Introduction to Key Skills in Online Business Studies - Becky Donohue

With the high number of adults returning to education in order to make themselves more employable in today's competitive jobs market, business studies has been one of the subjects studied in the UK that has seen the biggest growth. Skills such as project management, marketing and business planning are typically available to specialize in on such courses - and their importance to potential employers continues to increase. Yet, there are a number of key skills associated with business studies online too.

The UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is responsible for publishing guidelines on what should be learned on the country's university degrees - in order to ensure that certain standards are met by all institutions. When it comes to General Business and Management, "Graduates are expected to be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to business and management. They should also demonstrate relevant personal and interpersonal skills."

Communication skills development is therefore key to online business studies. This will typically be studied in its varying forms, including written and oral communication, and will also focus on the different ways communication should be undertaken internally, i.e. to other colleagues and workers, and externally to clients and customers. Notions of company and individual voice are prevalent in this area, as well as growing types of media such as social networking and other uses of the internet for communication.

Following this, there are some basic skills that will likely be learned in reference to the general workings of the business, including researching, processing and using data. Consequently, the study of basic numerical methods to calculate averages and measurements will likely be studied, as well as methods for analysis of data via graphs and tables. It is a key skill to not only be able to gather data efficiently, but also to make sense of it and to use it to inform the future of your work.

Unsurprisingly, the presentation of data is also a key skill in business. This includes static presentation via documents (text, pictures, diagrams and graphs), as well as basic presentation skills in terms of preparation, planning and delivery - as well as the use of visual aids including slides, video and programs such as PowerPoint.

Business studies online is a fantastic way to learn the above key skills and more in a flexible, accessible and affordable way.

Source: http://beckydonohue.blogspot.com/2012/10/introduction-to-key-skills-in-online.html

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Can I hae a recap or something please?

Solatium Academy

A hidden school for anything not human? It's an elementary, jr. high, high school, and college in one? Haha, like such a thing could exist... Right?

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Hello, I am new to this roleplay and it is ten pages in, so I was wondering if a kind person could explain to me what the characters are doing, and maybe what my charcter could do. I don't want to just burst into who knows where you guys are and join in because I realize that isn't how it works, so wwill I just have to like, wait until you get back to the school?

Thank you so much, I apologize for probably sounding stupid.
velvetwizard

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velvetwizard
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ok,here is a recap:

Around 1am - 2am, red full moon.

Kaoz, Divina and William: On a quest, somewhere in the forests.

Ankin: Stalking.

Ethan, Benjamin: Somewhere.

Larianna: sleeping in her room.

Ayumu, Neve, Gyaku, Claire: wide awake in the courtyard.

Sparrow, Roth and Demytrix: in Benjamin's lab.

Chim and Lucus(?): in Benjamin's room in the academy.

Tiakono and Katherine: infront of Katherine's room.

Dacks and Blaze: Somewhere in Solatium.

Mika: Running around in the academy, on fire and still screaming "Fiya".

Kamoku and Raven: In the flux valley, fighting each other.

Drake: In the forest, bleeding.

Wyrl and Ruins: in Ruins' cave.

Note: I know there is some character missing. Either they haven't being introduced/ haven't being roleplayed/ the autor doesn't roleplay anymore in here. Please, if I did any mistake, don't burn me, I'm not perfect.

By the way, you should create a character before roleplaying anything.

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Microgravity research coming of age on the International Space Station

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) ? They say that necessity is the mother of invention, so when humans decided to build and inhabit a laboratory in the harsh environment of space, it was only natural that innovations would follow. The creators of these developments sought patents to protect their intellectual property, giving a way to gauge microgravity advancements. The recently published paper, "Microgravity-Related Patent History," by Mark Uhran, looks back at the more than 818 patents granted since 1981, as related to the term "microgravity."

