Monday, June 13, 2011

Computer Training and Study in Microsoft Systems - News

Congratulations! Finding this article means you're likely to be contemplating your career, and if it's new career training you're deliberating over you've already done more than most others. It's a frightening thought that a small minority of us consider ourselves fulfilled in our working life - yet the vast majority of us will do absolutely nothing about it. Why not liberate yourself and do something - you have the rest of your life to enjoy it.

With regard to specific training programs, discuss your thoughts with an industry expert who will give you advice on the right type of training for you. A person who will get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:

* Do you like working on your own or perhaps being around others is vital for your sanity?

* Banking and building are a little shaky right now, so it's important to look very carefully at what sector will answer your needs?

* Once you've qualified, would you like your skills to get you jobs for the rest of your working life?

* Are you happy that your chosen retraining is commercially viable, and will provide the facility to keep you in work up to the time you want to stop?

Don't overlook the IT industry, that's our recommendation - you'll find it's one of the only market sectors still on the grow in this country and overseas. Another benefit is that remuneration packages are much better than most.

Often, trainers provide a bunch of books and manuals. This can be very boring and not really conducive to remembering. Research has time and time again verified that getting into our studies physically, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.

Learning is now available in disc format, where everything is taught on your PC. Using video-streaming, you can sit back and watch the teachers showing you precisely how something is done, and then practice yourself - via the interactive virtual lab's. Every company that you look at should be able to show you some samples of their courseware. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and interactive areas to practice in.

It doesn't make sense to choose training that is only available online. Due to the variable nature of connection quality from your average broadband company, you should always obtain actual CD or DVD ROM's.

Review the facts below in detail if you believe the marketing blurb about 'guaranteeing' exams sounds like a benefit to the student:

They've allowed costings for it ultimately. You can be assured it's not a freebie - it's simply been shoe-horned into the price as a whole. We all want to pass first time. Progressively working through your exams in order and funding them one at a time makes it far more likely you'll pass first time - you take it seriously and think carefully about the costs.

Don't pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you take the exam, and avoid college mark-up fees. In addition, it's then your choice where to do the examinations - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. A great deal of money is secured by a number of companies that get money for exam fees in advance. For various reasons, many students don't take their exams but no refunds are given. Surprising as it sounds, providers exist who actually bank on it - as that's how they make a lot of their profit. It's worth noting, with most 'Exam Guarantees' - they control when and how often you are allowed to do a re-take. They'll only allow a re-take once completely satisfied.

VUE and Prometric examinations are around 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in charges for 'Exam Guarantees' (most often hidden in the package) - when a quality course, support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

We're often asked why academic qualifications are being replaced by more commercial certifications? With university education costs increasing year on year, and the industry's increasing awareness that key company training is closer to the mark commercially, there's been a large rise in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA authorised training programmes that educate students for considerably less. Many degrees, as a example, clog up the training with a great deal of loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. Students are then prevented from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.

If an employer understands what areas need to be serviced, then they just need to look for a person with the appropriate exam numbers. Vendor-based syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and do not vary between trainers (in the way that degree courses can).

Accredited simulation materials and exam preparation packages are essential - and absolutely ought to be supplied by your training supplier. Ensure that the exams you practice are not only asking questions in the right areas, but also asking them in the exact format that the real exams will phrase them. This throws students if they're faced with unrecognisable phrases and formats. Why don't you verify how much you know through quizzes and practice exams to get you ready for the actual exam.

Monday, June 6, 2011

News or Propaganda - Narrative Criticism

In our last article we discussed the news and media, and how we might understand what underlying message they are giving us through the use of something called Narrative Theological Biblical criticism. This is type of criticism is often applied to understanding biblical text, but it can also be used to understand any type of literature. Narrative criticism explores the text as it is. Its goal is to discover what is right there, in the text, so we can understand the author's message.

