Apr 18 2009

Accounting Institutes

Posted by Education

Accountancy (Accounting) measurement, statement, or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers to make resource allocation decisions within companies, organizations, and public agencies. The terms derive from the use of financial accounts.
To monitor the work of companies with greater care and integrity, the accounting education is undergoing a revolution. Besides the usual courses in business math, asset valuation, etc., many schools now require courses in business ethics, investor relations, and fraud prevention to obtain an accounting degree.
Different between finance and accounting:
Fundamentally accounting deals with hard numbers, or in some cases, proxies for hard numbers (like good will, to which a currency-based value can be assigned). Finance was developed out of accounting practice by international companies like IBM and GE that needed to incorporate strategy into their evaluation of hard numbers, which is called performance. An analogy is the field of marketing which was developed out of sales for similar reasons. In both cases, the impact of market forces is incorporated into performance projections to forecast what the numbers mean. Finance studies trends, benchmarks, projections, impact, and return on investment, among other things. Accounting provides the data for these considerations. That data includes profit and loss. As for liability, it is calculated both in real terms, i.e. what you owe or the value of what you own; and in soft terms, what your exposure to risk is. Wall Street will evaluate a tobacco or pharmaceutical company in terms of the potential loss from a law suit and count this as a liability. Finance does include money management and investment.
Accounting courses in India has captured its special position on a large extent, they are many institutes offers accounting courses, they are many sites providing the institutes provide the details of accounting institutes. EG: site like APSIRA.

Apr 17 2009

Security on Campus

Posted by Education

It may surprise you to know that college and university campuses are scenes to more than just socializing and learning. All too often, they can also be the scenes of a crime. Awareness of this problem has grown dramatically over the last twenty years, and many institutions are taking appropriate measures to protect their students from malice. Wise parents do not close their eyes to these issues, but discuss them openly with their students. When choosing schools for their sons or daughters, they consider the security programs and features utilized by the schools. You must do all you can to ensure that your student doesn’t get an education they didn’t plan for.

Drugs and Alcohol

Nine out of ten student felonies involve alcohol or drugs. Annually, 1,700 college students die from alcohol-related causes. On their own for the first time, students often feel a surge of independence that can lead to poor decision-making, such as binge drinking. There are many resources available to help parents discuss substance use with their young adult children. Meanwhile, when choosing a school favor institutions with strict policies regarding alcohol and drug abuse, and effective parent-notification. In this way, colleges and universities keep better control of this problem.

Sexual Offenses

Unfortunately, 25% of undergraduate women nationally will be victims of an attempted or completed sexual assault. Many schools have embraced innovative technological solutions in an effort to protect their students. Residence halls that use electronic key-card systems are superior to the ones still using old-fashioned metal locks, and most commons areas of dormitories are now outfitted with video surveillance. At the very least, residence halls should be monitored, and nighttime access should be limited to residents only. Room doors should be equipped with peep holes and dead bolts. Bathrooms are safer when restricted to floor residents. For peace of mind, you may see if single-sex and “substance-free” dormitories are available. Crime is lower in these halls.

Another important deterrent against sexual predators is awareness. Your student should study the campus and neighborhood with respect to routes between his or her residence and classes/activities schedule. Parking lots should be adequately secured, lit and patrolled. Many campuses offer emergency phones, escort services, and shuttle systems so that students should never have to compromise their safety by walking across campus alone after dark. These are free services that have dramatically decreased crime.

Theft

College students are often the target of fraudulent identity-theft and credit card schemes. Make sure your student is savvy about personal information. They should never leave bill payments, credit card offers, health insurance statements, or any personal mail lying around. Instruct them never to give personal information over the phone to any company unless they initiated the call, and they know the company is reputable. Caution students not to give out their social security numbers to obtain credit cards or memberships, and to keep a personal record of all such cards, with expiration dates and company phone numbers in a locked drawer or cabinet. PIN numbers should not be kept in wallets, and should never incorporate birthdates, social security numbers, telephone numbers or addresses.

