sim.store/, they benefits from it in the classroom, there are several examples of how teachers originally used technology to teach which are appreciated by students. What should the conclusion be then?

We have proven that technology use is effective in the classroom but that teachers need to take some actions in order to make this tool useful to students https://wildsvg.com/. It is necessary that they received some training if they lack it, and like a student suggested in the Screenager article, they should refrain from using complicated tools if they are not sure about how to use them. It's best to properly use something much simpler that they are familiar with like a high school student suggested.

In addition, it is important for teachers to screen the countless technological tools and to research them before introducing them to their teaching. Should they test some that do not work well, they have to stop using them and seek one that is more appropriate https://tulibaby.pl/. Most importantly, technology is not always the answer this is why teachers should be balanced when using it. If it is required that we use the board and chalks to help students better understand, this is what we should do. Doing so, we will ensure that more students appreciate the use of technology in the classroom for what it is worth.

Functioning of an Article Directory

   Many people have the misconception that a search engine and an article directory are the same thing. This notion is completely wrong as a search engine searches the whole internet with the mentioned word or phrase and brings up all sorts of findings https://faucre.com. When searching for an article with the help of a search engine it can bring up anything on the internet written by anybody. It may be good or bad, it may have wrong information, and the search engine does not make any distinction between them. Article directories on the other are special websites equipped with a search engine. The website or the company employs people to read many articles submitted by its members, select the good ones and categorize them as per their specific niche https://farleu.com. The content directories or databases are an amalgamation of submitted articles by many authors. These directories are sometimes leased to educational institutions for certain time periods mainly for learning or research work. The articles posted on different websites can never be trustworthy as it may carry wrong information. But the articles on an content directory is first scrutinized by professionals and then posted on the directory https://xyloyl.com. The content directories have categories and sub-categories under which the articles are kept; it is easy to find an article by searching with the required keyword.

There may be many reasons behind why a person might want to become a member of an content directory website and submit articles https://idyler.com. A reason may be that one might want to publicize one's own writings by posting them online, or this might have a business point of view also. If a person has a website concerning a certain thing or issue https://yercum.com, then that person can write articles and put them up on content directories so that the readers can trace back to the original website, with the help of the link attached to the article. This increases traffic to the author's website. An article directory can also be very helpful to webmasters https://zoacum.com, web developers and bloggers as they can easily get quality content to be used for specific purposes. Sometimes e-magazines take content from article directories. So the writers whose article is published in an online article directory may be greatly helped https://rakily.com. Sometimes the articles carry link to the author's original website, thus, in the process popularizing the author's website as well.

Submitting content to article directories is not as easy as submitting an article to a free article hosting site https://absmho.com. Requests of inclusion of an content may be made to the respective authorities. But the articles have to of a certain standard if they are to be published on the website. The articles have to contain enough information regarding the given topic https://worldwidetopsite.com. The better the quality of the article, the more exposure it gets on the directory. Some directories follow the voting system, which is, a reader may vote for or against an article, and that's how the articles are listed in the article directory.

Charles Nocis is an expert on a variety of niches such as WordPress, happiness, travel destinations, gardening, weight loss among others https://worldwidetopsite.link. Read the articles he publishes on Article Submission Sites.like Malpri, a contributing writer's fantasy. It is a place where you will be able to find articles pertaining to a wide variety of topics. At the same time, all you have to do is to simply sign up and you would be able to contribute your very own article to the fray. So log on to Malpri Articles.Article directories are databases that gather, compile, and sort articles into categories in order to make them available to be read on the internet. These directories provide a great one stop source to find and deposit articles, and based on specific guidelines the public is free to reprint many of them.

Most of these directories are also businesses which need to make money which they do by advertising for their owners and by affiliate sales. Directories are also good for webmasters who are constantly on the lookout for new subject matter to distribute to their mailing lists

In addition articles directories can become an easy and fast way to for companies to advertise. Once an article is accepted by an article directory other members will begin to incorporate that article in their websites, forums, ezines and newsletters. After submitting several articles to any one of the various article directories authors will realize that they are building a return audience and that their web traffic has increased.

