Thursday, November 28, 2019

Should You Accept Guest Posts Pros and Cons of a Guest Post Program

Looking for new ways to shake your blog up and reach new audiences in 2019? A guest post program might be exactly what you need aka. opening your blog to accept guest posts. The pros and cons of starting a guest post programStarting your own guest post program requires a significant commitment of time and energy, especially at the beginning. Like any investment, you need to assess the value of whether you should accept guest posts.We compiled a list of pros and cons based on experiences with our own guest writer program to make this decision an easier one for you.Pros of guest post programsThere are several advantages to bringing guest writers onto your blog:Diversify content – New people bring fresh perspectives and new ideas. If your blog feels stale, another writer (or several) can breathe new life into it.Access new audiences – Every new writer brings an audience with them. It may not always be a large audience, but every new reader counts.Network with up and comin g professionals – Most of the people who submit articles will be newer professionals trying to make a name for themselves. Give them a leg up now and theyll remember you when they find greater success.Bring experts on board – You might already be positioned as an expert in your field, but you know whats better than one expert? Multiple experts. Every expert who writes an article for you lends you some of their authority. It might take a while to get real experts attention, but the right one will provide an incredible boost for your blog.Give your blog the feel of a professional publication – A steady stream of guest writers makes your blog feel more official, helping it blur the lines between blog and magazine. Once youve got enough guest posts you can also increase your publishing frequency.Worry less about content creation – Every article somebody else writes is one you dont have to write yourself. Youll still have to edit for quality control and typos, but thats a lot less work than researching and producing excellent content yourself.Cons of guest post programsOf course, nothings perfect. There are several disadvantages to starting a guest post program as well:You open yourself to more spam –   Mostly in the form of people blindly submitting articles to every single write for us page without paying attention to your guidelines. Every publication deals with this kind of spam. You can eliminate most of it with a good spam filter and a few precautions. Always type at instead of @ when posting your email publicly, and consider using contact forms.The program needs to be promoted – People wont automatically flock to your submission page unless you have a massive audience already. For the first several months youll need to actively market your guest post program.Articles must be vetted – You need to make sure youre only publishing high quality articles. You cant just accept guest posts based on the ideas without reading the actual posts when they come. Everything needs to be edited for clarity and proofread. You can hire somebody else to do this, but you need to make sure it gets done.People dont always follow through – When youre asking somebody to do something for free, it falls below all their paid work on their priority list. Sometimes people will take months to get an article back to you when they promised it in a couple weeks. Sometimes youll never see the article at all. Many bloggers only accept completed articles to avoid this problem.Managing this program can become a full time job – The most successful blogs get thousands of queries every year. If your blog hits this point youll have two choices: hire someone to do it, or close the blog to unsolicited submissions. Otherwise youll spend so much time on your blog that the rest of your business is neglected.The verdict on guest post programsHow much does your blog matter to your business? To you, personally? How much time do you want to invest in it?If your blog is a cornerstone of your business and youre committed to making it successful, a guest post program is a great idea. It will bring new life to your blog and propel you to success faster than publishing alone. Your blog might even cross the line into online magazine once the guest program picks up steam.On the other hand, if your blog exists mostly to keep your website fresh for Google and youre focused on other things, a guest post program might be more trouble than its worth. You may discover that its not worth the effort — but to be honest, I still think you should give it a try. You might be surprised by the results you can get; guest articles work for blogs at almost every level in most industries.Final adviceAll in all, you need to determine the value of a guest post program for your specific blogging needs, but most blogs can benefit from welcoming guests. If youre unsure, consider running a six month pilot program.Not sure what your guest post program should look like? Take a look at the guest post guidelines pages on these sites:Write for ThemeIsleGuest Blogging for KissmetricsDIY MFA Guest Contributor GuidelinesThese pages should give you an idea of what to ask writers for and how to structure your guest post program. To give your guest post experiment the best possible chance of success, add some special perks to attract guest writers to your blog. Once a few of the right people get wind of these benefits, your program will start to promote itself. In the meantime, you may also want to consider hiring freelance writers  to fill out your publishing schedule.What do you think, do you want to give it a try and accept guest posts on your blog? Should you accept guest #posts? The pros and cons of starting a guest post program

