What are the different ways to search a good job ?

As you know i am the web researcher and i am doing internet reseach as well as job search for our international clients.

These are some ways to search a quality job for the customers.

  1. Job boards & Job Sites:- Searching job from Job board is the simplest & common method used by all over the world. Some job boards are International, they provide jobs all over the world. Eg. http://www.monster.com/ , http://www.careerbuilder.com/ , http://www.indeed.com/ , http://www.simplyhired.com/ etc. Currently I am located in Mumbai, India and i want to job in the same location. I will use http://www.indeed.co.in/ instead of http://www.indeed.com/  
  2. Companies Website:- Big Companies have their own Career or Job Link. You can directly go to their website & search for vacancy available in it.
  3. RSS Feeds in Outlook:- RSS Feed is also available in job search. If your job search in job site doesn't give you a perfect result than you can subscribe for the RSS Feeds. The Feed will let you know the new result on the job sites with the same result. e.g. In above image if you see i have searched Internet Researcher, Mumbai. But it haven't give me a perfect result than on bottom right side their is a RSS Feed option click on it. You can save it in you Outlook.
  4. Search Engines:- There are many search engines, Some commonly used search engines are http://www.google.com/ http://www.yahoo.com/ http://www.msn.com/ etc. You can directly search job by putting your keywords. If you want a perfect result than use keywords and operators. For Example if you a Chiropractor and you want job in Dubai than use below keyword


Which is best platform for blogging ?

There are different blogging platform but which is the best one. Here is your answer.

Answer:

  1. Blogger : Blogger is a very good option for beginners, and the unlimited bandwidth is big plus. I suggest Blogger with your own domain, this way you get to keep your PR and backlinks even if you eventually decide to move to another host. Blogger is free & fast, never takes ur blog down. The best thing about it is that it is a part of Google & you will get more chance to get in the ranking Google Search engine. Sorry but i am using blogger.com so according to me Blogger.com is the best blogging platform. URL: http://blogger.com/
  2. Wordpress: It is also a free to use. maximum person using this platform for blogging. Its easy to use as well as got many features. The best thing about WordPress is the wide range of templates and plugins that are available for the platform - and most importantly, it is easy to use. The options and features are far superior and with all the things that you want to do and you haven't even launched yet, you are sure to want to do more in the future and blogger will just frustrate you because it's not that flexible. URL: http://wordpress.org/
  3. Text Pattern: Another blogging platform URL: http://www.textpattern.com/
  4. Moveable Type : Another blogging platform URL: http://www.movabletype.org/
  5. Serendipity:-  URL: http://www.s9y.org/

If you have any other point for this post than Don't forget to leave your comments

How to make your blog stand out from the crowd ?

All Human body wants to be on top. All blogger's wants to be on top ranking. To get a ranking your blog should stand out from the crowd.

Answer:-
  1. Blog Name: The visitor of your blog first have a look on your blog name. Use the blog name which is unique. It should be different from other's than it will get an attraction.
  2. Content: This is the heart of your blog. Like our human body can't leave without heart, like this only your blog won't get traffic without the content. Content should be unique. Please don't copy & paste content from other website or blog. It will never come in the ranking of the search engines. Write your own content.
  3. Audience: First think about the audience of your blog. Why any one will visit your blog ? What is different in your blog than the other ?
  4. Template: Oh.. Templates. many of the blogger's think that Bold templates attract the visitor's & get more traffic but it's wrong. Use light coloured Templates, i will suggest white template.
  5. Post Title: Magnetic headlines improve readership, so spend more time writing a good post title. Use sub headlines to increase your blog readability.
  6. About Page: Write an about us page to introduce yourself to blog readers. It will create a good image with your reader.
If you have any other point for this post than Don't forget to leave your comments

Question: How to bring more traffic to my blog ?

90% of the blogger's are asking me the same question & here is your answer.

Answer:-

  1. Content: First of all add your content, don't copy & paste others content on your blog, because it will never give you the ranking in any search engine. Quote: "good content to keep your visitors coming back".
  2. Url Submission: Try to add you website or blog link in Top 20 search engine. e.g. Google, Yahoo, Msn.
  3. Forums: Use forums for promotion of your blog. Add your url listing in the categories which suits with your blog.
  4. Social Bookmarking: Social Bookmarking will also lead in the good traffic. Quote: "Using bookmarking demon will help you quick"
  5. Video Promotion: This is something unique one. Try to make video of your blog & spread it with tubemogul, youtube, Google Video etc.
  6. Free Article Submission: Submitting your blog in artcle is also a good idea to promote it. Why don't you use ezine-article. Oh.. & Please don't forget to leave your blog url in the article, the reader should visit your blog.
  7. Ping Url: Many of the blogger don't know about ping url. In blogging, ping is an XML-RPC-based push mechanism by which a weblog notifies a server that its content has been updated. This difinition was taken from wikipedia. I must say it is the great site. Let me tell you, the sub Ping Sites. http://www.pingomatic.com/ OR http://www.pingoat.com/ OR http://www.pingmyblog.com/
  8. Use google webmaster, Google analytics to get information about your traffic & visitors. 

If you have any other method to promote blog than Don't forget to leave your comments [:)]

How to earn six figures from blog ?

You have created a blog and your blog is dedicated to a niche industry. Have you ever thought that the blog could make money for you? We would look here in this article, ways and means, to make money blogging. Lets first have a look at what are the prerequisites for a blog needed to make money:
1. Blog needs to be dedicated to a niche market.
2. Updated regularly.
3. Enough back links (Don't worry for it. Directory submission would be enough to begin with)
4. Good blog host or application (blogger, Xanga or typepad recommended), and
5. High quality articles or news items supported with images.
Get the above criteria in place and Hurrah... You are ready to make money blogging.
Top 5 Ways to Make Money Blogging
Lets now take a look at top 5 ways using which you could make money blogging:
1. Google AdsenseGoogle Adsense delivers text and image ads to the authorized websites/blogs depending on the content of the website. Small code is required to be pasted at proper locations on a webpage and Google automatically recognizes the page. Google shares the revenue it gets from the advertisers whenever a visitor clicks on these ads. Google bills advertisers on price per click basis (PPC). Advertisers are required to pay only when any visitor clicks on their ads. They bid against each other for the keywords in order to receive better placement and thus prices for each keyword differ from one another. It is better to choose keywords for your blog which pays high $ per click.
2. AmazonAmazon Associate program is another important way to make money blogging. The Amazon Associate program gives opportunity to website/blog publishers to promote any product from its inventory by adding a predefined code to their website/blog, which, when clicked by a visitor, takes them to the relevant product page. Once the visitor buys the product, the blog owner will be compensated with a commission.
3. BlogadsYou can use Blogads as an effective tool to have a better control over the advertisers in your blogs. You can analyze and compare your profits with any one of your online agencies. Blogads can be simply specified as an advertising service used for the web logs or blogs. From the total money generated by Blogads, it retains 20% of it and the remaining money is paid to you through PayPal or checks.
    Alternative Services:
  • Crispads is another useful network focused on the blogs. You can put your advertisements in their blogs using Crispads. You can move through their RSS/ATOM feeds that help in generating revenues.
  • Tagword - It is similar to Blogads. It makes you select the ads and their price.
Users can place their text-based ads in the site within minutes and the ads will be displayed instantly on the website.
4. Affiliate ProgramsYour affiliate programs can help you earn a lot of money for selected products and services. Lot of websites offers you to become affiliate members. These affiliate programs can provide a better reach and an in-depth exposure to the products. The commissions for the sales differ according to the quality of the product, sales and marketing strategy involved. You can gather information related to the commissions by looking into the catalogues of Link Share and Commission junctions.
5. Text LinksText links has emerged out to be the best form of moneymaking source that you can use instead of cluttering or crowding the page with ads. You don't have to make these text links prominent within your website. This link can act as an extra value to your site and will also help to promote the rankings of other sites. In most of the cases you will find these text links placed in the bottom of the web pages. The best part of this strategy is that the publishers send and accept links as the market continues to grow.

3 Steps to Successful Blogging

Blogs can be a very marketable and very profitable tool if used correctly. Profiting from blogs is just a matter of grabbing the attention of an audience and not doing any actual salesmen selling. In this article you will learn the 13 most essential steps to successful blogging.

1) Where to start?
You should begin your blog with a free blog hosting service such as Journal Home. I don't say that because I'm the owner, but a free blog host is very rewarding for a new blog. Starting with a free blog hosting service allows you to begin blogging instantly without having any advance knowledge of scripts, hosting, or programming. It allows you to build an audience and buzz for your blog. It allows you to focus on your content and not the internal maintenance of the blog. The best benefit of starting with a free service, is in the case your blog doesn't become successful you do not lose any money or are you left holding the bill. The great thing about a blog is that they are organized in chronological order, your latest entry is displayed first. When your blog traffic grows greatly and you are ready to upgrade to your own domain then you can simply make your last blog entry the announcement of your "move". Simply add a last entry stating that your blog has "moved" and type the new blog URL address. Which directs visitors to your new blog site, keeping your following, without a major inconvenience to anyone. Upgrade as you need to...but only when you need to!

2) Niche
A niche is a targeted product, service, or topic. You should first decide on a product, service, or topic which interest you. Choose an area which you can enthusiastically write about on a daily basis. You can use keyword research services like Google Zeitgeist or Yahoo! Buzz Index to find popular searched topics. It does NOT matter if your topic is popular as long as there is a audience for your topic and the topic is precisely focused then your blog should be successful. Anything can be considered a niche as long as it has a target audience no matter how large or how small the audience is. A blog about your cat can be a niche or a blog about the species of the cat family can be a larger niche market, if there are people who are interested in hearing about your cat or the species of the cat family, then you have a niche...you can even choose to build your audience for a market which an audience does not exist, but first you must build your blog.

3) Update Daily (nothing less)
This step is a must and not a suggestion. Updating your blog daily not only keeps your blog more interesting to readers, but it also gives your blog fresh content on a day to day making it more appealing to search engines. Not updating your blog on an occasional holiday or one day here and there is understandable to most, but missing days at a time or weeks is unacceptable and will most likely result in your blog being unsuccessful. To keep your blog traffic and retain your visitors interest it is a must to update your blog daily with multiple entries. Though, I am seeing a growing trend of successful blogs that are not being updated daily, but they are successful and have a stable audience who continue to visit their blog daily. Regardless, these blogs are still updated weekly with multiple entries. Until you have a steady audience you should try to update your blog everyday with at least 3 or more daily entries. The best way to accomplish this is to set aside 1-2 hours a day for tending to your blog and adding new entries. It may even be wise to schedule a set time which you dedicate to your blog each day. Give yourself work hours and treat your blog as a job, what happens if you don't come to work for days or weeks...you lose money or worse you get fired! Same applies here...if you don't update your blog for days or weeks you'll lose visitors.