Article directories can also help authors become recognized as experts in their field. For example a doctor who specializes in a specific type of cancer treatment could write articles exclusively about his or her forte, thereby becoming known as an authority in that area.

Some owners of article directories partner with various other webmasters to distribute articles to many different websites. An article submitted to an individual directory can immediately become available on many other websites as well. The technical name for this is the RSS or Really Simple Syndication and its power is nothing short of amazing. Large website article directories can potentially pick up individual articles and post them on their sites. Some webmasters will actually pick up articles and forward them to other webmasters, who forward them, and so it goes. Within a few days an article can be published on hundreds of websites.

Search engines also love article directories because of their content and many times established directories receive huge numbers of hits from Yahoo and Google. Authors can take advantage of this by depositing articles in the Yahoo or Google database and directories where readers can find them. In this instance, it is important that authors remember their signature at the end of the article needs to have a link back to their website.

Another great thing about article directories is that if an author does not have a website the article directory can function as his or her website. Their articles will be hosted on the article directory web servers for free. If authors want webmasters to contact them then they have to leave their email address, phone number and any special contact instructions in their signature file.

There are several questions that should be asked of every website before posting articles on it. First and importantly, do the authors whose articles are posted on that site retain the rights of ownership of the article's intellectual property. Authors can give the website a non-exclusive license to reuse, reprint or redistribute their article, but it is important for the authors not to lose their rights to the article, especially if they are not getting paid for it.

Making Kitchen/Bathroom Renovations

 Kitchen and bathroom renovations can be quite successful if planned properly. However, they can be very difficult and costly if the process is rushed. When doing renovation work, one has to consider many factors.

Employ an Exemplary Contactor

Home improvements https://myelitepropertymaintenance.com/, especially kitchen/bathroom renovations, have gained considerable popularity. A majority of homeowners are taking it upon themselves to redesign their house into one that better suits their needs.

When you plan to renovate a kitchen or bathroom, it is absolutely essential that you get the best of the best in terms of contractors. Poor workmanship can result in poor design, high costs and general dissatisfaction. You should hire a contractor that has a proven track record. Make a list of proposed contractors and visit each individually and examine how they conduct themselves. Lastly, ask for references and examine their previous contracts to see the quality of their work.

Draw Up a Project Budget

Most homeowners tend to single out cost as one of the most influential decisions in the kitchen/bathroom renovations process. When renovating your kitchen or bathroom, take the time to draw up a comprehensive budget. Have a contractor come by to check the intended section of the house to be redesigned and ask for an estimate. Moreover, require estimates on all the needed materials to be used during the renovation process. This can be done if you shop around the various hardware stores in order to make a cost-effective decision.

While determining the budget, keep in mind that while saving may be a great thing, sometimes you need to go with the more expensive options as they tend to assure better quality. This also applies to contractor and other labor costs.

Keep Plans Realistic

Lastly, when planning the new look for your kitchen or bathroom, it is advisable that you be as realistic as possible. While a little optimism and dreaming does not hurt, ensure the home renovation goals are not too optimistic. For instance, when faced with the bathroom renovation process, some homeowners may get excited and go overboard with the renovation process. In such cases, though their heart was in the right place, the end result is often disappointing.

Plan your renovation goals according to the size of the kitchen or bathroom. Keep in mind that even though the space may be small, you can redesign it so that it feels larger without actually making any size changes. Moreover, adding too many new accessories may make the new kitchen/bathroom renovation seem more confined than the original.

Renovation of the house was commonly done in many households. All the walls were painted, the furniture replaced and the basic room layout was changed. But previously no one bothered about the bathrooms. People used to clean it up regularly but no one really put emphasis on renovating it. But trends have changed and an article in a recent business week edition says that an unprecedented shift has occurred in the renovation market. The choice of people has changed. Instead of spending a fortune on getting modern kitchens or beautifying other parts of the house, their choice is now focused on remodeling their bathrooms. The number of people who would like to embellish their private space (bathroom) has increased multifold. The idea of a bathroom has changed drastically; it is no more a quiet and cold room, it has an entirely different meaning in the consumer's minds. Its a luxurious space for one to pamper oneself.

