If you’re looking into jobs from home, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you ignore the real estate market. With the number of foreclosures shooting up in recent years, there are opportunities galore for anyone looking for jobs from home that has a phone and an internet connection.The first major opportunity is working with tax sale overages. When a bidder bids more for a property at tax sale than is owed in taxes, what’s called a “tax sale overage” is created. Believe it or not, often these owners don’t realize they’re entitled to the funds and don’t collect them – and these run into the tens of thousands regularly.By doing the legwork to find these owners and reconnect them with their money, you can legally charge up to 50% of the claim amount for your service. This is not a hard business to learn, you can work the entire business from your home office, and best of all, there are just TONS of these overage funds out there. Hint: mortgage foreclosure creates overages too!On a $10,000 overage, you could make up to $5,000 – and that’s just one claim. Try closing a few a week, and you get the idea why when it comes to jobs from home, this is one of the best to get into. Not many people are working overages, and it’s an amazing time to get trained to collect overages.If you’re already interested in real estate, in addition to overages, why not try your hand at investing in property? You don’t need much money to do it, if you go about it the right way. Once again, you’ll want to be looking into tax foreclosures – but you’ll want to get them outside the auction by approaching the owners to buy the property after tax sale.This method is called “deed grabbing,” because you “grab the deed” right before it’s about to be lost permanently. The owner gets a year or so after tax sale to redeem the property. If you wait until the end of the redemption period, and then contact the owners that still haven’t redeemed, you’ll find a lot of owners desperate to sell, or who have given up and don’t care about the deed anymore. You can get property for as little as $200 during this time period.Either of these jobs from home have the potential to make you an easy six figure income – or much, much more than that. And real estate is a great market to get into, period. Now’s the time to take that leap and start getting involved – there is always opportunity somewhere in the real estate market, whether it’s up or down. And you can work either job fully from your home office.
What Makes a Great Product Manager?
In this article, I’d like to share with you what makes a product manager great. I have over 8 years of experience in product management and this is what I have observed.There are five areas in which a great product manager is well versed:· Customer Understanding· User Experience· Technology· Business· LeadershipLet’s look at each area in more detail.Customer UnderstandingThe PM is the relentless advocate for the customer on a product development project. From the point of view of the rest of the development team, the PM is the expert on this topic. This means he/she must invest time in understanding the customer that is being targeted. He/she needs to study segmentation materials; organize studies of representatives of the customer segment. The goal is to understand what drives the customer, what the behaviors and needs of the customer are. Only by understanding the customer can you create a product that meets the needs of the customer.User ExperienceA PM does not have to be a user experience expert, but should at least function as the approver for the user experience. The UX is the most important part of the product because this is how the customer interacts with the product. The underlying technology may be brilliant, but if the UX is out of sync with the customer, the customer will not buy the product.The goal is to look at the user experience through the eyes of the customer and challenge the UX designers to design for the specific customer the product is targeting.TechnologyThe main goal here is to become credible in conversations with your product development team. Also, because the development team is often motivated to reduce risk, it is good if a PM can challenge the development team to think outside the box. This requires some high-level comprehension of the ability of technology components. Additionally, it is important for him/her to understand the impact of their change requests on the underlying technology on a high level.BusinessFor a PM, another key constituency is the business management side of the company. The product fits into a financial plan laid out by the CEO and CFO of the company and deviation from the plan can seriously impact their forecasts. So the PM needs to make sure to understand the business case and how it fits into the grand scheme of things.Also on the business side, it is important to understand how marketing and sales work. This is especially important for PMs who spend most of their time sitting with the product development teams. He/she needs to understand when to engage sales and marketing, what drives them and how they are compensated. Those last two are not necessarily the same thing.LeadershipLast but not least, as a PM needs to provide leadership. While product management is a pivotal role in product development, with lots of responsibility, PMs hardly ever have formal authority over the people they work with. Thus, the way to get things done is through informal leadership. This can take different shapes, but a proven method is to build trust and provide a compelling vision of the product.At the same time, it is a good idea to build up social relationships with counterparts in other teams, because that makes it just a lot easier to get things done. It will also make the long hours close to launch a lot more fun.ConclusionIn this article I have tried to explain to you the five areas in which a great product manager must be well versed. They were: customer understanding, user experience, technology, business, and leadership. Mastery of these five areas will enable a highly rewarding career in product management.
