3 visual graphic aids Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

3 visual graphic aids - Assignment Example Most of the effects range from the production of allergens, toxicity, lowered nutrition, and resistance to anti-biotic. (Bernstein et al., 23). Research reveals that there are direct effects that consumption of GMO has on the increase of psychological diseases. Figure 1.0 presents a study finding that illustrate effects of GMO on autism. The figure above is a representation of the study that was conducted to examine the effect the GMO had on the children with autism. It was noted that there was a significant correlation coefficient of 0.985. This finding revealed that GMO food had direct negative effect on the mental condition of children. There are several more other studies that have tried to associate GMO with emerging diseases including cancer. It is based on these findings that there has been increased demand by those who oppose GMO to have such products labeled to give consumers a choice of what they want. There has been increase in demand for the GMO products to be labeled. This advocacy has grown for a long period of time. By 1990s some food products particularly in Europe were already labeling their products. Several countries including Japan had insisted on mandatory labeling of the GMO products. (Ghosh, Kakoli, and Paul C. Jepson, 67) However, it has grown ironical that some individuals are opposed to such moves, even with the fact that such move only provide the consumer with a clear choice. Focus has lately been directed to United States, which abandoned the law of mandatory labeling of the GMO products. Critics of the labeling view the policies as impediment to trade and unnecessary spending on research and advertisement. It is also noted that the producers of the GM products are not willing to lose their establishment since most consumers would not want to by the products label with the GM marks. They therefore are forced to change the ingredients of their products in

Environmental issues and policies in Madagascar Essay Example for Free

Environmental issues and policies in Madagascar Essay With the world’s population growing constantly and with human needs and desires growing pretty fast, we feel like every year there is less and less room for us to live on and it takes more and more effort for us to calmly and amicably share room and resources with our neighbors. In fact, it is too early to speak about global overpopulation, since there are still vast expanses of yet uninhabited land, to say nothing of the ability of humans, with the help of innovative technological facilities, to promptly acclimatize under extreme conditions. However, in many countries (particularly in third-world countries) some emigrational tendencies that are mostly dictated by economic and social factors, are creating quite a plausible picture of our future world, revealing the most likely and formidable phenomena we may face in future. Some large cities are experiencing serious problems related to rapidly increasing inflow of countrymen who, for various reasons, are forced to leave countryside and look for a better life in cities. Over the past few decades, most economies have been developing in such a way as to provide propitious conditions for rapid urbanization. Industrial development plus numerous revolutionary technological breakthroughs that took place in the twentieth century have resulted in the appearance of large factories. The growing demand for paid workforce has attracted country dwellers, leading to massed withdrawal of human resources from rural areas. In terms of personal affluence, the concentration of social and economic activity in the city has made urban environment more attractive and promising. Although governments of some countries have realized the danger of such economic tilts, most rural lands are still experiencing severe shortage of financial support resulting in persistent skepticism of many people about life in the countryside. It is to say, that it takes a lot of innovative thinking and political will on the part of a government to balance out the local economy, as well as the realization of the fact that harsh mandatory or administrative measures imposed on people to make them stay in rural areas alone will not suffice. It will be not before we manage to create economically healthy and prosperous environment in the village that we shall be able to speak about things in the countryside taking a turn for the better. We have considered the negative of withdrawal of human, financial, industrial and technological resources from the village from the standpoint of rural life. This long-lasting tendency seems to be making it hot for cities too. In many cities, especially in world capitals, unending inflow of immigrants seeking wealthy and prospect, has contributed to rapid and uncontrolled population growth, resulting in tough and fierce competition in the sphere of management and acute contradictions between management and hired staff, entailing collisions of interests, progressive social stratification and environmental deterioration. All this has led to a number of doubtful achievements and hazards, which appear to be making city life far less comfortable than it used to be a short while ago. Today, Mexico city is the world’s largest capital, counting about 22 million people. Mexico is a large industrial city, and it appears to be sharing the fate of most industrial centers of the world, barely coping with the influx of