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Do all used book stores carry Antiquarian Books? What about rare books? What about out of print books?

What is an antiquarian book?

The antiquarian book trade in the United States is an aspect of book collecting and publishing. The term antiquarian, in general, refers to antiquities and collectible items usually considered old and rare, usually in reference to books, but not limited to books.

Well, sometimes that is open for debate, but usually anything from the 1920’s back could be considered antiquarian. But, it has to be a collectible book. What is a collectible book? Another good question. A collectible book is one that has proven the test of time, and is always in great demand, and creates a situation where the first printings become more valuable to book collectors.

John Steinbeck is a good example. Any of his books bring a premium if they are in first edition or even in second condition. However, a lot of people would consider this to be no more then a modern first edition.

So, books before the turn of the century, that are collectible, that have historic value, are considered for the most part to be antiquarian. Here is three examples.

Theodore Roosevelt. Autograph manuscript signed. 1918. Autograph manuscript draft of the essay, “The Great Adventure,” signed by Teddy Roosevelt. Handsomely framed with a contemporary broadside edition of the essay. $60,000.

FITZGERALD, F. Scott.Tender is the Night. New York, 1934. First edition, in scarce original first-issue dust jacket, boldly signed by Fitzgerald. A lovely, bright copy. $75,000

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. Washington, 1863. First public notice of the December 8, 1863 Presidential proclamation offering amnesty to citizens of the Confederacy, providing they take an oath that they “will abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves” (i.e. the Emancipation Proclamation). $26,000

So, jump right in. Yes, it can get expensive, but there not printing anymore of these books so the investment is considered to good. However, great responsibility goes with a purchase like this.

Collectible books, and antiquarian books is a time consuming passion for those who want to invest. You can start very small and build a nice investment portfolio over a period of years.

I recommend highly investigating being a full time or part time Book Scout. If you need $20 or $100 tomorrow a book scout is trained to put cash in their pockets everyday. Book Sellers need books. When a Book Scout knows the tricks of the business, they can put cash in their pocket everyday. I know, I was a full time Book Scout and owned two Used Book Stores for over then years. If you need more information take a look at http://www.makecashsellingbookstoday.com

Books have a world of their own, where they are able to envelope the thoughts of a child, within the pages of color and beauty. They are the simplest tools one can use to make a point to a child. They are easy to understand and are printed according to the ages of children and their development stage. They make great gifts, and are invaluable and carry no expiry date. They remain in families for generations to come, and appreciate in monetary terms, with the passing of time. Through these devices of knowledge, nature can be explained in all its essence and beauty.

Nature is something that cannot be defined, but only seen. It is that ultimate creation of God; one whole piece of landscape. Children first learn about nature from their very own garden or backyard. They see, they observe, and ask a lot of questions. It is not very easy to quell a child’s interest and satisfy his or her hunger for information. Like, why is the sky blue? How does rain form? What is a cocoon? Why are the leaves mostly green? Why does the weather keep changing? What is thunder? As they keep growing older, their need for information grows, and this is where books come in handy - not only as tools of information, but as guides for children to develop a love for nature.

Books on nature were published to give accurate information, in the most colorful and innovative way possible. There are hardcover or paperbacks or in today’s world - e-books available online. The older the child, the more he wants to know, so all these sources are available today, to quench his thirst for knowledge. Some children are so influenced and satisfied with books on nature, that this inspires them to become environmentalists, once they grow up. The foundation is laid by the nature of presentation within the books.

I personally, love going through books written on nature. They contain such a wide palette of color, and the information is put across in a very systematic and simple language, which is not only easy to understand but makes one’s imagination run wild. They can actually create a mental picture of certain occurrences in nature. It makes it a very realistic picture for the reader.

Finally, I must say that books that tell of the wonders of nature should be encouraged. Books form a very crucial part of the child’s relationship and understanding of nature. They are the windows by which the child is able to see the earth and all it entails, in a beautiful way. Children need to develop a love for nature books from a young age, and this responsibility lies entirely with the parents and elders.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about books. When shopping for books, we recommend you shop only at the best bookstores for used books, autographed books.