4) Traffic
It's no secret. You must have traffic to profit from blogs. There are numerous ways to build traffic. Paid advertising, free advertising, viral marketing, search engine marketing, RSS/XML feeds, and word-of-mouth. You should always use your blog URL address in the signature of your email, forum discussions, message boards, or any other communication media. You should submit your blog URL address to search engines and blog directories. You should submit your RSS/XML URL feed to blog ping services like Technorati, Ping-O-Matic, and Blogdigger. You should confidently share your blog with family, friends, co-workers, associates, and business professionals when it relates. Many blogs can be considered as a collection of articles, for this purpose you should submit your blog entries (those that are valuable and lengthy articles) to content syndicators like GoArticles.com or ArticleCity.com. Once submitted your articles can be picked up and published by others. The trick is to make sure you include your Blog URL address in the "About the Author" passage. What this does is create link popularity and backlinks for your blog, when someone picks up your article from the syndication then publish the article on their website the "About the Author" passage is included with each publication and the link you included is followed, crawled, and indexed by search engines. Imagine if your article is popular enough or controversial enough to produce 10,000 publications across the web. The search engines is bound to find your blog in no time with that many publications and credit you a authority on the topic, in return increasing your rank on search engines. The small effort of writing a well written article is rewarding. You should try to write at least 1 full length article every week for syndication and submit your article to at least 10 article syndicators.

5) Track Your Blog
How do you know if your blog has traffic? Just because no one is leaving comments doesn't mean your blog isn't growing. Many visitors do not leave comments but they are returning visitors. I know it sounds crazy but with blogs people are more interested in what "you" have to say! Many visitors do not comment their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time. Some do not comment at all, but are active daily visitors.

Tracking your blog does not have to be overly sophisticated usually a simple free page counter like StatCounter.com or Active Meter will do the trick. Install (copy/paste) the code into the html of your blog template and start tracking your visitors. Its better to use a service which gives you advanced traffic analysis, such as keyword tracking information, referral information, and search engine information. Visitors, returning visitors, and unique visitors should be standard for any page counter service you choose.

6) Listen to Your Audience
When using the proper page counter you should begin to see how others are finding your blog and if through search engines then which keywords are being used to find your blog. If constantly your blog is being found by 1 or more keywords then focus your blog around those keywords to make it even more powerful. When writing entry titles and entries use the keywords as often as possible while keeping the blog legible and interesting.

7) Multiple blogs
Use multiple blogging accounts (free) to attract more people. This means you should have a blog with JournalHome.com and others. The more blog accounts the better (be sure to read and adhere to the Terms of Service for each site). You can copy/paste from 1 blog to all others. Having different blog accounts is like having a publication in different newspapers. This enables you to attract more visitors and this also increases the chance that 1 of your blogs will be in the search engine results for your focused keywords.

8) Short & Concise
Aside from the lengthy article a week for syndication and publication your blog entries should be short & concise (if you can help it). Sometimes there are exceptions to the rule and you have no choice but to blog lengthy entries, but try to avoid this as much as possible. You do not want your blog entries to become hours of reading. Visitors like to easily find information and skim through your entries. It is good to be detailed and provide useful information, but do not include useless information or run away sentences that veer away from your topic. Stay keyword-focused.

9) Digital Art
Try to include non-advertising graphics, pictures, photos, and art in your blog entries. Not too much. Once a week is fine. Graphics can sometimes bring your blog to life. Of course, the content of the blog is the most important aspect and you do not want to overshadow your content with graphics, but displaying graphics can add a bit of spice to the blog. Be choosy about your graphics and make sure they fit your entry topic. You should add content with the graphic, at least a caption. Original graphics, photos, pictures, and art is recommended.

10) Keep it Personal
A blog is most successful when it is kept personal. Try to include personal experiences which relates to the topic of your blog entry. Stay away from the business style of writing. Write with a more personal style and use first-person narratives. Do not write any of your entries as sales letters, instead share product reviews and personal endeavors.

11) Interact With Your Visitors
You now have the traffic you deserve. You should begin interacting with your visitors. Create a regular theme such as: "Monday Money Tip" or "Picture of the Week" which entices your readers to look forward to each week.

Give your readers advance notice about a product, service, or topic which you are going to review and then talk about later. If the President was scheduled to give a speech then in your blog you should state that you "will discuss the speech and give your opinion after the speech airs. Comments will be appreciated".

Try your best to find exclusive information that not many have. Do not disclose any confidential or secret information which is deemed illegal or can potentially get you into trouble, but try to get the scoop before everyone else does. Such as: If your blog was about Paris Hilton (the socialite) and you had a blog entry about "Paris Hilton Getting Married" then it would be interesting to your readers if you had a actual picture of Paris Hilton engagement ring. Give your best effort to dig and search the internet for exclusive information and you will possibly come up with something useful. Your readers will appreciate this and they show their appreciation through word-of-mouth referrals. Imagine how many readers will tell their friends, family, and others about information they only can find at your blog.

12) Make Money
Once your blog has gained some real momentum and your blog traffic is increasing then it is time to start thinking about turning your traffic into profit. You should use contextual advertising, like Google Adsense or Chitika. Contextual advertising is usually text links which use the content of your blog to publish targeted ads on your blog. The payout is usually based on a pay-per-click model, meaning for ever click an ad receives you are paid a small percentage of the profits. In addition to contextual advertising it is good to also use graphical advertising such as: BlogAds.com, Amazon.com, MammaMedia, or General Sponsored Advertising.

13) You're a Professional
You're a professional now! What are you still doing with that free blog hosting service? It is time to upgrade to a domain hosted solution. You need to get a web host and choose a domain name for your blog then check its availability. Select the blogging software you wish to use, such as: Squarespace.com, WordPress.org, MovableType.org, TypePad, etc. When you have your new blog domain setup and ready for traffic then it is time for you to announce your move on all your previous blog accounts. Your last entry to the blog should be a "move" announcement. The title should be "Moved" and the blog entry should state something like "I have a new home for my blog, please bookmark and follow the link: http://www.YourNewBlogDomainName.com". This way all returning visitors and new readers should not have any problem finding your new blog domain. Plus, search engines can easily index and crawl your new blog, since your old blog should already be popular with the search engines.

At the level of a professional blogger you may want to team up with 1 or more other bloggers. This will create a more interesting and more powerful blog. The old saying "two heads is better than one", more authors mean more advertising and exposure because each author will have a vested interest in the blog. The idea of a team blog is to make it profitable and rewarding for all authors, while continuing to target the blog topic and keeping the blog interesting for visitors.

Following these blogging techniques should make your blogging experience much more rewarding. There is no guarantee that your blog will become popular or a household name, but the effort should at least put you one step closer. Making money online is not an overnight experience like many may think, but making money online is definitely a foreseeable possibility. As well, growing popularity on the web is not an overnight experience, but through time, dedication, and persistence you will be rewarded with all the royalties of blogging.

Want to Promote An Existing Business ?

If you belong to any of the following groups, then this article is for you.

  • You already have a business and a website that serves as the official hub for your online sales. The website may be serving as an online store for your enterprise.
  • You need a venue wherein you can promote your affiliate links.
  • Your already have a website, which may not necessarily be a commercial one, and it is enrolled with a Pay Per Click (PPC) program, like Google AdSense.
Success in these fields depends on one essential principle which you might have already realized: traffic is the key to your online business thriving. You may have in your digital inventory the best products in the world, but they won't mean squat if no one would get to see them. This is why each and every online businessman will fight tooth and nail just to have a piece of the Internet traffic. After all, the more visitors who get to visit your site, the more potential clients you have.
And blogs can most definitely help you drive visitors to your pages. Here is how you could use them to achieve such a purpose:
1. Download the Wordpress blogging software, which is available for free at www.wordpress.com . An alternative is to go with blogger.com. I have posted instructions for setting up a Blogger blog at your own server in this PDF file:
www.pluginprofitstraining.com/blogsetup.pdf
2. Remember that good content is always at the heart of a progressive online traffic stream. People are always looking for information, and if you will give them that, they would read what you have to offer. Dedicate your blog to the subject of your main website. Publish informative entries that would hook your readers and make them come back for updates. In between purely educational entries, strategically include a link to your site by suggesting their importance to your readers.
3. Using the above mentioned strategy, you could also include your affiliate links to pre-sell your affiliate products. The more traffic you drive to your affiliate merchant's site or sales page, the more chances you will have of effectuating a successful sale and bigger commissions.
4. Links from blogs are unilateral, meaning, they are one way links to your websites. The more traffic a unilateral link generates, the more it becomes prominent in online searches. Avoid reciprocal links at all costs! Do not include a link to your blog from your website. Search engines abhor reciprocal linking.
5. 80% of your traffic will come from the search engines. You have to tweak your blog to attract the attention of the search engine spiders. Now, blogs are already search engine friendly. However, there is a very big possibility that you would be competing with other blogs on the same subject. You have to make sure that once you upload your blog, it is able to outperform its competitors in the search engine rankings.
One way you can do this is by using the title of your post to match the keyword phrases you are targeting, plus put a sprinkling of your keyword phrase in the post itself. I am doing this with great results.
6. Check your blog offline. It should be as readable and as navigable as possible for your prospective readers. Make appropriate adjustments if necessary.
7. Upload your blog to a reliable server that has enough bandwidth to accommodate many viewers.
8. Constantly update your blog. Search engines love regularly updated content, so publishing new entries will greatly increase your blog's page rank, and consequently, your main website's traffic.
9. Accepting links from other related blogs will also bring to your site some traffic from sources other then search engines. The way that a blog is designed fosters the building of a community of blog sites, and this will provide for an added stream of visitors for you.
10. You could also decide to enroll your blog site in the Google AdSense advertising program. This will give you an additional income stream. We will discuss this in future articles.
Blogs are excellent promotional tools for your existing business. Use them well and you will harvest the rewards in a matter of weeks.

How to Double you adsense revenue ?

If you have joined the blogging revolution that is sweeping the net, and you think you might want to make a little revenue - or a lot of revenue - from your blogging efforts, you need AdSense tips for bloggers. Blogging has opened up an entirely new way of how non-technical people interact with the Internet, and now, anyone can publish anything about any topic - without having a website - and anyone can profit without even having a product!

