Dozens of freshmen at Singapore Management University spent one evening last week learning how to “wiki,” or use the software that lets large numbers of people write and edit class projects online. Though many said experiencing a public editing process similar to that of Wikipedia could prove valuable, some were wary of the collaborative tool, with its public nature and the ability to toss out or revise the work of their classmates.

“It’s dangerous, actually,” said Liu Huan, one of the students, in an interview after the training session. “I can change everything that others have done.”

Why is that so bad? it puts students in the awkward position of having to publicly correct a peer, which can cause the corrected person to lose face.

“It’s a very Asia context,” said the student sitting next to Ms. Huan, who said her full name is Arathi. “You have to be more aware of others and have a sensitivity to others.”

While colleges have been trumpeting the power of social media as an educational tool, here in Asia, going public with classwork runs counter to many cultural norms, surprising transplanted professors and making some students a little uneasy.

The Chronicle sent me to Singapore to see this kind of difference. This is the first of a monthlong series of reports on how digital technologies are changing teaching, research, and university life here, as well as in China, Korea, and India.

Publicly oriented Web 2.0 tools, like wikis, for instance, run up against ideas about how one should treat others in public. “People were very reluctant to edit things that other people had posted,” said American-trained C. Jason Woodard, an assistant professor of information systems who started the wiki project two years ago. “I guess out of deference. People were very careful to not want to edit their peers. getting people out of that mind-set has been a real challenge.”

Students are also afraid of embarrassing themselves. Some privately expressed concern to me about putting unfinished work out on the Web for the world to see, as the assignment calls for them to do.

Michael Netzley, an assistant professor of corporate-communications practice at the university, said he has also faced hesitancy when asking students to use social-media tools for class projects. Few students seemed to freely post to blogs or Twitter, electing instead to communicate using Facebook accounts with the privacy set so that only close friends could see them, he said.

“The students here seem to display a certain resistance or reluctance to actually adopting education 2.0 in a deeper or more meaningful fashion,” said Mr. Netzley, an American scholar who got his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. “In a small country like Singapore, the traditional face-to-face network still reigns supreme. Members of a network are extremely loyal to that network, and if you are outside of it, a lot of times you aren’t even given the time of day.”

Yet the professor argues that he has a duty to train students to master skills that employers now look for, whether the students like it or not.

‘Knowledge Workers’

In fact, Singapore’s future depends on technology and innovation at least according to its leaders, who have worked for years to position the country as friendly to the foreign investment that serves as its lifeblood. The city-state literally has no natural resources except its people, who it hopes to turn into “knowledge workers” (a buzzword I heard many times during my visit).

As a result, Singapore has attempted to brand itself as a sort of Internet oasis—it has free islandwide wifi access, for instance. And the state invests heavily in education, attempting to import the best approaches from around the world, including the new Singapore University of Technology and Design that it is building in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Chinese institution.

Yet this is a culture that many here describe as conservative, where people are not known for pushing boundaries. that was the first impression that Giorgos Cheliotis had when he first arrived to teach in Singapore several years ago from his native Greece. He’s now an assistant professor of communications at the National University of Singapore.

“It took me some effort to get used to the different student mentality,” the professor told me over drinks of fresh watermelon juice in the university’s open-air food court. “I was used to a culture of people being extremely outspoken and being very vocal on any social or political issue. That’s often not the case in Singapore or Southeast Asia.”

Now he brings a plastic bag full of power strips to his social-media class each week (so everyone can plug in their laptops), and asks students to chat on Twitter during his lectures. And chat they do. They’ve written more than 500 bursts of text since classes started three weeks ago. he says he suspects they may be more comfortable because they are seniors, and because they feel that it has been assigned, and so they must.

The day I sat in, the sound of typing was constant, as students posted discussion questions, joked about the material, and retweeted zingers and provocations. As one of the students wrote in a post: “Twitter allows everyone to express their ideas at the same time, without interrupting the presentation:)”

Though his students may be comfortable online, they are still not the most argumentative bunch, as revealed when he asked students to act out social networking in the real world using Post-it Notes and colored markers. it was a blur of motion, giggling, and, well, politeness.

They “tagged” fellow students with descriptions of their traits, in much the way that Twitter users can add keywords to their posts to make them easy to find.

What struck me most was how darn nice every last tag was. take the Post-it Notes stuck to the green T-shirt of Chainn Miin, a senior communications major, for instance: “initiative,” “hard-working,” “efficient,” and “fashionable.” The sarcasm and edginess I’m accustomed to seeing in American classrooms was absent here, and several students said that, as a rule, the same goes for their Tweeting and blogging as well.

“Singaporeans tend to practice a certain level of self-control when communicating online and when on social-media platforms, people tend to be less negative and more sensitive,” said Cedric Sia, one of the students in Mr. Cheliotis’s class. “I have some experience in online games, and Western gamers tend to be less sensitive and use harsh languages when communicating, whether in forum discussions or in-game chats.”

In The Geography of Thought (Free Press), Richard E. Nisbett, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, argues that this difference between East and West stems from contrasting notions that people grew up with about the complexity of the world.

The argument: Americans and others in the West see the world as a series of objects that can be rationally controlled and easily described, while those in Singapore and the East focus on the flow of systems they see as connected in complex and ineffable ways. And that leads the latter group more likely to hold their tongues while they sort through problems. “There is certainly a long tradition in the East of equating silence rather than speech with knowledge,” he wrote.

