New Service Utilizes Videoconferencing for Easy Access to London Academic Expertise

An innovative service, launched in March 2005 enables educational institutions and corporate organizations worldwide to access the immense pool of academic and professional expertise concentrated in London, UK via videoconferencing.

Today, many US and European universities resort to opening and maintaining campuses in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to enable their students access to the wealth of experiences and teaching resources that the city offers.

In business, the advantages of professional and executive education are undermined by the significant travel and living costs combined with the prolonged absence of key employees from the work place.

According to the research conducted by the British Council, in fast developing economies like China and India the demand for highly experienced tutors and lecturers critically exceeds supply, affecting the realization of economic development to its full potential.

Teaching quality has also been a major concern. UNESCO states that "Faced with an unprecedented teacher shortage, some countries are now turning to low-paid, poorly trained teachers."

Addressing these issues, BridgesEducation (www.bridgeseducation.org) uses videoconferencing to deliver a wide range of lectures, seminars and programs designed and presented by hundreds of high-profile speakers from leading UK universities, research centers and companies.

This system not only ensures high academic standards, but also offers clear financial benefits. "It's a win-win situation," says Kemi Pearce from the Advisory Centre for Education, "We avoid costly travel, hotels and living expenses whilst we retain the energy and interactivity of live delivery."

Many in education have experienced videoconferencing in the past with different levels of success, resulting in hundreds of unused facilities on campuses around the world. But the technology has come a long way since it was introduced in the early 90s. Today it is not only much more affordable, reliable and interactive; it also offers features such as computer presentations, online broadcast and audience participation from multiple locations at one time.

Michelle Grant, development officer at BridgesEducation, is optimistic about global access to high quality tuition. "At present a few major centers offer a considerable proportion of academic and professional expertise. Now, with the help of technology, the location will become less and less relevant."

It may take time for traditional education providers to realize the power of technology to its full potential, but by using videoconferencing as its main method of delivery, BridgesEducation marks the beginning of a new era.

Stas Spector is a specialist in distance learning technology at the Advisory Centre for Education in London.

Catch A New Lover With DIY Magic!

One night, whilst watching TV, I understood a very useful magical principle which is highly practical and immensely efficient. Anyone can do it - if they really want to, that is! - and although it involves interior decoration, it is easy to do, once you get your head around the basic principles.

Whether you live alone in your flat, house or mansion, whether you are gay or straight, male or female, and regardless of how old you are, with this method you can very practically "choose your love, then love your choice" and get yourself a new lover or life partner.

The core insight comes from a TV programme in which houses which don't sell are re-decorated by a professional to make them more attractive so that offers start to come in.

In the programme and before the professional goes to work, buyers are shown around the property as it is, and their responses are taped.

With this property that no-one wanted and which had been on the market for a good couple of years, the comment potential buyers made over and over again was, "I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

Let's repeat that sentence because it is the key to the whole endeavour.

"I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

It struck me that this had been my own experience, but not during buying a house. I had felt like that when I was staying in various boyfriend apartments or houses and couldn't wait to leave again!

One gentleman had a very expensive house but it was all "Bauhaus" concrete and hard lines; inside, everything was empty and white and chrome, with umpteen massive mirrors and even mirror polished work tops and cupboards in the kitchen.

"I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

Can you imagine being a couple or even a family in those surroundings?

Trying to cook a meal in a mirror polished kitchen? Where would I put my stuff? What would I *do* in those vast, empty cold spaces? Cleaning THAT?

The guy was alright and even possibly very alright. He was good in bed and had an interesting mind. But I left in the morning, without even so much as a cup of coffee and never came back.

He and I never could figure out what "he'd done wrong" - and the deal is, apart from not paying attention to his DIY, he hadn't!

Now, the converse.

I have a friend, a very delicious and desirable lady who owns her own home, has a good job, looks attractive and *is* attractive in every way, but her gentlemen run as fast from her after a home visit as I did from the mirror polished boyfriend.

Her house is "new age heaven", to put a not too fine point on it.

Colours of an Indian fabric merchant - a riot of burning oranges, fiery reds, glowing golds, ultraviolets, greens, turquoise, blue, yellow.

Incense holders and crystals EVERYWHERE.

Statues of Buddhas, cats, elephants.

