12/11/2010

How To Remove The Search Redirect Virus From Your System

The "Search Redirect Virus" is a common infection that's been designed by hackers to continually cause a large number of problems for your system. Despite hiding away on your PC, the virus is highly damaging and can cause a lot of annoyances. The big issue with the search redirect virus is the way in which it will be highly difficult to remove. In order to resolve this problem, you need to make sure that you both understand the problem, and are able to get rid of it in the most effective way. This tutorial is going to show you exactly how to get rid of the infection from your system for good.

This virus is a special type of infection which is extremely difficult to remove. The issue is that instead of a "normal" virus (which will place a small file / setting onto your computer to cause problems), this infection just changes a few Windows settings on your computer with the aim that it will inject its own links into any redirections made online. This means that if you want to remove the virus from your system, you need to be able to get rid of all the parts of the infection that have installed itself onto your PC.

There are very few ways to get rid of the search redirect infection, because of the way in that this virus has been created to hide away. Most people fall foul of its main line of defense - its ability to hide away from any antivirus application you may use on your computer. These programs have been created to scan through your computer and look for any rogue / infected files that are out of the ordinary... because the search engine redirect just changes a few small Windows settings, it's continually evading capture and therefore needs to be removed by using a special type of virus removal program.

We've found the most effective way to stop this virus is to scan through your computer with two programs - one called "Hitman Pro" and another called "TDSS Killer". Both of these applications work to find the specific causes of the search redirect infection, and can be freely downloaded from the Internet. Both of these programs have been specifically designed to get rid of particular types of virus - and work extremely well to remove the redirect virus from your PC. On top of these two programs, we've that a commercial tool called "FixRedirectVirus" is one of the most effective & easiest ways to get rid the infection from your system.

Introduction to Search Engine Optimization - SEO Guide

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the technique of optimizing the website for the search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask etc. In SEO we enhance site for search engines so that site ranks high on SERP's. The enhancement of site depends upon a lot of factors categorizes as:
  • Onsite Optimization
  • Offsite Optimization
Onsite Optimization: As name suggests the optimization deals with the improvement in the factors related with own website.

Onsite Optimization Factors:
Title Tag: The title tag in SEO is crucial. The title of each & every page should be unique and relevant to the content of the page.The tile tag must have the keyword with maximum possible keywords.

Description Tag: Description tag is the short summary of the page. It may have 2-3 lines from the content of page.
Keywords: The keyword Meta tag plays the most important role in optimization. The keyword tag must be stuffed with the possible keywords by which traffic supposed to come on your site. Do not include extra keywords which are not present on page matter.

Headings: Use the proper heading for pages. The H1 should have the keywords and use once in a page.

Paragraphs: Proper paragraphing of content is necessary.

Strong: Make the keywords strong in contents. Not more than 2-3 times.

Alt Tags: Alt tag for images is used to optimize the images. Write in the alt tag what is for the image and put keywords here.

Contents: The contents of the page and site should be relevant and contains the searchable keywords. The density of keyword should be 3-4% and the content must have more than 250 words. The content is the most important part for ranking. It must be unique and best possible. Link the keyword in content to the other pages of site. 1-2 is fine.

Linking: Your site page should have proper linking structure and try not to include any outgoing link. The inbound link should contain the keywords.

Copyright statement: Write and link the copyright to your domain only. If you link it to other site you will lose your ranking and authority is passing to the linking site. So never include the link of your developer or other. In most cases people do that.
Apart from these coding improvements the ranking depends on other site factors also like:

Domain Age: "Old is Gold", the same rule apply here. The older is the domain betters the result. Also the domain should have expiration period as much as possible.

Offsite Optimization:
Links: Once you ready with solid onsite optimization the talk comes to linking. The linking in today scenario of search engines matter most. The pages should be linked to the relevant pages and with proper incoming link.

The links should be from authority sites and looks to be natural. No of links required to rank page in SERP depends upon 1000s factors.

We will discuss the linking strategy and link wheel in coming posts in detail.
Besides, above factors the optimization depends upon several other factors such as locality, nature of business, traffic etc.

What's The Difference Between Adware And Spyware?

Both of these factors can be very harmful to the computer. Many often have to deal with a slower system, a system that is always freezing on them or a system that just shuts down altogether. These factors are usually found because the individual did not do what was needed to get ahead. Effective maintenance is key in order to avoid these two harmful factors.

When taking a closer look at the adware prospective, many can learn that they have an issue due to the high amount of pop up ads. Those who are not doing what they need to stay out of harmful sites are going to have to fight through a number of different ads. The more ads there are, the harder it is going to be to enjoy the computer and use it on a regular basis. Many people do not want to sit around and click out ads all day, so tackle the problem as soon as possible.

As for spyware, this has everything to do with what that person is looking at. Every webpage that you visit is going to be tracked as well as all of the information that you provide. If the wrong person gets your personal information, it is going to be very hard to bounce back from all of that. Take the time to make sure that the right safety measures are being taken.

There are great tools that can be used for both the adware as well as the spyware. Individuals should look into different free trials that they can use at no charge. This will help to fix the issue just a little bit, but it is not going to act as a permanent fix. Take the time to find a version for the computer that is going to take care of everything and make sure that it is going to work with the current system.

It is very important to take care of the computer and make sure that all programs and files are free of bugs. Using the right software and tools will enable any computer owner to find out about different warnings as well as brand new products that could pose as a threat. Take the time to ensure that all of the right safety measures are accounted for and the computer is not going to have any problems.

The main factor that computer users should remember is the fact that they do not have to buy a brand new computer. Spending a small amount of money in order to get software or protection tools is all that is needed. Save hundreds and get a new safety system in place right now.

Knowing whats the difference between adware and spyware is very important. Individuals must be sure that they know how to take care of their machine and what to do in case a problem presents itself. Look around right now and take note of any and all ads that might pop up during use.

Culture and Business Communication

In business the most valuable thing would be information and for it to be transferred from one body to the other, communication is the vital element that drives such process. But when the communication comes to certain influenced by culture, it is a whole new chapter to be understood.

International businesses are facing a new dilemma whereby cross-cultural communication is introduced due to the major reforms brought about through internationalization, merging and joint ventures. This would make culture an important aspect when it comes to business communication.

Lack of understanding or investment in cross-cultural training would lead to major business problems. Such as loss of clients, poor staff motivation, lack of team building, internal conflicts, and poor productivity. These are all only the icing of the by-products of poor cross-cultural communication.

International companies with highly diverse workforce in terms of nationality and cultural background all face the same problem when conflict arises from the difference of culture, language, value, belief, business ethic, behavior, and cultural etiquettes.

Such conflict could prove to be a negative impact on the business mainly in team cohesion and staff productivity. Cross-cultural communication problems can manifest into the downfalls of big international companies when taken lightly. That is why more and more companies have realized such dilemma and are upgrading intercultural communication skills within its organization.

Cross-cultural consultants and intercultural team builders are summoned to deal with such dilemma as technology and science is improving by the second. Communication within companies is now more efficient and fast phones, fax and various other means of communication tools are invented closing in on the barriers of distance but introduces cross-cultural communication awareness.

Other than the differences of culture in the company, the company's working culture is also important as the company's culture projects the company's managerial abilities. Company's culture depends on how it views its staff and departments; does it see it as a close or open system? For example when one works in the engineering department and one works in the HR department, is there cross communications of synergy between the two departments?? If there isn't this means lack of communication is at present and team building is vital in improving such situations.

Such situations are usually endorsed by joint ventures and mergers of two separate cross-cultural companies whereby co-operation is required for their commitment to an open system. Without a doubt, most companies are form or merged in the expectations of better financial and strategic managements without realizing the consequences of intercultural communication mishaps.

As more and more companies realize that their business problems are not just mere financial flaws made by lack of education in their staff's but to the cross-cultural environment in which their staff's work in. The need for understanding communication between cultures and managing intercultural business management has rocketed ever since the discovery of such events during the globalization era.

The main reason for most failed ventures or cross-cultural business is mostly due to the underestimation of the effects of culture in a working environment especially in communication. Seeking expertise help on such situation would prove to be better investments once the differentiation is been straighten out.

Impact of Organization Culture on Internal Controls

The COSO defines Internal Control as "a process, effected by an entity's board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories: effectiveness and efficiency of operations; reliability of financial reporting; and compliance with applicable laws and regulations." It further defines Control Environment as - "The control environment is an organization's culture, beliefs, and values. It includes the integrity, ethical beliefs, and competencies of its people, which are visible in management's operating style, how management assigns authority and responsibility, and how management organizes and develops its employees. Another indication of the control environment is the degree of involvement from its board or directors."

In other words, Organization Culture is the sum total of the psychology and attitudes which are communicated by the leadership team to the employees and the ethics, values and beliefs which are incorporated for execution of work and obtaining business objectives. Now that connections between internal control, control environment and organization culture are clear; the next question is what is the impact of organization culture on internal controls?

