Monthly Archiv: May, 2019
This week I attended and spoke at the Newcrafts conference in Paris. The following is a mix of notes and personal observations I wanted to share, centered around some of the talks I saw there.
Romeu Romera: Bourdieu's Social theory and our work in tech
I had never attended a talk by Romeu before. I really enjoyed this one. Somehow I already knew that he uses a mindmap to support his talk. I thought he would use an existing mind map to navigate through the talk, but it turned out he was creating one during the talk. For me personally, a slide deck helps to keep track of the story, and it helps me remember all the different topics I need to talk about. Not so much for Romeu, who knew exactly what he was going to talk about, and didn't seem to forget to mention any important part, or make important connections.
The topic is one that seems close to his heart. Still, he called himself "not an expert", saying that this talk was an experiment. It turned out that he was hinting at the fact that the subject matter is vast, and he could only cover some parts of it during the talk. Still, the things he covered, maybe simplified a lot, were very impactful, and very interesting. I'd definitely recommend watching this talk once it becomes available online.
More than with any other talk, I think you can't help it but apply the ideas mentioned to your own situation when you listen to Romeu. He covered three parts of Bourdieu's social theory. The first part is about icons of power. The way you look and behave shows how much power you have. This modified appearance is called Symbolic Violence; an act of violance people in positions of power put onto themselves. I think in the context of conferences, being a public speaker is a great example of violence the speaker puts onto themselves. Personally, I often find it a painful experience (although I'll keep doing it as long as there's a way to help people do a better job in any way).
The second part of the theory has to do with Cultural Capital. Everyone has their own amount of cultural capital. Take for example the people in your team. Some will have more experience than others, a deeper understanding of design, architecture, etc. People with less cultural capital will be seen as lesser people. Having more cultural capital can also be an issue with speakers at a conference, where they will be automatically taken to be experts, to be better humans (or at least, better designers, programmers, etc.). They will be perceived to be more powerful, and more right. This isn't fair to either party; speakers, and attendees alike, but it's how the game gets played.
Differences in the amounts of cultural capital between people will result in Dissociation. The first thing that might happen is that you see a person with less cultural capital as someone you can ignore, not take seriously, etc. The other thing that could happen is that you'll feel that a person with more cultural capital than you is unreachable, and that they wouldn't be interested in even talking to you. Personally I can relate to this problem a lot. When I'm at a conference, it totally depends how I feel: if I feel like I have a sufficient amount of cultural capital, I'll be perfectly fine, and can speak freely with anyone in the room. If I feel that I lack cultural capital, I'm very shy, and generally tend to avoid other speakers, as I will quickly feel like an imposter, noticing a mismatch between the expected and the actual amount of cultural capital.
The third part of the theory is about Hexis, which means something like to what level you feel like you belong somewhere. Hexis could be considered "high" if you never doubt that you should be where you are now. It's low if you have doubts about your presence. Being self-condident is much appreciated, showing doubt is a signal of fragility, and it will look punishable. The immediate association I had, was how code reviews show a difference in seniority (which comes with self-confidence, never a doubt that you're in the right place). The senior developer is likely to provide a lot of nitpicking comments to the one who is more junior. The junior developer will likely have a hard time providing feedback to the senior. The situation gets worse if the senior is considered to be the boss/manager/team lead as well.
And this is where Romeu brings the discussion back to software development. The problem with some agile practices is that they assume equality in the workplace. Pair programming is easy if none of the programmers are the (perceived) boss. Retrospectives are easy if the (perceived) boss isn't there.
If you have enough cultural capital, and symbolic violence, you can ignore the problem. But if you have not, you can't. The problem is real. And of course, it's better if nobody would ignore the pro
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Just recently I run into an issue on one of my projects which I gracefully solved using the Command pattern. The project has a lot of legacy code, and to avoid the pain of major refactoring we do it gradually, piece by piece.
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As a web designer, the vast majority of my new projects are original creations. The process goes a little something like this: I create a mockup, make revisions until my client is happy, then move on to building the website (usually with WordPress).
But there are occasions where I receive a mockup from another designer, then build a custom WordPress theme to match. While this makes up a relatively small portion of my business, I generally end up building around a half-dozen sites like this each year.
From a distance, you may look at each of these scenarios and conclude that the latter would cost significantly less than the former. However, that’s not usually the case. In fact, I tend to charge around the same fee, regardless of who created the mockup.
A closer look at the challenges involved will explain why:
A Similar Investment of Time
Everyone has their own unique style and works in the way that suits them. That being said, taking someone else’s vision and making it a reality (err, virtual reality) isn’t easy. Just ask any developer who’s had to take a PSD or Sketch mockup and make a pixel-perfect recreation across browsers and devices.
This is especially challenging when the original designer isn’t a member of your organization. In these cases, there are no established procedures for, say, naming (or even ordering) PSD layers or spacing out design elements to fit within a specific layout system.
The fallout from this is that a great deal of time is spent trying make heads or tails of the document on my screen. If the designer has included notes, that can be a big help. But even then, there are still details to hunt down.
Granted, some designers are more organized than others. The more they implement things such as clear labeling or even a list of fonts, the easier the process of building the website.
Designing something on your own, however, is a smoother ride (at least, it should be). And it seems like any difference in time spent actually doing design work versus deciphering the work of others is negligible.
If the time spent is nearly equal, then the cost should reflect that fact.
More People to Please
Not only do we face the added complexity of interpreting someone else’s work, there is also an additional layer of scrutiny. In this scenario, we’re not only looking to satisfy the client, but we’re also obligated to do right by the designer, as well.