Mr. Nisbett hypothesizes that the different habits of mind—and the culture of critique and debate prevalent in the West but avoided in the East—have a huge effect on the rate of scientific innovation in a culture. “In the decade of the nineties, scientists living in the United States produced 44 Nobel Prizes and the Japanese produced just one, despite the fact that Japanese funding for science is fully half that of the U.S.,” he wrote.

Fear of the Government

Then again, students in Singapore may have more practical reasons to limit their public criticisms and debates.

The government monitors online speech, and some here told me that people in Singapore have developed a habit of not speaking out for fear of upsetting the authorities.

Several students pointed me to an incident in August when a 27-year-old engineer was arrested for a comment he made on Facebook. In a comment criticizing the Youth Olympic Games, he wrote that he wanted to “burn” the sports minister and called on Singaporeans to “rally together and vote them out.” The arrest led to widespread complaints that the government—which interpreted the engineer’s comment as a physical threat—had overreacted.

The outcry came in the form of blogs and Tweets, which indicates that, despite the arrest, people are feeling more free to express themselves online.

College 2.0 covers how new technologies are changing colleges. please send ideas to jeff.young@chronicle.com or @jryoung on Twitter.

Students in a social-media class at the National University of Singapore act out social networking in the real world by “tagging” each other with Post-It Notes and colored markers. Chain Miin, a senior communications major, wears a tag praising her initiative.

Students in a social-media class at the National University of Singapore act out social networking in the real world by “tagging” each other with Post-It Notes and colored markers. Chain Miin, a senior communications major, wears a tag praising her initiative.

<a href="http://chronicle.com/article/In-Wired-Singapore-Classrooms/124328/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://chronicle.com/article/In-Wired-Singapore-Classrooms/124328/Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:23:21 GMT 00:00″>In Wired Singapore Classrooms, Cultures Clash Over Web 2.0

The Hartz Mountain Corporation is voluntarily recalling one specific lot of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs due to concerns that one or more bags within the lot may have been potentially contaminated with Salmonella, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. All people who are at particular risk from exposure and should avoid handling these products.

We have previously written that Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products. People handling Salmonella-tainted pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with tainted food or any surfaces exposed to tainted products. Consumers should dispose of these products in a safe manner by securing them in a covered trash receptacle.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers immediately.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian immediately.

Hartz Mountain Corporation is recalling 74,700 8-oz bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs, lot code BZ0969101E, UPC number 32700-11519, which were imported by Hartz from a Brazilian supplier, Bertin S.a., and which were distributed to a number of customers in the United States. while regular testing conducted by Bertin (prior to shipment to the US) did not detect the presence of Salmonella in any packages of this product, random sample testing conducted by FDA did indicate the presence of Salmonella. Hartz is aggressively investigating the source of the problem.

Although Hartz has not received any reports of animals or humans becoming ill as a result of coming into contact with this product, Hartz is taking immediate steps to remove the product from all retail stores and distribution centers.

Dog owners having purchased this product should check the lot code on their bag, and, if the code is not visible, or if the bag has lot code BZ0969101E imprinted thereon, they should immediately discontinue use of the product and discard it in a proper manner.

Consumers can contact Hartz at 1-800-275-1414 at any time with any questions they may have and for information on how to obtain reimbursement for purchased product.

Hartz Recalls Dog Treats for Salmonella

The stop smoking drug can be very effective for those who are trying to avoid cigarettes. It is cheaper than cigarettes and is available everywhere. You can choose from a variety of stop smoking drugs. These drugs are not very harmful but they help people quit smoking for once and for all.

Doctors prescribe these drugs to their patients so that they do not come in contact with nicotine through cigarettes: as a result they slowly lose the habit of inhaling nicotine and quit smoking. During the therapy there comes a time when a person will need a certain amount of drugs to meet his body’s nicotine demands. stop smoking drugs can be very helpful at these stages when one is coming out of the dark chapters of his life.

Because the lungs in your body cannot be replaced, you need to take care of them. If you smoke then be aware that your lungs are being damaged constantly! there is no cure for lung disease, it will ultimately lead you to death.

Always keep it in your mind: Precautions are always better than cure. Quitting smoking in the early stages of life is preferred because if you take too long, then damage done cannot be repaired. For your information: smoking not only damages the lungs, but it also affects the heart which is one of the main organs of your body.

Before using the stop smoking drugs, always seek advice from your doctor so that you do not face any trouble while using it. Doctors can prescribe you the medicine in the best way.

Smoking damages your internal system, but it also damages your outer appearance. Your skin will get dry and wrinkle, while lips, nails, and teeth will yellow. Smoking isn’t exclusive to men, but women also do and the damage they go through is critical.

A child’s birth is harmed because of cigarette smoke and the mother can go through a serious problem during the time of birth. If a woman smokes during pregnancy, there is a possibility that the child is born with lung diseases. In order to prevent all these serious damages from occurring, it is advised that you use the stop smoking drugs to lead to health for mother and baby.

Smokers have a lower immunity and cannot even resist the small diseases that you come across often such as flu and cold. Whereas the people who do not smoke can resist these diseases very easily. Don’t give it a second thought: you have to save yourself from all the mess of smoking.