Let us understand the constituents of organization culture and drive the impact on internal controls.

Leadership: Organization culture is defined by the leadership of the organization. The CEO is the torch-bearer of culture. The mission, vision and strategy communicated by the senior management is the glue which holds the organization together and moves everybody in the same direction. Lack of clear direction, frequent and abrupt changes and arbitrary decisions in mission, vision and strategy contribute to the negativity in the culture. This also results in various departments having different work cultures and working in a counter-productive manner. This directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations. Depending on the level and clarity of leadership communication, the organization at a macro level may be in high, medium or low risk.

Ethics: Business ethics show in all aspects of business conduct, from the board room strategies to the front desk personnel. It goes beyond legal requirements, and shows whether business is conducted on values of integrity, honesty and fairness. It shows whether employees at all levels are able to walk the talk. A clearly defined and implemented code of conduct improves the culture. However, an organization which has not implemented a code of conduct may have a negative organization culture. In such a case, decisions are taken arbitrarily, organization lacks transparency and may disregard laws and regulations to achieve profitability. Commitment to follow the business ethics, reflect whether organization has high, medium or low compliance risk. High compliance risk raises questions on reliability and authenticity of financial statements.

Attitudes & Beliefs: The psychology and behavior shown throughout the organization by the employees for doing day-to-day operations reflect the organization culture. Organizations show healthy attitudes where employees are rewarded on performance, there is lack of discrimination due to age, race, color and gender and there is minimal harassment and workplace aggression. Organizations having aggressive work cultures, which are number driven and lack humanity, impact the control environment negatively. In such cases, for the sake of efficiency, legal requirements are compromised. Carried to an excessive stage, the organization may become unsafe for work and/or shareholder investments. The control environment is such cases maybe seriously impacted, as there is strong alignment towards unhealthy and corrupt business practices.

The above mentioned three aspects clearly indicate that organization culture has a significant impact on control environment of the organization. An internal control auditor would benefit from understanding and assessing the culture. An organization risk appetite, philosophy, and exposures can be determined while analyzing the culture. A risk dashboard and/ or internal audit program should be developed keeping the organization culture in mind. An internal audit report must mention the impact of organization culture on internal control environment and the risks the organization is exposed to, due to negative or unhealthy organization culture. Recommendations should be given to improve and build a healthy organization culture.

The Impact of Chinese Culture on Business

Cultures have a very significant impact on the way to make business. Chinese culture is belonging to Asian cultures, which are very peculiar and totally different from Western cultures. Wilson (2004) in one of his articles has stated that "culture is a popular explanatory concept frequently used to describe a company, a rationale for people's behaviour, a guideline for action, a cause for condemnation or praise, or a quality that makes a company 'what it is'".

If a company is oriented toward the Chinese market, of course, the influence of Chinese culture will be significant.

For example, culture can play a dramatic role in positioning new products or brand-building, or it may have an impact on consumers, on their preferences where to shop.

Currently international companies are concerned with methods of attracting and satisfying Chinese customers.

Managers should always keep in mind that Chinese culture can either track closely or have a knock-on effect on business and negotiating process. That is the problem.

To find a good solution and a good approach to Chinese customers foreign business partners have to know that Chinese consumers are different from their own culture. Chinese people value order and believe in their collectivistic culture. Also they are faithful to the cultural tradition of Confucianism which has a significant impact on their behaviour. However, currently there is a great influence of modernization, globalization and industrialization which put in question traditional Confucian values of Chinese consumers. Hence, the situation is changing rapidly and it is quite difficult to control it.

The only way out of this endless circle is to monitor and analyze not the Chinese market and Chinese economy, but to analyze Chinese consumer behaviour from the anthropological point of view.

Anthropology is the comprehensive study of human beings and of their interactions with each other and the environment. Anthropology implies different styles: ethnographic realism, ethnography (critical, reflexive, auto-ethnography and etc.).The central task for anthropology to represent the lives of social groups or individuals.

The good advice for managers could be to study Chinese culture in comparison with up-to-date anthropological monitoring. It is necessary to understand that quantitative studies (statistical data) are not a good base for creating different strategies oriented toward business at the Chinese market. Strategies based on qualitative studies will be very useful and beneficial for newcomers to the Chinese market due to the fact that the research based on qualitative methods purports the analysis and understanding of people's behaviour. Only then foreign managers can state that they know Chinese market and Chinese consumers very well.

Because in the case of China, knowledge getting from the studies based on social anthropology will be more of a high value than simply statistical market data.

Common Obstacles to Changing an Organizations Culture

Quite often you feel that your company should have a different, more improved organizational culture than it has at present, but then you let the thought slip because changing a company's culture-especially a company that has been in existence for several years-isn't a very easy thing to do. You feel that instead of putting in the effort towards changing your company's culture, you could better do something else with your resources.

You may be justified in thinking like this, because there are various difficulties in changing a company's prevailing culture. The first problem arises from the kinds of excuses people make for keeping the same culture. They will tell you that there is too much work involved, it will be a very much time consuming process that won't be worth the effort, it is something that is not really needed and so on. These are the detractors, and you will find them when you are trying out anything new.

It is also possible that these people don't want to change. They are the old bricks of the organization. They have been like this for several years now and they don't want to make the effort to change themselves or anything that they have grown accustomed to. Most importantly, they don't want to change their habits.

And then there is the fact that it might be really difficult to change things. People are set in their ways, the impressions are made, even people outside your organization know what you stand for. Changing a corporate image isn't just about changing a name or a logo design. It runs much deeper than that. The company's very core needs to be changed.

That's where the answer lies... the core. Or, rather, the core values. When you change the core values of your team, the changes begin to show. Don't expect this to be an overnight process, but if you are convinced about changing, make the first small step towards it. When you meet with success, the detractors will become congratulators, and they will slowly follow in the footprints that you lay for them on the ground.

German Food Culture

German food plays a large part of everyday culture and tradition in Germany. Most celebrations either public or private are always accompanied by great tasting food, as well as exceptional tasting beer.

German food varies significantly from region to region. Certain areas have become famous for a particular type of delicacy. For example Nurnberg is notable for the Nurnberger bratwurst. Munich on the other hand is famous for the Munchner Weiswurst. Interestingly these foods are available at the most simplest of places. They are often sold from stands in the market place, or even the train station.

There is also great rivalry between the regions as to who has the better recipes. There has always been strong regional rivalry between the north and south of the country. The claim for the title of best food recipes provokes a healthy banter between the local citizens.

Germany is most famous for its sausages and sauerkraut. However there are a huge amount of traditional recipes on offer that most people of other nations wouldn't even be aware of. These include unique flavorsome meat dishes, a large variety of potato dumplings, and many types of potato salads. One of the least recognized claims to fame are the numerous fresh salad recipes accompanied by the most amazing dressings.

And not forgetting those who have a sweet tooth, there are also an enormous variety of cakes and pastries available. In almost every cafe, you can enjoy the most mouth watering layer cakes, unrivaled anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately many of the traditional ways of cooking the famous German recipes are being forgotten. With the convenience of large food outlets you can now buy ready to cook German dumplings, sauerbraten, sauerkraut etc. Cakes can be easily purchased from almost any bakery.

The result is that few of the current generation would know where to begin to create a traditional meal.

German culture and German food are closely linked. The risk is that essential German food culture may be lost unless the art of German cooking is revitalized. This is important for Germans living in Germany. It is also essential for German migrants and their descendants who have gone to live in other parts of the world.

We need to make a concerted effort to ensure that the German food culture remains alive. Therefore, take the time and make the effort to teach the young ones the recipes and cooking techniques of old. In doing so the German traditions and customs will also remain alive.

Economic Stability With Biosphere Technology

Economic stability is something every nation wants and needs. This is the reason why they take good care of stock markets and monitor their imports and exports. There is however, one obstacle all non-oil producing countries need to overcome before they can truly pursue real economic stability. That obstacle is oil independence. With every bit of fluctuation in the price of oil in the global market having a great impact on one's economy, no country can claim it has a fully stable economy. But the power to finally achieve oil independence is finally without our grasp, and that power is known as biosphere technology.

Biosphere technology is the only green energy technology that has the potential to rival oil in terms of output and combustion efficiency. It involves the harnessing of the combustibility of solid wastes and the utilization of the said combustibility to power generators that produce electricity. The entire process is conducted in an oxygen limited environment this greatly limiting carbon emissions. The said carbon emissions are present in oil combustion in very high levels and are the primary culprits behind the greenhouse effect that leads to global warming and climate change.