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Murder of Taylor Behl

The Murder of Taylor Behl What Happened to Taylor Behl? Taylor Behl, a 17-year-old freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, left her dormitory room Sept. 5, 2005 to give her roommate some privacy with her boyfriend. She took with her a cell phone, some cash, a student ID and her car keys. She was never seen alive again. Two weeks later, her 1997 Ford Escort was found a mile and a half from the VCU campus with stolen Ohio license plates. Her body was found in an indentation in the ground 75 miles east of Richmond on Oct. 7. Taylor Marie Behls Childhood Years Taylor Behl was born on October 13, 1987 to Matt and Janet Behl (now Janet Pelasara). By age five, Taylors parents were divorced, and Janet was remarried to a Royal Air Force officer. She and her new husband and Taylor lived in England and Belgium. Taylor became a seasoned airline passenger before the age of six, making unescorted international trips between Europe and the U.S. By the age of 11, Taylors mother was divorced again and the two returned to northern Virginia. Pretty, Popular and Savvy Taylor Behl was pretty, popular and had an air of well-traveled sophistication. She had attended 15 different schools abroad by the age of 17 when she graduated from Madison High School in the well-off Washington, D.C., bedroom community of Vienna, Virginia. She carried the outward appearance of having developed a savvy independence that would prepare her for her next life adventure of attending her first year of college at the Richmond, Virginia based Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Janet Pelasara said Taylor selected VCU because of the diversity she would find at the college with its 30,000 students. It seemed like a safe choice, located only one and a half hours away from both her mother and father. In August 2005, at age 17, Taylor Behl packed up her belongings, as did thousands of other college-bound students, and headed to her new home at Gladdings Residence dorm on West Main St. in Richmond, Virginia. Taylors Internet Personality - Bitter One important aspect of Taylor Behls life was her participation on Myspace.com. The website is designed so individuals can create profiles for themselves and interact with others in a social-type environment. On Taylor Behls profile she created during the summer of 2005, she used the name Bitter and posted: I just graduated from high school and now Im off to Richmond for college. Im looking forward to meeting people that are in Richmond because I only know a few people down there. Later in her profile she added, Who would I like to meet? Someone who is kind. Taylor posted regularly on the site and continued to do so while at VCU. Taylor Meets Ben Fawley Unknown to Taylors parents, Taylor met a man in Feb. 2005, while touring VCU as a prospective student. He was Ben Fawley, a 38-year-old amateur photographer who had a history of dating young college girls. It is believed that Taylor and Fawley developed an online friendship after meeting and the relationship became sexual at some point. There are conflicting reports concerning when or if Taylor ended the physical relationship, but when she arrived at VCU, their friendship continued. Taylor Vanishes On Sept. 5, Taylor returned to Richmond after visiting her family in Vienna over the holiday weekend. She called her parents to let them know she made it back to VCU safely. She then had dinner at The Village Cafe with an old boyfriend. Afterwards, Taylor returned to her dorm room, but left to give her roommate and her boyfriend privacy. With her car keys, cell phone, student ID and a little cash, she told her roommate she was going skateboarding and would be back in three hours. Timeline: Taylor Behl was never seen alive again. It was not until Sept. 7, that Taylors roommate made a missing persons report to the VCU campus police. On Sept. 15, the Richmond Police took over and an 11-member task force, including FBI agents, was formed to help find the missing student. Sept. 17, 2005:  Taylors car, a 1997 white Ford Escort, was found locked and parked on a quiet neighborhood street almost a mile and a half from campus. The license plates had been switched to Ohio plates that had been reported stolen in Richmond two months earlier. Neighbors in the area told police the car had not been there the entire time Taylor was missing. A K-9 dog picked up two distinct scents in the car. One belonged to Taylor and the other to 22-year-old Jesse Schultz. During police questioning, Schultz denied knowing Taylor and denied ever being in her car. He was arrested on drug possession after police discovered drugs during a search of his home. On Sept. 21, 2005:  Police reported that 38-year-old, Ben Fawley was one of the last known people to see Taylor alive. Fawley told police that Taylor had come over to borrow a skateboard and he walked her back to her dorm around 9:30 p.m. During a police search of his home, police discovered child pornography and he was arrested on 16 child pornography charges. Fawley, a father of two girls, was arraigned and ordered to remain in jail with no bond. On October 5, 2005: Fawleys ex-girlfriend led police to a house in a photograph displayed on one of Fawleys Internet web sites. The location was an old farm located on her parents property. The police searched the remote Mathews County farm and discovered the decomposed body of Taylor Behl laying in an indentation in the ground. Taylor Behl was buried on October 14, a day after she would have turned 18. Ben Fawley Convicted of Second-Degree Murder In February, 2006 Ben Fawley was charged with second-degree murder of Taylor Behl.  In August he was sentenced to 30 years in prison after entering an Alford plea in the case, which means he did not admit guilt, but accepted the fact that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of the crime.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Psychology - Essay Example I begin to focus all of my attention on this tooth, wiggling it more and more. The tooth does not hurt when I wiggle it, but I am sure that if I can just work the tooth loose, I will be able to get relief from the oppressive feelings I am having. Finally, the tooth pulls free and I have an instant feeling of relief. I feel so good to have that loose tooth out of my head! But almost immediately, I feel as though I need to check again for another loose tooth so that I can increase my amount of relief. I have had this dream several times over the course of my life. Some times, I have followed this process to remove as many as three teeth from my head before the dream ends. I really am not sure about what to make of this dream. I think I have connected it to concerns about my personal safety. I have always had this dream when I have been living in dangerous neighborhoods or under dangerous circumstances. I think that part of me is concerned about my safety and so I need to do something extraordinary in order to ensure my safety. But why pulling my own teeth? How is that going to make me safer? I know that it is irrational, but my teeth are something I have great pride in. They are the one part of my body that is flawless. I have never had braces or a cavity. I don’t need to whiten or treat them in any way other than basic hygiene. I believe that my dream represents my willingness to do anything to stay safe when I am in difficult or dangerous circumstances. That includes making great personal sacrifices for my own safety and I hope, the safety of those that I love. This dream is a highly visual dream. I often only have dreams about feelings, but in this dream the colors were vivid. I am in a lush forest. The trees and grasses are all the deepest shades of green. It is not lush in a tropical sense, but more in a fairytale sense. There are bugs and all manner