RV Living, the Greener Lifestyle
When you first see the title to this article, you may immediately think that it was intended as an oxymoron, but nothing could be further from the truth. The RV lifestyle is indeed greener than most of our brick and mortar lifestyle choices.This may be a bit difficult to comprehend when one thinks of the amount of fuel that is required to move an RV around, but let me give you the information, and you can make up your own mind about the subject.First of all the biggest non renewable resource that an RV uses is fuel. It is true that many large RV’s only get about ten miles to the gallon, but many pickup truck and trailer combinations get as high as twenty miles to the gallon.Consider the vehicle you are now driving. In most cases this vehicle will get about twenty to thirty miles to the gallon, and you are driving it to and from work everyday, as well as using it for shopping, entertainment, and travel. When you start to look at the amount of fuel that you use in this vehicle, and then compare it to the RV which spends most of its time parked, you will begin to see what I mean. Many full time RV’ers will only move long distances a few times a year. Usually following the sun. Many of them will only do a couple of very long trips in their RV’ing lifetime, usually to some place like Alaska or Mexico. But on the average an RV’er will only put on a few thousand miles in a year. This will work out to a few hundred gallons of fuel. Consider how much fuel you use in your current vehicle. Even a small commute of a total fifty miles per day in a vehicle that gets twenty five miles to the gallon will use 400 gallons per year just for commuting, never mind all the other trips that are made.Next if you consider the amount of electricity, natural gas, water, and other consumables that you use in a fixed home and compare that to the amount that an RV uses, you will begin to see that the RV lifestyle is definitely a greener lifestyle.Many newer homes today are wired for up to 200 amp service at 220 volts. That equates to 44,000 watts of power. It would take a sixty three horse power generator running at full power to supply that amount of power. Now one would rarely ever use this full capacity, but an electric hot water heater, a dryer, and an electric stove all running simultaneously could push power consumption close to 100 amps. Heating and cooling a large house over the course of a year takes huge amounts of energy.An RV is usually wired for either 30 or 50 amps at 110 volts. This is a maximum of 5,500 watts. In most cases this is plenty for anything you would want to run in an RV. Many RV’ers also move north in the summer time and south in the winter time, thereby reducing the amount of energy required for heating and cooling.In water use the RV is king. In our RV we have a 90 gallon water tank. This is enough to last my wife and I for up to a week including showers if we are careful. Even if we are hooked up in an RV park, I would estimate that we would not use much more than 20 or 30 gallons per day. I cannot even begin to estimate how much water an average home goes through, but if just the toilet is flushed ten times a day, that is fifty gallons per day. I have heard estimates of up to 400 gallons per home per day in North America.The only other non renewable resource that an RV uses is propane. In our RV we use an external 30 pound propane tank. I get this filled about six to eight times per year, for a total usage of less than 250 pounds. An avid back yard barbecuer would give me a run for my money on the propane use front.Another area where a fixed home would require a proportionatly greater amount of resources would be in the area of cleaning supplies, paint, and related chemicals. Last on the list would be raw materials to build a house and yard, compared to the raw materials to build an RV. This is an area where I could not even hazard a guess. But when you look at the amount of energy, raw material and non renewable resources that are saved in other areas of the Full Time RV Lifestyle, you will see that the RV Lifestyle is definitely the greener lifestyle.So if living a greener lifestyle is important to you, consider the Full Time RV Lifestyle. It is a great lifestyle with a fantastic fraternity of people. You may be doing yourself and the environment a big favor.
New Look In Child’s Bedroom Home Improvement Project
Having children is such a wonderful experience for parents. Getting ready for the new baby can become a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. A child’s bedroom home improvement project can be as simple, or as hard as you want it to be. Once you have decorated for the baby and the baby grows up, they will outgrow the baby look room, and you will need to do something different in it. You might feel overwhelmed at not knowing what to do to change the room, and yet not spend a lot of money doing it. There are many ideas that you can do to change the look of the room without spending a lot of money. A child’s bedroom home improvement project might take a little creativity, but you can do it, and for not a large investment too.Once your child goes from baby to toddler or older, you will definitely have to get a larger bed. A child’s bedroom home improvement project will have to include a different bed. The crib has to go, but there are places you can go to get a larger bed for your child without spending a fortune. If you don’t mind garage sales, you can find great buys on newer used items and in some cases, they may be something brand new that was just stored. Garage sales can be a blast. In order to spend less, set a budget and have an idea of what you are looking for. You can find many things in garage sales, that you don’t need, but want, so stick to your list and your budget. A child’s bedroom home improvement project can be very rewarding when finished, and you did all the work.You might want to repaint the room as the starting point of your child’s bedroom home improvement project. There are many color choices these days, along with sample cards that you can take home and place on the wall to use as an example of what the color will look like. While you are in the paint department, you might want to look at some of the wallpaper borders available. They have many choices as well as popular cartoon picks. You can get pictures of cartoon characters that just stick up on the wall. You don’t even have to paste or glue. A child’s bedroom home improvement project can be that simple. If you are decorating a boys room, there are even sports characters that stick on the wall.Make sure if you have the room, to add a desk or table and chairs, with a book shelf in your child’s bedroom home improvement project. Reading is a great thing for kids and the younger you start them out, the better they will do in school. You can pick these items up at garage sales or second hand stores too for little money. In some cases, you might find a good desk that just needs to be refinished. You might be able to pick one up for under ten dollars and once it is finished it could be worth hundreds. Once your child sees the changes you have made, they will be ecstatic. Yes, a child’s bedroom home improvement project can be a little work, but worth all the effort.