Josef Mack of Creative Holistic Business Solutions LLC helps people lead better and healthier lives. get your copy of Introduction to Health Secrets Explained at my website which is at http://www.healthsecretsexplained.com. Also visit chbs-llc.com

Tags: Benefits, Smoking

this entry was posted on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 3:25 am and is filed under Quit Smoking Benefits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Benefits of Using of a Stop Smoking Drug

I offer a one to one training course for people who want to become internet marketing consultants, or SEO consultants.

This SEO course is not just about increasing search engine traffic to your website with search engine optimisation – it’s about becoming a professional SEO consultant – it’s for people who want to develop a career in SEO, either as a freelance SEO or as an employed SEO professional.

Please note – I’m based in the UK, but I will come to you to train you on a one to one basis if you’re not in the UK.

There are many SEO training courses available which teach various on page and or offpage elements of SEO, and of course there are many SEO ebooks which also teach various elements of search engine optimisation. but – how do you train to become a professional SEO consultant, whether you want to work self employed, or employed?

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Please note – my course is expensive, as it includes 2 days of one to one training, and 12 months of support, many people contact me about the course but then cannot go any further due to not being able to afford it. If this is the case with you I would recommend a home study course called Internet Consulting Secrets. Obviously a home study course won’t give you the same as you’d get with a one to one course – and it’s not an SEO course  – BUT, it does give some great inisghts into becoming a professional web marketing consultant.

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Being successful in SEO isn’t just about knowing how to do SEO, in fact there are plenty of people out there who are very, very clever in terms of SEO abilities, who do not have a successful SEO career.  in fact, I’ll hold my hands up now & say that I have experienced people who are technically WAY more gifted & knowledgeable in SEO than I am,  who make little or no money in SEO, or who don’t even do SEO professionally now as they’re unable to make enough money doing it.

Technical ability is of course important – but it’s not the only important thing.  there are fantastic musicians who don’t work with music as they can play their instruments but haven’t figured out how to make a career from it – there are amazing artists who work in supermarkets as they can’t make a career from their art. there are people who could tell you everything you could possibly want to know about modern history, and who would love to somehow make their vacation their vocation, and develop a career in history, but haven’t figured out how to.

And then – in all of these careers, there are people who’re very successful, who have the same or even less technical abilities than these people – but who HAVE figured out how to build their skills & abilities into a successful career.

The reason my one to one SEO training course is different, is that it’s not just about technical training – it’s also about how to develop a successful career in SEO.

The course itinerary differs each time,  as I custom build my SEO training courses specifically for each person, but it covers how to physically do the SEO work that you’re going to be doing – and how to make money from SEO.

As well as the technical side, i.e. how to deliver effective results, you’ll learn :

• How to make your life as an SEO consultant as easy as possible, the subtle differences that make one SEO consultant happy & relaxed, while others are stressed & burned out.
• How to ensure that each client refers new clients to you, so you’re never short of work.
• How to ensure that clients never want to leave you – without having to have contracts.
• If you decide to become an employed SEO professional rather than freelance  – how to get your first position, and how to use this first position to turbo charge your career.
• How to quote for SEO work, how to charge.
• How to deliver SEO reports.
• How to  gain leverage so that you can increase your earnings without working 24 hours per day.

And a lot more!

This is all stuff I’ve learned very gradually & sometimes very painfully!

****To find out more, go to my SEO Training page or drop me an email.****

This SEO course is for people who want to develop a career in SEO, whether you want to become a freelance SEO consultant – or you want to develop a career as an employed SEO.

If you decide you want to go ahead with the course, and if I’m comfortable with going forward (I’ll only train people if I am 100% convinced that they’re completely serious about putting in the required effort to follow through & become successful) I will talk to you to get a good understanding of what you want to achieve, including whether you would prefer to become a freelance, or employed in SEO, and I will personalise the course for you.

One of the main questions is do you want to work for yourself in SEO, or do you want to be employed – this will make quite a difference to the course, when it comes to developing your career. I can teach you how to develop your career at a rate, and to a degree, that you may not even believe possible at first – but believe me it is possible if you’re prepared to apply yourself  – but what I need to focus on will depend on whether you’re going to be looking for employment, or working for yourself.

If you need the stability of a regular income, then you will want to focus on developing a career as an employed SEO specialist rather than as a freelancer or starting your own SEO business.

Whether you want this, is another matter – but if you’re not currently financially stable & if you have a family to support, bills to pay,  you will need the stability of a regular income until you can get yourself into such a stable position that you no longer require a fixed monthly income in order to be financially stable. Making the decision to become self employed from an unstable financial position – is like trying to climb a rubber staircase – how can you possibly get onto the next step when the step you’re on is so unstable?

The mistake many would make however, is in trying to stick to the job they’re currently in & start off a part time interest in SEO hoping to eventually develop this into a career. This very rarely happens.

If you need the stability – then by far the best bet in my opinion, is to learn enough about SEO to be comfortable enough to take a position working as an employed SEO consultant.

For most people this isn’t possible, it’s a chicken & egg situation – how can they develop the experience to allow them to work as an SEO consultant without having the experience they require to get the position in the first place….

I’ll help you with this. there are various ways to do it – it all starts with knowing that you can deliver the results, and after my 2 day intensive one to one SEO training course, you will be confident that you can deliver the results – this opens up the possibilities for ways forward on to the first rung of the ladder of your SEO career.