Windchimes and mystical waterfall posters.

Wow.

Now, I like this. I like to visit her and I feel right at home there. We do magical things and have very meaningful conversations - but then, I'm much like her and the wrong sex for what she's looking for.

If a suitable gentleman stepped through the door, he'd want to reverse right out.

He wouldn't be able to imagine himself being there, not at all.

It goes further. In true Feng Shui tradition, there is NO ROOM for a man here.

Where would he sit to watch TV? Where would he take the engine of his motorbike apart? Store his skies? Where would he eat his breakfast? Well, if he ate breakfast, that is, and if he wasn't into doing that in the lotus position in the conservatory, on the bamboo mat ...

In the bedroom (deep purple with glowing green and gold, full of candle holders and fabrics draping everywhere!) there is a double bed, granted. But there is no second bedside table for a potential man, even if he could get past the colours, which really and truly hurt most men's head, heart, mind and soul. There is no cupboard for his clothes, not even to put down an overnight bag.

In the bathroom there isn't an inch of space for a shaver, or a second toothbrush.

Here's the deal.

Single people decorate their homes to please themselves and to "fill all available spaces with themselves".

Their mirrors, ornaments, colour choices become their minions, their little army of protective gremlins and this makes it very, very difficult for a second person to feel comfortable there or to consider this a home and hearth for them.

They think it's a showcase for their personality and good taste, but to an outsider this is forbidding, foreboding, and very freaky.

Further, the chrome loving gentleman I mentioned earlier did NOT consist entirely of robotic coldness AS A PERSON.

That was a total misrepresentation of who he was. He was lively, funny and very, very passionate and I think he just prided himself on his chrome aspects particularly and wanted himself and others to think that's who is was to impress them.

My mystical orient loving friend too wasn't all flow and heaven on earth, either. She is a shrewd business woman, loves order and logic, and you really don't want to get her on a day when she has PMT!

So.

I put all of this to her and she was surprised, appalled but could see the sense of it right away.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Are you seriously suggesting I paint my bedroom an inviting ... GREY?!"

We giggled for a while but yes, in essence, if you want to attract a man TO STAY WITH YOU and feel right at home with you, the bedroom colours need to be professionally defused.

The whole house, in fact, needs to be tackled room by room to MAKE ROOM FOR A MAN. To create an environment that is acceptable and inviting TO A MAN.

My friend was getting nervous.

"If I did this, wouldn't that mean I was READY FOR A RELATIONSHIP?" she asked nervously. "And wouldn't the decor and colours I choose even DECIDE on the kind of man I would be attracting?!"

Yes, I do think that's exactly right. And herein lies the real magic!

Taking conscious control of the environment in order to GET WHAT YOU WANT, that is what this is all about.

So, I asked my friend, "Well, are you? Are you ready to paint your bedroom grey if that is what it takes?"

She fell thoughtful and said, "I have real conflicts about that. I can sense that if I did, it would work. And quickly, too. I think I've decorated like that to keep me safe from relationships. I guess I'm not as clear and ready on the topic as I thought ..."

It's a fascinating thought that in the absence of a rabid mum with a rolling pin to keep the suitors at bay, my chrome gentleman and mystical friend had taken to using DIY instead to stay safe - and single.

Well, there we have the principle.

It is straightforward and all you have to do is to go through your house and see it through the eyes of "the prospective suitor".

If you aim to make your home a veritable honey trap for the cheerleading bunny girls, then how should it look? Where will you put the fluffy pink rugs, the candles and the flowers? And don't forget those furry toilet seat covers ...

Ok, so I'm kidding but you really will have to think differently, think MAGICALLY, to make the choices that point to the TYPE OF PARTNER you would really be comfortable with, where your "compromise" with another would actually ENHANCE YOUR OWN LIFE AND ENJOYMENT of your spaces.

Here is your chance to also work on your own contortions, reversals and fears and clear them up, very practically and so use your home to firstly, find out what YOU NEED TO BALANCE YOUR EXCESSES in interior decorating, and secondly, get the right mate for you to come - and to stay.

Get a FREE illustrated ebook on modern magic - "The Enchanted World" by Silvia Hartmann by visiting http://starfields.org/The_Enchanted_World.htm

Give Up the Need to Sell

Most business people will tell you that selling is not their favorite activity. Let's explore a way to look at the process of sales a bit more favorably.

