tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17315521737587612952024-03-12T18:38:34.495-07:00Book ReviewsDesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-50164873433899710592016-12-28T08:23:00.002-08:002017-04-29T11:47:39.827-07:00Ideas to Improve Audible<a href="http://books.desaraev.com/2016/12/ideas-to-improve-audible.html" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b8RYbUK4dYc/WQTfl89qOMI/AAAAAAABD6Q/__aHfWq5kmYWAT6Zgxcz3m7qqN0yeREDgCLcB/s1600/nexus2cee_audiblehero.png" style="width: 100%;" alt="audible"/></a>
<ul>
<li>I wish that I could provide feedback directly from the iPhone or Android app. I wish that if the application crashed it would save which items have been read or marked as finished.
</li><li>
In the list of books it would be nice to see how many stars each book has been rated and to be able to sort them by rating (IN APP).
</li><li>
I would like to be able to login to the app with biometrics (thumbprint). The android app integrates the store better than the iphone app.
</li>
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<li>
When rating books, there are too many clicks required. Seems like the multiple stars could all just be on the initial screen (with the list of recommended books) rather than clicking overall stars, being redirected, then submitting and going back. When doing this to multiple books it becomes very tedious.
</li><li>
It would be nice to integrate the Listener page better with other book lover's social media like Shelfari and GoodReads or even blogs so that feedback can be auto posted to Amazon, Shelfari, GoodReads, and Blogs.
</li><li>
Why haven't improvements been made to the gamification of the Audible application? I earned most of the badges a few years ago, but no new badges ever appear or rewards for earning them, or the ability to compete with friends. Most of the application seems to just revolve around the antiquated "share feature" which in its default form is annoying and spammy. I read a lot of books and if I shared every book, every badge, and every other thing from the application with the default verbiage... it would annoy my friends. There seems to be little motivation to this, but if people could earn points or rewards for commenting, inviting friends, sharing books, and writing reviews - more people might be involved. It could track the number of people invited, make a competition out of books read, or for every 100 books offer 1 free credit.
</li><li>
The tracking for the number of titles in my library seems to always be off. It would be awesome if books returned would show up somewhere. I'm not sure if I would accidentally repurchase a book I didn't like, but at least I could see the books I rated poorly and the "similar" books recommended.
</li>
</ul>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-90554313437773324052016-05-31T12:55:00.002-07:002017-04-29T10:16:48.197-07:00Findley's Lass (The Clan MacDougall Series, Book 2) by Suzan Tisdale<div itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Book">
<img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n8K_aRLd7G8/V03G83soHWI/AAAAAAAA9ho/xTjCAMfChHQn1mD5IEfeaUqIBe7N1Nh2QCLcB/s320/findleyslass3.PNG" alt="Findley's Lass (The Clan MacDougall Series, Book 2) by Suzan Tisdale" width="100%" itemprop="image"/>
<h1 itemprop="name">Book Review: Findley's Lass</h1>
<div class="author">Book Author: Suzan Tisdale</div>
<p>"I write romance blended with mystery and intrigue and bad guys that you just want to see hang. Perfectly imperfect heroes and heroines. </p>
<p>And always a happily ever after. -- <a href="http://www.suzantisdale.com/">Suzan Tisdale</a>"</p>
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<h2>Historical Romance Novel</h2>
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<p>Suzan Tisdale's series seem to run a fairly similar template, but they leave you guessing. It's not a typical romance chase.</p>
<p>The Highlands of Scotland, Autumn 1344..... She had won his heart without trying... and he can only pray for the chance to give her his. When Findley McKenna returns after his battle with the English to offer Maggy Boyle a home amongst his clan, he finds only death and destruction instead of the young widow who has stolen his heart. The only things left of her home is the burned out hut and decaying bodies of the auld people Maggy has taken care of for the past three years. With only a prayer, his Highlander heart, and a bit of bloodied plaid to cling to, Findley will crawl through hell if he must, in order to find Maggy and her sons and avenge the massacre before him.</p>
<p>She had won his heart without trying, and he can only pray for the chance to give her his. How can she place her trust or her heart in the hands of a man she barely knows and maintain her freedom and keep her secrets hidden? Maggy has secrets, and her own hell to crawl through, before she can give her trust or heart to any man. Fearful that the uncle of her late husband will force her into a marriage with another cold and vindictive man, she goes into hiding to keep her true identity secret and her adopted sons together. After her home is destroyed and her young son kidnapped, those secrets begin to unravel, one agonizing thread at a time. How can she place her trust or her heart in the hands of a man she barely knows and still maintain her freedom and keep her secrets hidden? Findley McKenna is her last vestige of hope at keeping both.</p>
<h2>Similar Books</h2>
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<h3>Similar Books by The Author</h3>
<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Rowan's Lady"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y92aRx5oiDc/V03I0HAbmrI/AAAAAAAA9h0/AqSXV_s6DD8Z-x_8uTPZBcght7W2UwEiwCLcB/s1600/rowans.jpg" alt="Rowan's Lady Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Rowan's Lady: Clan Graham Book 1</h4>
<p>He built impenetrable walls around his heart…
The Black Death showed no mercy when it took Rowan Graham's beautiful, young wife. With his clan nearly decimated, his heart torn to shreds, he is left to raise his newborn daughter alone. Rowan tries to keep the promises he made to Kate on her deathbed, save for one: He is unable to give his heart to another.</p>
<p>She has built walls around her own…</p>
<p>Lady Arline is forced into yet another arranged marriage - loveless and lonely. Behind Garrick Blackthorn's good looks lies a cruel, vindictive man. She wants nothing more than her marriage to end so that she might gain the freedom she has longed for.
<p>Fate will bring those walls tumbling down…</p>
<p>Just before her marriage comes to a bitter and ugly end, her cruel husband kidnaps a sweet, innocent child. Arline does not realize the child belongs to a man from her past, a man who has haunted her dreams for more than seven years, until the night he comes to rescue his daughter.
Rowan Graham is surprised to learn that his enemy's wife is a woman he met but for a few short moments seven years earlier when dark times had fallen across Scotland. The same woman who had helped insure the freedom of his foster father and brother has been risking her life to care for his daughter.</p>
<p>Fate brings them together…but others are determined to pull them apart.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Frederick's Queen by Suzan Tisdale"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcaDvrRdygQ/V03JX6hfKyI/AAAAAAAA9h8/rwcLaKm5We4hy73rk0Er1cjBn7Ak0_eyACLcB/s1600/fredericksqueen.jpg" alt="Frederick's Queen by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Frederick's Queen: The Clan Graham Series</h4>
<p>There can be no light without darkness, no hope without despair, no love without heartache</p>
<p>Some scars can't be seen</p>
<p>When the handsome Frederick Mackintosh offers to marry Aggie McLaren, she is certain 'tis greed or insanity that motivates him. Besides land and a chance at a chiefdom, she believes she has nothing to offer. She soon learns nothing could be further from the truth. Hope she thought long lost blooms with her husband's kindness, his honor, and his fierce determination to make their marriage and their clan a success.</p>
<p>Sometimes perfection is imperfect</p>
<p>Aggie McLaren is not Frederick Mackintosh's image of the perfect wife. She isn't well read, vivacious, or voluptuous. Wee, timid, and unable to speak, it is a glimpse of her smile and the chance to be chief of his own clan that propels him to offer for her hand. Frederick will do whatever he must in order to see her smile again and to help her find her voice.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Laiden's Daughter"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goCSbEb2S7c/V03Ju9r7OOI/AAAAAAAA9iA/Tccw69Q0x4YA2bNk4JP54sU_U9FKziifwCLcB/s1600/laidens.jpg" alt="Laiden's Daughter"/></a><h4>Laiden's Daughter</h4>
<p>Scotland, 1344.</p>
<p>She believes men are not honorable nor are they kind-until she meets one that changes her heart forever.</p>
<p>Betrayed by lies told before her birth, Aishlinn is raised by a harsh and cruel stepfather. Her life is forever changed one horrifying night when she is forced to flee England for the safety of the Scottish Highlands. Rescued by a fierce band of highland warriors, Aishlinn soon learns that honorable men do exist. She finds a strength she never knew she possessed and it will be tested to the limits when she is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision…allow the English to kill those she loves, or surrender for the crime she committed.</p>
<p>She is everything he never knew he wanted in a woman…</p>
<p>As a fierce highland warrior, Duncan McEwan has survived numerous battles, bed countless women, and survived a horrific storm at sea. He has scaled mountains and even survived hand-to-claw battle with a cat-o'mountain. But none of that could have prepared him for how his life forever changed one fateful spring day when he rescued a lass from a freezing stream. He will do anything to keep her as his own and will risk everything to keep her out of the hands of the English.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQ3jiByWhqQ/V03LLt-LKLI/AAAAAAAA9iQ/eoz1HirdEnclrkAdEicIFjStayvMrCjRwCLcB/s1600/weewilliams.jpg" alt="Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book 3</h4>
<p>Scotland, 1345.</p>
<p>They call him Wee William. Though he stands nearly seven feet tall, with arms and legs the size of tree trunks and hands as big as buckets, there is nothing wee about him. His scowl alone is enough to make most men's bones rattle with fear. And women, rather than swooning, tend to run in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>The giant Highlander is a self-proclaimed bachelor who has sworn for years that there isn't a woman in all of Scotland worth shaving his beard for, and for good reason. Years ago, after a bonny young lass broke his heart and left his dignity in shreds, he swore never again to put it in such peril. As a testament to his sincerity, he vowed never again to shave his beard.</p>
Then he met her. In a single heartbeat, Wee William was lost. Forever lost to a brown-haired beauty with gray-blue eyes brimming with tears - a woman in need.</p>
<p>On her wedding night, Nora realized she made a terrible mistake. She had agreed to wed Horace Crawford when he promised her younger siblings would live with them. He soon broke his word and sent them away. Horace soon proved a harsh, cruel husband who owned no heart, nor a shred of decency.</p>
<p>On a dark, cold winter's night, when Nora had almost given up hope of ever saving her siblings and herself, God answered her prayers in a most peculiar way. Through a band of fierce Highlanders on a mission to retrieve small but priceless treasures. Treasures she had unwittingly harbored.</p>
<p>Little did the Highlanders know they would return with more than those treasures - they would return with Wee William's Woman.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wJY9yG4k6AY/V03LVFMZ12I/AAAAAAAA9iU/cqbt94DctZw5gGfyaEC7XTZlfXtTivBHwCLcB/s1600/mckennashonor.jpg" alt="McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall Book 4</h4>
<p>Dark times have fallen upon Scotland. King David II is a prisoner of England. Angus McKenna, revered chief of Clan MacDougall, and his son-in-law Duncan McEwan sit in a dungeon in Edinburgh, accused of crimes against their king and country. Their wives are missing.</p>
<p>Can devotion, honor and fealty light a candle in the darkness?</p>
<p>Invoking the Bond of the Seven Clans, Nial McKee, son-in-law to Angus McKenna sets out to discover the truth behind the charges. While he enlists the help of his good friends Caelen McDunnah and Rowan Graham, his lovely wife Bree appeals to friends of her own for a much different kind of assistance.</p>
<p>But time is running out for Angus and Duncan. Friendship and love of family alone might not be enough to save McKenna’s Honor.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NAafqcRxkG0/V03LeKI0mKI/AAAAAAAA9iY/cErSu_u75RwChfvf_4GM1zXiYu5upOtVQCLcB/s1600/caelenswife.jpg" alt="Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection: Clan MacDunnah Book 4</h4>
<p>The complete collection of the Caelen's Wife Series.</p>
<p>Part one: A Murmur of Providence - where rumors run wild.</p>
<p>Part two: A Whisper of Fate - will anyone know peace again?</p>
<p>Part three: A Breath of Promise - finding a breath of promise even in your darkest hour.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="The King's Courtesan"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GpkIf7vQuT8/V03LldyDbwI/AAAAAAAA9ic/IPD8oeXT3psAKU_LZGKcg90SAf6oD61JwCLcB/s1600/thekingscourtesan.jpg" alt="The King's Courtesan by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>The King's Courtesan</h4>
<p>For more than four decades, signora Francesca Ginori has kept her true identity secret. Living a quiet life with her children and grandchildren, she believes she has put her past behind her. That is, until one peaceful summer afternoon when a stranger arrives at her door with news of the death of an old friend. The stranger knows her secrets and threatens to turn her world to chaos by revealing them, if she refuses to give him what he wants. It is not money he seeks but something far more valuable: the truth about his own past.</p>
<p>Many, many years before, Fate and desperate circumstances lead a young girl into the life of a courtesan and the arms of a man she could never have--or even name. Just as he could never have her. But their love was pure and formidable.</p>
<p>Powerful enough to endure all efforts to destroy it? </p>
<p>It is time for Francesca Ginori to tell her story--her own passionate, enthralling truth.</p>
<p>Exclusively at Amazon's Kindle Worlds.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Ever My Love"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncUTHnOE8Ng/V03LyOe2brI/AAAAAAAA9io/toHK-zAqiXUmd_dnrznyBGXmW8__1tHmQCLcB/s1600/evermylove.jpg" alt="Ever My Love by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Ever My Love: The Lore of Lucius Ring</h4>
<p>The heart of a legend. The only chance for love. The hope that the Fates will be kind before time runs out. </p>
<p>The long-awaited sequel to the original multi-genre USA TODAY bestselling collection, With Dreams Only Of You: The Legend of the Theodosia Sword, has finally arrived. Welcome to EVER MY LOVE: THE LORE OF THE LUCIUS RING, a multi-genre new material collection unlike any other romance collection available today. </p>
<p>Six of the top authors in their genres bring you this powerhouse collection based upon the common thread of a cursed ring, passed down through the female line descended from Theodosia herself. Only a woman may bear the burden of the ring said to curse she who wears it. When the owner of the ring finds love, the stone remains crimson and assures her life-long happiness. But if she does not find love by her twenty-fifth birthday, the ring will turn dark and she will be forever cursed with loneliness. </p>
<p>Join the descendants of Theodosia as they grapple with a family legend that follows them through centuries of hope, heartache, adventure, and romance in seven amazing segments: </p>
<p>In ancient Rome - The ring, and its curse, begin with the beautiful Theodosia.