One thing to keep in mind, is I would never suggest that you make foolish leaps of faith & take huge risks – I’ve been there & done that, and I wouldn’t wish the results of such foolishness on anyone! I would never recommend that you quit your job until you have been offered a new one, and I would always recommend that you put a lot of thought into the decisions that you make, and not just take the first position offers as it’s a stepping stone into your career in SEO. This is definitely a case of do what I say, don’t do what I’ve done :), but it’s also a case of learning from my mistakes so you don’t have to experience the painful consequences yourself.

If you have some financial stability, and you want the benefits of being a freelance SEO consultant – then that’s great, I’ll create your course with that in mind.

I just want to make it clear that this one decision can make such a huge difference, as many people fail to get their career off the ground because they make the decision to become a freelance, without having the financial stability required to do this.

You see, with all the will in the world, your first 12 months (at least) of being self employed will be up & down when it comes to cash flow, it’s very unlikely that you’ll have a set monthly income initially – and most people are in a situation where they have fixed monthly bills, mortgages, rent, car payments, insurance, and so on. Not to forget of course, putting food on the table. Making the decision to become self employed when you’re not in a secure enough financial position to really do this – often creates cash flow problems. Cash flow problems, no matter how seemingly small, can very quickly develop into huge & completely debilitating financial problems. I’m talking from experience!!

These problems can completely consume you, they can cause marriages to fail due to financial strain, they can cause stress & anxiety problems which can lead to nervous break downs – they can literally destroy you! It’s very difficult to become a success when you’re a gibbering nervous wreck!

So, don’t make this decision lightly! Yes being self employed does have it’s benefits – but personally, in my case, it wasn’t worth the financial problems that it caused for me. If I had made the decision to start off as an employed SEO consultant, I would have saved myself  and my wife & kids, a LOT of instability & stress!

I’m going into such detail because probably in two thirds of cases, or maybe more – the right decision is to start off as an employed SEO professional, and to look at becoming freelance or starting your own business further down the line, but many people underestimate the impact that seemingly small cash flow issues can have, and how very quickly they can develop into problems which could halt your SEO career, and cause you to have to go back into whatever job you previously did – which can be very depressing especially if this is a job you hate.

How long does the course last?

It’s a 2 day intensive SEO course. Followed by a minimum of 12 months ongoing help & support via email / phone / skype / text…

Is 2 days long enough??

The simple answer to this is yes & no. It’s long enough to show you everything you need initially as long as you have ongoing support. If I were to just train you for 2 days & then leave you to your own devices, you may struggle, although you can go through all of the course materials when you’re stuck , that’s really not the same as having ongoing support.

One thing to mention though, is that you don’t actually initially require the level of technical training you may think you require. the stuff you really need to know – is actually fairly simple & straight forward. Most people make SEO appear a lot more complex than it is. Yes there are some very geeky aspects of SEO, but most of these aspects are fairly unimportant on the whole.

You don’t need to be an SEO techno geek in order to be a successful SEO consultant. the area’s of SEO that require a lot of technical wizardry, are areas which I’ll show you how to deal with as & when you come across the need to, often these kinds of issues will rarely be experienced, all you’ll need is a very basic understanding of them so you can seek the answers from those who have them, if you come across the requirement for them.

I’m no techno geek! Do I look like a nerd?? (don’t answer that!! )  I know what I need to know, there are people out there who could completely kick my ass when it comes to technical nerd speak & working out complex problems, the fact is though you’ll very rarely come across a situation when that is required, and when you do – I’ll show you how to deal with it very easily & effectively.

Also – I’ll be showing you how to carefully choose the projects you take on, so that you’re not continually up against problems which require rocket science in order to put right.

I’m not really sure if I want to work in SEO.

I won’t take anyone into the course who hasn’t made their mind up 100% that they are committed becoming a successful SEO consultant, either employed or self employed.

If we talk, and I get the impression you’re not fully committed to this decision – I’ll recommend that you take some time to think about it.

This course is completely useless to you, and is a complete waste of money….. if you’re not 100% committed to developing a career in SEO, as a freelance or employed SEO.

Don’t waste your money & time if you’re not completely convinced that you’re going to follow through & put in the required effort after the course to start your career in SEO. If you think that there is any chance that a few days or weeks after the course, you’ll change your mind & decide to do something else – then don’t do it, save your money until you have made your decision properly & you’re convinced that you will follow through with it.

This course will NOT make you a successful SEO consultant – YOU will do that, by applying what you learn & putting in your time & effort. I’ll be there to help you right from the beginning, but if you’re not going to put in the effort, it just isn’t going to happen.

How much does the course cost?

It’s not cheap. It’s 2 days of intense training, and then continual help & support for a minimum of 12 months, and of course I can only work with a certain number of people, so I wouldn’t want to make it cheap & try to train as many people as possible – I don’t have the time.

This course is for people who’re dedicated to becoming SEO professionals, and who understand that this is going to take the investment of money, time & effort. you will need to invest money to become an SEO consultant, just as you would to start any career, however in this case it is going to cost you a lot less, and take you a lot less time than it would with most professions.

Lets take driving instructors – it costs in the region of £10,000 – £20,000 to become a driving instructor, including instructor training, the cost of the car with dual controls, the exams – and so on. And – this is to earn probably £20,000 – £25,000, maybe £30k if you’re very hard working, working 40-50 hours per week risking life & limb teaching kids to drive!