The Jeanne Clery Act is a federal law that was signed into effect in 1990, requiring colleges and universities to disclose annual information about campus crime and security policies. It is your privilege and right to know these statistics. This law was passed at a great cost. In 1987 Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her dorm room by a student with whom she was unacquainted, who had passed through three propped open doors in order to rob dormitory rooms. Knowing they could never bring their daughter back, Mr. and Mrs. Clery demanded safer campuses for future students. More advice regarding security on campus can be found on their outreach site at www.campussafety.org.

Apr 07 2009

Sentencing and Reduction in Crime

Posted by Education

Crime rate has always been an issue that people liked to argue about. Major concerns are always about the actions that can lower the crime rate. In some countries it is just the problem of education, some experience difficulties with overall stability of economics, and in some crime is a part of a country’s culture. However, in the U.S. the situation is different as the country does not fall into any category listed above. The crime rate can be reduced by two methods: first, find reasons for criminal behavior and then take actions to lower the crime rate according to these reasons or second, strict the punishment so individuals that considered committing crime would think twice before taking some prohibited by the law actions. The effectiveness of tougher sentencing may cause a problem by the distortion created by incarceration and unclear results both at the individual and aggregate level.

According to the public, the present sentences are not substantial enough. They are out of proportion to the seriousness of crime committed. Referring to the statistics, there is only a 2% chance that a person who committed a robbery will be sentence to prison. These numbers make people really think if we need stricter sentencing. Some may argue that it is only a robbery, however, if a person can let himself or herself commit a robbery what can stop him/her of committing the murder. Stricter sentencing, together with minimum sentences for particular felonies and automatic incarceration for persistent lawbreakers, instead of bigger police expenditure, has become the latest reaction to the apparent increase in crime.

It is a well-known hypothesis that criminal actions are directly related with possible outcome of the unwanted situation (being caught). To be simple, if the criminal certainly knows that he/she will be responsible for offence and this responsibility will be of high strictness the chances of committing the offence will be much lower. Some countries, especially Asian, have a death penalty for a number of crimes. For example, if someone caught with drugs, no matter if using them, selling, or just having in the pocket he/she will be sentenced to death. Most likely that this way the authorities just scare the potential lawbreakers and not change the psychology, however, this method works positively on reducing the crime rate.

As I mentioned before there are basically two sets of strategies to stimulate the potential lawbreaker: encouraging that consists of alternatives to crime that a government can offer to a potential offender or discouraging such as strong punishment. If we view criminals as the ones that want to maximize the efficacy at the lowest risk, we would expect them to compare actual utility from the illegal activity to the utility of the perfectly legal action. In case of applying some knowledge from economics we can easily draw the graph of supply and demand; at the point where two lines intersect would be the market equilibrium for criminal activity. To make it completely understandable, the higher the risk to be jailed the lower criminal activity would be. Consequently, incarceration would reduce crime by applying the preventive effect and declining the number of offenders and this effect basically will create the utility of alternative. The result of this idea is vitally dependent on the suppositions that a person makes and thus the effect will depend on person’s attitude towards risk, length of imprisonment, and other results that will the unfavorable situation for a criminal will lead to.

Crime is actually viewed from the economic prospective more often than people think. Economic scholars instead of analyzing the economy write books analyzing the interrelation of economics and crime. One of them was Becker who made the model in long 1968 which supposed that people act rationally in response to the possible effect of their action . Simply speaking, people are most likely to commit the crime if the wanted benefit is greater than its cost. It is just like business: if the possible income is greater than the costs then it makes sense to start this business. We should also take into account the possibility of failure which would be the nominal risk for the offender this case. As in economics we would consider the effects of possible failure on the entrepreneur in this case the strictness of punishment should be taken to account. If we take all these things and put them together in one equation like Becker did, we would attain that expected utility of the crime is directly dependent on probability of capture, the monetary value taken out from crime, and the results if punished. Becker came to a conclusion that negative results of punishment reflect the severity of punishment will prevent crime. Although, Becker did not completely explain the possible outcome of the situation when the fear of punishment stops to be the issue for the criminal. In other words, is there a critical point of dread of the punishment for a potential offender?

Becker concluded that if a person prefers to take risk then one percent in the probability of punishment will have greater deterrent effect than a one percent increase in the severity of punishment and completely the opposite would be true if a person is not willing to take great risk. A great influence would also have the percentage of time that a person would spend on illegal activities compared to the percentage of legal activities. A person that spends most of his/her time on something that is illegal may not be that affected by stricter punishment than a person that spends most of his/her time on legal things.

