Reasons Why Some PowerPoint Presentations Are Not Effective

Using the presentation program Microsoft PowerPoint has become a staple occurrence in this computer age. It is a common household name, as the program is not only used in the academic setting but also in the working world. Students and professors use it for academic presentations and lectures while employees and employers use the program for reports and briefings. Thus, the application has become a common tool that almost everyone uses.

The powerpoint has become so common that people have begun to disregard the true purpose of the program, which is to effectively convey a message in an efficient manner. Efficiency means achieving a result with minimum use of resources and time. Some people have begun to create presentations that are contrary to the true purpose of the program. Instead of effectively conveying the message, some presentations effectively put the audience into sleep due to boredom.

These are some mistakes that would render one’s presentation ineffective.

• Some presenters rely on the slides during the presentation. This should not be, since the slides are based on the presenter’s report, not the other way around. Reading the slides is a no-no.

• Some people tend to place too much information on a single slide. This will result in low information retention. The bullets are there to highlight important points, not to serve as separator of sentences.

• There are presentations that are completely ineffective because the audience cannot see what were written on a slide as the font used is unreadable or too small.

• Using too much slides might bore the audience while presenting too little slides might fail to effectively convey the message.

• The use of animations is recommended. Using too many animations in a presentation will take away the attention of the audience from the message.

• Attempting to use different slide background and fonts distracts the audience. It is better to use a single theme throughout the presentation.

• The most embarrassing mistake in a powerpoint presentation is the failure to check the equipment to be used. If they do not work, there is no presentation. 

Related Article: Tips to Making a Powerful Powerpoint Presentation

Social Work Essay: A Primer

One good thing about writing an essay is that you can take on any topic you want and tackle it on any way you like. You may want to show your target reader that one method is more viable than another and cause them to take action by pursuing the method. This is the persuasive type of essay. Other essay types may tackle on certain issues like politics and the economy. A particular essay type tackles on issues behind the work to build up the society.

Social work essays are proactive compositions, which means they focuses on the how certain social problem could be solved. While a social work essay could outline the causes, it does not dwell too much in them. It merely traces the root of the issue as way to find an amenable solution. It highlights the issue, not its causes.

When writing a social work essay, a student must not fail to provide a background of the issue and how it relates to a possible solution. For example, if the issue is about juvenile delinquency, the writer may provide a history of the issue in certain location. He may discuss the rampancy of juvenile delinquents based on police records and statistics. By providing a background, the writer could how the urgent need to take up the issue, consider its effects and find a viable solution for it.

Social work essays are also academic papers, so the writer has to follow certain conventions when writing one. You must avoid using a first-person point of view, as this is not personal statement. There should be a voice of formality, void of colloquialism. You must strive to sound like a professional when writing your social work essays. You must also follow basic grammar rules, and follow the necessary formats. Your social work essay must also be coherent and easy to understand.

Writing a social work essay is quite hard if you have no knowledge in the field. You, however, could prop up your knowledge by doing intensive research on the subject matter. Then, completing the project is a cinch.

Project Management Essays -- A Project Itself

A project is usually short-term undertaking constrained by finances and time. When a vital project is brought to concept and approved, there is a need to organize its sections, which includes planning and execution. This science is called project management. There are many approaches in project management, thus creating various issues that need attention. One could tackle these issues by writing project management essays.

Writing project management essays is a project itself, the traditional way. The most common approach is the traditional project management. This approach requires five phases or processes -- definition, planning, execution, controlling and closure. The processes undertaken in project management could be applied to writing an essay. In fact, writing an essay is a project itself.

The first process the definition or initiation, wherein a goal or a need is defined, and a project to achieve the goal initiated. A professor may set a goal of assessing one's knowledge in project management, thus she initiates her students to write an essay concerning the subject.

The second process is the planning. During this phase, all related activities are organized according to their logical importance to the project. A deadline is also set. In planning an essay, one first has to outline all the necessary tasks involved, including the selection of a topic and defining the research methodology. A deadline is also set for submission of the essay.

The third and main phase is the execution phase. It involves the commencement of all activities needed to achieve the project. The execution phase in project management essays is not only the writing part; it also involves the actual research.

The controlling process involves activities done to identify project problems and execute vital changes and updates. A student does this when he himself or another person proofreads the essay, find some parts needed to be corrected, and revises the piece. The closing phase, meanwhile, is when the student submits the essay to his professor.

An essay is also project in a way that companies may outsource the project to experts, while students may avail of essay services from writing professionals.