Uhran, former NASA director, International Space Station Division Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, points out that the use of patents as an indicator of value creation signifies economic potential. In addition to the granted patents, he cites an additional 580 applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the last decade. There are undoubtedly station-related patents, according to Uhran, that do not include the term of microgravity. This means an even greater likelihood of additional innovations beyond those counted in his paper.

"Microgravity processing research is coming of age in much the same way that vacuum processing did at the close of the 19th century," said Uhran. "From vacuum technologies, the 20th century industrial revolution in microelectronics was born, and from microgravity technologies I predict a 21st century revolution in microbiotics that will dramatically change our approach to human health care and food production."

Developments based on microgravity investigations and exploration create compelling competition between agencies, scientists and engineers. This includes both research and technology developments, as seen in both cooperative and parallel projects that may lead to benefits for humanity.

"The fields of molecular and cellular biotechnology have already demonstrated the competitive advantages of microgravity environments," said Uhran.

The top seven patent categories include the following: biotechnologies (36%), instrumentation/analytical (13%), materials (12%), aerospace components (12%), and systems in the areas of thermal, measurement, and human health (4% each).

Macromolecular crystal growth and studies on bacterial pathogens in microgravity both show the potential from research aboard the space station to yield simultaneous beneficial developments for human health and global economies. "From the independent work of DeLucas, McPherson and Urade, we know that space is an effective tool for solving the structure of important biological macromolecules," said Uhran. "Nickerson and Hammond have both made competitive progress toward producing vaccines and therapeutics for bacterial pathogens."

While initially the U.S. government dominated microgravity-related patents, the area of industrial submissions quickly gained ground, with a continued growth that surpassed government, individual investigators and academia. These various sectors, Uhran asserts, are codependent. "The government role is to bridge the two [industry and academia] and demonstrate promise by underwriting long lead-time basic research, and proofs-of-concept for applications."

The grouping of the patent categories reveals the relationships inherent in knowledge growth and technological development. "In some cases, it's a scientific finding that enables the innovation of a new process or product on the ground that was never previously achievable," said Uhran. "In other cases, the process or product must function in the microgravity environment in order to yield an outcome that's not possible to duplicate on the ground under any conditions. Finally, a share of these patents are for products or processes that are needed to live and work in a microgravity environment."

Uhran concludes in his paper that his findings are merely the "tip of the proverbial iceberg." With the space station now at full utilization, he expects patents to grow rapidly, an indicator of advancing benefits on Earth and for future space exploration.

"Nothing could be more rewarding than to complete the International Space Station and meet all of the mission performance requirements we set back at the 1993 Critical Design Review," said Uhran. "We now have the laboratories we need, so what remains is a matter of political will and classic research portfolio management practices to capitalize on this incredible national asset."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. The original article was written by Jessica Nimon, International Space Station Program Science Office, NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/01Zs0sZitCg/121028085231.htm

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American Football and the National Football League | recreation ...

The word "football" means different things to people for different parts of the world. In many nations around the world, this term means a sport played with a round ball which is kicked around. This game is called soccer in the United States. In the United States, the term means American football, which is a sport played with an elongated ball, which, for most of the game, is thrown by hand rather than kicked. This is not consistent with the name of the game, but there you have it. American football (hereinafter just "football" in this article) is a game played between two teams of eleven athletes.

The football field stretches 109.7 meters by 48.8 meters with an end zone for each team. The goal of football is to further the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball is furthered by running with it or by throwing it to another player on the team.

While football exists in high school and college, professional football creates the most excitement amongst sports fans. Professional football is played under the auspices of the National Football League. The National Football League is made up of two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).

Beginning with the year 2002, the NFL follows this schedule annually: an exhibition season (also known as a preseason which is played mainly in August and comprises of 4 games; a regular season from September through December, and which comprises of 16 games; and the playoffs beginning in January. The end of the season is the Super Bowl in early February.

During the payoffs, 6 teams from each of these conferences play against each other to determine a champion for the NFC and one for the AFC. The AFC and NFC champions then are pitted against each other in the final extravaganza - the Superbowl. The Superbowl is one of the most watched events on television in the United States.

