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Education is no longer considered a privilege. In most jurisdictions, ‘education’ is considered as an indispensable part of a child’s rights.

In the UK, education has always commanded a high priority in the society. The government, in turn, has always adopted a liberal education policy, as highlighted from the laws of the land. That’s why the concept of Home Education (HE) has always been an integral part of society in the UK.

Why Home Education?

Due to a multicultural and plural society as prevalent in the UK, the reasons for parents to opt for Home Education may vary. Some of the common factors influencing parents’ decisions regarding the educational needs of their children include:

- Religious, philosophical, or spiritual compulsions

- Unsatisfactory school system

- Lack of suitable schools in the locality

- To meet the specific and/or special needs of some children, like those suffering from diseases such as Cerebral Palsy, autism etc.

- Failure of child and school management to effectively tackle certain conditions in school, like bullying, corporal punishment etc.

- Financial reasons etc.

Recently, the Parental Responsibility has emerged as one of the major reasons for Home-Educating children in the UK. More and more parents are trying to learn the art of true parenthood and are relishing the additional responsibility of being (actually) responsible for the growth of the thought process in the child.

Whatever may be the compelling circumstances, Home Education is here to stay, and is being increasingly preferred in the UK. An estimated 100,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 are being given Home Education by their parents in the United Kingdom, and the figure is likely to increase in the coming years.

Benefits of Home Education

Home Education (tutorial-based teaching) has several advantages over classroom education (instructions-based teaching). Some of these include:

1. The child tends to receive individualistic and far more attention at home than at school.

2. Comfortable home environment in the company of parents gives the child an ideal environment to learn.

3. The absence of awe-inspiring teachers means quick feedback from the child to assess his/her learning capabilities.

4. The Child can learn at their own pace, and follow their own curriculum and interests.

5. Enhanced self-motivation and self-discipline in the child.

6. Instilment of parental values instead of peer values in the child.

7. Cultivation of courage to arrive at independent decisions.

8. Avoid destructive competition in search of better grades from the peers and fellow students.

9. Special children need special attention that can only be provided under home conditions.

10. Above all, as a parental responsibility of teaching your child, nothing is more beneficial and satisfactory than to take complete responsibility of your child’s education.

Shortcomings of Home Education

One must also consider some disadvantages of Home Education before deciding the academic future of the child. Some of these include:

1. Non-development of social skills due to the absence of interaction with peers and teachers.

2. Special expertise and skills required to teach may be lacking in the parents. Moreover, they might not be abreast of the latest technologies and teaching aids that might help the child learn better.

3. Even both the parents combined may not know all the subjects required for the proper education of the child.

4. Parents may ultimately spend a considerable amount of time equipping themselves with the skills to teach their child; thus, losing out on the chance to supplement the family income.

5. Laboratories, gyms, and other facilities provided by school authorities may not be accessible from home.

6. A child’s progress will not be adequately monitored, especially as they do not have to follow the National Curriculum or take SATs.

Home Education in UK – Legal Aspect

The UK is divided into different legal jurisdictions. For instance, there are different sets of laws applicable in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. However, substantially, all these jurisdictions follow similar legal principles and postulates, with minor variations.

Home Education has legal sanction in all three regions in the UK. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (England and Wales), Sections 30 of Education (Scotland) Act 1980, and Article 45 of Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, are the relevant legal provisions that provide the requisite teeth to the concept of Home Education in the UK.

Here is the summary of these legalities as applicable in the UK:

Only ‘education’ is compulsory under UK laws and not ‘schooling.’

No qualification is prescribed for the parents desirous of giving Home Education to their child.

Parents are at absolute liberty to decide how they want their child to be educated at home.

No compulsion of following the National Curriculum or observing school hours.

Parents must ensure that their child receives an efficient full time education, suitable to his/her age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs the child may have.

Parents are not legally obligated to inform the Local Education Authority (LEA) when they decide to educate their children at home. If the child has never been registered at a State school, or if you move to an area served by another LEA, you are not obliged to notify the LEA, although you may do so if you wish. If you are taking your child out of a state school in England or Wales, the head teacher must remove the child’s name from the register and inform the LEA. If your child has special needs and attends a special school, you need permission to deregister.

However, if you are withdrawing your child from a State school in Scotland, the LEA must be informed.

No special Government grants are available for Home Education in UK.

No formal tests are required to pass by the child. However, the LEA may ask for information informally at intervals to monitor your child’s progress.

There is no prohibition on the Home Education of a statemented child provided he/she is not attending a special school, in which case you need the consent of the LEA.

Home-Educated children can take GCSEs as private candidates or as students of correspondence courses. However, it is not compulsory to take GCSEs.

To address the concern for social deprivation of Home-Educated children, in many areas, home educators meet regularly for social, educational, and other activities. Children also attend clubs, classes, sporting and leisure activities in the community. Children get to interact with people of all ages as well as their peers.

Educational Adventures a family portal.

My old farm tractor is the best toy I ever bought. I’m a simple man, I used to enjoy working on my car, changing the plugs, tuning the carburetor, just plain ‘ole tinkering; that changed (along with the rest of the world) when computers entered the picture. And while they have revolutionized the way we live and work, they made tinkering a thing of the past. I refused to let that happen when I bought my first old farm tractor. I’m not a farmer by trade, but I love the land and enjoy dragging my bush hog, it keeps me in touch with the land. And tinkering? Well that keeps my old farm tractor running smooth and gives me some time away from the keyboard.

I learned a lot when I started looking for my first old farm tractor. Old is just a term if the older tractor runs good and does the job intended, but be certain to check thoroughly when shopping. In my case, I brought a neighbor of mine along who just happened to be a John Deere rep, feeling certain he’d give my potential old farm tractor purchase, a good “once over”.

Of course what’s a good older tractor for me, might not be your bailiwick at all, different strokes for different folks. So ask yourself (like you didn’t already know) are you buying the old farm tractor for work or play (restoration)? Are you looking to save money with an older tractor, or are you waxing nostalgic and looking to create a pristine show tractor?

Another thing to consider is the kind of service you’ll expect; will you be working the field, tinkering like I do, or only bringing the old farm tractor out for county fairs. In any of these cases, when you’re looking an older tractor, you’ll want to make certain she’s mechanically sound. If you’re actually a collector (or tinkerer) chances are you’ll know a local mechanic to bring along, they are worth their weight, believe me and could help you find a gem, or avoid a lemon.

First thing my John Deere rep did was climb on the old workhorse to see if she started up easy, telling me if she did, that’s a good indicator that the battery, compression, ignition and fuel lines are in working order. Now if it doesn’t start, don’t head for the hills, just make sure the price is right, since it will need a bit of work.

The farmer who owned the old farm tractor told us to go ahead and… “Take ‘er for a spin”, he smiled then walked away to do some chores. While all sellers might not be so friendly, it’s very important to test the tractor engine when it’s warmed up; are then any leaks, how does the engine sound? Then, shut her down, and see if the old farm tractor starts again.

While you’re warming the old farm tractor up, and assuming you have the go ahead to actually take her out of the barn, check the brakes, if there okay, great, another mark for the plus column, if they’re mushy and might need work, ask how difficult a brake job is, some older tractors have brakes that are very difficult to work on; this is where that farm tractor mechanic friend will come in.

Check to see if the exhaust is, a little blue or black smoke might just indicate a needed tune-up, blue smoke may say ring job. If so, plan accordingly, or find another old gem to buy.

Listen closely to how the old farm tractor engine sounds any unusual deep throated clunking sounds? Let’s hope not, but if do, time to thank the owner for his time, and head for the next prospective choice.

Years ago, back when they had “full service” gas stations, I remember the attendant saying… “Check the oil sir”? And that is definitely something you should do with your older (antique) tractor. Oil in a tractor is the lifeblood, does it look clear (indicating a recent change); or is there foam or water present. If you see drops of water that might be the head gasket and serious problems might exist. Water in the oil is NEVER a good sign; again, time for a “thank you and goodbye”.

Anytime you purchase a piece of machinery with the “new” worn off, take the time to be certain your purchase has aged gracefully. None of us want to see an old antique tractor rusting in a field, but neither do we want to buy a “pig in a poke”. Ask, look, examine, test; and if you’re satisfied, whip out the checkbook, put a smile on a farmer’s face, then take the old farm tractor home and get some work done.

Tangopang is the author and editor of more lawn tractors resources published at [http://www.economytractorsupplystore.com] Find more publications about lawn tractors [http://www.economytractorsupplystore.com] at his website.

If you are the designer type and take pleasure in adding exclusive expressions in your house, you are perhaps elated regarding the prospect of including interesting elements in your child’s playroom or room. In effect, if you are not expert with designing distinctive styles, you can do minor adjustments for having that enduring effect within your kids room. When it comes to personalization and customization, the choices are endless. You can put wallpapers or paint for extra patterns and color. Among all, the most essential element is adding modern kids furniture in your child’s room.

There is a wide variety of options available in modern children furniture, such as beds and nursery, tables and desks, shelves and storage, activities and toys or my pet lamps for your children room. To select the right kind of kids furniture, there are certain points to consider, such as adaptability, fun and durability.

When picking modern kids furniture, durability is of utmost importance. Children play rough and it is feasible to purchase sturdy kids furniture for both boys as well as girls. You surely want something, which will stay for a longer period of time. Even if the kids do not share a room, the bunk bed is a good option, since it provides them more room to play with friends. Bunk bed can also be a great place for storing some belongings. These beds are generally built better because they are essentially meant to hold years of hiking in plus out of them.    

In addition, adaptability is a good consideration while buying children furniture. There are various convertible cribs, which are flexible enough to be converted into kids beds, twin beds and day beds, with support braces and mattresses. Fun is essential to children. There is numerous imaginative unique kids furniture accessible like the cars shaped beds, P’kolino clothing tree and EVA MINI foam chair.

When making a themed room, consider adding modern kids furniture [http://www.themodernkid.com] in fusion with other pieces for supporting the main kids furniture, such as kids table, kids chair or kids bed. It chiefly constitutes wall décor, wallpapers, my pet lamps or art, which will make the kids room appear cohesive. For instance, you can include an angora, piggy or a nautical lamp to a room with pirate theme. 

For small girls, the princess life can take a totally novel meaning with the modern kids room furniture. A P’kolino toddler bed and matching Bebe 2 Dresser with 5 drawers or Bebe 2 Cabinet with Shelves or canopied bed with vanity could work wonders and offer great fun play time to your small princess.

 

As your child grows, certainly so will the styles of modern kid’s furniture. Luckily, the modern children furniture comes in a huge variety of styles and designs for the adult kids too.

With considerate planning, the parents must always ensure safety guidelines for any equipment or modern kids furniture to which the kid will have access. When picking child furniture for your home, make sure you remember your kids interest as well as lifestyle. Select a bed and kids room furniture, which can grow with your child over time and can also be handled to their little sister or brother.

Ruth A Ford is an experienced interior designer. With her focus being on the use of modern kids furniture [http://www.themodernkid.com].

After years of working in the executive staffing and recruiting industry, collaborating with countless hiring managers and human resource administrators across various industries, I acquired a thorough understanding of what these individuals were looking for in potential job candidates. I began to see patterns, consistencies, universal tendencies, and I began to see just how important a good resume really is.

As a point of fact, hiring managers only spend around 15 seconds perusing over a new resume and they are really only looking for a couple of things when they do. They’re on autopilot, for the most part. They want to know:

1) Who have you worked for?

2) Have you had steady employment?

3) What notable achievements and recognitions have you had throughout your career?

4) What do you have to offer which will meet with their specific needs?

An effective resume will answer those questions with a minimal amount of effort and, as with any effective marketing tool, it will also leave the reader wanting to know more. You want to give them just enough info to prompt them into action. That’s when they pick up the phone and call you for an interview!

So your resume is your professional introduction. It’s your only chance to make a memorable first impression and I can tell you right now that if you do not take your resume seriously, then your resume will never be TAKEN seriously. It really is that simple.

Now, if you feel you are capable and qualified to write a compelling and dynamic resume, then by all means give it a shot. However, if you’re not extremely confident in your skills as a writer and/or marketer, I would sincerely recommend you hook up with a professional resume writer to help you craft the perfect resume for you. A seasoned veteran in these matters can be an invaluable resource. After all, I trust my mechanic to work on my car because he works on cars all day, every day. Well there are people out there who work on resumes all day, every day…so trust us!