Biosphere technology thus earned its way into being classified as part of the sustainability industry. The sustainability industry aims to make certain that generations to come still have enough resources to meet their needs. Using renewable energy that are abundant and never run out is the best method of conserving resources. The problem however, is that renewable energy such as solar power, wind power, hydro power, biomass power, and geothermal power all pale in comparison to the far more prevalent oil in terms of efficiency. The huge capital investment needed to put up facilities for large scale renewable energy generation has also constantly kept potential investors at bay.

Biosphere technology is the first of its kind. It can be considered a renewable energy source because it uses solid wastes, which nobody wants, as fuel to generate electricity. It can make use of all the garbage found in landfills and convert them into power. The space used up by landfills is freed up in the process, making it available for other purposes than just housing trash. Biosphere technology completely removes the need for landfills. The weight to energy conversion ratio of this cutting edge technology is so high it can stand on its own, unlike other green energies that need supplementary energy sources to fully suffice. A biosphere machine is enough to support the energy needs of an entire household 24/7.

Biosphere technology therefore helps the environment in two ways. First, it clears existing solid wastes by turning them into energy. Second, it generates electrical power without causing harm to the environment because of the very little greenhouse emissions it releases into the atmosphere.

A nation who entrusts its energy generation processes to biosphere technologies can finally achieve true economic stability because after biosphere machines are purchased or built, the global price of the technology need not be considered anymore. Being aware of this, rich and developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Sweden and Brazil have already started building their own biosphere facilities. The said countries believe that biosphere machines will be the ones to bring them oil independence.

Introduction to Homeschooling

Some parents may feel uncomfortable sending their kids to public or special schools. There are plentiful reasons why they might think this. Some parents may dislike the school curriculum structure. Others simply choose to homeschool their children for religious reasons. Parents who believe that schools are unsafe also choose homeschooling information. In certain locations of the world this is definitely a valid reason.

There are a large amount of 'Pros' when choosing to homeschool a child. The child could be given particular attention, where statistics show that young children schooled at home often fare better in academics. Curriculums given by schools may not benefit every student, hence parents are able to teach their kids specific curriculum that might benefit them the most. Parents sometimes hire tutors to homeschool their kids for them. Those parents who don't have the time or sufficient knowledge to teach their children should follow this method when they choose homeschooling for their children.

Homeschooling provides a good way to boost the bond of family members. Kids may also have some additional time for activities that they enjoy considering that time spent on teaching might be shortened through home schooling.

Parents and kids need to discuss their homeschooling options before implementing it as it may be hard to stick with guidelines which are pre-defined. Finding ways to resolve common struggles can be found in a variety number of places over the internet or in hard-copy books found in the library.

Parents who homeschool their kids may need a large amount of help as they are not trained educationalists. Going to public institutions will help supply you with various essential information. Many books and video programs can provide a huge amount of knowledge on homeschooling children. Parents can discuss common problems and seek guidance from those who have understanding and knowledge on the subject.

Using study planners and timetables keeps you and your child on schedule with learning without distractions. This is so your child/children are taught on a consistent level.

Create new opportunities for your young children without giving them a stack of common difficulties that standard schools may provide.

8 Best Jobs You Can Do With An Online Information Technology Degree

If you enjoy working with computers, learning new programs or testing out the latest computer software products, earning a computer science degree is necessary if you want to find a well paying job in the computer or IT field. Popular hot jobs you can apply for after you graduate include:Computer engineer, Systems analyst, Computer programmer, Database administrator, Software Support, Software engineer, Network Administrator, Interface designer.

Each of these careers is rewarding and necessary as more and more companies are in need of those who can use this technology to further their businesses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, over half of all computer programmers have at least a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field. This means that earning a computer science degree online will increase your chances of finding your dream job.

How can an online IT degree help you reach an occupational goal?


Equal to a traditional degree program, an online degree will help you achieve any of the premium occupation mentioned above, plus other positions like computer security. However, unlike the students in the regular classroom, you pick the time most convenient to learn and study. Forget rushing from work to attend night classes, fighting for a parking space, or uprooting the entire family schedule. With online IT studies, you can take classes in the fields of: Hardware and software design, Software development, Troubleshooting, Networking, Data Security, Database management,Web design, Develop security plans.

As companies continue to grow and advance in the technological age, specialized departments are often necessary keep the businesses up and running, including maintaining open lines of communication with consumers and employees. Companies geared toward manufacturing and computers need talented individuals with expertise in developing new software and hardware to keep up with consumer needs and desires. With so many options, IT students will need to discover their niche of particular interest.

Choosing the right online IT degree

First, a career decision needs to be made. Find out which IT positions are responsible for most of the hiring. For example, the need for computer programmers seems to be on the decline since 2006. Conversely, the need for computer support and information security is increasing.

Once again referring to the most recent edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the coming years should continue to see a rise in the need for support personnel by approximately 13%. When deciding on the best career options, make certain the online college of choice is accredited, determine your technological strengths and interests, decide whether to get a degree encompassing many areas of technology or hone in on one area of expertise. Finally, make sure to select a program most likely to ensure employment right out of college.

An online IT degree can help establish a career in one of the most vital areas in the job market today. Generally, good students will have many employment options and offers following graduation. Even if you choose an occupation less popular than some, the chances o landing that dream job will increase greatly, if you have a degree in Computer Science.

A Better Approach to Sales Training - Spaced Repetition Education

   I've never worked for a tax preparation company, but I'd be willing to bet big money that the vast majority of all filing and preparation software is sold in the week or two leading up to April 15. How can I make that claim? Let's call it experience. It's the same reason most Valentines gifts are bought on the afternoon of February 14, and the shopping malls are full on Christmas Eve - humans are built to wait until the last minute to make a change or take action.

In fact, when it comes to adults, the best way to change behavior without an impending deadline is in dozens or hundreds of tiny little increments. Think of it as the radio commercial effect: you might not remember the ad the first time, or the 20th, but eventually it slips into your consciousness so naturally that you find yourself humming it without even trying.

The $64,000 question is: what does this have to do with sales training? In a word: everything.

    Most comprehensive sales training programs are one-day events. If the company is really serious, it might stretch over a weekend, or even a three-day course. That's fine, except that such a small amount of time will only change the behavior of a very tiny minority - usually that handful of producers who were bringing in most of the new accounts anyway.

The answer, then, isn't to jam all of your training into a few days and then forget about it - it's to teach the concepts and then reinforce them over and over. In scientific circles, this is called spaced repetition. It's the same thing that allows an athlete to have a 95-mile an hour fastball, or a chess master to survey a board within seconds. And, it can produce dramatic results in your sales team's efforts.

    Putting spaced repetition into action isn't all that complicated or difficult. All you have to do is take the highlights of the last sales training program while they are still fresh in your sales staff's minds and work on them on a daily basis. It's an easy idea, but you'd be surprised what 10 minutes a day can accomplish in terms of building new habits.

Lots of sales trainers will build materials and exercises that can be used to reinforce the material later into their programs. If they don't, however, be sure to ask if they could put some thoughts together, or at the very least, make notes so that you'll be able to work on the concepts in your own office.

    Using spaced repetition isn't just a smarter way to reinforce sales training programs - it's also good business. Why pay for a quality program only to use it once, or get a few days worth of extra motivation? By making sure your sales team internalizes the information concepts, you can create a cycle of constant improvement, rather than an expensive one time learning session.

Currency Training Education: People Learn How To Get Rich

People should know everything about triumphant Forex trading if they wish to become wealthy professionals. Just by taking up the currency training education, this method can be particularly learned by representing several ways to start off with diminutive stakes and quickly build up wealth. Professionals need to trade currency online by using the right tools as they build big profits in less than an hour per day.

Monetary trading Forex courses can be considered as magnificent since Forex teaching courses allows trainers to learn the reasonable, influential, vigorous, and stylish methods in earning income. The strategies that people learn in this course have surfaced the Forex trading pathway by converting from dumb to elegant cash. The revolving point trading technique is similar to accurate guidance organization as the signal investigation technique provides a high level of precision where dealers gain knowledge of the brief and practical technological data.

Millions of people globally come across to earn commercial ventures. Earning investments is the first priority that business experts should learn. This helps earn high income to expand their own businesses. Forex Trading is considered as the major monetary marketplace for investors with an estimated normal income costing up to nearly three trillion United States dollars. If we need to generate income from this investment, there is some related information needed to differentiate.

One of the guidelines that people need to learn while taking up currency training education is use future data for validating market trends and demonstrates the entry and exit signals with the pivoted program. Potential traders can learn to perform the trade currency exchange since it is a specially educated ability to generate wealth. In this website they will be able to discover the currency trading methods to generate immense and reliable Forex incomes. For those who want to be trained and desire to be successful in life, then they must start working as a currency trader at home by earning a huge income in less than half an hour per day.