Understanding the changing trend, a wide variety of products have come up offering the consumer a motley of choices. With this change, as there are sufficient products available, very different and creative bathroom designs have been coming up. These designs vary from being simple to very ornate. Bathroom renovation has grown to a separate level and is an industry in itself today. But caution must be exercised while renovating your bathroom. It doesn't involve just getting a new sink, toilet and a bath. It involves maintaining a theme, choosing the right products, using the right colors and a lot more. It is more like an art where the colors, angles and styles create a synergy and give your bathroom a very new and luxurious ambiance.

When you begin refurbishing your bathroom, one of the very first things you need to change would be the sink. You might not be aware, but the sink endures a lot of abuse. Every day lots of chemicals are poured in making it lose its luster. There need not be an injury to your sink to change it. If it's been there for too long, then it's definitely time to change it. Just have a look at the catalogue of the various sinks available today. You'd be surprised to see the variety of colors and textures used in making such a common bathroom vanity. So you can very easily choose one that suits your bathroom and bring it home. For that overall bathroom design, you could choose from many styles starting from the very tradition style to the most modern style. You could also choose to be different by choosing a really creative theme for your bathroom.

And when you change something in your bathroom, just make sure that it gets in with the other things in the bathroom. Just imagine the horrible embarrassment you would have to undergo when your friends point out the great difference between the newly purchased sink and the remaining things in your bathroom. So make sure you make a wise choice and do an overall refurbishing at a time and within no time you would be lost having a decadent bath in your new luxurious bathroom.

When It Comes To Content, Creating Beats Curating

our content is king. The content you share online ultimately determines your social media success. If you aren't sharing relevant, engaging content with your fans and followers you aren't supplying value or giving your audience a reason to connect with you online. Good content is the backbone of any social media strategy, and it is impossible to excel in the social sphere without it. So where does good content come from? There are two options: you create it, or you curate it.

Content is the currency of the social web, and creating good, original content is always the best way to go. However, creating valuable and compelling content may present a challenge for many businesses. Therefore, more and more brands are trying to establish themselves through content curation - rather than creation.

Marketing expert Rohit Bhargava defines a content curator as:"someone who continually finds, groups, organizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online."

According to a recent eMarketer report, 85% of marketers curate content in order to establish thought leadership. However, while content curation is a good way of supplying your online audiences with relevant content, sharing someone else's content does not make you a thought leader.

Time is money, and since creating good content takes a lot more time than curating it, many businesses and marketers are sharing curated content and confusing the resulted attention with thought leadership. There are billions of content pieces shared on the Internet daily, and sifting through the noise to find the "needle in the haystack" can be difficult and superfluous https://yoo.rs/. Therefore, content curators are valued for what they discover and share - that's it. They are not valued for their own perspectives on a subject matter, and thus cannot be considered thought leaders.

According to "Thought Leadership Marketing is an Oxymoron" there are three key tenants of thought leadership. They are as follows: thought leadership is recognized, thought leadership is expansive, thought leadership is pushing boundaries.

Content curation, though valuable, is not a marketing shortcut. Your prospects connect with you online because they want to learn more about you. They want to know your views on a certain industry. However, when you simply curate the content of other's your audiences doesn't learn anything about you, your brand, or your thinking. Curating content doesn't set you apart, because everyone else is doing the same thing. If you want to stand out and reach your audience you need to create content - not just curate it.

In the early 2000's, there was a huge lack of content on the Internet. Since then, many media outlets, small businesses and people with knowledge in a particular subject matter, have added lots of content by means of websites, blogs, videos and other means. When someone goes online to search for information now, there is way too much information for them to process and make use of effectively. In this day and age of distractions and lack of time we have a great opportunity to be aggregators of information.

Content Curation, is the process of summarizing information from many sources, into bite sized, actionable content, while still giving the original content producers attribution by mentioning the name of the original authors and placing links to the original source.

What Content Curation is NOT, is copying and pasting portions of articles. This is illegal by international copyright laws. So be aware of this, and do the right thing. There is no place, in my opinion, for rip off artists in this industry, and with advanced technology that is available now, it's easy for the copyright holders to easily track such people and either warn and send a take-down notice, or even sue them.

