6 Unusual Online Certificate Programs

6 Unusual Online Certificate Programs So, you’re not interested in an online MBA. You’d prefer to lead a rally, write a memoir, or brew the perfect craft beer? Never fear. Several colleges offer online certificate programs that appeal less to sharp-suited business people and more to the garden-growing, media-sharing, beer-brewing types. Interested? Take a look at these unique distance education programs: The Business of Craft Brewing Online Certificate (Portland State University) Through this four-course series, â€Å"industry specialists† teach students everything they need to know to start up and run a successful craft brewery. Courses include â€Å"Basic Business for Craft Beverages,† â€Å"Craft Beverage Business Management,† â€Å"Strategic Craft Beverage Marketing,† and â€Å"Finance and Accounting for the Craft Brewery.† Students are also invited to fly out to Portland to take part in the optional â€Å"Craft Beverage Immersion Excursion,† spending three days meeting with brewery owners, tasting Portland beers, and touring the Oregon beer empire. Cheers. Certificate in Organic Agriculture (University of Washington) If you have a green thumb and a fondness for organic food, the University of Washington Certificate in Organic Agriculture might be for you. The college touts this 18-credit program as a good fit for â€Å"those wanting to pursue a career in organic agriculture, anyone interested in beginning a community supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise, [and] home gardeners.† As a student, you’ll take online courses such as â€Å"Organic Gardening and Farming,† â€Å"Agriculture, Environment, and Community,† and â€Å"Food Safety and Quality.†Ã‚   You’ll also be required to complete an internship, which can be done by volunteering through a local organic farm, organic certifying agency, or organic business. Sustainability Certificate (Harvard Extension School) If you want to promote a sustainability in your community or business, Harvard’s Sustainability Certificate provides instruction from world-class thinkers. Students in this program take five courses. â€Å"Knowledge Set† courses such as â€Å"Energy and the Environment,† â€Å"Strategies for Sustainability Management,† and â€Å"Sustainable Business and Technology,† provide students with a common foundation of understanding. â€Å"Skill Set† courses such as â€Å"Catalyzing Change: Sustainability Leadership for the Twenty-First Century† and â€Å"Introduction to Sustainable Buildings,† help students take action. It’s also important to note that, although this certificate is coming from an ivy-league school, it is an open-access program. Anyone can simply start taking courses towards certificate completion without the need to apply. New Urbanism Online Certificate (Miami School of Architecture) Those with a passion for cities community building may be interested in the New Urbanism Online Certificate. Students earning the certificate are prepared to take the Congress for New Urbanism accreditation exam. (Although you should also be aware that the exam can be taken without the certificate). The New Urbanism certificate is self-paced and takes students through the basics of creating walkable, sustainable places. Course units include: â€Å"A Crisis of Place and the Alternative of the New Urbanism,† â€Å"Ecology Built Legacy,† â€Å"Architecture, Local Culture, and Community Identity,† â€Å"Green Building and Historic Preservation,† and â€Å"Implementing New Urbanism.† Creative Nonfiction Writing Online Certificate (UCLA Extension Program) If you’re serious about writing that best-selling memoir, personal essay, or political history, take a look at this UCLA creative non-fiction program. You’ll focus most of your 36 credits on intensive creative non-fiction instruction. You’ll also have the opportunity to choose from electives in poetry, playwriting, and fiction. Best of all, students that complete the coursework are given a consultation with a UCLA Writer’s Program instructor, detailed notes, and an in-person or phone critique session. Certificate in Community Organizing (Empire State College) What would you like to see change in your community? If you have a quick answer to that question but don’t know how to make it happen, consider earning a Certificate in Community Organizing. Empire State’s program arms students with knowledge about justice, power dynamics, and navigating government environments. It aims to help learners develop a skill set that can be applied to create lasting change in their communities. This 12-credit program includes courses such as â€Å"Advocacy in State and Community-Level Government,† â€Å"Race, Gender, and Class in U.S. Public Policy,† and â€Å"Human Service Policy.† To complete the certificate, students are required to apply their learning by working with real communities while taking the capstone â€Å"Community Organizing† course. Free Learning Alternatives If youd rather not jump into a major time commitment and write a big check just yet, take a look at these less formal free online classes. Youll find options for a wide array of subjects including photography, guitar, and writing.

