Animal Grooming Is Booming!

Animal Grooming Is Booming!

Animal grooming courses are an opportunity to join the booming industry. In fact, the pet grooming products market is predicted to grow from $141 million in 2020 to $276 million by 2025!

Australians are increasingly taking to pet ownership, with over 60 per cent of households owning a pet! And these animal lovers just love to pamper their pets. But grooming isn’t just for the pampered pooches. It’s vital to any animal care regimen and is essential to an animal’s health and welfare.

So, if you’ve been considering a foray into the animal grooming industry, there’s never been a better time to study an animal grooming course.

Our Certificate of Animal Grooming is a professional development course that will introduce you to the many grooming techniques necessary for professional grooming.  You’ll also learn about animal anatomy, safety precautions and how to establish your own animal grooming salon in this animal grooming course.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved when you study our animal grooming course include:

  • Understand the scope and nature of grooming animals, including the animals that are commonly groomed, the situations in which they are groomed, equipment used, and the tasks carried out by a groomer.
  • Understand the external anatomical structures and physiological processes of animals that are relevant to grooming.
  • Learn how to manage the coats of different types of animals.
  • Discuss tasks used in grooming animals that are supplementary to grooming the coat.
  • Describe a range of techniques used to control a variety of different types of animals during grooming.
  • Compare grooming techniques used for different types of dogs.
  • Understand a range of techniques used to groom a variety of different types of animals other than dogs.
  • Determine protocols for the safety of both animals and groomers when grooming different types of animals
  • Explain how to groom dogs, cats, horses and a variety of other animals for a show.
  • Learn how to establish or improve a grooming business to be more successful.

And more!

Animal Grooming is Booming!

In Australia, dog grooming is big business. In fact, the Australian pets and pet supplies market is worth a staggering $3 billion.

Further, Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership globally, with over 60 per cent of households owning a pet.  And the demand for non-shedding breeds (particularly those crossed with poodles) is on the rise, making grooming a number one priority.

So, that’s a lot of fury clients to tend to when it comes to regular grooming. No wonder the local groomers are always booked weeks in advance – no last-minute appointments in this market!

25 Fun Facts You Might Not Know About Dogs

  1. A dog’s nose is like a human fingerprint. It can be used to identify them!
  2. Dogs only have 1700 tastebuds. Humans have 9000!
  3. A dog called Chaser recognises 1022 words!
  4. Dogs only have sweat glands between their paws.
  5. A dog’s sense of smell is 100,000 times stronger than a human
  6. A dog can smell feelings, especially fear!
  7. Dogs can see much better in the dark than humans
  8. A dogs wet nose to helps absorb scent chemicals
  9. Dogs lick their noses to sample the scent chemicals
  10. It’s proven that dogs can smell some types of cancer
  11. Dogs release oxytocin (the love hormone) when they are with humans
  12. Dogs curl up when they’re sleeping to protect vital organs
  13. The earliest fossils of dogs date back 10,000BC
  14. There are two dogs with black tongues – the Shar-Pei and Chow Chow
  15. Greyhounds can run up to 72km/hr and are the fastest dogs in the world (they can even outrun cheetahs!)
  16. Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, is the oldest dog that ever lived! Bluey lived to the ripe old age of 29 years and five months from 1910-1939.
  17. The heaviest dog recorded was an English Mastiff weighing a whopping 155 kilograms!
  18. The tallest dog was a Great Dane called Zeus, who stood at 112cm tall.
  19. The largest recorded little of puppies was by a Neapolitan Mastiff named Tia, who had 24 puppies!
  20. Dogs can sniff at the same time as breathing
  21. Dalmatian puppies are born pure white and only get spots when they grow older
  22. Studies have shown that patting a dog for 15 minutes can lower blood pressure by 10 per cent
  23. Dogs can benefit your physical and mental health
  24. The most balls caught by a dog in one minute with the paws is 14!
  25. Chocolate is deadly to dogs

Types of Dog Coats

Dogs have different types of coats from wiry to curly and shedding and non-shedding ‘fur’. Dog grooming courses will help you to provide the best serve to suit your furry client’s hair type and style!

Hairless

These dogs, depending on their breed, can be completely hairless or have tufts of hair. Haircare is easy – just comb the tufts to keep them free of knots. Breed: Chinese Crested

Smooth or Short-Coated Dogs

The coat on these dogs is usually close to the skin and is smooth to touch in the direction of the hair growth. Against the coat, hairs can feel prickly, and this type of hair sheds. Breed: Doberman

Wire-Haired Dogs

Dogs with a coarse, wiry coat are rough and bristly to the touch. They do not shed but require a lot of grooming to avoid matts. Breed: Yorkshire Terrie 

Long-Coated Dogs

Long-coated dogs need regular grooming and coat care as they are more likely to tangle and matt if neglected. Breed: Afghan

Curly-Coated Dogs

Poodles are most well-known for their curly coat, and the degree of curl varies depending on the dog. Curly coats are attractive, and they seldom shed but are not easy to maintain. Dirt and debris can get caught in the coat. These dogs need regular, professional grooming. Breed: Poodle

Double-Coated Dogs

A double coat on a dog refers to the layers – there is a top and under layer. This double-coated dog needs regular brushing that goes through to the undercoat. Breed: Australian Shepherds.

25 Fascinating Facts About Animal Grooming

When you study animal grooming courses, and particularly dog grooming courses, you’ll discover all these fascinating facts and more. You’ll also learn how to deliver five-star service to our furry friends to prioritise their health and well-being.

  1. Groom dogs every four to eight weeks (as a general rule)
  2. Groom dogs with short coats every six to eight weeks
  3. Medium to long coats should have a full groom every four to six weeks
  4. Animals with long coats should have a tidy-up groom monthly
  5. A long-coated breed should be brushed at least four times a week
  6. Trim a dogs nails every two months
  7. Regular nail trimming ensures a healthy foot structure
  8. Long, overgrown nails can contribute to arthritis in the legs and hips
  9. Bath dogs once a month – as a rule
  10. A dog should not be washed more than once a week as this will strip the coat of protective oils that keep the coat strong, moisturised, and shiny
  11. Clean a dog’s ears every two weeks
  12. Double-coated breeds should have a full professional groom regularly
  13. Matted coats can be painful for dogs
  14. A matted coat can encourage bacteria and fleas
  15. Matted fur can cause hotspots, irritated skin, and even infection
  16. Bathing a dog with matted fur makes the matts worse
  17. Matted fur takes longer to groom and often incurs more expensive grooming costs
  18. Matted coats can cut off the blood supply in extreme cases
  19. Fur breeds have a double coat, which consists of a soft undercoat and a coarser topcoat, which sheds to regulate body temperature
  20. Hair breeds have a single coat that continues to grow but does not shed
  21. Dogs with a fur double coat should not be shaved as it can cause alopecia, temperature dysregulation and increased hair growth
  22. Shaving a double coat ‘fur’ breed can also cause sunburn, heatstroke and fly/mosquito bites
  23. On average, grooming appointments are two to three hours longs
  24. When using spot flea treatments, wait for 48 before and after a bath to allow the product to penetrate
  25. A dog’s coat grows in different stages, just like in people (otherwise, we’d all go bald)

 

Gain knowledge in the fundamentals of animal grooming, including anatomy, safety and business skills, when you study animal grooming courses like our Certificate of Animal Grooming.

Study Ethics Courses – Enjoy Greater Success!

Ethics is increasingly essential in many disciplines and workplaces and is at the core of many professions. Think about how often we hear people talking about medical ethics, ethics in sport, business ethics, ethical behaviour of religious leaders or schoolteachers.

Ethics strongly impacts many industries, from politics to health care, welfare, education and environmental management. As such, it’s a field of study that can benefit many careers.

When you study ethics, you explore your own ethical boundaries, learn about different perspectives on moral philosophy and gain a greater understanding of what differentiates one perspective from another.

The Certificate of Ethics will provide you with knowledge on the origins and theories of ethics, different ethical viewpoints, reasons for ethical decision-making and the virtue ethics model.

When you study ethics courses, you will gain insights into the theories of social contacts, applied ethics in relation to individual rights, society, business and the workplace.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved if you study ethics courses include:

  • Overview and Introductory Ethics
  • Who invented ethics – What are its origins?
  • Ethics and Philosophy
  • Current Ethical Theories:
  • Divine Command Theory of Ethics
  • The Theory of Forms Theory of Ethics
  • Theory of Relative Ethics
  • The Three Areas of Ethics
  • What determines your own ethics/ sense of morality?
  • Arguing an Ethical Position – An Overview of Meta-Ethics
  • Metaethical Theories
  • Expressivist Theories (Non-Cognitive)
  • Accommodating Varying Viewpoints
  • Different Ethical Viewpoints
  • Ethical Dilemmas
  • Virtues and Morality
  • Developmental Model of Virtue Ethics
  • Morality
  • Reasons for Ethical Decisions
  • Theories of Ethical Decision-Making
  • The Theories in More Detail
  • The Principle of Double Effect
  • The Social Contract
  • Principle of Self-Interest
  • Theories of Social Contract
  • Twentieth-Century Social Contract Theory
  • AppliedEthics A – An Individual’s Rights
  • Basic Human Rights
  • The Underpinning Values of Human Rights
  • Categories of Human Rights
  • Human Rights Breaches
  • AppliedEthics A
  • AppliedEthics B – An Ethical Society
  • What Is an Ethical Society?
  • AppliedEthics B
  • Case Study: African Caribbean People and Schizophrenia
  • AppliedEthics C – Ethics in Work and Business
  • Why do Organisations NeedEthics?
  • AppliedEthics C – Organisations and Professions
  • Benefits of Ethics in Healthcare

And more! 

What is Ethics?

Ethics is about the norms and rules of conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and is a sub-division of the broader discipline of philosophy (the study of human thoughts).

Commonly, the study of ethics is divided into three main areas: meta ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics.

Meta-Ethics

Meta-ethics is the study of the nature, scope and meaning of moral judgement and attempts to understand ethical positions.

Normative Ethics

Normative ethics is the study of ethical behaviour and investigates and questions how one should act in a moral sense. In other words, the study attempts to understand how we should respond to an ethical position.

Applied Ethics

Applied ethics refers to the practical application of moral considerations. It is an area of study concerned with the treatment of moral problems, practices and policies in personal life, professions, technology and government.

Why Study Ethics?

There are many reasons to study ethics, and the knowledge gained can be applied to your personal and professional life.