10 Best Weight Loss Pills on the Market
As more and more people live an unhealthy lifestyle, the percentage of those suffering from obesity is growing as well. Most of these people are well aware of the negative effects of their current health status, but there are times when they just can’t avoid the urge of eating their comfort foods that makes them gain more weight. For those who are aware of the possible issues related to their weight, they are starting to find solutions on losing some pounds. Though some are already trying to incorporate exercise with their daily schedule and are even watching on their diet, there are those who want to hasten the process and are searching for the 10 best weight loss pills.Getting to know the 10 best weight loss pills, one can get started in comparing all the options available in the market and be able to decide on what product is more suitable for their condition. Since it is given that there are pills made from natural ingredients and there are also those that are made from natural ingredients, more people are getting confused on what they should be choosing.Other than checking the ingredients, there are also people who are focused on picking something that fit in with their budget while not compromising their health. This is among the common considerations of those who want to lose weight, but the various options of weight loss pills never fail them to pick something fit for their needs.Though there are various options available, there are only some that can ultimately deliver the effects they want. If you are one of those people who are too careful with picking a specific product from a list of 10 best weight loss pills, you can always check on the following things to ensure that you can find the best option for you:Check the ingredientsLook at the ingredients and check if there are ingredients that may complicate current medical conditions, you have.Confirm the effectivenessRead real reviews and comments and check on the results after taking each pill. Also, take note of some side effects that may affect your health.PricePick something that meets your budget but will not compromise the quality or effects of the product to your body.Provided that you have these things as your criteria when choosing a weight loss pill, you can easily check on the 10 best weight loss pills and pick one that is suitable for you.List of the 10 Best Weight Loss Pills in the Market TodayIf you are one of those people who are in the search for the top 10 best weight loss pills in the market today, then the following is the list of the popular options you can choose from and some description:Raspberry Ketone PureRaspberries are known for their fat burning properties and this supplement is among those claiming having pure extracts of raspberry ketone.CapsiplexThis diet pill contains capsaicin, which is a compound found in peppers. as its major ingredient and is known for increasing metabolic rate of the body which also burn calorie in a faster pace.Garcinia CambogiaThere are various similar products to this, but Garcinia Cambogia is known for its high hydroxicitric acid content that helps in curbing the appetite of a person and boosting the natural fat burning method in your body.Unique HoodiaThis is a weight loss pill containing Hoodia Gordonii that is clinically proven to suppress hunger and control the calories you are consuming.Phen375Another popular option is the Phen375, which is known to curb one’s appetite and burn fat effectively. It is also known for its safe effects on the body and a great alternative for synthetically formulated weight loss pills.MeratolAnother great appetite suppressant is this weight loss pill. This allows you to eat anything you want but in a lesser amount.PhenQWith this supplement, you can lose weight not only by reducing your hunger and burning fat but also prevents your body from deteriorating. It increases energy levels and helps you in focusing on working out.AdipheneThis is an all-natural supplement for losing weight. Just like other supplements, it does not only boost your metabolism but suppresses your appetite as well.Proactol XSThis supplement is made from all natural fiber ingredients and works by combining fat to create large molecules that the body cannot absorb.ZotrimWith this weight loss pill, it helps your body in cutting your caloric intake. It lets you eat less and exercise more to lose more weight.Have these 10 best weight loss pills in mind to get the best choices available in the market and find the best solution to your weight loss problem.