Valuation of Common Stock Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Valuation of Common Stock - Essay Example Also, the company may be able to attract better personnel as the company will be able to offer stock options. Stock options have the potential to substantially gain in value. In addition, generally the personnel will not have to invest as much of their own money in the company (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Also, Citrus Glow International will promote the company. In general, publicly traded businesses are more widely known than non-publicly traded businesses. The business gains publicity and an image of stability through trading publicly (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Going public requires a time commitment in setup and in statutory compliance. In addition, it will take the business owners' and managers' attention away from the everyday management of the company (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Also, going public requires money. The business will need to pay for the time spent on compliance. In addition, the business will need to pay legal counsel when setting up and maintaining the public offering (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Moreover, there are many new legal obligations. These include keeping stockowners informed about business operations, management, legal issues, financial standing, and business costs. Company time and money will be spent dealing with these and additional compliance issues (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Liability issues may arise if the business does not comply (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). Lastly, gaining public shareholders may reduce a business owner's control over the company. This is especially true if shareholders are given approval power over business actions (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public online). I agree with Lisa and Joe that Citrus Glow International needs to stay ahead of the game with competitors coming up with substitute products and hence the need to issue IPO. I do not agree with Dan that Citrus Glow International outsource the production and concentrate on its marketing efforts. This is because I agree with Matt that the success of the firm has come from its quality and that would likely be jeopardized if the firm lets others produce the product. However, I agree with Dan's point that the issuance of IPO would result in a loss of control. But as Matt said correctly, the firm can still retain control of a large portion of the shareholding and still raise the much-needed cash. QUESTION 2 The Corporate Value Model suggests that the firm's value is the sum of its discounted free-cash flows. Free cash flows are estimated by subtracting the firm's net capital investment from the year's net operating profits after taxes (NOPAT) and are discounted at a suitable risk-adjusted discount rate (weighted average cost of capital). The firm's equity

Information Systems Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Information Systems Plan - Essay Example The Information management system of Fitness center automates the above functionalities and allows the users to choose their daily schedules and exercises, with pre-calculated measures and to - do lists. The Sophisticated system offers alerts on regular tests and cholesterol levels giving clarity on health progress. The users can also enter complete laboratory test results, inoculations and medications, which can be kept as their personal digital health record. The combination of weight readings, meals, exercise, supplement or medication, test results, personal notes and detailed one-step charts and graphs for grams of nutrients, calories consumed and burned, exercises, any measurement or test, medications or supplements taken and more. The IS can also be configured with more user-friendly features like alerts on upcoming tests, doctor appointments, tutor schedulers, due dates for payments and balances in accounts. Such type of IS offers integrated member information on a common plat form through a real time integration of data resources. The potential areas for ... Purpose: The purpose of the Fitness Center Management module is to address the needs of health and fitness management institutes in tracking their visitors, fitness center members' information, payment, and equipment inventory and maintenance. Systems development Systems development is the activity of creating new systems or modifying existing ones. It refers to all aspects of the process from identifying problems to be solved or opportunities to be exploited to the implementation and refinement of the chosen solution. The information system to be established in an organization is considered as Project Management in development terms. The system development project is responsible for determining the objectives of the information system and delivering a system that meets these objectives. Many system development teams use a project manager to head the systems development effort and the project management approach to help coordinate the systems development process. A project is a planned collection of activities that achieves a goal, such as promoting the activities of fitness plant or developing a new decision support system. Besides completing the project on time and within the specified budget, the project manager is usually responsible for controlling a project's quality, training personnel, easing communications, managing risks, and acquiring any necessary equipment, including office supplies and sophisticated computer systems. The roles involved in IS of a Fitness center: Setting priorities and selecting projects typically requires the involvement and approval of senior management. When objectives are set, planners consider the resources necessary to complete the projects, including employees (systems analysts, programmers, and