For those who are convinced they have what it takes, this article should help you with some of the finer points. Although job markets and technologies are always changing, there are some things which are fairly universal and constitute the basic principles of a winning resume. To guide you along, I have compiled a comprehensive list of resume writing Do’s and Don’ts, complete with secret tricks of the trade as well as a collection of common mistakes people make. So pay close attention, take my advice into consideration, and you’ll be on your way to landing that dream job in no time!

DON’T

Misrepresent the Truth – Lying on your resume is never a good idea. You don’t want to start a professional relationship based on the misrepresentation of facts. Just as you would hope the employer is not lying to you about the job requirements, salary, etc, they expect you are not lying to them about your background and/or skill sets. It’s the decent and respectable way to conduct yourself and there is no room for dishonesty in the workplace because, sooner or later, these things always have a tendency to come to the surface. Remember: The truth shall set you free!

Use Slang or Jargon – You need to be as professional as possible in the context of your resume if you expect to be taken seriously as a professional. For this reason, you should avoid using familiar lingo, slang, or jargon in your resume. The exception to this rule is when using very industry-specific terminology to describe your particular skills. This can actually help to lend you credit as a knowledgeable individual and an expert in your field, but your such terms wisely and tactfully.

Include a Picture – Unless you’re a model or in a professional dependent on physical attributes, I always advise against putting your picture on your resume. In my experience, it can do more harm than good. So keep the formatting of the resume simple and let the hiring manager use their imagination until they call you in for an interview. Plus, your looks should have nothing to do with your professionalism or the credentials qualifying you for the position. In the business world (even legally), your appearance should have no value as a selling point for you as a competent job candidate.

Include Irrelevant Info (AKA “Fluff”) – If it’s not important, don’t add it to your resume. If you were a cook 10 years ago but now you’re looking for a job in retail management, don’t clutter up your resume with irrelevancy. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and ask yourself what they would see as important. How does your background correspond with their needs as an employer? Anything else is fluff. Don’t add your hobbies to your resume. Don’t add your references (if they want them, they’ll ask at the appropriate time). And don’t include your high school education either. Finally, don’t be redundant and repeat yourself throughout the context of your resume. It’s OK to reinforce themes, but don’t push it. If your title has been Branch Manager at each of your past three companies, find a way to differentiate each of these positions and highlight your most notable accomplishments. Don’t just copy and paste the line “Managed a team of branch employees” three times. That will get you nowhere.

Include a Core Competencies Section – I find Core Competency sections to be fairly worthless in a professional resume and I’ll tell you why: It doesn’t matter if you’re a waitress, an administrative assistant, a nurse, a teacher, or a sales executive – it doesn’t matter what kind of background you have – anyone can describe themselves as “Self-Motivated”. Anyone can say they are “Goal Oriented” and “Results-Driven” and everyone has “Strong Verbal and Written Skills” when they’re applying for a job. I can say with some degree of certainty that the majority of hiring managers and HR administrators skip right past a Core Competencies section and with good reason. The key to a successful resume is in SHOWING a manager how you are “Results-Driven” and “Goal Oriented” instead of just TELLING them! Your accomplishments speak volumes, let them do the talking. If you are going to include a Core Competencies section, make sure it’s unique and adds value. Again, vagueness will often work against you here because it cheapens the experience of reading your resume.

Rely on Templates or Sample Resumes – If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions. Because when it comes right down to it, different styles of resumes should be employed in different industries. By way of illustration, a computer programmer’s resume will vary greatly from that of a sushi chef. They both have very different skill sets which need to be highlighted in very different ways in order to be effective. If both those individuals tried to write their resumes in the same format, it would be a disaster. Hiring authorities, respectively, each have their own expectations and some resume formats are better than others at addressing those individual expectations.

Write a Novel and Call it a Resume – I repeat: Do NOT write a novel and call it a resume. Too many people make this mistake. They want to write this wordy, drawn-out thesis outlining their life story and their career aspirations. They have all these skills and accomplishments and they want to include them all in there somewhere, but the problem is most people just don’t know when to stop. Don’t be afraid to leave out some of the details and explore those further in the interview process. My advice is to highlight only those aspects of your background which are most applicable for the job, or types of jobs, you are planning to apply for.

Limit Yourself to One Page – In contrast to the last point, you may not want to limit yourself to a 1-page resume. A common misconception is that a professional resume HAS to be one page. However, that’s not really the case these days. I while back, before the miracles of technology, I may have agreed. But now that most resumes are being read on a computer screen versus on paper, there’s no need to limit yourself in such a way. Those who try to cram all their info on 1-page resume usually resort to smaller font and zero spacing. When viewed on screen, this is not an attractive format and it’s hard to read. Now, I’m not saying you should write a 20-page catalogue of your experiences, nor am I advocating the use of size 20 font. Instead, I would say 12-14 size font should suffice and I recommend you keep it at two pages. That leaves plenty of room to say what needs to be said. Of course, if you have limited experience then a 1-page resume will do just fine.

DO

Use Bullet Points – When it comes time to explain your experiences in your resume, use bullet points to outline your accomplishments. It is much easier to read and even easier to skim, which is what hiring managers are doing most of the time anyways. Bullet points draw attention to important information. They are also visually appealing and make the information seem more accessible to the reader. So keep them short and meaningful. Some people opt for a short paragraph explaining their duties and responsibilities, followed by bullet points highlighting their most notable achievements. This too is acceptable, just make sure to keep that paragraph very succinct and avoid any redundancies as well.

Have a Strong Objective Statement – Although this is a matter of some debate these days, I firmly believe a strong, concise Objective Statement can go a long way. First off, it immediately tells the reader what job you are applying for. That can be a big deal when you’re submitting your resume to a HR representative who has their hands full with many different job openings. Recruiters as well. And if you’re a senior manager, you don’t want to get thrown in the pile with the mail clerks, right? Not only that, but an effective Objective Statement will briefly summarize your qualifications so a hiring manager can make an instantaneous decision whether or not to keep reading. They do that anyways, so why not address their needs in the intro and add value by showing them what you have to offer right off the bat. Remember, I’m only talking about one sentence here. One sentence to market yourself. Once sentence to spark their interest. You don’t want to give the reader too much to think about, rather you want them to proceed on and read the rest of your resume. So grab their attention, establish your professional identity, show them your value, and let them move on to the good stuff!

Choose the Right Format – One thing you need to remember is that there is not one universal formatting methodology because, in truth, there is no cookie-cutter way of writing a resume. What works best for one person may not be best for another. Some people will benefit from a Chronological resume whereas that format may be detrimental to someone who has jumped around a lot in their career. The only thing I can suggest is that you do your homework. Know the different types of resumes (Chronological, Functional, Targeted, and Combination) and know the distinct merits of each. Then make an informed decision as to which style is best for you. If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions.

Cut to the Chase – Don’t waste time…get to the good stuff. As I said before, a hiring manager will most often skim, scan, and glance over a resume. Keep in mind that they have specific questions in mind when they review a resume for the first time and they expect specific answers. One of the most important questions they are asking is: “Who has this person worked for in the past?” For this reason, I always suggest that serious job seekers highlight their experiences first and foremost. Right below your one-sentence Objective Statement you should transition into and Experience section. In this section you should list your past employers, the years you worked for them, your job titles, and a brief description of your duties there. Of course, this may not be the best approach for some people. If your background is heavily dependent on your academic experience, then you may want to jump into that first.

Focus on Your Target – My reasons for saying this are as follows: An unfocused resume sends a very clear message that you are unfocused about your career. And a hiring authority doesn’t want to see that. They want to see that you have career goals and that those aspirations correspond with their needs as an employer. So keep in mind that a customized resume, modified for a specific position, is always preferable to a generalized and vague resume. If you’re serious enough about a job then you should take the extra time and effort to tailor a resume to that job’s requirements. I assure you your efforts will not go unnoticed.

Be Articulate and Grammatically Exact – In my humble opinion, it’s of the utmost importance to be eloquent within the context of your resume and to make sure you’re using proper grammar and syntax. For your current job description, use the present tense. For past jobs, use past tense. This seems like a no-brainer, but again you’d be surprised at how many people make this mistake. Being articulate can go a long way as well. Most hiring managers will consider it a plus if you can convey your level of intelligence in your written communications. So don’t be afraid to break out the thesaurus and make sure you have someone else edit your resume before you send it out to potential employers. That’s imperative!

K.I.S.S. – A wiser man than me once made this bold statement and it’s extremely applicable when writing your resume: Keep It Simple, Stupid! Too many people make too much of an effort to “stand out from the pack” and in doing so they may unwittingly be hurting themselves. In some professions, such as the creative design field, it may be advantageous to show your originality and imagination, but in other business fields this kind of flamboyancy in a resume is unnecessary and can actually be injurious to your cause. In terms of formatting, the same holds true. I have found that people tend to have much more success when they opt for an uncomplicated formatting style. Some people still want to get all jazzed up with pictures and text boxes and funky font, but that’s just fluff. It’s noise. It is irrelevant to the purpose of your resume, which is to sell yourself through highlighting your skills and accomplishments. And hiring managers see right through that!

Take Your Resume Seriously – As previously stated, if you don’t take your resume seriously then your resume will not be TAKEN seriously. If you choose not to work with a professional, then at the very least have an impartial third-party edit it for you and give you some constructive feedback. This is for your own sake. What happens when you accidentally type “Manger” instead of “Manager”? Do you think Spell Check is going to bail you out? Whatever you do, don’t send it out to potential employers without having someone else look it over. Some people just need to swallow their pride because when it comes right down to it, you may be the best at what you do, but if you don’t write resumes for a living then chances are there’s someone out there more qualified to write your resume than you are. Please consider that if you’re serious about being taken seriously!

So there it is…everything you need to know about writing your resume. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and feel free to contact me if you ever need any assistance. I’m here to help!

JR Hindman is a freelance resume writer and career counselor with an extensive background in executive staffing and recruiting. He is currently the President of BudgetResumeBuilder.com, a website for entry-level candidates and job-seekers with less than 10 years of industry experience, as well as ProResumeBuilder.com which caters to more tenured professionals and managers.

Many people have the misconception that the major concern of people engaged in team sports is gaining weight. The image of the three hundred pound player leads many people to see it from this perspective. The truth is that most athletes are more concerned with weight loss than with weight gain. The reason for this is fairly simple. It is very easy to gain weight. It is a little harder to get those pounds off you once you have gained them.

Athletes have ideal playing weights, and they spend a great deal of time in weight rooms. Of course, much of this time is devoted to building strength and muscle tone, but often times it is spent shedding pounds. The fact that muscles actually weigh more than fatty tissue makes this an ongoing problem. As fat is replaced by muscle, the total weight will actually spike upwards at first. Although being heavier due to excess muscle seems to be the goal for an athlete, most often just the opposite is going to be true.

Team Sports that involve a great deal of running like basketball, soccer, rugby, and even track are good examples of this fact. Although weight and muscles might be good for the center on the basketball team when he is trying to push people aside to get a lay up inside the paint, he is going to have to carry that excess weight up and down the length of the court, too. Unless the player in soccer or hockey is wearing the goalkeeper gloves and staying in front of the goal, he is going to have to run or skate from end to end as well. This is where the concept of ideal weight comes into play.

Ideal weight can be best defined by the exact weight at which an athlete can gain the most advantage from his weight without it becoming a handicap to the ideal performance and level of fatigue involved in participation in a team sport. In order to maintain this ideal weight and at the same time to insure maximum athletic ability, it is not wise to use dieting for weight loss. The subsequent loss of energy that dieting could produce is not going to help the athlete perform to expected standards. A well balanced and energy rich diet is going to be much better. Weight loss must be accomplished by exercise and diet should refer only to the selection of the healthiest foods rather than to not eating food at all.

Natalie Aranda writes on weight loss and fitness. Team Sports that involve a great deal of running like basketball, soccer, rugby, and even track are good examples of this fact. Football balls are gift ideas for men and boys. Although weight and muscles might be good for the center on the basketball team when he is trying to push people aside to get a lay up inside the paint, he is going to have to carry that excess weight up and down the length of the court, too. Unless the player in soccer or hockey is wearing the goalkeeper gloves and staying in front of the goal, he is going to have to run or skate from end to end as well. This is where the concept of ideal weight comes into play.

There are many types of hiking boots and hiking shoes, and the choice can be bewildering. While there are some kinds of hiking footwear that will not fit neatly into any category, I will discuss hiking footwear in terms of four categories, based on the general kind of hiking for which they work best.

1. Hiking shoes and sandals. For short walks in the outdoors, for knocking around in camp, and for easy interludes in an otherwise serious hike.