A 'Word' On Irish Politics

The Irish public is incensed by the behavior of our politicians; we cannot understand why our politicians are bringing about the demise of the republic and still appear utterly defiant. An Irish Times poll dated 18/11/2010 asked readers the following question, "Do you think the Government is in denial over the prospect of a bailout"? Why are we asking such a question? How can it be that our Government is acting in such a reckless manner? The aim of this piece is to potentially shed some light on the current thinking of our politicians, Psychology, or more specifically Psychoanalysis may hold the key to understanding why our politicians behave the way they do.

One particular Psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan, proposed the theory of the 4 Discourse Model. Lacan was a Psychoanalyst renowned for his particular examination of language as a method of understanding ourselves. He argued that the moment a child begins to construct words and sentences it becomes an autonomous subject, dictated to by desire. According to Lacan, the subject spends its life seeking to reconnect with its desire; we can see evidence of this today; marketers offer to fulfill our every desire, and we consume products and experiences in a constant struggle to obtain satisfaction. Lacan argued that the source if this behavior lies in language, which we utilise to address a missing aspect of ourselves.

This is not the first time the 4 discourse model has been implemented in relation to a modern civil structure. It has been previously argued by Professor Jean Schroeder of Stanford University that the 4 discourse model permeated the US Judicial system, and it is argued here that the same can be said of Irish Politics.To understand the 4 discourse model we must return to 1960's France, at the time there was large scale rioting taking place in Paris, orchestrated to a large extent by students. They were rebelling against the perceived arrogance of the University authorities; they felt that their voices were going unheard. Out of this unrest came Lacan's Discourse Model, as previously stated the element within this theory which applies here is the University Discourse, most likely named after the educational institutions in France at the time.

According to Lacan, the University Discourse operates on the belief that it holds total authority, in a manner, the University Discourse believes it is the guardian of knowledge. This is how Fianna Fail see themselves, they believe wholeheartedly that they are the guardians of truth and that they must defend, at all costs, this version of reality. Furthermore Lacan argued that it is impossible for a person or institution to appreciate any discourse that operates outside the University point of view from which they operate. This explains Fianna Fails total inability to understand external arguments, and as long as they continue to operate within the University Discourse they will continue with this process.
 
The upcoming elections will most likely see the end of Fianna Fails rule, for now. However the discourse model advises us to take caution. Returning to 1960's France; the students in their frustration felt compelled to dismantle or revise the manner in which the education system worked. In their haste they turned to none other than Lacan himself for guidance, as he was held in revere for his criticism of the same authorities. However Lacan refused to accept the invitation from the students to lead because it was obvious to him that the students were simply trying to recreate another University Discourse with Lacan at the helm, thereby repeating the circumstances that had angered them in the first place. The lesson for us is clear; we must not run to other political parties in our desperation, as we will simply recreate the conditions that got us here in the first place, albeit under a different party. However this is the very nature of the political system in which we currently reside.

So what is the answer? Well, there is one more aspect of the discourse model that is worth mentioning, and may assist us in designing a new political system. This is called the discourse of the Analyst; it is called the Analyst discourse because this is how Lacan viewed the position the therapist should adopt when assisting a patient in Psychoanalytical treatment. Under this discourse, like the therapist, our politicians would need to empty themselves of their preconceptions, they must understand that they do not possess the answers, only the people do, and we the people must understand this also. It is therefore incumbent on our politicians to genuinely listen to the people, free of prejudice and tribalistic tendencies. Under this discourse, there is no attempt to enforce an established order, it is instead the duty of the politician to help us as a people to articulate our wishes clearly, and then to act accordingly.

There certainly appears to be parallels in the relationship between what occurred in 1960's France and our own situation today. If we are to listen to Lacan, we must move away from the current model of politics, which is designed to recreate the University Discourse regardless of who is in power, and encourage a political system that breaks down tribalism and encourages our politicians to understand that the people hold the answers to their desires, not the party, and that their role is simply to listen and essentially act as administrators.

Top 10 High Achievers In Politics

Democracy and dictatorship while being opposite sides of the power continuum have given rise to a rare breed of leaders and politicians; they are dynamic, go getters who stop at nothing. Gone are the days when politicians were known for their empty promises; these are individuals who changed ideologies and the face of politics in their native countries.

These modern day public leaders brought forth reforms that their predecessors were wary of touching lest they might lose their people appeal; while some of them are still firmly in their governing chairs others now exist in the memory and hearts of their countrymen. Here is a look at ten extraordinary political figures of our time who dared to create history.

John F Kennedy

The President who asked his countrymen to ask not what their country can do for them but what they can do for their country, John Kennedy was a charismatic leader. Elected as the 35th President of the United States, Kennedy; who was known by his initials JFK, chose a markedly different and more transparent approach of conducting White House affairs as opposed to his predecessors. His presidency saw the Cuban missile crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Cold war and the beginning of the Vietnam War.

Barrack Obama

The current President of the United States, Barrack Obama is the first African American to be elected to the position. Obama stepped into the role at an extremely volatile economic time with unemployment and recession running out of control. The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama had a successful stint as a lawyer and eventually an author before he took the job of the most powerful man on the planet. Although his investiture was viewed by many as a new dawn for the United States, he has not been very successful in injecting the promised jobs into the economy. However, he has shown a notable shift in America's 'war on terror' agenda with his decision to pull US troops out of Iraq.

Indira Gandhi

The deceased Indian leader was the first woman Prime Minister of the country; known for her autocratic ruling style; many Indians still believe that no other politician has been able to demonstrate the political acumen and zeal that Mrs. Gandhi was known for. Born into a popular political family; she took over the reigns of the country from her father Jawaharlal Nehru who was also the Prime Minister of India. During her tenure Mrs. Gandhi dealt with an Indo- Pak war, the implementation of a state of emergency in the country, the currency crisis and above all the first terrorist threat to secular India. She was the world's longest serving Prime Minister.

Mao Zedong

The father of the communist regime in China, his military strategies and his contributions to Marxism- Leninism are now studied as Maoism. He was the Chieftain of the People's Republic of China from its inception to his demise in 1976. Most Chinese attribute the country's economic stability, progress and technological advancement to Mao Zedong. However, outside China, he remains a controversial figure who was responsible for aggressive policies against those who resisted communism.

Vladimir Putin

The current Prime Minister of Russia has already enjoyed two successful terms as the President of the country. A former KGB operative, Putin got his first taste of politics when he was appointed as an internal affairs adviser to Mayor Sobchak. He is credited with the systematic and impressive economic growth of Russia, the political stability in the country and lowering income tax to a flat 13%, which together led to a significant increase in the GDP of the nation.

Fidel Castro

Castro has held on to the position of the President on Cuba for as long as most can remember. While his policies have only served to stunt the development of the tiny nation, he is widely regarded as a hero in his native country. Castro came to power as a result of the Cuban revolution that ousted the pro-American Batista dictatorship. The conversion of the country to a one party socialist regime can be attributed to Castro who is well known for his anti-American stance. His policies were largely to be blamed for the alienation of the supporters of his movement who eventually took refuge in the United States and many of whom participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He was also responsible for the Cuban Missile crisis which almost led to a war between the United States and the former USSR.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The controversial Iranian leader is probably most famous for his casual dressing style and his anti-American speeches than any real work that he has done for his country. A religious hardliner often considered to be a puppet in the hands of the Muslim Fundamentalist, Ahmadinejad is no stranger to controversy within his country either. He is known for his blatant disregard for human rights and his economic lapses which have caused the man on the streets of Tehran to pay dearly for the most basic of commodities. He is also well known for thumbing his nose at the United States and the UN with his obstinate attitude towards building a nuclear power facility in the country, which most world leaders believe is a front for the manufacture of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair

Tony Blair was the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom for ten years and is known for his international and security policies. He is most notably recognized for his involvement in the US 'war on terror' and the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. Blair was the longest serving Prime Minister who led the Labor Party to three consecutive wins.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah

A prominent member of the Indian Independence Movement, Jinnah was disgruntled by the fact that the Nehru was made the first Prime Minister of the Republic of India as opposed to him. This served as impetus enough for him to abandon his secular ways and seek the formation of Pakistan, a separate Muslim state. The partition led to massive Hindu-Muslim riots in the country in which thousands of men, women and children were brutally massacred. However, Jinnah did not live to enjoy the fruits of his labor as he died a mere one year after the independence of Pakistan from the British Empire.

Bill Clinton

While the Monica Lewinsky episode did tarnish his image, Clinton is still considered by many to be a prolific leader who contributed immensely to the economic growth of the United States. He was also one of the first Presidents to openly flex the military muscle of the United States in the face of Saddam Hussein's growing dictatorship regime.While each one of these political leaders may have a different set of ideologies and motives, they did manage to capture the attention of the world at large. Their contributions; whether negative or positive, to the world as we know it today will be remembered for decades to come.