When curating content, be sure to add value by adding your opinion and pointing people to other fantastic resources that they can check out.

The delivery mechanism for this need not be just articles. There is a wide array of media that can be used to deliver the content effectively. Some of the options are videos on YouTube or Vimeo, podcasts on your website or itunes, blog posts, short PDF reports, on Facebook, Google+, etc.

There are 2 immediate benefits of doing content curation.

1. Expert Positioning:

When you curate good quality content on a regular basis and add value to is with your own twist, you slowly start positioning yourself as an expert in the eyes of your audience. There is a natural process of people reading your work, gaining value from it, and then promoting your content to their friends and networks. This then acts as a leverage point to motivate you to produce more quality content and continue to add value and continue to position yourself as an expert in that specific area. You need to limit, especially in the beginning, your content to a very specific area. Once you're seen as a go-to-expert in that area, you can use the opportunity to engage with your audience, and find out their needs, and provide more valuable content to cover those areas as well.

2. Gaining more knowledge:

Well, this is an obvious benefit. Look at it this way, if you read about goal setting and achieving from 10 books, 20 blog posts and 10 videos, over a period of a month to curate content and create your own, wouldn't you learn a lot of different ways of doing the process and the benefits? Wouldn't that give you the opportunity to try some of it and see what works for you and put you in a position to give an educated opinion? Would you, by the end of that time period of 30 days, have more knowledge about goal setting and achieving than 60 -80% of the general population? I bet you would. So not only are you being an expert in the eyes of your followers, but are learning and growing yourself.

Content curation has been happening for a long time, in various forms. If you read 10 - 20 books on any particular, specific subject, you will see how the core ideas of the books are pretty similar, and most times, the newer books have the older ones as part of their citation. There is nothing wrong in using this method to position yourself as an expert. But always remember to acknowledge and give credit where it is due.

Purchasing a New Vehicle

 The money you pay for a new vehicle these days is around what older people paid for their first home. With the high cost that you pay for a car, you do not want to take the purchase lightly. It would be wise to do whatever you can to get a good deal on a new car.

Take your time and don't be in a rush to purchase. Try to seek out a new vehicle before you are desperate. Do not wait till your old vehicle is completely gone. If you purchase a new vehicle in a hurry you usually end up regretting your decision. If you have to, get friends or neighbors to drive you around to check out different vehicles.

Check out the internet and newspapers to get an idea of how much a particular car is worth, so you will have an idea what the price should be when you are looking to purchase. You can find out the wholesale price as well. This will give you an advantage when negotiating a price. Do not be afraid to negotiate.

Of course the car dealer is not going to give you the car for less then they paid. However you want to get the vehicle for a fair price. This is usually about fifteen to twenty percent off the sticker price. You will be doing terrific if you can get the vehicle at that price. They make money and you save money.

Make sure the car you plan on getting has the options you want, not much more or no less or you will be paying more than you need for the options or kicking yourself for not getting a vehicle with the options you wanted. Again this comes around to not being in a rush.

It is hard to judge a car by your first viewing of it. Ask if you can return the vehicle within a few days if you do not like it. Many dealers will allow you this option especially if you get to know them. If they say no, return to look it at it later, maybe even a day or two later.

Sometimes shopping around the last day of the month may be easier to get a deal from a salesperson. Maybe their commission checks work out to the end of the month and they may want to get a few extra dollars in the pot.

Do some research on the value of your old car if you a re planning a trade in. More often then not they get your old car for nothing if you have not done your homework. Get a purchase price first before letting them know that you have a trade in. Usually the first thing they ask you is if you have a trade in. They then adjust their price to get your vehicle for very little without you knowing it.

If you have the time and don't mind waiting you may want to sell your car privately. Just do a little research to get a reasonable price. Then you should ask a little more than you want.

Good luck and do your homework to prepare for negotiations and to get the best possible deal for a new car.

Are you in the market for a new car or truck? There are several options for obtaining a good auto loan with an extremely good interest rate.

Before you go shopping for a new car you want to grab a copy of your credit report to make sure that you are in good standing. If you see any errors in the report contact the creditor and credit report company by phone and advise them of the mistakes. It is always a good idea to follow up in writing, keeping a copy for yourself.