The term “practical certainty” that was introduced almost twenty years ago states that people avoid difficulties of the decision making by taking things for granted. Instead of difficult economic calculations that Backer used, people will simply evaluate net income from the crime and alternative utilization of this time. This would have a need of the greatest enlargement of the possibility and strictness of sentence to result the decreasing trend in the crime rate.

Another great scholar of this whole issue is Ehrlich. His work is based on the market model of crime. Ehrlich disputes that it is not possible to evaluate the influence of imprisonment taking to account only individual cases. Incarceration could prevent the following crimes of the same offender. For instance, if one committed a crime and was jailed for it he/she will not be able to commit another crime in the reason of being in prison at the moment. Although, the preventive effect of jails does not mean anything to recidivists, people that do illegal things all their lives. They do not need the alternatives from crime, crime is the best alternative for them, and they do not really care about how high the risk is and how strict the punishment is.

Most states have initiated tougher sentencing for recidivists and for crimes that have a link to the charge of additional criminal acts. Since 1990, the number of people in custody has risen more than 577,100, or 1,708 inmates per week. By the 1998, more than 1.7 million people were confined in state, federal, and local correctional facilities. As the repeat criminals were taken off the streets, the U.S. actually achieved a decline in the crime rate.

In response to crime, possible sufferers from the crime choose much higher levels to protect themselves, by doing this they increase the preventive effect and consequently increase the costs for the crime that criminals have to deal with. Boost in the costs for crime lowers the possible net gains that can be derived from the crime. In any case, it is not in favor of the public if the stricter sentencing is used because citizens pay for prisons from their taxes. If we consider the other option – to increase the means of self protection – it will negatively balance on people’s budget, since this one is not a very desirable expense for a regular citizen. If we refer to the statistics it is pretty easy to find out that during the last two decades of the twentieth century, expenditures for state and local prisons in the United States increased over 600%. For example, in Wisconsin during the past 13 years, the budget for the correction facilities have grown from $556 million in the 1992-93 to nearly $2 billion in the budget adopted for 2004-05-an increase of 257%. Since 1990, Wisconsin’s inmate population has more than tripled.

Luckily, we have a number of alternatives to tougher sentencing. The probable ones would be the rehabilitation programs or increase in the employment rate. As I mentioned in the beginning of my paper the low level of economics negatively influences the crime rate. Consequently, a high unemployment rate has a bad impact on overall crime. Thus, to achieve a lower crime rate not only we have to frighten the potential offenders by strict punishments but also create new working places and get people to work. However, there is not a hundred percent guarantee that the greatest improvement in unemployment will result the disappearance in crime. For example, in the former Soviet Union was practiced planned economy where the working spot was created for everyone, however, the actual crime rate was not the lowest one.

To summarize everything said above, the efficiency of tougher sentencing depends on individuals’ contribution and attitudes, especially the attitudes towards risk. It also depends on the willingness of people to take risk and be responsible for outcomes. It is obvious that imprisonment of offenders decrease the possibility of crimes that could have been happened if these offenders were free. The studies show that increasing the apprehension rate of possible offenders may have significant preventative effects that will sufficiently reduce the crime.

Apr 07 2009

Education Character

Posted by Education

It goes without saying that character education plays an important role in the child’s developing. So, in addition to the general education, the teachers should pay attention to the character developing. But sometimes it turns to be very difficult and they can not do a lot of work at the same time. We should underline that character education has the ability to create the surroundings for studying. Their main task lies in the academic studying.

If the child is going to base the character only according to the school rules the results will be not really satisfactory. The child understands that it is important to do the tasks, listen to the teacher, and have friends.

Very often the children can not understand that such feature as honesty is really very important in the life. The child thinks if heshe is stealing it is not a big deal. So, the school worker as well as parents should pay attention to such issues and to stress upon them.

If the institutions are ready to produce something in order to influence on the character education they should overlook all possible solutions. They try to be aware about the situation through the literature, different sources, but they do not pay any attention to such sources which are the nearest – our personal heritage, the stories from life, experience and practice.

In order to reach the necessary goals in the process of character developing of the children it is very important to set the principles according to which the program should be organized. We should stop only one side of the program. For being successful it is necessary to be aware in various spheres.

