Archive for July, 2010

Psychology is the study of human behavior and the human mind. A PhD in Psychology is an in-depth study of these human factors in a way to bring about positive change and establish a homogenized society. As a part of their daily duties, psychologist attempt to create theories, hypotheses and explanations for events that occur in society on a daily basis. This is achieved by looking at several trends and patterns then by applying their professional training using scientific methods they produce strategies to improve the understanding between organizations, nations, cultures and groups.

Outline of the PhD in Psychology

The online PhD in Psychology adapts a two-pronged approach in training its students. The program uses both a practical and theoretical approach that allows students to gain a well-rounded understanding of the field of psychology. During the program, participants pursue subject areas such as the history of psychology, human development, theories of personality, social, cognitive, counseling and school psychology, psychology of industries and organization, developmental psychology and research in psychology. The Online Psychology degrees culminate with the defense of their research before a dissertation committee.

Types of Psychologist

The online PhD in Psychology gives students the chance to focus their research on areas that are of interest to them or are their areas of specialization. These specializations span across all sectors of the society and include PhDs in the areas of:

• Counseling Psychology: An online PhD in counseling psychology entails the study of how to advise individuals who experience problems in the home, at the work place or in the general community. The knowledge gained from an online PhD in Counseling Psychology allows these professionals to promote good mental health that prevents breakdown in the physical, mental and social capabilities of individuals. Graduates of the online PhD in Counseling Psychology usually ply their trade in hospitals, rehab centers, and crisis counseling centers.
• School Psychology: The focus of the online PhD in School Psychology is to create professionals who are capable of working with students in early childhood, elementary and secondary school. At this age, these children are most vulnerable and require the sound advice of a trained school psychologist who can assist in molding in a positive way. The online Psychology colleges empower its graduates with the technical skills of classroom management, parenting techniques, student evaluation. Holders of an online PhD in School Psychology gain employment in government organizations, schools, private consultancy and various faith based organizations.
• Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Graduates of the online PhD in Industrial-Organizational psychology apply the skills learnt during the program to effect change within the workplace. These individuals also assist the marketing department of organizations to gain a better understanding of their customer base by employing their skills of statistical analysis and target surveying. Industrial-organization psychologists also play a vital role during times of transitions within organizations. Their training sensitizes hem to the plight of workers and they devise methods of making the negative side effects of change into positive ones.

Have you ever thought about where the beautiful floral arrangements we send to our loved ones come from? Well, this is the work of florist. Most regular florists will tell you that they developed their skills while on the job. However, those involved in the construction of floral displays on a large scale will tell you that their formal training in floral design was key to making them successful.

One of the easiest ways of earning your degree in floral design is by doing it online. An online floral design allows practitioners of the profession and new comers to continue working and still access a high quality online degree.

Design of the Online Degree in Floral Design

One may wonder how we can do floral design under a distance education module.Well, the online degree in floral design gives students both practical and theoretical training. Students utilize the theoretical knowledge gained during the course to create various floral designs that they must then submit to their college for grading. The course is divided into several modules with systematic guidelines that allow students to gradually develop into professional floral designers.

How to Qualify for an Online Degree in Floral Design

Online floral design degrees are available for individuals from all educational backgrounds. The basic qualification requirement begins with a high school diploma. This will qualify students to begin associate and bachelor degrees in floral design. For individuals who have experience but no formal qualification, some colleges will offer entrance examinations.

Course outline of the Online Degree in Floral Design

Online floral design courses range from a few weeks to a few years for completion. During the course, student will undergo studies in the different types of flowers, cutting and clipping, handling and care of flowers, trends in floral design and pricing. Most floral designers will have the intention of opening their own business at some point; they also pursue studies in business management, accounting, marketing and computer technology.

Floral Design Certification

Within the United States, florists must be certified to be recognized and allowed to operate within the profession. Certification is obtained after the completion of a florist accreditation examination that include a four hour onsite assessment in wedding arrangements, table arrangements, funeral tributes, wearable floral arrangement and one arrangement of their choice.

Careers in Floral Design

The profession of floral design gives you the opportunity to show your love of flowers and get paid while doing it. Most floral designers will tell you that most of their best sellers are those with strong inspiration. Most graduates of online degrees in floral design will go on to work if flower shops or open their own business. They also receive contracts to create designs for hotels, corporate bodies, funeral parlors and wedding centers.

In general, business prospects for florist remains between stable to bright as most florists will work with real flowers that must be replaced after a certain time. As a result, there is always a constant steam of business.

Social media is now embedded into our psyche. Social media now affects how we talk, think and communicate with each other. Life as we know it will never be the same, as social media has accelerated the pace of life and now people are just considered to be wired or not. The extent of how deep social media has become a necessity in our daily lives is shown in the new thrust by several universities to offer online degree programs in social media. Universities are not only in the education business to educate individuals. They also exist to provide a profit to their shareholders. So we see, by them offering degree programs in social media only prove the point of how social media has become to our hi-tech society.

In addition, all the major media broadcasting houses have developed various TV programs based around social media. Examples of how social media has infiltrated TV programming is shown in the many eye witness reports that are uploaded to their respective Twitter, Facebook and MySpace pages within seconds of an event. This concept has provided many job opportunities for amateur journalists who are always on the lookout for breaking events.

Before we go any further, let us examine this concept of social media. Social media is an interaction of different individuals through means of technology and telecommunications. These tools provide individuals to share word, picture, audio and video content from locations all over the world. As a result, social media has developed into the main source of contact between individuals.

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Media

Any course in marketing will tell you that where people congregate, there is an opportunity for business. The growth of social media has prompted several universities to devise degree programs that will teach individuals how to exploit the accessibility of social media. The bachelor’s degree in social media has been incorporated in the faculties of business, computing and information management of many universities. The degree is also becoming quite popular as many individuals are now viewing social media as a viable career option.

The bachelor degree in social media focuses of developing student’s skills of business, computing and communication through various mediums such as text messaging, internet, mobile phones, email and chat rooms.

Master’s Degree in Social Media

Recently one leading university launched a master’s degree that focused solely on teaching its students about the use of, effects, opportunities that social media offer to the greater community. This online course entails a scholarly study of how social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo can help both the marketing and communication sectors.

As in all accredited master’s degree program, the course had to meet various standards before it could be approved by the Department of Education.

They have reported significant interest in the course as many companies are now acknowledging the power of social media and want to be at the cutting edge of its manipulation. Hence, whether you are wired or not, social media is here to stay so it is for us to ask ourselves the question “are we ready for social media?”