Hampton Green Homes » News And Society

What do I need for an Online Degree?

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:36:19 +0000

Many students fail to take up the possibility of an online degree because they fear that they will never make the grade. These courses have very liberal entry requirements. In this article we will take the example of the MBA program. The student should indicate that they are in some form of employment. It is also worth their while to get a letter of recommendation from their supervisor or employer. They also need to have a funding letter that determines who is going to pay for the fees.

Intelligence and aptitude for higher learning

Some of the courses will require the student to demonstrate the kind of aptitude that is essential in order to achieve the online degree. A simple test will give the university some clues as to the capabilities of the student as well as the weaknesses that need to be addressed. There is also a �mature student� entry program that allows people to use work experience instead of higher secondary school qualifications. That means that people who dropped out of school have the ability to rejoin the higher learning institutions.

The requirements for an online degree are continuously being reviewed in order to ensure that they serve the students. The exclusive element is frowned upon and the establishments are particularly interested in students from poorer backgrounds. If a student fails to accomplish the first set of tests, then there are possibilities for them to re-sit the exam or to enter through an access course. The emphasis is on open education rather than exclusive education.

Progress For Derby City Centre Regeneration Project

admin — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:11:22 +0000

The people of Derby should be very excited at what is to become a bright future for their city centre. After a long period of low investment in the city, the council has started the planning of major development projects and major improvements to the city centre’s infrastructure to breathe new life into the whole area. In April 2003, Derby Cityscape Ltd was established as the company to oversee the urban transformation of Derby and created a master plan for the city which would include, a new Further Education college, major expansion of the Eagle shopping Centre, housing developments by the riverside, and proposals for upgrading transport links into and out of the city centre.

The Masterplan was created and unveiled in 2005 and work began on putting it into practice, but 5 years on – how much progress has been made?

Here we take a look at what has already been achieved from the plan, what the proposals are for the immediate future of the city’s development, and what is in the pipeline.

Achievements

o A ?340m extension to the old Eagles Shopping Centre gave birth to the impressive Westfield Centre which was opened by Tess Daly in October 2007. It has over 150 shops, a large cinema and many places to eat. In 2008 the centre received over 23 million visitors.

o In September 2008 Derby QUAD was opened to the public, the city’s new centre for Contemporary Art and Film which offers an art gallery, cinema, cafe bar and workshop. Since then the venue has been visited by over 223,000 people.

o In February 2009 the Cathedral Bridge was completed and went on to win the Small Civil Engineering Project 2009 award at the British Constructing Industry awards.

o June 2009 saw the opening of the Jury’s Inn hotel located in the middle of the city’s vibrant Cathedral Quarter. The modern and stylish hotel has 213 bedrooms as well as 5 meeting rooms and other business facilities.

o In September 2009, the historic and recently restored Roundhouse building opened its doors to students of Derby College. This project was rewarded with the coveted Heritage Award and also the Project of the Year award at the Constructing Excellence EM Regional Awards 2009.

o ?22 million has already been invested in renewing the platforms and facilities as well as replacing the canopies at Derby’s bustling railway station.

o Cathedral Green has been stylishly re-landscaped making it an attractive public area overlooking the river Derwent, with the Cathedral in the background.

Scheduled Developments for 2010

Riverlights Complex – This ?100million project will create a complex on the banks of the river made up of a state-of-the-art bus station, a Holiday Inn and Hilton Hampton hotel as well as retail outlets and restaurants. The bus station is due to be up and running in the early part of 2010.

St Helen’s Street – ?22million has been earmarked for a housing project, designed provide 180 family eco-friendly homes comprising of a mix of affordable housing and private sales. The first phase will develop 40 one and two bedroom houses and is set to be finished in July 2010.

Derby Railway Station Gateway – There are 2 phases of the regeneration program for the railway station. The first is for a transport interchange at the station forecourt to ensure that links to other types of transport are more efficient and also cut traffic congestion. ?1.75m of the ?1.8m funding for this has now been approved by EMDA and ERDF, and the difference will be made up by Derby City Council. Phase 2 involves the renovation of a dilapidated building adjacent to the station to be used for employment space. The ?1.3m funding for this scheme has already been secured from EMDA, Network Rail and The Railway Heritage Trust. Work is due to begin on both phases in summer 2010.

Friar Gate Square – Planning permission for this ?20million development has recently been obtained which will see the creation of two landmark office buildings providing 100,000sq ft of quality office space. A pedestrian link will also be provided to the historic Friar Gate railway bridge.

In The Pipeline

Looking past 2010, Derby Cityscape has 5 other projects lined up to begin in the following stage of Derby City’s regeneration. All of these have now had full planning permission approved. The projects include a combination of city centre housing developments, further top quality office space at Cathedral Green, improvements to the traditional heritage and retail areas in Sadler Gate and a retail and office space complex on Cathedral road.

Book Review – Battlefields And Blessings By Jane Hampton Cook

admin — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:16:09 +0000

Men of Courage, Conviction, and Commitment

“Battlefields & Blessing” is a compilation of unique of writings of inspiration and courage compiled and edited by Jane Hampton Cook. The writings are from the years of the Revolutionary War period. This group of committed men and women joined together in a cause to maintain the freedom to exercise the personal conviction of their faith.The viewpoints key players of the Revolution are included in this amazing collection of inspirational expression and challenge. George Washington, Samuel Adams, Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox, Benjamin Franklin, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, John Adams, and King George III are a few of those included. Their writing brings these real life examples of courage, conviction, and commitment to the pages of this book.