Medieval England - The ring finds its way into a notorious outlaw's possession only to curse the woman he loves.
The Scottish Highlands - The ring escapes with a little girl... and the curse follows.
Tudor England - The ring once again becomes the prize for the lawless when an infamous female pirate tries to steal it from a Queen’s Naval Captain.
Georgian Era - Twin sisters vie for the ring - and for the Duke of Axminster.
Regency England - The ring enters the proud and proper Regency set where the curse finds new life.
Modern Times - Mistaken identity, soul mates, and the last chance for the ring to fulfill its destiny. </p>
<p>Seven unique and powerful brand-new stories take the legend of the Lucius Ring through the ages. Discover how each woman finds her own love, peace, and happiness. The ring that can tear them apart is also the one that binds them. </p>
<p>The heart of a legend. The only hope for love... will each lady find her destiny before time runs out?</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Stealing Moirra's Heart"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Tefw-T1N0c/V03L3qTC1JI/AAAAAAAA9is/Zp47KjgXCo8157yYif2PhPP56pt5BxLXQCLcB/s1600/stealingmoirrah.jpg" alt="Stealing Moirra's Heart by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Stealing Moirra's Heart (A Scrolls of Cridhe Novella)</h4>
<p>Thrice widowed Moirra Dundotter needs a husband. With a reputation for losing husbands, the men of Glenkirby are not exactly lining up. Just as she is ready to give up, Moirra happens upon a very handsome man--locked in the village pillory. </p>
<p>Desperate to be free of the pillory, the stranger reluctantly agrees to handfast with Moirra, but refuses to tell her his real name -- or much else about his past. He’ll stay only long enough to help her harvest crops in the fall. Two months. And not one day longer. </p>
<p>Fate oft has far different plans.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Saving Moirra's Heart"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLtRU0Xm2yI/V03L9gszdDI/AAAAAAAA9iw/-4EODW_2KKMhiwg178lMPmwfRil2aJG2QCLcB/s1600/savingmoirrah.jpg" alt="Saving Moirra's Heart by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Saving Moirra's Heart (A Scrolls of Cridhe Novella)</h4>
<p>Book One Stealing Moirra's Heart was originally published in November 2014 as part of the Highland Winds Collection. It is now available as a single novel. </p>
<p>The story of Moirra’s Heart concludes with Saving Moirra’s Heart. </p>
<p>After losing everything they own in a fire, Alysander and Moirra’s plans to begin anew are torn asunder when Moirra is arrested for the murder of her last husband. </p>
<p>Moirra is determined to protect her family at all costs. Even if it means hanging for a crime she did not commit. Alysander is just as determined to have her set free, even if he has to bargain with the devil to do it. </p>
<p>Will Alysander be able to prove Moirra’s innocence or will she hang? </p>
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<H3>Books:</H3>
<ul>
<li>Susan Stoker</li>
<li>Sabrina York</li>
<li>Cheryl Bolen</li>
<li>Eliza Knight</li>
<li>Suzan Tisdale</li>
<li>Kathryn Le Veque</li>
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</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-89640789957416526632016-05-31T12:54:00.000-07:002017-04-29T12:07:17.426-07:00Defiance by C.J. Redwine<a href="http://books.desaraev.com/2016/05/defiance-by-cj-redwine.html" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7AnF3VjFtww/WQTgLT1MvCI/AAAAAAABD6Y/nE4335UGgCkFB8Wuxgf-oDZaxrLFV3EdQCLcB/s1600/Defiance_Banner.jpg" /></a>
<h1 itemprop="name">Book Review: Defiance</h1>
<div class="author">Book Author: C.J. Redwine</div>
<p>The main character is incredibly childish girl named Rachel whose every move invokes anger, sadness, and feelings of ridiculousness. She is conniving and spends a lot of time worrying about herself, immediately followed by extreme pity parties of how her actions effect and hurt those around her. Defiance is the perfect word to describe this book in the series. Granted, some of the laws in the town are archaic and belittling to women, but she is arrogant and the author takes her rebellion and glorifies it without showing the quality of law and order. Then again, the whole time I listened to the book I felt like cheering her on and verbally slapping her. I'm still extremely early in the book but am already very annoyed with the girl. So, I'd say the writing is good. The author's writing invokes feeling and is addictive.</p>
<p>Part of me dislikes Rachel. I hope at some point in the book she grows up and realizes the consequences of her actions, she never sticks with a plan, and the need to think things through.</p>
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<h2>Adventure Novel</h2>
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<p>Defiance was written by C. J. Redwine as a post-apocalyptic young adult (YA) fantasy.[1] In the city of Baalboden people are walled in for safety. The lead character, Rachel Adams, is at odds with her peers as a tom boy. This is odd since women are brought up to be protected by men and owned, even auctioned off for marriage. </p>
<p>This book is about survival, dangerous beasts, a hardened military dictator and how the wages of war can take it's toll on societies. If you enjoy adventure and can handle a little heartbreak - this book is for you.</p>
<h2>About the Author</h2>
<img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oMenRt9fAsc/WQTiZhcsbCI/AAAAAAABD6k/rAxM1eXZva48XSkKD4EjmjWqnYeSxGXdgCLcB/s1600/4864634.jpg" style="float: left; padding: 20px;" alt="C.J Redwine"/>
<p>"C.J. Redwine loves fairy tales, Harry Potter, and any movie starring Johnny Depp. She is the author of the Defiance trilogy, a post-apocalyptic fantasy from Balzer + Bray. C.J. lives in Nashville with her husband and children. If the novel writing gig ever falls through, she’ll join the Avengers and wear a cape to work every day. To learn more about C.J., visit her website at www.cjredwine.com" [1]</p>
1 C.J. Redwine (2017). Biography. GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4864634.C_J_RedwineDesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-82682639871787436802016-05-31T11:01:00.001-07:002016-05-31T11:01:05.480-07:00Findley's Lass (The Clan MacDougall Series, Book 2) by Suzan Tisdale<div itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Book">
<img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n8K_aRLd7G8/V03G83soHWI/AAAAAAAA9ho/xTjCAMfChHQn1mD5IEfeaUqIBe7N1Nh2QCLcB/s320/findleyslass3.PNG" alt="Findley's Lass (The Clan MacDougall Series, Book 2) by Suzan Tisdale" width="100%" itemprop="image"/>
<h1 itemprop="name">Book Review: Findley's Lass</h1>
<div class="author">Book Author: Suzan Tisdale</div>
<p>"I write romance blended with mystery and intrigue and bad guys that you just want to see hang. Perfectly imperfect heroes and heroines. </p>
<p>And always a happily ever after. -- <a href="http://www.suzantisdale.com/">Suzan Tisdale</a>"</p>
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<h2>Historical Romance Novel</h2>
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<p>Suzan Tisdale's series seem to run a fairly similar template, but they leave you guessing. It's not a typical romance chase.</p>
<p>The Highlands of Scotland, Autumn 1344..... She had won his heart without trying... and he can only pray for the chance to give her his. When Findley McKenna returns after his battle with the English to offer Maggy Boyle a home amongst his clan, he finds only death and destruction instead of the young widow who has stolen his heart. The only things left of her home is the burned out hut and decaying bodies of the auld people Maggy has taken care of for the past three years. With only a prayer, his Highlander heart, and a bit of bloodied plaid to cling to, Findley will crawl through hell if he must, in order to find Maggy and her sons and avenge the massacre before him.</p>
<p>She had won his heart without trying, and he can only pray for the chance to give her his. How can she place her trust or her heart in the hands of a man she barely knows and maintain her freedom and keep her secrets hidden? Maggy has secrets, and her own hell to crawl through, before she can give her trust or heart to any man. Fearful that the uncle of her late husband will force her into a marriage with another cold and vindictive man, she goes into hiding to keep her true identity secret and her adopted sons together. After her home is destroyed and her young son kidnapped, those secrets begin to unravel, one agonizing thread at a time. How can she place her trust or her heart in the hands of a man she barely knows and still maintain her freedom and keep her secrets hidden? Findley McKenna is her last vestige of hope at keeping both.</p>
<h2>Similar Books</h2>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Laiden's Daughter"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goCSbEb2S7c/V03Ju9r7OOI/AAAAAAAA9iA/Tccw69Q0x4YA2bNk4JP54sU_U9FKziifwCLcB/s1600/laidens.jpg" alt="Laiden's Daughter"/></a><h4>Laiden's Daughter</h4>
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<h3>Similar Books by The Author</h3>
<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Rowan's Lady"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y92aRx5oiDc/V03I0HAbmrI/AAAAAAAA9h0/AqSXV_s6DD8Z-x_8uTPZBcght7W2UwEiwCLcB/s1600/rowans.jpg" alt="Rowan's Lady Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Rowan's Lady: Clan Graham Book 1</h4>
<p>He built impenetrable walls around his heart…
The Black Death showed no mercy when it took Rowan Graham's beautiful, young wife. With his clan nearly decimated, his heart torn to shreds, he is left to raise his newborn daughter alone. Rowan tries to keep the promises he made to Kate on her deathbed, save for one: He is unable to give his heart to another.</p>
<p>She has built walls around her own…</p>
<p>Lady Arline is forced into yet another arranged marriage - loveless and lonely. Behind Garrick Blackthorn's good looks lies a cruel, vindictive man. She wants nothing more than her marriage to end so that she might gain the freedom she has longed for.
<p>Fate will bring those walls tumbling down…</p>
<p>Just before her marriage comes to a bitter and ugly end, her cruel husband kidnaps a sweet, innocent child. Arline does not realize the child belongs to a man from her past, a man who has haunted her dreams for more than seven years, until the night he comes to rescue his daughter.