So, why should we study ethics and is it relevant to our personal and professional life? The answer is absolutely! That is if you want to live a meaningful life, gain greater personal success, cultivate inner peace, contribute to a stable society, understand religion and the afterlife … and so much more.

  1. Live a Meaningful life

Having a strong sense of integrity is vital to living an authentic and meaningful life. When you study ethics, you build a strong sense of self and are able to understand and follow your own moral compass. It’s helpful in your personal and professional life.

  1. Gain Greater Professional Success

The old saying, ‘good guys finish last’ is false. Ethical people are better employees, managers, business owners – and simply better people. Why? Because they have traits that lead to goodwill and success in life – they’re genuinely honest, reliable, trustworthy, loyal and caring.

On the other hand, those without strong ethics have to work hard to emulate these qualities, and that’s exhausting and transparent. Those without a strong ethical code will also fail in most interpersonal relationships in the workplace. That’s not good for business or their career.

So, when you study ethics, you’ll be improving your future prospects of success, whether that means being a valued employee worthy of promotion or operating your own business.

  1. Become Aware of Your Personal Ethics

When you study ethics, you will develop your own code of ethical guidelines that will guide you through life. They’re at the heart of your core values and guide your professional ethics. Personal ethics can include honesty, loyalty, integrity, selflessness, equality and fairness, empathy, respect for others and self-respect.

Ethics courses can help you develop a personal ethics statement, which is a written declaration that outlines your important ethical principles. These statements are valuable throughout life and are of particular significance for university applications, job applications and performance evaluations.

A personal ethics statement will also help you to understand your priorities in life, make better decisions, improve your goals setting and identify and improve your leadership style.

  1. Cultivate Inner Peace

Ethical values help shape a more peaceful world, but they also create inner peace. When you cultivate inner peace, you also develop a quieter mind, keener intellect, positivity and a healthier body. That’s a lot of stress-reduction when you study ethics and apply what you learn to your personal and professional life. Might this be the most important reason to develop your personal ethics code?

  1. Contribute to a Stable Society

When people have strong ethical values, they are honest, law-abiding and generous. A strong and stable society requires that its population works together to maintain law, order – and harmony. Conversely, insensitive and dishonest people find it challenging to integrate into a healthy society. Ethics courses will help you further understand how reliant society is on strong ethics to operate harmoniously.

  1. Religion and the Afterlife

What’s greater than personal, professional and societal success? For those who are religious, strong ethics are a portal to the afterlife. Only faith can foster a belief in eternal life, and only good behaviour can lead to prosperity in the life hereafter.

Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas

There are many ethical dilemmas, but some of the most pressing in today’s society are the environment, machine learning and online privacy. For those who study ethics, these difficult questions will need to be answered.

Should Poor Farmers Be Allowed to Clear Land?

Deforestation is destructive to the environment, but what about poor farmers who rely on the land to make a living? Rural farmers depend on the land and natural resources for food, their livelihood and physical wellbeing. But what about environmental management and biodiversity conservation? When you study ethics, you might be able to tackle these types of ethical, environmental dilemmas.

Should We Abandon Privacy Online?

The battle between online and individual privacy and national security is ever-present in our technology-obsessed society – but where do we draw the line? It’s a fine line between safety and privacy.

Do we have the right to send encrypted messages? Or to keep browser history on Google private? It’s a tricky balance between individual privacy – we all have legal secrets we’d rather not have others knowing – and finding and convicting criminals who would be able to communicate in private, such as those operating child pornography sites.

Should We Let Cars Drive Themselves?

Machine learning is another ethical dilemma, and one that’s hot on our heels is the implementation of driverless vehicles. Self-driving cars should drive more safely and more fairly than people do. In fact, cars shouldn’t drive like people at all – humans are not very good drivers. They drive in ethically troubling ways – whether to speed if in a hurry or to go through a crosswalk depending on the age, gender, ethnicity of the cross walker.

But then there’s Moravec’s Paradox which highlights the fact that what’s easy for humans (perception, such as recognising facial expression) and mechanical tasks (such as riding a bike) are hard for machines. Can we depend on machines in the same way as we do humans in the future? It’s unlikely.

However, predictions about when cars will be fully automated are a mixed bag, ranging from the next ten years to many decades away.

So, in future, will engineers and algorithms decide how every car drives and, as a result, define policy about safety and mobility? When you study ethics, these are the types of questions that will become important for the future of our society.

Should We Edit Our Children’s Genomes?

Many of the most common genetic conditions still lack effective treatments or cures. So, should parents be able to screen for all genetic conditions in pregnancy?  This screening would lead to decisions about terminating the pregnancy or planning for the condition before the child is born.

The leap from screening for genetic conditions to ‘genome editing’ is not great – but the consequences and ethical dilemmas are huge. So, if it’s possible to remove the gene causing variant before the child is born – should we do it? It would certainly alleviate the problematic decisions around terminating pregnancies.

While the positive is obvious – curing disease in future generations – there are also fears about creating ‘designer babies’ and what it means for the future of the human race. It’s another big question that those who study ethics will need to tackle for progress to be made in future.

Should We Give all Animals Rights?

Human beings have fundamental, absolute rights no matter how they behave or whether or not stripping them of those rights is better for humanity. But what about animals? If we are to eliminate suffering in all creatures, should we be giving animals the same protections as human beings? Should it be considered in terms of intelligence?

In his book Animal Liberation, Peter Singer states the basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment but equal consideration. He says animals deserve to live their lives free from suffering and exploitation, and the most important aspect of rights is not ‘can they reason, or can they talk’ but rather ‘can they suffer?

Supporters of animal rights believe that animals have an inherent worth, which is separate from their usefulness to humans.

Should We Support or Boycott Overseas Products?

Do you know how the last item of clothing your bought was created? Should we boycott all products that come from countries that endorse child and/or underpaid labour? If we stop buying all of these products, what happens to the people working in these overseas factories? How will they support themselves and their families?

Globalisation means that many of the products we buy are sourced from supply chains from all over the world. It also means that those in wealthier and developed nations can buy inexpensive products that improve their quality of life. But at what cost? Consumerism is an ethical dilemma that’s not easy to solve. However, for those who study ethics, a solution may be possible. At the very least, asking these difficult questions helps build awareness for consumers in Australia.

Professional Development and Ethics

Those who study ethics will be encouraged to think out of the box and will be challenged to identify their values and the significance of these values. This understanding – a belief system – and morality will colour all areas of life, from home to public image and the workplace.

Ethics courses will help develop your ability to question codes of ethics, their place in society, as well as their usefulness and limitations. Apart from the obvious professional areas of psychology and counselling, which adhere to strong ethical codes, ethics courses are important in many professions.

In fact, ethics courses have wide-ranging appeal and are vital for people in a variety of careers, including:

  • Psychology
  • Counselling
  • Nursing
  • Social work
  • Caring roles
  • Health professions
  • Teaching
  • Coaching
  • Law
  • Politics
  • Human resources
  • Business
  • Police
  • Security

 

Gain knowledge in the fundamentals of ethics when you study ethics courses like our Certificate of Ethics.

Create Compelling Content With Our Copywriting Courses

If your role involves being responsible for marketing, communications and business decisions, then this course is a must-do. Business storytelling enables you to position your organisation using the appropriate language to produce effective copywriting, PR and other business communication, including marketing campaigns.

Our Compelling Copywriting & Business Storytelling course will teach you the vital elements of persuasive writing and narrative fiction in a business context. In copywriting courses like ours, you will learn about character, tone of voice, plot development, context and delivery. You will also discover how to create marketing and brand “stories” that are empathetic and relatable across a range of communication channels — from ads to blogs and vlogs.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking copywriting courses include:

  • Learning about how we tell stories, why stories matter and how we connect through stories
  • Exploring oral versus written traditions and storytelling at work
  • Gaining an understanding of the difference between storytelling and story writing
  • Studying the application of storytelling including blogs and social media
  • Gaining insights into business development, personnel management and storytelling with data
  • Understanding sales and marketing, storytelling in commercial situations and what you are selling or promoting
  • Learning about character development and brand ambassadors and influencers
  • Exploring mega, macro, micro and nano influencers
  • Gaining an understanding of customers in the story
  • Studying customers in the story, customer profiles and customer avatars
  • Gaining insights into developing characters
  • Examining plot development and the seven basic plots
  • Understanding the audience, conflict, overcoming the monster, and rags to riches
  • Learning about quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy and rebirth
  • Exploring the seven point plot structure and the literary technique of the “hook”
  • Gaining an understanding of inciting incident, complications and the halfway mark
  • Studying additional complications and obstacles and climax and resolution
  • Gaining insights into I and We
  • Examining how to identify and develop a theme, common story themes, universal themes and themes and brand messaging
  • Understanding storytelling for work
  • Learning about style and technique
  • Exploring how to select a narrator and first-person and second person
  • Gaining an understanding of social media/online content
  • Studying how to select a tense
  • Gaining insights into oral, written and visual presentation
  • Examining your storytelling style and how to plan your story
  • Understanding how to be natural, emotions and how to satisfy the audience’s curiosity
  • Learning about common story types
  • Exploring literary devices including similes and metaphors
  • Gaining an understanding of personification, symbolism, colloquialism, archetypes and rhetorical questions
  • Studying Chekhov’s Gun and other literary devices
  • Gaining insights into building dramatic tension including rising tension and how to introduce tension
  • Understanding environmental, plot and external tension, character and internal tension
  • Learning how to build trust and rapport
  • Exploring delivery and how to engage with your audience
  • Gaining an understanding of in-person delivery, telling our verbal story and voice
  • Studying pacing and emotion, value and tone and the importance and use of silence
  • Gaining insights into text and visuals

 

And more!

Australian Effie Awards 2020

Introduced in 1968 by the New York American Marketing Association, the Effie® Awards have since become recognised by advertising agencies and advertisers as the pre-eminent award in the advertising industry. The annual awards are presented to recognise the year’s most effective marketing and advertising communications campaigns. Here are some of 2020’s winners that will inspire you to undertake copywriting courses like ours!

