Lesser Explored Higher Education Prospects

The question of what higher education course to opt for haunts many high schoolers, graduates, and even experienced professionals. With a plethora of options available to choose from, it is quite often the select few that make it to the top of people's lists.

Either due to lack of information nr the lack of career prospects, many career options have been left unexplored for a long time. With changing times and requirements, a lot of these courses have come to hold more promise than they have displayed earlier. Let us have a quick look at some of these options.

Tourism

Tourism is not only Canada's, but also the world's fastest rising industry. There are several skilled and unskilled job roles that the industry has to offer. Several tourism schools have expanded the list of courses on offer and strengthened their base in acceptance of a surge in interest.

Job prospects:

Tourism is a very diverse industry with hundreds of career options on offer. You can opt for several old school jobs like a travel agent, tour guide, pilot, or flight attendant. Or you can go in for several new age jobs like a white water rafting instructor, gourmet food expert, or a virtual tour operator.

Courses requirements:

Owing to the immense diversity in expertise that the industry requires and the jobs that it offers, you would be hard pressed to find a single university or college that offers all relevant courses. You could refer to any Travel or Hospitality based college for help in narrowing down your options and understanding the requirements.

Fishing

To suggest to a Canadian to learn how to fish at a college has normally been laughed at. After all, we have to be doing things right if our fishing industry is one of the largest and most valuable across the world. However, more and more Canadians, have come to realize that higher education might further their business or career prospects.

Job prospects:

Apart from the actual role of fishing, the industry offers several jobs. You could also look to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada or DFO for opportunities in this industry. Various personnel for office, field, research, and coast guard posts are constantly required all across the country.

Course requirements:

Most fisheries courses are post-graduate courses that require a degree in B.Sc or a related environmental science or biological field.

Films

Vancouver serves as Hollywood's third favorite spot, right after L.A. and New York. Often referred to as North Hollywood, it has all the offerings of the land of movies and opportunities right here in Canada. While there is no success guaranteed in this business, education definitely helps bridge a large gap.

Job prospects:

The movie business offers several jobs right from the makeup and design to animation, direction, acting, production, sound production, post production, and a host of several others.

Course requirements:

For non-specialized jobs, the film industry welcomes new entrants with arms wide open. You should check with a reputed school like Vancouver Film School for more guidance.

Whatever your career inclination, if you're at the point where you are considering higher education, don't get boxed in with the traditional course options. Look at all that the world (and universities) have to offer, analyze what suits you best, and then make your decision.

What Is Grade Point Average (GPA)?

For those people who have the question what is GPA in their mind, and are clueless about what does it mean and stand for, GPA (Grade Point Average) is the method by which the standing and overall performance of student in school, generally from middle school through college, is computed. In calculating your GPA, you must be aware that every semester, you will be receiving a GPA based on the grades you gained in all of your subjects during that semester. However, one must put in mind that the way in which GPA is computed or calculated, and the particular ins and outs of evaluating the standing or performance of a certain student may be unique to a single school or even a country.

The Importance of GPA

1. For those people who aren't that familiar with the importance of GPA, and still ask what is GPA, even before college, the GPA is considered a determining factor whether or not one is qualified to take Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses while you are still in you junior and senior years of high school.

2. For admission, all colleges and universities consider your GPA and even your class rank which is being determined by the calculated GPA. So this only means, the higher your GPA, the better you're your chances of getting into the University of your Choice.

3. If you want to obtain an academic or athletic scholarship, the major consideration that the school will look at is your GPA. The same case with financial aid.

If you're a student, it is very essential that as early as possible, you start improving your GPA for you can't wait until your junior or senior year to start being concerned and troubled about your cumulative GPA. Every class you attend during your high school years gets averaged in, so your first and second year grades are just as important. If you put a full effort and study hard during the first two years, there's a big tendency to graduate with an above average GPA which is good.