Rowan Graham is surprised to learn that his enemy's wife is a woman he met but for a few short moments seven years earlier when dark times had fallen across Scotland. The same woman who had helped insure the freedom of his foster father and brother has been risking her life to care for his daughter.</p>
<p>Fate brings them together…but others are determined to pull them apart.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Frederick's Queen by Suzan Tisdale"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcaDvrRdygQ/V03JX6hfKyI/AAAAAAAA9h8/rwcLaKm5We4hy73rk0Er1cjBn7Ak0_eyACLcB/s1600/fredericksqueen.jpg" alt="Frederick's Queen by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Frederick's Queen: The Clan Graham Series</h4>
<p>There can be no light without darkness, no hope without despair, no love without heartache</p>
<p>Some scars can't be seen</p>
<p>When the handsome Frederick Mackintosh offers to marry Aggie McLaren, she is certain 'tis greed or insanity that motivates him. Besides land and a chance at a chiefdom, she believes she has nothing to offer. She soon learns nothing could be further from the truth. Hope she thought long lost blooms with her husband's kindness, his honor, and his fierce determination to make their marriage and their clan a success.</p>
<p>Sometimes perfection is imperfect</p>
<p>Aggie McLaren is not Frederick Mackintosh's image of the perfect wife. She isn't well read, vivacious, or voluptuous. Wee, timid, and unable to speak, it is a glimpse of her smile and the chance to be chief of his own clan that propels him to offer for her hand. Frederick will do whatever he must in order to see her smile again and to help her find her voice.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Laiden's Daughter"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goCSbEb2S7c/V03Ju9r7OOI/AAAAAAAA9iA/Tccw69Q0x4YA2bNk4JP54sU_U9FKziifwCLcB/s1600/laidens.jpg" alt="Laiden's Daughter"/></a><h4>Laiden's Daughter</h4>
<p>Scotland, 1344.</p>
<p>She believes men are not honorable nor are they kind-until she meets one that changes her heart forever.</p>
<p>Betrayed by lies told before her birth, Aishlinn is raised by a harsh and cruel stepfather. Her life is forever changed one horrifying night when she is forced to flee England for the safety of the Scottish Highlands. Rescued by a fierce band of highland warriors, Aishlinn soon learns that honorable men do exist. She finds a strength she never knew she possessed and it will be tested to the limits when she is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision…allow the English to kill those she loves, or surrender for the crime she committed.</p>
<p>She is everything he never knew he wanted in a woman…</p>
<p>As a fierce highland warrior, Duncan McEwan has survived numerous battles, bed countless women, and survived a horrific storm at sea. He has scaled mountains and even survived hand-to-claw battle with a cat-o'mountain. But none of that could have prepared him for how his life forever changed one fateful spring day when he rescued a lass from a freezing stream. He will do anything to keep her as his own and will risk everything to keep her out of the hands of the English.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQ3jiByWhqQ/V03LLt-LKLI/AAAAAAAA9iQ/eoz1HirdEnclrkAdEicIFjStayvMrCjRwCLcB/s1600/weewilliams.jpg" alt="Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Wee William's Woman: Clan MacDougall Book 3</h4>
<p>Scotland, 1345.</p>
<p>They call him Wee William. Though he stands nearly seven feet tall, with arms and legs the size of tree trunks and hands as big as buckets, there is nothing wee about him. His scowl alone is enough to make most men's bones rattle with fear. And women, rather than swooning, tend to run in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>The giant Highlander is a self-proclaimed bachelor who has sworn for years that there isn't a woman in all of Scotland worth shaving his beard for, and for good reason. Years ago, after a bonny young lass broke his heart and left his dignity in shreds, he swore never again to put it in such peril. As a testament to his sincerity, he vowed never again to shave his beard.</p>
Then he met her. In a single heartbeat, Wee William was lost. Forever lost to a brown-haired beauty with gray-blue eyes brimming with tears - a woman in need.</p>
<p>On her wedding night, Nora realized she made a terrible mistake. She had agreed to wed Horace Crawford when he promised her younger siblings would live with them. He soon broke his word and sent them away. Horace soon proved a harsh, cruel husband who owned no heart, nor a shred of decency.</p>
<p>On a dark, cold winter's night, when Nora had almost given up hope of ever saving her siblings and herself, God answered her prayers in a most peculiar way. Through a band of fierce Highlanders on a mission to retrieve small but priceless treasures. Treasures she had unwittingly harbored.</p>
<p>Little did the Highlanders know they would return with more than those treasures - they would return with Wee William's Woman.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wJY9yG4k6AY/V03LVFMZ12I/AAAAAAAA9iU/cqbt94DctZw5gGfyaEC7XTZlfXtTivBHwCLcB/s1600/mckennashonor.jpg" alt="McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>McKenna's Honor: Clan MacDougall Book 4</h4>
<p>Dark times have fallen upon Scotland. King David II is a prisoner of England. Angus McKenna, revered chief of Clan MacDougall, and his son-in-law Duncan McEwan sit in a dungeon in Edinburgh, accused of crimes against their king and country. Their wives are missing.</p>
<p>Can devotion, honor and fealty light a candle in the darkness?</p>
<p>Invoking the Bond of the Seven Clans, Nial McKee, son-in-law to Angus McKenna sets out to discover the truth behind the charges. While he enlists the help of his good friends Caelen McDunnah and Rowan Graham, his lovely wife Bree appeals to friends of her own for a much different kind of assistance.</p>
<p>But time is running out for Angus and Duncan. Friendship and love of family alone might not be enough to save McKenna’s Honor.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NAafqcRxkG0/V03LeKI0mKI/AAAAAAAA9iY/cErSu_u75RwChfvf_4GM1zXiYu5upOtVQCLcB/s1600/caelenswife.jpg" alt="Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Caelen's Wife: The Complete Collection: Clan MacDunnah Book 4</h4>
<p>The complete collection of the Caelen's Wife Series.</p>
<p>Part one: A Murmur of Providence - where rumors run wild.</p>
<p>Part two: A Whisper of Fate - will anyone know peace again?</p>
<p>Part three: A Breath of Promise - finding a breath of promise even in your darkest hour.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="The King's Courtesan"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GpkIf7vQuT8/V03LldyDbwI/AAAAAAAA9ic/IPD8oeXT3psAKU_LZGKcg90SAf6oD61JwCLcB/s1600/thekingscourtesan.jpg" alt="The King's Courtesan by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>The King's Courtesan</h4>
<p>For more than four decades, signora Francesca Ginori has kept her true identity secret. Living a quiet life with her children and grandchildren, she believes she has put her past behind her. That is, until one peaceful summer afternoon when a stranger arrives at her door with news of the death of an old friend. The stranger knows her secrets and threatens to turn her world to chaos by revealing them, if she refuses to give him what he wants. It is not money he seeks but something far more valuable: the truth about his own past.</p>
<p>Many, many years before, Fate and desperate circumstances lead a young girl into the life of a courtesan and the arms of a man she could never have--or even name. Just as he could never have her. But their love was pure and formidable.</p>
<p>Powerful enough to endure all efforts to destroy it? </p>
<p>It is time for Francesca Ginori to tell her story--her own passionate, enthralling truth.</p>
<p>Exclusively at Amazon's Kindle Worlds.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Ever My Love"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncUTHnOE8Ng/V03LyOe2brI/AAAAAAAA9io/toHK-zAqiXUmd_dnrznyBGXmW8__1tHmQCLcB/s1600/evermylove.jpg" alt="Ever My Love by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Ever My Love: The Lore of Lucius Ring</h4>
<p>The heart of a legend. The only chance for love. The hope that the Fates will be kind before time runs out. </p>
<p>The long-awaited sequel to the original multi-genre USA TODAY bestselling collection, With Dreams Only Of You: The Legend of the Theodosia Sword, has finally arrived. Welcome to EVER MY LOVE: THE LORE OF THE LUCIUS RING, a multi-genre new material collection unlike any other romance collection available today. </p>
<p>Six of the top authors in their genres bring you this powerhouse collection based upon the common thread of a cursed ring, passed down through the female line descended from Theodosia herself. Only a woman may bear the burden of the ring said to curse she who wears it. When the owner of the ring finds love, the stone remains crimson and assures her life-long happiness. But if she does not find love by her twenty-fifth birthday, the ring will turn dark and she will be forever cursed with loneliness. </p>
<p>Join the descendants of Theodosia as they grapple with a family legend that follows them through centuries of hope, heartache, adventure, and romance in seven amazing segments: </p>
<p>In ancient Rome - The ring, and its curse, begin with the beautiful Theodosia.
Medieval England - The ring finds its way into a notorious outlaw's possession only to curse the woman he loves.
The Scottish Highlands - The ring escapes with a little girl... and the curse follows.
Tudor England - The ring once again becomes the prize for the lawless when an infamous female pirate tries to steal it from a Queen’s Naval Captain.
Georgian Era - Twin sisters vie for the ring - and for the Duke of Axminster.
Regency England - The ring enters the proud and proper Regency set where the curse finds new life.
Modern Times - Mistaken identity, soul mates, and the last chance for the ring to fulfill its destiny. </p>
<p>Seven unique and powerful brand-new stories take the legend of the Lucius Ring through the ages. Discover how each woman finds her own love, peace, and happiness. The ring that can tear them apart is also the one that binds them. </p>
<p>The heart of a legend. The only hope for love... will each lady find her destiny before time runs out?</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Stealing Moirra's Heart"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Tefw-T1N0c/V03L3qTC1JI/AAAAAAAA9is/Zp47KjgXCo8157yYif2PhPP56pt5BxLXQCLcB/s1600/stealingmoirrah.jpg" alt="Stealing Moirra's Heart by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Stealing Moirra's Heart (A Scrolls of Cridhe Novella)</h4>
<p>Thrice widowed Moirra Dundotter needs a husband. With a reputation for losing husbands, the men of Glenkirby are not exactly lining up. Just as she is ready to give up, Moirra happens upon a very handsome man--locked in the village pillory. </p>
<p>Desperate to be free of the pillory, the stranger reluctantly agrees to handfast with Moirra, but refuses to tell her his real name -- or much else about his past. He’ll stay only long enough to help her harvest crops in the fall. Two months. And not one day longer. </p>
<p>Fate oft has far different plans.</p>
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<a href="" class="similarbooks" title="Saving Moirra's Heart"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLtRU0Xm2yI/V03L9gszdDI/AAAAAAAA9iw/-4EODW_2KKMhiwg178lMPmwfRil2aJG2QCLcB/s1600/savingmoirrah.jpg" alt="Saving Moirra's Heart by Suzan Tisdale"/></a><h4>Saving Moirra's Heart (A Scrolls of Cridhe Novella)</h4>
<p>Book One Stealing Moirra's Heart was originally published in November 2014 as part of the Highland Winds Collection. It is now available as a single novel. </p>
<p>The story of Moirra’s Heart concludes with Saving Moirra’s Heart. </p>
<p>After losing everything they own in a fire, Alysander and Moirra’s plans to begin anew are torn asunder when Moirra is arrested for the murder of her last husband. </p>
<p>Moirra is determined to protect her family at all costs. Even if it means hanging for a crime she did not commit. Alysander is just as determined to have her set free, even if he has to bargain with the devil to do it. </p>
<p>Will Alysander be able to prove Moirra’s innocence or will she hang? </p>
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<H3>Books:</H3>
<ul>
<li>Susan Stoker</li>
<li>Sabrina York</li>
<li>Cheryl Bolen</li>
<li>Eliza Knight</li>
<li>Suzan Tisdale</li>
<li>Kathryn Le Veque</li>
</ul>
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</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-23373140182755477582016-05-27T09:49:00.002-07:002016-05-27T09:49:41.719-07:00Author: Marissa Meyer<h1>About the Author</h1>
<p><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71RReEZmnmL._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71RReEZmnmL._UX250_.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>
Marissa Meyer was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, home of Almond Roca and Stadium High School, which was made famous when Heath Ledger danced down the stadium steps in <i>10 Things I Hate About You</i>. Marissa didn't actually go to Stadium High School, but she did attend Pacific Lutheran University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Creative Writing. She still lives in Tacoma, now with her husband. <i>Cinder</i> is her YA debut.</p>
<p>Rebecca Soler is a film and voiceover actress who won a 2009 <i>AudioFile</i> Earphones Award for her narration of <i>After</i> by Amy Efaw. Her audiobook credits include work by authors such as Judy Blume, James Patterson and Sarah Dessen. Soler has also narrated the popular young adult series <i>The Lunar Chronicles </i>by Marissa Meyer. Her voice over credits include various video games, like <i>Star Wars: The Old Republic</i> and <i>Red Dead Redemption</i> and television shows such as <i>Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>. She lives in New York City. </p>
<h3><b>Marissa Meyer on <i>Cinder</i>, writing, and leading men</b></h3>
<p><i><b>Which of your characters is most like you?</b></i></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p>I wish I could say that I'm clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no--I can't fix anything. I'm much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She's a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the naïve side--things that could be said about me too--although she does find courage when it's needed most. I think we'd all like to believe we'd have that same inner strength if we ever needed it.</p>
<p><i><b>Where do you write?</b></i></p>
<p>I have a home office that I've decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I've collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I'll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.</p>
<p><b><i>If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from </i>Cinder<i> would you want with you?</i></b></p>
<p>Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We'd just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued.</p>
<p><b><i>The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called </i>Scarlet<i>, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?</i></b></p>
<p>Scarlet is awesome--she's very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that's a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she's been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren't half bad either.)</p>
<h2>Editorial Review</h2>
<p>“Rebecca Soler’s sweet but firm voice conducts the listener through a fresh, quirky take on an old trope: reimagined fairytales…Overall, this is good fun, and provides encouragement for the next adventure.” – <i>Locus</i></p>
<p>“Narrator Rebecca Soler captures the determination and independence that make Cinder a compelling character…the story will keep listeners engaged and awaiting the subsequent titles.” – <i>School Library Journal</i></p>
<p>“The audiobook is delightful. Rebecca Soler brings all the characters to life with such distinct voices that it’s like listening to a play. I was riveted. And here’s the best part – the book is absolutely suitable for all ages.” – <i>Record-Courier</i></p>
<p>“Soler’s narrations, both confident and well paced, flow effortlessly. She masters major characters’ voices…Soler is also very effective at quick transitions between accents in dialogue-heavy scenes. The combination of Soler’s superb performance and Meyer’s captivating storytelling creates a pair of tour-de-force audiobooks.’ – <i>Horn Book Magazine</i></p>
<p>“This was actually the first audiobook I ever listed to on my phone and I fell in love with the portability as well as Rebecca Soler’s amazing narration…Rebecca reads <i>Cinder</i> perfectly.” – <i>USA Today </i>Happily Ever After Blog</p>
<h2>More Books From Marissa Meyer</h2>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L0IACSG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00L0IACSG&linkCode=as2&tag=desaraevcom-20&linkId=WUOJEUXCMA5PFLVI"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00L0IACSG&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=desaraevcom-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=desaraevcom-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00L0IACSG" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009LRWVVY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009LRWVVY&linkCode=as2&tag=desaraevcom-20&linkId=UBCG67KEDOZSOUK7"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009LRWVVY&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=desaraevcom-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=desaraevcom-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009LRWVVY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3551582874/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=3551582874&linkCode=as2&tag=desaraevcom-20&linkId=PFIF2IE6GC7LGF34"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=3551582874&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=desaraevcom-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=desaraevcom-20&l=as2&o=1&a=3551582874" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F1QX7W6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00F1QX7W6&linkCode=as2&tag=desaraevcom-20&linkId=EO5OVB3GJJJG4KCU"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00F1QX7W6&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=desaraevcom-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=desaraevcom-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00F1QX7W6" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<!--start best of-->
<div class="bestofaward"><a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/search/label/Favorite%3A%20Books" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Favorite Books Best of Books Award by DesaraeV" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UCQcyZuP4es/VOj9YE_Bh5I/AAAAAAAAyys/kJosPpH4gBA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-21%2Bat%2B3.48.59%2BPM.png" height="190" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/search/label/Favorite%3A%20Book%20Narrators" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Favorite Narrators Best of Books Award by DesaraeV" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WsUMeh_JNcQ/VOj9O075NEI/AAAAAAAAyyc/TCTo_GfOY6g/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-21%2Bat%2B3.48.08%2BPM.png" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/search/label/Favorite%3A%20Authors" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Favorite and Best of Authors Award by DesaraeV" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fiUu2JjmQtc/VOkFB2NYfSI/AAAAAAAAyy8/053INrKUjaM/s200/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-21%2Bat%2B4.21.12%2BPM.png" /></a>
<a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/search/label/Awards%3A%20NYT" imageanchor="1" title="New York Times Best Seller">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Lsnz_tulGg/VPfvk93wltI/AAAAAAAAzO4/jZdeJUCrLFU/s1600/nybs.png" alt="New York Times Best Seller"/></a>
<h2>Best Of</h2>
<ul>
<li>Chapters/Indigo</li>
<li>Amazon</li>
<li>Goodreads Reader’s Choice Awards</li>
<li>The Romantic Times</li>
<li>Hudson Booksellers</li>
<li>YALSA Teens’ Top Ten</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/search/label/Awards%3A%20PW" imageanchor="1" title="Publishers Weekly">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wp5yFxIRtIM/VPfvmByPa7I/AAAAAAAAzPA/pTiIJqv2JEY/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-03-04%2Bat%2B11.51.45%2BPM.png" alt="Publishers Weekly"/></a>
</div>
<!--endbestof -->DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-69461649209827355982016-05-25T14:09:00.001-07:002017-04-29T12:10:12.839-07:00Fairest: The Lunar Chronicles - Levana's Story UNABRIDGED by Marissa Meyer<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l6L_hH4bRT4/VQuXstsNezI/AAAAAAAAzsE/GKp0zlwGmlI/s1600/Lcinder.jpg" alt="marissa meyer" class="left">
<div class="adbl-review-text clearfix">
<h1>Now begins the waiting game</h1>
<blockquote>
Update: This book is available for purchase and received a five star review.