Award: GOLD – The Grand Effie

Client: ALDI Australia

Title: Aldi Good Different

Agency: BMF

Award: GOLD – Beverages

Client: Beam Suntory

Title: How Canadian Club Became the Boss of Summer

Agency: The Monkeys

Award: GOLD – Financial Services

Client: NRMA Insurance

Title: Every Home is Worth Protecting

Agency: The Monkeys

Award: GOLD – Insight & Strategic Thinking

Client: NRMA Insurance

Title: Snapping Australians Out Of Their Home Insurance Apathy

Agency: The Monkeys

Award: SILVER – Travel, Leisure and Media

Client: Accor Hotels

Title: Wintervention – Reinventing a tired offer

Agency: Thinkerbell

Award: SILVER – Government

Client: Victoria Police

Title: When You Need Us, Not The Sirens – Creating New Ways To Contact The Police

Agency: Thinkerbell

Award: SILVER – Other Services

Client: Telstra

Title: You Don’t Need Australia’s Best Network Campaign … Until You Do

Agency: The Monkeys

Award: SILVER – Long Term Effects

Client: Mitsubishi Motors Australia

Title: How Mitsubishi Has The Time Of Its Life Again and Again 

Agency: Richards Rose

Award: SILVER – Retail/Etail

Client: ALDI Australia

Title: How a Campaign For One Convinced Australia to Give Aldi Another Go

Agency: BMF

Award: BRONZE – Food, Confectionary and Snacks

Client: KFC

Title: Secret Menu

Agency: Ogilvy Australia

Award: BRONZE – Most Original Thinking

Client: KFC

Title: Michelin Impossible

Agency: Ogilvy Australia

Award: BRONZE: Most Original Thinking

Client: Samsung

Title: Microcodes – How a Tiny Idea Generated Massive Results

Agency: CHE Proximity

Award: BRONZE – Health and Wellbeing

Client: Amgen

Title: The Big O: Speaking Out Against a Silent Disease.

Agency: The Works

Award: BRONZE – Travel, Leisure & Media

Client: Tourism Central Coast

Title: Building a Billion Dollar Tourism Brand Through Little Adventures

Agency: Affinity

Award: BRONZE – Financial Services

Client: Bendigo Bank

Title: Four Big Reasons To Try Number Five

Agency: AJF GorwthOps

Award: BRONZE – Brand Value

Client: NRMA Insurance

Title: How a Koala Added $96m of value to the NRMA Insurance brand

Agency: The Monkeys

Award: BRONZE – New Product or Service

Client: Sydney Children’s Hospital

Title: Curing Homesickness

Agency: CHE Proximity

 

Chekhov’s Gun

Also known as “Chekhov’s Rifle”, this is a dramatic principle that was recorded in letters by Anton Chekhov. Chekhov was a Russian physician, playwright and author who was born in1860. He is widely regarded as one of the great masters of the short story .

As you’ll discovery in copywriting courses like ours, it states that every element in a story must be necessary and unnecessary elements should be removed. Elements should also not appear to make “false promises” by never coming into play. As he noted:

  • “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter, it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”
  • “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.” Here the “gun” is a monologue that Chekhov deemed superfluous and unrelated to the rest of a
  • “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.”

How to use it in your writing

If you are writing storytelling copy and mention cars on a busy street, it doesn’t create the automatic assumption that they will play a significant part in the coming scene. This is because cars on a street are commonplace in describing a city scene. However, it is always wise to pass over inessential details more briefly and linger on significant ones. An item plays an important role in a story when you introduce it to the reader in a way that suggests dramatic significance. There are three ways you can do this:

  1. Showing an object that has inherent significance. For example, if your character holsters a gun before going out, it implies there will be a shootout later. Guns inherently signify the potential of violence and aggression.
  2. Implying significance through the way you describe an object. An item may become significant to your reader due to the way you focus on it. For example, if you make a point to describe or mention someone’s wedding ring in detail, it signals to the reader that something related to it or a character’s marriage will happen.
  3. Introducing an ordinary object in an unusual context. For example, if a character turns up on a snowy day wearing a short-sleeved dress, the reader expects an explanation as the object does not fit its context.
  4. Be intentional with red herrings. In some types of writing (mystery fiction in particular), authors foreground certain symbols or objects to deliberately mislead the reader. In a mystery, they can be used to throw the detective (and the reader) off the trail or send them down the wrong track in terms of solving the mystery. However, even here, Chekhov’s Gun theory should apply, as red herrings shouldn’t appear without their own causal relationship to the rest of the story.

 

Gain a comprehensive understanding of how to create a brand-consistent, cohesive and compelling story with copywriting courses like our Compelling Copywriting & Business Storytelling

Love Animals? Enhance Your Career With an Animal Behaviour Course!

This course is ideal for kennel workers, pet shop and vet assistants, farm workers, groomers, animal trainers, park rangers, farmers, animal charity workers or anyone who loves or owns animals. Our Certificate of Animal Behaviour will give you insights into understanding, anticipating and modifying animal behaviour.

This animal behaviour course will also introduce you to the various models and theories of animal behaviour and the specific characteristics of different species. You will learn to identify animal behaviour types, what drives behaviour, and recognise the psychological impacts of different handling techniques.

You will also study the role of genetics in behaviour, understand the interactions between different types of animals, and gain an understanding of reproductive, abnormal, social and territorial behaviour.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking an animal behaviour course include:

  • Learning about behaviour and the purpose of animal behaviour
  • Exploring what motivates behaviour
  • Studying behaviour types – reactive, active, cognitive
  • Gaining insights into learned behaviours – classic conditioning, reinforcement, extinction, operant conditioning, Skinners experiments
  • Examining other influences – external stimuli, internal stimuli, physiological responses, psychological responses
  • Understanding terminology
  • Learning how to observe animals
  • Exploring the basics of genetics
  • Gaining an understanding of the basics of genetics
  • Studying terminology – alleles, allelomorphs, genes, phenotype, mitosis, homozygous, genotype, etc.
  • Gaining insights into environmental affects, heritability and epigenisis
  • Understanding innate behaviour and the interaction between different species
  • Learning about survival and studying a case study of inherited trains in horse behaviour
  • Exploring animal perception and behaviour
  • Studying animal communication and perception
  • Gaining insights into how animals perceive things
  • Examining imprinting and types of stimuli – visual, auditory, tactile and chemical
  • Understanding monocular and binocular vision
  • Learning about neutral control
  • Exploring behaviour and the environment
  • Gaining an understanding of orthokinesis, klinokinesis, navigation and homeostasis
  • Studying thermoregulation, motivation and biological clocks
  • Gaining insights into the sun compass, migration and hibernation
  • Examining tolerance, acclimatisation and sexual and reproductive behaviours
  • Understanding social behaviour including animal societies and fight or flight response
  • Learning about aggression, social constrains, sexual behaviour and social order

And more!

Edward Thorndike: The Law of Effect

One of the the theories you will learn about in our animal behaviour course is Thorndike’s Law of Effect. Thorndike is famous in the world of psychology for his work on learning theory. He suggested that “responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation”. Thorndike was the first to apply psychological principles, in particular the concept of reinforcement, to the area of learning.

He studied learning in animals — usually cats — and devised a classic experiment where he used a puzzle box to empirically test the laws of learning. He placed a cat in the puzzle box, and it was then encouraged to escape the box to reach a piece of fish that was placed outside. Thorndike would then measure how long it would take them to escape, and noticed that cats experimented with different ways to escape the puzzle box to reach the fish.

Eventually, most of the cats would stumble upon a lever which opened the cage.  When the cat had escaped, it was put in the cage again, and Thorndike would again measure the time it took the cat to escape. In successive trials, the cats would learn that pressing the lever would have favourable consequences, and they would adopt their behaviour and become increasingly quick at pressing the lever.

30 Fascinating Animal Behaviour Facts

Our globe is home to more than one million known animal species, and many of them exhibit fascinating behaviour traits. Here are thirty facts that will provide an abundance of inspiration for undertaking an animal behaviour course.

  1. Wild dolphins call each other by name with “signature whistles”.
  2. Young goats pick up accents from each other.
  3. Humpback whale songs spread like “cultural ripples from one population to another.”
  4. Some African elephants have a specific alarm call that means “human”.
  5. Horses use facial expressions to communicate with each other.
  6. Azara’s night monkeys are more monogamous than humans.
  7. Male gentoo penguins “propose” to females by giving them a pebble.
  8. Barn owls are normally monogamous, but about 25 per cent of mated pairs “divorce.”
  9. African buffalo herds display voting behaviour in which individuals register their travel preference by standing up, looking in one direction and then lying back down. And only adult females can vote!
  10. If a honeybee keeps “dancing” in favour of an unpopular nesting site, other workers head butt her to help the colony reach a consensus.
  11. It was recently discovered that the bone-house wasp stuffs the walls of its nest with dead ants.
  12. Myotonic goats faint when they are startled. The breed characteristic, known as Myotonia Congenita, is a condition where their muscle cells experience prolonged contraction which causes them to freeze and fall over.
  13. Horned lizards have a variety of ways to avoid predation, including squirting blood out of their eyes. They do this by stopping blood flowing to their head which increases the pressure and ruptures the tiny vessels around their eyes.
  14. A pistol shrimp stuns its prey by snapping its claw so quickly that it makes a sound that’s louder than a gun shot.
  15. Some army ants are completely blind, which means they can become disoriented and march in circles until they die of exhaustion.
  16. Female bower birds are attracted to beautiful homes. Which is why the males decorate dry grass with flowers and pebbles and spend hours on colour coordination!
  17. Female cuckoos shirk all responsibility when it comes to parenting. They lay their eggs in other nests and then abandon them. Eventually the baby bird is fed and raised by another bird, often indirectly killing its “fake” siblings.
  18. Elephants are known to display emotional behaviour, particularly rituals related to death. When they come across elephant bones, they will stop and remain silent. If an elephant from their own herd passes away, other elephants will stand by the body for hours, even abstaining from food and water.
  19. Crows hold grudges and have an amazing memory capacity for those who have wronged them. Crows that have been captured will remember their abductors, even going as far as dive bombing them when they are spotted.
  20. Meerkats teach their babies or “pups” rather than relying on trial and error. Their main diet is scorpions, but instead of allowing pups to sting themselves when eating them, the parent will give their pups dead scorpions as practice. As the pups improve, the parents bring back livelier scorpions until they can eventually catch and eat live ones on their own.
  21. Male giraffes drink a female’s urine to work out if they are ready to mate. Their urine is flavoured with certain hormones that signify if they are ready to become pregnant.
  22. Moths and butterflies drink the tears of mammals, turtles and crocodiles to obtain the essential nutrients found in salt.
  23. Clownfish start out as male, but once the group’s female dies, the largest male morphs into a female.
  24. Teenage elephants become delinquents if they don’t have strong parenting. Elephants will also harass people and villages if older members of their group are lost due to poaching.
  25. The Australian marsupial, antechnius, mate for two or three weeks non-stop. This often leads to exhaustion and then death.
  26. Dolphins sleep with one eye open and half of their brain still awake. This helps them watch out for predators and obtain air. After about two hours, their awake brain hemisphere will go to sleep and the other side will wake up.
  27. Komodo dragons can have virgin births, and in science, this is called parthenogenesis. Her eggs fused with other materials in her body to form embryos. So essentially, her babies have the same DNA as her.
  28. Urchin crabs carry sea urchins around on their backs to protect themselves from predators. Other “decorator” crabs will put corals, seaweed and sponges on their bodies to camouflage themselves.
  29. Assassin bugs put balls of dead ants on their backs to confuse predators. They kill them by first paralysing them and then eating their insides.
  30. Secretary birds viciously kick their prey — snakes, lizards and insects — to death with a force that’s five times their body weight.