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

How do quality management systems impact on revenue in the hospitality Research Paper

How do quality management systems impact on revenue in the hospitality industry - Research Paper Example It has been prophesied time and again by various scholars through various studies what Roberts found in 1996 â€Å"businesses who know and understand customers’ priorities for quality improvements can achieve a threefold increase in profitability† (Dale, 2003).This study has been carried out from the revenue generation context of quality systems implementation for hospitality industry. How the various elements of quality help in achieving the increased profitability needs to be analyzed. It is also important to see whether the concepts that help achieve visible improvements in manufacturing sector also produce profitability improvement worth the effort they involve in the hospitality sector or not. 2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1. Research questions identified The major questions which this research aims to answer are - What is the impact of implementing quality management systems in hospitality industry? How do these systems impact the revenues? What are the efforts involved in implementing these systems and are the resources required to implement quality systems justified by the value of the revenues generated? 2.2. Research Aims and Research Objectives The aim of this study is to see how quality management systems impact revenue in the hospitality industry. Study objectives are as follows: 1. To study how quality management systems are implemented in hospitality industry – a general study of the companies. 2. To understand how the quality management systems impacted the parameters of financial performance (a study of the various parameters they impact as well as the means of this impact). 3. To measure the impact... This research paper shows that quality management systems have positive impact on revenues of hospitality industry. It has been observed that this has been achieved by improved market share, brand image, ROI and competitive positioning. However, some concerns regarding the impact of these systems on overall performance of the firms have been highlighted. One of the concerns is the sincerity of implementation of quality management systems within the firms. The industry leaders need to understand that they are the main drivers of change which these systems propose to bring about. Hence, a commitment of words or even documented commitment is not sufficient. The leadership team needs to be thoroughly involved in its implementation. They need to have a quality vision to help firms achieve both revenue and cost benefits. Half hearted efforts, especially in the industry of our study, have found to have a negative impact on operational performance. Our literature review has analyzed all the aspects related to the questions set out in the beginning of our study. Hospitality organizations implement quality management systems by applying for certifications like ISO 9000, etc. or by internal process improvement programs. Some companies in this sector were seen to implement Six Sigma methodologies to reap revenue benefits. Most of the successful organizations in this sector have implemented full computerization which helps the management in analyzing revenue versus cost factors.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Contract law course work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Contract law course work - Essay Example given in webster’s Third New International Dictionary, which can be applicable is â€Å"a public administrative agency or corporation having quasi-governmental powers and authorized to administer a revenue – producing public enterprise†. This dictionary meaning of the word â€Å"authority† is clearly wide enough to include all bodies created by statute on which powers are conferred to carry out governmental or quasi governmental functions. But Sec-6(3) is a bit ambiguous on this point. According to the text of the judgment in the House of Lords case ‘YL v Birmingham City Council [2007] UKHL 27’ â€Å" Section 6(3)(b) extends the definition of public authority to cover bodies which are not public authorities but certain of whose functions are of a public nature, and it is therefore likely to include bodies which are not amenable to judicial review. Section 6(1) of the Act said that â€Å"it [was] unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which [was] incompatible with †¦Ã¢â‚¬  any of these rights. The section did not contain any comprehensive definition of â€Å"public authority† but subsection (3)(b) said that a â€Å"public authority† included â€Å"any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature†. However subsection (5) said that: The effect of all this is that an act (or an omission) of a private person or company that is incompatible with a Convention right is not unlawful under the 1998 Act (it may, of course, be unlawful under ordinary domestic law) unless the person or company has at least some â€Å"functions of a public nature†; but even if that condition is satisfied the private person or company will not have any liability under the 1998 Act if the nature of the act complained of was private. The argument is based on the alleged similarity of the nature of the function carried on by a local authority in running its own care home and that of a private person running a privately owned care home proves too much. If every contracting

