Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Why Using A Professional Driving School Is The Best Way To Learn

If you're thinking about learning to drive, you have a number of options to choose between. Do you ask a parent or loved one to give you some lessons? Is a private driving instructor the best way to go? Or, as these five benefits argue, would using a professional driving school be the most productive approach to learning?

1. Learning from a loved one may be a lot cheaper, but it also has the potential to lead to many arguments and strain relationships. Unless your other half or parent has the patience of a saint and natural teaching skills, it could be a far more stressful experience than what learning to drive should be. A driving school, by contrast, has instructors who are trained to be good teachers and even if the relationship doesn't work out, you can go your separate ways without it impacting on your home life.

2. As well as the arguments, another thing to consider when learning from a family or friend is that they have be teaching you bad habits. It's natural, after many years of driving, for them to have developed their own driving style and while it may be perfectly safe, that's not to say it's in line with what the driving test centre is looking for. By using a driving school, you know that you're being taught to pass your test as well as become a safe driver.

3. The most experienced professional driving schools have years of success behind them and have honed their approach in how they teach. While the instructor may have their own unique approach, you know that by using a school with a good heritage that you're being taught in a method that has proven success.

4. Driving schools have a fleet of cars that are chosen because they are suitable for new drivers, whereas your Mum or partner's car may make the learning process more difficult.

6. Many professional instructors are trained to be able to offer intensive driving courses to help you become test-ready in a short space of time. This means, that if you want to pass before you head of to university for example, you can receive the training to make that possible. Not that there are any guarantees, of course.

So, all you need to do now is find the right company in your area. That may mean finding a Manchester driving school, so it could be a good idea to use a Manchester business directory. They have all the details you'll need, including contact methods, location, ratings and reviews.

LocalMole.co.uk is a local business directory that can help you find everything from a Manchester electrician to builders in Manchester.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Importance of Industry Educated And Experienced Food Professionals

Food Safety Training is Imperative.

Statistics prove that nearly every year, literally millions of people are victims of an illness which is caused by unsafe food handling. These take the form of poorly prepared food, or cross contamination by bacteria that are caused by handling practices.

Often these illnesses can give symptoms that range from flu-like to violent upset stomach and other issues. Sadly, many of these illnesses could be prevented by proper techniques in food safety.

Offering employee programs in safe food preparation can help your company to address all aspects of the food preparation and to ensure the proper handling of food for complete safety. Keeping your customers safe means safeguarding your business.

In many states the law now requires that employees of restaurants and schools must receive some type of training and certification in the handling of foods. Even if your state does not have this requirement, training your employees in the safe handling of food should be part of your business' Standard Operating Procedures.

These type of food safety programs are more than important for handling foods safely. The food safety programs today teach so much more than safe cooking and hand washing. They help to assure compliance with safe methods of not only handling, but also storage, and even receiving of food products in order to prevent food-borne illnesses.

The vast majority of illness related to food handling can be easily avoided if the foods are handled properly and employees use the correct hygiene techniques. The major problem is that many employees are not aware of what those proper handling techniques entail.

The importance of the proper education of food handling employees simply cannot be overstated. Appropriate handling techniques for food may be common sense in many ways, but some skills and techniques must be learned. Proper temperatures for holding food items, as well as the proper method of receiving foods from outside companies must also be taught. These are factors that most home cooks are not aware of and have not dealt with on a regular basis.

Food prep safety techniques will ensure your employees use the correct methods of preventing food borne illness. The skills that are taught in Food preparation safety courses may include:

Prevention of cross contamination
Proper cooking
Correct Food holding temperatures
Receiving of food items
Proper Food storage.
Proper cleansing of food receptacles
Personal hygiene

When these risk factors are addressed and food handlers know what to look for and what to avoid, the statistics tell us that food related illnesses are lowered dramatically.

There will always be risk factors that we cannot avoid in any industry, but preventing those that we can only makes good sense. Proper food handling and instruction in food safety is imperative for those who will handle the foods in our restaurants and schools.

Any organization that is in the business of handling food on a regular basis needs to implement courses on food safety and must provide for the education of all of their employees.

Insisting on industry educated and experienced food handlers is a preventive measure against food borne illness that every organization should be implementing.