Parallel Perceptions and Asymmetric Senses of Reality

For understanding parallel perceptions and asymmetric senses of reality, we can explore this matter in the contrast of the independent objects. The entities in the realm of independent objects exist as they are. The independent objects are atoms, quarks, photons, molecules and so on, that vary in complexity and combination of its individual parts. These entities do not contain any form of knowledge in themselves. How could they? After all, a glass jar is not known of being a thinker or a philosopher. Nor is the moon circling the Earth because it is fond of the animal kingdom on Earth.

Knowledge we have of the physical reality is not the essence of what the physical reality is. A stone is a complex molecular structure. It functions according to its nature as it is, independently on how it is thought or what it is experienced as being. Thus, the knowledge and qualities we are aware in our experience of the stone cannot be the essence of its being. And so, the representational reality is the individual's own portrait of the universe.

Your brains give all the contents you are aware of to it. Your subconscious reflects all the qualities to it. The contents and qualities that are a part of the reality as it is experienced are dependent on the neurological structure of the brains. The innate nature in itself is asymmetric between the people who are born. This innate neurological design of the brains begins to fashion to the exceeding forms of the post-innate structure. Every experience after the birth fashions the existing parts. Memories begin to form in increasing amounts. Different individuals will meet different circumstances, even if we were talking about twins that live in the same house. Even more different circumstances are met by individuals who are born in the other side of the world. The children learn different languages, depending on the native language. Finland is a different central point for neighboring countries than France is for the individual. The cultural continuum has as if tuned the habits and responses of the native culture the individual is born into.

Now, even though we were in the same room, the way our brains interpret the contents of it is asymmetric, thus producing the emergence of asymmetric content and qualities to it. Yet, the origins for the interpretations are the same. Independent on how we think about them. Independent on how our brains interpret them as being. The same event can be interpreted by the brain to be different between different people. A dog's brain cannot interpret the romantic gesture of giving a red rose to a woman. An atheist who believes in causal determinism does not live in a reality

Relationship Psychology Basics - See How They Affect You

Relationship psychology basics can help us understand many things. Relationships can take

quite different forms. Actually, relationships are funny things. One day a relationship will

be great, but the next day or just a few days later it may be maddeningly difficult.

What is worse than that, you may find it very difficult to identify the things that trigger

good times or bad times. Because of this, you find it almost impossible to predict what will

happen in your relationship. These complex realities are the only explanations for how a

couple can be madly in love one day, and then they are ready to file for divorce the next?

You see? It all seems to depend upon psychology.

Does that view mean that a psychologist can restore any relationship?

Hardly, but some interesting things to consider do exist. Maybe having some insights into

how men and women think will help you maintain your present relationship, and maybe that

will also help you to make your current relationship much, much stronger.

The National Institute of Mental Health commissioned a study that found that the majority of

young couples (18 to 21 years of age) avoided being overly intimate--in the deepest sense of

the word--with one another. The study found that these young people tried to remain as

independent as they possibly could in the early years of their relationships.

Even though this was true, the results also showed strong evidence that they worried about

being abandoned or rejected. While that was generally true, those with higher self-esteem

indicated that they didn't worry as much as the others.

In addition to those findings about younger people, older couples did not show as much of a

tendency for this type of behavior. Probably this is because they have had more life

experiences, and, really, they do not worry as much as younger people do about what others

think of them.

They just don't worry as much about breaking up.
Interestingly, this attitude actually makes it less likely that they will break up.

Of course, breakups can happen at any age, not just to young people.

Researchers also record that there are differences between men and women when it comes to

conversing. Women sometimes steer the conversation in certain directions, whereas men tend

to react to things as they come.

You can easily see how that would cause conflict.

These differences in communication often mean that what you meant to say might not be what

the other person perceives you as meaning. Understanding some of these differences can help

you when you try to converse with your spouse.

These are a few of the psychological explanations for how relationships develop, but there

are many more. Studying the effects of differences between men an women can be fascinating,

but just making such a study is not enough to keep the marriage going well. What a good

marriage really needs is work and commitment.

If you think that things could be better in your relationship, keep these relationship

psychology basics in mind. This information give you a good start to restoring or enriching

your relationship. Some professional counselors can help you understand the psychology of

relationships, but you can do much research on your own too.

Get all the information you can about relationship psychology basics, and then use that

information to your best advantage.

12/10/2010

Classroom Management Methods

Classroom management is a terminology used by teachers and educational centres to express the behaviour plan colleges and teachers at times have in place to allow classes to run efficiently and which aim to avoid disruptive behaviour from students. Disruptive behaviour not only afflicts the staff that tutor, but may also prohibit other learners from fulfilling their maximum potential. This is something, which cannot really be tolerated and can be a dilemma that faces numerous schools and coaching centres.
Making use of and keeping good order in classrooms is perhaps the most complex task facing new teachers. The process has become progressively difficult across the past several years, as pupil's behaviour to power have radically changed. The idea of classroom management is to enable a teacher to use a approach and lesson framework where students are able to feel safe and contented which in turn will assist them to concentrate harder on training and will also permit them to take part much more openly and freely.
Classroom management is always most efficient and successful when a teacher is organised and ready. If a teacher is not equipped it reveals to students lack of strength and also lets opportunities for students to become uninterested and begin to disrupt. An efficient classroom running tool is to schedule for times where emergency situations might come up and you are unprepared to plan in advance a particular lesson and conduct plan.
Numerous schools do have a classroom management system in place, which usually reduces bad behaviour from students and is very powerful. They provide teacher training, which lets teachers talk about current skills and receive guidance from alternative more experienced teachers. On the other hand there are still a range of schools and education centres who do not acquire a practical and current classroom management plan, this may subsequently impact the whole learning situation of the institution and various other students which are much more prepared to learn. Support can be sought with problem areas from people who are specialists in classroom management and all the things related with complex and tough behaviour issues.
Disruptive behaviour in the classroom brought on by pupils is one of the major struggles teachers might come across in their profession. It can from time to time disturb a teacher so much that they may look into leaving or even desert the career altogether. Classroom management seeks to provide teachers with an effective way of communicating with troublesome students and to also enable the students to learn and benefit from their sessions.

Good Strategies to Teach Students

The world is so large and things are numerous. Thus we need to learn lots of things to make our life better. But we are not students any more to a large extent. And some of us have become teachers including me. The question is that some teachers who instruct their students really don't know if their students like their ways of teaching. Or some really know that their students feel bored about their lessons, but they don't have methods to improve the lessons.
So now I need to say something about this problem. I think the most important thing in it is that students need the power to learn what you need to tell them. The power I mean is that they need to have passion to learn what you can teach them. In this case you need to encourage them to put up their passion. But how? As I have tried. First, as a teacher you need to be very strategic to talk. You see, so many times your students are in the passive condition and you are the leader. You can guide them. So you need to train your speaking ability apart from your professional knowledge.
Second, you can do some activities to interact with your students. For example, you can ask your students their favourites and try to meet their needs. Definitely you cannot satisfy everybody. And don't do it either! In your class you should frequently give your students chances to show themselves on the other hand. The truth is that a lot of students have fear inside to show themselves in public. So now you need to encourage them gradually and steadily with mild actions. I think that will do things well.
Third, even sometimes you should give your students time and space to think independently. Being independent is very important for any student. Even though you teach your students the foreign language, you need to learn this point as well.

Five Important Resources for Kindergarten Teachers

The most important resource for a kindergarten teacher is the personality of the teacher. Kindergarten students respond best to adults who are friendly and compassionate. Many of them are on the brink of tears at any given moment and need a kind teacher. A sense of humor is also important as well as a whole lot of energy!
Another resource that is invaluable for a kindergarten teacher is a kindergarten parent. Those parents are eager and ready to come in and help. They will even cut out letter and make materials for centers. Parents also enjoy reading to the students and sharing stories with them. Parents of young children are very involved in their child's education, so getting them involved works well for both teachers and parents. Plus, little children love for their parents to come to school and help in the classroom.
Grandparents are also willing to help out with the younger set. They are perfect for writing and receiving letters from young writers. Older adults in the community can also be included in the writing process. A kindergarten class could start a writing project with a senior citizen home in the area.
Another great resource for kindergarten teachers is teacher made worksheets for young children. Easy worksheets based on the concepts being learned in class give the students the confidence they need when they are easily able to complete the work. Big smiley faces on the work make the students proud to take the papers home to display on the refrigerator.
Last but not least, empty out the sock drawer and use markers to make funny faces on the socks. The students could even bring mismatched socks from home. Sew a button or a couple of on a sock, and it takes on a life of its own. Shy students gain confidence when performing simple puppet shows. The teacher could even make alphabet socks with a letter on each sock. When a sock is pulled out of a box, the students could come up with words that start with that letter. The main thing is to keep the learning going by keeping it fun!

