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Top 10 Online Universities

The world is changing rapidly; the information revolution has altered our day-to-day experience. We now bank with ATMs and date using social networking sites. All manner of knowledge is available at our fingertips with the help of search engines that return results in split seconds. Even the article you are reading right now would have been hard to conceive of for anyone pondering the future just a few short decades ago — an article on a very specific topic, easily accessible over a global information network.

Other massive Information Age changes may not be as obvious to all of us. Telecommuting has radically altered the experience of "going to work" for millions around the world. Not too long ago, the arrival of the fax machine changed how people looked at the mail. Just a few years later, the rise of email made fax machines seem positively quaint.

Another severe shift has occurred in education. The traditional model of the on-site university has undergone a sea change. Online universities are enrolling a larger number of students every day. Online education is increasingly becoming an ordinary part of the university landscape.

But not all online educations are created equal. Just as with brick-and-mortar communities, there are some worth your time, money, and effort and others worth avoiding. One simple way to tell the difference is to look at which schools are accredited. But accreditation does not tell the whole story. Try to talk to students who have graduated from each of the schools you are considering. There is no campus to visit to get a sense of what an online school is like, so extra effort is required.

The best online universities are often the ones that have been at it the longest. Some, associated with traditional universities, may not yet have mastered the intricacies of the online classroom, and should be given a careful look before enrolling. Generally, the quality of online education has consistently been improving. This trend is expected to continue, as software grows more sophisticated and students and faculty bring greater prestige to the medium.

The following are ten of the very best online degree programs out there right now, ranked according to quality of course work and quality of online experience:

1. DeVry University

2. University of Phoenix

3. George Washington University

4. Strayer University

5. Walden University

6. Villanova University

7. Kaplan University

8. Ashford University

9. Axia College Online

10. Ellis College Online

Each of these online educators earned their way onto this list by delivering consistent, high quality academics with a minimum of fuss and bother. Different online schools offer different courses, and your decision about which to attend may be determined more by your chosen course of study than by the school's ranking on this list.

Online education first caught fire with people above traditional college age, returning to school to improve their job marketability. Today, online schools are becoming a standard avenue for people of all ages to get the degrees essential …

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Data Science Certification – Flight to a Glorious Career

WHO ARE DATA SCIENTISTS?

Data scientists are experts with the expertise and skills to interpret the complex data. They combine a mathematician’s and a computer scientist’s skills. This enables them to straddle both the business and IT worlds. That’s why they are paid really well, in comparison to other analytical experts.

ABOUT DATA SCIENCE CERTIFICATION

With the progressive growth of data science across each and every sector of industry, technology trends have shown how significant they are for the effective functioning of a diverse range of businesses. One can learn data science at a variety of institutions. There is no need to go to college for several years and get a degree. Today, we can acquire an equivalent qualification through on-line data science certification courses. The best part of a certification course is that it is similar to a data science degree and one can study at his/her own convenience.

ADVANTAGES OF CERTIFICATION

DATA TRAINING is essential for professionals and freshers looking for a career as because:

  • The data-driven economy has made organizations open their doors to big data, increasing the value of a Scientist who knows how to effectively drive the value of a large amount of data. It helps you acquire a competitive edge over others and to stay one step ahead of your competition.
  • A recent report from the TDWI clearly states that “46% of organizations cite inadequate skills and employees for Big data Analytics”. It can help the organizations to fill the gap and inculcate skills which employees lack and also help experienced professionals to advance in their careers.
  • The enormous growth across industries is a clear indication of the variety of job opportunities available in industries across various sectors. Getting certified leads one to greater heights in the professional hierarchy where is plenty of room for aspiring data scientists.
  • The application of big data is not a passing or temporary trend. It’s here to stay and will escalate at an exponential rate, further holding out a promise for the future in the field of data science. Their future looks secure.
  • With the wealth of information available regarding fresh job seekers available on social media, corporate databases etc, Data Scientists can hunt fresh talent for the organization and recruit the best to fit the organization’s needs, speeding up and streamlining the recruitment process.