 

Gain foundational knowledge of animal behaviour which will enable you to safely and effectively interact or work with animals with an animal behaviour course, such as our Certificate of Animal Behaviour

How Animal Therapy Courses Boost Client Health

An animal therapy course is an ideal way to understand how this increasingly popular type of therapy improves the emotional and psychological wellbeing of people.

If you’re curious about the theory behind pet therapy, this course is ideal for you – whether you work in counselling, psychology, health care or simply want to understand how pets can help others.

Pets trained to be therapy animals are non-judgemental, affectionate and fun companions whether they’re at home with their owners or working in a business, clinic or health care setting.

Animals have been shown to reduce stress and stimulate social interaction, which makes animal therapy useful and often critical to the wellbeing in a wide variety of situations, such as:

  • Assistance dogs to help people who are visually or hearing-impaired
  • Horse riding for people living with a disability
  • Pets in hospitals and aged care
  • Companion animals for the aged
  • Therapy dogs for those with psychological/emotional conditions
  • Pets for children in therapy

This animal therapy course will help you understand the benefits of animal therapy and how to use pet therapy in a therapeutic framework to improve the psychological wellbeing of your clients.

Learning Outcomes

Topics covered in our online animal therapy course include:

  • The nature of pet therapy and how it may be used as a therapeutic tool.
  • How pets can contribute to a person’s wellbeing as a companion or working animal.
  • Working with animals effectively and appropriately in a therapeutic situation.
  • Howpet therapy can be used for people with psychological conditions.
  • Ways in whichpet therapy can be used for people with physical disabilities
  • Pettherapy for children of different ages and circumstances.
  • How pettherapy can be used for older people in different circumstances.
  • Plan the establishment and operation of apet therapy 

And more…

What is Animal-Assisted Therapy?  

Animal-assisted therapy or pet therapy is a complementary (or alternative) therapy that involves interaction between people and specially trained animals. The purpose of animal-assisted therapy is to help a person recover from or deal with a health problem or psychological or emotional condition.

Dogs and cats are most common in animal-assisted therapy – the type of animal chosen depends on the therapeutic goals of a person’s treatment plan.

Types of Therapy Animals

Dogs are the most common therapy animals in animal-assisted therapy, but many pets can help people feel happier and more relaxed, from horses to reptiles!

Dogs – Dogs are by far the most popular choice when it comes to assistance and therapy animals.

Horses – Equine therapy is a popular treatment for many physical, emotional and psychological conditions. Caring for and riding these giant, gentle creatures helps people let go of disruptive, unhelpful behaviours. Horses promote confidence and calm, easing anxiety and increasing social skills.

Cats – For those people afraid or intimidated by dogs, cats are a great alternative. They’re quiet, calm, clean and affectionate (most of the time), making them ideal for residential aged care.

Guinea pigs/rabbits – These “smallies”, as they’re often known, are an excellent alternative to large pets when it comes to incorporating pet therapy into treatment plans. They still offer comfort, companionship and can assist with fine motor skills and behavioural and emotional support.

Birds ­– Parrots, in particular, are empathetic and can provide emotional support – plus, they can be taught to talk!

Reptiles ­– Caring for reptiles offers a reprieve from psychological and emotional disorders. While reptiles are relatively new to the therapy field, their unique care needs can provide a self-esteem boost to those who need it most.

8 Ways Animals Help People

  1. Companionship – pets help reduce loneliness and isolation, which is important now more than ever with COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing – by providing an ever-present companion.
  2. Stress and Anxiety – animals help lower stress and anxiety by inducing a sense of calm in their owners or clients.
  3. Physical Health – improves motor skills, joint movement, assisted and independent movement (physical therapy), and increases a person’s motivation to exercise.
  4. Self–Esteem – increase a person’s self-worth through connecting with a non-judgemental, loving and agreeable companion!
  5. Social Skills – increase’s willingness to take part in social activities and improving interactions with others.
  6. Depression – helping people feel happier, lowering depression and improving a positive outlook on life
  7. Empathy – Pets can help children and young people to develop empathy and nurturing skills by taking care of them through tending to their emotional and physical wellbeing.
  8. Improves Relationship with Healthcare Providers – Pets in animal-assisted therapy can help put clients at ease, assisting the health care provider in developing rapport quickly and successfully from the very first session.

People Who Benefit Most from Pet Therapy

  • People living with cancer
  • Those undergoing cancer treatments
  • Residents in long-term care facilities
  • People living with a disability
  • Stroke and injury – people undergoing physical therapy
  • Children undergoing physical or dental procedures
  • People hospitalised with chronic health conditions
  • Veterans with PTSD
  • People recovering from trauma
  • People living with psychological disorders

Professionals and Animal Therapy Courses

Pet therapy can help many professionals to connect with clients and improve their physical or mental health, from physiotherapists to dentists.

Psychologists and counsellors

Animals can help break down barriers to connect with clients to improve their emotional and psychological health.

Occupational therapists/physiotherapists

In physical and occupational therapy, animals can promote interaction between therapist and client and be a powerful motivator to achieve goals.

Dentists

Fear of the dentist is common, especially in young children. So, animals are a wonderful distraction and can promote feelings of safety and calm while in the dental chair.

Teachers

Animals are a fantastic teaching aid, with ‘story dogs’ becoming increasingly popular in the classroom. These dogs promote reading among primary school children and are a great addition to school counsellors’ offices too!

Carers/Nurses

Animals can be particularly beneficial for older people or people living with a disability in residential care facilities. In fact, these companion pets improve quality of life, encourage therapy participation and provide comfort.

Gain the knowledge to understand how pets can help people heal, learn and thrive with an animal-assisted therapy course like our Certificate of Pet Therapy.

Grow Your Plant Knowledge With a Gardening Online Course

This gardening online course is ideal for anyone hoping to work in garden maintenance, landscaping, garden renovation,  horticulture, in parks, gardens, nurseries or garden tourism or home gardeners wanting to enhance their green thumbs!

The Certificate of Garden Maintenance will give you insights into the needs of plants, including how to prune correctly, identify signs of stress, and prevent and remedy disease.

In this gardening online course, you will also learn how to plan, manage and maintain a garden, including organising staff, equipment requirements, weed control, turf management and irrigation systems planning.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a gardening online course include:

  • Learning about planning and managing a garden
  • Exploring the cost of maintenance and the expensive and less expensive areas of a garden
  • Gaining an understanding of planning and garden checklists
  • Studying how to analyse the maintenance of parks and gardens
  • Gaining insights into how to organise garden maintenance staff
  • Examining garden furnishings and machinery
  • Understanding mowers and how to mow
  • Learning about chippers, aerators, chain saws, mechanised sprayers, brush cutters, tractors etc.
  • Exploring tool maintenance and engine troubleshooting
  • Studying plastic, timber and metal outdoor furniture
  • Gaining insights into protecting furnishings with stains, paints and preservatives
  • Learning about feeding plants including nutritional symptoms and other problems
  • Exploring how to conduct an inspection of plants
  • Gaining an understanding of soil characteristics and the identification of soil issues
  • Studying plant nutrition
  • Gaining insights into choosing the right fertiliser
  • Examining how to diagnose nutritional problems
  • Understanding how to improve soils
  • Learning about weed control and the nature and scope of weed problems
  • Exploring natural ways to control weeds – suffocation, cultivation, burning etc.
  • Gaining an understanding of common groups of weeds and options for treating and recognising different varieties
  • Studying weedicides and the types of chemicals found in weedicides
  • Gaining insights into which chemicals control which weeds
  • Examining chemicals and the law
  • Understanding natural pest control and the scope and nature of natural controls
  • Learning about cultural, mechanical and physical control methods
  • Exploring methods for controlling selected insects
  • Studying companion planting
  • Gaining insights into the tolerance levels of different plants
  • Examining biological controls, natural sprays, mulching and buffer zones
  • Understanding chemical pest control and ways of applying chemicals safely
  • Learning about Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
  • Exploring pesticides – toxicity, LD50, persistence etc.
  • Studying specific chemical treatments

And more!

Tips for Pruning Plants

There are a vast variety of different plants found in gardens. And as you’ll learn in our gardening online course, pruning techniques and timings also differ depending on the plant.

Pruning essentially involves cutting off parts of a plant, but there are specific reasons to do so. Too many people prune just for the sake of pruning! Reasons to prune include:

  • To remove dead or diseased wood which could affect other parts of the plant.
  • To exercise control over the type of growth that occurs. For example, to promote fruiting, flowering, fruit or foliage
  • To control the size and/or shape of a
  • To rejuvenate an old plant. For example, to replace old wood with new wood.

The above things are achieved in different ways on different plants:

Removing Dead or Diseased Wood

Some plants are more susceptible to infection than others when you cut into their living tissue. These include Birch trees and some herbaceous plants. Many plants can also find it difficult to contain wood rot once it starts, so the infected wood needs to be cut out before the disease spreads. When removing dead or diseased wood:

  • Always cut back into healthy, living tissue, and don’t leave any diseased wood on a plant after pruning.
  • Use sharp tools, make your cuts sharp and clean and don’t tear or bruise plants. Your tools should also be clean as when pruning diseased wood they may pick up disease spores which can be transferred to healthy wood. It is recommended you dip your secateurs in an antiseptic in between pruning different plants.