Adsense for blogs make perfect sense. Google's advertising programs are designed to work with sites related to the keywords for the ads that are being presented. Each time you add content to your blog, the Google spiders gobble it up. The more you update, the more the Google spider visits your page. Ultimately, you move up in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for the topics that you write about. You see where this is going. The higher your search ranking, the more traffic you receive, which ultimately leads to higher revenue from AdSense ads.

The beauty of blogs is their potential for rapid growth. If you become known as an expert in your area of expertise, word of mouth spreads quickly and your blog can become very popular. So it is vital that you always teach something with every blog entry. You want your readers to come back frequently and they will if they know they will learn something. Not only will your readers bookmark your blog and return often, but they will link to your blog enthusiastically as well. People in forums will refer to your blogs and discuss what they learned. Websites will link to you as a valuable resource. In short, an informative blog can grow very quickly if the information it provides is valuable.

It is important to write about specific topics, and sprinkle your blog entries with specific keywords to get the best results - and the highest revenue - with your Google AdSense ads. There is a method to the madness. Start your revenue generating blog by testing the waters.

Decide what area you would like to write about and then do some keyword research. Research is easy if you use Google's keyword tools found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox. The keyword tools are located in your Google AdWords account. Yes, you need a free AdWords account to be successful but you don't have to fund it to use the keyword tools. Look for keywords related to your subject that are high paying. These are keywords where the bid amounts are high. Make a list of the top paying keywords, and use that list to determine what topics you will write about.

Remember, you want people to visit your blog time and time again, and build up a readership, make sure that your blog is well written and informative. Don't just target keywords for the sake of targeting keywords - the writing needs to make sense! Writing valuable content is the first step to generating traffic to your blog, and traffic is needed to profit from AdSense ads!

You are allowed to use the AdSense ad units in two different places on each page. You can accomplish this in a couple of different ways. First, you can add the AdSense ad code to the template for your blog. This is done through the control panel for your blog, and some knowledge of HTML is needed. The other option is to paste the AdSense code directly in your blog post each time you submit a new post. You can use it once at the top and once at the bottom, or once after a few paragraphs of the post, and again after a few more paragraphs.

Get that code in there however you see fit - but then pay close attention to the results so you can see what is working and what isn't. Tracking is everything if you want to make real money!

Of course, you need to advertise your blog as much as possible as well. Make sure that you provide Trackbacks to other people's blogs as often as possible, and that you visit blogs, leave comments - and leave a link for your blog as well!

Are you Loosing your Motivation?

Many times in my over twenty years as a personal trainer, I have seen clients make awesome progress with regard to following the customized eating plan I give them only to become complacent and slip back into the unhealthy dietary habits that brought them to the point of desperation. The question is how do we maintain the mindset that created success with regard to weight loss. The answer is that we must unswervingly focus on the end goal we established when we began on the program. Let's say a client comes to me who weighs two-hundred and fifty pounds and he desires to take his weight down to two hundred pounds. The client, in order to remain motivated, must constantly, reaffirm the commitment he originally made to drop his weight to two hundred pounds.

I firmly believe in using weight loss related mantras in order to stay motivated. The question is what is a mantra? A mantra is a constantly repeated saying which will affirm the client's goals until the mantra becomes a part of the client's belief system. Is this brainwashing? Maybe, but for thousands of years this has been a method which has been used in religion and in education to form belief systems and ingrain powerful and useful truths. In their spare time, I instruct my clients to constantly repeat the success mantra until it becomes such a part of them that nothing could stop them from achieving their weight loss goal.

Another power technique involves obtaining a picture of a body which is representative of what the client's end goal is regarding appearance. Every day that picture should be looked at, and I instruct the client to spend one half hour creating a mental picture of themselves with this goal body. This technique is called visualization and if practiced with regularity will never fail to aid in the quest to remain motivated.

In order achieve success in their fitness program it is necessary for the client to dedicate themselves in totality in achieving their goals. Success only comes when a person dedicates themselves unreservedly in the pursuit of their goal. No negative self talk can be tolerated; examples of this would be "I have never been able to go more than two weeks on a weight loss diet," or "I will always be fat," statements such as these are the exact opposite of the success mantra described previously in this article. Success mantras, if diligently practiced, will drown out negative self talk. Negative self talk is the number one enemy of program success and must be overcome by diligent practice of the techniques mentioned previously in this article.

Success is a certainty if motivation is maintained and I hope the motivational techniques mentioned in this article will enable you to achieve success in your weight loss endeavor

Nutrition Basics for New Fitness Disciples

This article is focused on the basics of nutrition for those who embarking on a fitness/weight training program. Today I'll talk about the three primary sources of calories for human beings. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Protein is of the utmost importance for those trying to improve their bodies. The eating plan for a person trying to improve their physique should have a diet whose foundation is protein. This is what I call the skeleton of a proper eating program. The skeleton of a proper eating program is all of the protein foods the eating plan will contain. The most commonly used protein foods will be meat, fish, poultry, protein supplements, eggs and dairy based protein foods such as cottage cheese. Below I will plot out for you a skeleton of a typical eating program for a personal training client.

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz of broiled ground sirloin 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese

As of right now the foundation of a proper eating plan, being protein foods, has been completed. All that is needed is to add carbohydrate foods to the eating program. The level of carbohydrate intake should be tailored to the personal training client's goals. For example a skinny high school kid who wants to gain weight for football would eat a plentitude of carbohydrates. Let's take a look at how an eating program for such an individual might look. What we will do is take the skeleton eating program and add to it.

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites, 4 slices toast with jam 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup white rice 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup white rice 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz ground sirloin on a bun with ketchup 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese, with 1 cup chopped pineapple.

Now we will look at a more typical scenario for my personal training clients. Nine out of ten people who come to me for training are coming to lose weight and become more toned and fit. I will use the exact same skeleton eating plan as I did in the other example but this eating plan will be vastly different in the carbohydrate department. Healthy carbohydrate foods are grains, rice, potatoes, whole grain bread, and fruit

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites, 2 slices dry rye toast 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup steamed veggies 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup steamed veggies 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz of broiled ground sirloin, 1 large green salad, w vinegarette 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement. 1 grapefruit 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese.

When constructing eating plans for weight loss, you can see that the order of the day is drastic reduction in carbohydrate consumption. No matter what kind of eating program I construct, I never purposely add fat calories. Adequate fat consumption is achieved with the fat that is present in the protein sources.

Want to Burn Fat? Eat More Protein!

Muscles are made of protein. This statement is rather obvious to all of us. So to build muscle, equally obviously, you need to take proteins. This can be found in eggs, fish meat, cottage cheese or protein concentrates like protein powder.

To appreciate the importance of proteins in your body, you have to understand that your body cells are constantly being replaced by new ones. The tissue, made of protein, is in a state of flux, constantly being changed as old cells die and new cells replace them. Rheo Blair states "It is as if you lived in a building whose bricks were systematically taken out and replaced every year. If you keep the same blueprint then it will still look like the same building. But it won't be the same in actuality. The human body is in a constant state of flux, it loks the same from day to day, but through multiple biological processes, it is always rebuilding itself."

Science has proven that 99% of the atoms in your body are replaced within one year. Every cell in your body is always being recycled. Protein is what is used in the creation of new cells. It is the building blocks of your body. Skin, hair, bones, hormones, and antibodies are formed of protein. Save for water, protein is the most abundant substance in your body. Like other nutrients, proteins are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. But unlike other nutrients, proteins are the only nutrients that bring nitrogen into the body. Thus by measuring the amount of nitrogen in ones excreta, compared to the amount taken in, one can estimate the amount of protein used for muscle growth. If the difference is positive, then muscle is being made. But if the difference is negative, there is a negative nitrogen balance, and the body literally begins feed on its own muscle to produce energy. Proteins are broken down by digestive acids like protease to smaller units called peptides. This occurs in the stomach where there are acidic conditions necessary for the digestion of proteins. The peptides are in turn are digested by peptidase, found in the duodenum, into amino acids. These are what the body actually absorbs and utilizes to form body tissue, including muscle.

There are 20 amino acids that are required for the normal growth of the body. Eleven of these are naturally made in the body and thus are called non-essential amino acids. The other nine have to be ingested into the body as it cannot synthesize them and are thus called essential amino acids. Foods containing both types of amino acids in the exact amounts as they are needed by the body are called complete proteins. Only when all the essential amino acids are available can the body grow muscles. Otherwise it starts breaking down body tissue to suffice the amount of essential amino acids for growth and repair purposes. Thus lack of these amino acids actually leads to muscle loss.

Cardiovascular Exercises for Fat Burning

What is the best form of cardiovascular exercise for my personal training clients? The answer to that question differs depending on the physical goals of the individual client. A general answer to the question is that the ideal form of cardiovascular training is a form which has the most rewards while minimizing the risks.

The treadmill is probably the most popular form of cardio being done at gyms and fitness centers today. If one walks on the treadmill on a flat grade the risk to injury is minimal but in most cases the rewards are minimal. Under these conditions few calories are burned and it is too high impact for the extremely deconditioned or obese. Walking slow on the flat treadmill with no grade has minimal risks for everyone but also few rewards as it does not burn enough calories to signifigantly reduce bodyfat. There are two ways to increase the efficacy of working on a treadmill, one is by increasing the rate of speed of which the exercise is done at; you can start jogging or running at will. Jogging and running are very potent exercises when it comes to calorie burning but both of them put a great deal stress on the knees and lower back . The unconditioned, injured and seniors should not take up running because it is too hard on the joint, bones and connective tissue. Secondly, treadmill work can be increased in intensity by increasing the degree of grade that is walked at, this becomes the equivalent of walking hills or mountains outside. Incline treadmill walking is an effective calorie and fat burner but it can be problematic for trainees with lower back, knee or foot issues. As you can see the treadmill has its positives and negatives. Using this an your main type of cardio will depend on any limiting factors due to injuries and how much endurance you have.

Stationary cycling is another very common form of cardio being done at gyms today. Stationary cycling has the same pros and cons as riding the bike outside. I believe cycling is most definitely superior to jogging and running because you can burn a lot of calories without the extreme pounding to the knees and back that the body receives from jogging and running. To a lesser degree however a lot of stress to the knees and back can be generated by intense cycling also.

I favor the elliptical machine due it's non-impact nature and large range of motion. you can vary the ramp, resistance and speed to target the largest lower body muscles without straining the spine or joints. It is possible to really turn up the intensity level of your training with minimal risk of injury. In short there is a superior form of cardio and that form is elliptical training.