On The Three Principal Styles of Learning

A human being acquires knowledge and skills by collecting and applying information from the outside world via the five senses. It's significantly easier to communicate information through writing, speaking, and demonstrating then it is by reproducing tastes or smells. As such, the types of learning are identified as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. While there may be olfactory learners, human society has no organized system for communicating via smells or tastes at this time.
It seems that kinesthetic learning is the most primitive type. It doesn't require more than one person to be meaningful. An isolated individual, confronted with the challenges of surviving nature, needs to figure out how things work. As the kinesthetic learner will gain the most practical value from an experience, it's reasonable to assume that their abilities to make things, relate abstract information in a meaningful way, and use physical activity to learn will best allow them to survive outside a social group. The kinesthetic learner's disadvantages in gaining knowledge arise when a hands-on environment is unavailable. In a larger social environment, say a small city, information may only be available through books, lecture, or visual media. The kinesthetic learner, needing tactile information, will be forced to work much harder to gain a meaningful level of knowledge or skill.
Auditory learning has a more complex social requirement the kinesthetic learning. At least two people are required to have meaningful communication via an auditory means. In any social unit where information needs to be passed between members, talking is a good idea. Because language is an organized system, the auditory learner needs to organize information in a coherent package before they attempt to create or share knowledge. Thus, the auditory learner needs plans, organization, and strong reasoning skills. Presumably, the auditory learner has very good communication skills, resulting from their strong grasp of language.
The visual learner has some of the advantages of both the auditory and kinesthetic learner. The visual learner can gain knowledge with language through the written word. They also have good communication skills rooted in their ability to watch reactions and use gestures clearly. The visual learner also has the ability to learn by watching a demonstration, allowing them to function well with instruction from a teacher that is a kinesthetic learner. Simply put, the visual learner finds the seen more meaningful than the unseen.

Choosing the Right Math Tutor for Your Child

If you find your child doing brilliantly in all other subjects but unable to cope up with math, then you are not alone. There are many such examples where students who lead the class in all other subject fall behind in overall performance because they find math a tough subject to comprehend. This is where the role of a math tutor becomes important.
It is imperative to find the best math tutor for your child to help them register a largely impressive performance instead of letting math drag down their overall standings. Math tutors can help your child achieve their potential by utilizing their experience and applying innovative teaching strategies.
Private math tutoring has the advantage of providing the students proper tools and the latest teaching methods to help them understand and grasp the complexities of math. Each individual is given personal attention and their teaching methods are individualized to ensure that students realize their maximum potential.
An experienced math tutor can provide the most creative and successful test preparation regimen. The best tutors ensure that practice tests are conducted under real conditions. This provides the students vast benefits as the experience of having written a math test under real test rules and conditions can always hold them in good stead while writing math test at the school. It can put their jittery and nervousness to rest and help them gain confidence in good measure.
There are innumerable examples of good math tutor having brought about a complete turnaround in performance by analyzing the weak areas of the student and implementing corrective measures in a highly planned manner. Expert math tutors pay attention to areas such as test-taking skills, reading skills and grasping powers of individual students. Backed by their impressive string of degrees in math, expertise in the subject and vast teaching experience, they are the best source to get your child improve their grades in math.
Using the services of the best math tutors can transform the learning capability of even average students. Your child needs the experience and expertise of a good tutor to meet and exceed his or her inherent potential. Experienced tutors are able to quickly identify the areas where the child is weak and needs to work harder. With their teaching techniques, they can surely make a major change in the understanding capacity of the child. Better grades are a natural corollary.

Kindermusik: An Indian Kindermusik Educator Living In The US Tunes In

I believe I was born to be a teacher. I mean, I've been teaching my friends and people around me stuff I knew for as long as I can remember. Anything I knew, I wanted to teach. Then I was transplanted on account of my husband's job to Atlanta, Georgia.

The loss of identity for me was complete - and I was back from teacher to student again, trying to adapt to these new, strange cultures. I lost everybody and everything I was familiar with.

With a dependent's visa, I was in a helpless limbo of professional inactivity, and it took me five years to gather myself and look for alternatives. My Kindermusik odyssey began when I set out to find a one-stop-shop means of helping my three-year-old son to blossom and evolve.

Music has always been a passion for me, so when a friend suggested 'Kindermusik' - a music and movement class for toddlers and pre-school children, I jumped right in. I had no way of knowing then that I was embarking on a developmental journey that would vastly broaden my horizons as a parent and educator.

The Kindermusik Way

This was no class. Kindermusik was an experience. Each age-appropriate program acts as a stepping stone to the next - each stage adds new concepts and challenges along a journey that can last seven magnificent, musical years...

Once a week, my son and I opened our hearts and minds to the Kindermusik way. The repertoire was incredible - songs, stories, finger and toe plays, 'bouncy' songs, small and large motor movement selections, clean up songs... in short, a 'whole body trip'!

Along the way, the instructors added dancing and rhythm instruments such as drums, shakers, sticks and bells especially adapted for little hands, moving with scarves, hoops, puppets and other props. Each session ends with a calming lullaby and entertaining friendship songs.

It was a mind-expanding community experience - even the family weddings and celebrations of my childhood could not match it. Kindermusik, I discovered, provides the ultimate learning atmosphere - fun and instruction perfectly matched for both parent and child!

Each class provided take-home materials like high-quality themed music CDs, creative activities, beautifully illustrated children's books and instruments created to complement the music - and the Kindermusik experience.

Tracing The Roots

The teacher in me prompted me to research Kindermusik's origins and premise. I discovered that this groundbreaking musical movement came into being in 1968, when the West German Government commissioned several doctoral candidates to develop a music and movement curriculum for Kindergarten-aged children.

Over half a million children took part in the program. Today, Kindermusik International - with its headquarters at Greensboro, North Carolina - has over 5000 educators in 35 countries teaching over one million families.
My research also revealed a highly eclectic mix of influences. Kindermusik, I discovered, is founded on some the leading approaches and philosophies in music and movement education that add a whole new dimension to early childhood.

Kindermusik - A 'Sound' Premise

Zoltan Kodaly (Hungary) - Kodaly believed that a child's voice is his/her most precious instrument. He felt it was vital that a child sing often, joyfully, and unaccompanied to develop a tuneful voice.
Carl Orff (Germany) - Orff emphasised the inclusion of singing, movement, instrument playing and improvisation.

Emile Jacques Dalcroze (Switzerland) - Dalcroze advocated the use of movement and building musicianship through hearing, thinking, reading and feeling music emotionally, which in turn enables children to approach their instruments with new understanding and skill.
Shinichi Suzuki (Japan) - Suzuki felt music is learned primarily by listening, in the same manner that we learn our native languages. Developing a musical ear is paramount to all musical development.
Maria Montessori (Italy) - Montessori believed that a child learns best through multi-sensory experiences. If a child can participate in a concept through touch, smell, hearing and sight, the concept will have a much higher impact and recall.

The Kindermusik curriculum is also developed based on more recent research on brain development in the crucial early years. Convinced and mesmerized by what this revolutionary concept is and stands for, I trained to be a Kindermusik educator.

Ever since, the testimonies from my Kindermusik parents have kept me going - without exception, they said they had witnessed amazing forward leaps in their child's developmental evolution.
Many of them reported better relationships with their children, too. I cannot aptly express how it feels to be making such a contribution. It is everything that a teacher could ever ask for, and more...
Research proves that early integration of music into children's daily routine improves their ability to think, reason, create, and express. It touches all domains of learning - cognitive, emotional, social, linguistic ability and physical expressiveness.

More specifically, it promotes language skills, literacy, listening, problem solving, social skills, self-esteem, and musicality. A typical Kindermusik class incorporates all these factors.
The parent in me also had reason to rejoice. My own son, now six years old, has developed an astounding sense of rhythm - and a heart-felt love for singing. He's learning to play the piano and loves to practice. Moreover, he has been part of nurturing environment full of energy, imagination, music, dancing, and playful delight.

At the annual convention in Chicago last October, I learned with joy that Kindermusik is finally coming home to India, thanks to a tie -up with Eurokids International. It makes perfect sense to me - we Indians have an innate ability to absorb the best from all over, and I know for a fact that this program will transform the lives of many Indian children and parents the way it transformed mine and my son's.

Peirce: The Pragmatist Principle

The most significant indigenous philosophical movement of the United States is pragmatism. Pursuant to discussions of the "Metaphysical Club" at Harvard (which also included William James and Oliver Wendell Holmes as members), Charles Sanders Peirce proposed an important set of methodological principles for scientific investigation.


Noting that the pace of progress in science is often accompanied by confusion about its underlying principles, Peirce suggested in The Fixation of Belief (1877) that this confusion can be eliminated by devoting appropriate attention to the structure of logical inference. This, in turn, Peirce understood to be nothing other than a habit of mind that leads us toward the truth.