Health Savings Accounts Are Off The Grid For Texas State Workers
Texas House Bill 1766 was created to offer Health Savings Accounts to state workers for the first time. According to Andy Homer, the director of government relations for the Texas Public Employees Association, Health Savings Accounts would bring no benefit for his membership. He remains adamant that Health Savings Accounts are only used as a political tool. Not surprisingly, the bill didn’t make it out of the committee, but exactly what do Health Savings Accounts offer?They have been one of the fastest growing options in the private health insurance sector for years. In general, there’s been a growing movement away from the most expensive coverage options toward plans with the least expensive premiums. Those plans are typically high-deductible plans. Certain high-deductible policies can be coupled with a Health Savings Account (HSA). This option has been a money saver for employers, including small business owners, because it eats up less profit. HSA Plans are also often less expensive for employees because employers tend to shift the rising cost for premiums back to the employees.Health Savings Accounts Are Already Used For State EmployeesIndiana, for example, has used HSA Plans for state employees for some time. After five years of implementation, Governor Mitch Daniels called his HSA Plan program a success for the state employees and the state government. Proponents of HSA Plans say they definitely curb out-of-pocket costs for state employees, and studies have shown a distinct drop in health care services during the first year that policyholders try a high-deductible health plan.Opponents say that discouraging preventive health care is suicide for society. Why pay “through the nose” for ER interventions when earlier preventive health care lowers medical costs and increases productivity by keeping people well? The proponents of health care reform acted on that warning and in all but four states, high-deductible health plans now pay for preventive health care before the deductible has been met. There are certain stipulations to that coverage, though.Preventive care is almost always only fully covered when obtained through in-network providers. Doctors can bill separately for an office appointment if they do more than provide covered preventive health care. In that case, people may have to pay for at least part of the doctor appointment.HSA Plan Enrollments Have Been Increasing For YearsAccording to a study by the trade association America’s Health Insurance Plans, 11.4 million U.S. residents (nearly 640,00 of them are in Texas) are now using a high-deductible health plan linked with an HSA. That’s a 33-percent increase in large group coverage and a 22-percent increase in small group coverage.An annual survey by the Kaiser Foundation showed that Health Savings Accounts now comprise 13 percent of the private health insurance market. That means the number of HSA owners has tripled since 2006. The move toward less expensive premiums may not be the only motivation, though.The increase in popularity has also been attributed to the tax benefits that are written into the HSA rules. Individual HSA owners can place up to$3,050 in an HSA, while families can make a maximum annual HSA contribution of $6,150. The contributions can be deducted from adjusted gross income even if the HSA owner never used the money for health care. And, it’s an investment option with no deadline.With IRA investments, owners must begin withdrawing funds after they turn 65. With an HSA Plan, investors can spend HSA funds on health care to fill the gaps in Medicare or to pay for long term care insurance without paying taxes on the withdrawals. But, they can also leave the money in the HSA, invested in bonds, mutual funds or stocks and let the earnings continue growing tax free for as long as they want.Before age 65, qualified health care is the only expense HSA funds may be used for without incurring a 20-percent penalty on the withdrawal amount. After age 65, HSA funds may be used to purchase anything at all and there will be no penalty. Regardless of the HSA owner’s age, HSA withdrawals spent on anything other than qualified health care mean taxes are due.
Globalization: How It Has Affected Philippine Education And Beyond
Education before the 20th century was once treated as a domestic phenomenon and institutions for learning were once treated as local institutions. Prior to the 20th century, education was usually limited within the confines of a country, exclusively meant for the consumption of its local citizens. Scholars or college students did not have to travel miles away from their countries of origin to study and to gain skills which they needed in order to traverse the paths of their chosen careers. Moreover, national borders served as impenetrable walls in the name of sovereignty. Gaining a college degree and the skills entailed with it were merely for the purpose of staunch nationalistic service to one’s land of origin. Furthermore, knowledge of the valleys and the oceans encircling the world map, as well as foreign languages and international political regimes were not much of an imperative. Intercultural exchange was not massive and sophisticated, if not intricate. Acceptance and understanding of cultural diversity were not pressured upon anyone, as well as the lure to participate in a globally interconnected world. In other words, before the 20th century, scholastic work were predominantly simple and constrained in the local, the domestic, the nearby. They were limited to one’s own village, one’s own region, one’s own country. A student had his own neighborhood as the location where he is to be born, to be educated, and later to be of service to – the local village which is his home, his community, his country.Nevertheless, the world has been in a constant state of flux. In the 20th century onwards, the phenomenon called globalization rose and became the buzzword. Anything which pertained to the term globalization was attributed to modernization, or anything that is up-to-date, if not better. Part and parcel of this trend is the advent and irresistible force of information technology and information boom through the wonders of the Internet. The idea of cosmopolitanism – a sense of all of humanity, regardless of race, creed, gender, and so on, living in a so-called global village – is another primary indicator of globalization. Moreover, international media as well as trade and investment have been unbridled and have occurred in a transnational nature. Finally, globalization has involved the uncontrollable movement of scholars, laborers, and migrants moving from one location to another in search for better employment and living conditions.Apparently, globalization seemed to be all-encompassing, affecting all areas of human life, and that includes education. One indicator of this is the emergence of international education as a concept. Internationalization of education is manifested by catchphrases like The Global Schoolhouse, All the world’s a classroom, One big campus that is Europe, Think global. Act local, and Go West. Students from the world over have been ostensibly persuaded to learn about the world and to cope with technological advancements, if not to become a Citizen of the World. Moreover, globalization and international education are at play, for instance, when speaking of Singapore being branded as the Knowledge Capital of Asia, demonstrating the city-state as among the world’s academic powerhouses; De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines entering into agreements and external linkages with several universities in the Asian region like Japan’s Waseda University and Taiwan’s Soochow University for partnership and support; the establishment of branch campuses or satellites in Singapore of American and Australian universities like the University of Chicago and the University of New South Wales, respectively; online degree programs being offered to a housewife who is eager to acquire some education despite her being occupied with her motherly duties; students taking semesters or study-abroad programs; and finally the demand to learn English – the lingua franca of the modern academic and business world – by non-traditional speakers, like the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Korean students exerting efforts to learn the language in order to qualify for a place in English-speaking universities and workplaces. Apparently, all of these promote international education, convincing its prospective consumers that in today’s on-going frenzy of competition, a potent force to boost one’s self-investment is to leave their homes, fly to another country, and take up internationally relevant courses. Indeed, globalization and international education have altogether encouraged students to get to know their world better and to get involved with it more.Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education director and International Education expert Philip Altbach asserted in his article “Perspectives on International Higher Education” that the elements of globalization in higher education are widespread and multifaceted. Clear indicators of globalization trends in higher education that have cross-national implications are the following:1. Flows of students across borders;
2. International branch and offshore campuses dotting the landscape, especially in developing and middle-income countries;
3. In American colleges and universities, programs aimed at providing an international perspective and cross-cultural skills are highly popular;
4. Mass higher education;
5. A global marketplace for students, faculty, and highly educated personnel; and
6. The global reach of the new ‘Internet-based’ technologies.Moreover, European Association of International Education expert S. Caspersen supported that internationalization influences the following areas: Curriculum, language training, studies and training abroad, teaching in foreign languages, receiving foreign students, employing foreign staff and guest teachers, providing teaching materials in foreign languages, and provision of international Ph. D. students. Nevertheless, globalization’s objective of a “one-size-fits-all” culture that would ease international transactions has not seemed to be applicable to all the nations of the world. In the words of Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, globalization’s effects are dualistic in nature. Globalization itself is neither good nor bad. It has the power to do enormous good. But in much of the world, globalization has not brought comparable benefits. For many, it seems closer to an unmitigated disaster. In Andrew Green’s 2007 book, “Education and Development in a Global Era: Strategies for ‘Successful Globalisation'”, he asserted that optimists would refer to the rise of East Asian tigers – Japan, China, and South Korea – as globalization’s success stories. But these are just a minority of the world’s two hundred nations. A majority has remained in their developing situations, among these is the Philippines.In terms of international education being observed in the Philippines, universities have incorporated in their mission and vision the values of molding graduates into globally competitive professionals. Furthermore, Philippine universities have undergone internationalization involving the recruitment of foreign academics and students and collaboration with universities overseas. English training has also been intensified, with the language being used as the medium of instruction aside from the prevailing Filipino vernacular. Finally, Philippine higher education, during the onset of the 21st century, has bolstered the offering of nursing and information technology courses because of the demand of foreign countries for these graduates.In terms of student mobility, although gaining an international training through studying abroad like in the United States is deemed impressive, if not superior, by most Filipinos, the idea of practicality is overriding for most students. Study-abroad endeavors are not popular among the current generation of students. The typical outlook is that it is not practical to study overseas obviously because of the expenses – tuition fees, living costs, accommodation, and airfare. Although financial aid may be available, they are hugely limited. There may be several universities that offer merit or academic scholarships, talent scholarships, athletic scholarships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, full or partial tuition fee waivers, but actually there is certainly not a lot of student money. Apparently, international education is understood as a global issue, a global commodity, and above all, a privilege – and therefore, it is not for everyone. Hence, studying in America is a mere option for those who can afford to pay the expenses entailed in studying abroad.The Philippines is a Third World country which is heavily influenced by developed nations like the United States. Globalization may have affected it positively in some ways, but a huge chunk of its effects has been leaning to the detriment of the Filipinos. Globalization has primarily affected not only the country’s education system but even beyond it – economically and socially. These include brain drain, declining quality in education because of profiteering, labor surplus, vulnerability of its workers overseas, and declining family values.For one, the Philippines is a migrant-worker country. This phenomenon of sending its laborers (also known as Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs) abroad to work and to send money back home has been intensified by globalization. Brain drain – or the exodus of talented and skilled citizens of a country transferring to usually developed nations for better employment and living conditions – is one problem that has been stepped up by globalization. The Philippine foreign policy of labor diplomacy began in the 1970s when rising oil prices caused a boom in contract migrant labor in the Middle East. The government of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, saw an opportunity to export young men left unemployed by the stagnant economy and established a system to regulate and encourage labor outflows. This scenario has led Filipinos to study courses like nursing which would secure them employment overseas rather than in their home country. For more than 25 years, export of temporary labor like nurses, engineers, information technology practitioners, caregivers, entertainers, domestic helpers, factory workers, construction workers, and sailors were sent overseas to be employed. In return, the Philippine economy has benefited through the monetary remittances sent by these OFWs. In the last quarter of 2010, the Philippine economy gained roughly $18.76 billion in remittances which largely came from OFWs based in the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.Second, the demand for overseas employment by these Filipino professionals has affected the quality of the local education system in the form of fly-by-night, substandard schools which were only aimed at profiteering. A Filipino legislator, Edgardo Angara, once aired his concern over the spread of many schools which offer courses believed to be demanded in foreign countries and the declining quality education. Angara observed that the Philippines has too much access to education versus quality education. For instance, for every five kilometers in this country, there is a nursing school, a computer school, a care-giving school, and a cosmetic school. Angara suggested that lawmakers and educators should find a happy