CONCLUSION

They have the capability to add value to the organization and to their careers. Today, a data scientist is a vital component in the success of any organization as they have the necessary skills to handle complex problems.…

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Career As A Hairstylist

Hairdressing is an art that involves arranging hair for aesthetic purposes, participation in formal occasions or symbolic reasons. It is a creative field that needs an inclining and flair towards styling hair in different patterns. Hairstylists can get employment in salons and wages depend on their skills and work experience along with the requirements of the salon.

Job Profile

The job of a hairstylist revolves around dealing with different kind of people. It is a very important element of the fashion world and requires creativity and ability to visualize what hairstyle would suit a certain personality or occasion. In order to succeed in this field, you need to have certain basic skills, such as how to lend a different look to a client, taking bookings over the phone, dealing with clients and product representatives, and keeping an account of bills. It is also important to understanding the positive and negative effects of using various chemicals and heat on the hair and scalp. Such fundamental skills prove to be very helpful while advising and developing a rapport with clients, which is critical to growing in this field.

Apprenticeship

You can begin by going in for an apprenticeship, which would help you develop the necessary skills. It enables you to get involved with the tasks that are generally done in a salon. In the early stages, you would have to do cleaning, shampooing, using sterilizing equipment and performing simple hairdressing treatments. Later, as you develop confidence, you would be delegated more complex tasks based on how well you have observed and imbibed the various styles and treatment processes.

Special Qualities

A hairstylist can find a job in women's, men's or unisex beauty parlors where they can experiment with their skills and bring out the best possible hair-style as desired by a customer. It is very important to have a desire to evolve as a qualified hairstylist because this job calls for a lot of patience, dedication and hard work. Hairstylists spend most of their time standing on their feet and are required to adapt to the working hours of the salon.

In general, hair stylists should possess the following personal qualities:

a) Pleasing personality

b) Good communication skills

c) Ability to work under acute work pressure

d) Endurance

e) Creative bent

f) Observant to minute details

g) Good health and no skin allergies

h) Ability to execute reception work

i) Operate a cash register and computers whenever required

j) Ability to persuade people

k) Voluntary in taking responsibilities

l) Ability to observe and learn quickly

m) Interested in fashion and an ability to keep oneself in the loop on trends in the world of fashion.

Basic Qualifications

Hairstyling can be a lucrative career if you possess the basic qualifications and are capable of doing your work with concentration. More often than not, a hairstylist's work profile can involve performing the following duties:

a) Discuss and advise clients regarding various hair problems

b) Cutting hair using scissors, clippers or razors.

c) Shampooing, conditioning …

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Online Education – Self Assessment

When considering taking online learning courses, it is a good idea to complete a self-assessment of your goals, current skill set, and specifically what knowledge you want to acquire. Once you have completed your self-assessment, you can move to Course Selection. So where do you start? At the beginning of course and this and the next series of articles will take you through the self-assessment process, course selection and the other things you should think about when developing your online Education program.

Goals and Objectives

While you may not need to conduct a self-assessment or course selection for one course, you should think about goals if you are considering taking a broad ranging subject (eg, Personal Development, Personal Desktop Computing, Starting a Small Business, Web Design, IT Certification). You should have both short and long term goals because with any long term endeavor, the short term goals keep you motivated to reaching you long term objective. For example, you are considering starting a new business, setting up a time line for completing the first few courses (eg, Managing your Business, Raising Financing) and a longer term goal (eg, Start the business by xx / xx / xxxx) . Well arranged goals and objectives will not only motivate you but keep you on track and increase your overall chances for success.

Current Skills

Assessing your current skills are important to both developing your goals and objectives and extremely, Course Selection. Being honest with your self is also important. First, identify, your advanced skills set. While there is probably more you can learn, you can rely on your current skills in reaching you ultimate objective. For example, in starting a new business, if you have good marketing skills, you would not actually take any advertising or marketing courses. You should focus on the skills you need which you have either a basic knowledge that you will need to know more about to reach your objective. On a very basic level you may need to select the type of business or need to develop your skills in office management or managing a business generally. Now re-review your goals and objective to make sure both are in sync.

Budget

While online education is very economic, you should estimate the cost of your Course Selection and the time frame you are expecting to take them. Does the cost meet the amount you expected to invest? If not, consider reducing your list or extending your time line for completion. Do not reduce your list to a point where you are not acquiring enough skills to meet your objective. …

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Taking Free Career Tests

You may already have heard about free career tests, but you might be wondering whether they are actually useful.