A little planning along with hard work during high school years can definitely help you earn and obtain a satisfying cumulative GPA later on and can surely make a difference by the time when you will send in your college applications. Study hard in during your freshmen and sophomore years for this will raise your chances of admission to AP, IB, honors or even an accelerated course. Studying hard is your key to a higher GPA because they are frequently given more weight on the GPA scale. One must inculcate in mind that a low GPA prevents anyone from getting into college; some four-year colleges necessitate a 3.0 or higher for admission. Don't relax once you receive your acceptance letter. Remember that your future college will continue to monitor your performance through the end of your senior year and expect a final transcript. For some who wonder what is GPA, it is a ticket for a better future!

The Current Placement System of Delhi University Needs an Overhaul!

This year, during the admissions of Undergraduates in Delhi University (DU) Colleges one significant remark echoed over students and parents "Please choose course over college. It is a rational long term benefactor for the student's future" source: - HTcampus. This made me go back to the days of my admission in DU three years back, the same idea had struck me, I had been delayed for the admissions in Delhi University colleges as I was lagging behind the cut off percentage criteria in the North Campus Colleges (DU). With more conviction on the curricula and my diligence, the prospects of a better tomorrow were the least ambivalent.

Soon I realized that my hopes were meant to be dashed between the systemic stragglers and status quo. I cared about the code of conduct, but failed to understand the logic of 'policy of non-engagement'. To explain further, the colleges with no administrative framework for placements and market-association justified the status quo as a policy measure. Can someone explain the reasoning of policies which precede a 'flawed' practice over merit? The rationale for evaluating colleges as good or not-so-good (affiliated to the same University) is the systems in place which give opportunity for experimenting a young mind's prowess and specialization, viz. to take it a 'step further' from the rectangular pages or virtual learning to the social practice.

In spirit of the subject, I would like to suggest the anomalies and remedial measures in the placement procedure in practice with colleges which do not have a separate college placement cell in position:

1.) Colleges associating with the Central Placement Cell of the University should opt for a standardized layout of updates, company profiles and other relevant information. The current system is defective with indirect communication and irregularities. For example, the students do not get an official notification on the company profile, dates of interview, recruitment rules etc. from the college. In most of the cases, the interested students have been asked to trail the selection procedure and apply on their own. College endorsement is minimal.

2.) Colleges should encourage a 'positive' preparatory ambiance for young aspirants. There is no workshop/ seminar/ lectures by the prospective company representatives, being organized by the college administration. Kept voluntary, it should be an integral part of the college annual diary of events.

3.) The location is a matter of concern and tangent prejudice, with companies preferring to come to North campus colleges for selection of candidates. There should be a fair representation of the South Campus colleges by the companies opting to come to the campus for placements. This would be huge plus for the students with a positive learning experience.

4.) Colleges should ensure that the meritorious candidates shall be rewarded aptly by giving them a fair chance to prove their aptitude. This would rule out no mid-term dejection's and inter college transfers for the talented. The foundation of course over college would then be well-placed!

5.) Making an extended branch of Central Placement Cell (CPC), North campus in the South campus as well where all the students who are not able to appear in CPC North Campus will stand a fair chance to get to appear and get placed with equal standings.

How Can Social Media Be Used In Engagement Marketing

Taken in the simplest term, a sale is the transaction between a seller, a buyer, and a product or service sold. Broken down into two slightly-more advanced categories, there can be sales when the buyer seeks out the seller to get something he needs or wants, and sales where the salesperson has to elicit the interest of the buyer. This second category, where the seller must find their customers, can further be dissected. There is the type of sale where the salesperson asserts himself to the buyer and pushes the sale, and there is the salesperson who encourages the potential buyer to engage with the product or service, and make a connection with the salesperson, and ultimately, the company or the brand.

It is this final definition that is commonly known as engagement sales, or engagement marketing. This is probably the most advanced, and positive form of a sales transaction, because nothing is being pushed and no expectations are merely looking to be satisfied. Instead, there is a network between buyer, seller, and brand that reinforces one another, with companies reacting and responding to what consumers want, thereby organically improving their products or services.