countrymen. The acceptance by the Mexican government of certain trading rules in line with international agreements, a paramount condition of the country’s participation in the WTO, has impacted rural economy, causing a dramatic economic collapse in the agricultural sector, resulting from the imbalance between local prices and those imposed by WTO regulations. This has triggered a new spate of internal migration from the countryside to the city. Unfortunately, problems that the city of Mexico has accumulated by now are not limited to overpopulation. It is not the overpopulation itself that poses most serious difficulties, but also ineffectual measures taken by the city government. To say the least, with the inflow so intensive and so evident, the city’s townplanning committee does not seem to be fully taking into account the migration problem, or they simply fail to keep pace with the time. The city infrastructure fails to keep up with the population increase, so people arriving in Mexico take up residence in shabby makeshift homes on the city’s outskirts or in slum districts. These districts lack water and gas supply, sewage, electricity, services, etc. , and there are no advanced waste disposal systems whatsoever. This has resulted in absolutely unfavorable environmental and epidemiologic conditions. Most of garbage and human wastes remain on or close to the surface of the earth, and large parts of it are carried by winds for miles away and into the city. Unsanctioned dumping may spoil water and cause massed poisonings or outbreaks of infection. This in turn directly affects the quality of the food, increasing the risk of its contamination with harmful substances and bacteria. There is another menacing phenomenon resulting from uncontrolled population growth and topped off by the city’s geographic position. Permanent release of carbodyoxide by factories, coupled with the release of automobile waste gases is putting the city on the brink of suffocation. Statistically, automobile emissions make up about 60% of all emissions, and, considering the increasing vehicle ownership, there seems to be no way to reduce automobile emissions. The realization that internal combustion is the greatest contributor to the accumulation of emission gases in the atmosphere has prompted automobile designers to equip vehicles with catalytic converters, but today there are too few such cars to make the effect palpable. The city is placed on a plateau fenced off with high mountain ranges. The cold air arriving from behind the mountains forms a cap over the whole valley preventing the warm and stuffed city air from getting away. This lack of natural convection contributes to the accumulation of harmful emissions in the area and may turn the whole place into a gigantic gas van. The continuing economic growth, extensive factory development and ever-growing population in Mexico City are aggravating the pollution problem. The accumulation of heavy metals in the air can undermine peoples’ health and result in serious progressive hereditary diseases, increasing the occurrence of cancer, chronic poisoning, high infant mortality, cardiovascular diseases, allergic reactions, innate orthopedic malformations, poor cognition and many other physical and mental abnormalities. Progressive intake of harmful substances directly affects the nation’s genetic makeup, and it is hardly possible now to precisely foresee all consequences of these destructive influences. Active use of depths of the earth, resulting from ever-bulging demand for minerals and oil has triggered rapid and unpredictable underground processes, resulting in unstable aquifers and causing much water to go deeper into the ground, making it less reachable. As long as the city is situated in a seismologically unstable region with an active volcano in its direct proximity, further deterioration of the bed may result in disastrous earthquakes, which, in turn, are likely to wake up the volcano and plunge the whole area into an apocalyptic calamity. Apart from the destruction of the bedrock, destruction of aquifers is fraught with the disappearance of water in some places and appearance of excessive amounts of it in others. This may cause lack of water supply and actual drying out of some areas and lead to unexpected floods elsewhere. The formation of empty spaces in the bed has caused some areas to sink significantly over the past few decades, which increases the possibility of flooding. At the same time, the emptying of the aquifers due to extraneous consumption of water by the growing city has led to a dramatic reduction of natural water resources, threatening to leave the whole city without water in the foreseeable future. According to last estimates, every second the city of Mexico takes 7,250 gallons of water, which amounts to an Olympic-size swimming pool per minute. With the consumption of water so intensive, there is a grave possibility that the amount of water remaining in the aquifers will be insufficient. Needless to say, this is much more serious a threat that inability to afford a car or a TV. In some areas, shortage of water is already tangible, and it has resulted in social upheavals. Changes in bedrock structure and the progressive subsidence of the ground can also result in the destruction of sewer and drainage systems, increasing the risk of contaminating fresh water and thus threatening to impair its quality. As we can see, all the aforementioned threats arise from one major phenomenon – overpopulation. Needless to say, increasingly