Let’s say you find yourself out of work and you are in your forties. Maybe it is due to your firm having downsized. Maybe it went out of business. Perhaps you were self-employed and the marketplace did not respond. Maybe you started without much capital or were not a trust-fund baby.

Was it ill health?

The reason doesn’t matter. Hindsight is 20-20. The question is, “What do I do now”? Maybe you
want to go back to work for someone else. For many, that is the right thing. Everyone is different. One person’s sense of security is another person’s hell. When health issues brought me down, in my forties, I had some important decisions to make. I was not only a non-trust fund baby, I was running out of savings, something I had never really learned to do well at that point in my life. I had to do something and do something fast.

A lot of people suggested I find some Internet guru, buy the program, and get to work, on my way to becoming the next semi-young dot.com billionaire. I looked at many of the e-books available, and read blogs and such, and it appeared the only ones really making money were the web gurus selling to web guru wannabes. Hence the rub. What to do. I researched. Was there a way to really open a web business without a penny? At the time, the answer was “no”, at least not anything substantial.

I already had created a cartoon site on sweat equity, which was virtually a non-commerce site, except for a small t-shirt store I had created with a (then) small POD (Print On Demand) online
T-shirt maker named “Cafepress”. I could put my images on their products for free, display them, connect them to my website, and it cost nothing. I did not have to buy a premium store through them which is $6 or so a month. If I had created slogans, I also could have put them on the tees. Cafepress was no big deal at the time. That was 1998. Since that time other print-on-demand firms such as Zazzle, Printfection and others have evolved. One may open a store on their site, simply by signing up.

So you’ve got your own web-store. Now what? Read the tutorials. Learn to design on products. Now they offer a myriad of products other than just tees (even complete lines of men’s, women’s kids, and infants wear), gifts such as framed prints, steins, teddy bears, mouse pads, posters, key chains, coffee mugs, caps, and the list goes on and on.

Though there are many schools of thought, it is best to create a niche product. If you want to create funny art or funny slogan products, be the specialist in that. If you want to focus on computer-related, software slogans, business, or whatever, do what you do best.

Go to EzineArticles.com and other such portals and learn about affiliate programs. Several of the above mentioned sites have affiliate programs. Join them and let others sell your designs. If you prefer, you can sell theirs as well, or, if you have no designs, you can sell theirs only. Either way, you will make money if you work at it, blog, social network, social bookmark, etc.

So now you are saying, “I’ve read all the way down to here, he’s telling me not to find a web guru, and how in the world am I going to make any money without advertising. I must have advertising dollars. Well, maybe you have a few dollars saved up for a few AdWords, and maybe you don’t. If you don’t, you can still do it free, you simply have to learn article marketing and blogging. What you are reading is a perfect example of article marketing. It gives the reader valuable content (for free), that, he would pay a guru hundreds or even thousands of dollars to read the same thing and stay within his/her network (the guru is building a database of names which he/she can sell later and cares much more about that than you or whether you profit. With this said and done, don’t procrastinate. You’ll make mistakes but you’ll also have triumphs. That’s part of the game of business. Good luck and keep the faith!

Rick London is a freelance writer, cartoonist, and e-entrepreneur. He launched Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 which evolved into the largest (8500 cartoons) and most visited (3+ million per year) offbeat cartoon website. He owns ten award-winning Internet gift & collectible stores, one of them being Rick London Special Edition Gifts

Readers can copy investors in using a watch-list. It is a list of books you might buy and read but for which you currently have not a matching fund (money for the investor and time for the reader) or you think there is a better timing possible.

Chronicles of a nomad is a book I would like to read. It is from the Spanish author FRANCISCO LÓPEZ-SEIVANE RUIZ. I was triggered by the book because of a program on CNN+ where the author was interviewed.