Like many other people, it is quite possible that you started on your career path with a lot of enthusiasm and that, some point later, you start to feel lost, confused or even ready to give up on your chosen career. One good way to help you decide on which direction to go with your career is to take care tests.

There are free and paid career tests, and you can take them either in a career testing center or online. There are no right or wrong answers, but the answers you give can tell a lot about whether you should move on to a different career or simply strive harder in your present one.

While you can usually get reliable results if you took one given and interpreted by a qualified professional like a career counselor, there are a couple of good online tests given for free. Like the paid one, many of the free tests are very convenient to answer and take only a few minutes to complete. Some sites even interpret your results right after you take them.

On the other hand, though, many free online tests are not standardized. They may come with disclaimers stating that the test is only really for fun. It is there important to take these tests only as a guide and combine the results with more reliable advice such as the assistance of a professional career counselor. Even reliable standard tests should not be viewed as an oracle that has to be strictly followed.

There are also some sites that offer free tests only as a teaser., And they are questions and test items that may perk your interest. In reality, these test questions may just be a small proportion of a more reliable and comprehensive care assistance package being offered for a price.

There are times when it makes a lot of sense to register with sites that offer more services than just a free test. You may have to pay a registration, membership or monthly fee, but what you pay may be really worth it. After all, your career is part of your life and you would want to end up feeling happy and fulfilled.

In any case, taking some initial free career tests can be a good idea if you are just beginning to question your career choices. A test that does not ask you to deplete your wallet can be a good starting point to convince yourself that you need more help to steer your career in the right path. After all, it can be emotionally, physically and financially costly to stay in a job you do not really like. …

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A College Party Changed My Life Forever

Excitement immediately exploded as one person after another was asked to the Toga party at the elite sorority house surrounding the pristine college campus. To be invited to this occasion was like finally arriving at the top! Now you would be forever associated with the 'in crowd' who set the highest bar to the most elite parties around.

I could not believe how lucky I felt! What was I going to wear to the Toga party? Quickly I text messaged my friend telling the news and together we planned my entrance. I wanted to be noticed and invited back again and again.

I arrived at the sorority house filled with anticipation. Entering the house, I walked through two Roman like columns with white cascading draperies across the top and long flowing white sheers on either side. My hostess handed me a beer. Looking around I saw a tent with more sheers and drapes and skimpily dressed girls standing by the entrance beckoning everyone to come in. There were pillows and mattresses spread all over the floor.

Music flooded my ears and the smell of tobacco and marijuana gone through the air. There was a group of girls all wearing olive leaves in the shape of bikinis and they were dancing and enticing others to join them. One girl grabbed my hand and encouraged me to let go and have fun.

I was from a small town and I was raised by a very conservative family. This was the first time I had attended any kind of toga party with my friends. I had to admit I was a little shy about letting go and enjoying myself. I took a puff from a joint that a friend handed me and before long everything I was taught about faith and obedience to God was pushed aside.

I wanted to have fun. I did not want to think about whether it was right or wrong. Before long the girls and guys began disrobing and it was no longer about drinking, but about hooking up with as many people as you desired. I was feeling so free and they were so enticing! Why should not I join them?

Not many people understand that we live in a teaching world. It all began when Satan entered into the snake and tempested Adam and Eve to eat the apple from the tree of knowledge. In order to attain knowledge you must be presented with right and wrong choices. Now the once perfect world God created was instantly changed because Satan entered into the world bringing the full force of evil with him.

Satan became man's greatest adversary and he corrupted the souls of men by luring them away from the right teachings of God. Satan does this by attacking man's human desires. He uses sex and the feelings of desire that awakened within a man at the sight of a beautiful woman to lure him into giving into lust. He uses feelings of not being accepted …

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Challenges In Rural Marketing

Introduction

Our country is endowed with a good degree of ethnic and regional diversity. About three-fourth of the total population resides in the rural areas and majority of them are dependent upon agriculture for their subsistence. Agriculture contributes about 24.7% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. It also contributes about 13.1% to the total Indian exports. This sector provides employment to 58.4% of the country’s workforce and livelihood to more than 650 million people. Despite this fact, the condition of these people has not shown any significant improvement.