formula for quality education.Third, labor surplus is another dire effect of globalization. In 2008, the phenomenon of brain drain started to subside in the Philippines. This period was when the United States started to experience a financial turmoil which was contagious, distressing countries around the world which are dependent to its economy. In the Philippines, it has been surmised that the demand for nurses has already died down because the need for them has already been filled. For instance, the United States has decided that instead of outsourcing foreign nurses, they have resorted to employing local hires to mitigate its local problem of rising unemployment. As a result, this incident has receded the phenomenon of a majority of Filipino college students taking up nursing. And the unfortunate result is the labor surplus of nursing graduates. This dilemma which has been caused by a Third World country such as the Philippines trying to cope with globalization’s feature of labor outflows has left Filipinos on a double whammy. Over 287,000 nursing graduates are currently either jobless or employed in jobs other than nursing. Nursing graduates nowadays suffer job mismatch, taking on jobs which are different from their field of specialization like working for call centers, serving as English tutors, if not remaining unemployed because the Philippine hospitals have little to no vacancies at all which are supposed to be occupied by the large number of nursing graduates. Furthermore, these professionals are accepted by hospitals or clinics as volunteers with little to no monetary benefits, or as trainees who are burdened with the policy of forcibly paying the hospitals for their training.Fourth, a dilemma that globalization has burdened the Philippines is the vulnerability of its overseas workers. For instance, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan, have had no choice but to lay off and repatriate their Filipino guest workers in light of the global financial crisis. Furthermore, the threat of Saudization is a present concern in the Philippines nowadays. Presently, around 1.4 million OFWs in Saudi Arabia are in danger of losing their jobs because the Arab nation is implementing a Saudization program which will prioritize their Arab citizens for employment. To date, with more than 1.5 million OFWs, Saudi Arabia is the country which has the greatest concentration of OFWs. It is the largest hirer of Filipino Workers and has the largest Filipino population in the Middle East. As Saudi Arabia hosts a majority of OFWs, the problem of these Filipino workers losing their jobs and returning to their homeland where employment opportunities are scarce is a national threat. Furthermore, the current national instability in countries like Syria and Libya has threatened the lives of the OFWs, who still have chosen to stay in their foreign workplaces because of economic reasons which they find weightier vis-à-vis their safety.Finally, globalization has resulted to social costs which involve challenges to Filipino families. Possessing close family ties, Filipino families sacrifice and allocate significant amounts of financial resources in order to support their kin. Filipino parents have the belief that through education, their children are guaranteed with promising futures and achieving decent lives. Thus, given the limited employment opportunities in the Philippines which are unable to support the needs of the family, one or both parents leave to work outside the country. As a result, Filipino children, although their educational goals and well-being are sustained, would have to survive with one or both parents away from them. They would then have to deal with living with an extended family member such as aunts, uncles or grandparents who are left to take care of them. This has deprived Filipino children of parental support and guidance as they are separated from the primary members of their family.In reality, even though Filipino families have experienced the monetary benefits of a family member uprooting himself from the country to work overseas, this trend has not been enjoyed by the majority of Filipinos. The poorest of the poor cannot afford to leave and work overseas. Also, with volatile market forces, the value of the US dollar which is used as the currency of OFW salaries vacillating, rising gas prices and toll fees in highways, and the continued surge in the cost of living in the Philippines, in general, globalization has precluded long-term economic growth for the country, with the masses suffering a great deal. Moreover, with human capital and technological know-how important to growth, the Philippines suffered with globalization by losing its professionals to the developed countries which, on the other hand, experienced “brain gain”.Indeed, globalization has both positive and negative effects, but in the Philippine case, it is more on the negative. It is justified to say that globalization is an “uneven process” and that most least developing countries did not grow significantly in light of globalization. Those which predominantly benefited are the affluent and powerful countries of the Western world and East Asia.The Philippines was once considered as the “knowledge capital of Asia”, particularly during the 1960s and the 1970s. Its system of higher education was marked by high standards comparable to its neighboring countries, much lower tuition fees, and the predominant use of English as the medium of instruction. The Philippines, consequently, was able to entice students from its neighboring nations, like the Chinese, the Thais, and the Koreans. However, presently, this once upbeat picture has now been replaced by a bleak one because of several problems which has long confronted the system like budget mismanagement, poor quality, and job mismatch, thereby seriously affecting its consumers and end products – the Filipino students. Making matters worse is globalization affecting the graduates of Philippine universities by luring them to choose to work overseas because of the greater monetary benefits vis-à-vis the disadvantage of leaving their families home and not serving their countrymen. Now that the world is undergoing financial turmoil, the Filipino workers would then have to cope with these dire effects of globalization.Apparently, the Philippines has remained stagnant, as opposed to the goals of increasing equality, rapid economic growth through integration into the global market, and the wide distribution of social improvements in less developed countries. These fruits of globalization, unfortunately, did not trickle down a great deal to the Philippines. Hence, although overseas employment has been a legitimate option for the local workers, it is high time that the Philippine government encourage colleges and universities to provide programs that are relevant to the nature of this substantially agricultural country like agriculture-related courses as these would play a significant role in setting the Philippine economy in motion towards development. The population boom in this country, which is commonly reckoned as among the country’s predicaments as the surging number of Filipinos is indirectly proportional to the employment opportunities available, should be taken advantage of by encouraging the surplus of people to develop employment and improve the rural farmlands. Affluent Filipino families who own large conglomerates should also participate in creating more employment opportunities and encouraging dignified labor conditions so as to mitigate the dismal trend of labor migration. Moreover, instead of adopting policies imposed by powerful Western countries like the United States and going with the flow, the Philippine government should work in reinforcing the welfare of its citizens more than anything else. (Sheena Ricarte, August 31, 2011).
