Open Access: Creative Commons Licensing

Attention would-be December 2015 graduates! October 30, 2015 is almost upon us! This means -- for those of you paying close attention to the Graduate School's deadlines calendar -- that the last date to submit the postdefense version of your thesis/dissertation fast approacheth! Well, that and ... it's almost Halloween.

You should know that ProQuest -- the electronic repository for the postdefense PDF version of your thesis/dissertation -- has updated its website. How does this apply to you?


During the (what many NIU grad students have described to me as tedious) process of submitting your postdefense graduate work, you will come across a section having to do with copyright and licensing. As explained in a previous blog on open access philosophy, you will have two options when it comes to publishing/copywright: traditional or open access. For those of you who know that you will be selecting open access, ProQuest will then prompt you to decide on your licensing rights. This is where Creative commons licensing comes into play.



Creative commons offers four options when it comes to licensing your work: Attribution (a.k.a. BY), Share-alike (SA), Non-commercial (NC), and No Derivative Works (ND).  Well, technically, there is a fifth option: public domain.


When you choose Attribution, you are giving your audience the right to copy your work, distribute your work, and build upon your work -- this latter part is especially relevant in the case of scientific research. The person(s) who do any of these actions are required to give you, the original author, credit. They are not permitted to simply pass your work off as their own.


Share-alike means that if anyone copies or builds upon your work (which you allow them to do in accordance with the open access philosophy), then their work is required to have the exact same license that you chose for your own work, which would be the original research in this scenario.

A Non-commercial license stipulates that you agree that the reader can make copies of your work, distribute your work, build on your research, and even display your work (on a website, a poster, a YouTube video, etc.). However, you draw the line at them making any money off of your original research.

Finally, No Derivative works stipulates that the reader has your permission to copy, distribute, and display your original material. However, they may not modify the original materials in anyway. In other words, the individual who reads your work cannot adapt your work into a top 40 hit single or an Emmy winning HBO miniseries. Your work is your work.

You may also choose Public Domain, which simply means that you are allowing your work to be freely available to everyone to do with as they choose - there are no restrictions being placed on the material.

You should know that the ND licensing option is very controversial in open access circles. Many open access devotees view ND licensing as antithetical to the core mission statement of open access publishing. The whole purpose behind open access is to make research widely available to the public and other researchers in order to further scholarship. One way to accomplish such a feat is to empower researchers and laypeople to read your original work and then build off of your theories. On the other hand, many academics and researchers feel that too much liberty is being taken with their  original research. There have been instances where someone's research has been plagiarised or the original author has not been attributed in subsequent derivatives of their original research.

Be aware that even though there are five licensing options, these options can be combined in a variety of ways depending on how "free" you want your original research to be. The most common  combinations include:Public Domain on its own, Attribution on its own, Attribution AND Noncommercial, Attribution AND Share-alike, Attribute AND No Derivatives, Attribution AND Noncommercial AND Share-alike, and Attribution AND Noncommercial AND No Derivatives.

If you believe in open access publishing and you wish to opt for open access publishing when you submit your thesis/dissertation, please please please . . . take the time to review your licensing options. Make sure that you are receiving the credit that you are due. After all, you are devoting a large amount of time to researching and writing your thesis/dissertation. What you need to decide is, how available do you want to make your work to the public and other academics. One issue that may influence the license you choose is whether or not you intend on patenting your work.

Before you submit your postdefense work to the NIU Thesis and Dissertation office, sit down with your director and discuss the best licensing options for you and your work.

A short video explaining Creative Commons licensing has been attached to this blog. It was created courtesy of the Creative Commons organization (click here to visit their website).

Remember, open access and creative commons is not an exclusive publishing domain for students and academics in the sciences. Open access and creative commons can impact and be beneficial for those of us in the humanities. 

Creative commons licensing has become a very prominent legal issue recently. In an age where everyone posts their academic research or creative work on social media websites -- especially, YouTube -- a debate is starting about what belongs in the public domain and what is, or what should be, or what remains protected by strict copyright laws that many people argue have become obsolete in the 21st century. This debate will apply to you. Maybe not now, but in time it will. Remember: your thesis/dissertation represents a significant contribution to academia and some day someone may want to build on your original research.  

As this debate in creative commons continues to receive significant news coverage, our office will try to keep you updated with links to articles on the issue.

Please feel free to share any questions or comments about open access and creative commons licensing on our blog or our office Facebook group. 