2. Day-hiking boots. For moderate hiking, such as day hikes or short hikes in rough country.

3. Backpacking boots. For multi-day backpacking trips.

4. Mountaineering boots. For the most serious hiking, mountain climbing, and ice climbing.

As you move up the scale of categories, you also move up in price. That means you have to give more serious thought and do more careful shopping the higher up the scale you look. But before you begin your serious shopping, get a handle on what types of hiking boots are available so you will be sure you are looking for the right kind.

Don’t be scared off by the prices, and don’t make the mistake of assuming that you don’t need special-purpose hiking boots. You probably don’t need $200 mountaineering boots, but that doesn’t mean you should try a twelve-mile day hike in your tennis shoes, either. In this article, you will learn how to decide which general type of hiking boots are right for what you want to do. Then you’ll be prepared to look deeper into exactly what you need.

Hiking Shoes and Sandals

Hiking shoes can be multi-purpose footwear. If you are new to hiking, and planning only short hikes on well-maintained trails, you might already have suitable footwear. Cross trainers or any reasonably sturdy sneaker may be suitable for light hiking.

Shoes expressly designed for trail running and light hiking typically rise a little higher than conventional sneakers, and they usually have a “scree collar” (a collar of padding around the ankle to keep pebbles out). They are usually not waterproof, though they may be somewhat “water resistant,” and the tread is not very aggressive.

Hiking shoes are suitable for short hikes on reasonably dry, reasonably smooth trails where you will not be carrying much weight. If you will be crossing streams, climbing steep slopes, walking on snow and ice, or carrying more than about twenty pounds of gear, you should probably look into day-hiking boots or backpacking boots.

Hiking sandals are a special class of hiking footwear. When you consider the four main purposes of hiking shoes – warmth, protection, traction, and keeping dry – sandals might seem like a joke. But think again.

Obviously, you’re not hiking in winter in hiking sandals, so keeping your feet warm is just not a consideration that hiking sandals address. Sandals do protect the soles of your feet from rough surfaces and sharp objects, but they can’t protect the sides of your feet from rocks and brush. They also provide good traction.

But what about keeping your feet dry? Don’t laugh! No, sandals will not keep the water out as you wade across a stream, but neither will they keep the water in when you step out of the stream. Many hikers carry sandals in their backpacks and switch to them whenever they cross a stream that they know is going to overtop their hiking boots.

If all you are going to do is short hikes on relatively clear, level trails in warm weather, sandals are worth at least a little consideration. More importantly, if you want a pair of hiking shoes to switch out in the middle of a long, serious hike, hiking sandals may well be worth the space they take up in your backpack.

Day-Hiking Boots

Day-hiking boots are purpose-designed for hiking. If you are planning to do any moderate hiking, such as all-day hikes or short hikes on rugged trails, you will need to give some serious thought to your footwear.

Day-hiking boots typically rise just above the ankle, and they always have a padded “scree collar.” They usually have a fairly stiff fiberglass shank to reinforce the sole and arch supports. The tongue is partially attached, sometimes fully attached, to provide waterproofing.

Day-hiking boots nearly always have hooks for the laces on the upper part of the boot. Some have eyelets all the way to the top, but these are hard to keep properly tightened.

Beware of imitations! The fashion industry has caught on to the style of hiking boots, and you will find many shoes that look like hiking boots, but are better suited to hanging out at Starbucks than to hiking the backwoods. Look closely, and you can tell the real hiking boots from the wannabees:

* Scree collar

* Stiff shank

* Attached or partially attached tongue

* Genuinely aggressive tread

None of these features show when you’re just looking cool, so the imitation hiking boots don’t have them.

Backpacking Boots

Backpacking boots are designed for long wear under fairly harsh conditions. If you are planning to do a lot of hiking, especially multi-day backpacking trips or all-day hikes on rough trails, you will need backpacking boots. And don’t be put off by the prices: A hundred-dollar pair of boots that lasts five years is cheaper than buying a forty-dollar pair every year. And more comfortable, too.

Backpacking boots usually rise well above the ankle. Very high-rise boots, like military-style “combat boots,” may not have a padded “scree collar,” but lower-rise boots will have one. They have a rigid shank, which may be fiberglass or steel, to provide stiffness and arch support. The tongue may be partially attached on high-rise boots, or fully attached on lower boots. Backpacking boots always have a very aggressive tread design.

Many backpacking boots have eyelets for the laces all the way up. This makes the boots harder to put on and take off. It also makes the laces more difficult to adjust than if they had hooks, but the eyelets are less prone to catching on brush or getting bent closed when you bash your leg against a boulder. D-rings, used on the upper parts of some hiking boots, are a good compromise. They are less prone to damage than hooks, but more easily adjustable than eyelets.

There are heavy-duty boots out there that are not suitable for hiking. Work boots can be very similar to hiking boots in every detail except the tread. When choosing backpacking boots, make sure the tread is designed for the trail and not for the workshop.

Mountaineering Boots

Mountaineering boots are specially designed for serious expeditions in primitive and rugged conditions. The term “mountaineering boots” generally also includes such specialized footwear as ice-climbing boots.

I’ll be perfectly honest here (habit of mine): I have no personal experience with mountaineering boots, nor with the conditions that require them. So I don’t have much to tell you about them other than that they exist and that, depending on your requirements, they may be what you need. When you are ready to take a good look at mountaineering boots, I can only advise you to look for suitable advice.

Mountaineering boots are generally completely rigid, made of thick, heavy leather or molded plastic. They are quite heavy, and difficult to walk in under most normal conditions.

Don’t be oversold. If you are looking for backpacking boots, you don’t need special-purpose mountaineering boots. This is one case where buying more hiking boot than you need can actually be a bad thing. Mountaineering boots are what you want for climbing Mount Everest, but not for hiking in the typical National Park.

Conclusion

Now you know now to recognize the four main types of hiking boots. That will help you in your search. Choose the type of boot that is right for the type of hiking you are planning to do, then go do it!

Chuck Bonner is a lifelong hiker and amateur naturalist, and webmaster of http://www.HikingWithChuck.com. For more information about hiking boots and other hiking equipment based on many years on the trail, visit [http://www.hikingwithchuck.com/Gear/HikingGear.htm].

From time to time, we see so many horror movies come and go. Spooky, haunted houses, serial killers, slashers, maniacs, mentals, satanic and many others have been pictured in the movie. A lot of sub genres, a lot of remakes, a lot of variations, twist and all that can easily be found through the ages. Yeah, it’s all true. But have we ever thought where it all came from?

Or how does the horror movies genre change from time to time?

For you who share the same passion about horror movies, and want to know the road that have been travelled by Horror movies, allow me to have the honor to be your guide. Buckle up, here we go.

Where It All Began

The year was 1922, place: German. I can say that it was the birth of horror movies. W Murnau started the terror and fear thru Nosferatu, nosferatuthe

story about bloodsucking vampire. It wasn’t the first vampire movie, as in 1896 Georges Melies made Le Castle Du Diable, but Nosferatu was the first movie where we saw vampire destroyed by sunlight. This one boasted remarkable animalistic makeup that has not been replicated, even with modern

technology. Dozens of vampire movies followed after that. In 1931 Universal Studio launched 2 legendary horror movies, Dracula with Bela Lugosi and Frankenstein with Boris Karloff. Both of the movie became a classic and very successful. Boris Karloff even became a legendary name in horror movies history. The Mummy (1932) a silent picture with horror icon Boris Karloff in the title role, remains a classic, with unforgettable make-up and atmosphere. In 1935, the sequel of Frankenstein,

The Bride Of Frankenstein was made.This isn’t silent anymore.

Psycho

During 40′s the world’s on war, and it has changed the genre. Horror was almost forgotten as patriotic movies and war has taken the place. It slowly raised again around 50′s, where comedy and musical movies ruled. There were good ones took place at this time, House of Wax is one of the example. 1960 was the time for Hitchcock to make a memorable movie: Psycho. Too bad, this is the only horror movie by Hitchcock, cuz then he made lots of suspence thriller goodies like Rear Window, Vertigo,North by Northwest,Dial M For Murder that kinda changed the genre again. And remember, spaghetti western Movies in the late 60′s also had its moment.

The 70′s

This is the most creative year of Horror movies.Unlike before, horror movies got big exploration, where so many variation of story and evil came in. Note there were lots of controversy and protest happened here.The Exorcist (1973) for example showed disgusting scenes that never been imagined before, like the green puke to the face transformed to evil. This movie was controversial when Catholic Church protested that the demon cast-out in the movie was against the code of conduct. The shining, that based on Stephen King’s novel was one of the best one during 70′s. Later on from this decade to 80s and 90s, lots of movies was made based on his scary novel such as Carrie, Christine, Cujo, It, , Cat’s Eye, Dream Catcher, are the example. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was a low budget movie that reached a great result. This one introduced “the slasher movie” to the world that later followed by Halloween (say hi to Michael Myers) , Friday the 13th, Scream in the 80′s and 90′s and so on. Omen is a bonechillin’ movie that can still give

you nightmare even with today’s technology of making movie.Simply unforgettable. Amityville Horror, based on the true story was the first movie that took place in the actual location. The report said a lot of bizzare and dreadful things were experienced by cast and crew in location.

The 80′s

Freddie Kruger

This is the decade of madness. All gory stuff were shown sadistically for viewing. cutted off body parts were seen everywhere. Nightmare on Elm Street that launched Freddy Krueger to horror hall of fame, and Jason Voorheyes slashing games in Friday the 13th are one of the example. These two had some of their sequels during 80s, together with 3 of Halloweens. And remember how Italian horror movies that have a very sick super bloody vision? Count Romero and Argento for this category. This is also the era where horror expanded to tv.

The 90′s

Funny thing happened in 90s. There’s a tendency of self defense and self actualization by horror character on terror they have made to people. For example Ghost, Bram Stocker’s Dracula that told the story about Count

Dracula’s painful love to Mina, or Interview With Vampires that unlocked the mystery of vampire lives. Scream started a new genre, teen horror movies, slashing-serial-killer-who-did-it,which soon followed by I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, and some more. A note in 1999, an independent movie Blair Witch Project became a big phenomena,using a documentation technique to give us fear,tense and mental disturbance. This one inspired some other movies like St.Francisville Experiment, The Lamarie Project and

tv series Freaky Links.

2000′s

Ringu

Still too early maybe to talk about horror movies in 2000s, but looks like Hollywood has running out of ideas. They are trying to widen up their view to see new ideas outside that can give new vision on the term of horror. The Ring, remake from Japanese movie was their first success. Followed by The eye, and some other remakes from Asian cinemas.

This decade seems being led by Japan and Korea, by making so many horror movies with lack of effects or gory blood but still successfully tortured our feeling. They don’t go with the Hollywood pattern, they just dig everything else that hasn’t been touched yet. Thailand is also emerging as a good horror maker. Indonesian movies too, with amusing number of horror movies every year. We also mark the decade 2000 for the decade of sequels and remakes too, such as Halloween H2O, Freddy vs Jason, modern version of Bram Stocker’s Dracula, Dracula 2001,

Halloween Resurrection, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , House of The Dead, The Amityville Horror and so on.

While the effort to combine some genres and produce something new has still been going on. Saw for example, combine the psycho thriller ala Hitchkock with slasher, sadistic, bloody and graphic scenes.

My prediction? I think this decade will continue to do so. Hopefully in the next decade we will see some new approach, style and way to present horror movies. Let’s wait and see where the horror movies continue their path.

By: Riandy Kurniawan
A Movie freak
Website: http://www.vrjunkyard.com

The information I have about my journey in finding a college can help both parents and students alike. Going back a few years, I was at the turning point of my life. Graduation from high school was just around the corner and I had no clue which college I was going to attend. My parents had their list of colleges that I could attend, and most of my friends were already being accepted to their college or university. With deadlines for applications approaching, I knew that I had to begin finding a college. Choosing the right college is such an important decision, and so I came up with a game plan to find a college. Here are the steps I took in choosing a college.

1. Choosing my future career

The first step I took was to determine what I liked and what I did not like. I quickly ruled out being a doctor, a lawyer or a dentist. In addition, I knew there were career choices that were out of my league, such as being an architect or engineer. My high school grades proved this! Therefore after a lengthy thought process, I narrowed down my choices to Communications, Journalism, Business Management and Information Technology.

My school counselor also helped me by giving me a Career Assessment Test. This revealed many of my strengths and tendencies. From this, I discovered that I was best suited for Business Management related studies. I highly recommend this. Career Assessment Surveys are not very expensive and can be found through an internet search.