Four Tips For Financing Your New Car
Whilst buying a car is without doubt an exciting time, it can also be stressful and costly. Most people (at least 80%) cannot afford to buy a new car outright. Therefore, most car buyers acquire a new car using a deposit as down payment and obtain car finance to fund the rest. The following five tips are valuable for people considering obtaining a new car as they give different options on how to best to fund the transaction.1. Sell your current car privately instead of a part exchange – Whilst it is much more convenient to ‘trade in’ an existing vehicle as a part exchange on a new vehicle this will not maximise the money you get for your car. Done primarily for ease and convenience (if you put your car in as part exchange against a newer model you remove the whole selling process, advertising costs, people calling around your home to view the car and being annoyed by phone calls for weeks after the car has been sold), it is a known fact that a part exchange is the least profitable way to sell your car. Therefore, if you have the time and patience, it is advised that you opt for a private sale. Perhaps the best way to determine whether you should part exchange or sell is to determine the market value for your vehicle and compare this with some part exchange values. Whatever the difference between the two can be considered your payment for the hassle of private sale and therefore you can make an informed decision.2. Car Finance From A Dealership – This is the most popular way to finance a car. Dealers provide approximately 65% of all car finance. The reason for this is that people shop for cars based on the price of the car and because 80% of all new car buyers need finance they end up taking finance from the same dealer that provides the best price on the car.Dealers typically offer hire purchase or car leasing. Hire purchase is an arrangement where people sign a contract to make monthly payments across 3 – 5 years and they end up owning the car at the end of that payment period. Leasing is slightly different because it is often much, much cheaper you can have the option to buy the car at the end of the period or simply return it to the dealer. However, you must be careful with dealer finance (or any car finance for that matter) and you should always shop around and compare the monthly deal that you have been offered. Just because you negotiated a good price on the car doesn’t always mean that you are getting a good monthly price on the finance. In some cases the monthly payment could have a premium hidden in it with a high APR and therefore the calculation of your monthly payment may not relate to the ‘good price’ that you think you negotiated on your car. Therefore, shop around and compare the monthly payment, the total payment ensuring that you are comparing the same contract period etc with different dealers and finance providers irrespective of the price that you have negotiated on the car.3. Car loans from a bank – Personal car loans account for only 13% of all new car finance. This is surprising because other than using cash, this is the only form of finance that enables the borrower to own the car from the point of purchase. Therefore, whilst most people think they own the car that they are driving, if they bought the car with finance and are still making monthly payments, then approximately 87% of all new cars are not actually owned by the drivers.If you are thinking of purchasing a car using a car loan of some form you should always shop around based on APR. There are various comparison websites that enable you to compare car loans but you should always be careful about two things:(i) the Apr that the website quotes to you is unlikely to be the one that you get. This is most likely the best APR you could get and it is often adjusted to meet how much of a ‘risk’ that bank may think you are;
(ii) do not submit too many applications for finance. If you submit three or four applications to different banks and you are refused by all of them, you might damage your credit record and make it difficult for you to obtain finance in the future. Some finance websites enable you to apply for a loan and they can advise you whether or not you are likely to succeed and this can be a safer way to apply4. Lease your new car – As discussed above, car leasing is most often the cheapest way to finance your new car. In fact, according to the Finance & Leasing Association, in the first 6 months of this year it was the most popular form or finance provided by dealers. When making a decision on car finance, be sure that you actually need to own your next car? If so, then the only form of finance that permits this immediately is a personal loan from a bank – remember, with hire purchase you will not own the car. If ownership is not so important, then leasing is a cheap form of finance – but you must have a good credit rating. There are many benefits with car leasing as it allows you to receive a new car every few years (although this can change, depending on the lease agreement) without the hassle of a part exchange. However, make sure that you are familiar with the disadvantages (you need to agree an annual mileage limit) and as always be sure to shop around and compare like with like on all alternative car leasing deals.