intensive use of water and resources is attributable to population growth and human thirst for relative prosperity and every individual’s desire to occupy his or her niche in the booming economy. However, this brief outline of most significant problems and dilemmas shows that if we continue to use natural resources in the current fashion, the place we live in will soon become absolutely unlivable. In this respect, the city of Mexico can be presented as a small replica of our entire planet, which, with the same tendencies and phenomena persisting, will soon be confronted with similar problems. There is less and less room for industrial and vehicle emission gases and, like it is with the aquifers under Mexico city, the increasing encroachment upon minerals and oil resources is affecting the earth’s bedrock, creating pre-conditions for unpredictable and destructive earthquakes and massive destruction. With the situation so serious and menacing tendencies so evident, many governmental authorities of Mexico City, as well as state authorities express their concern about the country’s future and come up with lots of ideas, which are likely to prove helpful and effective in overcoming these negative tendencies. Whichever idea is the best, just one thing is evident today, and this is the necessity to create positive incentives and favorable conditions for people to live and work in the countryside in order to stem the growth of city population. As air quality issue appears to be the most evident one, the city government has developed a number of solutions aimed at reduction of industrial and vehicle releases into the atmosphere. By incorporating advanced technological systems and usage of higher quality fuel, it is possible to significantly improve air quality. Recently, a state-of-the-art air quality monitoring system has been implemented, so government officials and specialists have obtained control over air quality. Now every vehicle is required to feature advanced converting devices that are capable to cut down the release of toxic substances. In November 1989, the city Government introduced the so called No Driving Day (NDD), when car owners are supposed not to use their vehicles on certain days. The results of this innovation were a considerable reduction of traffic congestion and gasoline use. The use of refined types of fuel and the installation of waste gas purification and vapor recovery equipment are innovative measures regulated by the Clear Air Act Amendments of 1990. Hypothetically, these measures can be instrumental in reducing the amount of vehicle-related chemicals in the air and thus improve air quality. However, these ideas, though effective theoretically, have proven less feasible in reality. As a rule, advanced technological solutions are something than few people can afford, and most people find it less expensive to bribe authorized inspection employees and use old vehicles than purchasing new automobiles or applying expensive technologies. Not infrequently, the cost of implementing new equipment exceeds the size of fines by far, so people prefer to pay fines rather than spend money on equipment. For this reason, the results of the latest innovations have turned out to be less tangible than expected. The NDD policy has also revealed a number of unexpected actions on people’s side. Instead of increased usage of public transportation, Mexico City dwellers found a way around it by purchasing more vehicles in order to have a reserve automobile to be used on No Driving Days. Actually, this nullified the immediate positive tendencies that showed during initial stages of the NDD policy. Other attempts to limit air pollution include increased vehicle ownership taxation and boosting the price of fuels. The advocates of these measures believed that this would discourage people from using cars and thus reduce the impact on the environment. All these measures have proven less effective than expected, since most Mexico residents simply cannot afford new vehicles, to which the new regulations actually spread, and prefer to use old vehicles without having to purchase new equipment. Now, having discussed a few measures that have been taken over the last several years in an attempt to solve the ecological problem, we can see that they are not always applicable or effective. As there is just one major problem that all these issues stem from – the overpopulation – all efforts to change things for the better must be concentrated on solving overpopulation problem. Although mandatory measures, such as inspections, bans, taxation and can have a temporary effect, there is no way to achieve significant improvement in air and water quality but by using wise economical and political instruments. Once again, in order to encourage city dwellers to move to rural areas, healthy economic environment must be created in agricultural regions. This is only feasible through establishing price standards acceptable for country dwellers and creating an ample ground for agricultural business. In other words, in order to stop the growth of city population, we have to make the village no less livable than the city. Unfortunately, very little is being done to improve life in the country, since it would take a decision by the Mexican government to unilaterally withdraw from the WTO, which can entail a conflict with the USA, the founder of the WTO. Today, the Mexican government still prefers to use doubtful methods of forcing the poor to leave the city – by raiding their encampments, as it did in the late 1990s. 1. Phil Hearse. â€Å"MEXICO CITY Environmental Crisis, Socialist Solutions. Environment and Urbanization, Vil. 11, No 1, 53-78 (1999) 2. Ramiro Tovar Landa, 1995. â€Å"Mobile Source Pollution in Mexico City and Market-Based Alternatives† Published by the Cato Institute. Editorial and business offices are located at 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. , Washington, D. C. , 20001