Response Essay Writing Is Easy - Essay Help Experts Show You How

Response essays are also quite commonly known as reaction essays. Their name pretty much gives away what they are all about. While writing a reaction essay, you are expected to present how you think or feel about a particular issue, movie or book, etc. and here you need not necessary rely on the critical views of others to present your opinion. This is because the opinions of others can influence yours. You have to have sound analytical and reasoning skills to write this paper. If you need some help for this one, check out these tips prescribed by response essay writing help experts-

1. Before you start, ask yourself some questions

Since this type of essay is entirely based on how you think and feel, you will have to subject yourself to a few questions concerning the topic in question to know how exactly you feel about it. The answers to these questions will be termed as your reaction or response-

·         What are your feelings concerning the topic?

·         Do you agree mostly or disagree?

·         Can you relate to the circumstances put forward?

·         How will you evaluate the entire situation?

2. Make use of certain phrases in your writing show how you feel

English essay writing experts opine that the language you use in your response essay is of utmost importance. This is because the words you employ will be revelatory of your feelings. Consider using as many of the following as you can:

·         I have the opinion that

·         I believe

·         It seems to me

·         For instance

·         Moreover

·         Therefore

·         However

·         To conclude, etc.

3. Structure your paper the right way

You can say that simply following the general structure (introduction, main body and conclusion) of an essay will be enough, but that is not the case in response essays. Top quality essays online writers follow a very concrete structure for this type of paper, which you can take a look at below-

·         Introduction – While writing essay papers online, you have to mention all the basic information pertinent here. You should start with mentioning the name of the book (in case that is your topic), its author and publication. Then you should move on to stating what the book is all about. The last portion of your introduction should be your thesis statement.

·         Main body paragraphs – The three paragraphs that you write here should fully support your thesis statement. Further, your paragraph should be divided into three sections, which are the topic sentence, an idea or example to back it up and the summary sentence. The summary sentence is meant to be the bridge between one paragraph to the next.

·         Conclusion – The conclusion is the easiest to write section of your essay and should be nothing more than a restatement of the points you have already mentioned in your paper. However, you should include one line that summarizes your reaction to the topic. Just be careful not to include new information in this section of your essay.

7 Tips by Experts Offering Essay Help Online for Drafting an Effective Essay

Have you ever wondered why you are assigned a bunch of essay assignments on complex topics? It is because when you write an essay you learn to express yourself in a coherent way and also develop a strong vocabulary and exceptional writing style. This is not possible if you are given an oral activity. By writing essays you can grow to be a talented and logical writer and prosper in your future. You cannot avoid submitting these essays because a part of your overall examination scores depend on your performance in it. So if you are not confident about your writing skills, you can seek essay help online from professional academic writers to get your task done in time.

How can you avail quick essay help from the essay writing services?

If you need quick essay help, you can follow these three simple and easy steps:

1. Submit the order form

You can visit the website of a service and fill up the order form, specifying your essay requirements. You will receive a price quote in your portal from the support team of the service.

2. Pay for the task

Once you get the price quote, you can make the payment via PayPal, debit card, credit card and online banking easily.

3. Get instant solution

Your essay will be assigned to an expert with relevant subject knowledge. You will receive your well-documented essay long before the due time.

By following these three simple steps, you can avail essay assistance in quick time.

7 tips by cheap essay writers to help you write an effective essay:

In this section, we will discuss 7 tips by cheap essay writers so that you can draft an effective essay:

• Opt for a topic

You may be assigned a topic for your essay or given the liberty to choose topic on the subject of your choice. If you are already given a topic, think about the kind of paper you want to produce – general overview or specific analysis?

If you have to choose your own topic, you can start with a subject that interests you. You can define the purpose of the essay in your mind – informative, descriptive or persuasive? Now you can start researching on topics and make a list of it. Evaluate your options and finally choose a topic that you are interested in.

• Prepare an outline

You must organize your ideas and thoughts before writing the essay. By creating an outline you will be able to establish connection between ideas more clearly. For creating an outline, you can write the topic at the top of the page and keep listing down main ideas. You can also make a list of smaller ideas that relate to each main idea.

• Write your thesis statement

Now that you have chosen the topic and sorted the ideas into relevant categories, you should write down the thesis statement. It should be able to present your perspective on the topic. Your essay should be centered on your thesis statement.

• Write the body paragraphs

You will discuss each main idea separately in each body paragraph. All the paragraphs will follow the same structure – start with an introductory sentence followed by supporting sentences in support of your ideas. There should be coherence between the paragraphs and within a paragraph.

• Write the introduction

After writing the thesis statement and the body paragraphs, you must write the introduction. It should attract the attention of the readers and show them the focus of your essay. It can start with an interesting statistics, quotation or a dialogue. However, it should be in sync with the thesis statement.

• Write the conclusion

The conclusion brings the essay to an end, presenting a final perspective on the topic. It should have roughly five to six sentences where you can review the main points and show the readers how you have been able to prove your thesis.