Whether we like it or not---"we're all in sales". Most of us have an internal dialogue about both selling and closing that is less than positive. Most of us approach the sales portion of our business hoping we're not "coming off like a salesman".

Most of us hate to be sold to. Most of us have to sell to live. Most of us realize that in order to keep our business afloat, we need to sell. I suggest that you give up that need to sell. Please notice that I didn't ask you to give up the commitment to sell but rather the need.

The hardest time to do anything is when you need to. In the revised edition of his book "Man's Search for Meaning", the noted psychiatrist and author Victor Frankl coined the term "Paradoxical Intentionality". He defines "Paradoxical Intentionality" as "The twofold fact that fear brings about that which one is afraid of, and that hyper-intention makes impossible that which one wishes."

In other words, if you need to do something it makes the task much more difficult. Frankl's thesis can best be illustrated by an example with which we all can identify:

The last time you needed to get to sleep because you had something important to do the next morning? how easy was it to get to sleep? The last time you needed to stay awake for the end of a film? how easy was it to stay awake?

So I repeat? give up the need to sell. Be committed 150% to making the sale but avoid becoming tied to the "outcome" of making the sale. This is contrary to what many of us have been taught. However, if you view yourself as a "problem solver" rather than a "maker of sales" this concept will make much greater sense.

I define a problem as, "something that exists when there is a difference between what you have and what you want." My definition of business is, "The ability to solve other people's problems and get compensated for it". Closing is "the ability to create an environment in which the prospect comes to the conclusion that our product or service will solve his/her problem."

Based on these definitions our job becomes a process in which we first uncover whether the prospect has the type of problems our business solves. Next we have to find out if the prospect truly believes that a problem exists (and it's important to let the prospect be the judge.) If the prospect believes that there is a problem and that the problem is likely to cause monetary or emotional sacrifices, he or she will be open to having someone who can be trusted help solve the problem. In other words, the prospect begins to close the deal.

Your prospect will begin to convince and influence you that there is a need for your help. He or she will become the source of the sales presentation and the close. As backwards sounding as this may seem? it's really the way it works.

Because the responsibility of convincing and influencing is assumed willingly by the prospect nearly all of the stress and negativity we associate with selling literally disappears.

Use this approach to selling and you'll see a big difference. Instead of a day filled with trying to sell things to people, you will get to solve people's problems. This is a much more enjoyable way to approach the selling part of your business.

In summary? give up the need to sell and think of yourself as a magical problem solver.

Ike Krieger is the founder of BusinessSuccessBuilder.com. He is a nationally known business language expert, mentor, speaker, radio and TV talk show host, educator and author. He is a former communications instructor at Ohio State University.

He has served as business makeover specialist for the LA Times and writes for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. He is the current Chairman of the Board of the North San Fernando Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. Ike's business success builder programs have helped thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, salespeople, consultants and professionals get an even bettershot at networking, selling and business success.

Ike can be reached at 800-700-4334 or by e-mail at ike@businesssuccessbuilder.com.

BusinessSuccessBuilder.com. Build it Big, Build it Bigger!

http://www.businesssuccessbuilder.com

818-997-7575 - 800-700-4334

A Simple Formula for Success

Leaders in the business world need public relations big time, and they show it every day.

How? By staying in touch with their most important external audiences and by carefully monitoring their perceptions about the company, audience member feelings about hot topics at issue, and the behaviors that inevitably follow.

Could there be an angle here for your business?

What I mean is, once you interact with, then learn what that key target audience of yours believes about you and your organization, a corrective public relations goal ? a specific behavior change -- can be established.

Which then requires that you identify a strategy. There are just three choices here, create opinion where none exists, change existing opinion, or reinforce it.

It's a logical sequence. With your goal and strategy now set, you need persuasive messages with a good chance of moving perceptions (and thus behaviors) in your organization's direction. But you must make sure the messages talk not only to the current topic at issue, but to any misconceptions or inaccuracies encountered during your information gathering, and to any problems that might be brewing.

What will you do with your new message? You will carry it to the attention of your priority audience. You'll use communications tactics that are credible in the eyes of the receiver, and effective in reaching him or her. You'll also want tactics that stand a good chance of moving opinion in that target audience, on the topic at issue, in your direction.