Friday, November 15, 2019

An Analysis Of Woman Hollering Creek English Literature Essay

An Analysis Of Woman Hollering Creek English Literature Essay Thesis: Sandra Cisneross Woman Hollering Creek is an excellent example of a conflict with a family that has to endure a family member is abuse. This short story begins with vision of Cleofilas Father want his only daughter to marry and be happy for the rest of her life. Although she is apprehensive to begin what she thinks will be a happy, successful life, her father is far more reasonable about his daughters husband. He reminds Cleofilas that he is her father and that he will never throw away her. This is his way of letting her know that she will always be able to come home. Woman Hollering Creek An analysis of Sandra Cisneross Woman Hollering Creek is not often that a person is given an assignment that reflects many similar inadequacies of their own families. After reading Woman Hollering Creek it was instantly clear that this would be an interesting story to write about. Therefore, without knowing which way this story would go or even what direction it would even head in or even to understand how it would affect your relationship with your family members. In the story Woman Hollering Creek Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through her character Cleofilas; this character married a man who was very physically and mentally abusive. Cisneross will reveal within her writing how men are more dominate then women within the Hispanic culture. In most of Cisneross writing she has been well known for her writings about the Hispanic culture and how they treat there women; she explain what the women have to go through during there childhood, teen and even when they get married; the women are always dominated by men because of the way the culture is they has to just to that take of life. Woman Hollering Creek is one of the most excellent examples, to where a character has to live without a mother that cant give any direct or advice about everyday life or even how to be a wife and mother. This is a great story; it will give provide you with vivid detail of the life of a Mexican immigrants its not just about their struggle to make a better life for themselves but also about there culture in how it make it possible for this type of dreadful life. In reading Women Hollering Creek there is no way for the reading not to understand and feel for Cleofilas and empathize with her situation, praying she would find a way to escape from her bad marriage. The character Cleofilas is base on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, to share her most intimacy secrets. Although, there is discrimination and conflict in this story rather than love and it is there way of living. However, within her character as Cleofilas she found a way to gain knowledge of her feminine attributes, through watching television, and dreaming of a life as she in vision on television, which she watched religiously. In this story there can be many way to see how you can develop compassion with the victim of domestic violence. We can see how the life of Cleofilas has unfolds, the readers will learn about the isolation, hopeless and denial of someone who is in an abusive relationship. The reader will appreciated the educational factors of immigrate will include depth to the readers approval of the obstacle of this disparaging life style. In the Hispanic cultural it is know that young girl marry at an early age and Cleofilas situation is no difference. However, for Cleofilas to leave and marry a man she hardly know as well as she thinks she dose, sooner or later she will find out that her life is nothing like television. In the mean time the man she will marry will be began to hit her and become even more abusive and as time goes on. The reader in this story will discover how Cleofilas, will leave her surrounding that she has know for many years to marry a complete stranger. Cleofilas imaged her li fe to be like the soap operas she watches, and she then realize she would has to face a life of poverty, abuse, and an alcoholism husband. The storys main character, Cleofilas, is usually an illustration of Latina women, and how non-Latinos recognize them. They are raised and groomed, in households mainly controlled by men their fathers and brothers, with the anticipation that they may someday find the right men who would decide to take them as a wives. In the Latina world women are always consideration to be just someones wife and with hardly a chance to say no. However, she discovered that life in the new world with her new husband was unlike the romantic plot of fiction truth set in immediately when she had to care for her son, their home that always seemed to be in need of repair, and her husband, who wants to be served on hand and foot . However, within the story there is a lot of abuse that plays a major role on the familys relationship and how it has affected on her life. It is often that you find this type of behavior within this Spanish cultural most women in this type of situation really have no way out other then to run away. Cleofilas had to deal with the pain and suffering in a patriarchal world and a male dominated, society. The issues of gender and prejudice are present in the story, from the beginning, as Cleofilas decides to leave her town to accomplish her dreams of a better lifestyle. Her understanding of images on TV gave her the impression that here, life is much better and would perhaps untie her from the conventions of the world she grew up in. The final resolution in this story is left to the readers imagination. It does not state what happened to Cleofilas and her husband after she attempted to leave her husband. The life that Cleofilas had was faced with many experienced and all types of hardships, Cleofilas thought her life would be like that, of the telenovela, only now the episode got sadder and sadder to believe that she could stay no matter what happens she started to realize what the most important thing in life. Work Cited Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1991. SHEET 1-PLOT 1. THE ROLE-PLAYED BY EACH OF THE MAJOR CHARACTERS. The story is been narrator in the three person. Cleofilas is the main reason for the story. Her father wants her to marry Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez. The protagonist in this situation would be Cleofilas. The antagonists would be her Father and her Husband. 2. THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT. The story is about a father wanting his daughter to get married and the conflict of the story is the abuse that she went through and trying to find a way out. Cleofilas vs. Father Cleofilas vs. Husband Cleofilas vs. Family Cleofilas vs. Friends 3. IDENTIFY ONE OF MORE OBSTACLES PLACED IN THE WAY OF CLEOFILAS. Cleofilas biggest obstacle in this story is the abuse she went through with her husband and she try to find a way out this marriage in wish she thought it would be the marriage of her life. 2- PLOT STRUCTURE The early part of the story provides setting and introduction about the characters, and it creates an atmosphere and describes the setting. In this story it Cleofilas believes she is about to marriage the man of her dream with her father consent to marriage Juan Pedro. The time has come for her to leave her father and her six brothers in Mexico to go to El otro lado with Juan Pedro and, begin a new life as his wife in a small shackle. Cleofilas would soon find out that the life she knew with her and her brothers would be over as she knew it. The new life she was to supposed to have that was to be filled with passion as she seen on TV, as she watches the soap operas. While been married to Juan Pedro, she had two children and was trying to hide her bruises from her abusive marriage. She was looking for away out. She didnt even speak English and she was cut off from her family. The final part of this story is to fill the reader imagination. SHEET 3-CHARACTERIZATION The storys main character is Cleofilas and she is a representation of Latino women and how non-Latinos, perceive them, more Latino women are raised in predominantly controlled by men. Sheet 4- Setting Place- The place in this story was very important. It was the direction of the story to reach it to Cleofilas. It was a long road there and everything that happened along the way had meaning. Time- Woman Hollering Creek is the center of the borderland in which the story unfolds. Cleofilas Mexican town of gossips . . . of dust and despair on the one side is not so different from Seguin, Texas, another town of gossips on the other side, except that in her fathers town she is safe from physical harm. Mood- was kind of emotional. The majority of the time Cleofilas was sad. She was abuse and tired and she was looking for some she could trust. Sheet 5 Symbolism Cisneros employs much symbolism in the characters she chooses. Especially, Cleofilas the neighbors on both side of her are widowed women named Dolores and Soledad. Cleofilass name is clarified by a friend of hers, who tries to explain it to Felice over the phone: The Mexican culture reveres women who suffer, as Cleofilas admires the tortured souls on the telenovelas. Sheet 6-Theme It seen as if it is clearly an issue of gender and abuse in this story, Cleofilas decides to leave her home town and get marriage to fulfill her dreams of a more wonder life style in the United States. Cleofilas had this images of what her life would be like from watching the soap operas on TV, and it gave her this impression of life. The man she would marriage would be the ticket out of a bad situation or to a new life. While living in Mexico she had family and friend she could turn to once she move she would not have that anymore. Sheet 7 I found the most interesting aspect of the story to be the behavior of how Hispanics women are treated. 1. I am your father, I will never abandon you. Cisneros-43 2. And without even a mama to advise her on things like her wedding night. 45 3. How could Cleofilas explain to a woman like this why the Woman Hollering Creek fascinated her? 46 4. But how could she go back there? 50 5. And her family all in Mexico. 54 6. Cleofilas thought her life would have to be like that, like a telenovela, only now the episodes of sadder and sadder. QUOTATIONS Cisneros states You or No One Has experienced all types of hardships, but believes that staying kind and loving no matter what happens is the most important thing in life. (Cisneros 45) Note: You are no one and you will never be anyone. Cisneros states What do you want to know for? (Cisneros 46) Note: Why should I tell you anything, you dont want to know anyway? Cisneros suggested Did you ever notice how nothing around here is named after a woman? Really. Unless shes virgin. I guess youre only famous if youre virgin (Cisneros 55) Cisneros states the moment came, and he slapped her once, and then again, again, until the lip split and bled an orchid of blood (Cisneros 50) Cisneros offers her reader this idea Sometimes she thinks of her fathers house. But how could she go back there? (Cisneros 50) Work Cited Cisneros, Sandra (1991), Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, New York: Random House.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Rebellion in China around 1900 :: essays research papers