He explained that he has not stayed longer than seven days in the same place for the last — I thought — year. But even so interesting was his comments that the more he visited different societies and places, the more he became aware that only a few emotions (about eight) are common in all of them.

Similarities between people outnumber their differences…

What also intrigues me is the experience. He told in the program that the best of traveling comes before and after. Before when preparing for a trip and after when sharing the stories and experience with others.

But besides the experience of traveling, how would it be if you are constantly on the move? In a normal life, traveling is the exception. For a nomad it is the rule. A real nomad owns no land, is not part of a nation, not even part of a society, but always a tourist.

Must be an interesting book, I would like to read. If only I had the time…

http://www.qproquo.com/libros/CRONICAS-DE-UN-NOMADA-LA-EUROPA-ESCONDIDA/184204/978-84-96511-41-5

© 2008 Hans Bool

Hans Bool writes articles about management, culture and change. If you are interested to read or experience more about these topics have a look at: Astor White

All of a sudden there appears to be a huge number of articles and web pages about audio books. What’s the scoop on this?

Simply put, downloadable audio books are a hot new trend, a trend that is getting ready to explode. Some months ago a company released a limited number of franchises, whose owners are now promoting the “Rolls-Royce” of audio books.

Don’t confuse these audio books with the poor quality recorded-in-the-garage audio books that you may have seen around the web. No Siree ! These are the creme-de-la-creme of audio books. They are the top titles from the world’s leading publishers including Time Warner (Hachette), Simon and Schuster, Naxos, Harper and Collins, Brilliance, BBC, and so on.

The titles are equally as impressive and includes best sellers from our top selling authors including Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King, Dan Brown, Michael Connelly, Michael Chrichton. These are top of the tree fiction writers and the list of impressive authors doesn’t stop there. What about the top authors of self help, health, fitness and business books from Robert Kiyosaki, Ken Blanchard, Wayne Dyer. Paul Coelho, Dale Carnegie and more…more..more!

Industry sources are making predictions that downloadable audio books will outsell printed books in the next few years with some predicting that downloadable audio books will overtake printed books as the No1 best selling product on the Net.
In 2004 the off-the-shelf audio books on CD and cassettes recorded sales of around $800 million. In 2005, industry estimates for audio books was $2 billion. In just one year there was this massive increase!

But it won’t stop there. Why? Because TIME is the most precious commodity in people’s lives these days.

Multi-tasking has become the norm as people look for ways to better utilise their time while doing the chores, jogging, commuting, waiting in queues, etc. With the advent of the mp3 players such as the ipods, Palms and other devices, people have been listening to audio books while they are on-the-go. It’s possible to learn a new skill such as a speaking a foreign language, hear a murder mystery or enjoy a great romance book while going about the day.

There’s even time to learn to speak Chinese in time for the 2008 Olympic Games!

Not going to the Olympics? So learning Chinese may not be a priority. But, how about losing weight? Achieving better sleep at night? Why not lighten up your day with some comedy, after all, you might as well have the last laugh! Visit http://www.myfavouriteaudiobooks.com and click on your favourite category.

Genre: Children’s fiction
Title: Lelooni
Author: Susan Docherty
Genre: Children’s fiction
Title: Lelooni
Author: Susan Docherty

Textiles into books? Strange but true

Lelooni, trickster moon of the planet Intarsia is our hero. Bored and looking for mischief, he finds a fishing rod, which he used to snatch items from the unsuspecting residents of Intarsia. A cushion, a newspaper and a monocle amuse him for a while but Lelooni wants excitement. His next catch is a suitcase packed with holiday goodies. This inspired Lelooni to take a vacation of his own. But the vacation does not turn out as he planned. Some of his tricks come back to haunt him, perhaps being a trickster is not such a good thing. Read the book to laugh with Lelooni, Sun, Kate, Sam and the other inhabitants of Intarsia.

Books are for ages 4-8 but even older children will enjoy the stories and the charming characters- great books for parents and grandparents to read aloud. Knitters will be fascinated by these books and may be inspired to create unusual projects of their own. Published in Glasgow, Scotland the books are available worldwide.

