It's Time To Improve Your Health & Wellbeing With Reading

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For ages teachers and parents have encouraged students to read more books on various subjects as it helps to improve their knowledge and understanding. Now a new research reveals that reading for only 30 minutes each week also helps in improving your health and overall wellbeing.

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 Reading Improves Health – Says Study

The study was published recently on 5th February 2015 and was conducted by Dr Josie Billington of University of Liverpool for Galaxy Quick Reads. It was discovered that reading actually offers a wide array of benefits like reducing stress and feelings of isolation, and boosting self-esteem and health. The report also found that individuals who read for at least 30 minutes each week have 35 per cent higher probability for a better life experience. Cathy Rentzenbrink of Quick Reads commented “I have always found reading to be a great source of comfort and this research confirms what I have long witnessed professionally, reading can help any one of us to be healthier, happier and ultimately to get more out of life.”

Findings Of The Study – What Is The Indication

Apart from the health benefits you can gain from reading, the study also found that more than 42 per cent of all 16 million lapsed readers present in the United Kingdom fail to read as they are unable to find adequate time. The study also reported that around 2.2 million UK residents do not read at all, particularly due to their busy lifestyles and various other events. It was also observed that almost 1.3 million individuals hardly ever read because of depression, even though data confirms that reading reduces anxiety levels and boosts your mood levels.

Joyce Black, Assistant Director for Development and Research at NIACE, commented “For the last 9 years, Quick Reads have had a dramatic impact on literacy learning across the country. Countless adults have read, completed and enjoyed a book for the first time. They have then gone on to read many other books and through reading for pleasure, have become more confident, have better health and have encouraged others, including their children, to read.”

But she believes that numerous are unable to enjoy the advantages offered by reading. Joyce added “However there are still far too many people who are missing out on the benefits of reading, beyond the joy that a good book brings. One in three adults in the UK do not read for pleasure. And yet today’s survey from Galaxy Quick Reads shows the range of added benefits. We hope that the new Quick Reads published today will inspire many more people to not only improve their literacy skills but also discover a love of reading.”

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Reading - How Can It Benefit You 

The study also discovered a number of other benefits related to reading. Some are listed below-

• 43 per cent of surveyed readers claimed reading helped to improve their sleep.

• 64 per cent of regular readers and 61 per cent of rare readers showed sufficient compassion and empathy towards others.

• 19 per cent of surveyed readers in the UK said reading helped to reduce feelings of loneliness.

• 57 per cent of readers claimed to have gained improved cultural awareness.

• 48 per cent of UK readers said reading helped to improve their levels of creativity.

• 72 per cent readers have higher probabilities to experience better greater community spirit.

Do you read frequently? What do you think about the findings of this study? Feel free to share your thoughts with us. We would love to hear from you.

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Latest Online Education Trends Making Healthcare Training Simpler & More Effective

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Online learning has become one of the key modes of learning for both students and professionals in this present age. Due to the several benefits offered by online education, numerous students from across the globe are now pursuing E-Learning programmes to acquire essential skills and knowledge. The trend is now visible in the healthcare industry as well.

Growth of E-Learning in the healthcare sector

EMR Training, also known as Electronic Medical Records Training, is currently on top of the list of 5 major trends influencing the online education market. The global E-Learning market was worth around $35.6 billion in 2011 and experts believe that it is expected to expand further to almost $51.5 billion by 2016. According to the Kansas Occupational Outlook Handbook, there will be an expected 24.7 per cent growth for instructional designers and coordinators by 2020.

The fact is online education is here to stay. Various studies show that the scope of E-Learning is substantially gaining more ground in the global market. Hence it is best to not only follow, but to lead the latest trends.

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Online learning trends in medical care

The healthcare industry is one of the key growth areas for online education in the coming few years. E-Learning is certainly one of the most effective ways to teach and train healthcare professionals. It can allow millions of aspiring students to develop necessary skills and build a lucrative career in healthcare sector.

In the near future, a large volume of healthcare providers will seek effective online learning and training solutions, motivated by an aging populace, Electronic Medical Records training and the demands for healthcare insurance reform. There is abundant incentive money, particularly in the healthcare industry where around $19 billion is flowing in the system. This is mainly due to the fact that there is a nationwide increase in training and also to make electronic health records available online. At present, the money is being channelled in the pipeline to introduce electronic health records training all over the country. This signifies that this is the best time to design, develop and execute advanced training programmes. As a result, healthcare organisations and providers will be able to qualify to receive this fund, whilst the incentives are still available and the disincentives have not started to roll out yet.