CORPORATE STRATEGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

CORPORATE STRATEGY - Essay Example However, the recent Cola-wars forced the company to change its strategy and look beyond the carbonated drinks. The company has undergone massive restructuring and found healthier alternatives to meet the challenges that globalization posed (Jonash, Koehler, Onassis, 2007). The purpose of a true strategy is to master the business environment by understanding and anticipating the actions and strategies of the competitors. Competition is intense in markets without barriers. Competitive advantage that a firm has must be such that it is difficult to duplicate. In other words, a must have some differentiating factor. According to Greenwald and Kahn (2005) the three factors that generate competitive advantage include customer captivity, proprietary technology and economies of scale. Pepsi’s strategy demonstrates a deep understanding of markets and identifying unmet customer needs, identifying existing and potential internal capabilities that could be used to leverage differentiation, clustering innovation opportunities around a strategic platform and investing in innovation and executing on the strategic growth platforms and the opportunities (Jonash, Koehler, Onassis, 2007). Pepsi has entered emerging markets which have opened up their economies. Thus PepsiCo has been following a differentiation strategy, which according to Johnson and Scholes, seeks to provide products or services unique or different from those of competitors in terms of dimensions widely valued by buyers (Business Strategy, 2002). Organic growth refers to the long-term strategy of the company, apart from enhancing its core strength and vitality (Porter, 1979). Although Pepsi has been concentrating on the core growth but in the past five years it has continues to pursue its strategy of growth through acquisition. As a long-term strategy, PepsicCo had entered the sports drinks market through the

Market Failures & Professional Dilemmas Essay Example for Free

Market Failures Professional Dilemmas Essay Based on the Edwards article which market failures or imperfections are present in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case? And can you identify any in your professional life? Based on the Halbert Ingulli reading (â€Å"Making An Ethical Decision†) apply the methods of ethical reasoning to these situations. Two market failures can be observed in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case, a tragedy of public goods and informational deficiencies. First of all, the divers have to dive deeper, to the limit of diving safety, since overfishing has made the lobsters rare and to catch the lobster less than 30 meter down is getting harder and harder. This is the very typical case of public goods, where the public resources such as the lobsters under the sea are usually over-consumed by the individuals who try to maximize one’s interest. Deforestation, which has destroyed the entire farming industry and forced Miskitos out to entirely rely on diving, was another tragedy caused by the overconsumption of the public goods, forest. Secondly, both the divers and the end-consumers make wrong, irrational decisions cause of the lack of information. Divers, who do not recognize the true market price of lobsters as well as the true price of potential risks, bargain away their goods with little danger pay allowances. Also, the consumers, who have no idea about the severe fishing environment in Honduras, are reluctant to pay more than current prices, formed lower than it should be at the cost of human lives. The company where I worked prior to school has always tried its best to remove any little elements of competition in its area. If there were a small but promising start-up with innovative idea and technology, that company used every means –most were legal or grey while a few were nearly illegal- to get rid of the potential threats. For instance, it quickly imitates the new technology of the start-up, take out the similar patent, scout the core human resources, block off the critical suppliers and seed funds, cut the price of competitive goods to the minimum level, and do hostile MA. This case also showed the issues related to public goods and informational deficiencies. The company attempted to minimize the production/dissemination of new technologies, which can be considered as public goods, and the newborn ventures could not protect themselves cause of the limited access to the information. From the utilitarianism perspective, these are reasonable and desirable attempts because the larger number of stakeholders can be satisfied. My company had more than 20,000 employees while the average start-ups have no more than 100 employees. Considering the families of employees, shareholders, subcontractors, and the related industries, maximizing profit of my company could bring higher utilities than the success of small ventures. Even in long-term, my company’s decision would not be wrong since the possibility of success of start-ups are extremely low compared to the global conglomerates. My company, which has the global network, huge infrastructure, and accumulated knowhow can exploit the new technology better and thereby encourage the social progress. In contrast, from the deontological view, it was absolutely wrong. My company not only hindered the fair competition but also committed illegal acts. Whether the result proved positive or negative is not important for the deontologists. Finally, it was not proper when applying the concept of virtue ethics since the motives of the actions of the company was not correct and contributes nearly nothing to the harmonious relationship with the community it belonged.