The development of the nation largely depends upon the development of the rural population. Mahatma Gandhi had once said: “India’s way is not Europe’s. India is not Calcutta and Bombay. India lives in her several hundreds of villages”.

Rural Market Potential

India is an agro-based economy and the growth of most of the other sectors of economy is driven by rural demand. Urban market is reaching towards the saturation point, thus bringing in and urgent need to focus on rural development. Moreover, more than 70% of India’s population lives in villages and constitutions a big market for industry because of increasing disposal incomes and awareness level.

In comparison to just 5,161 towns in India there are 6,38,365 villages in India. This in itself is an indicator where the real India resides. Companies are realizing slowly but surely that the key to gain true market leadership lies in tapping the rural potential. However, the rural sector in India suffers from different kinds of problems. Some areas are having enough money but their level of awareness and hence consumerism is very low. But there are many areas where economic empowerment, education, health etc., are major problems.

What is rural marketing

While there is a large growth in the urban market, the rural or latent market is yet to be tapped, and has an enormous potential for growth. A rural market can be defined as any market that exists in a area where the population is less than 10, 000. The rural market in India is scattered and spread over a wide geographical area. Indian market is divided into urban and rural markets.

o Urban market is flooded with low demand.

o Rural market witnesses a high demand It’s the rural segment of market that contributes more profit than its urban counterpart. Rural marketing broadly involves reaching customers, understanding their wants, supply of goods and services, and ultimately satisfying consumers, leading to more sales. The general impression is that only agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, cattle feed and agricultural machinery have a potential for growth in the rural market. However, there is a growing market for consumer goods now. It has been estimated the rural market is growing at the rate of five times its urban counterpart.

Challenges in Rural Marketing

Though rural markets are a huge attraction to marketers, it is not easy to enter the market and take a sizeable share of the market, in the short time due …

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Contents of Education

An Islamic Perspective towards Philosophy of Education

Introduction

Philosophy is the study of realities, pursuit of wisdom, and commentary on general principles of life. It is concerned with a search of eternal truth, both conceptual as well as practical. It has five areas of search – Epistemology, Metaphysics, Aesthetics, Ethics and History. The instrument used by philosophy to unearth realities or to discover truth is logic, both inductive as well deductive. Educational philosophy is a branch of general philosophy, it gains strength from epistemology. It formulates the aims and objectives or contents of education that, in turn, influence the whole learning environment, society, and future generations.

Philosophy of education is based on general principles of psychology, sociology, politics, economics, history, science, and religion. Education is dualistic phenomenon; it is static as well as dynamic. The major portion is dynamic or provisional and adjusts with the change and growth in knowledge, social structure, and civilization, while the minor but vital portion is static or eternal. We proposed that the contents of education are eternal while the application and explanation of these contents, a major portion, is dynamic. We assumed multi-disciplinary approach towards contents of education. The analysis accommodates the needs of individuals, society, and time and encompasses the cultural, social, and vocational aims of education.

Education may be formal as well as informal. The formal education is given in schools or colleges or universities, on the other hand informal education is obtained and absorbed from society and environment. Education, formal & informal, is developed and internalized in one’s personality through reflection and experience. It means all of us are learners during our lifetime. However, we are going to analyze the philosophy (aims & objectives) of formal education. Moreover, education has three levels – primary, secondary, and higher. Primary education deals with infants of 3 to 11 years old, secondary education covers teenagers of 12 to 18 years, and higher education shapes young learners of above 18 years. A distinctive approach is required for each level of education.

The contents of education vary from community to community. A secular society would have a different approach towards contents as compare to some ideological society. Moreover, the explanation or implementation of contents would be different in different societies. Our analysis is ideological and dominantly based on Islamic view towards education.