Risk of Prostate Cancer Really be Reduced with Diet and Exercise

Men have a tendency to take care of their bodies on the outside. They go to the gym, lift weights and do various other exercises that will give them a great physique. But what do they do for their inner bodies? This may be one of the reasons that men come down with diseases that are often preventable with a little knowledge. As men, we need to do a little more research and have an understanding of what we can do to protect our inner bodies.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. At firdt the symptoms of the disease are asymptomatic; for this reason it is commonly referred to as the silent killer. Prostate cancer has very few early symptoms and those such as trouble urinating or painful ejaculation are also symptoms of much less serious disease such as enlarged prostate.

The function of the prostate is to close the urethra after ejection. It is also essential for ejaculation. There will be more than 200,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed this year that will result in over 30,000 deaths. Maintaining good prostate health requires us to have the necessary information available to us. We would like to review a few things that men can do to assure good prostate health.

1. GET SOME EXERCISE

We are all aware that exercise is good for getting our hearts pumping, lowering cholesterol and protecting us from heart attacks and strokes. But, did you know that exercise can also protect us from some forms of cancer, especially prostate cancer? Research has shown that men who maintain a daily exercise schedule have a 75% less chance of developing cancer and heart disease than men who do not participate in a regular program.

By participating in exercise you get the blood flowing to your vital organs. This has a beneficial effect because it enhances the exchange of nutrients and helps with the elimination of waste products from our cells and tissues. It can also keep our weight under control further reducing the risks of some types of cancers. Stronger muscles also generate better blood flow and circulation to our cells and tissues.

2. EAT A HEALTHY DIET

When we eat a diet high in vegetables and low in saturated fats we are actually reducing the risks of some forms of cancer. Scientists don't know why but men that eat a diet high in red meat are more likely to get prostate cancer. Some feel that there may be fats in red meat that are harmful to the prostate and others feel that chemicals produced during grilling may be responsible. It may also be that increasing the amount of red meat one consumes reduces the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat.

It is recommended that we eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Research has shown that men who follow this type of diet have much lower rates of cancer than men who do not. While consuming this many servings a day may be difficult for many, supplementation is also an option. Free radicals in the body have been shown to convert normal healthy cells into cancerous ones. For these reason tomatoes based products are particularly useful. They contain a high amount of Lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant that can reduce the number of free radicals in our bodies.

3. SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR

Screening is an important part of prevention. This involves looking for signs of the disease before symptom arise. There are a few ways this can be done now and your doctor will be able to suggest the one that best fits your situation. This is the time when treatment will be most effective.

He or she will be able to access any risk factors such as family history or race and put you on a screening schedule suited for your particular situation.

In conclusion, while prostate cancer can be a killer there are things that we can easily do to reduce the risk of us contracting it. The added benefit of some of the things suggested above is that they are also positives to your overall health in general. Just by reducing the risk of chronic heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancers with some simple lifestyle changes we can all live longer and healthier lives.

Yoga is the Best Exercise

A lot of women perform yoga exercises not just to lose weight or maintain proper body weight but also because they want to be healthy emotionally and mentally. Yoga is also known to contribute to the decrease of a number of problems during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. There is research to prove this, but it’s easy to see the physical, mental, and emotional benefits evident on those women who practice yoga.

Yoga Helps You Cope with a Busy Lifestyle

If you are still undecided about yoga, then there are a number of things about it that will help you decide. One of these is its relevance to today’s world, even if it is one of the most ancient practices of all times.

Yoga is considered as the perfect solution that helps women cope with their busy days and the resulting mental and physical stress. This is especially true if they are working moms who need to deal with the pressures of both work and home. Sitting behind a desk or even driving a car for several hours every day would already result in a woman’s having shoulder and back problems that will not only affect their lives at the office but also at home when they are dealing with the family and household chores.

Choosing the Best Yoga Style Helps

Deciding if yoga is really right for you would also require you to choose the yoga style that will fit your lifestyle, personality, and needs. If you are a working mom, your yoga needs might differ from those women who are just working at the office for long hours every day. As such, it is very important to find the perfect teacher or trainer who has the right knowledge about yoga who is not only qualified and accredited but also compassionate and sensitive to what you really need.

Yoga Styles:

1)Vini Yoga. This is a personal practice that could be developed through the incorporation of meditation, proper breathing, and posture as well as prayer and rituals. The amount of all these aspects that could be incorporated into your yoga practice will have to be changed though as a woman and her needs change and develop. Therefore, if you are still a student or a young professional, then the physical aspects of yoga might be more important for you, while older women might focus more on the spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects.

2)Ashtanga Yoga. Also considered as the power yoga, this style is known to be flowing and athletic. Breathing is very important in this yoga style as a woman flows through a series of postures. This is able to generate a lot of sweat and body heat, thus helping women detoxify their bodies.

3)Ananda Yoga. This yoga style makes use of temperate poses. This is gently meditative and perfect for those who would like to practice a yoga style that helps them to look inwards so they can focus on making their emotions better.

Obama's Scholarship Program Aimed at Mothers

You may have a deep desire to finish or begin your college degree; however, finances have prevented you from fulfilling that dream. If this sounds like you, then you are in luck. President Obama also has that desire. He would like to see all women have the opportunity to begin or return to college. To make this dream come true, he has instituted a program that offers up $10,000.00 scholarships for moms.

Obama knows that often money is the only obstacle that prevents many women from pursuing their degrees. Traditionally, women find it easier to receive the help from government grant or scholarship programs and now is the time to benefit from all of the programs and get started.

Single moms have the ability now to apply for a vast number of scholarships. You can use these to pay for direct college fees or other expenses such as daycare while you are in class. You can also use the money to help with daily living expenses such as food and utilities.

As you look around for the college that offers the right program for you, you may decide that taking classes online or what is called distance- learning may work better for you. You would be surprised at the number of well-known universities that now offer such programs.

It is well documented that women with a bachelor's degree will have almost five times the earning power over those women who do not have such a degree.

To boost your chances be sure to find and apply for as many scholarships as possible. Sorry guys, this offer is currently available to women only!

A Primer On Management Training

Management training is important for those who want to make a mark in today’s business world. Depending on where you stand academically right now, you can choose between a variety of graduate and undergraduate management training programmes.

You may find choosing the right kind of management training school quite confusing. There are so many around today, and all of them have enticing features. Nevertheless, you should make an effort to find the right kind of management training school, since such certification is among the most lucrative and sensible endorsements to obtain for all aspirants to the business world. In fact, even undergraduate management training certification increases your salary potential dramatically.

The management training programme you choose should help you zero in on your career objectives and help in developing your career plans. It should also give importance to honing career management skills and give opportunities to implement professional development during the course. Apart from the academic curriculum, the management training programme you choose should feature career-oriented workshops and hold regular company information sessions. You should also have the option of individual career counselling sessions.

Since no two management training programmes are exactly alike, you must base your choice on your requirements. The questions you must ask yourself while making a selection are:

• Will I get the experience I require from this programme?
• Will I learn what I need to learn to have a good career in my profession of choice?
• Can I finish the course successfully, given my present aptitude?
• Will I get practical training and exposure to real-life situations in this course?
• What kind of course duration can I accommodate comfortably?
• Do the course timings suit me?
• Can I afford it?

The last two factors are quite important. Many management training schools charge steep fees and you may have to hold down a job while you pursue a course. If the course’s timings clash with your job, you will have a Catch 22 situation.

It is very likely that you already have some career objectives in mind. Your choice of management training programme should complement those objectives. If you are already working in a business, the course should help you in advancing your career. You may have an aptitude for retailing, marketing or some other form of business. If you do, the course should help you hone your knowledge and skills in this business genre. The idea is to opt for a course that suits your existing of aspired-for career profile.

Maximize Career Obstacles With Resumes

Are you considering a conspicuous vary in your career? Do you seek give down, bored, burnt out? Maybe you conceive there is something large and solon purposeful that you are meant to do. Perhaps your accompany downsized you into this predicament. disregardless of the reason, there are several plebeian Tipss to desist patch you valuate and superior fresh job options. desist these pitfalls and you tin satisfy motivated, fastness your hold and relocation frontward successfully.

Tips #1 – effort Bogged eat by Decisions

If you’re an intelligent individual who has enjoyed some assess of success, chances are there are a accumulation of different choices you could form in your close magnanimous vivification or advance change. Clients oftentimes say me they are overwhelmed by every of the thoughts and ideas that donjon streaming finished their minds. And as the deluge sets in, it is very promiscuous to upright unopen down. As we transform together, I inform clients when making hard decisions to inquire themselves, “Is this accomplishment to run me forward?” If the result is yes, proceed. If the reply is no, either revise the resoluteness or drape it entirely.

Tips #2 - Not Having a Plan

There are deuce reasons this is important. First, invigoration is occasional and it is unsafe to foreswear instrument before the close job ornamentation is unsmooth up. Second, dynamical careers is a caboodle equal dating. You are ever author enviable when you are unavailable. You are solon taking to a expected employer if you are already working. And if you person already preoccupied your duty either voluntarily or involuntarily, it is steady writer key to bed a project so that you are then author apt to attain it. If you reckon success, you testament be successful. (Conversely, if you don’t someone a plan, how instrument you cognize when you’ve succeeded?)

Tips #3 - finish your compound also Soon

All I container have here is, prepare, prepare, prepare. If you’re looking at individual possibilities, don’t straightaway deliver cardinal when other looks good. Think nigh every of the gravid tests you have condemned in period (college entry exams, finals, credential exams) and how you embattled for those. Did you excogitate selection in propose and decide a big, long hurt before winning the test? Or were you allay representation the substance as you walked in the threshold on attempt day, wondering if you could console be healthier prepared? When you’re embarking on a novel calling or beingness change, commit it every of your useable energy, skills and attention. If you know a end in mind, refuse quiet when you judge you near bang it. set and slip fulgurating justness up until the period you start. This instrument ply maintain you from losing certainty at the finally minute.

Tips #4 – exploit Discouraged also Easily

Does this hap to you when you play hurdling in the interior of your goal? Instead of giving in to the pain, remuneration work to what specifically is making you uneasy and alter adjustments to seize you through. For example, if you’re in business transition and you see that it is uncomfortable to go finished the dulness of making sound calls, sending resumes, feat on interviews where the contention is tough, etc., judge the instruction that gives you a accident without fixing the process. wear devoting an time or deuce apiece forenoon to these tasks and letting it go for the reside of the day, or exclusive making a sure amount of sound calls or discourse appointments per period so that when you’re finished, you preserve perceive sound near sharing yourself both case off. Don’t stop. Adjust.