</blockquote>
<p>This book includes a preview of the final book, winter. So, I'll spend the next 6-8 months patiently waiting for it to come out and then probably forget half the plot.</p>
<p>The book just before this one left so, so many unanswered questions on the table so I'm glad from the preview that it sounds like we will be skipping back forward to the present. </p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p>This book in the series is all set in the past to give us a character background on the queen, her husband, and the two princesses. </p>
<p>Some is expected but most is not. I want to day more but would hate to spoil the book. I enjoyed the mini story but wish this was book .5 and not placed where it is but then again it's good to have a little mystery and this would ruin too much of that for book 1-3. </p>
<p>Disappointed that I still don't know what happened next other than the winter teaser. Now begins the waiting game.</p>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-43693768027515934992016-05-25T09:01:00.001-07:002016-05-25T14:19:53.584-07:00Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger<img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7eEE9vk8Y0/V0XMKcB0xJI/AAAAAAAA9dc/vddieYSPQ_k3Uk-mzgx978jt4GixSRfhgCLcB/s1600/Finishingseries.jpg" style="max-width: 90%;"/>
<div class="adbl-review-text">
<p>Waistcoats and Weaponry is a book in a series about daring adventure through Scottland, Britain, and the ether. This book in the series focuses more on werewolves and the reader finally gets to know more about Lady Kingair (Sidheag Maccon).</p>
<a name='more'></a>
<img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qcKtQIr4O38/V0XMKRAqpPI/AAAAAAAA9dY/Be28IYneFjQbcnJKUoYlD0JdHso33LcAACLcB/s1600/sophronia.PNG" class="right" style="max-width: 90%; padding: 20px;"/>
<p>On the ground, Sophronia gets her friends into a new set of escapades to set a pack to rights and discover what her nemesis, Monique, is up to. They landed themselves in the middle of one adventure by accident and the other by design but both keep them busy, tired, and on the tips of their toes trying to stay ahead of the finishing game.</p>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-22844846667081539142016-05-24T15:04:00.001-07:002016-05-25T14:20:05.685-07:00Moving all Book Reviews<div class="adbl-review-text">
<p>My main blog, DesaraeVeit.com, is getting a little cluttered with various genres so I will be moving all my book reviews to this blog as of today. Other genres may also move to genre specific sites at a later date.</p>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-12109773417679278572016-05-24T14:58:00.000-07:002016-05-25T14:20:19.755-07:00Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger<div class="adbl-review-text">
<p>Etiquette and Espionage is a spin off of Gail Carriger's steam-punk world that started with, "The Parasol Protectorate." I loved the Parasol Protectorate and many of Gail's other books. The Parasol Protectorate includes: Prudence, Soulless, Heartless, Blameless, and Changeless. More on that series in another review.</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5CCTCH_h9L0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe></p>
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<p>This new series is focused on a younger audience. The first two books are less about love and more of a coming of age for young women learning to be themselves in a world of manners, murder, and revolving mysteries. The entire series has a steam-punk edge set in a modernized 1800s. </p>
<p>The first book in the series was hard for me to listen to after finishing the Parasol Protectorate. I half heartedly gave it a good but waited to finish the series until about four or six months after I started it. They are drastically different voices on a parallel story line. The second time around it was an absolute hit. While looking for new books in my wish list, I noticed that the fourth book in this series was recently released and downloaded the second book, then restarted the first book. I finished the first three books in two days. </p>
<p>I'm kind of a fickle reader and audible listener, just have to be in the right mood for different genres. I hop around between historical romance, fiction, sci-fi, and educational novels with no rhyme or reason to the weekly choices. Sometimes books just need the right timing. </p>
<h2>Fan Talk</h2>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X2l0YtQVf68" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-50549746019647120272016-05-24T14:45:00.001-07:002016-05-25T14:20:37.368-07:00Author: Gail Carriger<img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vELX142rMQo/V0YNmDHbCQI/AAAAAAAA9eU/hA1pDU5CNuc_okfvaKIR7CV7aNE0bvbUACLcB/s1600/7b12cfad-5ba6-4436-9914-5cb9281402e8.jpg" class="left"/>
<div class="adbl-review-text">
<p>I made this drawing as a nod to the Finishing School series. I loved the books and made a quick doodle of some of the characters.</p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lOuSiJlajSA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe>
<a name='more'></a>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w5oVDdYm-tk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RFjcvPUxwQ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jm5It-rluPw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe>
<h2>Reviews:</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://sharebookreviews.blogspot.com/2016/05/curtsies-and-conspiracies-by-gail.html">Curtsies And Conspiracies</a></li>
<li><a href="https://sharebookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-review-blameless-alexia-tarabotti.html">Blameless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel </a></li>
<li><a href="https://sharebookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-soulless-alexia-tarabotti.html">Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://sharebookreviews.blogspot.com/2016/05/etiquette-and-espionage-by-gail-carriger.html">Etiquette And Espionage </a></li>
</ul>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-28499734161805824322016-05-24T14:19:00.001-07:002016-05-25T14:20:50.034-07:00Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger<img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zSEWX9D7Wlc/V0TElhS6WBI/AAAAAAAA9cM/klb-4BkZeSIvDo1caFZGL8EPYYrkGRtEgCLcB/s1600/bumbersnoot.PNG" class="left"/>
<div class="adbl-review-text">
<p>Audible version Chapter sixteen where they are in the hive had me laughing out loud. My stomach hurts from the 'kerfuffle'. While hearing this nutty predicament I just had to start my review. The verbiage used in Gails books may only be described as smart. In an old school manner of intelligence, every book stands out with an amusing vocabulary and even more amusing antidotes. </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KTM2B14ntCE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width: 90% !important;"></iframe></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p>This is the second book in a series about a finishing school with ulterior motives. The first book was hard to get into, but by the time you get to the second book the characters become a bit more addictive and our heroine, Sephonia, is ever livelier. I love the little mechanimal dog (Bumbersnoot) and the names of all the characters. </p>
<p>I even discovered a <a href="http://badalijewelry.com/The-Finishing-School/Bumbershoot-Pendant.html">Bumbersnoot pendandt</a> (seen pictured).</p>
<a href="https://sharebookreviews.blogspot.com/search/label/Author%3A%20Gail%20Carriger?m=0?&max-results=10">More reviews of Gail Carriger Books</a>
More by Gail (Official Website): <a href="http://finishingschoolbooks.com/post/43613027634/bad-mechanimal">http://finishingschoolbooks.com/post/43613027634/bad-mechanimal</a>
<img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hka4MLnI3nk/V0TFSEFaJ8I/AAAAAAAA9cQ/zRpOTOlQKaQyVp19Fb2eWmhGGfSetIGswCLcB/s1600/finishing.PNG" style='max-width: 100%; padding: 20px;'/>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-36804933834589938622016-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:002016-05-25T14:22:10.130-07:00A Review of John Boykin's article, Stop Helping Me Google Calendar AutoSuggest #WTFUX<div class="adbl-review-text">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">In </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">John Boykin's article, <a href="http://uxmag.com/articles/stop-helping-me-google-calendar-autosuggest-wtfux" target="_blank">Stop Helping Me Google Calendar AutoSuggest</a> #WTFUX, published by <a href="http://uxmag.com/">UXMag.com</a>, he states unequivocally that Google Autosuggest is a ridiculous tool to include in Google Calendar. His assessment appears to be an opinion piece based on personal preference and emotion. Luckily for the rest of us, Boykin does not work for Google and is only one very prolific stakeholder with an extensive online following. I disagree with Boykin's statements, but his article makes an excellent example of informal evaluation in the summative phase of assessment. The language used in this artifact is written for a broad audience, likely meant to provoke emotion and drama so that readers will comment and would not be considered an academic or facts-based article.</p></span>
<a name='more'></a>
<p><a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">Since we are discussing usability vs. evaluation this article also shows one perspective of user experience. This user is frustrated with a product and is providing public feedback which may be useful for Google developers.<br /><br />Usability is the act of making EIT easily usable and a process efficient for users. Accessibility is the process of making sure EIT is accessible to all users regardless of their disability status. Evaluation is analyzing the feedback and information attained from those two fields (and others) to make informed judgement(s) that are defensible to stakeholders.</p>
<p>I've given my feedback and Boykin wrote his feedback. If I where a paid elevator to do a formal usability assessment/evaluation of this product, I would do user research, testing, and interviews to ascertain a wider array of thoughts regarding this product. Since the feature Boykin is complaining about is not actually impeding his use of the product, he just doesn't like the way it functions, my gut reaction would be to offer a button to easily turn on/off this functionality. That being said, Google already has enough hidden features and is cluttered by functionality so maybe this feature could integrate local resources and commonly typed places so that eventually this functionality would be useful to Boykin. More informed recommendations could be made with an evaluation and usability testing. </span></p>
</div>
</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-26001094341390010802016-02-09T11:06:00.000-08:002016-05-23T11:13:07.170-07:00Evaluating a Product Based on Kirkpatrick's Training Evaluation ModelThis model is not meant for evaluating anything other than education/training. I could see how a product could include the four levels. I'll write an example of how I see that it could be implemented, but would also love to see how you thought they could be implemented. <a name='more'></a>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">From <span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">http</span></span>://<span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">www</span></span>.<span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">kirkpatrickpartners</span></span>.com/<span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">OurPhilosophy</span></span>/<span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">TheKirkpatrickModel</span></span> </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Kirkpatrick Model</span></strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 40px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: #8a0000; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Level 1: Reaction</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 80px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">To what degree participants react favorably to the training</span></div><a name='more'></a><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 40px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: #a66f00; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Level 2: Learning</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 80px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">To what degree participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitudes, confidence and commitment based on their participation in a training event</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 40px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: #5a7121; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Level 3: Behavior</strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 80px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">To what degree participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 40px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: #420042; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Level 4: Results</strong></span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> training event and subsequent reinforcement</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">To what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result of the </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h2 style="text-align: left;">I will use soda pop as my example:</h2></div><ol style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;"><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reaction</strong> - Participants react favorably/not to a new line from an extremely popular brand of pop. The company hires an evaluator to record this reaction in market research through brand representatives. They also do a program where participants in public places are encouraged to compare the two most popular (but similar) brands of pop to the new line. Some participants can not tell the difference, some like it better, and some accidentally choose the wrong one in a blind taste test. During all of these marketing gimmicks information is recorded, branding material is distributed, and a script is given to the brand representatives to encourage new customers to buy the product.</li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Learning</strong> - Part of the script brand representatives are given include nutritional facts. The script encourages brand representatives to emphasize that the new product has 1g of sugar which is 20-30g less than their competitors. The new soda also includes a serving of broccoli, tastes like the classic and very popular version of the pop, and is 5g less <span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">carbs</span></span> than leading competitors. While prospective customers (stakeholders) are tasting the new pop they are learning this information. In cases the company asks them questions after to see what they retain.<br /><br />Later they have a contest <span class="mceItemHidden" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord" style="background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">online</span></span> to see who knows some of these facts (which also spreads the information) and this helps them evaluate how much information their new fan base knows. The company then hires a social media strategist who sets up a reputation management plan to evaluate feedback form the event, engage with consumers, and tracks an algorithm of sentiment. The sentiment algorithm is run by multiple tools that she adds to her report to show how happy consumers are, how much they are talking about the product, and what the main words are they are discussed when the product is mentioned.<br /><br />Before the events, the company hired a search engine optimization specialist to optimize their content. This person works closely with copywriters and tracks keywords relevant to the brand. They are asked to track and report on fluctuation in trends, pages, popularity, behavioral flows, and keywords used on the site and to get to the site or social media.<br /><br />Using this information the company tracks participants knowledge related to the new product, attitude, confidence in the brand, and commitment to the brand.</li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Behavior - Social media, SEO, and ROI can be used to track behavior and what people talk about after they learn about the brand.</li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Results - I talked a lot about results in 1/2 the results of what is tracked in those categories would go here.</li></ol><div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div></div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-42256851641216175842016-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:002016-05-23T11:14:25.718-07:00Defining Evaluation II<p>I'm looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts on the definition of evaluation, thoughts on the required reading, and how they might be using these in real life.</p><blockquote style="padding: 20.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; font-size: 11.0px; overflow: hidden;"><a name='more'></a><p>"This week’s discussion is around other broad concepts in Evaluation. For example, what does evaluation mean? How to define evaluation? We are also looking at how to make distinctions about different terminology: Needs Assessment, Monitoring, Outcome Studies, Testing, Measurement, and Assessment."</p><h3><em><a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_215432_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_137036_1&course_id=_48572_1&message_id=_1861183_1#msg__1861183_1Id" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000; float: right;"><span>-- Ana-Paula, Welcome to Week 3 <span>Online</span> Discussion</span></a></em></h3></blockquote><p>I highlighted <strong><em>pages 7 and 9</em></strong> <span>of Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). They seem to define the word evaluation for the book. The book includes the dictionary definition, a research definition, and a methods-based definition for evaluators with external stakeholders.</span></p>