2. Matching courses with colleges

The next thing I did was to list the colleges and universities that offered Business Management studies and had a good track record. I used The Fiske Guide to Colleges. Within a short span of time I came up with a list of 20 colleges that I could see myself in for the next 4 years. All of these colleges had multiple specializations within my field of study, were fully accredited, and had good graduation rates with good reputations. I further narrowed my list down to 14 by selecting those universities which were located near a larger city, one of the criteria that I was looking for in my college.

3. Narrowing it down to my top five

I had above average SAT scores (nothing to take me to Harvard though) and therefore had a wider selection of options for myself. Therefore, my final decision would largely be determined by the funds from my parents, any scholarships or grants, and the money I could earn through on-campus work study. I visited the web sites of each college and took virtual tours of the facilities they offered. Each had its strengths -huge libraries, modern student housing, student body size, a variety of extra curricular activities and sports, and more.

I was able to narrow the list from fourteen to five based on the following criteria: going to college within 4 hours of home, my budget for college, and a smaller student body to offer a more personal approach to my education.

4. Parents and Applications

Next, I got my parents involved in my decision. They had been helping me all along the way, but I needed their help in making the final, important decisions. I showed them the list of 5 colleges that I had, including details, locations, and costs. Together, we narrowed the list to three possible colleges that I could attend. They wanted a college or university which would be easy for them to visit, but would also have excellent teaching and housing facilities. The following weekend I filled out all 3 applications and mailed out them to these colleges and universities. Now it was time to wait for the response.

5. Making the final choice

Within a few weeks, I had received acceptance letters from all the colleges where I sent my applications. In the end, my parents and I decided the best way to make the final decision was to visit the campuses. We took two days to visit all three campuses. Visiting the actual university was vastly different from the virtual tours. My final choice was actually rather easy. I decided on the University of Texas at Austin.

The most important steps along the way for me were to take the Career Assessment Test, researching my college choices online through virtual tours, and sitting down with my parents to discuss which colleges to send applications to. This helped make my final decision easier. I hope these steps can help you in finding a college or university as you make career choices.

Rich Niccolls has been a college recruiter and professor for 12 years. Read his 7 key factors for choosing the right college for you. Visit the Find A College website to learn more about Online College Courses.

Summer camps are special camps arranged for people to enjoy their vacation or tour in any adventures. Summer camps comes up with special offers outdoor education camp, leadership camp, science camp, awareness camp and many other social welfare schemes are offered to the public for reasonable prices. Outdoor education forms major part of the education and it is more required for people. Outdoor education is considered has important and essential requirement for most of the people and they fetches more demand among the people. Outdoor education is created and offered specially for kids, children and adults.

The main purpose of estimating and offering outdoor education is to develop self confidence and self esteem among the people. The outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs are offered to kids, children, adults by outdoor education schools or outdoor education centers. Outdoor education camps are conducted either inside or outside classrooms. Outdoor education forms major part of the education system and it is more important to be known by the people to come up with every possibility in life. Most of the parents feels better that their children should be aware of outdoor education programs offered and they should compete with outside world.

Outdoor education activities or outdoor education courses are provided by more number of outdoor institutes or adventure outdoor schools. An outdoor education course, outdoor education programs initiates cooperation, coordination, team building, goal settings and spirituality among the students and others. Outdoor education camps are provided by more number of outdoor education institutes or outdoor education schools for reasonable and affordable prices. The outdoor education camp provided will be more worth and valuable for the students who obtains and they are provided under complete knowledge and experience.

Generally, adventure outdoor school or outdoor education schools provides outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs to kids, children and adults under prescheduled, guidance and procedures. With regards to qualified, professional and expert outdoor education instructor, outdoor education programs will be offered. Under proper guidance and precautions, outdoor educations will be offered to the people to enable them to know the required outdoor education provided. More number of kids, children and adults are obtaining the outdoor education programs offered.

The outdoor education professionals, experts or instructors guide the kids, children and adults in efficient manner. Generally, outdoor education programs and outdoor education courses are offered to students based on age group, duration of course offered and kind of outdoor education program selected. The outdoor education camp offered will be creative, enthusiastic, innovative and technical appraisement for the students hindering. Outdoor camps will be offered to the students for reasonable price consideration and they are offered by more number of adventure outdoor schools.

Ron Victor is a Expert author for Outdoor education activities and Outdoor leadership schools pali institute. He written many articles like Outdoor education [http://www.paliinstitute.com/OE.html], Outdoor ed science institute, Outdoor education program, Outdoor education school. For more information visit our site. Contact me at ron.seocopywriter@gmail.com

This article is an introduction to special education in Irish secondary schools. The past then years have witnessed a sea change in special education provision in Ireland. The Department of Education and Science has issued numerous directives and guidelines in relation to policy, provision, structure and supports. Since 1998 there have been ten pieces of legislation passed through the Dail that relate, one way or another to children and special education needs The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has been established along with the Special Education Support Service (SESS). Both these organisations oversee and coordinate all special education initiatives nationwide. Ireland’s primary schools have pioneered these new directives. Special education provision at primary level is developing at a rapid pace and great strides are being made. The next horizon for improvement is secondary school.

Ireland’s secondary schools are driven by an exam-oriented curriculum. Subject area specialists teach all of the curricular content. The supports available to children with special needs are not extensive or as tested as those at primary level. In what follows we will look at the needs and entitlements of children entering secondary school who have identified special education needs and those who are entering and later discovered to have a special education need.

My child has been receiving extra help in primary school. What should I look for in a secondary school?

You should look for a school with a special education teacher in place on a full-time basis to support all children with special needs in the school. It is important to also be sure the school has a commitment to supporting and educating children with special needs. The school should have on its staff teachers who have had some training in how to differentiate their methodology and curriculum for children with special needs. There should be an accepting attitude on the part of all staff. Remember, your child is entitled to enter fully into the life of the school and avail of all it has to offer. How do you find out these things? Talk to the school principal and ask questions about the topics listed above. Remember, your child may be eligible for special consideration at the time of Junior Cert and Leaving Cert but this will have to be determined about a year before these exams will be taken.

What is s/he entitled to?

A child who has been receiving special education resources or support in primary school is eligible for continued support at secondary level so long as they continue to have a special education need. It is possible that a primary school child, after receiving several years of support, could no longer be deemed to have a special education need but this is the exception not the rule.

Your child will be entitled to the same general provision he or she received in primary school. Typically this takes the form of specialist teaching from a Learning Support or Special Education Resource teacher (both are now often being referred to simply as Special Education teachers. This support is to be determined based on need with the number of hours of support being determined by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) drawn up in the last year of primary school. In addition to the IEP there should have been a Transition Plan completed during the last year of primary school The Transition Plan will devise the structure of transition to secondary school and may alter the IEP for a short period of time. If this happens there should be a team meeting in about six months or less to write the secondary school IEP. In general students in secondary school are eligible for the same supports as in primary school. This may include a Special Needs Assistant (SNA).

How do I go about making sure they get that?

Generally speaking your child’s Individual Education Plan is the map which documents exactly what services your child will receive, when he or she will receive them and from whom. The IEP is your best protection against a child not receiving the services they need. IEP’s will eventually become legally binding documents on all parties and a school must provide the services outlined in the IEP. An IEP cannot be changed or implemented without your consent. Remember that upon entering secondary school a Transition Plan may be in place that slightly alters the previous IEP. This will have to be reviewed within a short span of time to be sure the child receives appropriate support services. Don’t be afraid to talk to the school principal because he or she is ultimately responsible to see to it that children receive the services they are entitled to receive.

What are my options if we run into difficulties?

Should problems arise you should first speak to the Year Head and address your concerns. The Special Needs Organiser (SENO) assigned to the school should be alerted as well as the appropriate special education teacher(s). A team meeting, of which you are entitled to be a member, can be convened within a reasonable time frame and your concerns will be discussed. If this meeting does not satisfy you or not result in the child receiving the services you may contact the National Council for Special Education for further information and support.

It is important to take things one step at a time. Speak to your child’s special education teacher first and be clear about your concerns. Be assertive and not aggressive. Remember, generally speaking everyone is doing the best they can. Do have your child’s IEP in front of you when you are speaking to the teacher or other staff member. Be aware of your rights to appeal as outlined in the NCSE and SESS websites. Don’t rush to judgement, try and work things out amicably before you make threats to appeal. The next most important port of call will be the Special Needs Organiser assigned to the school.

Hidden Disabilities

Not all children who have special education needs come to the attention of parents or educators in primary school. The human brain is an organ that tries to meet the demands placed upon it at any given time. As anyone who has gone to school knows, the demands of the curriculum get greater and greater each year of schooling. In secondary school the curriculum subjects become incredibly complex each year. The fact that a student is being educated by many different teachers each year further complicates matters. There are students who have had no difficulty suggestive of a special education need at primary school who suddenly seem to have a lot of difficulties in secondary school. Unfortunately they are often perceived as “lazy” or “unmotivated” and sometimes as “difficult” students.

If these labels stick and no thought or concern raised about a possible learning difficulty being present the student can become trapped in a cycle of failure and rejection by teachers. The result could be early school leaving, behaviour difficulties to hide the learning problem, lowered self-esteem, loss of self-confidence and trouble at home. It is important to recognise that some students, no matter how well they performed in primary school, may have a special education need that doesn’t appear until secondary school.

What are the warning signs?

It is not possible to list the many warning signs of a hidden disability but generally speaking one should be considered any time a student with a previously successfully record in primary school begins to exhibit difficulties in secondary school. There are a variety of causes to school failure at second level but a hidden disability can often be reasonably suspected when one or more of the following difficulties become noticeable:

oMemory problems

oOrganisational difficulties

oRefusal to go to school

oProblems with written language expression

oDifficulty organising thoughts into speech

oInability to recall facts from yesterday’s lesson even if they seemed retained the night before

oUnusual spelling problems

oUnusual difficulty with more advanced mathematical problems

oPronounced difficulty in foreign language class

oBehavioural difficulties not present in primary school

oMood swings or sudden mood changes that last several hours

oReluctance to engage with parents about school difficulties

Although a partial list it is a good guide for parents and teachers to thoughtfully consider the presence of a hidden learning disability.

I think my child may have a problem. Where do I go from here?

First speak with your child’s teachers. Ask for the facts: what does teacher think the problem might be? How often is this occurring? When? Is it serious? Present your own perception to the teacher(s) clearly and succinctly. If you have done some Internet homework on your own be clear about it and raise it as a query needing to be resolved. Try and get some samples from homework you have seen and ask for some samples of the child’s work in class if it is appropriate to do so. Speak to the Year Head and ask him or her to get some information about your concerns from all teachers. See if you can spot a pattern that validates your concern.

If you become more concerned then you have a right to ask for an assessment. Sometimes the special education teacher, with your permission, can perform some individually administered tests to discover if the child is seriously behind in reading or math achievement age. It is possible to discover if there are significant written language deficits in some cases. If this assessment leads to more significant concerns then you should request a psychological assessment. These can be provided free by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) but be mindful that a lengthy waiting list may be in place.

The most important thing is to be persistent and to talk to the right people. Begin with teachers, speak to Year Head, go to Principal if necessary and don’t forget the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO). If an assessment is carried out there will be a team meeting to discuss the results and to begin the process of writing an IEP.

In the case of a diagnosis, where do we go from here?

If your child is found to have a special education need an IEP should be written. This is, as stated previously, a road map to your child’s education plan. It should be reviewed annually but can be reviewed more frequently if it is decided to do so. The special education team, often referred to as a multidisciplinary team, will be responsible for writing the IEP. You are a member of that team. Your child is also entitled to be a member of the team and it is particularly important for secondary school students to participate in this stage of planning. This gives them a sense of ownership and control over their educational life.

Be sure that the plan covers all the areas of concern that have been discovered in the assessment process. Plans for children with social and behavioural difficulties that address only academic issues are useless and doomed to fail. Special education planning is a thoughtful and time-consuming process when it is done correctly. Don’t feel rushed into accepting a plan you don’t think will work. Take it away and ask if you can return in a week to revise it with the team. This may not make you the most popular parent in the school but it is responsible parenting.

Possible Panels:

Autism/Asperger’s in Secondary School

There are large numbers of children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder that are having considerable difficulty finding a secondary school to enrol them. The problem revolves around the lack of supports at second level and the lack of teacher training in this speciality area. Unfortunately there is little that can be done if a school refuses to enrol a child on the autistic spectrum. What is needed is the development of resource support. By that I mean resource rooms where these children can get services by a specialist teacher. Availability to the teachers of advanced training. Availability of print and video resources teachers can access to learn more about the spectrum. Along with this there should be a whole-school commitment to inclusion for children on the spectrum so they are not isolated from same-age peers.