If you are an aspiring management applicant, you can also avail help from an MBA essay writing service for drafting an application essay. Good luck! 

Application Essays / Statement of Purpose

The personal application essays, and/or statement of purpose, also play a very important role in the process of evaluating your application for admission to the MBA program. It gives the admission committee assessing your application their most significant impression of you as an individual.

A personal statement should include reasons for choosing this particular course, your area of interest, the suitability of your education and experiential background for this course and your personal and present future goals.
Most business schools have a set of questions that they would like the students to answer. These include questions about your achievements, leadership activities and the reasons for seeking an MBA.
We recommend you to spend as much time as possible in this part of your application as this could make or break your application.

MBA Tuition Fee, Living Cost and Expenses

MBA in UK has lots of financial benefits:

* Most universities in UK offer a One-year MBA* Access to National Health Centre; which is free for students registered on courses of six months or longer* Free school education for registered dependent children
Expenses (In Pound Sterling) (approx.)
Average Tuition Fee Average Living Costs Total costs per year
Medium-costUniversities 9,000 - 12,000 6,000 15,000 - 18,000
High-costUniversities 12,000 - 18,000 6,000 18,000 - 24,000
Low-costPrivate Colleges 5,000 5,000 10,000

For all the cost data above,
* Fees given are averages* All costs are given in Pound Sterling* Living costs include accommodation, Energy bills, food etc.* Costs are according to 1999 session
There are many small and private colleges, especially around London that offer low cost MBA programmes to international students. Many of these colleges have university affiliated MBA degree programme. These colleges offer a low-cost alternative to international students.
Please note that these colleges do not have university like campuses and do not offer the same quality of infrastructure, facilities and faculty as the bigger universities.
These are the average living expenses. Many international students manage to live in as less as 4000 pounds a year. Most students prefer off-campus accommodation which they share with other international students, thus saving housing costs to a big extent.

How Online MBA Essay Writing Services Help Students in Application Process

Each business school in UK has their own evaluation system for selecting students for MBA courses. Most schools ask for transcripts (mark sheets) to be sealed in an envelope along with either GMAT (graduate Management Admission Test) or TOEFL scores. Applicants also need to write an application essay in order to showcase their unique personality in front of the admission officer. After completing all these stages, students also need to appear for a one-to-one interview round. It is overwhelming to expect students to excel in all these stages. This is why, there are numerous online services that provide assistance students to perform better in MBA application process. Here’s Define How best online MBA essay writing services help in UK students,

Help to score High in TOFEL and GMAT:

GMAT is a computer adaptive test whereas, TOEFL assess students’ competency in English. Mostly, international students, who plan to pursue their academic dreams in UK, need to appear for TOEFL. GMAT is more famous among national students. There are many online services to help students in preparation. Experts help students to solve test papers and make them understand the format of these tests. In this manner, students comprehend how they can score high in these competitive exams. 

Assistance in writing stellar admission essay:

Most business schools in UK ask applicants to respond a specific statement. Candidates need to build a reflective essay on the given topic and showcase their skills and abilities in writing. With the help of this essay, the admission officer gets to the person behind the application. So students need to be careful about choosing words and expressions in writing. This is why, students search for professional by typing can someone do my essay for me online in UK. Fortunately, there are many online essay writing help services available on the internet. Students also can choose cheap MBA essay help services in UK to save their time. But only writing do my essay for cheap on search engines does not help really. They need to spend time on researching the market before they make any decision. 

Tips to excel the college interview:

Once students submit the application essay, the admission committee conducts a preliminary screening based on their test scores and the essay. A personal interview is aimed at knowing the candidates intimately – assessing the clarity of their thinking process, the future goals or the ‘fit’ with the business school. Students’ each action and expression are reviewed. So students need to know the tricks to excel the college interview. Many writing services provide quick tips to ace the interview. Moreover, there are many blogs and articles that explain how students should behave appropriately during the college interview. Students also can take online quick essay help tricks from experts. 

Many students wonder who can help me write my admission essay and help me to excel in application process, professionals can be a good option in this case. Students also can hire cheap essay writers to get expert help at affordable prices. But they need to evaluate their options before they settle on to one.

Useful Tips By Essay Writers Who Cater To The Search Do My Essay Cheap

Like hundreds of other students, are you too going through financial crisis while studying in UK? It is nearly impossible to survive in a posh country like UK unless you take up part-time job to meet your daily expenses. But when you take up a part-time job it becomes difficult to focus on essay assignments and on studies. Unable to prepare essays on time, you start getting low marks in class. In this situation, most of you ask the same question – Who can do my essay at cheap rates? There are only a handful of services that offer genuine help even at affordable prices. They also provide some useful tips that can help you write an effective essay paper in future. 