Access to Education and Academic Filters

It is everyone’s right to have access to basic education. Governments have implemented programs that offer free education to their residents for the primary and secondary levels. However, this greatly changes when students are to enter college education. Though it is the students who get to choose whichever university or college they want to further their studies, they still have to pass the qualifications set by the institutions they are trying to get in. In a sense, these universities and colleges also choose, albeit academically and objectively, who they want to study the courses they are offering. They place in academic filters that sort those who are qualified to become their students from those who are unfit.

There are ways that universities and colleges implement their academic filters. They often require applicants to submit documents to prove their academic qualifications. These documents include but are not limited to transcript of records or true copy of grades, written recommendation from previous school and personal statement.

The transcript of records or true copy of grades is a document that outlines in graphs the students’ academic performance during his attendance on a certain school. It lists the student’s achievements as well as the grades and honours received. The university wherein the student is applying to may request a copy of the transcript to prove that he qualifies for the course. A written recommendation may also be given by the administrator or a professor for a student to qualify.

Aside from the transcript, the university may also require applicant to submit a personal statement. Universities use this document as away to gain personal knowledge of the application without actually interviewing him. The personal statement is a chance for the applicant to sell himself to the university by detailing what the transcript cannot. The applicant, however, must not use this document to place information not necessarily true about him. The university will eventually find out whether what is written on the statement is true or not.

These filters show that education is a privilege in which only those who have good academic grades can access.

The Best Drug Induced Written Works

Who knew that illegal drugs could produce such a positive effect that would have lasting contributions to literature and even film? Many students who are studying the following written works would probably be looking at the writer with a new perspective when they learn that these works were conceived while under the influence of illegal drugs:

·         “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. This novella, which also became a popular film and whose characters are popular Halloween costume fixtures, was written by Mr. Stevenson while he was on a six-day, six-night cocaine roll. 

·         “Junkie” by William Burroughs. This is writing closer to home, so to speak as the author writes about his heroin addiction through an autobiographical novel. 

·         “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. This novel was the product of author Kesey’s use of mescaline. He wrote the novel even while he worked during the night as a hospital porter.

·         Stephen King’s novels covering the period of 1979-1987. Who would have thought that one of the most popular horror novelists of the present time was a heavy cocaine user? Apparently, so heavily was he under the influence of cocaine that even forgot what he wrote during this period. 

·         “Kublai Khan” by Samue Taylor Coleridge. Dreaming of a historical figure and writing a poem thereafter was the product of writer Coleridge’s opium use.  

·         “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson. Here is another author who has drawn inspiration from many real-life scenarios as he is a regular user of mescaline, LSD and cocaine. Mr. Thompson wrote this novel about drug experiences in the city of Las Vegas. 

·         “Requiem for a Dream” by Hubert Selby Jr. This is a novel telling the story of four characters from the city of New York whose lives become out of control as a result of their individual addictions. The author himself has addictions to painkillers and heroin.

Hefcw eyes Glyndr merger with Bangor and Aberystwyth

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales plans to merge Glyndr University with Bangor and Aberystwyth, as part of strategy to cut their number in Wales from 11 to six, Tom Bodden writes for Daily Post West.

Leighton Andrews, Welsh minister for education, is waiting for a report from Hefcw over the needs of the North East Wales. The review, out in next few weeks,will focus on whether Glynder fully meet the need of the North East Wales.

The Hefcw suggested the merger after Bangor and Aberystwyth signed a strategic alliance deal.

“Bangor and Aberystwyth universities recently celebrated their research agreement and are working on collaboration between the two institutions and that’s very important,” Mr. Andrews told the Daily Post.

Mr. Andrews, however, said that a merger is not what they should be spending their energy on. "I think there are very real geographical challenges, territorial challenges."

The education minister noted that Glyndr’s relationship with local further education colleges like Desidee as well as industry partners is very important. He also noted that Glyndr and Desidee enjoy a working relationship with Airbus on a range of courses.

 “What Glyndr has done well is where it has enabled access to Higher Education to people from non traditional backgrounds and I’m slightly surprised that didn’t feature more in the campaign around Glyndr over the last few months," Mr. Andrews remarked.

Mr. Andrews, meanwhile, announced that Welsh students could expect the government's tuition subsidy to continue until the end of the current Assembly. With the subsidy, students pay only £3,465 despite fees of up to £9,000 that universities could charge. The Welsh government could shell out almost £3.6 billion over five years.

“It will be expensive but it was one of Welsh Labour’s manifesto commitments," Mr. Andrews told the Daily Post Wales.