According to Peirce, all human inquiry is a struggle against the irritation of uncertainty or doubt. Feeling keenly dissatisfied by any suspension in judgment, we invariably seek to eliminate it by forming a belief, to which we then cling firmly even in the face of evidence to the contrary. So powerful is this urge to believe something in every circumstance that many people (as Bacon had noted centuries before) adopt beliefs upon whatever seems ready-to-hand, including individual interest, appeals to authority, or the dictates of a priori reasoning. But Peirce—rebelling against the excessive rationalism of Hegel, argued that reliance upon such principles is bound to distract us from what matters.

Productive human inquiry, Peirce maintained, must be grounded firmly in reality; only then will our beliefs tend to correspond with the facts. Inquiry of this kind is the process described by scientific method—a systematic set of suggestions that guide us in the acquisition of habits of belief that tend to conform to the ways in which our experiences are most likely to turn out. Although the alternative methods offer many personal advantages, Peirce noted, only science selects for acceptance a belief that is true in the sense that "if acted on it should . . . carry us to the point we aim at and not astray." Preference for such beliefs is the starting-point for Peirce's pragmatism.

Comprehending Reality

In a sequel article entitled How to Make Our Ideas Clear (1878), Peirce applied similar principles to the nature of our conceptions of the world. Decrying the obscurity and confusion surrounding us of the notion of clear and distinct ideas in traditional logic, Peirce proposed a new way of thinking about our mental contents:

    Consider what effects which might conceivably have practical bearings we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object.

This principle arises directly from the notion of belief as a habit of thinking that tends to provide a suitable guide to action. But the examples of its application Peirce presented make it even more clear that his pragmatic principles govern the very meaning, as well as the truth, of our beliefs.

In this paper, however, Peirce made it clear that the notion of truth involves not only an appropriate pragmatic connection with reality for the individual believer, but also entails a social relation with other believers. As each one of an indefinitely large number of individual people engages in scientific investigation, their habits of belief will—over the long run—tend to converge upon the same conception of the world, one that most clearly corresponds with reality. As Peirce noted, even human stubbornness, deception, and error can only delay, not completely prevent, our eventual acknowledgement of the natural order.

Philosophical Method

Having failed to gain the academic employment he desired, Peirce in his later years came to resent the greater popular attention that James achieved for pragmatism. In What Pragmatism Is (1905) Peirce correctly claimed credit for having invented the name of the movement—only to disavow it, claiming to prefer "pragmaticism" as a more descriptive title for his own philosophical method.

The method itself remained clear, however, with its firm basis in experimental reasoning, its determination of the meaning of concepts by reference to their consequences for future observation, and its hope for the eventual convergence of human opinion. In fact, Peirce declared even more directly that ontological claim failing to have clear implications for future experience must be dismissed as utterly meaningless. Since his more technical logical writings have only recently come to the attention of scholars who can appreciate them, it was this deliberately anti-metaphysical spirit that constituted Peirce's lasting legacy to American philosophy. 

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914)

Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce studied philosophy and chemistry at Harvard, where his father, Benjamin Peirce, was professor of mathematics and astronomy. Although he showed early signs of great genius, an unstable personal life prevented Peirce from fulfilling his early promise. He wrote widely and delivered several series of significant lectures, but never completed the most ambitious of his philosophical projects. After a respectable scientific career studying the effects of gravitation with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Peirce taught logic and philosophy for five years at Johns Hopkins University. In 1887, however, he retired to a life of isolation, poverty, and illness in Milford, Pennsylvania. Peirce     Peirce's early philosophical development relied on a Kantian theory of judgment, but careful study of the logic of relations led him to abandon syllogistic methods in favor of the study of language and belief. His place as the founder of American pragmatism was secured by a pair of highly original essays that apply logical and scientific principles to philosophical method. In The Fixation of Belief (1877) Peirce described how human beings converge upon a true opinion, each of us removing the irritation of doubt by forming beliefs from which successful habits of action may be derived. This theory was extended in How to Make Our Ideas Clear (1878) to the very meaning of concepts, which Peirce identified with the practical effects that would follow from our adoption of them. Peirce     In his extensive logical studies, Peirce developed a theory of signification that anticipated many features of modern semiotics, emphasizing the role of the interpreting subject. To the traditional logic of deduction and induction, Peirce added explicit acknowledgement of abduction as a preliminary stage in productive human inquiry. Continuing to defend a Kantian system of categories, Peirce proposed a descriptive metaphysics that presumed the reality of external referents for our sensations.

John Dewey - Further Applications of Pragmatism

For the next generation of American philosophers, the pragmatism of Peirce and James became a powerful tool for understanding logical inquiry and improving the quality of human life.

Dewey: Experience and Nature

After studying with Peirce at Johns Hopkins, John Dewey pursued a lengthy academic career, expounding pragmatic principles in professional philosophical journals and promoting their application to social and educational settings. From the outset, he denied that there is any significant metaphysical distinction between mind and body. As "The Unit of Behavior (The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology)" (1896) made clear, Dewey supposed that human awareness and action occur as indistinguishable elements within a coherent experience. In any adequate analysis, what we know is just what we do. Thus, as Dewey noted in "The Practical Character of Reality" (1908), the order of the natural world itself necessarily includes our interaction with it through scientific investigation. What the world is depends upon what we do with it.

The pattern of our thought about the world is explicitly described in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1938). There, Dewey identifies a six-step process that includes:

    * the presence of an indeterminate situation in our experience of the world to which we respond with subjective doubt,
    * our recognition of this situation as a problem to which the principles of inquiry may be applied,
    * our invention of various hypotheses as potential solutions that might (if viable) resolve the problem,
    * our careful reasoning about the meaning of these solutions in relation to the problem itself and to our other convictions,
    * the application of our results to the facts of the situation, understood by reference to the operation of our observations on them, and
    * acceptance of a scientific or common-sense explanation of the situation that provisionally reduces the original indeterminacy.

Notice that at every stage of this process, Dewey emphasized the dynamic and tentative character of our knowledge of the world. The best outcome for which we can legitimately hope is what he called the "warranted assertability" of a belief upon which we can successfully act, without any presumption of its independent, universal, or timeless truth.

Dewey: Morality and Education


Dewey's moral philosophy was thoroughly naturalistic in its vigorous rejection of the traditional dichotomy between fact and value. Human conduct—like every other aspect of experience—is susceptible to the same pattern of thought, as Dewey argued in Logical Conditions of a Scientific Treatment of Morality (1903). Thus, in "The Construction of Good" (1929) Dewey argued that ethical and aesthetic choices are properly addressed as practical, scientific issues.

    Judgments about values are judgments about the conditions and the results of experienced objects; judgments about that which should regulate the formation of our desires, affections, and enjoyments.

This, Dewey believed, completes the great work of empiricism. An experimental approach to moral decision making promises: to secure a proper regard for the future practical consequences of our actions; to reduce the dangerous influence of subjective egoism; and to encourage adoption of a reasonable, modest fallibilism with respect to our moral precepts.

Dewey's application of pragmatic principles to educational and social contexts is expressed in Democracy and Education (1916).

Mead and Addams: Social Dimensions

Dewey's friend and colleague George Herbert Mead placed even greater emphasis on the application of pragmatic philosophy to human society. He argued in Social Consciousness and the Consciousness of Meaning" (1910) that social acts are the irreducible units of all human experience. This social behaviorism became even more explicit in The Social Self (1913), where Mead proposed that an adequate understanding of the self or person invariably requires consideration of its overt relations with other selves.

Also in Chicago, Jane Addams put pragmatism to work in vigorous public activities on behalf of social justice. Twenty Years at Hull House (1912), and Women, War, and Suffrage (1915) describes in detail her efforts to provide basic social services for the disadvantaged. She also participated in the campaign to secure women's suffrage in the United States. [Why Women Should Vote (1915)] A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Addams was a vocal pacifist, whose Democracy or Militarism (1899) and Newer Ideals of Peace (1907) offer reasoned defences of the potential social and economic value of world peace.

Locke: The Origin of Ideas

We now leave the Continent for an extended look at philosophy in Great Britain during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Here the favored model for achieving human knowledge was not the abstract mathematical reasoning so admired by the rationalists but the more concrete observations of natural science. Heeding the call of Francis Bacon, British scientists had pursued a vigorous program of observation and experiment with great success. Isaac Newton showed that both celestial and terrestial motion could be explained by reference to a simple set of laws of motion and gravitation; Robert Boyle investigated the behavior of gasses and proposed a general theory of matter as a collection of corpuscles; and Thomas Sydenham began to use observational methods for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.


Philosopher John Locke greatly admired the achievements that these scientists (his friends in the Royal Society) had made in physics, chemistry, and medicine, and he sought to clear the ground for future developments by providing a theory of knowledge compatible with such carefully-conducted study of nature.

The goal of Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), then, is to establish epistemological foundations for the new science by examining the reliability, scope, and limitations of human knowledge in contrast with with the pretensions of uncritical belief, borrowed opinion, and mere superstition. Since the sciences had already demonstrated their practical success, Locke tried to apply their Baconian methods to the pursuit of his own philosophical aims. In order to discover how the human understanding achieves knowledge, we must trace that knowledge to its origins in our experience.