Useful tips by online essay help experts on how to write a good essay:

Essay writing is much more than jotting down mere facts and memorizing them. This is the reason why most students ask desperately, “Can anyone do my essay for me?” Essay writing requires you to have an understanding of what you are talking about. Here are 5 significant tips by online essay help expertsthat will help you draft a better essay.

·         The essay must have a proper structure

An essay is usually written in several paragraphs to make it readable. Breaking it into different sections allows the ideas to flow in a logical manner. It should follow a simple structure –

1. Introduction: In the introductory paragraph, you have to introduce the topic and briefly outline the major points that you are going to discuss in the essay. If it is an argumentative one, be clear about your point of view in t.

2. Body: A standard essay will have 3-5 body paragraphs where each idea will be discussed separately. Each section will begin with a topic sentence followed by some evidence and facts to back it up.

3. Conclusion: In the concluding paragraph, you will present a brief summary of the points and make a final comment on how you proved your point of view in the essay.

·         The body paragraphs should maintain a proper structure 

The body paragraphs discuss the main points of the essay in details, so it should follow a structure.

1. Statement: The opening sentence of the body paragraph will talk about the point you are about to discuss in this paragraph.

2. Explanation: You will give a detailed explanation of your statement after writing the topic sentence. This part should make up the bulk of the paragraph.

3. Example: Now you will present some interesting facts and examples to back up your argument.

4. Importance: Lastly, you will end each body paragraph by telling the readers why your point matters.

·         Follow a plan before writing an essay

You have to make a plan before preparing the essay. You should create an outline so that you can refer to it while writing the essay. It will serve to be a road map that will guide you through the process of essay writing.

·         Revise and edit the essay

Once you complete writing the essay, you need to revise and edit it to rectify the minute errors which may go unnoticed. You should check whether the paragraphs are in a logical order. A few minutes spent in proofreading can often make the difference between high marks and low.

·         Practice, practice and practice

Online essay help experts stress on practicing essay writing. It will help you to implement the theoretical knowledge in reality. By reading books on various topics you can develop writing skills gradually.

  

If you are still unable to follow the tips, place your order with a service that caters to the search ‘help me with my essay.’ Good luck!

Essay Help Guidelines for Acquiring Higher Grades in UK

Many students in UK find essay writing a daunting job. The task can appear less formidable if it is seen as a sequence of sub-tasks. The completion of one task leads to the next one. But students need to know what steps students need to complete in order put up a good quality essay paper. It is said that learning how to prepare and organize essay help students perform better in overall coursework.  Students should read these 10 easy steps to creating essays in order to understand what to do and how writing can be less stressful or even fun.

How to work smart not hard

Students are likely to spend numerous hours on essay writing, but they do not get desired results. One of the main reasons leading students searching ‘help me with my essay’ is a lack of organization. Good organization will save time and unnecessary stress. If students have a few smart tricks in their bags, they can get better marks without doing more work.

Here are a few quick essay help tips that students can use,

Start with a planning:

A good essay plan helps students arrange their thoughts logically and stay on the right track throughout the writing process. The plan should involve how the writer plans to accomplish the given tasks. Remember it is not a structure, it is only a plan that includes what are the major steps that students need to take in order to accomplish the essay. The idea is to have everything planned, so that students do not waste time on searching things they need.

Use different resources to gather material:

Students mainly visit college library when they have an essay assignment in hands. But there are numerous resources that students can utilize to draw in-depth data and literature related to the subject. Moreover, they can also use the internet in order to conduct an extensive research. Students also can take assistance from essay helpers as they have access to in-house databases.

Create a thesis statement:

Many students write assignments in order to inform their readers. But the purpose of assignment writing is not to give away the facts and information on the discussed. Students need to share their opinions in the light of existing theories. In order to do so, they need to make a thesis statement before they start writing the essay paper. Professionals, working with online essay writing help services, always have their best idea ready to build the essay around it.

Outline the ideas:

It is not enough to make sure that the paper has an introduction at start and conclusion in the end. Students need to think about the points that go in between the introduction and conclusion. This is why, students search ‘can someone do my essay online’. Professionals can be helpful in this case as they know how to create an outline on the selected subject.

Write several drafts:

Students might think it takes much time. But in reality, it saves students’ time immensely. The reason is, when students write the first draft, they tend to submit it. But it actually leads them to rejection or poor marks. So students need to revise the first draft. One in four students needs professional help with essay writing. But they drop the plan by thinking the expenses they have to bear. But there are many cheap essay writing services that students can avail from. Students need to research the market a bit in order to identify the cheapest essay writing services.

This is how students can attain success in essay writing. It is not that overwhelming as it looks. Students just need to know the right strings to pull.