Controlling the Type of Growth

There are three main types of plant growth – roots, flowers/fruit and vegetative top growth (for example, leaves and stems). Discouraging one type of growth can help redirect the effort of the plant into other types of growth. For example:

  • Removing all fruit and flowers will usually stimulate vegetative growth. The difference between flower and vegetative buds is usually determined by their shape. Flower buds are plumper than vegetative (ie. leaf or stem) buds. Sometimes plants can also have mixed buds, where there are both flowers and shoots within the one bud. This occurs commonly in the terminal buds of apples. If you cut a bud open and look at it with a magnifying glass, you can usually see the premature leaves or flowers.
  • Removing side shoots will generally cause a plant to grow taller more quickly.
  • Removing the growth tips will cause a plant to develop more side-shoots and become bushier.
  • Thinning out fruit and flowers will decrease the total number of fruit and flowers, but will usually improve the size and quality of the remaining fruit.
  • Cutting a plant back excessively will cause a flush of lush growth in the next growing season.
  • Cutting the roots of a plant by plunging a spade into the soil or digging a trench, will force a flush of new growth in the roots closer to the base of the plant, particularly in plants with fibrous root systems. This “root pruning” is used to either prepare a plant for transplanting or to confine the roots from spreading into areas where they are not wanted. However, this treatment can cause poor health or death in some plants, particularly if the cuts are made too close to the trunk of the plant. So be careful!

Controlling A Plant’s Shape and Size

Different plants have different levels of tolerance to hard cutting. With some plants, you can remove fifty per cent of the foliage and improve vigour and health. With other types, removing too much foliage will commonly cause them to die.

A plant’s tolerance to pruning is typically referred to as a percentage. For example, Acacias can be cut back by up to 20 per cent. This means that if more than 20 per cent of the top growth is removed, the plant is likely to suffer. Other tips to controlling a plant’s shape and size include:

  • If large branches are growing in a position where you don’t want them, it is valid to remove them.
  • If foliage is spreading over a pathway, it is valid to cut it back.
  • Frequent light pruning is nearly always better for a plant than irregular heavy pruning.
  • If a branch that bears fruit and flowers hangs over a pool, then removal of the branch may be
  • If a plant in a garden design is growing out of shape, then pruning to restore the initial design intention is recommended.

Rejuvenating A Plant

The lifespan of many plants is generally lengthened by regular pruning. To rejuvenate a plant:

  • Remove old wood and leave newer wood. Roses are typically pruned this way in temperate climates over a period of years. The younger growth emerging from the base of the plant is left if it is strong, while the older woody stems are cut out. The lifespan of a rose is increased greatly by this method.
  • Many annuals can be rejuvenated and given a second or third life at flowering due to pruning.
  • An old vigorously growing plant that has become too large can be refreshed and reshaped by pruning.

What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?

IPM combines the use of chemical, biological and cultural practices to control insect pests in agricultural production. It aims to use natural parasites or predators to control pests and use selective pesticides as a backup only.

For IPM to be effective, producers need to be familiar with the life cycle and crop thresholds of pests and to act when pest numbers begin to impact crop growth and cause economic damage.

Cultural control

This is the non-chemical management of pests using mechanical or manual means to change the crop and soil environment to discourage pest establishment.

Biological control

This is where parasitic or predatory mites and insects help to control insects that affect the productivity and quality of crops.

Chemical control

This involves the use of pesticides in pest management. It is used in IPM when cultural and biological control is not enough to protect crop productivity. Elective insecticides are chosen to target certain pests leaving the beneficial population unharmed.

Gain the skills and knowledge to enter the garden sector, start your own business or enhance your own gardening skills with a gardening online course such as our Certificate of Garden Maintenance.

Study Genetics Courses and Join the Genetic Revolution!

Genetics is at the forefront of advancements in medicine, science, technology, agriculture … and the list goes on! The Certificate of Genetics is ideal for those who work in genetic enhancements, law, forensics, the health sector, or those with some knowledge of biology who would like to learn more about their own health.

When you study genetics courses, you will gain insights into the universal principles, complications and possibilities of DNA-based life. You will study the scope, nature and history of genetics, the theories of Darwin and Mendel, cells, organelles and cell division, and the interaction between chromosomes and the interaction between genes.

You will also learn about mutations, genetic chemistry, DNA repair, recombination and developmental, and population and applied genetics.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved if you study genetics courses include:

  • Learning about the scope, nature and history of genetics
  • Exploring Darwin’s evolution theories
  • Studying Mendel’s experiment, Law of Segregation and Law of Independent Assortment
  • Gaining insights into genetics terminology
  • Understanding cells, organelles and cell division
  • Learning about prokaryotes, eukaryotes and cell structure and function
  • Exploring organelles in plants and animals – plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes etc.
  • Studying the nucleus, nuclear envelope and nucleolus
  • Gaining insights into DNA, cell division, DNA replication and the four stages of mitosis
  • Understanding cytokinesis, gametogenesis, gametes, and meiosis
  • Learning about the interaction between chromosomes
  • Exploring sex determination, sex chromosomes and sex-linked inheritance
  • Studying haemophilia and colour blindness
  • Gaining insights into linkage, crossing over, linked genes and genetic mapping
  • Understanding the interaction between genes
  • Learning about traits, gene expression, polygenic inheritance, gene interactions and epistasis
  • Exploring enhance, suppressor and lethal genes
  • Studying incomplete dominance and co-dominance
  • Gaining insights into a cytoplasmic inheritance
  • Understanding gene expression, transcription and translation
  • Learning about genetic chemistry
  • Exploring nucleic acids, DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) Structure and the Double-Stranded Helix
  • Studying chromosomes, chromatin and chromatids
  • Gaining insights into the genetic code, the role of proteins and transcription and translation
  • Understanding post-translational modification
  • Learning about introns and exons
  • Exploring chromosome mutations, insertion, inversion, deletion, duplication and translocation
  • Gaining an understanding of nondisjunction, gene mutations, point mutations and point substitution mutation
  • Studying frameshift, silent, missense nonsense and spontaneous mutations

And more!

Genetics in Human Health

When you study genetics courses you will gain insights into how genetics research has lead to an understanding of what causes disease, the diagnosis of diseases and genetic screening to identify populations that are of risk from a specific genetic disorder.

One example of advances in science can be illustrated by the research done by the Public Health Genomics team at Monash University. They have developed a new genomic risk score, known as a polygenic risk score – or PRS – for skin cancer (melanoma), which is particularly of value for predicting melanoma risk in older people.

The research team used results from the world’s largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of melanoma. It revealed 56 different genetic variants associated with melanoma — many more than were previously known.

An individual’s genomic risk of developing melanomas may be influenced by numerous genetic changes across their DNA. In isolation, they may not show a strong effect but collectively can cause a sharp increase in risk. A PRS is a new way of aggregating the effects of these many genetic changes into a single, easily understandable risk score.

In terms of the older population, the role of genetics has significant clinical relevance. This is because advancing age is associated with poorer survival rates, thicker melanomas and greater recurrence risk.

Historically, visual assessments like skin checks have guided melanoma risk prediction, but the genomic risk is increasingly being used in conjunction with other measures to improve risk prediction.

 

Other Uses of Genetics

Everything from horticulture and agriculture to the veterinary industry is being impacted by our rapidly developing understanding of genetics. And there is no doubt that the knowledge you gain when you study genetics courses, will lay a great foundation for many business and employment opportunities over the coming years. These include in the areas of:

Farm Animal Breeding

Selective breeding in farm animals is centred around identifying the most desirable characteristics and breeding from animals that display them. Traits essentially fit into five basic categories:

  1. Fitness – these are usually linked to reproduction such as gestation length, litter size, conception rate, and the survival rates of the young.
  2. Production traits – these include growth rate, milk yield, feed efficiency and with poultry, the number of eggs produced.
  3. Quality traits – these include the level of fat, carcass composition and meat and milk quality.
  4. Type traits – these include physical appearance such as udder shape, coat colour, and the number of teats in pigs.
  5. Behavioural traits – these include herding ability in sheepdogs, temperament and mothering ability.

Pet Breeding

Whereas the main objective of a farm animal breeding program is to improve performance, breeding programs for pedigree cats and dogs and other pet animals centres on how they look in terms of the phenotype.

Pedigree dog breeding in particular is big business and can generate significant amounts of money for the breeder. However, in recent years, it has come under heavy criticism as one of the consequences of breeding for specific traits that affect appearance is that other genes may also be selected that are detrimental to a dog’s health and welfare. For example, in the past, pugs and King Charles Spaniels have been bred with shortened noses that led to breathing problems.

Plant Breeding

Plant breeding has been practised for thousands of years. It is essentially the manipulation of plant species in order to create desired phenotypes and genotypes for specific purposes.

Classical plant breeding uses the planned crossing of closely or distantly related individuals to produce new crop lines or varieties with desirable properties. These may include shape, colour, disease resistance or potential yield in crop-producing plants. Plants are crossbred to introduce traits and genes from one variety or line into a new genetic background. These days, this manipulation may also involve genetic engineering or controlled pollination or both, followed by the artificial selection of progeny.

Plant breeding is now practised worldwide by commercial enterprises and government institutions as it is believed that breeding new crops is important for ensuring food security through the development of crops suitable for their environments such as in drought conditions or warmer climates.

 

5 Fascinating Facts About Genes

Humans are known to have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes and when you study genetics courses, you will gain insights into how these small segments of DNA make us who we are. However, here are some facts that will up the inspirational ante!

  1. The word “gene” wasn’t coined until the 20th century. Although Gregor Mendel was considered the “father of genetics”, it wasn’t until 1909 that Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen became the first person to describe Mendel’s individual units of heredity as “genes”.
  2. On a genetic level, humans are more than 99 per cent identical. The diversity we see within the human population (including traits like height, blood type and eye colour) are due to genetic differences that account for less than one per cent.
  3. Genes can break or disappear as species evolve. For example, humans lost hundreds of odorant receptors (which are proteins produced by genes that detect specific smells) over time because we rely mostly on vision. This explains why our sense of smell is worse than many other species.
  4. DNA testing kits can’t tell how smart you are. Intelligence is a complex trait that’s difficult to measure because it is influenced by many different genes. One 2017 study identified 52 genes associated with higher or lower intelligence, but the ability to tell how smart you are is less than five per So no DNA testing kit can accurately predict intelligence, and they also don’t account for the environmental factors that influence intelligence.
  5. Our genes might prevent us from getting too old. Despite advances in medicine, there is a biological cap on how long humans can survive. Several studies have shown that the maximum extent for human life falls between 115 and 125 years. According to this theory, it is because cells can only replicate so many times and they often become damaged with age. And even if we were able to modify our genes via gene therapy, we probably couldn’t modify them fast enough to make much of a difference anyway.

Gain knowledge in the fundamentals of genetics, including cellular function, traits, heritability and characteristics when you study genetics courses like our Certificate of Genetics.