Essays --

Laser treatment is being employed for several applications including wound healing, bone repair, pain-relief, etc. The basic principle of laser therapy relies on the absorption of photonic energy by molecular photoacceptors (chromophores), leading to a photochemical reaction. This photochemical reaction results in the generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and heat, which are known to play a crucial role in laser-induced damage. This study explores the role of specific heat in affecting laser-induced damage. By using the formula, H = msÃŽ ¸ (H being Heat, M being Mass; S being Specific heat, and ÃŽ ¸ being change in temperature), it was speculated that a change in specific heat would affect rise in temperature and hence cytotoxicity induced by the laser. Therefore, the specific heat of different solutions was measured using a calorimeter-like setup. Once the specific heat of different solutions was determined, cells (HaCaT, Human Skin Epithelial Cells and NOKSI, Normal Oral Keratinocytes) were treated with solutions of varying specific heat capacities and assessed in laser damage. It was observed that in lowering the specific heat by using various cell culture solutions, there is a sharp increase in temperature at lower laser doses, leading to increased damage to cells. Further, a robotic arm is being assembled to characterize the heat dispersion during clinical therapy, with the aim of mimicking manual operator hand motions and helping simulate clinical therapy in further lab experiments. INTRODUCTION There are three primary phases of wound healing—inflammation, tissue formation, and tissue regeneration. It is a dynamic, interactive process involving soluble mediators, blood cells, extracellular matrix, and parenchymal cel... ...of glycerol is indeed cytotoxic. When treating the cells with a 1.7W laser, the 10% FBS solution proved to be the most effective in preserving cell viability, due to its high specific heat capacity. Future goals of this experiment will strive to determine whether the laser-induced killing is through heat, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation, or some other factor. In Aim 2, we were able to capture the precise clinical operator movements in multiple dimensions using the precision 6-axis sensor. We recently completed construction of our robotic arm and are in the process of programming using the clinical data captured with the sensor. This robotic arm concept is expected to greatly stabilize the laser motions, and will certainly be a beneficial and revolutionary application in not only lab experiments, but also experiments dealing with animals, such as mice.

Math Checkup Unit

Circle the letter of your answer(s) and explain your choice(s). B. D. The slope is a. Point-slope form b. Slope-intercept form 5. What is the slope off line that is perpendicular to [pick]? Show your work. Answer: A line perpendicular to Hopi]x would have a slope that's the reciprocal of the slope to Hopi]x. So the answer is [pick]. 6. Write the equation off line passing through (0,6) and parallel to the line [pick]. Arctic]x+6 7.Which of the following tables of values could have been generated by a linear function? How do you know? I-I II 1-5 1-7 1-9 1-11 110 115 Table A is a linear function, since it has an even distribution in both its x and y values. Table B is NOT a linear function, since it doesn't have an even distribution in its y values. Table C is a linear function, since it has an even distribution in both its x and y values. 8. For each table in #7 that could have been generated by a linear function, calculate the slope of the line produced by that function. The rise over run formula [pick] shows the slope of a function table.Table A has a slope of -2. Table C has a slope of O. 9. The cost of hosting a dinner in a particular restaurant is given by y = 18. Xx + 250, where x is the number of people at the dinner and y is dollars. What is the slope of this function? What does it mean in the context of the problem? The slope is 18. 5. It meaner that each person that attends costs $18. 50. 10. The cost of hosting a dinner in a particular restaurant is given by y = 18. Xx + 250, where x is the number of people at the dinner and y is dollars. What is the y- intercept of this function? What does it mean in the context of the problem?The y-intercept is 250. This meaner that you must pay $250 BEFORE you pay for each guest's meal. 1 1 . Write the equation of the line that is parallel to the x-axis and goes through the 12. Does the point (2,6) lie on the line that connects (IA) and (03)? Explain. The equation for the slope of (1 A) and (03) is rug+3. Just plug (2,6) into the equation: 6=2+3? NO. So, no. (2,6) does not lie in the line that connects (1 A) and (03). 