Today, one cannot begin to think of a progressive sales strategy without taking into account social media. Social media is giving individuals incredible new powers to research, discuss, and engage with brands and products in novel ways that really empower the consumer. And it is no surprise that social media is perfectly suited to engagement sales, as communication is central to being engaged.

Twitter

Begin a brand Twitter account. Have individual employees at the company have their own Twitter accounts as well, giving a human face to the company. Have Twitter events like question and answer periods ("AMA"s or 'ask me anything'). Have contests and where people can win products. Use crowd sourcing for customer feedback.

Facebook

Create a fan page for your brand or product. Hold events and promote them on Facebook. Encourage users to ask questions or begin discussions on the homepage, where threads can be easily-followed. Have customers upload photos or other media demonstrating their engagement with products or with the brand.

Reddit

This is another great tool for crowd-sourcing and AMAs, so long as the company is sincere about where they are coming from, for Reddit users (or Redditors) are very quick to suss out any corporate meddling. Reddit is also a great site for getting passive, uncensored feedback.

Instagram

This picture-sharing site lets users and brands share their experience on-the-go in a visually-stunning platform. Its mobile capabilities are perfectly-integrated with Facebook (who now owns it) as well as Twitter.

Integration: this final point is critical for sales management today. Not only does a brand want all of their platforms integrated together to create a fun and networked consumer experience, but this level of integration should be at the heart of the engagement between buyer and seller. Social media can be the glue bringing together these real, virtual, and global interactions not just for the quick sale, but for the long term engagement.

Debunking Negotiating Tactics

In business-to-business sales, deals are hardly ever reached simply and quickly, with one side setting their terms and prices and the other side simply agreeing or declining. Business to business sales are, in this respect, nothing like your everyday commercial retail sale. More often than not, there is a lot of back and forth negotiating before a deal is agreed upon.

There are many sales gurus who give seminars or publish books that are full of negotiating strategies and techniques. Some of them are as complex as creating imaginary competitors to make your deal seem more sought after. Others could be as banal as instructing you how to arrange your furniture for a negotiating meeting, placing the other party on lower chairs or facing the windows so the sun shines into their eyes. While there definitely are some interesting and productive methods for managing a negotiation, many of these tactics are based around some sort of trickery or diversion that takes the focus away from the pure and simple act of both parties agreeing upon a good business deal.

Negotiations should be about good business. Two parties reaching an agreement about a mutually-beneficial business transaction should not need to employ tactical maneuvers. Good sales management should make their sales team f`miliar with some tactics, but more for the purpose of recognizing them and not to use them. Here are three examples of typical negotiating tactics and why they ultimately don't amount to good business:

Take It or Leave It

This is the tactic of setting strict and definite terms that the other part must accept or there is no deal. This bully-style negotiation is seen as aggressive and could reflect poorly on you and your company, jeopardizing future business and your reputation. Also, a refusal to compromise might work against you in future negotiations when you do not have the upper hand.

Shift the Importance

Pretending something is extremely important to you when it isn't, and conversely, taking an extremely important item and acting like you don't need it. This is supposed to achieve the effect of getting what you want for less, while letting the other party think they have a decisive item in their command. This is tricky because you might get what you asked for, meaning, what you only pretended to want.

One More Thing

After long and arduous negotiations, this tactic is a way to slip in final terms at the last minute, pretending they are of little significance, in hopes the other party will agree just to finish the deal. This can exasperate the other party. It can also clue them in to your bluff and make them realize the importance of this last detail, thereby giving them a major advantage and running the risk that they will be able to re-define the terms for this much-needed item.

Negotiating strategy, like sales strategy, should focus on good research of the other party, exchange of reliable information, and finally, sincere confidence in your ability to hold up your side of the deal with top satisfactory results.

Damage Prevention and Control: How to Handle Bad Sales

The goal of a sale is the sale itself. If this seems like an easy formula, almost redundant, then that is because it is an over-simplification. Focusing on the sale itself is short-sighted and irresponsible. Perhaps a better way to look at things is, rather than focusing on the goal of the sale, focus on the goal of the sales team.