The education of children on the spectrum is not that difficult once educators get the knowledge about how to do it and have the proper attitude towards these children and their families. Of course they present us with challenges but the good news is that once we get it reasonably right for them we begin to improve the education of all children. There are considerable challenges in the future to our secondary schools in education these children and it is time to get it right. Those schools which stubbornly refuse to enrol children on the spectrum are in the stone age of education. There is a clear choice for secondary schools in relation to these children: be in the forefront of change and development or be left behind forever. Parents will not forgive or forget. It’s time to get it right once and for all.

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects about 5% of all children and adults. Unlike other special education conditions, children and adolescents with ADHD are frequently blamed for having the condition, perceived as hostile or unmotivated, lazy or cheeky. When ADHD goes untreated it becomes a serious condition affecting self-esteem, motivation, behaviour, self-confidence and relationships with adults and peers. ADHD is a high-stakes condition and it needs to be recognised that students who have it didn’t choose to be the way they are.

ADHD is a condition that is caused by brain chemistry and activity. It is a neurobiological condition. People with ADHD often have difficulty paying attention and concentrating, especially on things that require sustained attention and concentration. The can have problems controlling their emotions and impulses, can rush to finish things or have considerable difficulty waiting their turn. They often ask questions without thinking them through and sometimes make unfortunate comments in front of others.

ADHD is a life-long condition. One never grows out of it but the symptom picture changes over time. Often the impulsivity and high level of activity, if they were initially present, disappear in the teen years. The learning problems associated with ADHD do not go away easily and it is vitally important for them to be addressed in school. As in the case of children on the autistic spectrum, once educators and schools get it correct for children with ADHD they have improved the educational provision of all children.

Understanding is critically important. Adolescents with significant ADHD do not chose to be in trouble with and in conflict with adults. Constant rejection and criticism, constant punishment, and in severe cases expulsion from school is not the answer. Corrective teaching is the answer and appropriate support from specialist teachers is vital.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

Public Speaking is a vital key in this new competitive century. Public Speaking provides an edge to keep abreast with the fast pace of the times. Public speaking undoubtedly works towards this goal. There is a great diversity of opinion regarding Public Speaking, which is often controversial, and leads to misleading views. But all does not know the true concept of public speaking. People need to voice out their views to function well in society and voice out their own opinion. We all know that Public speaking has always been the key in building and keeping a democratic society. You can say the impact of Public Speaking is vast and it affects all aspects of life.

Many of us are driven by the stress of Public Speaking. Many of us fear to face this challenge as they find is hard to face. Public Speaking is necessary in each and every sphere of life. Whether we work for ourselves or an organization, eventually we will need to speak in public to get certain tasks accomplished. The most important thing is that if you want to be a leader or want to achieve anything meaningful in your life, then we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.

The basic truth about public speaking is no matter how good a job you do, someone is going to disapprove of either you or your argument. Human beings are always prone to debate on each and everything in this world irrespective of the fact that whether it is good or bad. In a large group of people, there will always be a diversity of opinions, judgments, and reactions. Many will be positive, but on the other end negative comments will also be there.

Public speaking can be called an important constituent of your success. It somewhat reflects your personality. Public Speaking is a kind of art. So one needs to master this art. Anything that comes to your mouth is not communication. Communication without skills does create more harm than good. While speaking on stage or facing crowd of audiences, you need to be tactful. Make sure that your speech should not be monologue. The great public speaker is one who pulls the attention of audiences throughout his speech.

A speech that impresses the audience and leaves them thinking long after the speech is over will also leave the audience remembering the speaker for a long time.

To be a public speaker you need to know your audience and try to match your contents to their needs. Do your homework before you make a speech. Put everything in a in a logical sequence. Always ensure that your speech must captivate your audience and give a full value of their time. They should not feel uncomfortable to listen to your speech. Their eagerness to hear from you more should increase. Practice and rehearse your speech before delivering. Try to be at ease and comfortable in front of your audience. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation.

When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an actor is on stage. How your audience perceive you is important. Always look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Get hold of your nervousness and be relaxed. Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Establish rapport with your audience.

Public speaking must have excellent persuasion abilities in today’s fast-paced world. As we need the support and cooperation of other people to help us in reaching our goals. The saying “No man is an island” is an undeniable truth. You can persuade people only if you are a good communicator. The more effective your communication skill will pull the things in your favor. As a weapon Public Speaking can persuade masses not just an individual.

Content Developer

One of the most common applications of embroidery is the customization of sports apparel such as adding logos or names to warm-up uniforms, gym bags, or similar items. When a team customizes their warm-ups or uniforms using embroidery, it creates a sense of unity and gives the team a sharper, more professional look. A significant percentage of customers who shop RobbinsSports.com for sports apparel want to have more than just a blank warm-up jacket or a plain duffle bag. To complete their décor, they know that signing their sportswear with their team’s logo is imperative. However, especially for those who have been given the charge of outfitting the team for the first time, the details of what’s involved in adding embroidery to their order are not clear. Here is some helpful information for understanding the process and the pricing for adding customized embroidery to your next sports apparel purchase.

Artwork

If you just want to add personalized names to the left chest of a jacket or to the side of a gym bag, you won’t have to worry much about artwork. However, if you need to have a logo (usually these are done as left chest or full back arrangements on jackets or placed on the side or end of a duffel bag) added to your sports apparel, you should come prepared with a digital copy of the logo you want to use. Most embroiderers charge an artwork fee for any significant changes they have to make to your logo to get it ready for digitizing (see below). If you want your embroiderer to start from scratch to create your logo, be prepared to pay about $100.00 or more, depending upon the complexity of the logo you want.

Digitizing

Digitizing involves transforming a digital image into a file that can be read and interpreted by an embroidery machine. Typical charges for this are about $10 per thousand stitches. So how do you know how many stitches your logo has in it until you get it digitized? Most digitizers can give you a pretty good estimate before they begin digitizing your logo. Getting an estimate on the cost of digitizing your logo will help you keep your expenses within the range you expect when you actually place the order.

After you have had a logo digitized, be sure to keep a copy of it on file for the organization you’re representing. Doing so will enable the team to avoid the digitizing expense when placing future orders. Digitizing can become expensive quickly, especially if you are only placing an order for a small number of uniforms, so it’s obviously best to try to avoid that overhead.

Pricing

Pricing with embroidery is most often done based upon the stitch count of your logo, which determines the time it takes for any particular embroidery machine to complete the logo. Usually embroiderers give price breaks according to the quantity you are ordering. Of course the pricing varies from one company to another. Here are some benchmarks. If you want to have a left chest logo put onto a typical windbreaker jacket and you are ordering twelve of them, you’ll likely pay about $5.00-$6.00 per embroidered logo for logos that are under 7,000 stitches. If you are ordering less than that quantity, you may find that your embroiderer charges a setup fee as well. Pricing beyond 7,000 stitches usually goes up on a per thousand basis. You can normally expect to pay an additional $0.50-0.60 per thousand stitches beyond 7,000.

For an order of hundreds of jackets compared to just ten or twelve, you should get a price break from your embroiderer. Most companies will go down to a threshold price (say for instance $3.00 per logo for a 7,000 stitch logo) based upon a certain quantity – say 200 articles. Beyond that number of embroidered logos, the pricing will stay the same no matter how many more you have done.

Lead Times

We find that many of our customers contact us in a rushed hurry, often times asking for miracles. Many times we are able to meet their demands. However, to be a preferred customer, it is best to allow one and a half to two weeks for your order to be embroidered and delivered. Most embroiderers don’t keep an inventory of all the products listed in their catalogs, so you need to plan a few extra days to have those shipped from the manufacturer to your embroiderer. Planning ahead can save you and your embroiderer a lot of headache and stress.

Richard Robbins is one of the owners of Robbins Sports, a retailer of sports apparel and accesories such as gym bags, sports uniforms, and warm-up outfits.

The fashion industry is a utopia where money rains down on streets paved with gold; where the citizens are bedecked in the finest fabrics and jewelry known to man. They live in extravagant homes surrounded by diamonds that grow from trees. This utopia is such an amazing place that words cannot describe it. Well, okay maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But when you see the staggering amounts of money that is made in the fashion industry annually, it is hard to not compare the industry to a fairytale.

The fashion industry seems to attract money like iron filings to a magnet. Clothing lines make millions of dollars each year, some well-established lines and designers even make billions of dollars. Now the fourth largest industry in the world, the fashion industry brings in $4 billion a year and includes the revenues from old established companies and a host of new clothing lines introduced by the urban market.

Contemporary Fashion History at a Glance

Initially Contemporary fashion as we know it was run by such top couture companies and designers as Channel, Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld Gloria Vanderbilt, Dianne VonFurstenberg, Ralph Lauren, and Liz Claiborne to name a few. These and others such as Donna Karen, Guess? and Tommy Hilfiger bought couture style to the ready-to-wear market. Today, new clothing lines have made their mark upon the fashion industry, and include the wave of urban clothiers like Phat Farm, Sean John, Rocawear, and at one-time the mega clothing company FUBU.

Given the laundry list of clothing companies and fashion designers, one would think the market is over saturated. But quite the contrary is true. Like an elastic waistband, the market has simply expanded to accommodate each new clothing line, many of which have been able to capture a significant portion of market share to be rewarded with millions of dollars for their creativity, fashion sense and work efforts. Simply put, if you are the owner of a hot clothing line, chances are, you’re rich!

Marketing Genius

Tommy Hilfiger should be considered the poster child for marketing innovations. He was the first traditional clothing designer to capitalize on the Hip Hop world. From 1990 to 1993 Tommy Hilfiger was only bringing in $25 million a year. But that all changed in 1994 after a performance by Hilfiger-clad Snoop Doggy Dog performed on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. After the performance Tommy’s sales quickly jumped to $67 million. Since then, Hilfiger’s sales have continued to claim nearly $900 million. In 2002 Tommy Hilfiger reported sales of up to $1.9 billion. The company has remained around the billion-dollar mark. In 2006 Apax Partners, a global private equity investment group bought Tommy Hilfiger, Corp. for a reported $1.6 billion along with the agreement that Hilfiger would stay on to run the company.

Ralph Lauren, designer of the POLO brand is synonymous with the word fashion. Since the 1980s Ralph Lauren has been a dominating force in the fashion industry. His sales consistently hit record numbers and in 2006 for the U.S. market reached $3.75 billion. Projections for fiscal year 2007 are anticipated to reach $4.5 billion.

The company Guess?, by designer Maurice Marciano is yet another example of clothing line that has remained on top. Since 1981, the brand has dressed infants to senior citizens. A crossover brand, it has earned sales from both the urban and suburban markets, and in 2006 the company reported profits of $1.2 billion. Both Chairman Maurice Marciano, and co-chairman and CEO Paul Marciano command million-dollar salaries in their leadership positions in the company.

The men of fashion are not the only ones commanding high salaries and huge profits. In 2006 Liz Claiborne Inc, reported sales of $5 billion. While Liz Claiborne unfortunately died on June 27, 2007, her legacy lives on as does the testament to the longevity of the Liz Claiborne brand.

A self-taught fashion designer, Claiborne founded her company with her husband Art Ortenberg, Leonard Boxer, Jerome Chazen in 1976. Within a decade, the clothing company became a billion-dollar business. That type of growth is a testament to just how great and rewarding the world of fashion can be.

Another of the many top women in fashion is Donna Karen, founder of DKNY (Dona Karen New York). The DKNY name commands great respect in the fashion world and in 2006, the privately owned company reported earnings of $1.2 billion. The company’s 2007 sale projections are expected to stay steady at around the 1.2 billion-dollar mark. It should be noted that some companies partner with others to achieve their high financial earnings. For example, DKNY Jeans and DKNY Active are partnered brands of Liz Clairborne, Inc.

In 1967, fashion icon Calvin Klein graced the industry with his presence. Since then, Calvin Klein has become a household name. Another designer to use apt marketing strategy the Calvin Klein Company has also hit the billion-dollar mark. In 1980, Klein pushed the envelope with his Jeans ad where a young Brooke Shields stated, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” Since then, the sentiment has been true for many. By 1996 Calvin Klein company surpassed $3 billion in sales worldwide, and by fiscal-year 2006, its subsidiary, Calvin Klein Jeans Wear Co., hit $90 million in sales. Just as Hilfiger sold his company to Apex, Calvin Klein sold his brand to the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, the largest shirt maker in the United States. According to industry financial reports, the Calvin Klein Company was sold for $400 million dollars in cash and $30 million in stocks.