Making learning simple and engaging

Online education can help to easily deliver essential information to all types of learners in comprehensible chunks and add value to an organisation. Learning is delivered through audio and visual content, video lectures, Flash content, process and product demonstrations, embedded Podcasts, as well as interactive measurable testing. All these factors make the learning process more superior than traditional static academic materials.

You can choose to effectively and memorably make your point by offering smooth interaction along with

creative content which will be delivered directly to the home computer of the learner. Online module training solutions are usually highly affordable per use, easy to deliver, engaging and fun as well.

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What’s more important is that in the intense medical care sector, now surgeons, physicians, nurses and pharmacists can quickly access necessary information and training as per their convenience with the help of online education.

What do you think about E-Learning in healthcare? Share your own views and opinions with us by commenting below.

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The Changing Face Of Hospitality Industry In The Digital Age

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The hotel and hospitality industry has become one of fastest growing sectors worldwide since the last few years. At present the sector offers numerous jobs for people who the right skills and significantly adds to the economy. In fact, during the last financial crisis, it was one of the very few industries that remained unaffected and continued to grow.

 Shifting Trends In Hospitality Sector

When general people and experts think the hospitality and travel sector, one of the first things that come to mind is transportation companies. However, industry experts are now learning that transportation is merely a small fraction of the equation. The fact is nowadays the real change has been brought about by accommodations providers in the hospitality industry. Moreover, among them the start-ups and small businesses are creating the real change in the scenario.

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Originally, accommodations referred to only the hotel sector and to some extent, it included the vacation rental space of the business. However, with the growth of the private homeshare concept, it has gained considerable popularity among the consumers. Moreover, it is striving to occupy a significant market share for accommodations, especially because of the technological and digital amenities, which hotels, rental condos and homeshares are now offering.

Offering More Convenience And Affordability

Additionally, there has also been a change in the way the hotel and hospitality industry deals with consumer engagement. Nowadays, travellers and visitors expect excellent convenience and great prices with high levels of value and affordability due to the advent of digital concepts and self-service. Now guests can easily access check-in, online booking, catalogues, guest newspapers and many more effortlessly thanks to special mobile apps that deliver everything directly on to your smartphones.

Megatrends Shaping Travel In 2015, which a recently launched magazine from Skift on the hospitality sector, analyses how travellers and users are receiving and reacting to the newest offerings of the hospitality and travel sectors in this digital age.

Among the key findings of the publication was whether the new modes of convenience and connectivity have become the standard for the industry. Gone are days of premium paid WiFi connections in hotel rooms or in-room cable-based Ethernet connections, although all rental chains and hotels have not changed yet. 

Currently, most travellers are not satisfied with simply a complimentary copy of USA Today kept at the lobby desk during the morning. Moreover, now guest not only want to read about the local news, they also want to find out what’s going on at home. Hence they prefer to book rooms in hotels which can offer them such amenities and facilities.

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Need For New Approaches

Rafat Ali of Skift says “As consumers become self-serve and mobile-dependent, new models and approaches to both customer relations and local discovery are emerging, and hospitality is the big crucible where all of this is playing out. We see this at every touchpoint in the hospitality industry: From how hotels are building direct links to customers in digital, to how customer service is being rethought through social and mobile tools.”

He adds “Within the confines of a property we see this in how hotels are redoing lobbies and how customers check in, as well as everything about the customer experience inside a hotel room, entertainment inside the hotel, and food & beverage offerings, too. Brands are also questioning customer interaction pre-, during and post-trip, as they examine and rebuild it in new ways.”

What do you think? Feel free to share your opinions and views with us. Simply comment in the box below.

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How An Online Undergraduate Business Degree Can Boost Your Career

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Earning a business degree can add significant value to your resume and certainly help you to boost your career. Earlier, studying business was limited only to those individuals who were willing to invest sufficient money and time to attend regular scheduled lectures on campus at a B-school or university. However, with the advent of online distance learning, the business education scenario has been transform drastically.

Online Business Diploma – Have A Lucrative Career

You can easily choose to study an undergraduate management programme without the need for attending lectures in traditional classrooms. You simply need to be self-disciplined and self-motivated to study at your own convenience from a laptop with a reliable internet connection. Moreover you will have the option to choose from a variety of business and management related courses to earn an accredited diploma in management online.

Currently, the demand for online business education has been growing exponentially worldwide as it helps you to progress your career. You will not only acquire the necessary leadership and management skills, but you will also develop essential soft skills that will improve your performance at the workplace. Your business knowledge will allow you to develop effective strategies by using excellent business tools.

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Gaining Practical Experience

Moreover, with the help of an online level 5 diploma in business management you will be able to gain expertise over theoretical and practical aspects of business management. How? As most online management programmes do not have any fixed or scheduled classes, you can choose to study whenever you want, from wherever you want. Hence you can opt to gain practical work experience by doing a full-time or part-time job in a relevant field. You will have the flexibility to plan your day in such a way that can you can do your job during the day and focus on your coursework at night. This will allow you to immediately apply what you learn at the workplace and further hone your skills.