Teachers – it takes years to train to be a teacher, and it takes a lot of investment, of effort, time & money – all to earn in the region of £20k – £25k initially – although with enough time & effort invested, you’re likely to end up earning quite a nice salary. but, personally, I don’t think teachers earn a lot considering the effort they put in & the stick they have to take!!

Just think of any profession, and you’ll see that usually a lot of money & time & effort is put in, for a return which really isn’t all that impressive given the amount of effort that has to be put in to maintain these kinds of earnings.

Now think about businesses. How much does it cost to start a business?

Lets say you want to open up a subway franchise, you’re going to have to invest ridiculous amounts of money, hundreds of thousands, just to open a sandwich shop…. just because of the fact that being able to use the brand name gives a better chance of success.

Even cleaning franchises, windshield repair franchises & so on can cost £10,000 – £20,000 or more to get into, and these are businesses which require a lot of hard work, and aren’t guaranteed to make you a lot of money.

Or lets say you don’t go for a franchise but you decide to open a shop – you need to invest in renting retail space, which means signing up to a lease, buying stock, fitting the shop, marketing – most new shops require an initial investment of £10,000 – £20,000 or more, all things considered – and that is for the privilege of then having to flog your guts out working 6 days a week. (I am talking from experience).

So – whatever you do, if you’re going to have a chance of being successful it is going to take the investment of a lot of time, energy & money.

This SEO course, will cost you less, and take less initial & ongoing time & effort to maintain, and will entail far less risks, than any of the conventional approaches to starting a career or business as discussed above.

Will you train anyone?

No. I only have limited time, I can only take on a few students, therefore I will only accept people into my course who I believe are 100% committed to their decision to becoming a professional SEO consultant.

Some people may think this is marketing nonsense & I’ll take any one’s money, but this is not the case. it makes sense if you think about it – if I take people into the course who I don’t think have the determination & commitment to follow through & become successful, just for the course fee, I will start to build up numbers of students who are not successful – often when people don’t put in any effort, and don’t achieve what they wanted to, they blame the person who trained them, as it’s easier to do this than to actually admit that it’s your own fault for not following through. so – I would end up with a large amount of negative word of mouth, which could in turn damage my reputation as an SEO consultant.

So although of course it is tempting to take every course fee I can take – I won’t do it, because I know that I’ll be taking short term pleasure, in return for long term pain.

If you’re interested in my SEO course – just send me an email, introduce yourself, let me know what you’re wanting to achieve, and I’ll give you more details of the course including cost, and we can take it from there.

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Tags: become a web marketing consultant, become an seo, become an seo consultant, how to become an SEO consultant, how to charge for SEO, make money with seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimisation training course, SEO, SEO consultant, seo course, seo home study course, seo training, seo training course, to become an SEO, web marketing

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 5:53 pm and is filed under SEO General. you can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. you can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Becoming a professional SEO Consultant – UK One to One SEO Training Course. How To Start a Career in SEO.

Credit cards are a fact of life, but finding the perfect credit card can be a tough mission. if you choose the wrong one, you can end up paying too much extra by way of interest charges and fees, which is regrettable when there are really great cards out there if you know where to look and what to look for. Let us have a look at the best cards on the market and how you can get one.

Credit Cards For good Credit

If you have good credit, your choices are nearly limitless when it comes to credit card options that are available to you. You may even be offered a card with zero percent interest. The trouble with these types of cards, however, can be found in the fine print. That zero percent interest can easily climb to outrageous rates within just a short period of a few months, and usually does. your status as a person with good or excellent credit deserves more than just a couple of months at zero percent only to raise to 19.99% or more later on. For all credit types, be sure to read the terms and conditions of the offer and be certain that you understand what you are signing up for. better to be diligent and learn what the terms are now than to be surprised later on when you are slapped with big fees.

Credit Cards For bad Credit

If you have bad credit or poor credit, getting the card that you need is a bit harder, but it is not impossible. Many card issuers work only with those who have had a few derogatory credit problems in the past. be prepared beforehand to pay more interest charges and not to enjoy as many perks as cards that are advertised for those with good credit. You will likely pay added fees as well with a card for bad credit. but you should think of these additional fees as an investment in improving your credit score, which can lead to even better cards in the future. most cards report either monthly or quarterly to the credit reporting bureaus.

Credit Cards For Horrible Credit

There are some borrowers out there that have really, really bad credit. if your credit score is below 600, your best option may be an unsecured credit card. While this type of credit card does not give you instant access to a line of credit, it does help you build up your credit rating in order to qualify for a traditional credit card. also a secured credit card can be convenient for you because it will allow you to pay your bills online or over the phone in lieu of sending in a check or money order.

Finding The Best Credit Card

Many of the best credit cards that are out there can be found online. Online issuers of cards offer an oftentimes instant approval method that allows you to get your credit card faster, and the rates of interest that online credit card issuers offer on their credit card products may be lower than a traditional mail-in card solicitation.

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If you were to describe the ideal candidate for Milwaukee County sheriff, you couldn’t do muchbetter than Milwaukee Police Lt. ChrisMoews. He thoroughly understands the issues and problems facing Milwaukee County, and actually has realisticsolutions to address these problems in the area of law enforcement andcommunity security.