13. Which of the following pairs of lines are perpendicular? How do you know? Perpendicular? A. [pick and [pick] No. Their slopes are NOT negative reciprocals. B. [pick] and [pick] Yes.Their slopes are negative reciprocals. And [pick] No. Their slopes are NOT negative reciprocals. C. [pick] 14. Jeremy uses the linear function G = ah + 50 to represent the grade, G (in points out of 100), that he can earn on an exam as a function of h, the number of hours he spends studying for the exam. A. Identify the slope and y-intercept of Jersey's function and explain what they mean in the context of the problem. The slope is 12 and the y-intercept is 50. This meaner that Jersey's score, if he didn't study, would be 50. However, for every hour he studies, his score will go up 12 points. . If Jeremy spends 3 hours studying for the exam, what grade does he expect to earn? Show your work. Jeremy can expect to earn 86 points on the test if he studies for 3 hours. C. How many hours should Jeremy study if he wants to earn a perfect score on the exam? Show your work. 100= +50 ah h = 4 hours, 10 minutes. – up, where p is the price in dollars of the product and D is the number of products that can be sold at that price. A. What does the slope of this function mean in the context of the problem? The slope shows that for each dollar the price increases, two less items will be sold. . What price should be set in order to sell 75 items? Show your work. UP = 25 p = $12. 50 The price should be set as $12. 50 to sell 75 items. 75 = 100 16. Temperature may be given in degrees Celsius or in degrees Fahrenheit. The freezing point of water is 32(F or O(C. The boiling point of water is 212(F or OHIO(C. A. Write the equation of a line that shows the relationship between degrees Fahrenheit and degrees Celsius. B. What is the temperature in Fahrenheit when it is ICC? C. What is the temp erature in Celsius when it is OFF? 6. 1 Celsius 17.Write at least three different expressions that mean â€Å"slope. † 62. 6 Fahrenheit 18. In order to write the equation off line, what two pieces of information do you need? (Hint: there may be more than one answer to this question. ) You must know both the slope and y-intercept to write the equation of a line. The number of soccer balls produced. A. What is the slope of this equation and what does it represent in the context of the problem? The slope is 7, and that meaner each soccer ball costs $7. B. What is the y-intercept of this equation and what does it represent in the intent of the problem?

Being a Man: Rhetorical Analysis

Being a Man, by Paul Theroux, delineates the negative effects of being a man According to himself. Theroux, in his piece, argues that a man is oppressed by gender expectations, despite living in a society where women are belittled in comparison to men. Theroux attempts to explain the gap between genders which cause bad marriages, social misfits, moral degenerates, sadists, and latent rapists. Theroux proposes that the idea of manhood in America has caused some men to feel like they dislike being a men, and caused them to reject part of their own identity deep down inside.His overall purpose it to bring awareness to both genders that an oppression is happening to American society due to gender. Theroux tries to create understanding between the two opposing genders and find common ground against the same type of oppression both genders face, â€Å"This version of masculinity is a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one’s entire life (by contrast, I imagine femini nity to be an oppressive sense of nakedness)†.Theroux uses parenthetical comments in order to widen the range of theme to his essay. He not only writes about man, but about women to and how they both have become affected by the gender constructs put in place from living in an American society. This allows his target audience (both men and women) to become understanding of his purpose in the essay. Not only are men able to relate, but women to as they are remembered in the fact that they face the same oppression as the one described by Theroux.This rhetorical effect is repeated to reemphasize Theroux’s purpose, â€Å"(The paradox in American letters is that it has always been easier for a woman to write and for a man to be published)† Theroux is able to not only give the message that the gender constructs oppresses only men, but also women, gender in general for that matter. Theroux is able to successfully convey his message (to both genders) that this society is harmful to both genders. Theroux appeals to the audience’s sense of emotion as he applies his arguments soundly to gender oppression, an emotion felt with both members to his target audience.His argument is that gender constructs lead to an oppression that leaves one feeling a displeasure with their own identity. This feeling of self-loathing appeals to people’s sense of emotion. This appeal allows the readers to engage and relate, which captivates them into realizing Theroux’s message. Theroux is effective in his proper use of pathos without having to consult much with the author branches of persuasion, credibility and logic. Personally I am not able to relate much with the American gender construct. Seeing as I was raised in a more Mexican household, I was raised to believe in a stricter gender construct.One that doesn’t apply much to Theroux’s description of the male gender construct setup by American society. Mine has roots in a one that emphas izes absolute respect for women and realizing that her body is nothing less than sacred. You’d think that this would be a better way of thinking, but this kind of thinking still implies that a woman is in need of more respect, which creates a kind of sexual inequality. Although making sense and persuading me in his argument, I was not able to relate to his argument, which was part of his purpose.