Tips #5 – Making Decisions in Haste

Tempted to retributive leave and offstage it? Everyone is today and then, but unless you virtuous can’t support your latest position added day, resist! Instead, compose plumage everything you **** nearly your prevalent situation, then figure by one, look at the most unbearable issues and check how you commode motion apiece around to make it solon sufferable for the here moment.

It is promiscuous to rag so agog nigh the forthcoming that you settle to workplace forrader without a think and comic everything course water your portion after that. It give tell solon forcefulness to keep your newborn progress and accomplish it production wellspring for you than it gift to discover and begin it. It is turn to become from a rank of higher drive and unchangeableness than to move impermissible already burned outgoing or worried nearly how you give gain the bills. deliberate hunting the forbear of a modified procession coach, beingness tutor or vocation adviser to amend you denote your incoming line path. An objective, drilled ordinal receiver preserve ply you strategize and point it in for the human results and the lowest quantity of heartache.

Tips #6 – Ignoring the Finances

“I can’t stop this whatever longer! I would kinda deplete canine matter than place up with this added day!” Whether you are pursuing a refreshing business voluntarily or involuntarily, you staleness pay the bills. Do travel your dream. Do sensing for the occupation that brings impossible the foremost in you. If you get plenty of savings, opportune for you! escape the temptation to go finished it and be manus without. If you individual a dream, by each effectuation flow on to it! But if it won’t realistically annoy disconnected the object for III years, feat other path to get a extant in the meantime. The necessity for income is a realness you cannot ignore.

Tips #7 – material Your progress with Negative Stuff

What do you read? What do you analyze on telly or the Internet? With whom do you expend escaped time? When you’re hunting at making intemperate living and line changes, you require lots of optimistic force around you. If you pay moment with unfavorable fill or change your intelligence with anything that isn’t useful, shot what? It fills you with dissident energy. Instead, circle yourself with people and things that commit you supportive strength and encouragement. feature books that incite and encourage you. Go places that exalt you. Do everything you tin to be what you poverty to be suchlike after you get the succeeding high advance opportunity, and you module be solon belike to appeal it into your life!

Remember, a advance convert is a aliveness change. You didn’t get at your prevailing destroy of upbringing and experience overnight, and don’t be foiled if you don’t straightaway expose “the thing” you deprivation to do next. give yourself reading and grapheme to explore and micturate an learned decision. make the serve you pauperism along the portion (i.e., job coach, advance counselor) to improve you do it strategically, not emotionally. If you avoid these Tipss you are some author belike to terminate up in a early occupation that complements and fulfills your life.

How To Crack MBA Entrance Exam

Confused whether to go for an MBA or not? Wandering whether your MBA degree will fetch you good job in today’s crunch or not? Then here’s a hard piece of truth for you- the fact lies that even though the competition is tough enough yet there are abundant jobs for fresh MBA pass outs even in this time of recession. No matter whichever discipline you hail from, an MBA degree will always add an extra edge to your career. And this is the reason why more and more students from diverse disciplines like Medicine, Engineering, Science, Commerce, Arts etc are opting for this degree.

Students understand the importance of this degree in their career and therefore more and more are opting for this. If we speak alone about United States in any given year, there are close to 300,000 MBA aspirants pursuing the degree. Considering the increasing ratio of students many institutes have come up introducing the course in degree or diploma formats. Among these institutes there are both good and average ones alluring you with similar promises.

Not only in the developed countries of the world but also in many developing countries like India, China and others, MBA is a highly prospective career. In India alone thousands of B-Schools have come up in the last few years. Irrespective of the state you want to pursue your MBA from, be it MBA in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chennai or MBA in Ahmedabad, all you need to do is choose the right institute for yourself, prepare well and give your career that extra edge.

Now what lies at the core is how to get admission in a reputed institute. Usually all the reputed B-Schools in India and other parts of the world conduct entrance test for the aspirants. After you qualify this test you can enroll for admission. Now the question is how to qualify these entrance exams. Here are some quick and simple tips and tricks that will surely help you to crack an MBA Entrance Exam.

• Arrange for some proper guidelines and help by enrolling yourself in some good MBA coaching classes.

• Make out the right optimum strategy. This will help you develop a test taking strategy. Using this strategy you can get success in the exam.

• The third criterion is analyzing the tests. Plenty of model papers are available in the market or over internet. Use these model papers and take at least 2 or 3 tests in a week. In this way you would be able to depth your knowledge and then preparing yourself accordingly.

• One thing you should always keep in mind is that avoid any shortcuts. Many students follow the shortcut methods to clear the exam but that is completely a wrong idea. You should prepare all the papers according to the syllabus.

• Last but not the least is ‘Relaxation’ there are many candidates who share a very bright academic profile. Still they can not crack an entrance test. The reason is simple. They falter in

• handling too much of pressure taken in the exam and finally drop out. This should not be the way. You should always keep some activities with your studies that can help you feel relaxed and refreshed.

So just keep in mind these tricks and get on with your exam. All the best!

5 Lucrative Job Prospects After Getting An MBA Degree

So looking for a job post in a managerial or executive level? An MBA degree might be of your help! The job prospect for an MBA student is probably better than for any other career. An MBA degree holder ends up having enough knowledge in theory and practice of business management. Industrial houses, manufacturing companies, MNCs etc. mostly recruit MBAs for all their management positions. A better job with good salary boosts up your lifestyle and makes easier for you to live like a snob!

But having the degree from a reputed institute is also very important. There are good schools of MBA in Ahmadabad, Pune, Mumbai and West Bengal. All you need to do is choose the right institute, study well and fetch yourself an MBA degree. While going through the course in any of the reputed B-schools you must have taken a specialization of your choice. The job prospect depends on what specialization you have. Mostly MBA grads work in the field of

• finance,
• general management,
• human resource,
• marketing and
• sales

• Finance:

Generally banks, financial institutions, MNCs, etc prefers students having MBA degree from top B-schools in India. Such recruitments are done so that the candidates can deal with the the company’s financial potential, growth prospect, budget analysis, share market volatility and its impact on the market. Companies expect that the students will come up with vivid ideas and will be able to handle different situations of the company.

• General management:

Corporate organization, multinationals prefers recruiting MBA people to handle all the management positions.

• Human resource:

One of the most lucrative job offers is the job of a HR. An MBA grad, as a HR professional, can work in any sector. You have better chance to choose your field in either general HR or HR for recruitment depending on your area of interest and potentiality. An HR gets to develop, advice on and implement policies relating to the effective use of personnel within an organization.

• Marketing

Marketing executives are required in an organization to handle the fields like planning, advertising, promotion, public/media relations, product development, distribution, sponsorship, and research. Such roles are really challenging, varied and exciting.

• Sales

Organizations hire sales executives to increase and develop sales in different areas. Areas like

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables, industrial supplies, IT, software and media and services hire candidates with an MBA degree for there sales purpose. The role of the sales executives also ensures commercial success of UK and overseas market.

So which field should you take up? Confused? Ya! It does become tough when you need to choose any one from so many lucrative job offers. But you need to focus on your path. An MBA degree with any specialization has its own value.

Get A Degree Home

There are a variety of reasons why a student cannot attend classes at his/her desired college or university. He/she may have a family to raise, he/she may have some physical disability, he/she may stay at a distant place which makes it difficult to commute and becomes a job thus he/she loses energy to study etc. Online learning has emerged as a handy source for learning for students with such commitments. With online learning, you can really get a valuable Degree home.

Because of the popularity of internet, online learning has been widespread in the past few years. It is now possible for a student to attend classes without leaving the comfort of his/her home. The college or institute is of course, the website of the land-based college or university. Other than this, learning through the internet has got many advantages. For example, assignments are sent to the student via e-mail, and after completion student can send it back to the respective faculty member using the same process. Another benefit is that exams can be held online. You can actually sit in front of your computer, turn on the browser, open the website of your college, and start answering. It is as easy and comfortable to earn Degrees on line.

But before enrolling into any course, you should run a check on you as to what you really want from the course by asking yourself questions like these – is the university accredited by any governing body? What is the value of the course? What kind of course is provided? How is the quality of the course content and materials? How long will the course take to complete? What will be the cost (in monetary terms)? What kind of help/support is provided to the students? What is the system for grading students? What is the credit system? Is there any provision for reviewing the exam paper? Is there any provision for credit transfer? And most importantly, is the course recognized by the government?

Before you apply, do a research. Inquire about whether the university is accredited, placement record, passed percentage record of graduation and if possible, try to get in touch with already passed out students and find out about their learning experience. Another very important aspect of your pursuing a

Degree on line is financial support. Find out whether the college provides financial assistance to online students, the procedures, the criterion, the repayment process etc.

Best way to Deliver A Great Presentation

 Most courses require students to give a presentation at some point during their studies, for many the prospect fills them with dread. Unfortunately or fortunately depending upon your perspective, the inherent nature of graduate jobs means that at some point there will be a requirement to present to or address an audience.

The prospect of presenting is so distressing for some that they waste too much time worrying and vital preparation time is lost. Worrying is counter productive, so you must put it out of your mind.

The fact is that confidence is a great antidote for nerves and a presentation that is well researched and properly prepared will give you that confidence.

The opposite is also true. I have known students who have been so side tracked by fear that they have been unable to concentrate upon the task in hand leading to sub-standard preparation, in turn promoting a lack of confidence which equates to increased nerves.

You need to break the cycle! Focus on the work and the nerves will to a greater extent take care of themselves. Don’t forget once completed, it will be easier the next time.

If your presentation is to be assessed the first step, is to read the assessment criteria. Look at how the marks are allocated and gear your efforts accordingly.

Take particular note of the time limit keeping to a time specification is a vital part of the presenter’s skill, so ensure that yours is spot on. Too much under the allotted time and you will have probably failed to do your subject justice, over run and as interesting as you subject may be, you will fail to demonstrate your ability to plan effectively.

Decide on whether you are going to use a visual aid and if so, what. Aids tend not to be mandatory but their use is advantageous for four reasons:

1. They add quality and will make you look more professional.
2. Make it easier for your audience to follow.
3. Provide you with a prompt so you don’t have to rely on cards.
4. Take the attention of the audience away from you.

Your subject matter will probably dictate the type of aid you will be able to use. Acetates still have their use but the favourite for many now is ‘PowerPoint’ it’s simple to use and very effective.

Whatever you decide make sure that you use a font size that is easy to read and use a clear heading and bullet points around 4-6 per ‘page’, avoid cramming in loads of information.

Do your research, know your stuff, and don’t forget that knowledge equals confidence!