The fashion industry is not limited to clothing. It also includes accessories and shoes. The cosmetics industry is different yet closely related market that cannot be overlooked when discussing fashion. Many designers, such as Chanel for example, branch their brands out to include cosmetic and fragrance lines, and for many consumers, cosmetics are just as important to their overall sense of fashion and style as clothing, shoes and accessories. The Estée Lauder Company has held on to its market share for quite some time. Estée Lauder sales for fiscal year 2007 were reported at $7 billion dollars. For the year, that figure breaks down to approximately $19.2 million per day. The company’s sales were up 9 percent from its recorded 2006 earnings of $6.46 billion, which shows just how much the cosmetics industry parallels the fashion industry.

“The fashion industry is a best-kept secret. There is so much money to be made is this business that it’s unreal! If you have a good name and some really hot fashion designs along with the knowledge to bring it to the market and keep it there, chances are good you will do quite well for yourself! In the fashion industry the potential is always present for a clothing line to make millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. This business is unreal and that’s why it is a best-kept secret!”

-Jay Arrington co-owner of www.startingaclothingline.com

New Kids on the Block take the Industry by Storm

Talented, new urban designers have imposed their will on the fashion industry with the same force, if not a greater one, as their fashion predecessors did. They have opened new doors to an industry that was difficult to break into. This phenomenon started in the early 1990s with the former companies Cross Color clothing and fashion designer Karl Kani. While they are no longer active companies, they were the trailblazers for FUBU, Phat Farm and many other clothing designers.

Trail Blazers

Cross Colors was founded by Carl Jones in the early ’90s. Cross Colors. Upon its arrival on the market, the company was so hot, that they had major problems filling orders. With $130 million in pre-paid orders, they could only ship $89 million. The company grew at an uncontrollable rate. In its first year of business, Cross Colors made $15 million, and by 1992 it made $89 million. These figures are staggering and show the kind of market share that the new, urban market was able to capture easily.

Designer Karl Kani started his career with Cross Colors (Threads 4 Life), but left the company in 1994 to start his own label. In its first year the Karl Kani label had $22 million in sales, ranking him No. 38 on the Black Enterprise Industrial/Service 100 list. In the following year, Kani had $59 million in sales-a 37 percent increase over the previous year. The 1995 numbers earned him a leap from No. 38 to No. 25 on the Black Enterprise Industrial/Service 100 list. After such an impressive first two years, the line lost its market share, but Kani managed to reinvent himself and the company. Often called “the godfather of urban fashion,” in 2002, Kani returned with the introduction of “Life” a new clothing line that made $25 million in its first year. Achieving success where Hilfiger failed, Kani partnered directly with Hip Hop artists, rather than just having them wear his product.

For Us By Us, (FUBU) was an inspiring slogan that motivated four friends from Queens, New York to follow their dream. According to legend the guys from FUBU went to the Magic Show in Las Vegas. Magic is the biggest clothing convention in America, and at the convention, buyers were so impressed with their designs that FUBU took $1 million in orders from stores across the country. Lacking the capital to fill the orders, they placed an ad in the newspaper for investors. It read: “One million dollars in orders. Need investors.” The ad attracted the attention of the conglomerate Korean company Samsung, which made an investment in the company and helped FUBU fill the orders. Since then, FUBU has been a household name.

FUBU went on to take the fashion industry by storm. They went from selling hats on the street corners of New York to selling full collections in stores all over the world. Their operation moved from a basement in Queens to the entire 66th floor of the Empire State Building. In 1997 FUBU made $75 million, in 1998 they made $200 million; in 1999, $ 350 million and by 2001 their sales reached $380 million. Overall, the company’s worth grew to $450 million.

While FUBU does not currently have the same market strength that they had a few years ago, last year, they still managed to make $12.1 million from international sales. It is this ability to capture both domestic and international markets that shows the versatility of the fashion industry.

“With respect to the urban market, Carl Jones of Cross Colors invented it, Karl Kani solidified it and FUBU refined it!”

-Jay Arrington

The classic urban brand, Phat Farm, created by the godfather of hip hop, Russell Simmons is another line that took the fashion industry by storm. While the company did have its ups and downs, including going bankrupt, with the perseverance and business savvy of Simmons, the company has thrived. A resilient entrepreneur, Simmons pulled the company out of bankruptcy and went on to make millions of dollars. He started developing his collection and product line slowly. In 2000 Phat Farm made $120 million dollars; by 2001 it made $200 million. In 2003 Russell Simmons reported earnings for Phat Farm of $350 million. Taking a cue from other successful designers, Russell launched the subsidiary Baby Phat line in 2000. In its first year Baby Phat made $10 million. A year later, Baby Phat tripled its sales. In the last seven years, Baby Phat’s earnings have continued to climb the chart and in 2006, reached $100 million in earnings. Phat Farm kids was also launched by Simmons, and made $15 million in 2000 and $25 million in 2001. The entire Phat Fashion line brought in $659 million from licensing deals and in 2006, the Phat Farm label had around $740 million in retail sales alone overall, the entire Phat Fashion Label made approximately $2 billion in 2006. Without sound business practices however, the company might have suffered the same fate as many other new companies.

In early 2004, Russell Simmons sold Phat Fashions to The Kellwood Company for $140 million in cash. He stuck around for two years to make sure that the company stayed on track and judging by the numbers reported above it did. Russell, job well done!

“You see, most people don’t understand the fashion business. You start a brand and you make it hot! And then you start licensing out the name to other companies to create more products and that helps to build your brand and your company. That’s how you get to the billion-dollar mark. And when you do licensing deals, others do the work and you get a cut of the action. Why? Because it’s your name! I love this business!”

-Jay Arrington co-owner of www.startingaclothingline.com

Rocawear was founded by the Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Damon Dash and Kareem Burkes in 1999. Since its inception, the company has been a force in the fashion world, bringing in an average $300 million annually. As Jay Z states in the lyrics of his song The Watcher, “I had it laid out before you knew what a plan was $300 million later now y’all understand us.” Rocawear’s annual sales are currently up to a staggering $700 million making it one of the highest earning clothing lines in the industry. Carter recently reported selling Rocawear to the Iconix Brand Group, Inc. for $204 million in cash and $35 million in stocks. Two years before the sale, Damon Dash sold his stake in the company for $22.5 million in cash and controlling interest of several spin-off apparel and fashion brands. His business manager estimated the total value of the deal to be approximately $30 million.

Another Hip Hop star to cross over into the fashion business is Sean Combs. Known during his musical career by several different names, he has made his mark on fashion with the Sean John line. As Sean Combs would say, “It’s not a brand, it’s a lifestyle.” And apparently it is a lifestyle that the world is buying. In the first year of Sean John’s full arrival, the company received great reviews and quickly shot past $100 million in sales. In 2002 Sean John brought in $325 million; in 2003, $450 million. In the short time that Sean John has been on the market, the company has consistently maintained an average of $400 million a year. With the upcoming introduction of his women’s line, earnings in the billions can only be expected in a short time as well. Comb’s has also signed a licensing deal with power house Estée Lauder to distribute his fragrance worldwide. The fashion business is not local or regional, it is global, and those who really succeed in the business for years and years know how to capture a global market share.

“You know one of the reasons why I always praise this industry is because you can be a self-taught clothing designer and still make millions or even billions of dollars! Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne, Karl Kani, Christian Dior, Yigal Azrouel are all self-taught, but a lot of people don’t know that.”

-Michael Harper co-creator of www.digitalfashionpro.com

Miskeen is a new company that in 2002 started out making t-shirts into wearable art canvases. They created original designs on each shirt and in the first year Miskeen made $502,000. In 2003 they made $4 million and in 2006 the company increased sales to $12.5 million! Like with many other companies, Miskeen could go far, so I will be keeping my eye on them. With sound business practices along with great designs and good marketing strategies, they could be another FUBU or Phat Farm. And who knows? Maybe one of you will be the next hot clothing designer that catches the public eye. Until then, think fashion and you will always look your best!

Nigel Christopher is a fashion stylish, designer, industry insider and researcher. He currently resides in New York City as free lance clothing designer. He is also a budding fashion writer so be sure to look for more articles from him.

Today’s economy limits most consumers’ ability to replace large pieces of equipment, vehicles and furniture. To save money, consumers have to get smart, and sometimes creative. By identifying what problems are occurring that may be causing these things to not work properly, it is then an easy step to find less expensive solutions to make it work. Often times a simple repair or part replacement can make all the difference. Specifically for vehicles with engine trouble, the problem may seem beyond repair but if analyzed, a simple replacement kit or a repowered engine may be the best, low cost option available.

Small engine vehicles – lawn mowers, golf carts, trucksters, motorcycles, snow mobiles – are secondary pieces of equipment that are expensive to replace. When they seem to have engine trouble, replacing the entire vehicle is an expensive proposition. A replacement kit is typically the most cost effective alternative. But before going that route, it is important to identify exactly what is wrong with your current engine.

Small engine problems typically fall into two basic categories, failure to start and a problem running after the engine has started.

Failure to Start

There are a number of reasons a small engine might not start properly:

o Fuel line problems: Check to see that the fuel tank is full, that the fuel is fresh, and that the shut-off valve is closed. The fuel line or inlet screen could also be blocked or the fuel tank cap could be clogged.

o Carburetor problems: The carburetor could be blocked or the engine could be flooded. There might be problems with the spark plug. Check the choke on the fuel bowl as well – it could be set too high.

o Ignition problems: The spark plug contacts could be dirty, the plug gap could be set incorrectly, the lead could be faulty, or the kill switch could be shorted. These all require basic replacement or repair and are a snap with a proper kit.

o Compression problems: Check the valves, pistons, cylinder, or connecting rods if you suspect a compression problem. These could be dirty, stripped, or otherwise damaged, and would prevent the engine from starting properly or at all.

Problems Running

Problems running properly can pose more danger to your vehicle than an engine that simply wont’ start. If left unfixed, constant overheating or smoke emission can eventually ruin an engine and require a full-on replacement.

o Overheating engines: Lack of oil is one of the most common reasons for overheating. So is a dirty engine. Beyond that, there may be shrouds or cooling fans missing within the engine or the gasket could be leaking. The fuel mixture might be too lean, another carburetor problem. Cleaning or replacing the fuel tank vent and fuel tank screen can help reduce the chance of your engine overheating as well. These are all fixes that you can do yourself or with some simple repair kit that will cost far less than a new engine.

o Smoking: If the engine is emitting blue or white smoke then it is likely burning oil. If it is emitting black smoke it is a problem with the carburetor most likely. If it is neither the carburetor nor an oil leak, then it might be a clogged or dirty air filter.

o Knocking engine: If your engine experiences knocking it may indicate an excess of carbon in the combustion chamber, which would require you to clean carbon from the piston and head. The flywheel might also be loose. A faulty spark plug lead could cause engine knocking. This can be easily repaired or replaced.

o Spark Plug Misses: This could be caused by any number of things, including a faulty spark plug, faulty breaker points, an incorrectly set carburetor, or a weak valve spring.

It may appear that your small engine problems are large and will require a brand new small engine. Very rarely is this the case thought. To save money, take note of what exact problems you are having with your engine, test the areas we have outlined above and talk to a small engine specialist about steps to take to get the engine in working order again. The steps may be as simple as basic cleaning or part replacement to a slightly more complex but much lest expensive small engine repower kit. In today’s economy, none of us can afford to make unwarranted purchases like new engines if it is not necessary.

~Ben Nystrom, 2009

Ben Nystrom lives in Portland, OR and writes for Repower Specialists, LTD.
Read more about complete small engine repair kits available online by visiting the Repower Specialists site specializing in truckster, mower and golf cart engines and parts.

With everyone being very conscientious about their finances, you’re probably looking for ways to save on your everyday necessities. One of the biggest costs in household budgeting is in pet supplies. Whether you’re shopping for a growing puppy, a spoiled cat, a roomful of birds or even an exotic iguana, who can deny that pet supplies are expensive? The solution is not to reduce the amount of food or health supplies that a pet needs; rather, you can save money by buying discount pet supplies online. Consider these four tips.