Duke Catering was started in 2000, by Nancy and Bernard Duke, both of whom are very experienced and well educated food service and catering professionals. They have quickly become one of the largest and fastest growing diversified caterers in the Southern New Jersey area. Duke Catering provides New Jersey catering to over 1800 school children per day and also provides event catering for businesses and individuals.

Bernard and Nancy Duke are proud members of the School Nutrition Program and attend seminars regularly. They are focused on promoting "wellness" among the many children who enjoy their lunches daily. They plan their menus carefully focusing on adding tastier, lighter, and more nutritious meals to their healthy lunch offerings. For more information on the services offered by Duke Catering visit http://www.DukeCatering.com

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Quality of Philippine Education in the New Millennium

Philippine education is strongly viewed as a pillar of national development and a primary avenue for social and economic mobility. It has undergone several stages of development from the pre-Spanish time to the present. It is handled by three government organizations, namely, the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The DECS govern both public and private education in all levels, with its mission "to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all by the foundation for lifelong learning and service for the common good."

The Filipino people have deep concern for education because it occupies a central place in political, economical, social, and cultural life in the Philippines. The government allocates a high budget every year for Philippine education and guarantees that every Filipino has the right to quality education. However, there are some important issues that needs to be looked closely and resolved by the government. Among the issues are:

  • Quality of Education - This is the first major issue that the Philippine government should resolve but somehow it is recently improving. The quality of Philippine education has declined few years ago due to poor results from standard entrance tests conducted among elementary and secondary students, as well as the tertiary levels. The results were way below the target mean score. High dropout rates, high number of repeaters, low passing grades, lack of particular language skills, failure to adequately respond and address the needs of people with special needs, overcrowded classrooms, and poor teacher performances, have greatly affected the quality of education in the Philippines.
  • Affordability - There is a big disparity in educational achievements across social groups. Students from wealthy families have excellent educational background gained from exclusive private schools at the start of their education until they finish college. Unlike the students from the less fortunate families, wherein most of them could not even finish elementary nor secondary level because of poverty. They could barely afford to buy school shoes and pencils, not even the tiny amount of tuition fees from the public schools.
  • Budget - The government was mandated by the Philippine Constitution to allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education. However, among the ASEAN countries, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to education. This is due to some mainstream political issues and humungous problems that the government is facing specially corruption.
  • Mismatch - There is a large proportion of mismatch between training and actual jobs. This issue arises at the tertiary level and causes a large group of unemployed and underemployed. This is very true nowadays because of the arising BPO industries particularly the call center companies. Hundreds of thousands of young professionals, graduates or undergraduates from college level settled at this type of company because of the attractive compensation that they are offering. Call center companies do not require a specific degree of education, what matters to them is the proficiency in the English language.

There are some measures that the Philippine government has looked into for the reformation of quality education. Technology use is starting to gain momentum in the overall education of this country. This helped improve the quality of education in the Philippines and to be globally competitive in this millennium.

Philippine Call Centers (724Care Inc.), is a premier provider of business process outsourcing services in the Philippines located in Cebu City, specializes Appointment Setting services and Market Research survey. You may call its toll free number at 1-888-724-888-9.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Distinct Advantages of an MBA in Information Management

If you are an IT professional with several years experience under your belt, you probably already know that it's time to take the next step in developing your career. If you see IT as a field that is of vital importance to an organization as a whole and understand how it contributes to the big picture rather than just the department, then you should consider getting your MBA in information management.

What you learn with this degree will allow you to be more than an administrator; you can become an important player because you'll understand how to leverage IT to create value to the entire organization and it's customers. In these difficult economic times, people who can bring that to the table are quickly recognized.

Getting a MBA in information management has some distinct advantages. Here are three you should consider.

Like it or not IT departments tend to get wrapped up in themselves so their point of view on any issue is how it will affect their systems. Jumping out of that box can make you a leader. To do that you need the knowledge to be able to understand the financial and economic impact of IT projects and be able to express the strategic value to the organization in a way that is not IT centric. A MBA in information management education will provide you with just those tools.

Committing to a MBA in information both in terms of time and money demonstrates seriousness about your career that will not go unnoticed. If you opt for an online program, and there are several available, you'll be able to continue your employment and pursue that prestigious diploma at the same time.

Of course there is the big personal financial benefit of having an advanced degree. Masters graduates can expect to earn at least 20% more than a person with a bachelor's degree. A MBA in information technology also gives you more flexibility should you decide to explore other employment opportunities.