Susan Docherty, author, mother, celebrated knitwear designer and photographer has created a unique world of knitted heroes, colorful settings and entertaining stories. Characters are knitted in wool, placed in unusual settings and photographed. The photographs are then assembled in book form accompanied by hilarious tales and subtle life lessons. Unusual, delightful and highly recommended for the children in your life, look for all of the Sweaterhead books- The Unlikely Flying Object and many more.

Reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Reviews

Available at: http://www.Amazon.com

and http://www.sweaterheads.com

Title: Lelooni
Author: Susan Docherty
Publisher: Sweaterheads
ISBN: 1-904914-0102
Pages: 32
Price: 6.99 £ UK
Dec. 2006

Shirley Roe is Managing Editor of Allbooks Reviews: Authors, have your book reviewed and promoted by our professional team at a very reasonable cost. Allbooks Reviews provides book reviews and author promotion that you can fit into your budget. Allbooks reviews POD and traditional books. We also offer editing, advertising and guest speaking services. 101 Best Websites for Writers two years in a row. Visit: http:http://www.allbookreviews.com

Writing a graduate school personal statement can be a daunting and difficult task. In a graduate school personal statement you are selling yourself and trying to let the admissions representatives know WHY you should be chosen over other qualified applicants. This can be even more daunting when you realize that between two to five people at the School will be reviewing your statement - YOURS needs to stand out from the crowd while also addressing the criteria and questions the school has outlined.

If you are applying to several different schools using one generic statement will be easily recognized and just as easily dismissed. WHY - because you will be seen as not making an effort sell yourself to this particular school, low effort equals low interest to admissions representatives. Remember the admission committee will likely view thousands of these statements from qualified candidates and they will spot a weakness, flaw or lack of attention to the process in a heartbeat. What you don’t want to do is give this committee an easy excuse to dismiss your statement and application.

In talking to Admissions Representatives across the country, there is one aspect of a personal statement they all agree on - BE YOURSELF and let them get a feel for the type of person you really are. This includes your motivations and the ability to evaluate your personal experiences and the effect they had on you. If you can understand that 8 out of 10 personal statements fail to do this, then you are well on your way to being 1 of the 2 applicants in every 10 that stands out.

The first step in preparing your Graduate School personal statement

Take the time to research and understand the doctrine and mission of the school, this will be intrinsically reflected in your writing and prove you are addressing your statement to this particular School. However, do not parrot their own information back to them - they already know it and this leads away from helping understand YOU. Understanding the audience for your statement will help you to develop compelling content that grabs their attention.

Next ensure that you understand the requirements for your statement or essay including:

-Format

-Word limit

-Questions to be answered

If you miss any of the above, your application will already be short-changed. Word limits are fixed and if you can imagine yourself with the job of reading thousands of applications, you can understand why. Not answering any of the questions will give your application a one way ticket to the rejection pile. This will also help with the next step planning.

Planning your Personal Statement

Planning not only gives you an outline to work to, it also helps avoided the dreaded writers block. Chances are you have already had to plan and write many essays to get to this point, don’t be complacent and skip this step as it may lead to omitting either required or useful information. Planning can also ensure that you don’t give yourself room to babble or write a novel instead of a 500 word essay.

Planning Part A

Flesh out the information you can provide including your experience/motivations. Writing prompts will give you cues for the content when you hit the writing stage. Here are some questions that you could use to formulate information:

1. Who do I really think I am? Who do others think I am? (include characteristics and skills e.g. loyal, hardworking, born leader, attention to detail)

2. What has caused changes to who I am over the years? How have I grown as a person and what caused these changes or growth? How did these experiences affect me?