A lifelong resident of MilwaukeeCounty, Moews is a graduate of Marquette High School. He spent two years in aseminary, but wanted to have a family (he is now married with two sons) anddecided to pursue a degree in criminal justice at UW-Milwaukee. He started hislaw enforcement career in Fox Point and then Milwaukee, where he rose through the ranks tobecome lieutenant and late-shift supervisor of the homicide division. Hisdistinguished career includes numerous commendations, such as “Swift actions toresolve a dangerous situation with no loss of life,” “Swift actions to avoiddeath/injury of subject in custody,” “Interrogation of serial rapist suspectresulting in full confession” and “Successful recovery of a missing andendangered child who was severely neglected and abused.” in contrast, hisopponent, Sheriff David Clarke, was actually dismissed from the MilwaukeePolice Department for his conduct, before being reinstated on appeal andserving a suspension.

Unfortunately, this excellent candidate is havingtrouble getting his message out because he is being vastly outspent by Clarke,who—despite running as a Democrat—is heavily funded by the right-wing factionof the Republican Party.

Moews has worked to get one-on-one meetings, andwhen he’s had the opportunity to meet with leading Democratic officials likeSen. Russ Feingold, Rep. Gwen Moore, former Milwaukee County Sheriffs LevBaldwin and Robert Kliesmet, numerous county supervisors and a multitude ofother local elected officials, he has quickly won their enthusiastic support.

In essence, a vote for Moews will end the too-longtenure of Clarke, who has unnecessarily politicized the office by cozying up tothe Tea Party crowd and the Bush administration in order to advance his careerand far-right political agenda. Clarke also has shown questionable judgment assheriff. He wants to impose a boot-camp regimen on inmates, even though it’sbeen proven not to work, as well as Bible study. And, in a notorious 2008 incident,he couldn’t properly arrest a drunken driver who was stuck in a snowbank. Thedriver’s blood-alcohol content was twice the legal limit, yet Clarke, the firstofficer on the scene, tried to help the driver get his car back on the road. Clarke’simprudent actions have also resulted in a number of unnecessary lawsuits thatcost the taxpayers money.

In contrast to Clarke’s out-of-control ego and distractionsfrom his duties, Moews would focus on law enforcement in a steady and reasonedmanner. We’d be safer with Moews as sheriff, and that’s the best reason for votersto support Chris Moews on Sept. 14.

Send ChrisLarson to the State Senate

We enthusiastically support Chris Larson for District 7 of the state Senate, which runs alongthe Lake Michigan shoreline from UW-Milwaukee through the East Side, the ThirdWard, Walker’s Point, Bay View, St. Francis, South Milwaukee, Cudahy andOak Creek.

Larson faces longtime incumbent Sen. Jeff Plale inthe primary. Plale is not a mainstream Democrat and does not support the causesand solutions that are important to most Democrats and many of his constituents.in fact, Plale had a hand in defeating some of the Democrats’ most important proposals,such as the clean Energy Jobs Act. in doing so, Plale did the bidding of theconservative faction of the business community. His actions set back the state’sclean energy agenda at the very same time the state should be investing insolar and wind technologies and the next-generation jobs that will result fromthese industries.

Plale also does the bidding of the school vouchercrowd, now led by controversial former Republican lawmaker Scott Jensen at the Alliance for SchoolChoice and American Federation for Children, national organizations headed byBetsy DeVos that are pouring money into the race to boost Plale’s chances atthe polls. DeVos is the former chair of the Republican Party in Michigan and the sisterof Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary group Blackwater. this sort ofout-of-state, school-voucher-group meddling in Wisconsin’s elections is not a new thing,and it’s definitely not a good thing.

In addition, Plale is not pro-choice on reproductiveissues and has continually been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life.

Despite his opposition to women’s reproductivechoices and his unequivocal support for the voucher school issues, Plalemanaged to get some surprising endorsements. in this past session there wereefforts to keep all controversial bills regarding reproductive choice andprivate school funding from reaching the floor of the Senate for a vote. Groupslike WEAC and planned Parenthood will endorse incumbents like Plale as long asthey did not vote against the groups’ issues in the past legislative session.since there was nothing to vote against, Plale gets the endorsement.

Happily, voters in the 7th Senate District can votefor a candidate—Chris Larson—who truly represents their interests.

In stark contrast to Plale, Larson is more in syncwith the district. Larson is pro-transit, pro-green jobs, pro-choice andpro-public education. while serving on the Milwaukee County Board, Larson hasfought to secure dedicated funding for the Milwaukee County Transit system and Milwaukee CountyParks, save the Hoan Bridgeand ensure that patients at the county’s Mental Health Complex are treated safelyand with dignity. We’re confident that Larson will continue to represent hisdistrict’s best interests while serving in the state Senate.

Vote for Larson and you’re voting for a publicservant, not a corporate puppet.

Gwen Moore for Re-election to Congress

Voters maybe mad at Congress for being out of touch with their everyday concerns, but Gwen Moore is one congresswoman who isdeeply connected to Milwaukee,understands the problems and consistently delivers for her constituents. Moore gets high marks forher ability to cut through the noise and discuss divisive issues with clarity.And then she acts on her promises.