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<div style="font-family: helvetica , arial; font-size: 14.0px; color: #000000;"><h1>Contents</h1><ol><li><a href="#Foreward" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>Foreword</span></span></a><ul><li>Note to class</li><li>Ana-Paula Quote</li><li>Fitzpatrick Book Reference</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Defintions" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>Definitions</span> of 'Evaluation' by Various Resources</span></a><ul><li>Google Definition of Evaluation</li><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> Definition of Evaluation</span></li><li>University of North Carolina Greensboro Evaluation Resources</li><li>Handbook of Human Performance Technology</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Discussion" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow">Discussion Questions and Response</a><ul><li><span>Question 1. How does Fitzpatrick, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011) define “evaluation”?</span></li><li>Question 1. How does Kirkpatrick (1998) define “evaluation”?</li><li><span>Question 1. How does <span>Newby</span> (1992) define “evaluation”?</span></li><li>Question 2. What are the differences and similarities in the meanings, contexts and scopes of their definitions?</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Resources" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow">Resources</a></li></ol><h1 id="Defintions"><span><span>Definitions</span> of 'Evaluation' by Various Resources</span></h1><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">1. Google Search: 'define evaluation':</h2><h3>"<em><span><span>e·val·u·a·tion</span> <span>əˌvalyəˈwāSH</span>(<span>ə</span>)n/ noun: evaluation; plural noun: evaluations</span></em></h3><p><em style="margin: 15.0px;">the making of a judgment about the amount, number, or value of something; assessment. "the evaluation of each method" synonyms: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+assessment&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHTAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">assessment</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+appraisal&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHjAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">appraisal</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+judgment&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHzAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">judgment</a><span>, <span>gauging</span>,</span> <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+rating&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIIDAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">rating</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+estimation&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIITAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">estimation</a>,<a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+consideration&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIIjAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">consideration</a></em>"</p><ul><li>Google (2016), Define Evaluation. <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://<span>www</span>.<span>google</span>.com/<span>webhp</span>?<span>sourceid</span>=chrome-instant&ion=1&<span>espv</span>=2&es_th=1&<span>ie</span>=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;"><span>2. <span>Wikipedia</span>: 'Evaluation'</span></h2><p><em>For other uses, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation_(disambiguation)" title="Evaluation (disambiguation)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">Evaluation (disambiguation).</a></em></p><p>"<b>Evaluation</b> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System" title="System" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">systematic</a> determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization" title="Standardization" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">standards</a><span>. It can assist an organization, program, project or any other intervention or initiative to assess any aim, <span>realizable</span> concept/proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and</span> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal" title="Goal" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">objectives</a> and results of any such action that has been completed. The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight" title="Insight" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">insight</a> into prior or existing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_(enterprise)" title="Initiative (enterprise)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">initiatives</a>, is to enable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_self-reflection" title="Human self-reflection" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">reflection</a> and assist in the identification of future change.</p><p>Evaluation is often used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts" title="Arts" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">arts</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice" title="Criminal justice" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">criminal justice</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(charity)" title="Foundation (charity)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">foundations</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organization" title="Non-profit organization" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow">non-profit organizations</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government" title="Government" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">government</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care" title="Health care" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">health care</a>, and other human services."</p><ul><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> (2016), Evaluation. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation" title="Wikipedia Evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://en.<span>Wikipedia</span>.<span>org</span>/<span>wiki</span>/Evaluation</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">3. University of North Carolina Greensboro</h2><p>"Program evaluation is a systematic process of gathering evidence to inform judgments of whether a program, product, policy, or system is meeting is goals and how it can be improved to better do so. This definition of program evaluation reflects the evolution in the conceptualization of program evaluation that began with the early work of Scriven (1967) and extends to the later works of Michael Scriven (1991), Carol Weiss (1998), Melvin Mark, Gary Henry, and George <em><span><span>Julnes</span></span></em> (2000), Robert Stake (2000), Daniel <em><span><span>Stufflebeam</span></span></em> (2001), and Thomas <em><span><span>Schwandt</span></span></em> (2008).</p><p>Several key terms are commonly used in describing the evaluation process. These key terms are:</p><p><strong><span><span>Evaluand</span>: </span></strong><span>The <span>evaluand</span> is the program, product, policy, or system that is being evaluated.</span></p><p><strong>Evaluator:</strong> The evaluator is an individual involved in conducting the program evaluation. Evaluators who are internal to the client’s organization or group are referred to as <em>internal evaluators</em>. Evaluators who are hired from outside of the client’s organization or group are referred to as <em>external evaluators</em>.</p><p><strong>Stakeholders:</strong> The stakeholders associated with a program evaluation are the individuals who participate in, or are affected by, the program, product, policy, or system being evaluated.</p><p><strong>Formative Evaluation:</strong><span> The primary purpose of a formative evaluation is to provide ongoing information for <span>evaluand</span> improvement.</span></p><p><strong><span><span>Summative</span> Evaluation:</span></strong> <span>The primary purpose of a <span>summative</span> evaluation is to provide information to make programmatic decisions or to judge whether a program should be adopted, continued, or expanded."</span></p><p><img src="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/courses/1/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/db/_1863957_1/embedded/Logic_Model.png" width="623" height="472" alt="input outputs" style="width: 100.0%;" /></p><ul><li>The University of North Carolina Greensboro (2016). Program Evaluation Resource Center. Overview of Program Evaluation. <a href="http://erm.uncg.edu/oaers/methodology-resources/program-evaluation" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>http</span>://<span>erm</span>.<span>uncg</span>.<span>edu</span>/<span>oaers</span>/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">7. Handbook of Human Performance Technology</h2><p>According to the Handbook of Human Performance Technology (2006), "Evaluation is the means to ascertain the worth or value of a performance-improvement initiative. It can be used to improve a performance-improvement process or to decide to discontinue the effort. It is also useful in judging the relative worth of performance-improvement alternatives. Two types of evaluation are <em>formative</em> and <em><span><span>summative</span></span></em>."</p><p><span>This definition seems to correspond well with pages 7-9 of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). The HHPT continues on page 25 to explain the <span>definitions</span> of formative and <span>summative</span> evaluation methods. Formative being a method for improvements while a products is being built or designed and <span>summative</span> being a method used to judge merits after a project is complete.</span></p><ul><li><span>Harold <span>Stolovitch</span>, Erica Keeps, James Pershing (2006). Handbook of Human Performance Technology. (3rd Edition). <span>Pfeiffer</span>.</span></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">8. Dictionary Definition of Evaluation</h2><p>"...one typical dictionary definition of evaluation is "to determine or fix the value of: to examine and judge."</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.), <b>page 5</b>. New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><h1 id="Discussion" style="color: #0aa557;">Discussion Questions and Response</h1><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em>How do <b>Fitzpatrick</b><span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do <b>Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen</b> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</em></p><p>According to page 5 of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (PEAAPG), the authors, Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & Worthen (who I will refer to as the PEAAPG authors for brevity) state that, "..among professional evaluators there is no uniformly agreed-upon definition of precisely what the term evaluation means" they go on to imply that the role is also not defined.</p><p>Still on page 5 of PEAAPG the authors define the uses for inquiry and judgement methods in three guiding principles including, " 1. determining standards for judging quality and deciding whether those standards should be relative or absolute, 2. collecting relevant information, and 3. applying the standards to determine value, quality, utility, effectiveness, or significance."</p><p>On pages 6-7 the authors differentiate the evaluation and research based on their purpose, definition, implementation, stakeholders, criteria, and methodologies.</p><p>On pages 8-9, a section about informal versus formal evaluation the authors show examples of how old the concept of evaluation is based on the description, "examining and judging to determine value." These examples include the Welsh longbows in the Hundred Year War, Neanderthals, students, clients, and managers. Other sections like Uses and Objects Evaluation (page 14) also layout examples and use cases for evaluators. These examples set a foundation for the authors to show how 'faulty' judgments which are, "characterized by an absence of breadth and depth...(or) systematic procedures and formally collected evidence...(or) based on past experience" can cause the evaluators to make inaccurate decisions based on "biases" that may lead to unintended consequences or outcomes. The authors further identify the flaws in informal evaluations and evaluators as less cognizant of limitations, biased, lacking information, unrealistic, but sometimes the only realistic approach due to time/budget constraints. They do note that sometimes, if the evaluator is, "knowledgeable, experienced, and fair" an informal approach may be the best option for situations where formal evaluations can not be conducted.</p><p>On page 10 the authors reiterate, "that the basic purpose of evaluation is to render judgments about the value of whatever is being evaluated. Many different uses may be made of those value judgments, as we shall discuss shortly but in every instance the central purpose of the evaluative act is the same: to determine the merit or worth of some thing (in program evaluation, of the program or some part of it)."</p><p>Page 11 offers differing views and methods on evaluation, but they are not relevant to this question.</p><p>On page 13 the authors seem to agree with Lipsey (2000) that evaluators may play a secondary role as a scientific expert whose, "expertise is to track things down, systematically observe and measure..compare, analyze, and interpret with a good faith attempt at objectivity." They also state that the role of an evaluator is to educate users to an evaluators purpose including operational roles, managerial, program management, business development, and requirements gathering while advocating for users who may be disenfranchised.</p><p>On page 15, they define the evaluation object, <em>evaluand</em>, or <em>evaluee</em> is defined as anything/anyone who is being evaluated. The authors however have decided to avoid technical jargon ("precise language") except in direct quotes.</p><p>Pages 23-25 define the roles of internal vs. external evaluators.</p><p>Based on the consistent references to Scriven and the positive references to his quotes, I would also assert that the authors of PEAAPG agree with most of his methods and definitions related to evaluation.</p><p>Page 27 defines the limitations of evaluations. In short, the authors state that it is not a magic wand and won't effect a solution. It is a model to give context and bring about improvement.</p><p>Page 27-28, section, "Major Concepts and Theories" specifically defines and recaps the six key definitions relating to evaluation in this chapter:</p><ol style="margin: 20.0px;"><li>Evaluation is the identification, clarification, and application of defensible criteria to determine an evaluation object's value, its merit or worth, in regard to those criteria. The specification and use of explicit criteria distinguish formal evaluation from the informal evaluations most of us make daily.</li><li>Evaluation differs from research in its purpose, its concern with generalizability, its involvement of stakeholders, and the breadth of training those practicing it require.</li><li>The basic purpose of evaluation is to render judgments about the value of the object under evaluation. Other purposes include providing information for program improvement, working to better society, encouraging meaningful dialogue among many diverse stakeholders, and providing oversight and compliance for programs.</li><li>Evaluators play many roles including scientific expert, facilitator, planner, collaborator, aid to decision makers and critical friend.</li><li>Evaluations can be formative or summative. Formative evaluations are designed for program improvement and the audience is, most typically, stakeholders close to the program. Summative evaluations serve decisions about program adoption, continuation, or expansion. Audiences for these evaluations must have the ability to make such "go-no go" decisions.</li><li>Evaluators may be internal or external to the organization. Internal evaluators know the organizational environment and can facilitate communication and use of results. External evaluators can provide more credibility in high-profile evaluations and bring a fresh perspective and different skills to the evaluation.</li></ol><br /><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em><span>How does <b>Kirkpatrick</b> define “evaluation”?</span></em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do Fitzpatrick<span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), <b>Kirkpatrick</b> (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></p><p>Kirpatrick is introduced on page 15 of the book Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (PEAAPG). In a section that defines the object of a formal evaluation study, Kirkpatrick's (1983) model for evaluating training efforts with broad and varying categories. This however, is not directly related to the question regarding the 1998 definition of evaluation by Kirkpatrick.