Once you are armed with your report you are now ready to go shopping. You will be in a position to ask for a good rate and the dealership can't argue with your new proof. By just having a good credit report you can easily obtain a $15,000 car loan with a low interest rate, maybe even zero percent, versus a customer with a bad credit score that will only be offered upwards of 10% or more.

Before shopping in person, go shopping over the internet; see what the options are for applying online for a loan. Sometimes it is certainly faster to apply online instead of at the dealership. This can save you several hours. You may be able to secure a loan at a much cheaper rate than the dealership would be prepared to give you. Shopping online can prove to be a good hassle free experience and can be done on your own schedule.

If you have qualified for a loan the sales rep at the dealership will view you as a cash buying customer which puts you into a good negotiating position. You can hold the upper hand.

Look at your options for buying new versus a used vehicle. Other than just price, consider the warranty options. Many times new vehicles have lower interest rates, so your monthly payment may not be that much different and could prove just to be as affordable. Consider repairs and maintenance when purchasing used, it may be worth getting the new car https://www.volvocarsnb.com/. A new set of tires can cost you upward of $500, so if the car you are looking at has tires that need to be replaced, think about putting that money into your new payment.

Rushing into any purchase is never recommended. Take the time to do your due diligence and research and your shopping experience will be a positive one.

Your new car probably looks and feels perfect at the time you drove it off the auto lot. To keep new vehicles in superior condition, it's necessary to break them in gently. Learn what to do and what not to do as you begin driving your automobile.

Initial Engine Operation

The initial engine revving that is required for piston rings and cylinder walls has already occurred thanks to the person who drove your car off the production line and into the storage parking lot. This was the time when the engine was revved to open the throttle all the way up, necessary for creating the correct seal between piston rings and cylinder bores. Nevertheless, for optimal breaking in, avoid driving new vehicles at constant speeds for the initial 1,000 miles. This means typical stop-and-go driving will be perfectly fine, but you should avoid a trek across the country with the cruise control set.

Oil Changes

Change the oil after only about 20 miles of driving. You might think that at this point the oil would be unchanged due to the small number of miles you've driven. However, the new engine will be releasing tiny pieces of metal, thanks to the surfaces that are rubbing inside it. It's best to change out this oil after the initial rubbing to ensure that the particles don't travel through engine components. The rubbing will dissipate after the first 20 miles, and you can expect normal conditions after this point.

Brakes

Your brakes should not require much special treatment to break them in. After the first few miles you drive, you can expect the texture that was on the brake pads to wear down slightly to reveal the unused brake pad material, ready to enable reliable braking whenever you need it. If possible, avoid complete stops from high speeds and riding your brakes for the first 200 miles of driving.

Protecting the Interior

The new vinyl and plastic in the interior of new vehicles needs to receive special care. Instead of applying a protective product over these surfaces, allow them to breathe for a month or two. Sealing these surfaces too quickly could lead to cracking over time. Do apply an upholstery protective product over interior carpeting and upholstery, though, to prevent dirt and stains from becoming permanent.

Protecting the Exterior

The paint on the exterior of your car has been cured to ensure that it stays strong. You can take one more step to ensure that the paint resists chipping. Apply a product that adds a protective layer over the painted surfaces. This special film will help eliminate chips from rocks and stones. It's also beneficial to apply a high-quality car wax to the paint to minimize damage from dirt, debris, and insects.

New vehicles are significant investments, so it's important to take steps to protect your expenditure and make it last as long as possible. A few simple tasks can make a big difference in the way your car adjusts to life on the road.

Is Online Landscape Design Worth It?

 Online landscape design continues to increase in popularity across most of the programs and the same happened to landscape designing. The main concern which customers have for online landscape design program is the quality and professionalism of the program as a whole.

Well, I have to admit that we have a good mixture of good and not so good online programs in this world today, a good online program for landscape design is not hard to locate, but shall need a good appropriate amount of time for searching and analyze before the most suitable one is found.