Fortunately, there are many communications tactics to choose from: newsworthy announcements, letters-to-the-editor, news releases, radio and newspaper interviews, brochures, speeches and on and on.

Now, you're back to the monitoring mode as you interact once again with members of the key target audience. With your communications tactics hammering away, you keep one eye peeled for signs of target audience opinion shifts in your direction. The other eye, (and ears) stay alert for any references by print and broadcast media, or other local thoughtleaders to your carefully prepared message.

The bottom line is, are perceptions and behaviors within the target audience being modified? If not, adjustments to your communications tactics ? often a big increase in, and wider selection -- must be made. Your message may also need to be sharpened and its factual basis strengthened.

Gradually, you'll begin to notice changes in opinion starting to appear along with a growing receptiveness to those messages of yours. This is real progress.

Should you still need encouragement to hang in there with your brand new public relations program, consider this. A single issue ? for example, a potentially dangerous, unattended perception among a key audience -- can spread like wildfire nudging any business closer to failure than success.

That statistic alone should make you feel pretty good about public relations.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly ? 2003.

Quality Time with Your Teen

It's sometimes difficult to find ways to be involved with your teen without totally intruding in his/her life. You want to talk to them, they don't want to talk to you (most of the time anyway). I've found the best way to connect with my teenage daughter is to enter her world and do the things she likes to do. There's a saying that if you want to understand your child's world you have to play with them, no matter how old they are.

You don't always have to be even directly interacting with your teen in order to be involved in their world. Just being around the same influences they are, and taking an interest in their activities, lets them know that you care and that you understand what they deal with from day to day. Then later, at home, you can talk about the things you have experienced together. It's a great way to connect. Here are some ways my teenage daughter and I have spent time together:

• My daughter was involved in a music group that did a lot of fundraising that required a lot of involvement by the parents. At first I was really resistant to the time involved, but I soon realized how much fun it was to hang out with my daughter and the other teens and their parents.

• School activities are another great way to be involved in your child's life, at any age. When they're younger there's field trips, class parties, etc., you can be involved with, but when they get older there are activities like school plays that parents are a very important part of. I've helped sell tickets, worked at the bake sale...where I didn't even spend time with my daughter at all, but it meant a lot to her that I was there supporting her.

• Attending sporting events is also important to your child. When they get older it seems like they don't really care if you're there or not, but it is important to them even if they don't say so. It makes them feel like you care about what they do.

• Helping my daughter with school projects has been a great way for us to spend time together. She gets to do the hard part of doing all the research and writing, and then I do the fun part of helping her put it all together in the end. Even with older teens, most of them don't particularly enjoy doing all this work by themselves, even if you know they're completely capable of it. I don't do the work for her, just help her by giving her feedback on her ideas and giving her a hand. Often beforehand even I will go to the library with her and help her sort through reference materials. I know it means a lot to her, especially when she's doing a huge project and is completely overwhelmed.

• Another way I've been involved with my daughter is to be a youth leader in her church youth group. Again, I am not actually spending time with her there most of the time, but I am experiencing the same things she's experiencing and it's giving us something in common that we can both relate to and discuss. Those times together have been very meaningful.

As you can see, not all of these activities involve me actually talking to and hanging out with my daughter. You know as well as I do that our teens don't always want us hanging around them. I'm happy for the time I do get to spend with my daughter, for the little time I have left with her. When we have things in common my daughter is much more likely to talk to me and share her feelings with me. When I don't know what she experiences, it is very hard for me to relate what she is going through. These shared experiences have opened up many more opportunities for us to share and connect that we wouldn't otherwise have.

About The Author

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For more inspirational articles and tips for everyday living, visit her web sites at http://www.creativehomemaking.com and http://www.christian-parent.com

Telephone Tips, Techniques and Etiquette

Whether using the telephone for business or personal use, using this communication tool effectively means being timely, communicating clearly and having the other person's interest in mind.