</p><p>In Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (ETP), Kirkpatrick creates a format to evaluate training programs in a four step sequence. These levels are cross dependent and meant to be followed in sequential order. The levels are reaction, learning, behavior, and results. In the intial (formative) phase, reaction, Kirkpatrick defines customer satisfaction as a phase object criteria and customers and in-house participants of required programs as stakeholders.</p><p>Learning is still a formative phase in Kirkpatrick's training evaluation methodology. It is what program managers would call the norming and storming phase of a program. It requires a change agent and behavioral modeling. Kirkpatrick defines a successful criteria of this phase as, "attitudes changed, knowledge increased, or skills improved."</p><p>In the behavioral phase, Kirkpatrick's model measures the success of phase 2, or the learning phase, by assessing the quality and extent of behavioral change related to the criteria laid out in phase two. He also notes limitations or risks to development in these criteria including organizational, climate, social, rewards, discouragement, and managerial. This phase appears to me, to be a summative phase since it is evaluating the progress of learning after the training has been completed.</p><p>The results phase is also summative. Kirkpatrick defines the object criteria for this phase as increased production, improved quality, decreased costs, reduced frequency and/or severity of accidents, increased sales, reduced turnover, and higher profits. Kirkpatrick also notes that not all results are quantitative or measureable with money, some results are qualitative and measured by a change in the office culture, motivation, time management, empowerment, communication, or improved morale.</p><p>In the summary, Kirkpatrick states that the four levels are "considered in reverse" to plan and evaluate reaction.</p><p>Based on pages 19-24 of Chapter 3, I do not see a clear cut definition of evaluation laid out by Kirkpatrick. I suppose he implies a certain framework for the definition in his model as constantly reacting to behavioral criteria and pre-set goals by the evaluators.</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li><li>Kirkpatrick, D. (1998). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (2nd ed). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler (pages 19-24). <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689437_1&course_id=_48572_1" rel="nofollow">https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689437_1&course_id=_48572_1</a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em><span>How does</span> <b><span><span>Newby</span></span></b> (1992) define “evaluation”?</em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do Fitzpatrick<span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <b>Newby</b> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></p><p><span><span>Newby</span> offers a model for evaluating training, called context evaluation.</span></p><p>In the Training Evaluation Handbook, Newby activities to their stated intention as a method to "make investment decisions about merits and demerits of activities." He further identifies example activities to evaluate like training, development, morale, and communication. The object criteria or goal is to identify positive and negative risk in order to encourage positive change and mitigate negative activites.</p><p>Since Newby is specifically interested in facilitating change for industrial business his methodology towards evaluation is based on, "the context of purposeful activity" or goal oriented training and developments. Newby's strategic approach to evaluation reminds me a lot of S.M.A.R.T. goals and PMBOK program management planning. In the first phase, Newby encourages readers to create an action plan which will become, "a detailed plan for implementing strategic and evaluation concepts."</p><p>On page 2, Newby asks the reader to calculate costs of training, poor trianing, and the cost of deficiences where performance may suffer due to lack of training. This I assume is to create a business case to advocate to management, while developing a model to evaluate return on investment (ROI). This might be considered the object criteria for success, or the metrics to determine if training is worth-while.</p><p>By page 8, Newby begins to define the role of evaluation. This is still the formative phase of the evaluation process. It helps to justify and identify the usefulness and validity of maintaining training programs. Newby points out on page 12 that training requires clear cut expectations and clear corporate purposes to be successful. This strategy offers various models including sales based approach, diagnosis, a behavioral approach, and a marketing based approach.</p><p>Newby goes on to compare good and bad approaches to training, why some work better than others. How they can be effective or wasteful, and what management needs to understand before initiating a training program. This chapter, "emphasised the close relationship between corporate strategy, successful training and evaluation. Corporate purpose needs to be tested regularly against external reality, so that the mission statement - graduated down in the form of work performance standards - can drive the organization (and its training activities) to respond appropriately.</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 2. <em>What are the differences and similarities in the meanings, contexts and scopes of their definitions?</em></h2><p>Each definition of evaluation offers limitations to inform evaluators so that they can be cognizant of risk and influences to decisions.</p><p>On page 20, Newby emphasises the importance of meta-evaluation or evaluation of the evaluation. The entire process for Fitzpatrick and Newby state the importance of a clear objective. Kirkpatrick, Newby, and Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen all state that evaluation requires criteria of achievement. Kirkpatrick and Newby did not specificly identify the terms formative and summative but they use the premise in their methodologies. All three texts require accuracy, metrics (qualitative or quanitative), stakeholder identification, a market analysis or analysis of existing programs, and ongoing post-evaluation is encouraged.</p><p>Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen primarily focus on defining terminology; while Kirkpatrick and Newby focus on methods for implementation with little value placed on external jargon. Kirkpatrick strictly adheres to a four step model- while Newby encourages varying stages of evaluation and change that can jump around. Newby is also very pessimistic about stakeholders and optimization of training.</p><ul><li>Newby (1992). Training Evaluation Handbook: chapters 1-2. <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689438_1&course_id=_48572_1" rel="nofollow">https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689438_1&course_id=_48572_1</a></li></ul></blockquote><h1>Additional discussion points</h1><p>This book was last published in 2011. It is five years old, and was published four years after the first iPhone. All of the information related to the terms evaluation are still very relevant and valid, except perhaps the perception that evaluation is undefined, it may be disagreed upon, but based on my brief research for this discussion board it appears to be thoroughly discussed, referenced, and defined in multiple formats for various types of work and methodologies. I wonder what the authors would say about modern evaluation methodology and its influence on stakeholders.</p><h1 id="Resources" style="color: #0aa557;">Resources: </h1><ul><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> (2016), Evaluation. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://en.<span>wikipedia</span>.<span>org</span>/<span>wiki</span>/Evaluation</span></a></li><li>Rutgers, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (2016). Program Evaluation Resources: Conducting Needs Assessments. <a href="http://njaes.rutgers.edu/evaluation/resources/needs-assessment.asp" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>http</span>://<span>njaes</span>.<span>rutgers</span>.<span>edu</span>/evaluation/resources/needs-assessment.asp</span></a></li><li>Google (2016), Define Evaluation. <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://<span>www</span>.<span>google</span>.com/<span>webhp</span>?<span>sourceid</span>=chrome-instant&ion=1&<span>espv</span>=2&es_th=1&<span>ie</span>=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation</span></a></li><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.), <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/Fitzpatrick%20et%20al.%20Chapter%201FinalFinal.pdf" rel="nofollow">Chapter 1</a>. New York: Pearson.</span></li><li>The University of North Carolina Greensboro (2016). Program Evaluation Resource Center. Overview of Program Evaluation. <a href="http://erm.uncg.edu/oaers/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>http</span>://<span>erm</span>.<span>uncg</span>.<span>edu</span>/<span>oaers</span>/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/</span></a></li><li><span><span>Newby</span>, A.C. (1992). Training Evaluation Handbook, London: <span>Gower</span>.</span></li><li><span>Mark <span>Spilsbury</span> (1995). Measuring the Effectiveness of Training.</span></li><li>Pulley (1994). Continuous Professional Development in Social Work, Responsive Evaluation (page 191). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.</li><li><span>Dale <span>Shunk</span>, Barry J. Zimmerman (1998). Self Regulated Learning From Teaching to Self-Reflective <span>Practive</span>. The <span>Guilford</span> Press.</span></li><li><span>Harold <span>Stolovitch</span>, Erica Keeps, James Pershing (2006). Handbook of Human Performance Technology. (3rd Edition). <span>Pfeiffer</span>.</span></li><li><span>Peggy A. <span>Ertmer</span>, Timothy J. <span>Newby</span> (1996). Purdue University. <a title="The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective" target="_blank" href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/courses/1/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/db/_1863957_1/embedded/ErtmerNewby1996_0.pdf" rel="nofollow">The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective</a>. <span>Kluwer</span> Academic Publishers.</span> <a href="http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/sites/brown.edu.about.administration.sheridan-center/files/uploads/ErtmerNewby1996_0.pdf" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>http</span>://<span>www</span>.brown.<span>edu</span>/about/administration/<span>sheridan</span>-center/sites/brown.<span>edu</span>.about.administration.<span>sheridan</span>-center/files/uploads/<span>ErtmerNewby</span>1996_0.<span>pdf</span></span></a></li><li>Kirkpatrick, D. (1998). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (2nd ed). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler (pages 19-24). <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689437_1&course_id=_48572_1" rel="nofollow">https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689437_1&course_id=_48572_1</a></li><li>Newby (1992). Training Evaluation Handbook: chapters 1-2. <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689438_1&course_id=_48572_1" rel="nofollow">https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2689438_1&course_id=_48572_1</a></li></ul></div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-49865385233867478992016-01-21T12:27:00.000-08:002016-05-23T11:15:12.680-07:00Defining "Evaluation"<div style="font-family: helvetica , arial; font-size: 14.0px; color: #000000;"><h1>Contents</h1><ol><li><a href="#Foreward" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>Foreword</span></span></a><ul><li>Note to class</li><li>Ana-Paula Quote</li><li>Fitzpatrick Book Reference</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Defintions" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>Definitions</span> of 'Evaluation' by Various Resources</span></a><ul><li>Google Definition of Evaluation</li><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> Definition of Evaluation</span></li><li>University of North Carolina Greensboro Evaluation Resources</li><li>Handbook of Human Performance Technology</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Discussion" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow">Discussion Questions and Response</a><ul><li><span>Question 1. How does Fitzpatrick, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011) define “evaluation”?</span></li><li>Question 1. How does Kirkpatrick (1998) define “evaluation”?</li><li><span>Question 1. How does <span>Newby</span> (1992) define “evaluation”?</span></li><li>Question 2. What are the differences and similarities in the meanings, contexts and scopes of their definitions?</li></ul></li><li><a href="#Resources" style="color: #0aa557;" rel="nofollow">Resources</a></li></ol><h1 id="Foreward" style="color: #0aa557;"><a name='more'></a><span><span>Foreward</span></span></h1><p>I'm looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts on the definition of evaluation, thoughts on the required reading, and how they might be using these in real life.</p><blockquote style="padding: 20.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; font-size: 11.0px; overflow: hidden;"><p>"This week’s discussion is around other broad concepts in Evaluation. For example, what does evaluation mean? How to define evaluation? We are also looking at how to make distinctions about different terminology: Needs Assessment, Monitoring, Outcome Studies, Testing, Measurement, and Assessment."</p><h3><em><a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_215432_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_137036_1&course_id=_48572_1&message_id=_1861183_1#msg__1861183_1Id" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000; float: right;"><span>-- Ana-Paula, Welcome to Week 3 <span>Online</span> Discussion</span></a></em></h3></blockquote><a name='more'></a><p>I highlighted <strong><em>pages 7 and 9</em></strong> <span>of Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). They seem to define the word evaluation for the book. The book includes the dictionary definition, a research definition, and a methods-based definition for evaluators with external stakeholders.</span></p><h1 id="Defintions"><span><span>Definitions</span> of 'Evaluation' by Various Resources</span></h1><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">1. Google Search: 'define evaluation':</h2><h3>"<em><span><span>e·val·u·a·tion</span> <span>əˌvalyəˈwāSH</span>(<span>ə</span>)n/ noun: evaluation; plural noun: evaluations</span></em></h3><p><em style="margin: 15.0px;">the making of a judgment about the amount, number, or value of something; assessment. "the evaluation of each method" synonyms: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+assessment&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHTAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">assessment</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+appraisal&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHjAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">appraisal</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+judgment&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIHzAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">judgment</a><span>, <span>gauging</span>,</span> <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+rating&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIIDAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">rating</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+estimation&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIITAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">estimation</a>,<a href="https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1242&bih=621&q=define+consideration&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs8o-pt7nKAhXGeT4KHYuwDEYQ_SoIIjAA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">consideration</a></em>"</p><ul><li>Google (2016), Define Evaluation. <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://<span>www</span>.<span>google</span>.com/<span>webhp</span>?<span>sourceid</span>=chrome-instant&ion=1&<span>espv</span>=2&es_th=1&<span>ie</span>=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;"><span>2. <span>Wikipedia</span>: 'Evaluation'</span></h2><p><em>For other uses, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation_(disambiguation)" title="Evaluation (disambiguation)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">Evaluation (disambiguation).</a></em></p><p>"<b>Evaluation</b> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System" title="System" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">systematic</a> determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization" title="Standardization" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">standards</a><span>. It can assist an organization, program, project or any other intervention or initiative to assess any aim, <span>realizable</span> concept/proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and</span> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal" title="Goal" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">objectives</a> and results of any such action that has been completed. The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight" title="Insight" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">insight</a> into prior or existing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_(enterprise)" title="Initiative (enterprise)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">initiatives</a>, is to enable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_self-reflection" title="Human self-reflection" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">reflection</a> and assist in the identification of future change.