1. Order Quality Discount Pet Supplies

Resist the urge to buy the cheap stuff. It will harm your pet’s health, and in the long run, cost you more money due to pet doctor visits. Cheap products are made from cheap ingredients that can become toxic over time, making your pet feel sick and depressed. Change the way you buy, not the quality of food you buy.

2. Order Discount Pet Supplies From Other Sources

Our first reaction when buying supplies is to take the advice of the veterinarian or his/her assistant. The doctor and his or her assistants will usually try and sell you pet supplies at an inflated cost. They are going to be honest about most things, so don’t turn against the pet veterinarian’s office entirely! They are just doing their job in trying to push over-priced food and pet supplies, as that is part of their office income as well. What you should remember however, is that you can buy practically anything from the vet’s office online at a lower cost. It’s the same great quality product, but at a much more affordable cost. Plus, you don’t have to stop by the veterinarian’s office every time you need to purchase pet food or flea control.

3. Invest in Preventive Measures

Many families make the same mistake when it comes to their pets. They pet and cuddle the furry fellow, ignoring tips on how to improve the creature’s general health when things are going well. Then they have to spend hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars a year in professional treatment. If these households would simply devote some attention to preventive treatment, they could improve the quality of life of their pet and avoid more doctor visits. Make a checklist of what a pet needs and ways to provide a safer environment when it is well.

4. Look Online for Discount Pet Supplies

Discount pet supplies can be found by way of mail coupons, online website specials, discount online stores and other special promotions. Remember to figure in shipping and handling costs as well as bulk discounts, because this is where you really find the biggest savings.

Take a more strategic approach to stocking your pet food and supplies. Research the brand of food you’re buying and what other options are available to you. This is the best way to find discount pet supplies.

PetSupply Store provides you with easy access to your most needed pet supplies. No matter what type of pet you have, you can find supplies easily through their online store. For more information, visit http://www.PetSupply-Store.com

PHP programming is a very popular language for scripts on web sites, blogging software, and other functions online. It’s an open language with quite a few possibilities over other languages that are a bit more limited. If you want to learn PHP, you need to get started right.

The first thing that you are going to need is some basic HTML knowledge. You don’t need an advanced skill in this, but should be able to identify basic tags and understand the various elements in the code. The reason is that many times there is a blend of HTML and PHP when working with web sites or other popular scripts that are already out there.

Get yourself a good text editor that you can use. It’s very important to have one with line numbers on it. This is because when you get an error generally you are told what line number it’s on. This makes finding the mistakes very easy. Additionally, it’s nice to have PHP color syntax in your text editor so that you can tell the different parts of the code from each other based on color alone.

Also make sure that you have some basic FTP skills. This lets you upload your scripts and deal with folders online. Knowing permissions is also important. If you want to learn PHP, it’s easiest to just follow an online tutorial. There are hundreds of ones that offer easy to follow tutorials with exercises that you can follow. Do as many of these as you can until you get the basics.

After you have the basics, get a PHP manual online or in book form to follow. This will prepare you for more advanced exercises. Start making your own scripts. This is the best way to learn since you will have to think on your own versus copying exercises that are already made for you to practice. By following these simple tips you will learn PHP in no time.

Herb likes to keep up on technology trends. Please check out his website with information on vintage door knobs and details on kwikset door knobs.

Summer youth camp is an exciting time for both teens and parents. But along with the excitement there may be some anxiety and fear as well. It is much easier for parents to send a teen off to youth camp that has had the camp experience before. But it may create a lot of fear and anxiety for a younger teen that has never been away from home and has never been apart from his or her parents for so many days. Of course there will also be other teens who can’t wait for the chance to get away from home for a few days. And most parents can appreciate a little break away from the teens for a few days. Even so, a little concern and anxiety on the part of parents is also to be expected. Parents must keep in mind that a well-planned youth camp has great staff and leaders to take care of your youth during their stay.

Packing List for Summer Youth Camp

One of the first things you need to do is time to start making a packing list for the camp. It is important to know what can be taken and what must be left behind. Most camps will provide you a list of items that need to be packed. Some camps require certain clothing and some special equipment. They also may prohibit certain items. When packing for camp, these lists are a great place to start. Another good resource to discover what to pack is to talk to the camp staff. The camp staff will be familiar with the weather, the terrain or requirements for any outdoor camp activities, and they can also offer tips that will make the summer youth camp experience much more enjoyable. If you know parents who have sent their teen to the camp before, they can also be a great resource for packing tips. The key is to find out as much information as you can, then prepare your own packing list.

Summer Youth Camp Recreation Activities

Many summer youth camps offer a variety of recreational activities in addition to the standard camp program. Homesickness is a part of the “first time away from home” camp, but the more activities that suit the desires of your teen, the better. Look through the recreation options with your teen and discuss them. Let the youth negotiate which activities they wish to participate in. Some activities may require special permission from parents. If, for some reason, any activity is off-limits to your youth you will need to make that clear to the camp staff and put it in writing. Some recreational activities may also require youth to pack special equipment or clothing. Most camp registration forms will have a section of the form for parents to complete regarding the recreational activities and permission for the youth to participate in them.

Health Concerns and Safety

If your teen has any health concerns such as allergies, asthma, etc. be sure that the youth camp staff is aware of these. Again, most summer youth camp registration forms will have a section for you to provide this information. Also be sure that any medications your youth needs are sent to the camp along with them. You may be able to pack them in their bag, but some camps will not allow a teen to keep their medications in and around the bunk. If possible, place the medications in the original containers, then pack them all together in a clear plastic bag that is properly labeled. This would not apply to emergency inhalers, but it is something to clear up with the camp staff before your teen leaves for summer youth camp.

Clothing

Don’t wait until the week before the your teen is leaving for summer youth camp to start planning your packing. It is also vital to include your teen in the packing process in order for them to be familiar with what they are taking. Some clothing may need to be bought in advance. It’s also a good idea to label the clothing discretely inside on the tags with your teen’s name or at least their initials. Labeling should extend to everything the youth is packing. Clothing, bathing suits, towels, cameras and anything else that is going into that bag, plus the bag itself. If the summer youth camp has sports activities, field trips or religious services, you will need to also pack the clothing for these functions. There may also be special guidelines such as a one-piece swimsuit for girls, no speedos for the boys, etc. I remember one youth pastor telling the youth to place their swimsuit on the stove-top burner and if it doesn’t cover it completely, just turn on the burner and go buy something more modest. If the summer youth camp offers crafting opportunities, you may want to send along some clothes that are not new. Painting and crafts can be messy and are not the easiest thing to remove from clothes. Also, don’t forget rain gear. Summer youth camps don’t curtail every activity just because it may be raining.

Packing

A large duffel bag may be the best way to pack everything inside for the camp. Many of them now come with wheels and are easier to transport and to store once they are empty. The age of your teen needs to be taken into consideration. If your teen is going to summer youth camp on a bus or public transportation, it will be important to have something they can handle. Wheels will help. Personal items should be packed in a separate bag within the larger bag. Toiletries should be in a handy bag that can be taken to the bathing facilities. Items such as toothbrush, soap, towels and washcloths, comb, brush, shampoo should be stored in this bag for packing. Keep the soap in a traveling soap dish as well as the toothbrush in a toothbrush holder. It may not come home that way, but at least it is a good start. In fact, you should probably expect the loss of a few items at the youth camp. Expect it and pack accordingly. Then you won’t be upset if something doesn’t return or it is returned in a less than ideal condition.

Little Extras

Pack some self-addressed postcards that will help your teen remember to drop a note home. This will prevent them from using their spending money on postage and allow them to keep in touch with you during their absence. You might also add some personal notes of encouragement in their belongings. Even though it was many years ago that I attended a summer youth camp as a camper, I still remember the little notes of encouragement my mom packed in my belongings. They were tucked away in shirt pockets, pants pockets, and many other unexpected places that didn’t embarrass me as a youth, but reminded me that my family loved me and missed me. Some other things to consider packing, with the permission of the camp staff, are cameras, CD/MP3 players, and games. Books are a great addition for evenings when the campfire is over, as well.

With a little advance planning, packing for and attending summer youth camp can be a great experience for youth and parents alike.

For more summer youth camp resources visit http://www.creativeyouthideas.com

Ken has been actively involved in youth ministry for almost 20 years and has been writing youth materials since 1988. He has written for numerous Youth weekends and summer camps around the world. He also does training workshops for youth leaders and teachers in Asia and is recommended by others for his creativity and for his passion in mentoring youth.

Some people just love eating and some people just love cooking; but when it comes to cooking and eating outside most people say, hey, I love it.

So lets get to it.  Summer will soon be upon us and the outdoor season beckons. Its now the ideal time to think about those barbecues you’ll be having. Whether those meals will be on the patio or in the outback its now the time to ensure that you’ve got all your outdoor cooking equipment to hand and that you’ve got a good idea about how best to go about things.

There’s many that will argue, including me, that nothing tastes better than food cooked outdoors! Don’t you just love the aroma when cooking outdoors, the smells seems to just waft around as the food cooks and this makes everyone hungry. How is it that the food cooked outdoors always seems to smell so much nicer than when its cooked indoors?

Cooking outdoors comes in many guises. You and your family may prefer to use wood or charcoal because of those wonderful flavors that come from the charcoal and the smoke; or, you may prefer the cleanliness, control and  convenience of cooking with propane gas.  Whatever you prefer the market is now awash with great outdoor cooking equipment to make your cooking experience enjoyable and the results fabulous.

Now when it comes to choosing your outdoor cooking equipment a little thought is necessary as you can easily miss a trick or two and fall short when the time comes to perform!  So, here are 20 great tips to help you make the right decisions when planning this season’s outdoor cooking:

1. Firstly you must decide will it be gas or charcoal; don’t fudge this one as its important; if you want ease and convenience go for gas grills; if you don’t mind a little extra trouble & time and your family loves the flavors that are picked up from the smoke then go for charcoal;
2. If you go for charcoal always start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels; let me say that again, never use lighter fuels! Why? Because no matter how long it is before you bring your food to the grill you’ll pick up those chemical smells…Yuk!;
3. Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future of just for the coming summer season; because thats how long cheap ‘stuff’ is going to last!  I recommend making an investment in the future, therefore go for quality; as you know in your heart, you pay for what you get! Don’t go cheap if you can afford better; for example: stainless steel looks better and lasts longer than aluminum and cleans up much better and easier; although it has to be said heat distributes more evenly and quickly with aluminum so the arguments are not always so clear cut; portable pick up and go grills are going to be great for tailgating and impromtu stops but they’ll be a disappointment on the patio when cooking for a group of  friends & family;
4. There are many styles & sizes of outdoor grills, picking the right one to meet your needs and of course your budget is important, but remember that quality counts; you don’t want to be regretting your purchase half way through the summer! Go for the best you can.
5. Think about where you’re going to be doing your cooking and buy your kit appropriately. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or will you be tailgating or then again will we be going outback; this makes a big difference to your choice of kit; indeed you may decide that you need quite separate cooking equipment for the patio as opposed to when you’re getting out and about. Gas grills are heavier and bulkier than charcoal, on the patio that’s a bonus in the outback its a chore; gas grills cook quicker than the charcoal grills; some people hate gas grills by comparison because they love the flavors that wood bestows; gas grills are more expensive than charcoal ones etc. etc.
6. Decide what style of cooking best suits you because the kit you’ll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. If you’re into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be ideal; do you prefer cast iron stove ware for cooking, Dutch ovens are great for simple outdoor cooking or do you prefer open grills;? The questions go on and on and only you know what the family are going to prefer. Its not as hard to think things through as you might think,  I suggest that you go to a store that sells the full range of equipment and ask yourself what’s going to work best for us?
7. When cooking with propane check the level of gas in the cylinder and whenever possible have a second one in reserve. There’s nothing worse with friends and family hovering, the meal is half ready and the gas goes out!!! If you’ve a replacement, no problem, but if  you’ve not, just how bad can things get?
8. Don’t forget basic safety advice when cooking outdoors; remember salmonella is just as happy and active outdoors as it is inside. So what to do? Keep those fresh meat  plates and your cooking utensils away from any plates and cooking utensils that you’ll be using for eating off. Yes i know its obvious but this is important and its easily forgotten especially by the kids if they take a hand;
9. Will you betaking your cooking kit out in the outback or to the beach where there are safety regulations preventing the use of certain cooking methods; how annoying is it to arrive and then find your kit isn’t appropriate. And don’t think you’ll be okay they’ll never know. have you seen the recent damage that’s been caused by fires that get out of control; think safety first. Its important to remember that usually you find restrictions at picnic areas and on beaches & camping zones;
10. When you find a great recipe that cooks well outside share it with family; especially the simple tips that made it work out so well. Many people are apprehensive about cooking out doors and even when they do they make simple errors that you could help them avoid making. Simple tips need passing on;
11. Never pierce food on a BBQ or the juices will run out and it will dry out very quickly: most people who say they don’t like BBQs do so because they hate dried out tasteless food that so often arises from a smoldering BBQ
12. Never cook meat too long as again it dries out
13. Always make sure that meat is fully defrosted before starting cooking on your grill, not only is this dangerous to your health but the food will burn on the outside before you’ve cooked it in the inside!
14. Try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with you steaks of course, they need searing and a minimum of time is preferred for however well you like them cooked; [yes I know this goes against what conventional wisdom says and your desire to tuck ij but the rewards of slower cooked foods great exceed the extra time it takes; believe me
15. Always let your meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to come out, it also means all the juices don’t run away across the serving plate; 7-10 minutes is all you need to wait and whilst the time is short the difference in flavor can be huge; try it.
16. Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the better, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel;
17. If you use a grill with a lid, keep it closed as much as possible. This improves the consistency of cooking due to the retention of the heat which otherwise is lost each time you open the grill; stop worrying and go and have a chat;
18. Try some of the many free recipes you’ll find online; there are so many and some are really good. Don’t get hooked on complication though; keeping things simple and experiment are the keys. But equally don’t get into the ideas of those that say quick and easy is best go for things that cook quickly! NO. Marinades are simple and add tremendous flavor, cook slower than quickly and you’ll retain more flavors;
19. Try out Dutch cooking; its easy and straightforward and the flavors are great; look for Dutch cooking recipes on the web;
20. Keep your outdoor cooking fun; share the joy of the cooking with friends & family. Try to get the kids involved; if you do you’ll develop in them a lifetime passion for cooking, which is often hard to do in the kitchen. Better still you’ll have a laugh and if you involve your friends you’ll start appreciate them in totally different ways than before; its like a new way of bonding. You’ll start to see them in a totally different light…… interesting! … Oh, just one quick point, but take care the opposite can work out too.