3. What makes me unique? This is an extremely hard question to ask ourselves without filling in cliché’s. This is a great time for honesty and self reflection to kick in. You may in reality be like a lot of other people; however, no two people experience the same thing in the same way with the same results. Here is one of the great answers I have enjoyed in the past “Yes, I am unique, just like everybody else.” add a BUT on to that and I am sure it will get you thinking. If you’re really stuck it is time to do the trusted colleagues, friends and family survey - you might be surprised with what comes up.

4. What in my past did I have to overcome to be where I am today? Can I relate these experiences to my goals for the future or my motivation?

5. Who are my influencers and role models and why? Remember these don’t have to be famous people; they could be a neighbor, sibling or your parents.

6. What are my career goals? Why do I want to continue my studies? When and why am I interested in my chosen field of study? How has this shaped me so far and what has it taught me about myself?

7. Are there weaknesses in my application? Do I have gaps or inconsistencies on my academic records that I can explain?

8. What are the strengths of my application? Do I have awards, recommendations or honors that are relevant which I should mention?

9. Field experience:

a. Internships and jobs relevant to my field of study including skills learned and experience gained

b. Has my field experience prepared me for my future career - how so?

c. What social services/volunteer programs have I been involved in? What did these teach me in general and about myself? Did these relate to my field of study?

d. What extracurricular activities have I been involved in and have they contributed to my studies or professional goals?

These seem like a lot of questions, in essence they develop the background to the information you will actually put in your statement and answers to any questions. Answering these questions keep you on track to keeping your personal statement PERSONAL. Look for common denominators in the answers you have written, this may help formulate a theme or connection you can build into your personal statement.

Planning Part B and launching into your first draft

Planning the structure of your essay and allotting your own word limits to each part give you a framework in which to develop the content. Naturally, there are three main parts introduction, body and conclusion. From the notes you have made previously along with the questions you need to answer, this is where you condense your prompts to fit each of the three sections. Relevance, power to support your application and evidence of who you are is what you are looking for.

1. Your introduction and even your first sentence are the most important part of your personal statement. This is where you can grab the attention of the admissions representative. Make your first sentence unique and compelling. It is recommended that you state in a creative way WHY you want to undertake this field of study in your first sentence. The rest of your introduction should provide a brief explanation that supports this first statement. Divide the word limit by the three parts of your personal statement by allocating your introduction around 30%.

2. The body of your personal statement is going to be hard work - you need to use around 50% of your word limit to give the admission representatives concrete evidence of why you stand out from the crowd in this application process. The body is also where you will be answering questions and giving examples of experience and affects of experience. Answers and evidence need to keep reflecting who YOU really are. If you’re struggling to keep under the word limit, allocate each question a word limit as well.

3. Now you are looking at the remaining 20% of your word limit being your conclusion. Percentages may vary if larger word limits are being offered. Ensure you state why you are interested in this field of study; state the key points from the body of your essay (e.g. accomplishments, experience and interest). Ensure that you keep it brief, to the point and leave out the clichés. Just as you started your personal statement with an attention grabber, make sure you finish your personal statement with one or two sentences that are positive and leave the reader remembering your statement while they are reading the next few.

TIP: As this is a personal statement it is acceptable to write in the first person

Reviewing your Graduate School personal statement

Skip this stage and you are heading for rejection. Very few people write perfectly the first time and if you run out of time to do this stage, then you are leaving your application short.

1. Check for grammar, punctuation and spelling. If you’re not confident about these aspects then ask someone you can trust or hire a professional to check the personal statement.

2. Review your statement and ask these questions:

a. Have I answered the questions required?

b. Have I put forward the best examples of experiences and effects that are relevant to my field of study or who I am?

c. Have I effectively answered the main question here - Why should the Graduate School accept me over my fellow applicant?

d. Does this statement reflect who I really am or do I sound like a “too good to be true” parrot?

e. Would I fall asleep if I had to read this or would it grab my attention?

f. Have I let my sense of humor get carried away? Do I sound too opinionated or extreme in my views?

g. Have I addressed any weaknesses I have e.g. low GPA or LSAT?