Isn't it time you investigated the possibilities?

Matt Black is the Online Degree Blogger. With hundreds of schools and thousands of degrees to choose from, making the right education choice can be overwhelming. If you are considering an online degree my blog can help you make the right choice.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Processes for CPA Exams Can Take a While to Handle

People who take CPA exams should be prepared for a very extensive process. The process that is used to get a CPA exam completed is going to last for a while but it will be used to help with giving a person a better idea of what is going on when it comes to using the test. The extensive process is to ensure that a person understands every single thing in the process.

A majority of the CPA exam is going to involve the use of questions that have multiple choices in them. This is something that is going to work with all parts of the process because it will be used to see if a person understands all of the main rules and concepts that are used in the world of accounting. The review used here will help to see that a person can work properly with getting a CPA accreditation process handled.

A large part of the CPA exam will also work with simulations. These are general case studies that work with sample considerations in the world of accounting. The simulations are used to determine what an accountant is going to do in a real world situation. The activities and processes that are handled in the simulations will be reviewed and monitored to see how well a person worked when getting this taken care of. It will be properly reviewed to help with keeping the processes accurate and honest.

A person can expect to deal with a very exhaustive process when getting the CPA test taken care of. A CPA exam can last for about fourteen hours in most cases. The fourteen hours will deal primarily with sections involving how to handle audits and how to report different businesses and clients. These are the two most commonly used activities when it comes to getting CPA tests taken care of. The organization of the CPA exam is going to relate to these two factors as a result.

It will help to see that the person can use this test on a proper date. The exam is generally going to work over the course of an entire day with testing centers located throughout the United States. The CPA test can be handled throughout the year about two out of every three months at any time of the year. This is a big factor to take a look at when dealing with finding the best time to get a CPA exam to work with.

These are all things to see when getting ready for the CPA test. These are all things that will work to help with getting a person to have an easier time with getting one's certification taken care of so one will become a properly certified accountant in the country.

More interesting facts about CPA exam questions can be learnt at http://www.squidoo.com/cpa-exams. Worth a visit.

Friday, November 5, 2010

PMP Simulation - Recommended Study for Passing PMP Exam

Preparing for your PMP certainly takes some dedicated study time. Learning the theory of the Project Management Body of Knowledge as well as understanding the practical application means a thorough reading and understanding of the PMBOK manual. Reading the PMBOK manual alone, however, will not guarantee a passing mark for the PMP examination.

There are several PMP exam preparation tools and resources available commercially as well as some free resources on the internet.

When studying for the PMP certification, there is one study method that should be considered as part of your study regime and that is PMP simulation. PMP exam simulation software provides two distinct benefits in your study:

Familiarity with sample PMP questions.

This aspect of PMP simulation is highly valuable. PMP exam simulation software provides the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the multiple choice format of questions as well as having to select from more than one potential answer. This really develops your critical analysis skills.

Although it seems obvious, one of the keys to success in passing PMP test is reading and understanding the question as well as reading and understanding the available options. It is surprising how many mistakes are made by simply misreading or making assumptions about the questions. These are mistakes that could be eliminated by simply taking the time to understand the question and what it is asking for as well as fully comprehending the available option for the answer to the question. PMP exam simulators host a large number of PMP examination questions that will enable you to develop excellent familiarity with the PMP question format and excellent experience in applying your question comprehension and critical analysis skills to select the correct answer.

Opportunity to simulate exam conditions.

The other main benefit of PMP simulation, in addition to developing experience with the PMP examination questions is the opportunity to simulate PMP exam conditions. This includes the timing of the questions that is available and to some extent the heightened feeling of anxiety that you may experience in the exam situation.

With 200 questions to answer in a four hour period, it is imperative that your pmp study includes as aspect of practising the relatively fast pace required for answering the exam questions. PMP simulation provides the necessary experience of reading, synthesizing, analysing and responding in the short timeframe required, repetitively. PMP simulators will usually provide many hundreds of sample PMP examination questions as well as several PMP preparation exams.

Studying for any examination requires work. Time dedicated to learning the required content. Studying for any certification should also include a component of study that is focused on the specific format of questions and which emulates the examination format and conditions. Study for the PMP qualification is no different and PMP simulation provides this opportunity to utilize PMP sample questions and practice them within the expected format and timing of the PMP exam. PMP exam simulation software is a highly recommended means of study that should be implemented as part of your PMP study regime.