The best result can be reached only in that case where we can observe human happiness and satisfaction. With the help of schools, families, friends, and even religion children have the ability to be responsible, temperate, honesty and be ready to do something useful for the society.

Apr 01 2009

Eight Top Online Institutions you Should Consider Attending

Posted by Education

If you’ve been surfing for quite some time now, you should have come across one or two distance education online universities. I have come across several. Now you need to be informed that not all the online schools out there are genuine. You have to look before you leap. Also, I won’t advise you to enroll in an online institution that has not been in the business for a long time. Moreover, the certificate is one thing you must be particularly concerned with. Never get your certificate from a fraudulent online institution. It may hurt you later on in your career.

Though there are many fraudulent ones out there, there are still genuine distance education online universities. Let me help you with a few. However, I urge you to do further research on them before you make up your mind.

The Open University
The University of South Africa
The University of Phoenix
Walden University
DeVry University
Kaplan University
Everglades University
Ellis College

These are good schools and well known for their reputation of churching out quality graduates. Most employers of labour don’t have any problem recruiting graduates of these and similar institutions. The reason is because their certificate is genuine and not bogus like the many being churned out these days from the internet world.

Another thing you should look out for when searching for distance education online universities is accreditation. Now don’t be confused here as many people do. There is difference between school accreditation and course accreditation. Hence, you must make sure that the school you want to attend has both. In other words, the school must be accredited and the course you want to attend must also be accredited. The above lists of schools are all accredited. This means that getting certificates from any of them will pose no problem for you. Many employers all over the world accept certificates of these schools.

Now, must you attend any distance education online universities that tell you they are accredited? No, I don’t advise you to. You must conduct a background check on the school to ensure that they’re truly accredited. The internet offers you this simple option. You don’t have to go to the school to conduct the search, do it online and you’ll be amazed at the result. There are many sites that offer you these services for free even though what you get from them may be limited. However, if you have the fund, you may find any paid institutions that conduct background search to help you out.

Are distance education online universities expensive? Some are rather on the high side while there are several others that offer low fees depending on the type of degree you want. You should expect to pay more for master’s and PhD degree than bachelor’s degree and diploma. Also, the course you want to enroll for plays a prominent factor in the fess to be paid. Most of the time, the sciences are often quite expensive than the non-science based courses.

Mar 26 2009

Holisticjunction.com Featured School of the Week September 24, 2007: Southwestern College

Posted by Education

Boasting five campus locations throughout Ohio and Kentucky, Southwestern College (part of Lincoln Educational Services) offers prospective students diverse educational opportunities in health sciences, business and Information Technology (IT), and spa and cosmetology.

With an ever-expanding job market for natural healthcare therapists, becoming a professional massage therapist has never been easier. At Southwestern College, its in-depth massage therapy program provides hands-on training in anatomy, physiology, pathology, reflexology, and other massage techniques. After you’ve acquired a strong, educational background in massage therapy, you can achieve entry-level employment in a massage clinic, day spa, or even as an entrepreneur in the field.

If your interests lie in hair design, skin care and beauty, then Southwestern College’s cosmetology program is the right place to pursue your career aspirations. The cosmetology course at Southwestern Colleges teaches future cosmetologists the most up-to-date techniques in hair coloring, cutting, and styling; and esthetics, makeup, and nail technology. Today, professional cosmetologists have the potential to earn over $43,000 annually.

If you’re not squeamish and want to work in a medical center, family practice, or other healthcare clinic, Southwestern College offers in-demand phlebotomy career training. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job opportunities for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (including phlebotomists), are expected to be excellent. Phlebotomy training at Southwestern College affords candidates with practical instruction in blood testing, billing and insurance coding, CPR and first aid, patient preparation, and appointment scheduling.

Aforementioned studies are just a sampling of the vast collection of vocational training courses offered at Southwestern College. Whether you choose to pursue occupations in massage therapy, criminal justice, or networking, rest assured that Southwestern College can supply you with the skills and knowledge to realize your professional goals.

Nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), Southwestern College provides essential career services to its students and graduates; and participates in a range of financial assistance programs including bank financing, Federal and State grants, and student loans, among other options. Get a jumpstart on success by exploring the many career-training options offered at Southwestern College.