Make sure that the information flows in a logical sequence, once you have it planned out practise, practise and practise some more.

Don’t just run through it in your head, actually speaking the words will take longer than thinking them-remember that time limit!

It’s a common mistake to think successful people are just born that way. Footballer’s, golfer’s, advocate’s, actor’s, artist’s, writer’s, no matter what the field, successful people have one thing in common, they practise and keep on practising until they get it right. So must you!

Presentation complete, the next thing to consider is how you are going to present yourself. Don’t turn up in jeans and trainers show your audience and the occasion some respect. If you look professional, you will act professionally and if you are being assessed you will gain extra marks.

If you are unfamiliar with the equipment make sure that you have a couple of practise sessions so you know how to use it.

When the moment arrives wait until everyone is seated and quiet, introduce yourself and tell the audience the subject that you are going to examine.

Make eye contact with a couple of audience members periodically throughout your talk.

Unless you are supremely confident and time is not an issue, you will not want to be disrupted by questions as this may throw you off course and will eat into your allotted time. So inform your audience that you will take questions at the end. At least if you are being marked the assessor will know at what point the talk ended and the questions began.

5 Greatest Tips to write academic Essay

Tip # 1

To many students’ essay writing is a chore. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard students’ say “I’m not bothered about my coursework, it’s only worth 25% (or whatever it happens to be) of the final mark-as long as I pass (i.e. get 40%) I’m happy”

This approach is problematic as the student is from risk throwing away marks. Marks that could easily raise their overall grade above the next classification bar, marks which will impact on their ultimate grade.

Tip # 2

Look at the time frame. How long until the submission date? Allow plenty of time; aim to finish a week before the deadline in case something unexpected occurs.

Once a deadline has been set work backwards in order to determine when work should commence.

It is advisable to begin working on an academic essay at least a month before the hand in date. Of course once a couple of assignments have been completed you will have a better idea how long each takes, enabling you to adjust your schedule accordingly. For those who have little research to conduct and who have the ability to work quickly, it is possible to produce a good quality piece of work in a matter of days. Unfortunately this is outside the capabilities of most students’ who if they are to produce a quality piece of work will need plenty of time to research, plan and write.

Tip # 3

Look at the assessment criteria; determine how the marks are allocated. A typical breakdown may look something like this:

Analysis of task -10%

Relevant knowledge & understanding of topic-40%

Structure and content-30%

Use of source materials-10%

Presentation -10%

There should also be a detailed breakdown of what is required to obtain marks in a particular range, study this and work out what you need to do.

Tip # 4

Re-read the assessment criteria in conjunction with the question. Think about how you are going to complete the task whilst simultaneously maximising the available marks in each section.

Analysis of Task

This is absolutely fundamental so you need to get it right as it will impact on the marks obtainable in other areas particularly structure and content/relevant knowledge and understanding.

Examine the keywords; what are you being asked to do? Discuss, evaluate, compare and contrast, analyse, advise, comment on.

Structure and content

Ensure your work has a beginning, middle and end! In others words has an:

Introduction that sets the scene and tells the reader what the problem or issue is and how you are going to resolve or address it.

A main body that does exactly what you said you would do in the introduction.

A conclusion which draws together the points, arguments etc that were discussed in the main body and arrives at an overall conclusion. A conclusion must not introduce any new material but it must link back to the introduction and answer the question.

Relevant knowledge and understanding

Self-explanatory really. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the topic. The trick here of course is to make sure that you do! How? Read as widely as possible, listen to lectures and avail yourself to as much material as you can. Then use/ apply what is relevant.

Use of source materials

To gain the maximum available marks here you need to show that you have conducted extensive but relevant/focused research and the sources you have used must be correctly cited/referenced and you must include a full bibliography.

Tip # 5

When conducting research use an A4 pad. Across the top of the page write the citation of the text.

As you make notes, jot the relevant page number in left-hand margin. This will make referencing easy and enable you re-visit the text should this be required at a later date.

When taking down notes you can either put the information in your own words or copy it down verbatim. Just be clear about what you have copied (put it in speech marks) as you will have to put this in your own words when it comes to writing up.

How to avoid plagiarism:

1. Reference your work properly when you need to quote or indicate the source of your findings.

2. Purchase the ‘anti-plagiarism trinity’:

? Good quality dictionary

? Thesaurus

? Synonym Finder

Presentation

Make sure that you adhere to the coursework guidelines. Do they specify that the work needs to be double-spaced? What font and font size are required? What is the word length? Are you allowed to exceed it? Some tutors will allow 10% over limit whilst others will not allow any extension. Ensure that the work is grammatically correct and that all spellings are accurate. Easy marks available here, just by doing what you are asked and checking your spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Make a start!

Get a note pad, have a brain storming session and get your ideas down on paper. Jot down a structure, have a plan of where you’re going. Regularly re-read the question to make sure you are on track.

? Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to begin by writing the introduction first. I have wasted hours and hours struggling to make a start. Start anywhere, it doesn’t matter, in fact many students write the introduction lastly as this enables them to accurately explain what they are going to cover, because they’ve already done it!

Don’t think that you have to get it right first time. The wonderful thing about being able to word process is that text can be easily deleted and expanded. You’ll probably edit many times, so just get something down to get you on your way, you can hone your work as you progress.

? Don’t get stuck on a particular word or sentence. Enter a line of Xs’, change the font colour and return to it later.

? Sometimes it’s easier to speak something rather than write it. Get a Dictaphone or use the voice recorder on a mobile and talk about it. Explain what you want to say then listen back and transcribe.

Make sure that your essay flows in a logical sequence, link paragraphs and ensure that your conclusion refers back to the question-in other words answer what has been set.

Once you have completed your work, print it off and forget about it for a couple of days. Then return to it with fresh eyes. Critically evaluate what you have done in light of the assessment criteria. Make any amendments and hand it in.

Get the job By beating the Competition

Several hundred thousand graduates leave university each year whilst some take the opportunity to travel before entering the world of work the priority, for the vast majority, is to enter their chosen field as quickly as possible.

Bearing in mind the current economic state-high unemployment combined an increasing amount of graduates' competition for jobs, places on graduate schemes and the like, has never been so fierce. As such, to tip the scales of success in their favour, it is imperative that steps are taken to secure a head start over the competition.

Lets look at the three areas that, with the correct approach can give a serious advantage over your rivals.

1. Get the best possible classification of degree that you are able.

2. Gain experience and develop transferable skills that employers are looking for.

3. Prepare properly for the application and assessment process and make sure that you have the ability to deliver what a prospective employer is looking for.

Getting the best possible classification of degree

This is self-explanatory; a candidate with a higher classification will automatically stand out from those with a lesser grade. That said the right interpersonal skills and qualities are also vital to an employer and so selling yourself and your individual qualities during the assessment process can give you the edge over a better qualified candidate.

Gain experience and develop transferable skills that employers are looking for.

Each university will have a careers service staffed with specialist advisers whose role is to offer expert help and guidance, it’s a free service provided for your benefit so use it to your advantage. Unfortunately many students’ make the mistake of not seeking out the services of a counsellor until the final year (sometimes even the final term) of university, clearly this is the incorrect approach, the sooner advice is sought the better.

A careers counsellor can help in two ways, firstly by suggesting suitable career options dependant upon the subject studied, interests and personality type; secondly to help the person successfully secure a position within their chosen field.

Regardless as to whether you have a particular profession in mind, it remains imperative that you seek advice as soon as possible. It may well be that there are things that you could be doing, during the duration of your degree that will have an impact on your search for work later down the line. For example law students’ may find that summer employment in a solicitors office or the undertaking mini pupillages’ may well have a profound impact when it comes to securing a training contract or pupillage proper.

A career’s counsellor can advise accordingly, not only with regards to gaining practical experience but also regarding the development of skills demanded within your chosen vocation. It is crucial for example, that someone with a desire to enter the world of sales and marketing not only has excellent negotiation skills but can demonstrate to a prospective employer during the application process, how they have used the skill in real situations. Thus over the duration of your degree, whether through academia, via work paid or voluntary, you must have involved yourself in an environment that has enabled you, not only to develop the particular skill but also to facilitate examples from which you are able to draw.

Prepare properly for the application and assessment process and make sure that you have the ability to deliver what a prospective employer is looking for.

This third area which demands a prepared and competent approach is the successful completion of the application process-and a science in itself!

Again the careers advisor can point you in the right direction when it comes to finding opportunities some even have links with major or local employers. They can also give sound advice when it comes to the application and assessment procedure, however the greater the preparation and more extensive your knowledge the better.

An organised student will begin in their search for employment well in advance of graduation. Of course the Internet is the ideal research tool where information can be found on most companies along with their current vacancies and any recruitment schemes that maybe available to you once you’ve graduated. You should also keep an eye out for recruitment events such as job fairs and ‘milk rounds’ as they also offer the opportunity to network, build contacts and forge relationships, to hand out CV’s to speak personally with recruiters and to sell yourself.

Studying English at University - Secrets to Success

English is a core subject in British schools. All pupils from infant to school leaving age are required to study it in one way or another. The study of English at a higher level continues to be popular but it is not for everyone.

Most traditional English courses were largely literature based. This meant, and still means, that you have lots to read. If you enjoy reading then this is no problem, but much of the reading in fact most of it is likely to be done in your own time. You will be asked to read literature from different ages and of different genre. It is likely you will study prose, poetry and drama. Unlike some other subjects where there is heavy emphasis on absorbing facts, English is often different because it relies more on your personal responses to what you have read.

More recently there has been a growth in the number of English courses which are language based and look at different aspects of English and linguistics. In courses like this for instance, you may be asked to translate a text from one genre to another. There has also been a development in writing courses which enable students to write expertly in both creative and functional language. Subjects often associated with English are Media Studies and Drama.

The downside of studying English particularly in the more traditional courses is the huge emphasis on reading. If you are not an avid reader and get little pleasure from reading then it might be wise for you to think twice about studying English. With the emphasis being on personal response and opinion rather than on fact based outcomes, then this may cause problems for some. The requirement to write long essays is not specific to English. Other subjects require projects, dissertations, and long essays, but it is unlikely you will be expected to write quite as much as you would for English study.

A qualification in English at whatever level is likely to be an important factor in making the search for a job easier. There are many opportunities for people with English at degree level because its value is recognised in business and the professions.

At some point in your course, you will almost certainly be required to do at least one big project. So where do you start? The library of course! In addition, remember that there is a wealth of information available via the internet.

The internet is a fantastic aid to all forms of study and if you need information when researching a project then there is an abundance of it. Information is made available on virtually any subject you can name by search engines and electronic encyclopaedia, and the information is made available in great quantities. It is important therefore, to find out exactly what you need, what is relevant.