Source: http://recreationsportsupdates.blogspot.com/2012/10/american-football-and-national-football.html

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Pacific Coast Commercial | NREI Readers Write Urban ...

October 26, 2012

?

Real estate trends spring up all over the American map. Rural communities are currently the main focus of wind energy projects and solar energy farms.

?

Half a century ago, urban areas saw high-rise apartment buildings and government-funded projects suddenly become the norm.

?

Now, trends in commercial real estate in San Diego have taken a different focus. This new movement jointly emphasizes economy and environment, something relatively new in the real estate market.

?

?

Environmental Protection

?

Any business seeking urban development must incorporate certain environmental requirements into their designs before laying the foundation. Because of the high cost, building ?green? forces the industry to come up with better ideas and environmentally-friendly products that cost the same as their non-green counterparts.

?

Nearly all construction today is built with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in mind. This has been a focus in recent years, and it will continue to have influence in the future. As a result of the LEED need to build more efficiently, some very impressive buildings have been constructed. This includes the USGBC Headquarters, which achieved the highest possible LEED rating (platinum) and is not only visually appealing, but also includes green features throughout.

?

For instance, the developer utilized a 500-year-old salvaged timber initiative, energy-efficient lighting, and 40% decreased water and energy usage (compared to a non-green office). Builders of commercial real estate in San Diego and all over the country are improving the ways they operate. The emphasis on LEED certifications as a common benchmark helps not only further innovation, but it has the potential to lower costs with an increase in research and development.

?

In with the New, Not Quite Out with the Old

?

One big trend in real estate is the acquisition of old, sometimes foreclosed, buildings for a fraction of their market value. Builders then renovate and resell, or flip, the buildings to a new consumer for a hefty profit. However, it has become equally popular to restore old businesses to a modern look, all while preserving a nostalgic characteristic.

?

In some cases, the building may even be functionally obsolete. For example, the JBG Companies worked with the Cooper Cary design firm?s building in Arlington, Virginia. The developer constructed a new building in the place of an old car dealership. The old building had significant historical relevance to the area; in order to preserve the identity of the old building, the ?blue geometrical design overhang? was left in place. This was a key visual that the dealership had been well-known for.

?

We always need to be moving forward, improving our construction and incorporating different buildings into cityscapes. But remembering the past and having the flexibility to incorporate the old with the new can pay big dividends for a building?s future.

?

Priorities

?

Building trends are not specific to local communities such as commercial real estate in San Diego. National trends develop commonalities that consistently influence the market as a whole. As commercial real estate investor Dave Lindahl would say, builders need to find ?emerging markets.? These areas are experiencing change for the better and are known to have stable job markets and infrastructure. A builder should buy into the ?path of progress? as much as citizens and local politicians do. Development will pick up at a feverish pace, so this is where builders need to focus their time and energy in investing.

?

Times are changing. A developer?s glory no longer needs to be an environmental burden. Benchmark green initiatives, like LEED certifications, ensure environmental awareness. History is important to any urban neighborhood, and to think otherwise is dangerous. Preservation, if possible, can be critical to future building endeavors. By investing time and energy in emerging markets, developers can change the outlook of the economy. Builders can provide jobs for the unemployed, preserve a city?s identity, and turn the path of progress into a beautiful reality.

?

?

Source: National Real Estate Investor

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DISCLAIMER: This blog has been curated from an alternate source and is designed for informational purposes to highlight the commercial real estate market. It solely represents the opinion of the specific blogger and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Pacific Coast Commercial.

Source: http://www.pacificcoastcommercial.com/archives/nrei-readers-write-urban-development-the-hot-commodity

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Smashwords ? How Creativity Works: The Dynamic Interplay of ...