Making a sale is far less profitable, and thus far less rewarding, then establishing a good relationship with a client. If salespeople who do and say whatever they feel actually get that signature and close the deal, then the sale ends there and the relationship ends with it. In sales, sincerity is everything. This is more than business ethics, it is just good business. Sincere sales practices do result in more contracts, and more profit, through repeat business with the same client, to referrals, and to overall positive brand reputation.

This is not to say that sincerity is a guarantee for a successful sale. Products may arrive damaged, or simply fail to perform as promised. Services might not meet customer expectations. Finally, miscommunications during the sales pitch, negotiating, and contract finalization could also result in bad sales.

And while the salesperson should never resort to making excuses based on bad communication, there are several other methods of good sales strategy that could control or prevent these problems.

Prevention - avoid mistakes before they can happen

- Get to know your clients. Learn about their operations. This will help customize your sales pitch and anticipate any problems they may have. 

- Keep records of all your dealings with the client. Follow up phone conversations with email reiterations to have a paper trail. This will catch any miscommunication early. 

- If possible, supply your clients with samples and tests for them to try out in advance. 

Follow up soon after delivery of product or rendering of services. Don't wait until a client contacts you about a problem. 

- Be honest if you don't think you can provide exactly what the client wants. Work together to make compromises or find new solutions. 

- Do not make promises you are unsure you can keep. Make sure you keep all relevant staff, like manufacturing, in the loop. Sales is not an independent body but part of your company's team.

Control - maintain order after something goes wrong

- Assume all responsibility in analyzing the problem. If the problem is with the client, don't blame them. 

- Prioritize rectifying problems before pushing new sales. 

- Consider discounting or other incentives to make up for any losses caused by a bad product or service. 

- Keep extensive records of all problems and solutions for future reference.

Anyone can make a single mistake. But making the same mistake over and over is no longer a mistake, it is bad sales management. Reputations outlast contracts. So next time you push that pen and paper across the table, be aware that making the deal is just one small part of great and responsible sales practice.

The Sociological Nurse

Sociology and nursing: one wouldn't normally associate the two subjects with each other. Sociology is academic and theoretical, while nursing is practical. Someone studying sociology at the university level is not very likely to take a career in nursing. But you may be surprised to know that there are an increasing amount of nurses and nursing programs that incorporate the theories of sociology as part of their practice and programs.

There are many reasons why one would need the services of a nurse, from chronic illness to physical injury. The job of the nurse goes beyond administering medicine, helping doctors and bandaging wounds, but caring for individuals. sociology examines the relationship between individuals and the community they live and work in, it is very useful in the nursing industry to help people adapt to their environment when faced with new physical and mental health issues. If one is sick or injured, their relationship to their environment can change varying degrees. It could limit their ability to work, alter their relationships with family and friends, or heighten the levels of pre-occupation and anxiety about the state of their health in ways they may not have been prepared for. 

There are two kinds of sociological areas of thought that are related to the healthcare industry and are taught in nursing school: the sociology of health and the sociology of medicine.

Sociology of Health

This branch of sociology deals with the bigger picture of how society understands and deals with notions like life, health, illness and death. Our individual ways of making sense of these situations is often greatly influenced by how we, as a society, interpret and react in these cases. One of the main topics of sociology of health is the search and understanding of the causes of diseases. This pathological approach explores natural phenomena as well as the environmental impacts on our bodies, for example: over-crowded urban centres causing respiratory illness due to air pollution, or causing psychological alienation from mass anonymity. Another important theme explores the motivation for getting or avoiding treatment, and why certain kinds of medical aid are preferable over others. As a society, for example, we need to be aware of the limitations for resources for certain medicines, or the side-effects of treatments on large groups of people.

