Voice First offers writers and teachers of writing an opportunity not only to engage their voices but to understand and experience how developing their range of voices strengthens their writing.

If you're a new or experienced designer of conversational voice first experiences, this handy reference provides actionable answers to key aspects of eyes-busy, hands-busy, voice-only user interfaces. Designed as a companion to books about conversational voice design, this guide includes important details regarding eyes-free, hands-free, voice-only interfaces delivered by Amazon Echo, Google Nest, and a variety of in-car experiences. Authors Ahmed Bouzid and Weiye Ma provide far-field voice best practices and recommendations in a manner similar to The Elements of Style, the popular American English writing style guide. Like that book, The Elements of Voice First Style provides direct, succinct explanations that focus on the essence of each topic. You'll find answers quickly without having to spend time searching through other sources. With this guide, you'll be able to: Craft just the right language to enable your voicebot to effectively communicate with humans Create conversational voice interfaces that are robust enough to handle errors and failures Design highly usable conversational voice interfaces by paying attention to small details that can make or break the experience Build a design for a voice-only smart speaker that doesn't require customers to use their eyes or hands

PrefaceI write for the expression of my soul. It is a release of my inner energies that are begging to come out. The release of this book was not only a journey, but an awakening as well. My words and thoughts evolving in a whole new level, I wanted to embrace more aspects of poetry and try to reach outside the box. This book has been a great sounding board for that. I wanted to formulate my ideas and give more picture and vision to what I was trying to say. Poetry for me encompasses my life. It is the epitome of what I see in everyday aspects of my life. Every nuance, every minute, and every detail that rolls through me, all hold a bit of poetry that I love embracing. It's the little things that capture the inspiration for me and it is why I wanted to make those same pictures come to life as they do in my mind's eye. I have gone through a lot in my life and through those trials I have been able to bring myself back up. Striving to be more then what I can be. The strength I capture within my writing, I have noticed has now become stronger and it is why I want to share my poetic evolution with you.I also want to pay tribute to the guests that I have chosen to feature in this book. I have collaborated with two of the best people that I have had the pleasure to work with. In the poem "Falling Rain", KD Morris has graced me with his poetic talent by sharing his mind with that of my poetic musings. I have been blessed to have his insight bring clarity to this piece. In the two poems "The Wind carried us home to each other"; and "Wish you were here by my side", San Gerardo Rafa, makes his appearance. His help in the two pieces created such a beautiful poetic harmony that both need to be shared. I thank both poets for helping me in my written journey. The last part of my book, I have decided to try something a little different. I have handpicked three different artists, Carla May Listener, Jonathon Taylor and Dion Tootoosis, in which to show different aspects of how poetry can be communicated. All three artists are of aboriginal descent, and all three are Canadian born. I'm extremely honored to have them in my book. They add a special flavor and their words need to be acknowledged. Terri L. Johnson

The aftermath of the Civil War comes to dramatic life in this sweeping new collection of firsthand writing from the Reconstruction era—featuring pieces by Frederick Douglass, Frances Harper, and more “Very, very good. . . . Reconstruction conveys the struggle for racial equality better than many other anthologies documenting the era.” —The Wall Street Journal Few periods in American history are more consequential but less understood than Reconstruction, the tumultuous twelve years after Appomattox, when the battered nation sought to reconstitute itself and confront the legacy of two centuries of slavery. This anthology brings together more than one hundred contemporary letters, diary entries, interviews, testimonies, and articles by ordinary men and women and well-known figures such as Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Andrew Johnson, Thaddeus Stevens, Ulysses S. Grant, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mark Twain, and Albion Tourgée. Through their eyes readers experience the fierce contest between President Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans resulting in the nation's first presidential impeachment; the adoption of the revolutionary 14th and 15th Amendments; the first achievements of black political power; and the murderous terrorism of the Klan and other groups that, combined with northern weariness, indifference, and hostility, eventually resulted in the restoration of white supremacy in the South. Throughout, Americans confront the essential questions left unresolved by the defeat of secession: What system of labor would replace slavery, and what would become of the southern plantations? Would the war end in the restoration of a union of sovereign states, or in the creation of a truly national government? What would citizenship mean after emancipation, and what civil rights would the freed people gain? Would suffrage be extended to African American men, and to all women?

“The inspiring stories of a number of very different characters who used their Christian faith to cope with their experiences of the First World War.” —Jacqueline Wadsworth, author of Letters from the Trenches While a toxic mixture of nationalism and militarism tore Europe and the wider world apart from 1914 to 1919, there was one factor that united millions of people across all nations: that of a Christian faith. People interpreted this faith in many different ways. Soldiers marched off to war with ringing endorsements from bishops that they were fighting a Godly crusade, others preached in churches and tribunal hearings that war was fundamentally against the teachings of Christ. Whether Church of England or Nonconformist, Catholic or Presbyterian, German Lutheran or the American Church of Christ in Christian Union, men and women across the globe conceptualized their war through the prism of their belief in a Christian God. This book brings together twenty-three individual and family case studies, some of well-known personalities, others whose stories have been neglected through the decades. Although divided by nation, social class, political outlook, and denomination, they were united in their desire to ‘Fight the Good Fight.’ “John Broom looks at such beliefs during the first world war—the Tommies were always fighting for God, the king and their country . . . a fascinating study.” —Books Monthly “A detailed study of a usually hidden aspect of wartime social history, the topic of Christian faith. Fight the Good Fight has been meticulously researched and includes a wealth of previously unpublished material.” —Come Step Back In Time

A highly focused Cambridge English: First (FCE) course providing efficient exam preparation in 50-60 core hours. The syllabus for this exam has changed and this book has now been replaced by 9781107428553 Compact First Second edition Workbook without answers with audio.

A highly focused Cambridge English: First (FCE) course providing efficient exam preparation in 50-60 core hours. The syllabus for this exam has changed and this book has now been replaced by 9781107428560 Compact First Second edition Workbook with answers with audio.