Medina Surname Origin and Meaning

Medina Surname Origin and Meaning The surname Medina, which ranks 30th among  most common Hispanic last names,  has several possible origins: Dweller at or near the market; one who had returned from the marketA locational or geographical name originating from the city of Medina in western Saudi Arabia, the second most holy city of Islam, or from one of the other places called Medina. According to the Instituto Genealà ³gico e Histà ³rico Latino-Americano, the Medina surname originated principally in the Spanish areas of Burgos and Andalusia. Today, the Medina surname is most frequently found in use in Argentina and Spain according to the World Names Public Profiler. Because most last names originate in multiple areas, the best way to learn more about your Medina last name is to research your own specific family history. If you are new to genealogy, try the steps to begin tracing your family tree. If youre interested in learning more about the Medina Family Crest, then learn more about how the family coat of arms arent what you think.Surname Origin:  Spanish, PortugueseAlternate Surname Spellings:  MEDENA, DE MEDINA, DE MEDENA Famous People With the Medina Last Name Gabriel Medina - Brazilian professional surferBenny Medina - Music producer and record executiveAnn Medina - American-born, Canadian television journalistJosà © Medina (Josà © Alfredo Medina Andrade) - Olympic track and road cyclist from ChileHenrique Medina de Barros - Portuguese painter Genealogy Resources for the Medina Last Name 50 Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsGarcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 50 common Hispanic last names? The Medina last name ranks 30th on this list. How to Research Your Hispanic Family TreeLearn how to start your Hispanic research at home, and then branch out to research in country-specific records, organizations, and other resources for Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean, and other Spanish speaking countries. The Medina DNA ProjectThis Y-DNA testing project is open to all families with the Medina last name and variations, from all locations. The purpose of the project is to help members use a combination of  yDNA  testing, paper trails, and additional research to identify common Medina ancestors. Medina Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Medina last name to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Medina query. FamilySearch - Medina GenealogySearch and access records, queries, and lineage-linked online family trees posted for the Medina surname and its variations. FamilySearch features almost 2 million results for the Medina last name. Medina Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Medina surname. DistantCousin.com - Medina Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Medina. References Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Startups in Publishing †IPR License

Startups in Publishing – IPR License Startups in Publishing – IPR License What’s the â€Å"publishing industry†, really? It’s a mixture of a lot of companies, big and small, that all revolve around authors, books and readers. The big ones have been shaken by the digital disruption and are only now realizing the truth of â€Å"adapt or die†. And because they’re big, this will now obviously take time, as Hugh Howey recently pointed out (quite accurately).That’s where the smaller cogs in the wheel come in–and I’m going to say â€Å"we†, as Reedsy is a part of the machine, and I’m a part of Reedsy. Since the digital disruption, the landscape of publishing has become a fabulous playing ground for many startups. So many, in fact, that I hear this question a lot when presenting Reedsy: â€Å"Do you really think we need yet another self-publishing/digital publishing company?†My answer is usually a version of: â€Å"Are you satisfied by the current state of this industry? Do you think ind ependent publishing has now been made a simple process? Do you think we’ve all finally, fully embraced the digital disruption?† I dare you to say yes.Here at Reedsy, we’re big fans of all the little ships that enter the vast ocean of book publishing with the certainty that they will make a difference. We believe they will be the ones fashioning the future of the industry and turning it into something coherent and adapted to these modern, digital times.To celebrate them, we have decided to create a serial on startups that we will be publishing every Monday on this blog. These are all startups actually providing fantastic value to authors, and which we believe will play an important role in the future of publishing. For this reason, they are all startups that Reedsy is or will be partnering with in the near future.Today, we start with IPR License, the first and only online platform on which to acquire subsidiary book rights and permissions on a global scale. It was founded by Tom Chalmers back in 2012 and has greatly grown since. Read our interview with Tom below.RF: Why did you start IPR? What’s the founder’s story?Tom Chalmers: I founded my first publishing company in 2005, Legend Press, and with only a borrowed computer and no experience or contacts I licensed the second novel into seven editions and four languages. Five further companies were started between then and 2012, when the idea of licensing potential that had stayed with me since 2005 came to the fore. That led to my seventh company, IPR LIcense, the global rights licensing platform.RF: That’s great! I actually was at Frankfurt Book Fair, and felt it was more mess than â€Å"Messe†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ So I can understand the need for an online platform for trading rights, but how quick do you think big publishers can be to switch from a meeting-at-book-fairs model to an online one? Is your ambition to replace big international fairs or to complement them?TC: Itâ₠¬â„¢s not a case of switching from face-to-face meetings–publishing will always be a subjective and personable industry–but complementing them. Book fairs are now hubs of business and not the only place to do business, which does mean a smaller but more focused footfall.Technology not only means business can be completed 24 hours a day seven days a week, all year round, but at the book fair as well. We see a time shortly where meetings can be held and interested parties can then complete the deals immediately rather than waiting for the two-weeks-later follow-up.RF: What rights are most acquired by publishers on IPR License (digital, print, foreign, Film/TV, etc.)