Sociology of Medicine

This branch of sociology may be more pertinent in a nursing program. Here, the specifics of medical institutions are examined and how they function within a community. It focuses on the relationships between medical professionals, like nurses and doctors, with patients and other professionals in the healthcare industry, like hospital administrators and pharmaceutical developers. Unlike the abstract study of life and death, medicinal sociology takes a micro look at the people and institutions of the healthcare industry in a practical way. For example, instead of studying how a society deals with disease, it will look at how a patient is experiencing his or her treatment.

Incorporating sociological studies into greater healthcare education means more rounded healthcare professionals. And this means better service and care for our communities.

Four Key Concepts of Accounting

Accounting is no easy job. It requires a mind for pure numbers and calculations with a sense for the world of business. Whether an accountant is employed within a single company, or acts as an intermediary for an entire industry, there are many factors which the accountant must master in terms of translating numbers, figures, assets and flows from one recognizable set of data to the next. How does one translate sales of manufactured products and intangible services? How is a company's competitive edge measured in terms of employee expertise or speculative markets? How are financial standings understood regarding money earned and money owed? These are just some of the questions an accountant must be ready to answer.

There are several key concepts that are integral to the education of an accountant. These are:

- Revenue Recognition

- Fixed Assets

- Intangible Assets

- Goodwill

These concepts are inter-related in sometimes complex ways; sometimes these concepts overlap and sometimes they stand in contrast with one another. There are several published guidelines the accountant must be familiar with that sets standards and principles for defining these concepts, such as the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). A thorough accounting program will ensure the future accountant is very familiar these standards and principles regulate how these four concepts function on a balance sheet.

Revenue Recognition

This is the principle which measures revenues of a company based on the company's activity regardless of whether the company has been paid. In simple terms, it is how much money one can count on receiving in a certain period of time, and not how much money a company has at a given time. An example would be if I sold my services as a house cleaner for a future date, and will only get paid after the job is done. The money I am expecting becomes listed as revenue recognition.

Fixed Assets

This is also known as Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE). This relates to the assets of a company that has value but is not easily sellable or liquefiable. An example of this would be a printing press in a book publishing company, or a fleet of cars for a pizza delivery restaurant.

Intangible Assets

These are assets a company has that are not actual physical objects, and thus have no clear way of measuring or valuing them. The basic principle of intangible assets are time and effort that a company invests in order to make money. Examples of these are things like professional expertise, but also things like intellectual property.

Goodwill

This is closely related to intangible assets. In simple terms, goodwill are intangible assets that have been given some sort of monetary value because they have been sold. For example, if a pizza restaurant has a secret recipe for tomato sauce, in itself it is an intangible asset. But if they sell their recipe to another pizzeria, the value of that sale is listed as goodwill.

These are simple definitions with easy to understand examples. Accounting courses can be entirely dedicated to each one of these concepts. Knowing them individually and then understanding their relationship is core factor in mastering the concepts of accounting.

Taking Obstetrics in New Dimensions: 3D and 4D Ultrasonography

Childbirth is considered both a scientific necessity as well as a miracle. No matter how much we learn about the nature of reproduction, it is nearly impossible to stand by and not be amazed at the process of bringing new life into the world. But "standing by" is exactly what we do while a woman undergoes the stages of pregnancy-standing by to support her, st`nding by to monitor the progress of the fetus, standing by to ensure the health and safety of the expecting mother. In fact, the Latin verb for "to stand by" is obstare, which is where we get our current word for the medical field of obstetrics: the science of a woman's reproductive process.

One of the main methods by which we monitor the progress of the fetus is ultrasonography, which produces images of the fetus inside the womb. It may seem counter-intuitive at first to use a sound-based frequency to produce visual-based information, but this is not ordinary sound as we know it. Ultrasound describes a frequency of hearing that is higher than what is audible to the common human ear. Ultrasonography works by taking ultrasound waves, which non-invasively penetrate the skin, and bouncing them to the womb. The sound waves bounce back and are read by a scanner which then translates the ultrasound waves inside the body into visual images.