Fight Cybercrime with a Fundamentals of Information Security Course

Smartphones, computers and laptops are an integral part of day-to-day life these days. However, along with their usage comes the danger of sensitive information – including photos and documents – being comprised. This course is ideal for those wanting to enhance their knowledge of digital information security from individuals to security consultants, administrators and analysts working in the IT sector.

The Certificate of Information Security will help you recognise vulnerabilities, implement security and manage risks when it comes to protecting data. You will learn how to understand the different types of threats, back up data and undertake security initiatives. You will also study how to develop a disaster recovery plan, implement a security policy and understand the legal and ethical issues facing IT professionals.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a course in the fundamentals of information security include:

  • Learning about basic security concepts and the need for security
  • Exploring security breaches and intrusions, the types of threats and threat assessment
  • Gaining an understanding of a vulnerability assessment
  • Studying security through obscurity
  • Gaining insights into hackers, crackers and the difference between them
  • Examining IP and blind spoofing
  • Understanding a Man in the Middle Attack
  • Learning about denial of service, distributed denial of service and phishing
  • Exploring how to defend against spoofing
  • Studying botnets, the types and their malicious use
  • Gaining insights into information security ethics
  • Examining ethical and legal issues facing IT professionals
  • Understanding intellectual property rights
  • Learning about data integrity and data back ups
  • Exploring protection, detection and correction
  • Studying full, incremental, mirror, offsite, onsite and online backups
  • Gaining insights into disk based versus tape based backups
  • Examining vulnerabilities of software and operating and information systems
  • Understanding how to run virus protection software and update security patches
  • Learning about approved software
  • Exploring FTP vulnerability
  • Gaining an understanding of trojan horses, who is at risk and how to protect against them
  • Studying risk management, the key roles in the process and risk assessment
  • Gaining insights into characterising the system, identifying threats and control analysis
  • Examining how to determine likelihood ratings and analysing the impact
  • Understanding how to determine the risks and controls recommendations
  • Learning about risk mitigation and risk evaluation
  • Exploring information security technologies, developments and initiatives
  • Gaining an understanding of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and their features and benefits
  • Studying the components of remote access VPN and the protocols used in VPN connections
  • Gaining insights into the advantages and disadvantages of VPN
  • Examining firewalls and their main functions
  • Understanding packet filtering, circuit relay, application gateways and firewall rules
  • Learning about Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and IDS versus firewalls
  • Exploring physical security including natural disasters and controls
  • Studying lighting, power loss, fire, earthquakes, liquid leakage and the human factor

And more!

Top 10 cyber security trends for 2021

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report of 2020, cyber threats have become the new norm across both the public and private sectors. In fact, the 2019 Targeting Scams report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) identified that Australians lost more than $634 million to scams in 2019 alone.

One of the fundamentals of information security is understanding how to adapt to the changing threat landscape and knowledge is power! Here are ten current cyber attack statistic trends that will provide food for thought.

  1. Growth of Cybercrime Costs

If we measure cyber crime as a country, it can be considered as the world’s third-largest economy after the USA and China! It is even larger than the damage caused annually as a result of natural disasters. In Australia, cybercrime costs amount to $29 billion each year and over 50 per cent of these are incurred on detection and recovery. The average cost of a single breach to a business is also around $276,000.

  1. Increase in Cyber Security Attacks

According to a State of Cybersecurity Report, small and medium businesses globally showed alarming statistics:

  • 71 per cent had faced a cyber-attack in their lifetime and 66 per cent had suffered an attack in the last twelve months.
  • 82 per cent reported evasion of their anti-virus programs and 69 per cent suffered attacks that evaded their intrusion detection systems.
  • 68 per cent reported that their employee passwords were lost or stolen during the past year.

The attacks faced by small businesses most commonly included phishing and social engineering attacks, compromised or stolen devices and credential theft.

  1. Severity of Cyber Attacks

Regardless of the severity of a cyber attack, it will always have a consequences, whether it is reputational damage, legal liability problems or financial, productivity or business continuity losses. Of the most impactful threats is Ransomware attacks which have increased by 25 per cent globally in the past year.

A 2020 Global Security Attitude Survey revealed that Australia is one of the world’s biggest targets for ransomware, with 67 per cent of respondents claiming their organisation had suffered an attack that year.

  1. Industry-wide Attacks

Although any industry can suffer a data breach, ones that deal closely with customers and people are the most at risk. These companies hold sensitive customer data and are desirable targets for hackers. Organisations and industries that are the most vulnerable to cyber attacks globally include:

  • Financial institutions and banks including credit card data and bank account details.
  • Healthcare industry including research data, health records and patient records like insurance claims, social security numbers and billing information.
  • Educational institutions including financial records and student data such like enrolment details.
  • Enterprises – including product concepts, intellectual property, marketing plans, contract deals and and client and employee details.

In Australia, the sectors for the 2019/2020 financial year that were most affected in order of targeting were the Federal Government, State Governments, health and education.

  1. Data Breaches

According to a report by IBM, an organisation becomes aware of a breach incident after around 190 days and is able to contain it in around 70 days. Slow response to a data breach can cause more loss to an organisation in the form of customer distrust, fines and loss of productivity. A critical operational aspect of business these days is designing an Incident Response Plan. It allows an organisation to deal proactively with an incident, and respond quickly during the detection, investigating, containing, remediation and recovery phases.

  1. Information Security Expenditure

According to the AustCyber Digital Census, Australians spent over $5.6 billion on cyber security in 2020. This figure is predicted to increase to $7.6 billion by 2024. There are also more information security providers in Australian than ever before and numbers are increasing (which is why undertaking a fundamentals of information security course is a great career option!)

  1. Phishing Emails and Email Security

According to Scamwatch, phishing was one of the most reported scams in Australia in 2020. There were over 44,000 reported attacks which was 75 per cent higher than the incidents reported in the previous year. The most profitable method that scammers used was phone calls and emails. There were over 103,000 phone call attacks in 2020 and over 47,000 email attacks, and the amount of money stolen was over $34 million.

  1. Malware Attacks

A 2020 report by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) showed that ransomeware is a prevalent threat all over the world, and that an attack typically occurs after malicious activity like a phishing campaign is conducted. However, the CSC is against the practice of paying ransom to the hackers as they believe paying a ransom will increase an organisation’s vulnerability and make them more prone to future incidents.

  1. Online Payment Fraud

According to a study by Juniper Research, E-commerce losses due to online payment fraud will exceed $25 billion annually by 2024. This is partly due to our increased dependency on online shopping making e-commerce an attractive target for cyber criminals. Businesses must adopt measures like secure payment gateways and multi-factor authentication to ensure that all security requirements are effectively implemented.

  1. Remote Work Challenges

A 2020 Global Risk Report on Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era found that the security effectiveness of the organisations that responded was significantly reduced due to the remote workforce model which increased with the advent of COVID-19.  And it’s not surprising, given that many organisations still don’t require their remote workers to use any form of authentication. Around 31 per cent of respondents said their organisations don’t require any authentication method.  For those that do, only 40 per cent used two-factor authentication. And only 35 per cent used multi-factor authentication for improving remote access security.

Gain a broad understanding of information security and be able to implement solutions and initiatives to keep data and hardwaresafe with a fundamentals of information security course such as our Certificate of Information Security.

Balance Plant and Animal Life With a Permaculture Farming Course

Ideal for those who have completed a basic permaculture course, farmers looking to diversify the use of their land, or those who are passionate about self-sufficiency and sustainability, our Certificate of Animal Permaculture will teach you how to grow the right plants alongside the right animals in a balanced ecosystem.

In this permaculture farming course, you will learn how the benefits of permaculture systems can be maximised through design and cultural management decisions. You will gain insights into how a variety of animals can enhance a permaculture environment, including insects, bees, poultry, grazing animals like goats, sheep rabbits and pigs, and larger wildlife and livestock.

You will also study how to plan and prepare garden ‘zones’, the role of aquaculture production systems in permaculture, and the range of aquatic species suitable for permaculture systems.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a permaculture farming course include:

  • Learning about how to locate and integrate animals into a permaculture system
  • Exploring how to maintain a balance in the permaculture system
  • Gaining an understanding of intensive animals, small livestock and free-range animals
  • Studying the functions of animals in the system including birds in permaculture
  • Gaining insights into fodder trees
  • Examining the role of insects and other small animals
  • Understanding ecosystem components and ecological concepts
  • Learning about the web of life
  • Exploring insects and their classification, control and feeding habits
  • Studying snail farming and earthworm and red worms
  • Gaining insights into controlling pests, applied insect control and pollutants in the ecosystem
  • Examining the role of poultry in permaculture
  • Learning about chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese
  • Exploring how to hatch chicks
  • Studying poultry products and uses
  • Gaining insights into poultry forage and useful plant species
  • Understanding bees, bee hives, lids, supers, bases, excluders, and to bar hives (TBHs)
  • Learning about frames, foundations and spur wheel embedder
  • Exploring bee brushes, emlocks, bee smokers and hive tools
  • Studying how to locate a hive and buy an established hive
  • Gaining insights into swarms
  • Examining nucleus hives
  • Understanding grazing animals – sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits
  • Learning about the advantages and disadvantages of working off grass
  • Exploring paddock size, types of fencing, water supply, production systems and shelters
  • Studying environmental controls
  • Gaining insights into rearing and management systems
  • Understanding how to manage larger livestock and wildlife
  • Learning about deer, alpacas, horses, llamas and beef and dairy cattle
  • Exploring how to choose your dairy breed

And more!

13 Organisations Transforming Australia’s Food System

Australian businesses, government projects and non-profit organisations continue to transform our food systems. These include introducing new ways to engage with food, farmers and communities in need. From food rescue groups to permaculture farmingtraining institutes and courses, here are thirteen organisations working towards a more ethical, sustainable and equitable Australia … through food!

  1. Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (AbCF)

The AbCF aims to build viable economies on Aboriginal lands through savanna fires, land and livestock management and carbon-storing farming practices. In 2018, it launched a Reducing Carbon Building Communities program to support rural farming and Indigenous communities.

  1. Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

ACIAR encourages agricultural scientists to use their skills to benefit Australia and other developing countries. It focuses on agribusiness, crops, livestock, soil and horticulture to help farmers and policymakers deal with agricultural challenges.

  1. Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance

This is a farmer-led advocacy network that strives for better preserved waterways and soils, enhanced livelihoods for farmers and food security for all Australians. It also campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of ethical and sustainable food systems.