?TC: It is hard say as we have over 13 million titles on the platform, not only books but journals, manuscripts and screenplays too. The obvious focus is on print and in particular translations where there is huge potential, but we also see lots of for instance audio, large print and production materials deals being completed as well. The book is a single entity of intellectual property, one of many that can potentially be licensed.RF: How active are you in the negotiations and contracting that follow after a publisher has singled out a book whose rights they are interested in?TC: As much as the member would like us to be. In general we are a technology solution to allow the seller and buyer to directly complete deals. But we also have a team to help facilitate the transactions, so if a seller says they want a bit of help in the negotiation or contract and so on, we will provide that for them.RF: I think that’s great. It’s important to keep this individual approach to every single client even if you have a scalable model. Now over to the revenue stream; what’s your business model?TC: We charge a flat annual fee of  £99 for authors and a fee for publishers dependent on company turnover. We then take 15% commission from deals completed via the platform.When you join IPR License, you don’t only have access to market-leading technology but account management, licensing and marketing support. We usually say the annual fee is the equivalent to the fee from a single deal completed, a lot less for authors, so the risk is not unreasonable.RF: Now here’s something I’ve always been curious about: Some say indie authors start out self-publishing specifically in the hope of getting discovered by a traditional publisher. But on the other hand, you get the numerous stories of traditionally published authors switching to self-publishing as soon as their contracts end (or even sooner). From what you’ve seen at IPR, which wave is bigger: indie to trad or trad to indie? Or do you see a hybrid model becoming the norm?TC: We’ve seen a self-published author, Mary Wood, received a seven-book deal from Pan Macmillan and we have many authors who have reverted the rights from publishers and are looking to license them directly. Weâ⠂¬â„¢re not really focused on or interested in the trend, which I imagine is changeable anyway; we’re solely focused on helping the rights owner, whether an author, publisher or agent, license their valuable IP to third parties around the world.RF: What would be your top advice to self-publishing authors looking to sell their print or foreign rights? In other words, what do publishers look for on IPR License?TC: Get the basics rights: how the book is listed, what categories to use, what content to use to support the potential purchase of the rights, ensuring the correct sales and rights information is listed and so on. Also, making sure the key books are listed as key books as they are then prioritised in the search engine.RF: How should indie authors be using IPR? Should they be listing a particular kind of title? Or is the benefit of an open directory like IPR that even niche works can find an audience, and so all works ought to be listed?TC: We try to be as open as possibl e and we see licensing deals being completed for works completely across the spectrum. As well as getting the basics rights, as per above, I would also say to take a back step and think honestly about where the work may appeal and to tailor the listing details accordingly. A lot of authors say â€Å"perfect for film† or â€Å"should be big in the US† etc., but the most successful ones have a basic understanding of the markets and a realistic view of where the work will appeal.RF: You launched Rights Magazine last year to coincide with the five biggest international book fairs in 2014. What’s its content and who is it distributed to? Why a magazine?TC: It contains editorial, company news, publisher and author profiles and highlighted titles, etc. We have a market-leading technology platform but we also want to provide as much visibility and marketing for our members as possible and the magazine has been a very successful way of achieving that. It is distributed i n different ways at each book fair and is part of a wider promotional plan at each event.RF: From founder to founder, how do you see IPR License and Reedsy working together? What value would Reedsy add to IPR License (and its authors)?TC: I think two ambitious start-ups looking to be at the forefront of the market should have natural synergies, whether that means providing joint services, education or other forms of partnership, so I look forward to a long period of working together and discovering what can be offered to each other’s customers to improve their experience.RF: Easy one to finish: How do you envision IPR License in 5 years? Do you have any major milestones you plan to hit on the way?TC: Our plan is to be the industry standard tool for finding and transacting rights business. We are confident that will happen over the next 12 months, so saying where we’ll be in five years would sound far too grand.RF: Thank you for your time, Tom!Post edited by our lovely editor Becca!Find us on Twitter: Reedsy, IPR License, Tom Chalmers and Ricardo