3. Check for logical flow and paragraph transition which make the statement strong and easily read.

4. Read the personal statement over - if you need to read any of the sentences twice, and then re-structure them. Have I left myself too short on an important area and too long in another? Cut and chop away until you know that this statement is strong, logical and captures the attention of the reader. If you step over a platitude or cliché - remove and find another way. At the same time - give yourself a limit of how many reviews you will do, otherwise you will keep chopping and changing losing the essence of what you are writing.

5. Lastly, peer review - a person or people you can trust to be brutally honest and who knows you well. Preferably someone who also understands that this personal statement is for admission to graduate school. Get several people to give you a boredom rating along with a rating of whether or not you have truly reflected who you are.

Finally, remember to do review steps 1, 2 and 3 after each revision to ensure you have not lost your way. Making your graduate school personal statement interesting and stand out from the crowd is a matter of understanding what you can really offer and who you really are. If there are weaknesses to your application at least ensure that you try to explain them as well as stating your strengths and experience.

Jason Kay recommends finding example personal statements at SamplePersonalStatement.org

The University of Kansas is just one of the quality schools for higher education in the state of Kansas. The main campus of the University of Kansas is located In Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence is actually home to two universities, the University of Kansas, and the Haskell Indian Nations University. The town of Lawrence is 25 miles from the capitol city of Topeka, and just 40 minutes from the thriving city area of Kansas City. The Kansas International Airport is also in Kansas City and provides transportation for many students. One unique thing and the University of Kansas is that it is a multi-campus facility. In addition to the main campus is Lawrence; the campus of the University of Kansas includes the Medical Center in Kansas City, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park, and the clinical campus of the School of Medicine in Wichita.

Student Body Information

The University of Kansas was founded in 1866, and today has more than 29,000 students enrolled. There are students from all 50 states, as well as international students from 110 countries. Students can choose from over 170 majors, and the University of Kansas is one of the top 50 public universities, and is well known for their public research and teaching disciplines. There are plenty of fields of study to choose from for the prospective student. In addition, students in their senior year often study abroad.

The Perfect University Location

With the jay hawk as their mascot, the University of Kansas is ideally located. The town of Lawrence is small, with a population of around 85,000 people. Lawrence has been ranked as one of the top 15 best small art towns in America and is also known for their dedication to historic preservation. The town has a wonderful art scene, and boasts many specialty shops, coffeehouses, and other amenities to make students and residents alike feel at home. Lawrence is considered a safe community that cares about its residents.

Tuition Costs

Another unique thing about the University of Kansas is that they consistently have a below average tuition. This does not mean, however, that their teaching staff is below par. It is actually anything but! They have expert researchers and experience professors teaching their classes. Many of these professional are nationally ranked. Housing costs for students are also lower than the national average. So students at the University of Kansas are definitely getting a quality education for their tuition dollars.

Everything you need to know about Kansas City.

A Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) is the highest degree level of achievement possible in one of many different academic fields. Many people who complete a doctoral program chose to go into research, teaching, or administration. A Ph.D. and Doctor of Education (Ed .D.) both vary from program to program, and school to school, but the main difference between them is the design and intent of the programs.

An Ed.D. program generally prepares practitioners. The program would include coursework, internships, and independent work in learning and direction, staff development, supervising, evaluation, and research synthesis. The degree is awarded to students who have made significant contributions to a particular field, especially in the field of research. The main contribution is often a research-based doctoral thesis or dissertation that is defended in front of committee before the student can earn the degree. Those who earn the degree generally use the title “doctor” in academic environments, research, and in publications. To receive a doctorate in almost all areas of study, a student must prove that they’ve successfully completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree, although requirements may vary by field.

The Ph.D. program is a research degree and includes coursework, internships, and independent work in research designing, data analysis, and instructional theory. Ph.D. graduates tend to work in universities and research-based environments. Therefore a Ph.D. is based on original research while an Ed .D is practice-oriented. As with most masters’ degree, be sure not to take too long to or you will start to lose credit hours. Doctorate programs require the completion of residency requirements (each school will define their residency requirements). Candidates are also required to work on a dissertation after completion of the coursework. This phase of the program is often referred to as ABD (all but dissertation).