Depending upon how web-savvy the designer is (and the abilities of the developer), there could be any number of revisions and roadblocks during the build. I often run into issues such as odd positioning of elements or items that would lack compatibility with older browsers. There may also be discrepancies with regards to expected functionality and accessibility.
Even if you get past those detours, you still have a client waiting at the end of the line who has their own list of requirements. As just about any web professional who’s worked with clients can tell you, just because something was approved initially does not mean that there won’t be a big list of changes to contend with.
Working one-on-one with a client can be difficult, but you do stand a better chance of figuring out their needs. The more stakeholders who are involved, the harder it is to get them all happy and on the same page.
It’s More Than Meets the Eye
The bottom line is that, even if the design you’re provided with looks nice, there could still be a number of unexpected hurdles to get over. A significant amount of time can be spent clearing each one. This directly affects the cost.
While some clients may scoff at the pricing, the process of taking someone else’s design and turning it into a fully-functional website is no less of a feat than creating your own design from scratch.
My intent is not to diminish the value of creating that design yourself – there’s immense value in doing so. It takes creativity matched with a keen understanding of best practices.
It’s just that, working with another designer’s creation takes a unique set of talents in its own right. In some ways, I’ve found it to be a more difficult task.
So, if you’re faced with a client who hands you a mockup and expects a deep discount, don’t give in. Explain the challenges involved and the time it takes to do the job right. In the end, you’ll have more than earned your money.
The post Why I Charge the Same for Building Websites Designed by Someone Else appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.
Package:
Summary:
Activate, deactivate and store feature values
Groups:
Author:
Description:
This package can activate, deactivate and store feature values...
Read more at https://www.phpclasses.org/package/11204-PHP-Activate-deactivate-and-store-feature-values.html
Package:
Summary:
Activate, deactivate and store feature values
Groups:
Author:
Description:
This package can activate, deactivate and store feature values...
Read more at https://www.phpclasses.org/package/11204-PHP-Activate-deactivate-and-store-feature-values.html#2019-05-16-19:08:40
Dr Oz is always trying to find the next big thing in weight loss. The team at The Dr. Oz Show asked several viewers interested in weight loss to try yacon syrup for 28 days.
Dr Oz had 60 women take one teaspoon of yacon syrup with or before each meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for four weeks. They were told not to change their diets or exercise habits. Forty of the 60 women completed the project and of those 40 women:
- 29 (73%) of the women lost weight
- 14 women lost five pounds or more
- Average weight loss was 2.9 pounds
- Average reduction in waist size was 1.9 inches
- Total weight lost among all the women was 153 pounds
- 27 (68%) recommended yacon as a weight loss tool
Dr Oz revealed that in a 2009 study done by Susana Genta and colleagues using a yacon extract in a group of overweight women, found a 33-pound (16 kg) average weight loss in four months, which is about two pounds per week. LDL (“bad”) cholesterol also fell significantly.
What is Yacon Syrup and the health benefits?
Yacon is a South American tuber (from the Asteraceae family) that looks sort of like a potato, but tastes like an apple. Yacon’s health benefits and pleasant taste have been appreciated by native Peruvian cultures for thousands of years. Yacon Syrup can add sweetness to your diet without the negative effects of cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
Yacon Syrup is a low-glycemic sweetener that tastes like molasses. With half the calories of sugar and a high concentration of indigestible inulin, yacon is a great alternative sweetener for diabetics and those wanting to reduce their sugar intake. Use it like any other sweet syrup for baked goods, smoothies, desserts, sauces and dressings.
The yacon syrup, distilled from the Peruvian tuber yacon, contains up to 50 percent fructooligosacharides or FOS.
According to the Dr Oz website, “If you want to try yacon syrup for weight loss, take one teaspoon of 100% pure yacon syrup before or with each meal. Or you can use it as a sugar substitute. You can purchase yacon syrup at health food stores or online. Because of yacon syrup’s bowel movement-promoting properties, you may want to limit daily consumption to no more than 1-2 tablespoons.” Using the yacon in recipes to incorporate it into your diet is fine, but keep in mind that heating yacon syrup to a high temperatures (as in baking) can affect some of its beneficial properties. To maximize the benefits, don’t heat it above 70° C, although you can add it to hot drinks like coffee or tea.
Consuming Yacon syrup also increases absorption of dietary minerals, and may make calcium more bioavailable. Dr Oz says studies have shown this could help increase bone density and delay the progression of osteoporosis. Studies also show that neutraceuticals, especially fructans such as yacon, may increase the efficiency of the immune system, lower infection risk and reduce digestive allergies.
3 Best Sugar AlternativesAs a side note, yacon root and root extracts are to be used, not the leaves, which may be potentially toxic. If you don’t like the idea of taking the yacon extract, fructooligosaccharides can also be found in onions, garlic, asparagus, bananas, artichokes and chicory.
Yacon is a sweetener extracted from the tuberous root of the Yacon plant native to the Andes mountains. Peruvians eat Yacon for its nutritional value and low sugar levels not to mention lower calories. The leaves of the plant are sometimes boiled by Brazilians to make a tea which is said to have anti-diabetic properties. Yacon is comprised of 50% fructooligosacharides which don’t raise blood glucose.
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10 Market Dynamics
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12 Research Findings and Conclusion
13 Methodology and Data Source
Article source: https://premierherald.com/2019/05/16/latest-global-garcinia-cambogia-extract-market-report-2019-to-talk-about-historical-development-2014-2018-and-estimated-forecast-2019-2025/
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