Love vs. Lust in Andrew Marvells Poem, To His Coy Mistress Essay

I know that there is a unique difference between love and lust. In the Andrew Marvell poem â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† I would argue over the issue of love versus lust. In this poem, we are introduced to a man who is infatuated with a young woman and wants to become intimate with her. He tries to pursue this young woman, but the woman is playfully hesitant. The man is trying to explain to the young woman if she keeps being resistant to him, they would never get a chance become intimate. Could it be that the man really does have true love for the young woman? Or is that he is just lusting for her gentle touch? In the first stanza of this poem, the man begins by expressing his feelings for the young woman. He starts off by trying to flatter the young woman. He does this by telling her that if he had all the time in the world, he would use it by telling her how beautiful she was. Since he knows that they do not have all the time in the world, he uses his charm and persuasion to try to get her to become intimate with him. In my opinion, at this point of the poem, it seems as if the man has...

Different Types Of Play Essay

1. The materials used in play, what the benefits are and examples. Creative play is when children use their imagination and artistic skills to create what they want whilst doing activities such as painting, drawing, sticking, cutting and play dough. The materials that are used in this play are colouring pencils, scissors, glue, paper, crayons, stamps, aprons, feathers and paints. Creative play helps develop math skills because when they are sticking they are seeing a variety of different shapes and sizes and get a basic understanding of this. When children are being creative they are using and developing their fine motor skills, they are doing this by participating in activities such as painting, cutting and drawing. Children are expressing themselves in creative play using materials other than words and they can work together and socialise in the activities this will help build relationships with other children. Pretend play is what kids do to learn about their world and understand how to interact with the people and things that are in it. Children are being imaginative and act out what their parents do for example they play kitchen and mums and dads. This is an understanding of the world and everyday life. The materials that are used in this play are dressing up, plastic food, play kitchens, doll houses and push chairs. Children can express their feelings through pretend play because they may act out something that has happened to them before. It’s also an opportunity to talk to children about feelings and emotions. When children are pretend playing they are making up stories of their own for example they play ‘schools/ teachers’ and make up what’s going to happen. Children are developing their language skills through this and also their social skills because they will be playing with other children and sharing ideas of their own. Children are learning and developing how to problem solve because they all might want to be the teacher but they can’t so they will need to work out how they are going to do this. Physical play is any activity that you do when your body is involved with movement. The materials that are used in this play are bikes, skipping ro pes, footballs, hopping, hopscotch and apparatus. Physical activity helps develop children’s health and growth development. When children physical play they are improving their physical skills and it provides children with feelings of accomplishment, positive self-esteem and a sense of power and freedom. Children are improving their  gross motor skills because physical play involves coordination, jumping, running and balancing, anything to do with their feet and legs. Manipulative play is a play that involves children building and fitting things together. This play helps children develop their fine motor skills and hand co-ordination. It helps children become more confident in using different objects and equipment they will use as they get older. The materials that are used in this play are building blocks, puzzles and Lego/ Duplo. Children become increasingly skilful with their hands, and it also encourages them to think about their actions, plan them, and learn through trial-and-error. Manipulative play also helps childre n to learn the most suitable ways of performing certain actions. Discovery play is allowing children to learn about the world and how it works. Children grow in self-confidence and to experiment and investigate new things, to form new relationships and to develop as individuals. Discovery play is for children to explore, investigate and make sense of the world around them. They can feel the changes in the weather, discover the natural world and move and develop their physical strength. 3. Questions You have been asked to work with a group of children to make paper hats for a party. What type of play is this? This is creative play. How can you make sure that each child makes a hat in their own way? To make sure that each child makes a hat in their own way you could talk to them and help gather their own ideas to put them on their hat. Encourage the children to do it how they want to and not what everyone else is doing. What equipment and materials would you need? The equipment and materials that you need are glue, aprons, stickers, glitter, feathers, sequins, scissors, colouring pencils, cello tape and stapler. Can you describe what pretend play is? Pretend plays are children being imaginative and make believing. What are the different forms of pretend play? The different forms of pretend play are role play, domestic play, fantasy play, imaginative play, super hero play and socio dramatic play. What equipment or items can be used in pretend play? The equipment that can be used in pretend play is play kitchens, tea sets, and dress up, plastic food, card board boxes, books, dolls house, doctors set, plastic babies, teddies, plastic phones, apparatus and cutlery. How can pretend play fit in with the Early Years Curriculum? Pretend play fits in with the Early