It usually takes about three to four year to complete the doctoral degree although most people take longer if they are not full-time students. Many schools have a requirement that the degree must be completed within seven to eight years. Statistics indicate that many people start the doctoral degree but do not finish for various reasons. Some get to the ABD stage and never finish if they get a new job, have increased responsibilities, or a raise at their job. The reasons vary. So, what is the determinant for successful completion?

Motivation is a huge determinant of success! Being motivated means that you need to be interested in the courses and program, keep in touch with the instructor, classmates, readings etc and see the light at the end of the tunnel. e the pursuit of similar goals.

Goal setting and personal rewards i.e. both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will keep you going. Adequate planning goals and setting milestones is certainly helpful. For example, tell yourself, “I will have completed half my coursework in one year” and then create a program of study to help you accomplish that. That will give you a degree of satisfaction and the energy to keep going. Always set aside a study place and time with no distractions. For example the library, computer lab or your study room at home may be the best place to concentrate and get work done.

Successful e-learners know how to balance. Don’t forget to surround yourself with positive family, friends, and co-workers who will root for you! Also don’t forget to take time off to relax and recoup. Do something different and fun from time to time. That will keep you refreshed. All said and done, hard work, determination, discipline gets you to the finish line!

A Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) is the highest degree level of achievement possible in one of many different academic fields. Many people who complete a doctoral program chose to go into research, teaching, or administration. But what are the indicators of successful completion?

Sophia P. is the editor ofhttp://www.about-elearning.com/online-phd.html and http://www.colleges-and-careers.com, information and resource guides on e-learning and degree programs.

Did you know that because of the fast developments in graphical and processing realism of today’s computer games and video games, that many people and organizations are using them as part of their formal training? To name two particular professions which use computer games and video games as a training method, it may surprise you to know that this would include airline pilots and the army.

Suspecting that the pilot sitting at the front of the large commercial plane you are about to fly on has had all his training playing a little game on his home computer is likely to unnerve even the most calm of passengers, as would suspecting that your home and country was being protected by an army who have had little other training than sitting in a dark room hitting a few keys on their keyboard and occasionally clicking a mouse.

Of course, this isn’t the case, and whilst computer and video games do feature as part of the training, they only feature as a relatively small part of the whole, and usually for very specific reasons.

Flight simulator games available today, such as Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, are so realistic and accurate that a whole range of aircraft cockpits are replicated in details, and the scenery, coordinates and position of key locations such as airports so accurate, that it is very easy to practice navigational skill using this method.

Clearly nothing but practice in a real aircraft will prepare a pilot for flying an aircraft, but learning about what the controls do, how to read them accurately, and understanding about navigation is not only easily learned using a game like this, but of course is also much more cost effective. Twelve hours use of a computer station carrying out a range of tasks and objectives using flight simulator software costs very little indeed, whereas twelve hours of flying time in the air, using up fuel, using a plane, and requiring the services of flight navigators, engineers and a support pilot will cost a very great deal of money.

Not only this, but the trainee pilot can easily experience a number of problems and weather conditions it might not otherwise be feasibly possible to train in for real - so a simulator can be used to put the pilot in a situation where there is a navigational problem, a landing issue, an engine failure or other situation which in real life it would either be not possible or simply dangerous to replicate.

Similarly, the army sometimes uses modern computer games to work out and practice tactics and strategies in environments which allow them to quickly and easily adapt to situations, practice situations repeatedly, discuss the merits or failures of methods, and learn to work in certain situations as a team.

Anyone who has ever played a complex computer game with other people know just how important effective teamwork, communication and an understanding of your own role is to the overall success of the group.

Computer and video games will never replace real world experience, but they can certainly help to replace unnecessary danger, cost and time in improving performance.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for army games, dolls.