You can read more about PMP simulation, including recommended PMP exam simulation software at www.projectmanagementsuccess.net.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Masonic Gifts and The Hidden Mysteries of Freemasonry

"Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God

has been granted to you; but to the rest they are made known through parables..."

Luke 8:10

In each of the three degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry the candidate acknowledges his obligation not to reveal the manner and method used by Masons to impart knowledge of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry to anyone who is not entitled to receive them.

Throughout history that "Masonic obligation" has been the source of scathing accusations hurled at the fraternity that it is a dangerous secret society, or in the alternative, that it has heretical secrets known only to its members. Those accusations have resulted in attempts by non-Masons to marginalize the Craft and attribute devil-worship to its followers.

So-called holy men and kings have even been prompted to hunt down, burn, torture and kill Freemasons. Yet, if the world had known then what is known today - that Freemasonry conceals nothing that is not wholly available to every man, woman and child - perhaps such ruthlessness would not have occurred.

During the journey toward discovering the masonic gifts of hidden mysteries valued by Freemasons, one inevitably encounters that mystical sect known as the Essenes. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, even though much of that information has not yet been made publicly available, a great deal of material about this sect is now in the public domain. For example, we now understand that the Essenes were of the eclectic sect of philosophers and held Plato in the highest esteem. They believed that true philosophy, the greatest gift of God to man, was scattered throughout all sects and that it was man's duty to gather it together and present it as the unified word of the Almighty.

The writings of the Essenes were laced with mysticism, parables, enigmas and sophisticated allegories. They studied both the esoteric and exoteric meanings of the Holy Writings, which they found in the Old Testament just as the Gnostics found in the New Testament. Christian writers, as well as allegedly Jesus himself, recognized that all scripture had an inner meaning, as well as an outer truth.

The passage of scripture taken from the Gospel of Luke at the head of this article makes it abundantly clear that the public teachings attributed to Jesus were different from the private teachings he imparted to his inner circle of Apostles. Even within that inner circle, it is reputed that some received a light not otherwise given to other Apostles. That light represents what the world now refers to as the hidden mysteries, because it is not freely meted out to those in the outer circle; those who are left to decipher the kingdom of God for themselves from the several allegories, stories and parables set forth in the Holy Writings.

In some intellectual circles, as well as in certain Masonic literature, it is insinuated that Jesus was killed because he improperly divulged the hidden mysteries which he had vowed to conceal and never reveal. Under that belief, he was not killed merely because he challenged Roman rule, or the religious dogma taught by the Pharisees. Consequently, the question is frequently asked: did Jesus practice Freemasonry? The answer depends upon one's own assessment of the available hard evidence.

Jesus did participate in the baptism of Saint John the Baptist, who is regarded by Masons as a patron of the fraternity. While he often criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus never once mentioned the Essenes, whose doctrines bear a striking resemblance to Jesus' teachings, as well as to the teachings of Freemasonry. It is also asserted that at the time of his arrest Jesus was then in the process of conferring a Masonic degree upon a candidate. "Now a young man followed him and fled wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body." Mark 14:50-51.

That particular passage does not appear in any of the other three accepted gospels and no further explanation has been added anywhere in the Holy Writings to help us understand precisely what was going on between Jesus and the anonymous young man at this critical point in Jesus' life. Perhaps Freemasons discern a similarity to an aspect of Masonic ritual, perhaps not. To understand the nature of the hidden mysteries, it is not essential that the question be answered one way, or the other.

Writers who have woven Masonic themes into literary works of fiction and non-fiction, while perhaps legitimately speculating upon matters of public interest such as whether or not Jesus married Mary of Magdalene ( Masonic Gifts: Dan Brown, The Davinci Code), or that the original Knights Templar discovered the Holy Grail, have contributed to the public fascination with the prospect that Freemasonry continues to conceal something that is extraordinarily valuable to all mankind. Indeed, something great and glorious is concealed, or hidden by Freemasons, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, Mary of Magdalene, or the Holy Grail. And even though that "something" is and always will remain hidden, it is equally available to non-Masons. Anyone who takes the time to journey down the proper path will discover what is hidden without the need for any Mason to violate his obligation.