Pursuing Higher Education

Furthermore, the skills and knowledge you gain during your undergraduate diploma in management online study will help you to pursue higher studies and even go for an online MBA programme in future. Nigel Pye, Assistant Dean of distance learning MBA at the Warwick Business School says “We require students to have four years' management experience. That makes the youngest in their early to mid-twenties but we have them from all age groups, with the typical student in their late twenties.”

Hence the work experience you gain while studying your online Level 5 programme will help you to earn an accredited online MBA degree from recognised schools in future. Mr. Pye believes that online business education can certainly prove to be highly beneficial for learners. He adds “It gives you a brand new skill: that is, managing a virtual team. Students are split into teams for group assignments and the skill of managing a remote team where you may have little if any face to face contact with members is such an important tool in today's business world.”

The Preferred Mode Of Learning 

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As you can clearly see, online education has become the preferred mode of achieving prowess in business education  for most students, educators and even employers worldwide with growing number of companies now accepting online level 5 and level 7 management diplomas. Hence an undergraduate business diploma can not only help you to build your career and enable you to climb the success ladder, but it also paves the way for further education in an affordable and accessible manner.

Seoposengwe Galeeme from Botswana, who completed an online business programme from Leeds Metropolitan University, says that online business education programmes offer “a flexible schedule that fits nicely with my work and family life; and despite the birth of my daughter I haven't missed a class. I am already seeing the benefits of the course by applying what I've learnt in my workplace and I've seen big improvements in my business performance.”

What do you think about online management diplomas? Share your views with us by commenting in the box below. We would love to hear from you.

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Hospitality Management - Will It Be The Career You Are Looking For

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Do you want to build a successful and rewarding career? Are you looking for a career that allows you to meet different people and explore new ideas and environments? Then a career in the hotel and hospitality industry will be right for you.

Hospitality Management Career – As Lucrative As It Seems

The hotel and hospitality management sector has been booming constantly since the last few years. Currently, you can find a wide range of job opportunities in this sector, provided you have the right skills and knowledge. If you ask me, pursuing a hotel management programme is a great way to acquire required skills like leadership, management, communication skills, organizing events, catering etc.

You will also get the opportunity to learn business and people skills that will significantly increase your performance and employability. But the fact is studying full time hospitality management courses means you will need to invest a lot of time and money. Hence if you wish to earn a hotel management degree or diploma which will be affordable and flexible, then I would suggest that you study online. Your qualification will make sure that you make a great start to a lucrative career in the hospitality industry.

Here I am going to talk about some great reasons why a career in hotel management can be beneficial for you....

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 Great Job Opportunities

A hotel management career will provide you a wide array of employment opportunities in a number of fields. Moreover, as the sector has an international outlook, you will also be able to get placement opportunities in various parts of the world. You can find jobs in rental agencies, cruise ships, casinos, restaurants, hotels etc.

No Fixed Routine

Tired of the same old 9-5 routine? If you want a career that allows you to do creative and satisfying work with excellent flexibility, then a career in this sector will meet your exact needs. You can develop various transferable skills and gain expertise in different tasks.

Excellent Prospects

Let’s face it....in today’s world everyone needs to travel, look for accommodation, eat and drink. Hence you can be rest assured that this industry will remain stable, even during the next financial crisis.

Be Creative 

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Want to show your creativity at work? Unlike other careers, the hospitality management sector enables you to demonstrate your creative side. You can create excellent entree, main course and side dishes. Or can you can choose to plan an exciting vacation experience for your clients. You will get to think outside the box and develop innovative ideas.

What Do You Think?

There are many other benefits of building a career in the hospitality management industry other than the ones I mentioned above. So I would suggest that you start pursuing an online hotel management programme right now. After completing diploma in hospitality management you will be able to start a lucrative career in this sector and improve your future prospects.

What are you thinking? Are you planning to pursue an online hospitality management course? Feel free to share your thoughts and views with me. I would love to hear from you.

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The “Four Year Myth” Study: How Long Will It Take To Earn A Degree?

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According to a recent report, an Indianapolis-based non-profit Complete College America conducted a study titled the “Four Year Myth” which revealed that most of the students at US public colleges fail to complete their graduation in time.

The 4 Year College Degree Myth

The report states that nowadays both parents and students understand that time is money. The study claims that the current American higher education system is highly expensive and it requires too much time to achieve results. Moreover, only few students end up graduating, according to Tamar Lewin of The New York Times. At present, most public colleges and universities experience merely 19 per cent full time students pursuing bachelor’s degree actually acquire their qualifications in 4 years. Almost 36 per cent full time students at research-intensive institutes and state universities earn their bachelor’s degrees within the scheduled time.