How Creativity Works: The Dynamic Interplay of Novelty and Routine

By Michael C. Patterson
$7.99 Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: Oct. 27, 2012
Words: 13065 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781301927258

Short description

In How Creativity Works we take a fresh look at creativity and argue that creative thinking requires the brain to generate new ideas and to reconcile them with stable habits and routines. Creativity is a dynamic interplay between stability and change.
Creative expression is intimately tied to the human need for self-exploration and self-actualization. The creative impulse generates all that is good and glorious in human culture. It is the prime driver of economic growth and cultural development. The potential for future prosperity, happiness, justice and human fulfillment is dependent upon life affirming manifestations of human imagination. Our future depends on the creative and artistic aspects of the human mind.

Creativity is critical to us all. But, there?s a problem. Creativity is a mysterious entity. We don?t really understand how it works. What is creativity, anyway? Just what do we mean by creativity? Is it being artistic? Yes. But non-artists can be creative as well. Scientists are creative. Inventors are creative. Business people are creative. Cooks and carpenters are creative.

It is our firm belief that creativity is a thinking skill, like any other, that can be learned and improved. The goal of this book, and of... (Read more)

Creative expression is intimately tied to the human need for self-exploration and self-actualization. The creative impulse generates all that is good and glorious in human culture. It is the prime driver of economic growth and cultural development. The potential for future prosperity, happiness, justice and human fulfillment is dependent upon life affirming manifestations of human imagination. Our future depends on the creative and artistic aspects of the human mind.

Creativity is critical to us all. But, there?s a problem. Creativity is a mysterious entity. We don?t really understand how it works. What is creativity, anyway? Just what do we mean by creativity? Is it being artistic? Yes. But non-artists can be creative as well. Scientists are creative. Inventors are creative. Business people are creative. Cooks and carpenters are creative.

It is our firm belief that creativity is a thinking skill, like any other, that can be learned and improved. The goal of this book, and of the entire ?Exploring Human Creativity? series of books, is to take a fresh look at creativity. We review much of the past and current research on creativity, but caution that much of the research misses the mark, defining creativity too narrowly. We argue that creative thinking requires the brain to generate new ideas and to reconcile them with stable habits and routines. Creativity is a dynamic interplay between stability and change. The better we understand how this dynamic works, the easier it will be to improve creative performance and productivity. Ultimately, our goal is to provide practical advice on how to improve creative thinking and productivity. Subsequent books in this series will focus on the various stages of the creative process and on creative talent, what it is and how to nurture it.
(Less)

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creativity, brain, imagination, innovation, creative?thinking, cognition, novelty Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.
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Source: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/249024

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The PSNK Work Bench: HR Intern

HR Intern

Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) is one of the leading producers of polymers and

high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience

business with nearly 14,700 employees at 30 sites around the world. Business activities are

focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative

solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the

automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries.

Job description

?

The duties of the internship will include support of the BMS succession

planning process through data input in a new, web-based talent tool; collection of job

descriptions with deployment to our human resources information system.

Your qualifications

?

Successful candidates should have completed their sophomore year in

college and should be enrolled in a business or human resources major.

Candidates must possess good working skills in the Microsoft office suite, have good

interpersonal and communication skills, and have previous work experience.

Your application

?

If you meet the requirements of this unique opportunity, we encourage you

to explore how you can make a difference at Bayer by applying now.

To all recruitment agencies: Bayer does not accept unsolicited third party resumes.

?

www.myBayerjob.com??????? Phone +1 877 229-3727

Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer


Reference Code: 0000044210


?

Source: http://thepsnkworkbench.blogspot.com/2012/10/hr-intern.html

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ZAGGsparq 6000 mAh Portable Battery/Charger review

I travel a great deal for my day job and all too often forget one or more of the needed accessories to charge my litany of tech equipment. Every time that happens, I think to myself (after several choice words) that I really need a dedicated set of charging gear staged in my bag. Well, [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/10/26/zaggsparq-6000-mah-portable-batterycharger-review/

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Sen. Rubio's daughter in car accident; rally appearance canceled

By NBC's Garrett Haake

LAKEWOOD CREST, Fla. -- Senator Marco Rubio's 12-year-old daughter was in stable condition Saturday night after being injured in a?motor vehicle?accident in the Miami area.