In additionto her work in Washington, Moorestepped into debates on the mayoral takeover of the Milwaukee Public Schoolsand funding for transit, making herself the voice of reason amid controversy.She’s a strong advocate for veterans, the city’s poor and homeless, publiceducation and the city’s African-American residents. Gwen Moore has earnedanother term in Congress and we wholeheartedly support her re-election.

Scott Dettmanon the Southwest Side and Greenfield

In the surprisingly competitive race in this southwesternMilwaukee County Assembly District, we’re picking first-time candidate Scott Dettman over 27-year veteran ofthe state Assembly Peggy Krusick. Krusick seems to take many of her positionson hot-button issues from right-wing talk radio. Dettman is more in line withmainstream Democratic positions, and is committed to public transit, high-speedrail and job creation that will lead the state into the 21st century. We’reimpressed by Dettman’s professionalism, intelligence and ability to win oversupporters. He’ll be a good addition to the state Assembly in January and wepredict he’ll have a long career in politics and public service.

Tom Nelson for Lieutenant Governor

Democratshave four fine choices for lieutenant governor on Sept. 14. our pick is stateAssembly Majority Leader Tom Nelsonof Kaukauna. we like his positions on the issues and the political advantagethat he offers to Tom Barrett, the likely Democratic nominee for governor.

On theissues, Nelson has been a strong advocate for progressive causes. As AssemblyMajority Leader, Rep. Nelson was instrumental in pushing through Democrats’reform agenda, which has expanded access to health care and insurance coverage,passed a long-overdue mental health parity bill, encouraged job creation inmanufacturing and closed tax loopholes that allow big corporations to dodgetaxes while workers and homeowners bear an unfair burden. most notably, Nelsonpushed a tough bill on payday lenders—fighting against more than 25 lobbyistshired by the payday lending industry—that would protect consumers, not themultimillion-dollar industry that preys on working people. while a weaker billwas eventually passed, the bill Nelson sponsored was supported by most Milwaukee legislators,consumer advocacy groups and organizations that represent progressives, thefaith community and seniors.

On thecampaign trail, Nelson will be an asset to Tom Barrett. in his first run foroffice, Nelson beat a Republican incumbent in a Republican-majority district,so he knows how to win a tough election. He’s very visible in the Fox Valleyand northern Wisconsin,which will be an advantage to a Milwaukee-based candidate. And Nelson is atireless campaigner who will give 110% from now until Nov. 2.

Tom Nelsonhas our vote and we encourage Shepherdreaders to support him as lieutenant governor on Sept. 14.

JoCasta Zamarripa for Assembly District 8

Now thatlongtime state Rep. Pedro Colon is leaving the state Assembly, voters on Milwaukee’s South Sidecan vote for a newcomer to electoral politics, but someone who has a longcareer as a community activist. we endorse JoCastaZamarripa for the 8th Assembly District because of her accomplishments inthe community, her progressive values and her enthusiasm for working hard in Madison. Zamarripa is anadvocate for women’s health, increased funding for public services and qualityeducation. She’s smart to ask large corporations and delinquent taxpayers topay their fair share of taxes as a way to balance the state budget, since theresidents of Milwaukeeare paying enough. we think Zamarripa’s drive and sense of fairness will be anasset to her district’s constituents when she’s fighting for them in Madison.

Shepherd Express Endorsements

Concerns about understaffing and possible child abuse at the Child and Family Studies Center Infant Program led a parent to lodge a complaint with campus police last week.

Russell Greene, chief investigator of Johnnie Cochran Law Offices, issued a complaint to CSUN police March 7 after he said he witnessed Wendy Nicola, a teacher of the infant program, physically and verbally abuse three of the four infants at the school March 6. He said he did not see Nicola touch his daughter, who was the only girl.

“The woman just sounded crazy,” he said. “she was manhandling those kids. it was disturbing.”

Greene said that Lucy Chakerian, on-site supervisor of the school, told him Nicola did not have a break all day while she was caring for the four infants.

Chakerian tried to contact Jerry-Ann Harrel-Smith, director of CFSC, to tell her the school was understaffed. Harrel-Smith, however, did not return her calls, he said.

Harrel-Smith said the university told her she could not comment on the incident.

“it is unacceptable,” Greene said. “this is supposed to be the best program of all Northridge. she lost it that day because Northridge did not provide her with help.”

John Chandler, CSUN spokesperson, said the university is reviewing the lab school’s operations, its staffing and compliance with state law. The lab school is closed until further notice.

“we are reviewing staffing and operational issues,” he said.

The Family and Consumer Sciences Department, which operates the infant program, declined to comment on the incident.

Chakerian did not return several messages left on her voicemail seeking information on the incident.

Nicola, 63, who worked at the infant program for about a year, was arrested and released in connection with a misdemeanor battery March 8 after police interviewed parents and staff at the school and found the information corroborated with Greene’s formal complaint, according to police reports.

“we believed it to be a battery situation involving a child,” said Anne Glavin, CSUN police chief.

The Los Angeles County City Attorney’s Office will determine whether to prosecute Nicola, according to her attorney Jerry Valance.

A hearing will likely be held in early April, he said.

Greene said the City Attorney’s Office has not contacted him to testify at the hearing.

“I am the best witness,” he said. “I am a criminal investigator.”

Nicola and Chakerian are on paid administrative leave while university officials investigate the operations of the infant/toddler program, Chandler said.

“The university is trying to water down the facts,” Greene said.