* Occupational Resources: BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

* Check for program availability.

Featured School of the Week: Southwestern College

©

Mar 23 2009

Ways to Keep your Gpa High

Posted by Education

Grades are a very big thing for students no matter at what age you are. It proves to others and most of all, to yourself, of how well you are progressing onto what you want to be a few years from now. But maintaining high grades can be difficult while juggling with a social life and a job to support for your education and other necessities and wants in life. Because of this, most students cram for tests and exams from a few days to extremes as to a few minutes before the day of the test or exam.

Cramming is never a good method to study for a test because it mostly enters that information into the short term memory of your brain and depending on how well you’ve maintained your body and mind that the information might only retain inside there for a few hours to even a few seconds. So to prevent cramming for a test, it’s best to start studying early for that test of yours. The sooner you start studying for that important exam the easier it is to get that grade you really want.

Even if you do want that A or B, how is it going to be possible for you to get started early with a job and a social life? That answer is easy. Even though you may seem busy there will definitely be times when you are free for fifteen to thirty minutes and even up to an hour where you will be just lounging around with nothing to do. As they say that time is money but unlike money you can’t get back time you’ve lost so instead of wasting that time away you can spend that precious time of yours of doing something productive as studying. Though it may be in short intervals, if you keep this up it will be easier for you to hold that memory into your long term memory and can help you indefinitely when the time for the test comes.

But cramming isn’t the only problem that students may have. One of the biggest problems is their level of interest in the class they are attending. Problems such as the student being too tired to stay awake, the lecturer being too boring for the student to keep his or her eyes open, or the method the professor uses to relay the information to you.

Taking an early class or staying up late from last night can affect the level of awareness you may have for the class. An easy way to fix this problem is to get the necessary needed amount of sleep with a half and hour to an hour added onto it. But sometimes this is just not possible to do, so the next best method is to somehow give yourself the boost of energy you will need. Eat a small meal consisting of fruits and vegetables and try to stay away from caffeinated products and foods that have lots of sugar. They may keep you awake for a while, but will eventually cause you to crash.

Sometimes the professor can be extremely boring or at other times it’s like they are giving you the perfect environment for you to take a nap for the hour and fifteen minutes you are there. With the monotonous voice or maybe a power point presentation with all the lights off, it’s hard to keep your mind awake. To counter this you will need to make the experience a bit more interactive for yourself. Ask questions whenever you are confused even just by a little, because everyone else will probably just be as lost as you are. Or as the professor if he or she can change the methods of how they teach. Try to ask them as politely as possible because they may take offense.

I hope these methods will help you get that grade point average that you want.

Mar 16 2009

Uncle Sam Can Pay your Way Through College

Posted by Education

Part of almost everyone’s college journey includes some form of financial aid. Financial aid can include government grants, federal student loans, private student loans and scholarships. Typically you can apply for scholarships with whatever school you plan to attend, but if you need help covering the excess, there are other steps that can be taken. One of the first steps for students would be to fill out a FAFSA (free application for federal student aid). Filling out a FAFSA allows you to see how much additional financial aid you qualify for. This universal document will allow you to send your information out to several colleges of your choice electronically. It will notify colleges of what funds you are eligible for. You can only receive funds at one school per academic year.

There are two sources for student loans – the federal government and private lenders. In most instances the FAFSA is required for all federal financial aid including federal student loans.

For those students entering college straight from high school, the FAFSA will need information from your parents’ financial background to assign what percentage of your educational expenses they should be able to cover. In instances of low income, government grants can come into play for funding your education. Grants do not have to be paid back at all. What grants and parents aren’t able to cover can usually be paid for by student loans and scholarships. Loans should be the last resort when funding a college education since they have to be paid back once you either graduate, or stop attending school below a part time basis.

The Federal Stafford loan and the federal PLUS loan are the two basic loans available to students seeking an undergraduate education. The Federal Stafford loan is made in the name of the student, is based on need (only the subsidized portion), does not require a credit check (it’s guaranteed by a private guarantor and backed by the government rather than credit/income/assets, etc.) and does not have to be repaid until after the student graduates, leaves school or stops attending on at least a half-time basis. Federal PLUS loans are made in the name of a parent. While they do require a credit check, the credit criteria to obtain a PLUS loan are not as stringent as they are for other types of consumer loans. Repayment of a PLUS loan begins after the loan is fully disbursed.