  1.  Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)

This is Australia’s national science agency, and is uses research to solve issues on the planet to secure a better future for communities. This includes research to transform farming techniques, animal breeding and agricultural innovations and technologies. In 2019, it launched software combining machine learning, AI and geospatial technology to monitor and assess rural land to advise farmers on data ranging from rainfall to productivity.

  1.  Food Frontier

This organisation uses advocacy, consulting and research and development to support protein alternatives like cell-based and plant-based meats to Australian entrepreneurs, businesses, scientists, governments and communities.

  1.  Foodswell

Foodswell is a non-profit organisation that focuses on food insecurity in Australia. They design edible landscapes and other novel food strategies for remote and indigenous settlements across the country, and provide customised tools for healthy, affordable food.

  1.  OzHarvest

This is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation that transports food that businesses typically waste to over 1000 charities. It also delivers more than 100 million meals and saves 35,000 tons of food from landfill. Its education programs increase connectedness, enhance life skills and improve the nutrition and health of vulnerable communities.

  1. Regrarians

Regenerative Agrarians work with farmers and producers to create profitable agricultural landscapes. The organisation has trained over 15,000 farmers in all aspects of regenerative farming from farming practices to design and business management.

  1.  SecondBite

SecondBite redistributes surplus fresh food from wholesalers, farmers, markets, caterers, supermarkets and events to community food programs that support people in need. It works with over 1300 community food programs and aims to erase the gap between the amount of food wasted and those that go hungry.

  1.  The Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)

The ILC invests in agribusinesses that improve the lives of Indigenous Australians by supporting Indigenous landholders. It also considers itself an equity partner, creating connections between Indigenous groups, business partners and investors.

  1.  The Orana Foundation

This organisation recognises the richness of Indigenous food culture and the value of the relationship that Indigenous people have with the land. With a Native Australian Foods Database and an Innovation and Enterprise Hub that promotes research and development of Australian ingredients, it aims to explore new gastronomical trends and supports Indigenous communities to research and innovate in the food enterprise space.

  1. Youth Food Movement Australia (YFM)

YFM aims to increase millennial food literacy levels and participation in the food system. Since 2011, it has delivered more than 40 projects and harnessed more than 60,000 volunteer hours to address food issues such as soil degradation, food waste and the ageing farming population. Their current program, Upstart, connects young people across Australia for project development and training to co-create community food projects.

  1. Permaculture Research Institute

The Permaculture Research Center uses a demonstration site to conduct education and worldwide training programs. It strives to expand the knowledge and practices of sustainable agriculture using permaculture design by equipping people with the tools they need to serve their communities.

Tips for a Backyard Permaculture Garden

When it comes to backyard permaculture farming, it can take many forms. In essence, it is a practical approach to finding creative solutions to living a more sustainable life by reducing energy consumption, recycling waste, growing organic food, and creating habitats for the animals in our environment. Here are some features of a backyard permaculture garden.

Preparation

Observe and note the prevailing winds, winter and summer sun angles, any views you want to keep or screen out, and the degree of slope on your block. When you prepare a plan, you want to show access ways, vegetation and existing structures to create its framework. You then want to plant windbreaks to shield strong winds and shade out hot summer sun while allowing in warm winter light.

A Vege Garden

Pick a spot that gets good sun all year round. Ideally you want to allow for crop rotation and around a half a metre of access path between each bed. You’ll also need rich soil, so and blood and bone, organic mineral fertiliser and bentonite can assist with this. Polypipes can be used to drip line irrigation off. You should then continue to build the soil by adding generous layers of lucern, sheep manure, more blood and bone and then more sheep manure at regular intervals.

A Hen House

Chickens are a fantastic animal for a backyard permaculture garden (although check with  your local council in terms of regulations). They are a great source of manure, clean up fallen fruit and weeds, and the best bit … convert food scraps to eggs! A permanent chicken house is vital for the safety and comfort of your chooks. It should have sunken barriers to keep the chickens in and hazards like dogs and snakes out. Wood-chip is a great option for litter that chickens can scratch around in. It is relatively cheap and when it needs replacing, it can go onto your compost heap.

Grey Water

Using grey water is an environmentally friendly thing to do, and is quite safe to use on watering plants and trees. This includes grey water from the laundry and bathroom, however not kitchen waste water. This is because it often contains a range of fats and greases which can damage the integrity of soil. There is also a risk of bacteria and diseases if it’s used on your veggie patch.

Compost

Compost bins are the ideal way of getting rid of kitchen scraps, but so are worms. Setting up a worm farm will also provide you their castings which you can turn into liquid feed which is a super-food for your garden! It’s a great example of the beneficial circular nature of permaculture farming.

Develop your ability to integrate animals and their resources – from insects and aquatic organisations to grazing animals and livestock – into a viable design with a permaculture farming course like our Certificate of Animal Permaculture.

Fast-track Your Career with Hospitality Short Courses.

The tourism and hospitality sectors have faced unprecedented changes due to COVID-19 over the past few years, and negotiating these and other industry-specific challenges requires a range of skills. Our Certificate of Hotel Management is ideal for hotel managers, venue managers, or anyone keen to work in the the hotel sector or open their own business.

In hospitality short courses like ours, you will learn about resort and hotel operations, management structures, workplace organisation, and effective management policies. You will also gain insights into establishing a professional team to ensure quality service delivery, and the complexity of hotel management, from maintaining hotel systems relating to facilities, activities, front desk operations and food service management.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a hospitality short courses include:

  • Learning about the scope and nature of hotel management
  • Exploring the hotel and catering industries
  • Studying planning and policies
  • Gaining insights into the organisation of the hotel workplace
  • Examining the nature and purpose of organisation
  • Understanding the mechanistic and human relations view of organisation
  • Learning about the systems approach to organisation
  • Exploring organisation structure
  • Gaining an understanding of the informal structure
  • Studying staff management in hotels
  • Gaining insights into work charts
  • Examining communication and coordination
  • Understanding monitoring workloads
  • Learning about work procedures and career structures
  • Exploring authority and the chain of command
  • Gaining an understanding of control systems – production, quality and sales
  • Studying control systems – labour utilisation, materials, maintenance and financial
  • Gaining insights into setting standards
  • Examining corrective action
  • Understanding front desk (reception) management
  • Learning about customer service
  • Exploring how to deal with grievances and complaints
  • Studying communication and conversation development
  • Gaining insights into business letters and using the telephone
  • Understanding promotions and customer relations
  • Learning about client interpersonal skills
  • Exploring self-esteem and reinforcement
  • Gaining an understanding of servicing rooms and general cleaning
  • Studying servicing equipment and the purchase or hire of equipment
  • Discovering insights into the purchase or hire of linen and the choice of fabrics

And more!

2021 Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a particularly heavy burden on Australia’s hotel and tourism sectors, and their recovery will be primarily be delivered in the short term by domestic demand as international tourism is unlikely to return in a meaningful way until 2022. By undertaking hospitality short courses online, you’re in the best position to gain career advantage when the industry picks up.

The Tourism Sector Prior COVID-19

According to the 2021 edition of the Deloitte Access Economics Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook, growth in Australia’s tourism sector was outpacing growth in the wider economy prior to COVID-19.

From 2009 to 2019, Australian tourism expenditure saw an average annual growth of six per cent, and 2019 saw a record high of 9.5 million overseas visitors arrive in Australia spending over $45 billion.

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, international visitor arrivals fell globally by 74 per cent, and the Asia Pacific region was the hardest hit. In Australia, interstate and international travel fell by 65 per cent and 81 per cent respectively. The impact was dramatic — there were 45 million fewer domestic overnight trips and 7.6 million fewer international arrivals, resulting in a loss of over $85 billion in visitor spending.

The Outlook for the Tourism Sector

According to Deloitte, the post-COVID recovery for Australian tourism will be dependent on a range of factors, including travel restrictions, aviation capacity, the loss of human capital and tourism business viability in the short-to-medium term. Consumer confidence and behaviour, local and global economic conditions and ongoing government responses to managing the health crisis will also play a part.

However, there is evidence of recovery for the domestic travel sector via pent-up demand and tourism agencies encouraging people to holiday within Australia. Domestic overnight trips are forecast to grow to 113 million by the end of 2021 (which is just under the 2019 levels), and to 134 million trips by 2023 (a 14 per cent increase on 2019).

On the international front, when international travel restrictions lift, Australia will face an extremely competitive landscape with other countries looking to reactivate their tourism industries as well. However, the development and adoption of vaccine passports and other measures is expected to drive the return of international visitors.

The Hotel Sector Prior COVID-19

In 2019, Australia’s tourism sector welcomed 126 million overnight visitors — 117 million of those were domestic and 8.8 million international. These visitors spent over 690 million visitor nights across the country, representing a growth of seven per cent over 2018. Nearly one in five visitor nights was spent in a hotel.

The impacts of COVID-19 have been equally dire for hotel operators. In 2020, travel restrictions led to occupancy plunging to a low of over 45 per cent.

The Outlook for the Hotel Sector

However, despite the devastating operating climate in 2020 due to COVID-19, over 5000 new hotel rooms were added to the market in 2020. And in the future, there is potential that more than 32,000 new rooms will be added to the national tally, with around 40 per cent of these anticipated to open in 2022. That’s great news for those looking to undertake hospitality short courses!

For hoteliers, although occupancy rates are forecast to remain considerably lower than in recent years, they are expected to recover to 95 per cent of 2019 occupancy levels in the final year of the forecast horizon. This will be influenced by the addition of new hotel rooms, but also in the anticipated slow recovery of business travel and the return of international visitors.

The Deloitte report also forecasts that the pace of recovery will be different across different city markets. For example, Perth and Brisbane are likely to see occupancy rates returning to 2019 levels by 2023. However, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Western Sydney and Tropical North Queensland are expected to be slower to recover due to their greater exposure to either international tourists or business travel, or both.

In terms of room rates, they fared better than occupancy rates in 2020, ending the year down on 12 per cent over 2019. Rates are expected to improve more quickly than occupancy levels — returning to 2019 levels by 2023 with some markets achieving this milestone even sooner.

The corporate travel segment will be critical in terms of the recovery as well. However, markets where corporate travellers represent a relatively larger share of demand will face significant challenges. This is particularly because many businesses have been influenced by people connecting via technology. The challenge for hotels in the major cities in the short to medium term will be to look at ways to encourage a greater volume of domestic holidaymakers to fill in the gap from business travellers.

Reference:

2021, Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook 2021, Deloitte

Top 5 Accommodation and Hospitality Industry Trends in 2021

In 2020, many operators in the accommodation and hospitality industry had to shut their doors literally overnight. Others had to find ways to continue to operate amid unprecedented safety measures and restrictions. And although border closures and restrictions continue to consistently change, there are a range of trends that are changing the operational landscape of both of these sectors. Here are the top five that will provide food for thought for those interested in hospitality short courses.