</p><p>Evaluation is often used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts" title="Arts" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">arts</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice" title="Criminal justice" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">criminal justice</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(charity)" title="Foundation (charity)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">foundations</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organization" title="Non-profit organization" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow">non-profit organizations</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government" title="Government" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">government</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care" title="Health care" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;">health care</a>, and other human services."</p><ul><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> (2016), Evaluation. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation" title="Wikipedia Evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://en.<span>Wikipedia</span>.<span>org</span>/<span>wiki</span>/Evaluation</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">3. University of North Carolina Greensboro</h2><p>"Program evaluation is a systematic process of gathering evidence to inform judgments of whether a program, product, policy, or system is meeting is goals and how it can be improved to better do so. This definition of program evaluation reflects the evolution in the conceptualization of program evaluation that began with the early work of Scriven (1967) and extends to the later works of Michael Scriven (1991), Carol Weiss (1998), Melvin Mark, Gary Henry, and George <em><span><span>Julnes</span></span></em> (2000), Robert Stake (2000), Daniel <em><span><span>Stufflebeam</span></span></em> (2001), and Thomas <em><span><span>Schwandt</span></span></em> (2008).</p><p>Several key terms are commonly used in describing the evaluation process. These key terms are:</p><p><strong><span><span>Evaluand</span>: </span></strong><span>The <span>evaluand</span> is the program, product, policy, or system that is being evaluated.</span></p><p><strong>Evaluator:</strong> The evaluator is an individual involved in conducting the program evaluation. Evaluators who are internal to the client’s organization or group are referred to as <em>internal evaluators</em>. Evaluators who are hired from outside of the client’s organization or group are referred to as <em>external evaluators</em>.</p><p><strong>Stakeholders:</strong> The stakeholders associated with a program evaluation are the individuals who participate in, or are affected by, the program, product, policy, or system being evaluated.</p><p><strong>Formative Evaluation:</strong><span> The primary purpose of a formative evaluation is to provide ongoing information for <span>evaluand</span> improvement.</span></p><p><strong><span><span>Summative</span> Evaluation:</span></strong> <span>The primary purpose of a <span>summative</span> evaluation is to provide information to make programmatic decisions or to judge whether a program should be adopted, continued, or expanded."</span></p><p><img src="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/courses/1/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/db/_1863957_1/embedded/Logic_Model.png" width="623" height="472" alt="input outputs" style="width: 100.0%;" /></p><ul><li>The University of North Carolina Greensboro (2016). Program Evaluation Resource Center. Overview of Program Evaluation. <a href="http://erm.uncg.edu/oaers/methodology-resources/program-evaluation" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>http</span>://<span>erm</span>.<span>uncg</span>.<span>edu</span>/<span>oaers</span>/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/</span></a></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">7. Handbook of Human Performance Technology</h2><p>According to the Handbook of Human Performance Technology (2006), "Evaluation is the means to ascertain the worth or value of a performance-improvement initiative. It can be used to improve a performance-improvement process or to decide to discontinue the effort. It is also useful in judging the relative worth of performance-improvement alternatives. Two types of evaluation are <em>formative</em> and <em><span><span>summative</span></span></em>."</p><p><span>This definition seems to correspond well with pages 7-9 of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). The HHPT continues on page 25 to explain the <span>definitions</span> of formative and <span>summative</span> evaluation methods. Formative being a method for improvements while a products is being built or designed and <span>summative</span> being a method used to judge merits after a project is complete.</span></p><ul><li><span>Harold <span>Stolovitch</span>, Erica Keeps, James Pershing (2006). Handbook of Human Performance Technology. (3rd Edition). <span>Pfeiffer</span>.</span></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">8. Dictionary Definition of Evaluation</h2><p>"...one typical dictionary definition of evaluation is "to determine or fix the value of: to examine and judge."</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.), <b>page 5</b>. New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><h1 id="Discussion" style="color: #0aa557;">Discussion Questions and Response</h1><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em>How do <b>Fitzpatrick</b><span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do <b>Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen</b> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</em></p><p>According to page 5 of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (PEAAPG), the authors, Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & Worthen (who I will refer to as the PEAAPG authors for brevity) state that, "..among professional evaluators there is no uniformly agreed-upon definition of precisely what the term evaluation means" they go on to imply that the role is also not defined.</p><p>Still on page 5 of PEAAPG the authors define the uses for inquiry and judgement methods in three guiding principles including, " 1. determining standards for judging quality and deciding whether those standards should be relative or absolute, 2. collecting relevant information, and 3. applying the standards to determine value, quality, utility, effectiveness, or significance."</p><p>On pages 6-7 the authors differentiate the evaluation and research based on their purpose, definition, implementation, stakeholders, criteria, and methodologies.</p><p>On pages 8-9, a section about informal versus formal evaluation the authors show examples of how old the concept of evaluation is based on the description, "examining and judging to determine value." These examples include the Welsh longbows in the Hundred Year War, Neanderthals, students, clients, and managers. Other sections like Uses and Objects Evaluation (page 14) also layout examples and use cases for evaluators. These examples set a foundation for the authors to show how 'faulty' judgments which are, "characterized by an absence of breadth and depth...(or) systematic procedures and formally collected evidence...(or) based on past experience" can cause the evaluators to make inaccurate decisions based on "biases" that may lead to unintended consequences or outcomes. The authors further identify the flaws in informal evaluations and evaluators as less cognizant of limitations, biased, lacking information, unrealistic, but sometimes the only realistic approach due to time/budget constraints. They do note that sometimes, if the evaluator is, "knowledgeable, experienced, and fair" an informal approach may be the best option for situations where formal evaluations can not be conducted.</p><p>On page 10 the authors reiterate, "that the basic purpose of evaluation is to render judgments about the value of whatever is being evaluated. Many different uses may be made of those value judgments, as we shall discuss shortly but in every instance the central purpose of the evaluative act is the same: to determine the merit or worth of some thing (in program evaluation, of the program or some part of it)."</p><p>Page 11 offers differing views and methods on evaluation, but they are not relevant to this question.</p><p>On page 13 the authors seem to agree with Lipsey (2000) that evaluators may play a secondary role as a scientific expert whose, "expertise is to track things down, systematically observe and measure..compare, analyze, and interpret with a good faith attempt at objectivity." They also state that the role of an evaluator is to educate users to an evaluators purpose including operational roles, managerial, program management, business development, and requirements gathering while advocating for users who may be disenfranchised.</p><p>On page 15, they define the evaluation object, <em>evaluand</em>, or <em>evaluee</em> is defined as anything/anyone who is being evaluated. The authors however have decided to avoid technical jargon ("precise language") except in direct quotes.</p><p>Pages 23-25 define the roles of internal vs. external evaluators.</p><p>Based on the consistent references to Scriven and the positive references to his quotes, I would also assert that the authors of PEAAPG agree with most of his methods and definitions related to evaluation.</p><p>Page 27 defines the limitations of evaluations. In short, the authors state that it is not a magic wand and won't effect a solution. It is a model to give context and bring about improvement.</p><p>Page 27-28, section, "Major Concepts and Theories" specifically defines and recaps the six key definitions relating to evaluation in this chapter:</p><ol style="margin: 20.0px;"><li>Evaluation is the identification, clarification, and application of defensible criteria to determine an evaluation object's value, its merit or worth, in regard to those criteria. The specification and use of explicit criteria distinguish formal evaluation from the informal evaluations most of us make daily.</li><li>Evaluation differs from research in its purpose, its concern with generalizability, its involvement of stakeholders, and the breadth of training those practicing it require.</li><li>The basic purpose of evaluation is to render judgments about the value of the object under evaluation. Other purposes include providing information for program improvement, working to better society, encouraging meaningful dialogue among many diverse stakeholders, and providing oversight and compliance for programs.</li><li>Evaluators play many roles including scientific expert, facilitator, planner, collaborator, aid to decision makers and critical friend.</li><li>Evaluations can be formative or summative. Formative evaluations are designed for program improvement and the audience is, most typically, stakeholders close to the program. Summative evaluations serve decisions about program adoption, continuation, or expansion. Audiences for these evaluations must have the ability to make such "go-no go" decisions.</li><li>Evaluators may be internal or external to the organization. Internal evaluators know the organizational environment and can facilitate communication and use of results. External evaluators can provide more credibility in high-profile evaluations and bring a fresh perspective and different skills to the evaluation.</li></ol><br /><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em><span>How does <b>Kirkpatrick</b> define “evaluation”?</span></em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do Fitzpatrick<span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), <b>Kirkpatrick</b> (1998) and <span>Newby</span> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></p><p>Kirpatrick is introduced on page 15 of the book Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (PEAAPG). In a section that defines the object of a formal evaluation study, Kirkpatrick's (1983) model for evaluating training efforts with broad and varying categories. This however, is not directly related to the question regarding the 1998 definition of evaluation by Kirkpatrick.</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><hr /><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 1. <em><span>How does</span> <b><span><span>Newby</span></span></b> (1992) define “evaluation”?</em></h2><p>Question 1. <em>How do Fitzpatrick<span>, Sanders & <span>Worthen</span> (2011), Kirkpatrick (1998) and <b>Newby</b> (1992) each define “evaluation”?</span></em></p><p><span><span>Newby</span> offers a model for evaluating training, called context evaluation.</span></p><p>Will fill in.</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="padding: 5.0px 22.0px; margin: 15.0px 0.0px; background: #eeeeee; border: 1.0px solid #cccccc; overflow: hidden;"><h2 style="width: 100.0%; background: #cccccc; padding: 20.0px;">Question 2. <em>What are the differences and similarities in the meanings, contexts and scopes of their definitions?</em></h2><p>Each definition of evaluation offers limitations to inform evaluators so that they can be cognizant of risk and influences to decisions.</p><ul><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.</span></li></ul></blockquote><h1>Additional discussion points</h1><p>This book was last published in 2011. It is five years old, and was published four years after the first iPhone. All of the information related to the terms evaluation are still very relevant and valid, except perhaps the perception that evaluation is undefined, it may be disagreed upon, but based on my brief research for this discussion board it appears to be thoroughly discussed, referenced, and defined in multiple formats for various types of work and methodologies. I wonder what the authors would say about modern evaluation methodology and its influence on stakeholders.</p><h1 id="Resources" style="color: #0aa557;">Resources: </h1><ul><li><span><span>Wikipedia</span> (2016), Evaluation. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://en.<span>wikipedia</span>.<span>org</span>/<span>wiki</span>/Evaluation</span></a></li><li>Rutgers, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (2016). Program Evaluation Resources: Conducting Needs Assessments. <a href="http://njaes.rutgers.edu/evaluation/resources/needs-assessment.asp" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>http</span>://<span>njaes</span>.<span>rutgers</span>.<span>edu</span>/evaluation/resources/needs-assessment.asp</span></a></li><li>Google (2016), Define Evaluation. <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>https</span>://<span>www</span>.<span>google</span>.com/<span>webhp</span>?<span>sourceid</span>=chrome-instant&ion=1&<span>espv</span>=2&es_th=1&<span>ie</span>=UTF-8#q=define%20evaluation</span></a></li><li><span>Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & <span>Worthen</span>, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.), <a href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/Fitzpatrick%20et%20al.%20Chapter%201FinalFinal.pdf" rel="nofollow">Chapter 1</a>. New York: Pearson.</span></li><li>The University of North Carolina Greensboro (2016). Program Evaluation Resource Center. Overview of Program Evaluation. <a href="http://erm.uncg.edu/oaers/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #000000;"><span><span>http</span>://<span>erm</span>.<span>uncg</span>.<span>edu</span>/<span>oaers</span>/methodology-resources/program-evaluation/</span></a></li><li><span><span>Newby</span>, A.C. (1992). Training Evaluation Handbook, London: <span>Gower</span>.</span></li><li><span>Mark <span>Spilsbury</span> (1995). Measuring the Effectiveness of Training.</span></li><li>Pulley (1994). Continuous Professional Development in Social Work, Responsive Evaluation (page 191). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.</li><li><span>Dale <span>Shunk</span>, Barry J. Zimmerman (1998). Self Regulated Learning From Teaching to Self-Reflective <span>Practive</span>. The <span>Guilford</span> Press.</span></li><li><span>Harold <span>Stolovitch</span>, Erica Keeps, James Pershing (2006). Handbook of Human Performance Technology. (3rd Edition). <span>Pfeiffer</span>.</span></li><li><span>Peggy A. <span>Ertmer</span>, Timothy J. <span>Newby</span> (1996). Purdue University. <a title="The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective" target="_blank" href="https://bb.its.iastate.edu/courses/1/S2016-C_I__-504_-NONE/db/_1863957_1/embedded/ErtmerNewby1996_0.pdf" rel="nofollow">The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective</a>. <span>Kluwer</span> Academic Publishers.</span> <a href="http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/sites/brown.edu.about.administration.sheridan-center/files/uploads/ErtmerNewby1996_0.pdf" style="color: #000000;" rel="nofollow"><span><span>http</span>://<span>www</span>.brown.<span>edu</span>/about/administration/<span>sheridan</span>-center/sites/brown.<span>edu</span>.about.administration.<span>sheridan</span>-center/files/uploads/<span>ErtmerNewby</span>1996_0.<span>pdf</span></span></a></li></ul></div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-40442688617130304602016-01-04T11:26:00.000-08:002016-05-23T11:15:44.725-07:00Audible Enhancements Wish List<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Every time anything bad happens to my app or it updates I lose my list of listened to books. With over 800 books, this means I also have a hard time telling which books are all of a sudden missing. It means that I'm not sure which books still need read and I must spend a hour or more figuring it out. I also have multiple tablets, ipad/android, with similar issues.