A lot of the information will also be opinion or just drivel, peddled as knowledge. You need to be careful and separate the two. Generally speaking, information that is well established will be found in several places or be attributable to a reliable source. It is often worth trying to verify any potentially controversial points independently offline. This can take time and effort, using the internet is seen by many as a quick way of getting information. It is not. Allow sufficient time for your project to allow you to verify your facts and to develop your own opinions. Your tutor’s time is valuable, s/he will not thank you for wasting it with unverified rubbish from unreliable sources.

Be selective; decide what the project requires. Try to be specific and focused. If your project contains irrelevant information and detail it is not likely to be viewed favourably, so make sure you use only what is necessary to improve your project. Do not make the mistake of copying great extracts from the net; this is not a good idea. Even more important than copying great chunks is that you do not try to pass off what you do copy as you own work. This is plagiarism and is viewed very seriously by examiners and moderators at all levels of academic study. It is also completely pointless as it removes all learning opportunities.

When you do find the information that you require, you need to read it, understand it and then attempt to express it in your own words. At first this maybe difficult for you to achieve but the more you do it the easier it will become. You will learn how to process the information to your advantage.

If your project requires you to include photographs, pictures or other images then the internet can be very useful in providing these and incorporating them into your work. But always make sure that you get permission to use the images. It is unlikely that you would ever be prosecuted for stealing someone else’s intellectual property but it is a matter of courtesy.

Finally, remember it is important that your project is presented in the most effective way. It should be cohesive, clearly indexed and easy to read. You can always get a friend to read it through in order to proofread and critique your work.

Do We Share the Same Taboos? Cultural Influence on Language Choice

Taboos are established in a society to avoid harmful consequences to their people either because the non-verbal or verbal behavior violates a code based on supernatural beliefs or it violates the moral code of the society. According to Adler (1989), taboos are subject to the environment and they are language-specific. This research was held in the United States to examine whether the Chinese and Korean immigrants in a western society share any taboos in (1) non-verbal phonologically-linked taboos, related to death or separation and (2) verbal animal-linked taboos to describe people. The results show that these Chinese and Koreans share only one phonologically-linked taboo – the number “4”, which associates with “death,” and one animal-linked taboo – the “tiger” for a woman, which is used negatively to hot-tempered females.

Introduction

In an intercultural setting, good communication requires not only the linguistic and sociolinguistic knowledge of the host language for interaction but also knowledge of the culture and cultural rules which contribute greatly to the content and the process of meaningful communicative interaction (Saville-Troike, 1989). Most people are motivated to adjust their conversation in expressing attitudes and intentions toward others. Though individual variation may exist, people will basically choose appropriate language as a means of reducing the cultural differences between them. Knowledge of prominent language features of a culture like non-verbal and verbal taboos, seldom discussed in language textbooks or in classrooms as part of cultural instruction, is probably essential to successful communicative interaction (Shen, 1993).

Taboos are subject to the environment. They are language-specific; therefore, they are not universal or timeless (Adler, 1978). In many cases, foreign people realize the existence of the rules associated with taboos only after they have violated them. Those who do not observe these social “rules” might face serious results, such as total embarrassment or, as Saville-Troike (1989) has stated, they may be accused of immorality and face social ostracism or even death.

In this paper, two types of Chinese “possible taboos” are examined in the context of Korean culture and language: (1) Non-verbal phonologically-linked taboos from traditional Chinese society that are associated with the “separation” and “death”. Do Chinese and Koreans share these taboos because similar sounds occur so often in their languages? (2) Verbal zodiac-animal-linked taboos in modern Chinese society. Do Chinese and Koreans share more zodiac-animal-linked taboos than either shares with Americans because of the same customs? Data were collected in two ways: questionnaires and interviews.

What is a Taboo?

The word ‘taboo’ in early contexts was primarily used to evoke a breach of good manners. Today the word evokes either attitudes that are outdated and irrational or topics that were deemed unmentionable in the past but are now being openly discussed (Thody, 1997).

“Taboo” is a borrowed word from Tongan, a Polynesian language. To most people, it refers to “forbidden” or “to be avoided” behaviors, both verbal and non-verbal. A taboo is also an expression of disapproved behaviors in a society. Taboos are established because people believe that such inappropriateness will bring harmful consequences to them either because this non-verbal or verbal behavior violates a code based on supernatural beliefs or it violates the moral code of the society (Wardhaugh, 1992). Once taboos are formed in a country, references to them become taboo, too (Shen, 1993).

We may find that taboos occur in all kinds of environments, from ancient to modern society, and at all levels of civilization. Members of each community are psychologically and physically trained and shaped by the community to observe the “rules” closely. For example, Westerners wear black for a funeral and white for a wedding. But in the ancient Chinese weddings, a white dress was not allowed to be worn because white was for a funeral. Therefore, all individuals involved had to wear black formal costumes. Later, the color changed to red. Now under Western influence, white is the customary formal color for brides and sometimes for bridegrooms, too (Shen, 1993).

Non-Verbal and Verbal Taboos

Non-Verbal Taboos

Some non-verbal taboos may seem funny, but severe punishment might have come to those who failed to observe the rules in an earlier time and today as well. Accidents may also result from taboo non-verbal cues (e.g., an inappropriate gesture). For example, In 1988, in Los Angeles, an entertainer from Thailand was reported to have been convicted of the murder of a young Laotian. The entertainer was singing in an after-hours Thai cabaret when the Laotian, a patron, put his foot on a chair with the sole directed at the entertainer. When the cabaret closed, the entertainer followed the man and shot him. The reason was that among Southeast Asians, showing or directing the sole of the shoe to another person is considered a grievous insult (Axtell, 1991).

An incident also took place in Hong Kong a few years ago because of a hand signal miscommunication. A television station there took an annual picture of all the contracted entertainers before the Chinese New Year. As a joke, famous Kung-fu actor Jackie Chan, who recently played the main actor in the movie “Rush Hour,” held his fist with his middle finger stuck out on top of the head of an actress who stood in front of him. When his photo appeared in the newspapers, the station received dozens of calls from Westerners living in Hong Kong complaining about the indecent gesture. To them, when the middle finger is used, there is only one interpretation – indecency. When Chan applied this gesture, he meant to suggest that his friend had grown horns on her head for fun. Chan refused to apologize because his gesture was not intended to be an insult as the gesture is not considered indecent in Chinese Society

Several times, when my Korean informant talked about classic words or terms used in Korean, I could figure out the exact Chinese counterparts merely from her pronunciation. This is not surprising because the cultural influences of China upon Korea over the centuries have left an indelible mark upon both the written and spoken Korean language. It is possible to trace many aspects of Korean language and culture back to ancient China. But not long ago, when my Korean informant gave me a fan as a gift, I was a little shocked.

To many Chinese people, a fan is a forbidden present because it has the identical sound as “separation.” If a person gives a fan to his or her friend, their friendship will stop or diminish from that time. Therefore, it has become a phonologically linked taboo to give friends a fan in Chinese society. One question is if Korean people also have similar phonologically-linked taboos as the Chinese do. The first part of the questionnaire elicits data to see if there are any similarities between Chinese and Korean people on this point because of the similar sounds.

Verbal taboos

In every language there seem to be certain “unmentionables” – words of such strong affective connotation that they cannot be used in polite discourse. Two verbal taboos are probably universal. The first of these are words that deal with excretion and sex. For example, when a woman needs to go to the toilet because “nature calls,” she will ask people where the “rest room” or “powder room” is, although she has no intention of resting or putting powder on her face. Second, in both Western and Asian cultures the fear of death carries over into fear of the words having to do with death. Many people, therefore, substitute words, such as “died” or “death” with expressions such as “passed away,” “went to his reward” or “departed” (Hayakawa, 1982).

People generally like to hear words that bless one’s good health and long life or metaphors that generate positive descriptions of one’s personality and appearance. However, because of different cultural backgrounds, an expression in one country can cause a quite different effect in another. For example, Chinese people would feel horrified or upset if they were told before a performance to “break a leg,” an English expression used to wish one good luck.

In the study in this paper, Chinese animal-linked taboos are compared with those of Korea because both countries have the same twelve animals (i.e., the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the chicken, the dog, and the pig) as part of the zodiac cycle representing a unit of time. At the same time, these verbal animal-linked taboos are also compared with animal expressions in America to see if there are any significant differences.

Hypotheses

To this day many Chinese people are superstitious to the extent that they will avoid doing anything that they believe can bring bad luck. Chinese non-verbal phonologically linked taboos are products of ancient days. They were generated from an identical sound or group of sounds which represents evil objects, disasters, and other negative occurrences. (Shen, 1993). Since a large portion of Korean vocabulary comes from Chinese culture, especially Confucian classics, my first hypothesis is that Korean people will have most of the phonologically linked taboos that China does.

A special zodiac cycle, consisting of the twelve animals mentioned above, has been shared by Chinese and Korean people for hundreds of years. One animal represents one year, and twelve years is a complete cycle. In ancient Chinese culture, most of these animals were good symbols. They were quite welcomed and respected. Nevertheless, in modern society in China negative connotations are given to some of the animals, which means some of the animals have become verbal taboos in describing a person’s character or appearance.

Koreans, being so historically and geographically related to the Chinese, probably at some time in the past associated the same meanings to the twelve animals as Chinese people did. Furthermore, it seems likely that meanings would have evolved over the years as they have for the Chinese, but not necessarily in the same direction. The second part of the questionnaire is designed to examine if Chinese and Korean people still come to a consensus on which animal-linked vocabulary words are forbidden and which are acceptable to use in reference to a friend. Regarding verbal taboos, my second hypothesis is that Chinese and Koreans will share more animal-linked taboos than either shares with Americans.

Methods

The sample for this study consists of thirty respondents from three countries. Ethnicity was determined through questionnaires in which respondents provided their own label for their background. In all, there were ten Chinese people (seven from Taiwan, one from Mainland China, one from Hong Kong and one from the US), ten Koreans (from South Korea) and ten Americans (three German-Americans, one Italian-American, one African-American, and five Anglo-Americans). Among the ten Chinese people, aged from 25 – 38, are two males and eight females. Among the ten Koreans, aged from 28 - 40, are six males and four females. Among the ten Americans, aged from 27 – 50’s, are four males and six females.