Check out the latest outdoor cooking kit at http://www.outdoorcookingequipmentstore.com you’ll find a wide range of outdoor cooking equipment meeting all levels of budget and there’s a long list of really tasty, simply to cook recipes, ideal for the grill or the stove, for the boiling pot, the fryer or the Dutch oven.

Happy outdoor cooking and good luck getting your outdoor cooking equipment into shape.

Stephen Kember is the President of Transform your life, a leading provider of e-books, video and audio based materials featuring not only his own insights but also those of other renowned experts and speakers in the Outdoor Living, Outdoor Cooking and Personal Development fields.

To learn more about the skills of outdoor cooking, outdoor cooking recipes and and outdoor cooking equipment go to: http://www.outdoorcookingequipmentstore.com

Introduction and Literature Review

South African education policies place priority on addressing historical education imbalances, but should also be sensitive to the demands of an ever-increasing global knowledge-driven environment. The educational system cannot be dominated by the needs of the domestic educational system of South Africa ignoring the trends exerted by the global world (OEDC Annual Report, 2004:44). Higher education in South Africa should realize that they operate and function in a knowledge-driven global environment in which both domestic and foreign students demand access to the best quality education at the best reputable institutions of higher education in the world.

In this regard, most definitions of internationalization of higher education include the following: “Internationalisation is a process that prepares the community for successful participation in an increasingly interdependent world … The process infuse all facets of the post-secondary education system, fostering global understanding and developing skills for effective living and working in a diverse world” (Francis, 1993 cited by Patrick, 1997).

The position of higher education in South Africa should be evaluated considering the re-integration of South Africa into the global community. South Africa was rapidly re-integrated into the world community by obtaining almost immediate membership of influential international organisations after 1994. Kishun (1998:59) indicated that South Africa became a member of among others the following international institutions: United Nations; Organisation of African Unity; Commonwealth; International Olympic Committee; Federation of International Football Associations; and Lome Convention. Integration of influential international institutions is a necessary but not sufficient pre-condition for internationalization of higher education. Sustainable internationalization should be closely aligned to the emerging global trends and events in the education sector.

An analysis of the basis on which internationalization of higher education occurs is needed as well as the benefits of the internationalization process. This research is conducted against this background.

Problem Statement

Whilst South Africa is in a process of transition regarding higher education to address the imbalances of the past, the question arises whether the South African educational sector is able to compete in the global economy which regard knowledge as a commercialised commodity.

Methodology

A sample size of 781 respondents from six institutions of higher education in South Africa was selected. Senior students were randomly selected using the convenience sampling technique. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed to measure the perceived competitive profile of institutions of higher education in South Africa. The questionnaire constitutes five measuring foci, namely:

· Section A: Institutional information regarding the location where the respondent is enrolled.

· Section B: Biographical information in terms of gender, type of student and country of origin.

· Section C: Decision criteria used to select an institution of higher education.

· Section D: Four competitive dimensions of higher education institutions, including strategic competitiveness, institutional competitiveness, product competitiveness, and tactical competitiveness.

· Section E: Open-ended questions, aimed to identify the reasons why respondents choose a specific institution of higher education, their opinion on the institution’s competitive reputation, and the factors that may influence the international competitiveness of the particular institution.

The data was transformed into two opposite categories, namely those who agreed with the statements and those who disagreed, enabling the researchers to derive a hypothesized agreement-disagreement distribution. Those who neither agreed nor disagreed were allocated to the disagreement group set giving and expected disagreement response set of 57% (p=0.57) and an agreement response set of 43% (q=0.43). The Binomial test was employed to determine whether the observed distribution correspond with the hypothesized distribution using a significance test level of 0.05. Furthermore, the level of agreement or disagreement with the selected competitive statements and the extend of agreements between the respondents from the different institutions on the various statements were determined by executing four statistical procedures, namely: ANOVA to compare the means of respondents from the different institutions; determining how much of the perception variation could be accounted for by the influence of the different institutions of higher education; determining the averages for each strategic dimension to obtain an indication of the level of agreement with the competitive statements; and determining the standard deviations to obtain an indication of the extend to which consensus exists within the sample.

Findings

With regard to the strategic competitiveness of South African institutions of higher education to engage in a seamless network the respondents were of the opinion that South African institutions of higher education give low priority to attract foreign students, are not well known for attracting foreign students, are not actively involved in exchange programmes of students and lecturers, and do not have active engagements or agreements with other tertiary institutions, businesses and communities.

On the issue of institutional competitiveness, the majority of respondents were of the opinion that institutions of higher education in South Africa have the ability to attract quality students, does not have an international student culture, offers qualifications that are internationally accepted, can claim international reputability on post-graduate level, offers competitive tuition fees, deliver research outputs that are internationally recognized, and are not easily accessible.

In terms of product competitiveness the majority of respondents indicated that institutions of higher education in South Africa have active orientation programmes to familiarise foreign and domestic students with the institutions, provide safe and secure learning environments, provide leading information technology for academic growth and excellence, do not easily adapt to the needs and wants of students, and provide convenient service packages to students.

With regard to tactical competitiveness institutions of higher education in South Africa have the ability to compile a diploma or degree offering that meets or exceeds international standards in terms of offering subject content of international standard, having internationally acclaimed staff, aggressively marketing its qualifications internationally, claiming international acceptable through-put, and having acceptable grant and loan schemes accessible to students.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The majority of respondents are in agreement that institutions of higher education in South Africa are able to compete internationally on the four competitive dimensions (strategic, institutional, tactical and product). Internationalisation requires that institutions of higher education in South Africa should emphasise a somewhat loosening of the relationship with Government, despite the paradoxical need to create new transformational bodies to address the imbalances of the past. Internationalisation of higher education implies that internationalised institutions operate on new super ordinate levels which has its own legal, administrative and revenue-raising powers.

In terms of strategic direction institutions of higher education might consider at least one of the following internationalization approaches:

· “Would-be internationalization”: Applies to academics and institutions wanting to be involved in internationalization but facing problems in being considered on equal terms.

· “Life or death internationalization”: Countries, their academics and institutions, which view internationalization cooperation as indispensable for their status and role in the global world.

· “Two areas”: Academics and institutions have the option of striving for either more national or more international status and orientation. The academic field in which one is operating often determines this.

· “Internationalisation by import”: Countries and institutions that treat internationalization only as coming from outside, by hosting foreign students and publishing research. It should not represent a separate strategy towards internationalisation.

References

Kishun, R. 1998. Internationalization in South Africa. In The globalization of Higher Education. Scott, P. ed. Buckingham: Open University Press.

OECD Annual Report. 2004. Education. p.41-45.

Patrick, K. 1997. CSDF project full report: Internationalising the University. Melbourne: RMIT.

Lizl Steynberg is part of the Centre of Entrepreneurship at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. She has published in various accredited journals and has presented various papers at national and international conferences.

Bowls is a sport that is played and followed by millions throughout the world. It is a game of skill and precision rather than physical fitness and has therefore often been associated as a game for the older generation. However, many of the upcoming champions are becoming increasingly younger and the sport has spent recent years making its competitions quicker and more colourful to encourage followers.

Bowls can be played indoors or outdoors, and the rules are the same for both. Put simply, the aim of the game is to get your bowls as close as possible to a small white ball called the ‘jack’.

In the singles competition, one of the two opponents flips a coin and begins a segment of the competition by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green to serve as a target. Once it has come to rest, the jack is aligned to the canter of the rink and the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack.

When all the bowls have been played, a competitor or team gets one point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest bowl.

After all the bowls have been played, the direction is reversed which signals the end of an end.

In group games, the team captain always plays last and has a key role in directing the team’s shots and tactics.

Although it sounds easy, the fact that the bowls are not completely round and do not therefore travel in a straight line, means there is a great level of skill and tactics involved to win a match.

The game of Bowls has a distinctive history, dating all the way back to the Egyptians. Based on artefacts found in tombs dating circa 5,000 B.C, it appears that the Egyptians used to enjoy playing a version of skittles using round stones.

Different versions of this form of game then spread throughout the world and can be seen in the many types of bowls games played today. In Italy the game Bocce developed, which is a precision sport closely related to bowls with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. In France the famous game of Boules arose from Bowls. This is a game that is played using metal balls, often on unusual and challenging terrain such as sand. The aim of the game is to get your large, heavy balls as close as possible to the small, white ‘jack’.

The traditional game of bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, has particularly developed popularity throughout England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and more recently, Denmark. The oldest recorded bowls green is in Southampton, England, which dates back to 1299.

There are also many famous bowling fans throughout English history. Perhaps one of the most infamous in bowls folklore is Sir Francis Drake who, according to legend, insisted on completing his game of bowls in Plymouth before setting sail to confront the Spanish Armada in 1588.

King Henry VIII and King James I were also said to be keen lawn bowlers and even introduced bowling legislation for their subjects!

In 1903, the English Bowling Association was officially founded and began to organise and direct clubs and competitions. Previously competitions had always taken place but for the first time an extensive league and organised contests sprang up.

Indoor variations of the bowls game also appeared, largely due to the problem of the English winter stopping outdoor play. Indoor Bowls is simply the indoor version of Lawn Bowls, which is played on strips of artificial green a similar length to Lawn Bowls rinks.

All versions of the sport have now grown enormously and there is a wealth of leagues, clubs, amateur and professional bowling leagues and competitions throughout the world.

World Bowls grew out of the Commonwealth Games when it was first held 70 years ago (then known as the Empire Games). It was originally intended that only athletics would form part of the games but bowlers successfully convinced the organisers to have bowling included and it has been played at the games ever since. Top stars from both indoor and outdoor formats now come together to play lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games.

One of the largest bowling event organisers today, is the World Bowls Tour (WBT) – a limited company formed in September 1996 by the Professional Bowls Association, and the two major governing bodies for world flat green bowls, World Bowls Ltd and the World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC).

The primary object of WBT is to set up a series of premier bowls events at which the top players in the world can play.

One of the most exciting competitions in the UK World Bowls Tour calendar is the World Indoor Bowls Championships that take place at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton, Norfolk. The event has been hosted at Potters for the last eight years (since 1999) and 2007 will see the event take place there once again for the ninth year running.

As on other previous years, 2007 will see professional players come together from throughout the world, to take part in televised matches including singles, pairs and mixed pairs.

The World Indoor Bowls championships take place at Potters Leisure Resort (more details can be found at pottersholidays.com)

Peter Joyner who regularly writes for www.pottersholidays.com