Typically through the FAFSA site, you can pick a lender, sign a promissory note and find out when your funds will be available to your school. Any leftover money once your tuition is paid can be used to purchase books, pay room and board, or purchase school supplies. Many students choose to send back any remaining funds to cut down on the amount of money they will have to pay back in the future. Other students use the excess money for living expenses. One important tip on student loans is to only borrow what you need.

Mar 15 2009

The Ultimate University and College Freshers Guide Part 1 – It’s all about meeting people.

Posted by Education

So here’s some advice on what happens when you get to University or College and your parents disappear in a cloud of tyre smoke. Your standing there with all the other students and freshers you don’t know. The campus guide is confusing the hell out of you and it’s all a little scary.
Well, the first thing to realise is that every fresher at university or college is in the same boat. Now that may seem obvious but it is easy to forget when your heart is going at 1000 beats per minute, your head is spinning and your stomach feels like its rejecting your body! You will be scared and other students will be scared so don’t be fooled by other peoples bravado, its just a defence mechanism!
What you have to remember is to be sociable even if you feel like you want to curl up in a ball and cry. Don’t! This is the best time to make friends but don’t think that your whole reputation at University or college hinges on the first impression you make and don’t think that the friends you make in the first week will be the friends you are stuck with for the rest of the year!
Freshers week is about meeting other students, lots of other students. You will like some of them and dislike others. Some people will like you and some people, people with very bad taste, will like you less. You will have to live with that.
Obviously all Freshers weeks are going to be different and ordered in different ways but most will involve you arriving at a halls. You will be given a key to your room on campus and allowed to go and make it your own. My advice is to get settled in and put up all your posters, pictures and anything else that reminds you of home. Make the room your own, everything else about your life will be new for a while so make sure there are some familiar things to help you settle in. Put some music on and decorate to your hearts content. Your there you have done it you have made it to college or university, so start enjoying it.

Mar 09 2009

Money Mistakes College Students Make

Posted by Education

Managing money effectively is a lesson many people are not taught in school. Even students who take a money management class or get financial guidance from parents or advisors often discover that there is a learning curve when it comes to putting this valuable knowledge into practice. College is the first experience many people have with managing bills, rent and other expenses on their own. Since inexperience is often the culprit for bad financial decision making, poor money management affects college students from modest and affluent backgrounds alike. Whether a student’s income is from employment, parents or a student loan, financial responsibility entails delegating funds in a way that inevitably commands some degree of sacrifice and self control. Here we examine some common financial mistakes that college students can avoid to help establish financial habits that will benefit them for years to come:

*Living beyond their means. Attempting to live a lifestyle that exceeds affordability is a mistake that can get students engulfed in debt fast. To avoid this financial pitfall, carefully assess all related costs when making a major commitment, such as signing a lease on an apartment. This means determining if you can live comfortably after paying not only rent, but all monthly living expenses—utility bills, phone charges, student loan payments, car payments and any other financial obligations you may have. Ensure that your income is sufficient to cover regular financial commitments with enough left to cover costs such as food, textbooks, gas and the like.

*Letting bills slide. Getting behind on payments and bills is a mistake many college students make. It is not uncommon for students to neglect financial obligations even when they have the money, or simply spend the money on something else. It is important to distinguish between living expenses and luxuries, and take care of living expenses first. Delaying or neglecting payment on a monthly bill will only result in the arrival of another, more daunting bill in just a few weeks. If paying a $150 utility bill now seems unappealing, owing $300 plus late fees in a month will be even worse.

*Spending every cent. Contributing regularly to an interest earning savings account is a good habit for anyone. Even if you can only spare twenty dollars per month, saving is saving. Whether you build up a sizeable nest egg before graduating college or you have to use the money for an emergency, saving money is one financial decision you will not regret.

We have all heard the adage of being a “poor college student.” Though this expression may lead the optimist to assume that financial woes become suddenly non-existent after college, this could not be further from the truth. Most college graduates work in unglamorous entry level positions for a few years out of college, and making ends meet does not suddenly get easier. Developing good money management habits in college can set students on the track to a bright financial future.