The Republican senator's?daughter, Amanda, was airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital.


Rubio was notified of the accident after coming offstage at a rally for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Kissimmee, Fla., according to a statement Alex Conant, a spokesman.

Rubio returned to the Romney campaign bus following the rally, which continued along Interstate?4 for aboutan hour before pulling over near an airport, where Rubio disembarked and climbed into a waiting police cruiser.

Onboard the bus, Romney offered his thoughts and prayers to Rubio "like any nervous father would," according to Romney spokesman Rick Gorka.?

Conant said the senator then flew back to Miami to be with his family.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14749161-sen-rubios-daughter-in-car-accident-rally-appearance-canceled?lite

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Size does matter in sexual selection, at least among beetles

Friday, October 26, 2012

A new collaborative project among researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Cincinnati has, for the first time, demonstrated experimentally the evolutionary force behind the rapid evolution of male genitals, focusing on a species of seed beetle.

This mechanism is revealed in a study published today in the scientific journal Current Biology. The experiments leading to this paper involved a species of seed beetle known as Callosobruchus maculatus. Mating among these beetles involves several males engaging in copulation with individual females.

"When a female mates with several males, the males compete over the fertilization of her eggs," said Michal Polak, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Cincinnati, one of the co-authors. "Because females mate with multiple males, the function of the male copulatory organ may determine which of the males will fertilize most of her eggs. Our results show that the morphology of the male genitalia affects his fertilization success in these beetles."

The competition to produce offspring is the driving force of evolution. Competition among males occurring after insemination may be an important evolutionary force that has led to the evolution of a diversity of shapes and sizes of male sexual organs, the co-authors assert. This competition among males has generated a great biological diversity that they believe can directly contribute to the formation of new species.

"The reproductive organs of animals with internal fertilization change more rapidly than all other morphological features during evolution," Polak said. "In virtually all groups of animals, from roundworms and molluscs to reptiles and mammals, the male sex organs differ markedly among even closely related species, with female genital traits remaining relatively unchanged."

To experimentally investigate the role of genital shape in reproductive success, the Swedish researchers - Cosima Hotzy, Goran Arnqvist and Johanna L. Ronn - bred male beetles with extraordinarily long genital spines. They simultaneously bred male beetles with extremely small spines. Experiments demonstrated that the males with long spines produced substantially more offspring.

"It is possible, however, that breeding for long spines introduced a secondary trait that affects fertility," Polak said. Unintended consequences, he said, are well known to animal breeders.

To prove that it was the spines and not some other trait, some beetles had their genital spines surgically modified using micro-scale laser surgery. Polak's laboratory has gained an international reputation for using a precision laser system to make microscopic changes to insect bodies.

Insects modified through both methods were then observed throughout the competitive mating process. The international team found that the longer genital spines directly contributed to successful fertilization. Seminal fluid from the males was also tracked through high-resolution radioisotope labels, and shown to enter the female body more quickly after mating with long-spined males than short-spined males.

"This provides experimental evidence that male genital morphology influences success in postcopulatory reproductive competition," Polak said.

There is more work to be done, Polak said, to understand the mechanism at work here. It is possible that these longer spines help introduce bio-active molecules from seminal fluid into the female circulatory system. These added proteins and peptides, which have yet to be characterized, may create effects within the female that contribute to male reproductive success. It is also possible that genital spines exert mechanical effects within the female by stimulating her reproductive tract during copulation, thereby inducing the female to uptake and use more of her current mate's sperm.

###

University of Cincinnati: http://www.uc.edu/news

Thanks to University of Cincinnati for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124860/Size_does_matter_in_sexual_selection__at_least_among_beetles

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