The forms and ceremonies used by the Essenes were symbolical, just as they are today in Freemasonry. According to Philo, they had four degrees; were Jews by birth; and held a greater affection for each other than was true of members of any other sect. Before there was a Christian religion, they fulfilled the Christian law, "Love one another." They despised riches and made certain that no single member had more material goods than any other member, all of which were held in common. Their piety toward the one living God was without compare, which they ritualized in mysterious ceremonies and initiations about which very little is known. However, like Freemasonry, it was within the symbolism of those ceremonies that the hidden mysteries could be revealed.

This extraordinarily well disciplined and highly organized sect did not simply appear on the scene at about the time Saint John the Baptist preached than did Freemasonry erupt in 1717 with a fully mechanized ritual. Passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that members of the sect wrote about the Pharaoh Akhenaton and monotheism and quite likely practiced forms and ceremonies related to the one living God at a time much earlier than even the patriarch Jacob. Other passages make clear the fact that the hidden mysteries could only be accessed through specific use of certain arts, parts and points similar to what has been described of the ceremonial practices of the mystical High Priest and King of Salem, Melchizadek. Owing to the relationship of Saint John the Baptist as a patron of Freemasonry, it is fair to conclude that the Craft bears at least a strong an affinity to the Essenes.

When the relationship of the Essenes to Freemasonry is so understood, it is also easier to understand why the manner, sequence and method of Masonic ritual is only explained to those who are initiated into the fraternity. In other words, while the hidden mysteries are not held private, the manner Masons employ to know and study them is something that can only be learned by a member of the Craft. But what are those hidden mysteries? Why should any man, woman, or child care to know and understand them? The best way to answer both of those questions is to begin with an explanation of what it takes for any person to fully comprehend the Mysteries.

It is not enough for a person to simply become God-intoxicated. As long as the mind remains disorderly, ignorant and ill-disciplined, any effort to comprehend the hidden mysteries will be in vain. Because of the necessity for a higher level of consciousness to enable a more sophisticated synthesis of all God has made available for man to study, Freemasonry has adopted the system of Pythagoras, whom Masonic writers have described as having himself been a Mason. Under that system grammar, rhetoric and logic are taught to cultivate and improve the mind. Mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy are also inculcated and a system of symbols is derived therefrom. This outline for the cultivation of intellectual insight should be strictly followed.

However, the cultivation of intellectual insight is not enough. There remains a step to be taken during which the cautionary scripture tale about the Tower of Babel should be kept in mind. Man builds his intellectual powers at the hands of human workmen until he reaches the top story of that tower. Here, communion with the Supreme Architect of the Universe takes over, for no man can peer behind the veil concealing the hidden mysteries unless permitted to do so by God. Thus the steps for any person to take include educating the mind about all that God has created and then clearing the mind for direct instructions from the Deity through meditative prayer, as opposed to petitioning prayer.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you find; knock, and the door to all understanding of the hidden mysteries will be opened for you. You simply need to know how to ask, where to seek and the manner in which you are expected to knock.

John Heisner is the author of several masonic books about symbolism in Freemasonry and has extensively researched the Masonic Symbolism. He has been a Master Mason since 1968; served as Chaplain, Senior Deacon, Junior Warden, Senior Warden and Worshipful Master of Amity Lodge No. 442 in San Diego, California, and serves presently as an Inspector for Division IX of the Grand Lodge of California. He has written two Masonic Symbolism Books is a member of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in San Diego, where he currently serves as an officer in the Lodge of Perfection and has thrice been awarded the Albert Pike trophy for excellence in the performance of Scottish Rite ritual; a member of Al Bahr Shrine since 1976; a member of the York Rite Bodies, Knights Templar, Allied Masonic Degrees, York Rite College and the Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine. Mr. Heisner is also a member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitibus Foederatis.

John is a practicing attorney in the State of California since 1973 and is currently a partner and trial specialist in a San Diego law firm where he emphasizes complex business litigation, trade secret litigation, real estate and probate litigation. He formerly served as an Assistant District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney and Special Assistant United States Attorney. As a criminal prosecutor, Mr. Heisner investigated and prosecuted organized crime, public official corruption and major fraud matters.

In his professional capacity, Mr. Heisner has also chaired several committees for the San Diego County Bar Association and been a member of various criminal justice committees.

Within his community, Mr. Heisner has served as president and director of his homeowner's association, participated in the immigrant nationalization process as a member of Kiwanis. He is married, father to four adult children and grandfather of five young children.