It doesn't look for historical facts, or at the context from which the writer was writing, it looks at the text and the message that the writer is trying to put forward through the examination of various parts of the text, and the comparison of various texts. You might note that the news is not text. It is oral. It is, however, scripted, written and organized as written text, and then read and performed orally. We can, therefor, use the same techniques as those applied in narrative criticism, to understand what the real message is, and what the news casters want us to believe. Going a little farther than this, we can also understand what they don't want us to believe by what is not stressed, or delved into, more deeply.

In narrative criticism we begin by reading the message. At the beginning there is usually an introduction, prelude, or a series previews that tell us exactly what the author wants us to get from the message. The author then goes on step by step, to deliver the story. Each story--each chapter, paragraph, and sentence, is placed in the most appropriate order possible to help lead us to a single conclusion.

Each story is a complete lesson and text in itself, but there is an overall message that comes from our understanding of all of the texts and stories combined. If one wants to know more about the overall text--or the larger narrative, one can leave the narrative criticism for a moment and go back to our description of the hermeneutic circle. If we will examine who is writing the text, what context they are in, and what they have to gain or lose from us believing a certain way or not, we will become aware of what the larger narrative. We will also discover that these smaller stories, the one's that are working on our psyches continuously, are beginning to shape us and change us, so we will be prepared to believe the larger narrative. We will also be prepared to hear other similar smaller stories without feeling the need to question. We will just accept them as truth. This may sound sinister, but in the world of communication, persuasion is good. In democratic organizations it is also important to get people to agree with you in order to put forward an agenda. Too many people thinking, asking questions, and having contrary opinions, are very inconvenient. Especially for people with power and their own agendas.

The following method is one that is usually used in the advertising community. The same methods, however, those created by a famous psychologist named John Watson, can be used to influence anyone's belief systems if done without the person being aware. In order to sell a belief or product, a few conditions must be met. The person being modified must be in a safe place, they must be relaxed and unaware of what is happening. What better media for this than on TV. One is safe, in one's own home, relaxing and enjoying oneself. We can see how the behavior modification works by observing commercials, the vanguard of persuasive TV.

These are the elements one needs for a good commercial:

1. Repetition

2. Intensity

3. Distraction

One of the best examples of this technique are the commercials for a product called Head On. Head On is a pain reliever for headaches. Instead of taking a pill, one applies it to the forehead and it is supposed to enter the blood stream from there. The commercials were somewhat obnoxious, but they were genius. You would basically have a person with a headache. The commercial, of course, was always much louder than the TV show that it appeared in (Intensity). Someone would have a headache they would say something like, "For relief of pain, Head On, Apply Directly to the for head." They would then repeat "Head On, Apply Directly to the forehead" three or for times (Repetition). It would be so annoying that it would upset the watcher (Distraction.)

There would be another commercial and then the Head On commercial would come back on again repeating itself. After about a month the commercial had changed. It showed someone saying, "Head On, apply directly to the forehead," before they could finish repeating it three times, however, someone would break in and mimic the commercial showing how annoyed they were when they heard one phrase being repeated over and over. They would say, "I hate your commercial, but your product is great."

What this commercial did was get us to think of the slogan ourselves. If someone just said "Head On," we would think, "Apply directly to the forehead." When we have a headache and we go into a store if we see sign that says Head On, we will immediately think, "Apply Directly to the forehead." We will also think of the missing line. What is the missing line? You may ask. The missing line is "To relieve pain," or "For relief of pain." I really don't remember what the line says, exactly, because it was hidden by the distraction. I know, however, that if I go to a grocery store and see Head On I am more likely to buy it because I will say, "Apply directly to the forehead" to myself, and the secret message, "For relief of pain," will be there. I am more likely, therefor, to choose it over the others, thinking that I have made up my own mind to choose it. The same thing works with news stories.