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<br /><br /><b>So, I suggest the following enhancements:</b><br /><br />1.) marked as finished books be saved in the database per user. - I DO NOT MEAN DOWNLOADED. I know that I can log into a computer to see which books have been downloaded but that is not the same as completed.<br />2.) Number books by when they where downloaded. Let this be optional to see. Any books no longer available be grayed out and refunded.<br />3.) Show the star rating given by the user. This will help when I decide which books or series I want to re-listen to. Obviously I'd love to be able to sort them by high to low ratings. MY high to low rating not the averages by other users. This will also make a nice back up to the marked as finished books, since that enhancement seems to not be coming any time soon.<br />4.) Allow me to renew early via the application.</div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-27185792283377819792015-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:16:42.837-07:00Book Series Review: Until the End of the World<img border="0" alt="All the stars in the sky - until the end of the world book 3 by sarah lyons fleming" style="max-width: 100%; float: left; padding: 0px 20px 20px 0px;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZGLagCquY8/VfbbzjX3cYI/AAAAAAAA78Y/tGwAZ3EVu-w/s1600/all%2BthestarsCapture.PNG" /><p>I'm not typically a fan of horror, zombies, or books that mess with my emotions as broadly as this book did. That being said, all four books in this series where addictive, well written, kept me guessing, and thoroughly had me on edge in one way or another.</p> <p>The author of Until the End of the World, Sarah Lyons Fleming, has a way with words that is not only unique but makes her one of the better authors I've discovered in 2015. If you choose to listen to this series instead of read it, the Audible version read by Julia Whelan is an excellent choice. She adds to the characters with her tone, pitch, and pauses.</p>
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<p>It's been a long time since a book made me sad, angry, scared for the characters, and truly helps you understand how everyone feels when they love, have great loss, and are in a struggle for their friends and their lives on top of normal daily struggles like love, babies, family, work and friendships. It was fun to watch the various characters grow up as they where challenged and overcame the odds. Not everyone survives and parts of the book get fairly graphic with death, danger, and the worst humanity has to offer. Really makes you think what would happen if something terrible befell the world, on the other hand I'm constantly annoyed with their tactics for preparing of eminent danger - I mean you know its coming, have the whole world as your free shopping mall and are going to make due with a chain link fence and some leather? </p> <ul><li>Until the End of the World - Book 1</li><li> So Long, Lollipops: The Free Until the End of the World Novella - Book 1.5</li><li>And After: Until the End of the world, Book 2</li><li>All the Stars in the Sky: Until the End of the World Book 3</li></ul>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-433370393350818732015-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:002016-05-23T10:54:05.207-07:00Book Review: Arcadia Falls<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RChdsGcjang/VfbZCL2UKgI/AAAAAAAA78M/Ja0GUcz6pPk/s1600/arcadia.PNG" alt="Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman" style="max-width:100%; float: left; padding: 0 20px 20px 0px;" /><p>This murder mystery is a sad tale that merges real life mysteries from the past with the present. Most of the magical twists and turns are nothing more than personal secrets bottled up like a volcano and presented with beautifully written descriptors.</p> <p> I enjoyed this short book. It immediately pulled me in and moves along at an even keel. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance novels, murder mysteries, or stories about people discovering their genealogy.</p> <p> Written by: Carol Goodman</p><p> Narrated by: Jen Taylor</p>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-19538622179962809952015-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:17:51.931-07:00Looking for Reading Material. What is YOUR Favorite Book?<h1>I love Books</h1><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3Mz5SCq4P0/VL3H30VYE9I/AAAAAAAAsLk/qtW7Z0uOrZw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-19%2Bat%2B9.07.14%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3Mz5SCq4P0/VL3H30VYE9I/AAAAAAAAsLk/qtW7Z0uOrZw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-19%2Bat%2B9.07.14%2BPM.png" style="max-width: 100%;"/></a>
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<p>I adore reading books of all kinds. There are few genres that I will completely rule out. Horror and westerns do not generally appeal to me, but I have read a little of both.</p><p>Big books, short books, happy books, books of adventure, true tales, educational novels, fantasy novellas and books of dystopian futures have all pulled me into their little worlds and broadened my perspective. I really need to blog more and share my personal favorites, thoughts, and tid bits on all these books. I try to keep up but it seems easier to read than it is for me to write. With that in mind, I'd love your suggestions. I have a long que at is it both of sponsored books, freebies from authors, and even finished books that need blogged about but I'd love to know my friend's favorites. Please leave your favorite book in the comments of this post so everyone can benefit.</p> <p>One of my favorite books is the Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. You can find more of my favorites by viewing the favorites genre of this blog or skimming through the 5 star reviews</p>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-78534163996222122372015-09-04T10:25:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:22:45.705-07:00It's not Often I Return Books Unfinished...<h1>Book Review: The Last Testament by David Javerbaum</h1>
<p><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EbkFy32Bel8/VenTxDEMUyI/AAAAAAAA768/a0adMCiK73I/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EbkFy32Bel8/VenTxDEMUyI/AAAAAAAA768/a0adMCiK73I/s1600/Capture.PNG" alt="Book Cover: The Last Testament by David Javerbaum" class="left" /></a></p>
<p>I began this book like any other, with an open mind and an eagerness to get connected with the narrator and characters. That never happened. I tried to start the book multiple times and just didn't enjoy the narrator or story line. It's a satire on religion that, for me, was hard to listen to. A narrator change might have made a big difference, but who knows. You can't win them all.</p>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-61765579143624068332015-09-04T09:55:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:47:16.172-07:00My latest book purchases<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><p>Reviews coming soon!</p><div class="order_section"><div class="order_information"><div class="heading"><div class="purchase_summary"><h3>Purchase Summary</h3><br /></div></div></div>
<div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5152zrGKqfL._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div>
<div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Arcadia Falls</div>Written by: Carol Goodman<br />
<div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: <a name='more'></a> Jen Taylor </div><a data-asin="B003C22HBI" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> <br /><a data-asin="B003C22HBI" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#"><span class="cp_launch"><br /></span></a></div></div>
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<div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51OBh6Bn38L._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div><div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Find Out Anything from Anyone, Anytime: Secrets of Calculated Questioning from a Veteran Interrogator</div>Written by: James Pyle, Maryann Karinch <br /><div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: Walter Dixon </div><a data-asin="B00JQLTBG8" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> <br /><a data-asin="B00JQLTBG8" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#"><span class="cp_launch"><br /></span></a></div></div>
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<div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ez+y4yUBL._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div><div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Influence: Science and Practice, ePub, 5th Edition</div>Written by: Robert B. Cialdini <br />
<div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: Lloyd James </div><a data-asin="B00N346UYK" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> <br /><a data-asin="B00N346UYK" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#"><span class="cp_launch"><br /></span></a></div></div><div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51lNQ30Cw1L._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div><div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Silent Persuasion: Powerful Influence Techniques of Body Language and Non-Verbal Communication</div>Written by: Larry Iverson, Dawn Jones, Tony Alessandra, Audrey Nelson <br /><div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: Larry Iverson, Dawn Jones, Tony Alessandra, Audrey Nelson </div><a data-asin="B00OPDK85K" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> <br /><a data-asin="B00OPDK85K" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#"><span class="cp_launch"><br /></span></a></div></div>
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<div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51xciIAFvfL._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div><div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Broken Wings</div>Written by: Cameo Renae <br /><div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: Susannah Jones </div><a data-asin="B00T8I8KRU" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> <br /><a data-asin="B00T8I8KRU" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#"><span class="cp_launch"><br /></span></a></div></div>
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<div class="line_item left" style="width:175px; min-height: 400px; padding-right:20px;"><div class="product_image"><img alt="" class="adbl-prod-image" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/515ipGKCdQL._SL125_.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block;" width="150" /> </div><div class="product_detail_info"><div class="purchase_detail_heading">Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Techniques for Retraining Your Brain</div>Written by: The Great Courses <br /><div class="line_item_narrator">Narrated by: Professor Jason M. Satterfield </div><a data-asin="B00ZB7Q1RS" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3901891382615045850#" id="dtyp_cp_launch"> <span class="cp_launch_icon"></span> <span class="cp_launch">LISTEN NOW</span> </a> </div></div></div></div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-55973575842668510192015-05-13T09:17:00.000-07:002016-05-23T10:54:05.400-07:00A Big Thanks to Craig Halloran<a href="http://www.desaraeveit.com/2015/05/a-big-thanks-to-craig-halloran.html" imageanchor="1" title="Review Coming Soon of books by Craig Halloran"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3EMQglOvtk/VVN5P-MydJI/AAAAAAAA02U/rmHy4wo4x30/s1600/CraigHalloran.jpg" class="left mainimg" alt="Craig Halloran Author"/></a><p>This post is going to be short, but should entice you to stay tuned. Craig Halloran and I connected recently thanks to an introduction from Brian Rathbone. </p><p>Craig generously provided me with copies of his series, The Chronicles of Dragon. I've already finished the first book of seven (books 8-10 coming soon). I'm steadily on pace to finish the rest of the series in the next couple weeks, but I'm a little afraid the beautiful weather has been distracting me from writing. So, this is an advanced thank you to Craig and heads up to anyone who reads this blog: I will be reviewing all seven of Craig's books, doing a give away, and an author interview very soon.</p><p>Until then, happy reading.</p>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-24975229621224331212015-05-12T22:58:00.000-07:002016-05-23T10:54:05.412-07:00Advertisting and Guest Posts<p>Would you be interested in writing a post for my site or for AgencyCouture.com? If you are you’ll be allowed to also add a two sentence paragraph at the end of the post promoting yourself and/or services. Posts will be moderated for content approval. Make sure your post is between 200-1000 words. Please get in touch with me first to discuss topics. You also need to review the post thoroughly for spelling and grammar.</p><a name='more'></a> <p>Ads on a site and or newsletters for $20-$300/month depending on website.</p>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-54172923256422333112015-05-10T15:14:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:47:49.092-07:00Words Hold the Means to Meaning<h1>Content on the Web</h1><p>There is a plethora of writing that has come with the objectivity of internet blogs, sharing and social networks. A plethora of writing and not all of it is good writing. We, as writers and bloggers, have forgotten the importance of well thought out storytelling. Storytelling is more than just writing to get out a point, it is the process of giving true meaning and depth to what we have to say. It has become cliche to say “content is king on the internet” that is not to say that it isn’t true, it’s very true but that also makes it the catalyst for quickly drawn stories that often lack thought or provocation. I’m also not trying to imply that I’m not guilty of the same crimes I’m accusing the rest of the internet, I too am guilty of this verdict. Hook, line and sinker.</p><a name='more'></a>
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<h2>Shakespearean</h2><p>Very few of us have the wit, detail, or expert knowledge to write ongoing in a way that manifests learning or compels thought in the heart of our readers. I’m by no means a great writer, copywriter or playwright. I simply write a simple blog about my life and profession then throw myself, humbly, at the mercy of my few readers and many critics. I may never have the eloquent hand writing of a poet or deep story telling skills of Shakespeare but I hope the few words I do write in my blogs at least provoke you to learn something new, think about your own work, or take action to advance your own skills.</p><h1>The basics of story telling</h1><hr><p>Now that I’ve told you everything missing in modern writing, I think it’s important to give everyone a few tips or action items on how you can improve your own writing skills. I learned a few of these from reading and most of them from my composition class back in college, God bless note taking-oh and brushing up on those notes.</p><ul><li>A single theme, clearly defined</li><li>A well developed plot</li><li>Style: vivid word pictures, pleasing sounds and rhythm</li><li>Characterization</li><li>Faithful to source</li><li>Dramatic appeal</li><li>Appropriateness to listeners</li><li>Brief and simple, get to the point</li></ul>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731552173758761295.post-19881592238724209802015-04-17T19:07:00.000-07:002016-05-23T10:54:05.547-07:00Quote: The Four Brothers of the Spirit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a class="leftAlignedImage" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11679.Elizabeth_Gilbert" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-right: 10px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Elizabeth Gilbert" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1377548431p2/11679.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /></a><br /><div class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 5px 10px 0px;"><h1 itemprop="name">The Four Brothers of Spirit</h1>“The child is taught from earliest consciousness that she has these four brothers with her in the world wherever she goes, and that they will always look after her. The brothers inhabit the four virtues a person needs in order to be safe and happy in life: intelligence, friendship, strength and poetry. The brothers can be called upon in any critical situation for rescue and assistance. When you die, your four spirit brothers collect your soul and bring you to heaven.”<br />― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11679.Elizabeth_Gilbert" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">Elizabeth Gilbert</a>, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3352398" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">Eat, Pray, Love</a></i></div></div>DesaraeVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354550301110673337noreply@blogger.com0