Around 1900, after many years of succumbing to the superior military of the West, the Chinese stood up for their country. China was a weak, backwards, country, exploited by the West. They felt that they could counter the foreign domination, but reforms were useless because they needed the West to help with the reforms. But something sparked their confidence, and they believed themselves to be able to conquer any foreign power. This spark was the Society of Harmonious Fists, commonly known as "Boxers." Combined with unhappy people, and new weapons technology, the Chinese rebelled against the foreign powers. The first reason of this confidence was the Boxer Society, which formed in North China after the Sino-Japanese war, but wasn't well known until 1898 in Shantung. This organization was actually a cult, following strange and absurd practices of defense. It had no central leaders, and the practices varied in different locations. Their goal was to rid China of the foreign menace. The boxers were different from most other rebels of their time. They would conduct public physical exercises that were supposed to make a magical shield to protect one against foreign bullets and shells. These looked similar to a boxers training exercises so the westerners nicknamed the members of the Society of Harmonious Fists "Boxers." Rather then using foreign weapons, they relied on magical spirits and swords, knives, staves, and polearms to drive the foreign devils from their precious home country. The membership of this group consisted of mostly the criminals, poor, and illiterate of China who wore a simple uniform consisting of a red armband, sash, or waistcloth. These people truly believed that magic would protect them, and help remove the foreigners from China. That gave them enough confidence to try to destroy the foreigners. Missionaries were killed, railroads were destroyed, and churches were burned all in the name of independence from foreign rule. Another key aspect in the rebellions against the west was a series of natural disasters that swept China during the last decade of the nineteenth century. Famine struck, droughts prevented the planting of crops, and to top it all, the Yellow river flooded, causing the destruction of 1,500 villages and 2,500 square miles of countryside. These disaster lead to unhappiness of the people. In order to keep them from turning on the government, the Dowager Empress, Tsu Hsi, encouraged the peasants to rebel against the foreigners. Some of these angry people joined the Boxers, and others rebelled alone, but they had the Empress behind them, giving them encouragement, and making them feel ready to take on the demons from the West. The third reason that the Chinese felt ready to face the West, was a