I remember watching the news reports on the UN and the speech that Caesar Chavez made. At the beginning he referred to George Bush as the devil. He then went on to explain U.S. foreign policy issues in Latin America; how the U.S. helped overthrow democratically elected governments; and how they tried to fund a coo in Venezuela; the relationship of the U.S. with Cuba; and the way that trade was destroying many of the economies in the world. All we heard in the news, however, was that Chavez called George Bush the devil and how bad that was. That was the focal point for all of the news programs, as if someone told them all to say the same thing. It was repeated over and over to us.

People said that he was careless because of that. They talked about him being cocky, they talked about boycotting oil from Venezuela, and how upset American citizens were about it. They repeated this so much that I can't really remember the other part. I can't remember what he said.

The news never covered what he said. They never looked at why he said it. They never explored whether his accusations were fact or fiction. There wasn't an expose, or review of the history of the U.S. and South America. The big question "Why?" was never asked. A surface answer to the question, which was the attack on the character of the man, was provided repeatedly, but the question was never truly explored and answered. We must ask, therefor, what the agenda of the news was. In this example we see the repetition, we see the intensity, we see the distraction, and we see the behavior modification that shapes and prepares us to receive the next message.

In the next article we will begin to explore the ordering of the news. If we can see a pattern, we can begin to understand the bigger picture. This means understanding how the stories and broadcasts are organized and how one is being led from one story, or belief, to the next, until one embraces the overall belief system that is behind the whole presentation. Considering who owns the media, it is not difficult to determine what the desired beliefs are, or what belief system that the media is moving us to accept. We will explore the news for ourselves, however, and see for ourselves. We can find the hidden agenda for ourselves in the message. In these articles it is my intention to give everyone the tools necessary to do so.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Best Forex News Sites

News, especially international news, is the lifeblood of every Forex trader. However, not all Forex news sites offer the best, or the most complete information. And since timing and global market analysis is everything in the Forex world, having the most current and thorough information on global events and market conditions will likely influence investment decisions. As in war, getting critical information is the key to victory.

One of the most widely acknowledged Forex news site is BusinessWeek. It is the website of the same magazine bearing its name, and its main advantage is the efficient organization of its news. The latest events on any part of the globe can be easily pinpointed and accessed by viewing the different sections and through a handy search box. And the news reports carried within these sections are of very good quality, being uploaded continuously throughout the day as it happens. There are plenty of topics on forex and even include free access videos. Another great thing about this site is that there are dedicated sections for small businesses and investing, which contain annual reports and stock information. All of these make the site a veritable goldmine of current business events.

Another well acknowledged site is Reuters. This group is well known for its global and very thorough coverage (facilitated by its staff of 15,000 people scattered over 91 countries), and the quality of their site reflects this dedication. What's useful to forex traders will be the Investing section, and a page called Reuters Financial Products which seeks to educate investors on various business aspects. Reuters also supports FX trading, and a lot of news about the market is available at the site.

Then there is Bloomberg. It also has global and thorough coverage, but what sets this site apart is its dedication to financial data analysis. As such it has a dedicated portion on its home page which displays FX rates, equity indexes, and a lot of other financial information. There is also a dedicated section tackling stocks, mutual funds and even an economic calculator. There are even investment tools provided on site to further assist the investors in analysis.

These three forex news sites are among the most well-cited by several reviews, which all attest to their usefulness in the financial realm. It is best to see each one individually to determine if they will actually be suitable for one's specific needs and information requirements.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Just the Facts: Best Santa Barbara News Sources

Newspapers are the hub of any city's existence. They report the most relevant local news, provide classified ads, and feature any special events taking place locally, among many other useful services. The only question left to ask is this: what's the most useful and reliable news source in the city of Santa Barbara? Below, I talk a little bit about the two most popular newspapers in the area and why you should be reading them.

The two powerhouse newspapers in the area are the Santa Barbara News-Press and the Santa Barbara Independent. Both have headquarters in central downtown, both operate large and successful online versions of their papers, and both have a solid base of readers. So what sets them apart from each other, exactly? How do two major newspapers manage to stay in business simultaneously in a one-horse town like Santa Barbara?