Terminology

The term “education” has been derived from the Latin words Educare, Educatum, or Educere. Educatum and educare mean to train and to nourish, while educere mean to lead out. The former implies that education is something external; to be imposed or put in from outside, it means the external environment plays a decisive role in learning process. The latter indicate growth from within; it means internal potentialities of an individual are decisive in learning process, the external environment has secondary role in educational process. Naturalists / Psychologists gave more importance to internal dispositions of learning process while the social philosophers put major stress on external demands of educational process. We assumed a mixed …

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Pros and Cons of Gender Selection Procedures

As technology progresses, scientific processes also develop fast. With modern equipments at the perusal of scientists these days, they are able to find solutions to problems which seemed impossible in the past. In the past, parents do not have the capacity to choose the gender of their babies. Even just the thought of having control in having a boy or a girl child is instantly dismissed by a regular individual since it is just plain unimaginable.

With the breakthroughs in science, with the help of modern technology, scientists and doctors have created procedures which made it a reality. There are now a lot of couples, individuals, and future parents who are very much willing to undergo certain procedures or try some methods so that they can conceive a child with a gender that they prefer. Sex selection processes have now become very popular since it presents a whole lot of benefits. On the other hand however, it also has its own sets of disadvantages.

Pros of Gender Selection

Having the capability of choosing the gender of your future child gives people of certain cultures and traditions a lot of benefits. It could not be denied that there are a lot of people who still believe that the male gender is more powerful in society as compared to the female. Though people these days are more open-minded, there are still those who have that mindset. Men are considered by some to have more power in the society. They are considered as head of families and are preferred as leaders in various sectors of the society.

Also, it could be an advantage to have a male child since he is able to inherit a clan’s property in the future. It is also the male who is able to carry the family name after marriage which is considered a big advantage my most people nowadays. Some couple also now have the chance to have children of different genders. Some prefer to have a girl and boy children rather than having an all-girl or all-boy children.

Cons of Gender Selection

The first biggest disadvantage is that processes used by doctors to make sex selection possible have very high costs. In order to undergo these scientific procedures, one must be willing to spend a lot. You must at least have an above-average income in order to undergo processes like in vitro fertilization or IVF, pre-implantation, and the like. Though many qualify for those procedures, not all have the finances to afford them.

Another big disadvantage is that sex selection could cause an imbalance in the society. There are even countries that ban it because of this sole reason. It is also considered immoral or unethical by some groups and according to some studies, it could cause neglect to the lesser-preferred gender.

If you are planning to choose sex selection methods, take into consideration both the advantages and disadvantages that it can offer. Opinions on this aspect greatly vary so it is important that you first …

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Does Your Organization Empower Ambitious Staff?

Randstadt has released some staggering statistics about the current state of play in the employment market. In their 2012 Employment survey they discovered that a massive 86% of staff that are quitting their jobs are doing so because there are insufficient progress opportunities within the business. As well as this, there is further compelling research in the form of the Career Engagement Group 2012 Career Agility and Engagement Report which shows that in these economically challenging times, employee's career development expectations are getting higher.

The report termed this new trend, 'Career Agility' and it was characterized by three attitudes in staff. These were that: 31% of employees want to fast-track their careers, 35% would relish more responsibility and 75% would have prepared to use their own time for additional learning.

These statistics represent a clear call to action for the HR profession and a massive opportunity for the learning and development function to make a real impact on employee retention within their business, at a time when such a high percentage of staff could be considered a 'flight risk '. Obviously, losing talent is a concern.

So, what can the L & D function do to provide career agility and at the same time increase staff retention levels within their business?

Well, there are four ways that L & D can help ensure their company has the appropriate career agility to support and engage career agile staff.

1. Develop a competency development road-map so employees know the exact skills that they must acquire in order to move up the career ladder. Show them what they need to do to excel, and watch their motivation grow, and their satisfaction increase once they achieve their milestones.

2. Ensure that the appropriate DIY self assessment tools are available which allow employees to analyze their own strengths and areas for development. These tools are useful and can go a long way towards an employee acknowledging what he needs to work on.

3. Develop an internal mentoring program so employees can learn from mentors as needed. Remember, guidance is critical so facilitate their progress with those who have been there before.

4. Develop a career toolkit which employees can use and which shows career pathways, training opportunities, e-learning resources, stretch assignment opportunities, secondments, vacancies etc.

By making these four interventions, the L & D function can build a career agile organization which will motivate, engage and retain the modern career agile staff member. …