- By browsing through the online landscape design portfolios looking for specific styles , attractive designs, and ideas of creativity which may appeal most to you, then verify the company's history and their previous performance and achievement before you make the call

- Seek for recommendations from those with experienced whom have tried out the specific online service before will be able to provide great advise here

- Register for online forum or community where discussions on 'online program / service ' is tabled out for discussions and debates by those sharing the same interests and experiences for useful sharing, knowledge gathering and guidance.

- Increasing homeowners and builders are going for online landscape designs because of the tremendous savings. Online design services can usually offer the same high quality landscape design for only half the cost as compared to their local offline competitors because of the low overhead and travel expenses that they need to bear.

- Professional online landscape design can provide the same high-end style found with traditional designers. Online companies can be a huge resource for you whenever you have landscaping questions, maintenance concerns, or need someone to discuss on ideas on landscaping.

- Online design service is affordable by most, if not all. This has enabled those with vast interest in running their own landscape designing business to get the needed service and expertise available online anytime https://kaipkada.lt/. This has opened up great opportunities for many to achieve their career goals.

- Interactive online landscape designs websites are important because these sessions will facilitate the communications between them and their clients . The state of the area to be landscaped can also be discussed before any work starts. This will save the client time, money and effort because the online landscape designs can be altered depending on the preferences of the homeowner as well as the recommendations of the landscape experts.

- One can get good advice from the online landscape design service consultant in terms of the below,

o Creating an exceptional landscape drawing

o Choosing the right architect/designer

o Hiring reliable landscape contractors

o Choosing your garden style

o Planning the ultimate swimming pool

o Building functional outdoor living areas

o Creating lasting curb appeal

o Designing with outdoor lighting

o Choosing the right outdoor furniture

o Selecting the perfect grill

o How to obtain financing, perform good planning and much more...

Online landscape designs are readily available to homeowners that prefer do-it-yourself landscaping as well as landscape architects that would like fresh input. It is of no surprise why online landscape design has increasingly gain its popularity in the society nowadays.

If you are looking for a landscape designer or garden designer, you should select from experienced designers so that you could expand your horizons. A good landscape design plays an important role in making your surroundings look attractive and this enhances the value of your property.

Always look for professionals for your landscape design. They will provide you 2-3 plans to select from and they should be having the software support to show you dome kind of demo before selecting a particular design. There are a lot variety designs like formal style, informal style, woodland style etc to select from. Selecting a particular design for your landscape depends on what function this landscape design should serve. It can be a new area for sitting or playing or to improve the look and feel of the property.

Always select from simple designs for your home. Some people say simplicity is once of the main aspects of landscape design. This saves your money and easy to maintain once it is done. If you have used contrast elements for your design, it is going to be costly to maintain and redesign.

Before going for a landscaping designer for improving your home you should understand the basics of landscape design. This can save your valuable time and money as well. Also try to watch some landscape designs from around your home before selecting a particular design. Now you can call for any experienced landscape designer asking for some designs and you can choose from some attractive designs from them. Landscape design provides natural beauty and elegance for your whole property and cost for this is less compared to home remodeling or home decorating.

It's difficult to tell about the fees, as they vary quite a bit depending on your requirements, plot and expertise of the designer, materials used for it etc. It can be thousands of dollars if you are going for a complex design with high quality materials. The overall size of your property is a major factor in deciding the cost of your landscaping. Always look for low cost services when looking for a landscape designer for your property.

Now you can also find our online landscape design services from many companies. They offer wide variety design options of classical and modern styles. They will give you design ideas and planting ideas for your landscape. If you want to see landscapes designed by these online landscapers you can watch them through your computer and if you liked any of the designs from them, you can opt for that one.

You can also make use of design software available online for making attractive landscape design ideas. If you have some expertise internet and computer, then you can go for it. But if you don't know much about internet better is always look for local landscape designers having some expertise in good landscape designs from near by areas and they will finish you landscape design within days. So call for a landscape designer today and enhance your landscapes.

Guided Fly Fishing Trips

  Fly fishing is a specific type of fishing where a synthetic fly is used as bait. The "fly" is attached to the hook and swung over the surface of the water to attract fish. Moving the fly correctly in order to entice a fish to bite is one of the more difficult activities involved in fishing.