Photography Basics – Portrait Photography Tips
People are easily the number one subject for photographs. From party snaps, to photos of children and travel shots of family members in front of famous monuments, millions upon millions of people photographs are taken every single say of the year.Portrait photography is a little different to general people photography. The intent of portrait photography is capture and display something of the ‘essence’ of a person; to say something about their character, personality, or life.The three most important things to get right in portrait photography are camera settings, lighting, and your relationship with your model.Camera settings for portrait photographyBecause taking portrait photographs is all about a person’s face (or if it’s a wider shot, their head-and-shoulders), classic portrait photography settings seek to remove anything distracting from the background of the shot. This mimics the effect of looking at someone’s face from very close up, and makes the subject ‘pop’ (this is photographer-speak for ‘stand out and capture attention’).The way to achieve a distraction-free portrait photo is to use a wide aperture, often as wide as possible (f/2.8 or f/4 are popular choices). Wide apertures produce a shallow depth-of-field, which renders anything far from the plane of best focus – i.e. the background – as a soft blur.Aside from a wide aperture, the only other important setting is ISO. This should be as low a number as possible (e.g. ISO 100), as higher ISOs will lead to digital noise, which is particularly ugly in a portrait.
There’s one offshoot of portrait photography where the recommended settings are different, and that’s environmental portrait photography. Environmental portrait photography seeks to show a person in their ‘natural habitat’, which is often their workplace. Here you want to show the background, so a smaller aperture is appropriate.Lighting for portrait photographyLighting in portrait photography can be as complicated as you like. Professional portrait photography is almost always done in a studio, where the lighting can be 100% controlled. If you’re reading this, chances are you don’t have your own photography studio, so let’s discuss a simple lighting scheme you can set up at home.First, position your model at a window. The light coming from the window should be bright, but not direct (i.e. not coming directly from the sun). You model should be facing you, side on to the window. Light from the window light will obviously light up the side of their face that is closest to it. Then, position something on the other side of your model that will bounce reflected light from the window onto the other side of their face. Anything white or reflective will do, for example a piece of white cardboard or a sheet of aluminum.Now you have a basic, flattering light scheme, with the main light source on one side of your model’s face, and ‘fill’ light from the reflector on the other. Don’t forget that you should frame the shot close enough that the reflector is not in the shot.Interacting with your subjectPortrait photography inevitably says something about the relationship between photographer and subject. Unless you’re shooting professional models, the hardest thing about taking portrait photos is not in fact camera settings or lighting, but ensuring that your model is comfortable and relaxed enough to give you good results. A model who feels awkward, uncomfortable or self-conscious will not photograph well.Often the best strategy to relax your model is simply to engage them in conversation, as this will take their mind off the camera. They’ll probably get more comfortable with the process after you’ve rattled off a few shots, so schedule a decent amount of time and plan on taking your best shots towards the end of the session.
Top Signs That You Need Small Business Finance
It is easy to start a business. To keep it rolling and then grow is the tough part. As one goes along there will always be instances of cash crunch that prove to be roadblocks to further progress. Smart businessmen always keep lines of finances open so that they can take care of such situations. That is not the only reason to have a line of funding; growth and expansion are also equally viable reasons to have access to funds. There are signs that you need finance for small businesses.Pay vendors and pay salariesYou are already running a business and your funds are committed. It depends on cash flows to keep it running. All of a sudden a customer may delay payment but you must meet your commitment to vendors and to employees. You may consider borrowing from friends or relatives but there is no guarantee they will be forthcoming. This is when you need small business finance from the right lender. There is nothing wrong in borrowing if one has receivables incoming but which are delayed for some reason or the other.You secure a large orderSmall businesses need large orders in order to make a big leap. If a businessman secures a large order the problem is how will he execute it? He needs to buy raw materials, processes it and supplies it. He needs funds to buy materials and then he must manage while the materials are processed and supplied. It takes time from when he invests to when he recovers the money. This is when small business finance comes in handy. He can process orders quickly and by satisfying customers he can expect even more orders.ExpansionOne may start small and as one grows one finds that the present circumstances stand in the way of growth. Equipment may not be capable of high production that the growing business requires. Premises may be too small and cramped. This is the right type to access finance for small business and expand production capability and move into larger premises. One can engage more staff. It is necessary to take this step and expand or just be left behind as customers cannot wait for orders to be executed and they are likely to shift their business elsewhere.PromotionsA business may have a satisfactory number of clients but it must always engage in promotions, especially during some seasons. Promotions help keep the business visible and attract new customers and one can explore regular channels as well as others such as online. Periodic campaigns will net more customers and help the business sell its products in bulk. Obtaining finance for small business for these purposes will pay rich dividends.All these signs that a business needs extra finance may or may not occur concurrently. However, they do happen and a businessman is always alive to the signs and takes immediate action to access funds that will help him progress to the next level. czo