Data collection

Data were collected in two ways: informal interviews and the questionnaire. The questionnaire was culturally determined. To focus on the characteristics of Chinese taboos, questions fell into two categories: (1) non-verbal phonologically linked examples of inappropriate usage, such as homonyms or expressions forbidden to certain groups within Chinese culture; (2) verbal animal-linked metaphors and inappropriate language choices from the Chinese and Korean zodiac.

In the questionnaire, Questions one through six are non-verbal phonologically linked taboos that Chinese people have been aware of for hundreds of years. In Questions 7 through 19 are designed to elicit what animal-linked vocabulary words would be verbal taboos among the Chinese, Korean, and American peoples.

Results and Discussion

Non-verbal phonologically-linked taboos

Because Chinese people yearn to reach or be close to a state of “being blessed” and to stay away from “evil” or “bad luck” as much as possible, they create taboo situations. The phonological parts of taboos mentioned in the first six questions in the Questionnaire are examples of evil-related things: death and separation; thus, they became representative of the Chinese taboo system. Some examples follows:

(1) Chinese: The fan (? shan) and the umbrella (? san) have very similar sounds to the word “? san”, which means “separation”. Korean: The fan (? son) and the umbrella (? san) do not sound similar to the word “? zhok”, which means “separation”. Therefore, the Chinese and Koreans did not share this taboo.

Question 1: It is appropriate to give a female friend a fan as a gift.

Question 2: It is appropriate to give a friend an umbrella as a gift.

The Chinese word ? (shan) is a term meaning “to break up, to dismiss, to dissolve.” It is a “forbidden” word among Chinese performers because their professional survival depends on a continuous succession of contracts; therefore, for them, the very notion of “breaking up” infers the destruction of their career. This tradition is carried to the extent of preventing a performer not only from voicing this particular word, but even from mentioning any term that includes the same sounds, such as “? shan” which means fan, or “? san” which means umbrella. Therefore, 50 or less had no objection to such a gift. The reason was that a beautifully painted fan can decorate the wall and an umbrella is very useful in our daily life. It is also interesting to note that, in ancient China, a fan could be given as a parting present in the hope that the traveler could use it to keep himself cool.

But 90 of the Chinese respondents disagreed or disagreed strongly with giving a friend a clock as a gift. The ones who agreed said they would only give it to a person their age.

One hundred percent of Koreans and Americans all agreed or agreed strongly with giving a clock to a friend. To Korean people, a clock is a traditional and popular gift for a friend when he or she starts a business. The Korean sound for “giving a clock” is “song zhong,” and the sound for “biding farewell to a dying person on his or her deathbed” is “song young.” They sound quite different. To Americans, clocks or watches make lovely gifts and they are long lasting. Certain brands and styles would be more acceptable. One American responded that the fancier, the more appropriate.

(3) Chinese: “Turning over (? fan) a fish ” can be a forbidden action on a boat to avoid the disastrous outcome of a ship being overturned in the ocean. Korean: “Turning over (? zhokban) a fish” is not a forbidden action on a boat to avoid bad luck. Therefore, the Chinese and Koreans did not share this taboo.

Question 4: If eating fish on a boat, it is appropriate to turn the fish over after one finishes eating the meat on the top side.

Fifty percent of the Chinese respondents disagreed or disagreed strongly with doing it. In Southern China, seamen’s families generally avoid voicing “? fan” (a Chinese sound for “turn over”). They associate the disastrous outcome of a ship being overturned in the ocean with the action word for the concept. If fearing what one says might bring the unwanted consequence into reality, the taboo situation is established. To these families, it is also a taboo behavior to turn a fish topside down after one finishes the meat on that side. They envision the fish as the ship that carries their loved ones, so turning the fish over on the dish would symbolize that the ship has capsized in the ocean.

Ninety percent of the Koreans agreed with the action because they thought it would be a way to finish a fish neatly or to see if there is more to eat. They do not associate the sound for “turn over” with the disastrous outcome of a ship being overturned in the ocean through the action word for that concept. Eighty percent of the Americans agreed because they thought it makes sense and would probably be easier that way, especially if the fish has a lot of bones in the middle. The rest who disagreed (20 of the Chinese and 90 of the respondents agreed. Only the number “13” is considered bad luck in American culture. Therefore, a Chinese or Korean patient would react far more strongly to being assigned to a room or a floor in a hospital with the number four than would an American patient assigned to a “Room 13” or “floor 13.” This is the only phonologically-linked taboo that I found shared by these two countries.

(5) Chinese: “Cutting a pear in two halves” (?? feng li) can be another forbidden action among Chinese because it sounds exactly like ?? (feng li), which means “separation”. Korean: “Cutting a pear in two halves” (?? bun yi) does not sound like ?? (bul li), which means “separation”. Therefore, the Chinese and Koreans did not share this taboo.

Question 6: It is appropriate to cut a pear in two halves and share it with a friend.

In one Chinese opera, a fruit merchant claims that his pears will make a marriage happy. But lovers should never cut up or divide pears since the word for “pear” (li) is phonologically identical with the word for “separation” (? li). For the same reasons, relatives or friends will avoid dividing pears among themselves. Therefore, at the end of twentieth century, 50 of the Koreans agreed or agreed strongly. They and the American respondents thought there was no problem with this action and that it would be seen as a gesture of friendship and generosity. Sharing is considered a good thing as it shows that one cares for another. Cutting a pear is the same as cutting any other fruit.

Verbal animal-linked taboos

As mentioned above, Chinese and Koreans have the same twelve animals (i.e., the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the chicken, the dog, and the pig) in the zodiac cycle to represent a unit of time. They are used to convey positive values in both cultures.

Since Asian people have become more and more westernized in the last twenty years, some animal-linked vocabulary words in modern Chinese society have different connotations from what they did in old Chinese culture. These animals were compared among the Chinese, Koreans and American respondents to find if there are significant differences between the East and the West. Which are verbal taboos and which are not? Data were collected in two ways: the questionnaire and interviews.

(1) The rat

The rat is the first creature in the old Chinese zodiac. It was associated with money; when you hear a rat scrabbling around for food at night, it is said to be “counting money”. The term “money-rat” is a disparaging way of referring to a miser. In some old legends, rats can turn into demons, male usually, in contrast with the fox that turns into a female demon.

Question 7: It is appropriate to say to a person’s face that he/she is like a rat.

Fifty percent of the Chinese respondents agreed that it is fine to say to a person’s face that he or she is like a rat, but they claim that it must depend on the tone of voice, the hearer’s age, and the context. The other 50 of them disagreed or disagreed strongly. To them, bulls are stubborn and might mean the person is aggressive. Likewise, cows are fat and sloppy.

(3) The tiger

The tiger is the third sign in the Chinese zodiac. The tiger is a symbol of courage and bravery. Nevertheless, the tiger was so much feared that its very name was taboo, and people referred to it as ?? da chong, meaning “big insect” or “king of the mountains”.

Question 9: It is appropriate to say to a man’s face that he acts like a tiger.

Question 10: It is appropriate to say to a woman’s face that she acts like a tiger.

On Question 9, 80 of the Chinese disagreed with describing a woman as a tiger because it is over exaggerating. Forty percent of them agreed with using it negatively for a woman if she is really hot-tempered.

On Question 9, 50 of them disagreed with using “tiger” to describe a woman even if she were disgraceful or very hot-tempered.

Ninety percent of the Americans agreed or agreed strongly with using it for a man as it implies strong, clever, fast, assertive, initiative, successful, or sexually powerful. It can also be an encouragement to kids as in “Go get’em, tiger.” At the same time, about 80 of the Chinese agreed because the rabbit is a cute animal. They are smart and fast. Twenty percent disagreed because the rabbit is too timid and too dependent.

Fifty percent of the Koreans who agreed also think the rabbit is cute, so it is appropriate to describe a person as a rabbit. The other 50 disagreed as it indicates small, weak, and timid, not very intelligent, or it could be an insult to mean the person has had too many children.

(5) The dragon

The dragon is the fifth creature in the Chinese zodiac. It is one of China’s most complex and multi-tiered symbols. It is said that, like a magic animal, it could fill the space between heaven and earth.

Question 12: It is appropriate to say to a person’s face that he/she is like a dragon.

Sixty percent of the Chinese respondents agreed but they did not know why and 40 who agreed strongly think the snake implies a person’s being double-faced/tongued.

(7) The horse

The horse is the seventh creature in the Chinese zodiac. In Old Chinese, there were many words denoting the different sizes and colors of the horse. The fact that these words have all died out is an indicator of the declining role of the horse in recent history. In old texts, horses stood for success, speed, and loyalty.

Question 14: It is appropriate to say to a person’s face that he/she is like a horse.

Sixty percent of the Chinese agreed if it implies hard work without a rest. Forty percent disagreed because the horse has a very long face. When the Chinese say to a person “the horse does not know its long face,” it means that the person does not know his or her own shortcomings.

One hundred percent of the Korean disagreed or disagreed strongly with describing a person as a horse. They all think it implies that a person’s face is exceedingly long, so it is an insult.

Fifty percent of the Americans agreed if it is a compliment to say that the person works hard as in a “workhorse” or he is “strong as a horse”. It can also mean someone who runs fast. In addition, terms like “stallion” and “stud” used for men are usually considered complimentary. The horse is often used in “You eat like a horse” to imply a healthy or big appetite, or “Stop horsing around” to imply “stop wasting time.” Fifty percent disagreed because a horse might be used to mean a big and ugly woman.

(8) The sheep/lamb

The sheep is the eighth creature in the Chinese zodiac. It is the emblem of filial piety as it kneels when suckling its mother. Sheep were, on the whole, less important than the ox and horse in China.

Question 15: It is appropriate to say to a person’s face that he/she is like a lamb.

Ninety percent of the Chinese agreed because the lamb is a friendly, nice-tempered, soft animal. But it is also used to describe someone being shy and timid because they lack confidence and follow orders completely.

Forty percent of the Koreans who agreed think the lamb is pretty, pure, naïve, and innocent, so it is appropriate to describe a person as a lamb. The other 60 who disagreed think it is not appropriate to use it to an adult. It means he/she is too active.

Only 10 of them agreed with using it in certain contexts. For the other eleven zodiac animals, more than 50 of them disagreed with using the rat, the bull/cow, the snake, the monkey, the chicken, the dog, and the pig to anyone. And other terms like the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the horse, and the lamb can also have bad connotations in certain situations. In order to interact with people of a different culture appropriately, one needs to adjust his/her language to others’ cultural rules for meaningful communication. Most people believe that human beings are above every other living creature in the world because human beings can be educated, cultivated, and have the ability to tell right from wrong and good from evil. To avoid cultural misunderstandings, not to choose any of the animal-linked metaphors for people is highly recommended.

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