1 ? Plan and schedule your telephone calls so that you can allow time for off-track discussions. If you plan a 10:30am telephone call "schedule" it like you might schedule a face to face meeting: a little extra time, particularly for those you know like to talk!
2 ? At the beginning of your call, mention you know you can cover the points needed within time enough for you to make your next appointment, at a stated time. Then as you want to wind up the conversation you can backtrack to restate the appointment you mentioned. Or, you may find that someone will remind you, "Oh, you have to get on to that appointment, right?"
3 ? Maybe you prefer to wait until you are into the conversation before needing to ask for an exit. As you near time to say goodbye and find it difficult to end, try saying, "Oh my gosh, I have a long distance call I need to take. Can you hold while I take it?" Your customer or friend will likely say the conversation can pick up later. And, once again, it is the other person who ends the call.
4 ? If you have to leave a voice mail, certain elements are important to include: your name, when you are calling, a brief message about your purpose, and a telephone number to return the call to you. If you work in a staffed office and there's another extension of someone as an alternate contact, leave his or her name and extension as well. This last point is being considerate of the other person's time.
5 ? When leaving a voice mail make it easy for the person who is taking and likely writing down this information. First, you can say the number slowly by area code, exchange and last digits. For example, say it just as you might write it in the United States: 777-555-1234. Alternately, or even in addition to the divided method, you can repeat your telephone number a second time. Or, you can combine both methods!
6 ? Your outgoing message (om) is as important to etiquette as the message you leave when you are the caller. For business protocol it's wise to identify yourself by name. At home, if you want more security, you may want to just state, "You have reached, 777-555-1234." In either environment, state for the caller to leave their name, telephone number and a brief message. If you include the date, "Monday, February 21st," in your om, be certain you change it everyday. If you ever have anyone run out of time with leaving his or her message, you may also want to include, "and there is a 30 second (or whatever time) for your brief message."
7 ? The clich? that "time is money," is particularly true for the working person. That we all have the same amount of time is true for everyone. Return your telephone calls on a timely basis, within 24 hours is professional and considerate in either a business or personal setting.

Try one of these tips next time you find yourself wanting to be in charge of the telephone.


Copyright? Patricia Weber, http://www.prostrategies.com.

Pat Weber is a coach, certified telelcass leader, and corporate trainer. With her incisive, effective communication skills, her services can help you to accelerate professional and personal results you want, by helping you increase your choices and build your self-confidence. With personal coaching, a teleclass, an online email course or on-site workshop, get what you want, more easily and more often. Visit her website at http://www.prostrategies.com. Contact her for a free coaching session.

Shopping for a Secured Personal Loan

If you find yourself looking for a loan, you'll likely be getting a secured personal loan. A secured personal loan can be used for a variety of reasons, from paying off student fees to buying a new car? but they all have a few things in common. Any secured personal loan that you get will require you to put down a security deposit in the form of property (which is known as collateral), which helps to assure the lender that they'll be getting their money back. Collateral is also a good incentive for paying back your loan, after all, you do not want the lender to have to sell your property because you didn't pay them what you owed.

Examples of a secured personal loan

Any loan that you take out for yourself that has some sort of property attached to it is a secured personal loan. You could be borrowing money from a bank and using gold jewelry as collateral for the loan, or you could be purchasing a new house with a mortgage through a finance company? either way, if you don't pay back what you owe then you're going to lose the property in question. Automotive financing, title loans, and pawn shops also fall into this category, though pawn shops are a bit more of an extreme example of the secured personal loan.

Advantages and disadvantages of a secured personal loan

For the most part, interest rates are lower with a secured personal loan that they are with other types of loans. The reason for this is the collateral that you offer? the lender knows that it is going to get its money back one way or another, so its able to be a bit more flexible with its interest. If the loan were unsecured (meaning that there was no collateral required), the interest rates would likely be much higher.

Another advantage of a secured personal loan is that they're much easier to get than unsecured loans. After all, the collateral serves as a guarantee that the lender will be getting their money back? that makes them more willing to offer loans to people with questionable credit. Should you default on the loan, they still won't lose the money that they lend you (though they will have to go through the trouble and expense of possessing the collateral and selling it.)

The main disadvantage of a secured personal loan is the penalty for defaulting on the loan? losing your collateral. In some cases this isn't as bad as others? after all, it's much better to lose some rare coins than it is to lose your house. With fast and consistent repayment, however, this drawback can be easily avoided. The fear of losing your collateral can even be turned into an advantage after all, you have a wonderful reason to make all of your payments on time.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.