Locke's investigation into human knowledge began by asking how we acquire the basic materials out of which that knowledge is composed, our ideas. For Locke, an idea is Essay I i 8) (Note that this is an extremely broad definition: it includes concrete sensory images, abstract intellectual concepts, and everything in between. The colors and shapes I see before me right now are ideas, and so are my hunger, my memories of the ocean, my hopes for my children, the multiplication tables, and the principles of democratic government.) Ideas, then, are the immediate objects of all thought, the meaning or signification of all words, and the mental representatives of all things. Locke's question was, where do we get all of these ideas which are the content of our knowedge?

Ideas from Experience

First, Locke eliminated one bad answer to the question. Most of Book I of the Essay is devoted to a detailed refutation of the belief that any of our knowledge is innate. Against the claims of the Cambridge Platonists and Herbert of Cherbury, Locke insisted that neither the speculative principles of logic and metaphysics nor the practical principles of morality are inscribed on our minds from birth. Such propositions do not in fact have the universal consent of all human beings, Locke argued, since children and the mentally defective do not assent to them. Moreover, even if everyone did accept these principles, their universality could be better explained in terms of self-evidence or shared experience than by reference to a presumed innate origin. (Essay I ii 3-5) Innatism is the refuge of lazy intellectual dictators who wish thereby to impose their provincial notions upon others. Besides, Locke held, our knowledge cannot be innate because none of the ideas of which it is composed are innate.

As the correct answer to the question, Locke proposed the fundamental principle of empiricism: all of our knowledge and ideas arise from experience. (Essay II i 2) The initially empty room of the mind is furnished with ideas of two sorts: first, by sensation we obtain ideas of things we suppose to exist outside us in the physical world; second, by reflection we come to have ideas of our own mental operations. Thus, for example, "hard," "red," "loud," "cold," "sweet," and "aromatic" are all ideas of sensation, while "perceiving," "remembering," "abstracting," and "thinking" are all ideas of reflection. ("Pleasure," "unity," and "existence," Locke held, are ideas that come to us from both sensation and reflection.) Everything we know, everything we believe, every thought we can entertain is made up of ideas of sensation and reflection and nothing else.

But wait. It isn't true that I can think only about what I myself have experienced; I can certainly think about dinosaurs (or unicorns) even though I have never seen one for myself. So Locke's claim must be about the ultimate origin of our ideas, the source of their content. He distinguished between simple and complex ideas and acknowledged that we often employ our mental capacities in order manufacture complex ideas by conjoining simpler components. My idea of "unicorn," for example, may be compounded from the ideas of "horse" and "single spiral horn," and these ideas in turn are compounded from less complex elements. What Locke held was that every complex idea can be analyzed into component parts and that the final elements of any complete analysis must be simple ideas, each of which is derived directly from experience. Even so, the empiricist program is an ambitious one, and Locke devoted Book II of the Essay to a lengthy effort to show that every idea could, in principle, be derived from experience.

A Special Problem

Locke began his survey of our mental contents with the simple ideas of sensation, including those of colors, sounds, tastes, smells, shapes, size, and solidity. With just a little thought about specific examples of such ideas, we notice a significant difference among them: the color of the wall in front of me seems to vary widely from time to time, depending on the light in the room and the condition of my eyes, while its solidity persists independently of such factors. Following the lead of Galileo and Boyle, Locke explained this difference in corpuscularian fashion, by reference to the different ways in which the qualities of things produce our ideas of them.

The primary qualities of an object are its intrinsic features, those it really has, including the "Bulk, Figure, Texture, and Motion" of its parts. (Essay II viii 9) Since these features are inseparable from the thing even when it is divided into parts too small for us to perceive, the primary qualities are independent of our perception of them. When we do perceive the primary qualities of larger objects, Locke believed, our ideas exactly resemble the qualities as they are in things.

The secondary qualities of an object, on the other hand, are nothing in the thing itself but the power to produce in us the ideas of "Colors, Sounds, Smells, Tastes, etc." (Essay II viii 10) In these cases, our ideas do not resemble their causes, which are in fact nothing other than the primary qualities of the insensible parts of things. The powers, or tertiary qualities, of an object are just its capacities to cause perceptible changes in other things.

Thus, for example, the primary qualities of this rose include all of its quantifiable features, its mass and momentum, its chemical composition and microscopic structure; these are the features of the thing itself. The secondary qualities of the rose, on the other hand, include the ideas it produces in me, its yellow color, its delicate fragrance; these are the merely the effects of the primary qualities of its corpuscles on my eyes and nose. Like the pain I feel when I stick my finger on a thorn, the color and smell are not features of the rose itself.

Some distinction of this sort is important for any representative realist. Many instances of perceptual illusion can be explained by reference to the way secondary qualities depend upon our sensory organs, but the possibility of accurate information about the primary qualities is preserved, at least in principle. The botanical expert may be able to achieve detailed knowledge of the nature of roses, but that knowledge is not necessary for my appreciation of their beauty.

Complex Ideas

Even if the simple ideas of sensation provide us with ample material for thinking, what we make of them is largely up to us. In his survey of ideas of reflection, Locke listed a variety of mental operations that we perform upon our ideas.

Notice that in each of these sections (Essay II ix-xii), Locke defined the relevant mental operations as we experience them in ourselves, but then went on to consider carefully the extent to which other animals seem capable of performing the same activities. This procedure has different results from Descartes's doctrinal rejection of animal thinking: according to Locke, only abstraction (the operation most crucial in forming the ideas of mixed modes, on which morality depends) is utterly beyond the capacity of any animal. (Essay II xi 10)

Perception of ideas through the senses and retention of ideas in memory, Locke held, are passive powers of the mind, beyond our direct voluntary control and heavily dependent on the material conditions of the human body. The active powers of the mind include distinguishing, comparing, compounding, and abstracting. It is by employing these powers, Locke supposed, that we manufacture new, complex ideas from the simple elements provided by experience. The resulting complex ideas are of three sorts: (Essay II xii 4-7)

Modes are complex ideas that combine simpler elements to form a new whole that is assumed to be incapable of existing except as a part or feature of something else. The ideas of "three," "seventy-five," and even "infinity," for example, are all modes derived from the simple idea of "unity." We can understand these ideas and know their mathematical functions, whether or not there actually exist numbers of things to which they would apply in reality. "Mixed modes" similarly combine simple components without any presumption about their conformity to existing patterns, yielding all of our complex ideas of human actions and their value.

Substances are the complex ideas of real particular things that are supposed to exist on their own and to account for the unity and persistence of the features they exhibit. The ideas of "my only son," "the largest planet in the solar system," and "tulips," for example, are compounded from simpler ideas of sensation and reflection. Each is the idea of a thing (or kind of thing) that could really exist on its own. Since we don't understand all of the inner workings of natural objects, Locke supposed, our complex ideas of substances usually rely heavily on their secondary qualities and powers—the effects they are observed to have on ourselves and other things.

Relations are complex ideas of the ways in which other ideas may be connected with each other, in fact or in thought. The ideas of "younger," "stronger," and "cause and effect," for example, all involve some reference to the comparison of two or more other ideas.

Locke obviously could not analyze the content of every particular idea that any individual has ever had. But his defence of the empiricist principle did require him to show in principle that any complex idea can be derived from the simple ideas of sensation and reflection. The clarity, reality, adequacy, and truth of all of our ideas, Locke supposed, depend upon the success with which they fulfill their representative function. Here, we'll consider one of the most significant and difficult examples from each category:

Free Action

Among our modal ideas, Locke believed that those of mixed modes, which combine both sensory and reflective elements, are especially important, since they include the ideas of human actions and provide for their moral evaluation. Among the mixed modes, the ideas of power, volition, and liberty are the most crucial and difficult. To them Locke devoted a chapter (II xxi) that grew, with alterations in later editions, to become the longest in the Essay.

The idea of power is illustrated every time we do something. Whether we think or move, the feeling that our mental preference leads to action provides a simple instance of power. The exercise of that power is volition or will, and the action taken as a result is a voluntary one. Liberty or freedom, on Locke's view, is the power to act on our volition, whatever it may be, without any external compulsion or restraint. (Essay II xxi 7-12)

Under these definitions, the question of whether we have free will does not arise for Locke, since it involves what would later come to be called a category mistake. In particular, it does not matter whether we have control over our own preferences, whether we are free to will whatever we wish. (Essay II xxi 23-25) In fact, Locke offered a strictly hedonistic account of human motivation, according to which our preferences are invariably determined by the desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain. (Essay II vii 3) What does matter for freedom and moral responsibility is that we can act on our preferences, whatever their source, without any outside interference. If I could have done otherwise (given a different preference), then I act freely and am responsible for my action.

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