It is quite difficult to catch fish using flies, and fly fishing is an entirely different sport than standard fishing. There are two ways that a person can learn the skills and techniques needed to successfully fly fish. One option is to buy one of the many books that offers fly fishing instructions and advice. The advantage of books is that readers can learn at their own rate, focusing on particular techniques that seem particularly challenging. A major disadvantage to the books is that readers cannot watch someone else demonstrating the techniques. The other way to learn to fly fish is to take a guided fly fishing trip. A guided fly fishing trip features a trained guide who will teach participants the techniques needed to master this difficult activity.

A guide teaches students what type of fly and rod to use and the techniques to this sport. People who go on guided fly fishing trips learn to assemble their tackle, make appropriate knots, release a fish so that it can live to the next catch, and the basics of casting.

Fly fishing is rapidly becoming more popular, and it is easy to find a guided fly fishing trip for any experience level. It is a good idea to check the credentials of the guide in order to insure that the trip will be educational and fun.

Almost anywhere that you are in the world provides the kind of the water that makes for a terrific fly-fishing trip. In many areas, there are outfitter companies that will provide a guided tour so that you can find out all about fly-fishing.

Many people have never heard about fly-fishing or been on a fly fishing trip. Just about any fishing experience can be a great one as long as it offers relaxation, peace and permits one to return to the beauty of nature.

A fly fishing trip can be great fun https://mttroutguides.com, educational and may provide a great meal. Consequently, lots of families pack up and meet at a recreation camp, cabin or other location to enjoy a week of fishing enjoyment.

Since fly-fishing is not difficult, it can be enjoyed by people of just about any age group. It does not matter if you are a child or elderly, because a fly-fishing trip can be fun for everyone.

Numerous locations offer the opportunity to take a fly fishing trip. In Alaska, for example, the water is chilly yet lovely and full of salmon, rainbow trout and other species of prized fish. The natural beauty that abounds in Alaska is too much to be covered in a single article. Seeing it all for yourself is truly believing. Where else but in Alaska can you stand in the water and watch a great abundance of wildlife run freely on the land?

It does not really matter where you choose to vacation, because there is usually a spot for you to go fly-fishing. Moreover, the whole family will enjoy the time spent together as well as the potential for wonderful meals. When fishing, youngsters learn the basics while adults get the much-needed rest and relaxation that they need. It is just what the doctor ordered when the hustle and bustle can be left behind on a fly-fishing trip.

So you have decided that it's time for you to take your very first fly fishing trip. You have been practicing your casting and you have got all your flies ready to land a big fish. What do you need to think about when planning this fly fishing trip?

The first thing to decide is where to go. There are many, many excellent places to hone your fly fishing skills at. Some great locations to consider are Washington state, Oregon, Northern California, Texas, and the Great Lakes region. Pick a place that is readily accessible for you and that will not break the bank when it comes time to pay for it.

If adventure is your game, look into taking a Canadian fly fishing trip. Most of the best fishing in Canada can be found in remote mountain lakes and streams with lodges only accessible by air or train. Most of the lodges will offer you trained guides to lead you to the fishing spots and transportation is included in the price of your stay. We have even seen one lodge that will give you use of its cabin and you are left on your own in the wilderness. This can be an amazingly liberating adventure!

Be sure and find a lodge where everything is included in the cost of your stay. This means transportation to and from the fishing spots, guided tours, along with your rooms. Many places have restaurants in their establishments, but you might want to find a cabin with full kitchen facilities where you can cook your own food when you come back from the river or lake.

Fly fishing trips are much more fun when you have a group of people who share your same interests. It's a good idea to join a group who share the interest and try to plan a trip with them. Many organizations plan and launch trips on a regular basis. The friendship and camaraderie you will find can be a wonderful experience.

You can also combine your fly fishing with other things while on a trip. Think about where friends and family live. Can you spend a little time fishing and then, in your downtime, do a little visiting? Is there someplace you have always wanted to visit but never really had a reason why? Try taking a fly fishing trip there.

There are so many beautiful destinations you can go to when you want to take a trip to do some fly fishing. Pick one, plan well, and then just enjoy. You'll be opening up a whole new world to yourself on a trip like this. And, you might just bring home some prized fish as proof of your prowess. Then you can start planning another trip!