Throughout the country there are only 50 out of the almost 580 public 4 year schools that can claim most full time students acquire their bachelor’s degrees in 4 years time. Several factors have contributed to this scenario such as the lack of ability to register for a required course, remediation programmes and credits lost while to transferring from a different school. In fact the figures in community colleges are even bad. You will find that merely 5 per cent of full-time students achieve associate degrees in the traditional 2 year period; and merely 15.9 percent actually earn 1-2-year certificate on a normal cycle.

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 Earning A Degree On Time

The dilemma has become so prevalent that now academic experts and education policy makers consider 6 years as a standard to acquire a bachelor’s degree and 3 years for an associate degree. The “Four Year Myth” stated “Using these metrics may improve the numbers, but it is costing students and their parents billions of extra dollars — $15,933 more in cost of attendance for every extra year of a public two-year college and $22,826 for every extra year at a public four-year college.”

It added “Hands down, our best strategy to make college more affordable and a sure way to boost graduation rates over all is to ensure that many more students graduate on time.” The report also mentioned that every year around 1.7 million students pursue their higher education studies requiring remediation. This includes a large number of community college students as well. According to the data only one in ten remedial students successfully graduates.

Time Is Money 

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Around 60 per cent of all bachelor’s degree graduates transfer from one institute to another one which results in losing few of their credits. The number of options for college courses is one more reason for the extended college stays. There is a lack of counselors who would help graduates through the high volumes of possibilities and options and guide them through the educational course. Moreover, spending more time on college also results in higher student debt.

Students also miss out on opportunities for earning wages. According to Complete College America, lost wages amounts to $45,327 for students pursuing bachelor’s programmes and $35,000 for students pursuing associate degrees. According to reports from CNN, over 40 million US students are burdened with an average debt of $29,000 which totals to $1.2 trillion.

What do you think about the 4 year degree? Want to share your own opinions and views? Then feel free to comment below. We would love to hear from you.

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Business Education Gearing Up To Face Future Challenges

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As more and more technological innovations are introduced, traditional classroom-based models of business education are getting disrupted. A new study titled See the Future, suggests that with the growing popularity of online programmes and MOOCs, increasing tuition fees in colleges, demanding needs of employers and strong market competition, traditional education approaches face a severe challenge.

Looking At The Future Of Business Education

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The research was done by B-school consultant and education market research establishment CarringtonCrisp, in association with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). See the Future has gathered opinions from CEOs, chairmen, employers and even Directors and Deans at B-schools from more than 63 nations.

The study found that colleges and business schools face four main challenges, namely technology, staffing problems, market competition and costs. Hence, almost all institutions feel the compulsion to re-evaluate their courses and curriculum. Why? As there is a strong move to a multidisciplinary way of learning and a growing need to fulfill the demands of students and businesses, business schools have realized that it is time to reconsider their offerings. The research also discovered that lifelong learning will keep being significant for students, but due to technological progress, lifestyle learning will also become important.

Increasing Demand For Online Study

 Businesses and employers need training and development programmes that are fast, cheap and highly effective and which offer excellent value for money. The study discovered that these employers are increasingly accepting more online diplomas and degrees mainly because it does not require accommodation and travel expenses. See the Future found that even though online education was well accepted, but almost 80 per cent respondents claimed that “Executive education for senior managers and directors will remain face to face.” Alan Hatfield, ACCA director of learning, said “Anytime, anywhere learning is on the rise, providing students with the flexibility to learn at their own pace and around their other commitments such as work and family.”

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Author of the study, Andrew Crisp, said “This situation is not a perfect storm, but the Dean who sticks their

head in the sand and fails to think about how best to position their school for the future risks their school and its students being left behind.”

Hatfield added “When they hire new talent, employers believe a professional qualification is essential or desired. As a professional body, ACCA is committed to business education - working with universities, MOOC providers and business schools around the world, we aim to ensure the future of business education remains relevant and valued.”

Providing “Rounded Education”

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CEO and DG at EFMD, Eric Cornuel, said “It has been clear for many years that the pace of change in business education is accelerating. Understanding the drivers of change and the demands of those seeking to learn in the future are key to our member schools delivering effective solutions. More and more, our members recognize the need for business to be studied in a wider context, to see the impact it has on society.”

He concluded by saying “To this end, there is a growing need for business schools to work with other faculties, departments and experts throughout universities and beyond to ensure students receive a rounded education.”

How are technology and other factors changing traditional business education? Say what you fee by sharing your thoughts and comments below. We would love to hear from you.

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