Years Curriculum by doing a theme. Within my placement my class had monsters week and children had to dress up as monsters at the end of the week. What are the benefits of physical play? The benefits of physical play are that children develop stronger immune systems and it improves focus and concentration. Physical play can promote problem solving skills and leadership skills. Children respond to their peers feelings while waiting for their turn and sharing their experiences, this helps develop their social and emotional development. Physical play contributes to children’s fine manipulative and gross motor development and body awareness as they use their bodies in activities. This helps their physical development. What type of equipment can be used for physical play and how can this help children develop? What age ranges this is suitable for? The type of equipment that can be used for physical play can be apparatus; this can help children develop their physical development. They are using their gross motor skills and fine motor skills because they are using their hands to grab and pull themselves up and they are using their feet to push themselves up, balance and climb over. The age ranges that are suitable for this would be 3-12 years old. What large pieces of equipment are there and which ones are particularly popular with the children? How do they use them? Within my placement they have slides, tunnels and tricycles in the playground. The tricycles and slides are the ones that are most popular with the children. The children that play with the tricycles they pretend that they are on motorbikes and make the sounds of it. Some children like to race with each other. Many skills are developed when riding a tricycle such as the ability of know when to slow down and speed up, pedal and steer. The slides, children learn to balance and build up their self-esteem. Children see slides as a challenge when they climb and they enjoy playing on it. What is manipulative play and can you give examples? Manipulative play is building and fitting things together. Examples; Lego Train set Puzzles Building blocks What are the benefits of manipulative play? The benefits of manipulative play are that children can work together, or on their own building blocks and this helps develop their social development. Children are developing their fine and gross motor skills, using their fingers to pick up the pieces. Also they are developing hand- eye coordination because if the child was doing a jigsaw they are looking where the puzzle piece may fit. Children are developing their language skills when playing with friends. When children have completed their activity such as a train set they will sense achievement because they completed it on their own, they may even set themselves a goal and do something a bit harder. What equipment can be used in manipulative play, what are the benefits and age ranges? Duplo can be used in manipulative play, the benefits of this are that children can gain confidence because there is no right way in playing with this equipment. Children are using hand-eye coordination and their fine manipulative skills. The suitab le age for this is 18 months- 5 years old. What is discovery play and can you give me some examples? Discovery play is playing that helps children learn and explore new things and how to use and play with them. Examples; Sand and water pit Farm yards Plasticine and play dough Cars What materials can be used to encourage discovery play? Buttons Pebbles Pasta Different coloured paper Rice How could children combine play? Children can combine play by putting toys with another. Examples; Sand pit with dinosaurs. Water with boats, plastic sea creatures or cups. Playing with the Play dough in the kitchen, making things, pretend food. Case study questions 1. How is this type of language helping Ayse develop her language? It helps develop Ayses language because it encourages to communicate with other children when she is around them. 2. What other skills is Ayse learning?  She is using her fine manipulative skills, sensory and thinking skills. 3. Why is it important that the child minder is ready to join in and support this type of play? It’s important that the child minder is ready to join in and support this type of play because it will give Ayse ideas on what to use to pretend feed her teddy. The child minder can make sure that Ayse is safe when playing and is calm. 4. What is treasure basket play and Heuristic play? Treasure basket play is a play that babies use, it’s a basket that has a variety of toys in that are suitable for the child to play with. The baby can choose what they want to play with and it gives them a chance to explore the different toys inside the basket. They can touch, shake, licking, banging and dropping. The materials that are used in this play are corks, shells, string, sponges, leather wallet and metal scoop. Heuristic play is a play that children use who are mobile and have moved on from treasure basket play. It encourages children to explore through the use of children’s senses. The types of things that are put out for the child to explore would be everyday objects. Children do anything to find out what they can and can’t do with the objects that they have been given, they will put things together or put them on top of each other. The materials that are used for this play are cork, plastic bracelets, pompoms, pegs and different sized bottles. The role of the adult is to show what the children need to do because they aren’t going to know what to do with the things in the basket. Showing the children what to do gives them ideas on what else they might be able to do with it. Children love to explore with the different objects.  When the children are playing the adult shouldn’t interfere and just supervise them because they want to explore on their own, only interfere if children need your help. You should have objects that babies can put in their mouth because that’s the first thing babies will do with whatever they have in front of them, it’s how they feel the object. Babies can only grip objects, they aren’t able to feel with their hands properly which is why they put the objects in their mouth.