The Santa Barbara News-Press has been in business for sixty years, originally founded by publisher T.M. Storke. News-Press prides itself on reporting on critical issues happening in the county with speed, accuracy, and quality. Today, they continue to involve themselves in the happenings of SB by supporting local organizations and sponsoring over 100 community events. Both the print version and the online version of the News-Press are popular, with thousands of subscribers keeping up-to-date on local events, news, and more.

Santa Barbara Independent's motto is "Who. What. Now.", reflecting on both its thorough examination of local news and its up-to-the-minute reporting of breaking stories. The Independent is fresher to the scene than its competitor; it swiftly approaches its twenty-fifth year of life. Nonetheless, this newspaper has built a solid reputation for itself that rivals the more traditional News-Press. The Independent promises many of the same things as its major rival and also boasts the most extensive calendar of local events. They jumped on the online news bandwagon in 1997 but only began the community news, arts, and entertainment portal in 2007. The Independent separates itself from the SB News-Press by having a greater focus on arts and entertainment in the area.

So which one should you choose? It depends on what you're looking for. SB Independent is great for folks interested in exploring the local culture and arts scene, while the News-Press is less specialized and provides a broader scope of information about general Santa Barbara happenings. Try picking both up sometime soon and subscribe to the one that truly meets your needs after you compare and contrast.

News Channels - Too Many or Not Enough

Needing to know everything that is going on locally, nationally and internationally is an obsession these days! There are local newscasts on in the morning - generally from 5 to 9 in the morning as well as at Noon. You also have the Evening local news on from 5 to 7 p.m. at night in most places during the week and again at 11 p.m. to wrap things up for the day. Along with this you also have the overnight news around the world on many stations. As if that were not enough for people, there are now 24-hour news channels that provide all the news you could want. The question here is this: are these TV Shows or something else altogether?

The problem is that many people do not consider news broadcasts to be a TV Show. The title question also comes into play here as well. Are there far too many news channels or not nearly enough? Well, I guess that answer would largely depend upon you, the reader, wouldn't it? Are you a person that absolutely must have every single bit of news that you can get your hands on? Or are you someone who is so sick to death of nothing but negativity in the news that you rarely ever watch it any more?

For the most part news channels and TV Shows about news channels and radio stations are popular. The TV Shows that fall into this category are "WKPR in Cincinnati" and "Midnight Caller" to name a couple. There are others as well. Here again, it goes back top the title question in another form: how much of the "news" is too much? Some say that the "news" is not really that at all. It is always good to know what is going on in the world today, it just depends of how much of the same thing you are willing to deal with.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Iraqi Dinar News - Iraq Government and Economy

The Iraqi government recently approved the budget for the year 2011 for the country. A sum of $86.4 billion has been referred to parliament for final approval. There has been a spur of economic activity in the past few months due to a marked decrease in insurgent attacks and an improved security environment in the war torn nation. However, major policy reforms are yet to determine the long-term fiscal health of the nation and sustainable increase in the standard of living of the population.

Rising Production Of Oil Signals Good News

It's been over seven years since Saddam Hussein was ousted from Iraq and since then the country has changed a lot. Money from the production of oil is powering growth. In fact the government has awarded billion dollar contracts to leading producers such as BP (BP), ExxonMobil (XOM) and China National Petroleum.

The Iraqi Dinar

Everybody is talking about the currency of Iraq and thinking of investing in it too. You will be glad to know that the Presidential Order 13303 allows US Citizens to invest in the New Iraqi Dinar. This order entitles any US citizen to the same rights to investment as an Iraqi citizen. The rising demand for the currency and the investment option has led to the establishment of a number of websites which offer counterfeit dinars and it is almost impossible for a customer to spot the fakes. It is important to find a trusted business to trade in Iraqi Dinars. It is also important to find out more about the implications of investing in the currency before you actually invest in it.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

What is Hyperlocal News?