He said the children were not touched roughly as the university first reported, adding that the children were abused.

In response to Greene’s claim, Chandler said the university accurately reported the outcome of the case.

“If the university doesn’t do anything about lab school, shame on them,” Greene said.

Prior to enrolling his daughter in at the school, his son was enrolled in the program as an infant. Greene said he specifically chose the lab school infant program for his daughter since he had an excellent experience with the program when his son was enrolled.

“You really hope you pick a wonderful place that is safe for your kids,” he said.

Greene said he paid $1,000 a month for his daughter’s childcare at the school.

“we are paying top dollar,” he said. “we expected quality care.”

On March 6, it was Greene’s daughters first whole day at the school, after she completed a transition stage the school requires, he said.

At about 2:20 p.m., Greene said he went to the school to pick up his daughter. when Greene arrived to the school earlier than expected, he said decided to look at his daughter through a two-way mirror in the school’s observation room – a room designed for parents to view and hear their children interactions with the other infants – that looks into the infant room.

He said the room was dark, but light from an open door fell into the room, he stepped out of the room. when he then heard a loud child’s cry, he said reentered the room, and heard Nicola grind her teeth as she said, “be quiet. Go to sleep. You’ve been crying all day.”

He said his daughter and another child were in cribs, one child was on the room’s floor and Nicola was rocking the other child in her arms.

Greene said he heard Nicola yell at a child on the floor, as put the child in her arms in the crib. Nicola picked up the child off the floor and slammed the child down on the crib’s padding, he alleged.

“I could hear the child being pushed into the mat through the microphone,” Greene said. “That was startling because you could hear it through the loud speaker.”

He said Nicola aggressively forced the child to lay down in the crib.

Nicola declined to comment, but referred the media to speak to her lawyer. she has previously said the allegations were false.

“we would have never have pulled our daughter out of the program, if I didn’t see that,” he said.

Greene said he called a friend on his cell phone to call an administrator in the lab school’s office while he watched Nicola.

“For the life of me, I can’t tell you why she picked on the other kids, and not on my child,” he said.

Greene said Nicola then moved one of the cribs, which was on rollers, into a storage room.

“They gotta’ know they are being watched through the observation room,” he said.

He alleged that a phone in the infant room rang several times and Nicola ignored the calls.

Chakerian walked into the room shortly after the phone stopped ringing, he said, and observed Nicola with the children.

Greene said he believed someone was trying to tip Nicola that he was watching from the observation room.

He said Chakerian looked as though she was she in disbelief and after observing at Nicola a few minutes she went into the room to relieve her.

“Wendy saw me and Lucy, and looked like a ghost,” Greene said. “she had a blank stare on her face.”

Nicola tried to assure him everything was OK, he said.

When he handed his daughter to him, Greene said fecal matter was on her back. He said Nicola immediately grabbed his daughter, changed her clothing and put the clothing in a bag. Greene said Nicola claimed his daughter had diarrhea.

‘My baby had (feces) all over her back,” he alleged. “she was neglected.”

Greene’s wife had changed his daughter’s diaper twice prior to taking her to the school, he said, and did not see signs of diarrhea.

He said he told Chakerian that Nicola mistreated the children and should not work around the infants.

“I (told) Lucy she’s gotta’ go,” Greene said. “she was out of control.”

He said Chakerian knew he was upset.

“I knew the allegations that were about to be made were very serious when I saw what was going on,” Greene said.

He said the following day Greene’s wife arrived at the school to pick up his daughter’s belongings, while he filed a complaint with CSUN police to arrest Nicola with the abuse he said he witnessed.

Greene said he told police he saw Nicola physically and verbally abuse the infants. Police requested to see Greene’s daughter’s fecal-stained clothing, he said.

Charkerian pleaded with Greene’s wife to speak to Nicola at the school, he said.

Greene said Nicola told his wife that she put the child in the storage room because it was hot in the room and believed it would be cooler in the storage room. He said Nicola told his wife that the children were unruly and need to be contained.

“she didn’t deny putting the kid in the storage room,” Greene said. “Wendy was justifying her behavior.

He said he filed the complaint to CSUN police because he was worried about the other infants.

“what happened on those other days that I wasn’t there?’ Greene said. “(The parents) would have wanted to know.”

Veronica Rocha can be reached at city@csun.edu.

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Do you know how I can get a free computer program for me to calculate simple interest, compound interest, amortizing mortgages, and other related business functions? Similarly, do you know of a hand held calculator which can do the same?

This site has a wide variety of financial calculators. very useful.

http://www.finance.cch.com/sohoApplets/i…

If you have a mortgage already, just call your mortgage co and request an amortization. usually there is no fee but some might charge $5 to 10 dollars.

If you have Excel on your computer, you can do this with its built in financial functions. You can read about them at the link in the source at the bottom of this message.

A good calculator is the BA II plus, made by Texas Instruments. it helps with a lot of calculations needed in financial mathematics.

Do you know a free computer program for me to calculate interest, compound interest, amortizing mortgages, etc?

<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/10854096/1/bank-of-america-a-standout-play-for-the-recovery.html?cm_ven=GOOGLENtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10854096/1/bank-of-america-a-standout-play-for-the-recovery.html?cm_ven=GOOGLENWed, 08 Sep 2010 12:14:58 GMT 00:00″>Bank of America – A Play for the Recovery