There are excerpts taken from original manuscripts, letters and speeches. These add greatly to the genuineness and authenticity of the personal faith exercised in the decisions made during this period of crisis. These devotions are unique and include anecdotes that demonstrate the uplifting power of faith and reveal the personal battlefield experienced by the leaders of the Revolution. The book is formatted for use in daily devotions. Each week includes stories built around individual faith and courage. These are designed for reflection and inspiration. One day is devoted to: “The Revolution Today” with thoughts directly related to incidents and issues relating to the war. The seventh day is committed to “Sabbath Rest” and features a sermon from a recognized minister of the era

“Battlefield & Blessing” is a book of patriotism and spiritual insight. It is the prayer of the author, Jane Hampton Cook; that these stories of men of courage, conviction, and commitment will be a challenge to the reader to experience a revolution in their own hearts “one devotion at a time.”

The Black Beauty Myth

admin — Tue, 16 May 2006 07:54:21 +0000

When blacks arrived in the New World over 400 years ago, they quickly learned to devalue the color of their skin, their eyes, and the texture of their hair. Clearly in this New World, white skin was synonymous with beauty and prestige, and those blacks lucky enough to closely resemble the slave master were given jobs in the big house as cooks and menservants, while their darker skinned counterparts were consigned to the fields. This division of work along color lines gave birth to a de-facto caste system, the vestiges of which have survived today.

In the South, where the effects of this caste system were most evident, lighter skinned Blacks enjoyed higher levels of education, resulting in greater social status and financial rewards. Lighter Blacks also experienced better relationships with Whites, who viewed them as less threatening than darker Blacks. Fully aware of the advantages of light skin, fair blacks frequently married those of the same skin color, and in subsequent generations, forbade their children to marry dark complexioned Blacks. If fair skinned enough, blacks could “pass,” or move unnoticed into white society, thereby avoiding forever the social pitfalls blackness.

Of course no self respecting Black person would try to pass in this era. Though there is still a stigma attached to being Black, our progress in gaining political and socioeconomic parity has made the need to “pass” unneccessary. Not only that, but we have come to appreciate our African heritage, and at present are experiencing a resurgence of the Black pride movement that began in the mid-1960’s. Back then, blacks threw off the yolk of the dominant culture opting for an Afro-centric approach to their lives. All across the country, Black college students were demanding that African and African American history become a permanent part of the curriculum, tossing out their pressing combs and bleaching cream and adopting natural hairstyles while celebrating the beauty of darker skin. In the blink of an eye “Black power!” became the rallying cry of the day.

Unfortunately that swelling of ethnic pride had subsided by the 1980’s and its seeming re-birth in the 90’s lacked the fire and vision that had defined its predecessor. With no discernible challenge to the values of the dominate culture, Black Pride circa 1990 emerged as little more than a commodity, commercially packaged and exploited for mass consumption. Poorly rendered portraits of great African and African American leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, abounded in K-marts and on street corners. Leather necklaces fashioned in the shape of the African continent decorated the necks of black teens while the likeness of Malcolm X graced everything from T-shirts to baseball caps. The traditional clothing of Africa, worn with such pride over twenty five years ago, was usurped by Madison Avenue to satisfy the public’s craze for ethnic clothing.

Fast forward to the new millennium. Once again wearing one’s hair natural is frowned upon except in the entertainment industry and certain counter cultural circles; and the chemical relaxer, ironically bearing such names as Dark and Lovely and African Pride, has become the millennial version of the pressing comb. Even bleaching cream, now euphemistically referred to as skin evener, is back. The smiling blonde ideal continues to influence and define the physical perceptions of Black Americans years after we supposedly shook her influence for good.

But there is another image driving Black self-hatred, an image which is perhaps the most insidious of all. Of course this woman’s face is also a fantasy, an ideal thrust upon us by the dominant culture. Her face is supposed to represent Blacks, but in reality she is something in between. This woman is very light skinned, her hair is long, brown and loosely curled, her eyes often hazel or green. Like most media images this one is non-representative, but it exists because it puts White America more at ease. The harm in such an image is its ubiquitousness in a medium with incredible influence over so many young Blacks. The message of such an image is obvious and culturally tragic. Because of it, many of us endlessly straighten our hair, bleach our skins, mutilate our African features and wear colored contact lenses, effectively denying our cultural identity. We demean ourselves by accepting a beauty standard imposed upon us for the twin purposes of dividing our people and assuring that we remain second class citizens, if only in our minds.

Not to say that Blacks born with more Caucasoid features are somehow less black or that those of us who chose to straighten our hair are ignorant of or ashamed of their African identity. The argument isn’t about who is black or who is not. There is far more at stake than this simple statement. At stake is our universal identity as a people. For who are we truly if we continue to allow ourselves to be defined by a culture that often refused to recognize us as full citizens? Who are we if we continue to allow such a culture to define us in a way that negatively affects the self esteem of our children and sometimes our own?

I think about my youngest sister, who is not bi-racial, but for all the world appears to be. She is a lovely young lady with tawny skin, hazel eyes and wavy, chocolate-brown hair. How often I have heard other blacks praise hair like hers as being good while in the same breath deriding the woolly textured hair more prevalent among us as “nappy”, “kinky”, and even plain “bad”. In truth there is nothing intrinsically beautiful nor superior in straight or woolly hair, in light or dark skin in blue or brown eyes. Racial phenotype, the major physical differences found among the “races” are nothing more than climatic adaptations, much like the white coats of arctic animals. The beauty in one’s racial features derives from the recognition that they are one’s own. Each of us should take pride in how we look. Whites and Asians certainly do, why don’t we?

Black people come in a rainbow of skin colors, ranging from fair ivory to deep ebony, and our hair textures vary from bone straight to woolly. We should celebrate all of our beautiful variances, and we, not some European standard, should and indeed must, define our outer beauty. If we cannot define who we are, what we are, and how we should look, we will forever remain victims of the worst type of slavery.