The newspaper industry has taken quite a hit in the last few years with many papers, especially smaller ones, folding. This leaves smaller communities and suburbs without their traditional main source of news.

However, a new trend of local-themed web sites has sprung up to try and fill the void. It is called "hyperlocal" news, with some examples including sites like EveryBlock, Spot.us, Outside.in, Placeblogger and Patch. The goal: provide readers with the kind of information that won't make it into a major metropolitan daily, such as city council meetings, school events, high school sports, crime reports, street repairs and human interest stories.

Unlike traditional news media entities, hyperlocal news sites don't rely exclusively on professional journalists. Instead, many of the sites use a mix of freelance and in-house content to fill up the web pages. The belief is that sometimes the best-informed residents of a community aren't employees of a news organization - the community's residents are the true experts. This is part of a wider shift in news coverage and even the very definition of news itself.

Hyperlocal sites also vary widely in look and function - some are closer to a traditional news organization with a full-blown news staff that produces stories and interviews. The look and feel is very much like a traditional newspaper, with the only exception being there is no printed product. For example, Patch hires reporters and operates community-focused sites that feel very much like a regular news site (they're even still hiring if you are looking for one way to get more involved). Outside.in takes an even different approach, presenting the user with a list of nearby crimes or events after typing in an address.

Other sites create something closer to a community calendar that highlights local happenings and activities. Instead of hard news coverage, the site may contain a lot of human interest features and profiles of various community members. Placeblogger, however, is a collection of local blogs about your community. The site organizes the blogs by similar content and functions as a guide to help you find interesting blogs to read. EveryBlock, meanwhile, aggregates content by individual neighborhood, including listings for not just events but real estate, restaurants, businesses, and even other odd items like pothole repairs.

Whichever format wins out, it is pretty apparent that local news, especially in suburbs or smaller communities, is moving to the web. Combine that with the explosion in social networking tools, and news is a far more scattered and dynamic category than it used to be. While it means there is a magnitude of content available for consumption, it is currently spread across the web at a variety of sites. So what that means for users is instead of answering the question of "what's going on in the neighborhood?" through opening the local paper, several sites are harnessing the power of the web and user-generated content to inform residents. While the loss of long-standing news organizations is certainly nothing to celebrate, it is exciting to see so many different forces converging to fill the gap. And for you this means more of an opportunity to shape how news is covered in your community.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

News Publisher - Grow Your Business With News Marketing

The matter of fact is that if you want a vivid exposure of your business website online then you strongly need to adopt news marketing. This is the most lucrative and strong technique to enhance your business online. For marketing of news, you have to submit your news, articles, press release and business information to top news and business directories. If you carryout this process then you would observe that for news marketing you have to take a stressful overhead by publishing news one by one to each and every website by wasting a lot of your time. So, to simplify news marketing, developers have made software that simply takes the news article, business information and press release from you and submit them to top 100 news and business directories and for this purpose you don't even need to take the overhead of wasting your time as this software works for you just with a single click.

This software provides elegant features that are utilized for effortless marketing of news. For news marketing, you have to include hyperlink in your news article, press release and business information but this software automatically includes the hyperlink directing towards to your webpage or business website and this fetches sales leads, traffic and business leads to your website or homepage.

For accurate online marketing, there should be a specific mechanism to keep the record of all submitted news articles, press release and business information. This problem is also solved by News Publisher as you don't need to care about the submission reports as you can have unlimited submission reports along with author accounts for news marketing. Now a day, security measures have been implemented on directories to prevent spam on the domain. This software automatically recognizes all captcha codes and submits your news articles, press release and business information without any hurdle.

If you have adopted news marketing then you would observe that each and every new and business directory has its own guidelines that need to be followed strictly to make your content published on their directory service. This overhead is also eliminated by News Publisher as it publishes news articles according to the guidelines specified by each directory for marketing of news.