The standard ultrasound image has undergone some major technological advancements into 3D and temporal-based 4D. State-of-the-art healthcare training in ultrasonography now includes a thorough education of this new equipment.

3D Ultrasonography

In standard 2D ultrasonography the sound waves are beamed into the body and are reflected directly back to the scanner for a flat image. 3D ultrasonography is able to achieve this extra dimension of the image by using "echoes" which are multiple sound-waves that are sent into the body at a variety of angles. The computer which reads the returning waves is far more sophisticated than the scanner used in 2D sonograms. One of the immediate advantages of 3D sonography is the ability to not only see the surface of the fetus from one position, but to rotate the image from all angles. Another important advantage is the ability to see beyond the surface into the internal organs of the fetus.

4D Ultrasonography

The progress of fusing health and technology becomes extremely evident with 4D ultrasound technology. Speaking of the fourth dimension may sound more like science fiction than medical science because we are speaking of a dimension outside of space: that of time. The 4D ultrasound produces a moving image of the 3D ultrasound. The technology is not that different from 3D ultrasounds, except that many scans, or pictures, are taken rapidly and displayed in succession, producing the "moving image" effect, or as we know it, a 3D movie.

Today, there is no serious need for a pregnant woman to have a 4D ultrasound where a 3D ultrasound will do. One must, however, marvel at the miraculous powers of our technology in giving expecting parents a real living glimpse of their baby. These scientific "miracles" are only fraction of the miracle of life they have been invented to serve.

Community and Institutional Pharmacists

The first pharmacies, or drugstores, can date all the way back to the Middle Ages in Baghdad. This is not to say that chemical compounds from plants were not used prior to this in ancient times. But with the development and recording of botanical studies and chemistry in the Islamic world of the Middle Ages, the time had become ripe for the proper classification and subsequent merchandising of medicine for everyday commercial use. Europe trailed behind the Middle Eastern world for several centuries until drugstores began springing up across the continent in the 13th century.

Today, drugstores are everywhere, from strip-malls to airports, from bustling urban centres to small-town general stores. And they are no longer limited to just prescription medicine, but one can find all sorts of over-the-counter drugs, not to mention toiletries, cleaning products, greeting cards and food. But this isn't the only type of pharmacy to endure since Medieval times. Pharmacies today can be divided into two categories: community and institutional.

Community Pharmacies

This is the case where pharmacists as healthcare professionals simultaneously act as retailers, as in shop-workers. The basic design of one of these pharmacies is a store divided into two sections, a general store area where consumers can shop freely as in any supermarket, and a back area which acts as a dispensary. This restricted area houses the prescribed medications and it is where pharmacists help customers understand the proper usage of their prescriptions.

This type of pharmacy is rightly named because it is truly integrated into the community, with as much of an emphasis on drug preparation as customer relations. Undertaking pharmacy technician training prepares one equally for both aspects of the job as these qualities must come together to provide the best service for the community.

Institutional Pharmacies

We are much less familiar with institutional pharmacies as opposed to community ones. This is mostly because as regular, everyday consumers, we are well-provided for by our community drugstores. Institutional pharmacies normally handle the pharmaceutical and medicinal needs of other industries in healthcare that aren't based on a single customer relationship. Examples of institutions these pharmacies deal with are hospitals, nursing homes and even military facilities. Sometimes institutional pharmacies are located on the site of these other institutions. Otherwise, they may have their own facilities and utilize regular courier and delivery services to distribute medication.

Along with the massive production and distribution of medicine, institutional pharmacies can also apply statistical analysis. This means that they keep constant records of the efficacy of certain medicines, its frequency of usage, its consumptive demographics, as well as other resource, manufacturing and cost considerations. This information is then shared and integrated with other healthcare specialists in a constant effort to improve the quality, efficiency and availability of prescription drugs. Not only can hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers benefit from this information, but schools of Health Science can as well.

Becoming a pharmacist gives one many options for the exact nature of work and work environment. Whether one is interested in working with a community or working at an institutional level, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will always serve a valuable role to society.