  1. Sustainability

This is one of the biggest trends in the industry at the moment as people become more attuned to social and environmental issues. Hotels and restaurants are switching to reusable containers, recyclable plastics and ethically sourced materials like produce, linen and toiletries.

  1. Contactless Service

Over the last 12 months this has played an important role in reopening venues. Contactless payment, digital menus and technology is allowing operators to access data they’ve never had before. And ahead, hotels may switch to digital check-ins which will mean the end of key cards.

  1. Staycations

Many people have chosen to stay at home during the pandemic, with more operators promoting the “shop and buy locally” mantra. For the industry, businesses face the challenge of improving their branding to reflect a more homely and informal atmosphere that encourages locals to enjoy a “staycation” away from home.

  1. Unique Experiences

The new generations of Gen X and Gen Y travellers have different needs from the hospitality and accommodation industry. With a rise in independent travelling, they are opting for purposeful experiences where they spend wisely and positively impact the local community. One example of this trend are farm stays at  B&Bs which blend the divide between guests and locals and promote sustainability and farm-to-table initiatives.

  1. Automation

Technology is playing a significant role in the shift to automation within the industry. AI-powered chatbots are providing customer service during the booking process, and for hotels, cloud-based integrated solutions are essential to keeping up with the ever-changing digital revolution.

Gain the foundational knowledge to pursue a career or open your own business in the hotel and resort management sector with hospitality short courses such as our Certificate of Hotel Management.

Advance Your Career with a Human Biology Online Course!

An advanced biology course like our Certificate of Human Biology – Cardio Fitness and Health is ideal for health professionals, sports coaches and anyone wanting to understand cardiorespiratory fitness, sports performance and the appropriate exercises for maintaining good health.

This human biology online course will give you insights into the vital processes that occur in healthy respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and basic physics that drive these processes.

You will explore the science of blood and the factors that affect pulmonary ventilation and blood pressure, including the respiratory system, and how to measure lung function and capacity.

You will also learn about cardiorespiratory control and the nervous system, blood flow and gas exchange in the human body, and the various types of cardiorespiratory diseases.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a human biology online course include:

  • Learning about the science, functions and components of bloods
  • Exploring blood typing and blood cells and ematopoiesis, erythropoiesis, leukopoiesis and lymphopoiesis
  • Studying blood cell function, erythrocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and thrombocytes
  • Gaining insights into the immune response, haemostasis, the clotting mechanism and haemodynamics
  • Examining blood testing, circulatory networks, full blood count, cross matching and blood cultures
  • Understanding arterial blood mass, biochemical and metabolic tests and the international normalised ratio (INR)
  • Learning about arterial blood mass, biochemical and metabolic tests, the lymphatic system and blood disorders – red and white blood disorders, blood clotting and poisoning
  • Exploring factors affecting blood pressure (BP), cardiac output, peripheral resistance and blood volume
  • Studying the cardiac cycle and how blood pressure is measured
  • Gaining insights into heart muscle cell contraction
  • Examining electronic control of heart muscle cells – sinoatrial node (SA Node), atrioventricular node (AV Node), bundle of his (atrioventricular bundle) and purkinje fibres
  • Understand BP problems – systolic hypertension, diastolic hypertension and hypertension
  • Learning about problems with heart rate and other conditions – myocardial infarction and cardiac tamponade
  • Exploring pulmonary ventilation, the respiratory system and respiratory epithelium
  • Studying lung anatomy, alveoli and airway anatomy
  • Gaining insights into nasal and oral cavities, the pharynx, epiglottis, larynx and trachea
  • Examining bronchi and bronchioles
  • Understanding the physiology of breathing – equilibrium, pressure, inspiration and expiration
  • Learning about physiological measures of lung capacity and function, tidal volume, vital capacity, forced vital capacity, IRV, ERV, functional residual capacity, MV, VO2 max etc.
  • Exploring gas exchange in the human body
  • Gaining an understanding of oxygen transport and internal and external respiration
  • Studying haemoglobin, carbon dioxide transport and respiratory control
  • Gaining insights into the biochemistry of gas exchange – Boyle’s Law, Charles’ Law, Dalton’s Law, Henry’s Law etc.
  • Examining the factors affecting gas exchange, partial pressure gradients, gas solubility, membrane thickness etc.
  • Understanding blood flow, volume, target and transfer
  • Learning about arterial-alveolar gradient
  • Exploring oxygen transport and the factors affecting oxygen release by haemoglobin

And more!

Top Fitness Trends for 2021

When you undertake a human biology online course focusing on cardio fitness, you will study the importance of exercise as part of an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. And although fitness trends come and go, however, the impact of COVID-19 has had a profound effect on how we exercise. Here are the top 10 fitness trends for 2021 according to the Australian Institute of Fitness.

  • Wearable technology. Devices that provide “wearable data” are increasingly being used as a valuable tool to track fitness and health progress. They can monitor heart rate, steps and sleep patterns (to name a few). “Hearables” with biosensors are also gaining traction. These devices are wireless earphones that many runners use, and they are designed to collect data and provide information on a user’s speed, distance, pace, energy expenditure and heart rate.
  • Exercise is medicine. This involves the link between exercise and mental health, and there is an increasing emphasis on the collaboration between health care providers and medical and fitness professionals. It is a holistic approach that can help individuals achieve both physical and mental health.
  • Mind and body training. This is a health practice that combines controlled breathing, mental focus and movement to relax the mind and body. It can help control stress, anxiety, depression and pain, and examples include hypnosis, meditation, yoga and tai chi.
  • Virtual COVID-19 has certainly enhanced the popularity of virtual fitness, which is the use of technology to combine workouts and virtual reality. Yoga, spin, pilates, boxing, martial arts or weight training … the choices are endless. All you need is a Smart phone or laptop!
  • High-Intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT describes any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest. Benefits include promoting weight loss, increasing your metabolism and improving your heart health. Plus, you can do it anywhere (even virtually!)
  • Functional fitness training. This type of exercise trains your muscles to work together, for example, using various muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time. Exercises may include weightlifting, aerobic exercises and body weight movements, and weights, fitness balls and kettlebells are often used in functional fitness workouts.
  • Health and wellness coaching. Combining theory from behaviour change, coaching psychology and positive psychology, wellness coaching supports individuals to work out what they want, why they want it and what’s hindering them from doing it. It often involves creating an action plan and empowering individuals to feel more confident, take responsibility and ultimately achieve more significant health and wellbeing changes than they would on their own.

20 Amazing Facts About Our Hearts

The heart is a vital part of our body’s circulatory system and is crucial to our survival – as you’ll discover in a human biology online course. Here are 20 fascinating facts that will provide inspiration for undertaking our Certificate of Human Biology – Cardio Fitness and Health.

  1. In an adult, the average heart is the size of a fist.
  2. The average human heart beats 60 to 100 times a minute, which is around 100,000 beats per day. Over a 70-year lifespan, that’s a staggering 2.5 billion beats!
  3. The human heart weighs less than 460 grams. However, a man’s heart, on average, is around 57 grams heavier than a woman’s heart.
  4. A woman’s heart beats slightly faster than a man’s heart.
  5. If a human’s blood vessel system was stretched out, it would extend over 96,000 kilometres.
  6. An electrical system controls the rhythm of our hearts, and it’s known as the cardiac conduction system.
  7. The heart can continue beating even when it’s disconnected from the body.
  8. Our hearts have a natural pacemaker that sends out electrical impulses to keep it beating at the correct pace. If it stops working, individuals may need an artificial pacemaker with wires connected to their heart’s chambers to send electrical currents to keep their heart pumping.
  9. The earliest known case of heart disease was identified in the remains of a 3500-year-old Egyptian mummy.
  10. The first open-heart surgery was performed in 1893 by American cardiologist, Daniel Hale Williams.
  11. Swedish man, Arne Larsson was the first person to receive an implantable pacemaker. He lived longer than the surgeon who implanted it, and died aged 86 of a disease unrelated to his heart.
  12. The fairyfly has the smallest heart of any living creature.
  13. Whales have the largest heart of any mammal.
  14. The giraffe has a lopsided heart – their left ventricle is thicker than their right. This is because their left side pumps blood to their brain via the giraffe’s long neck.
  15. The beating sound of our hearts is caused by the valves of our heart opening and closing.
  16. The iconic heart shape as a symbol of love is traditionally thought to come from the silphium plant, which was used as an ancient form of birth control.
  17. Heart cells can stop dividing, which means heart cancer is extremely rare.
  18. Our bodies are closely linked with our mental and emotional health, and in some cases, sadness and stress can (temporarily) break your heart. “Broken heart syndrome” (known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress-induced cardiomyopathy), mainly affects women, weakens the left ventricle and causes symptoms similar to a heart attack. Fortunately, while it can cause heart failure for some, most individuals recover within a few months.
  19. After a heart attack, cardiac rehabilitation can make a big difference in helping people return to their normal activities.
  20. Laughing is good for our hearts, as it reduces stress and boosts our immune system So up the happiness factor in your life!

 

Understand the impact of medical conditions and other factors on cardiorespiratory performance and how to regulate this vital multi-organ system with a human biology online course such as our Certificate of Human Biology – Cardio Fitness and Health.

Love Science? Our Human Biology Short Course is For You!

Human biology is a complex area of study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse scientific fields, including anatomy and physiology.

The Certificate of Human Biology – Anatomy and Physiology is ideal for those who work in the the medical, health, fitness or alternative medicine sectors or those keen to study health science or biomedicine. It will give you insights into the human body, how it works and what factors determine good health.

In this human biology short course, you will study the features of the human body at a microscopic level, including the structure and function of tissues, cells and membranes. You will also learn about the basic structure, features and function of the human muscular, skeletal, digestion, excretion, nervous and physiological systems.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a human biology short course include:

  • Learning about the structure and function of cells, tissues and membranes
  • Exploring cell division
  • Studying cell processes
  • Gaining insights into osmosis and filtration
  • Examining nutrient and waste exchange in cells
  • Understanding the features of the human skeleton
  • Learning about bone anatomy
  • Exploring bone types
  • Studying bone joints
  • Gaining insights into bone movements
  • Examining fractures and fracture healing
  • Understanding the structure and basic function of the muscular system
  • Learning about the types of muscle fibre
  • Exploring muscle movement
  • Studying skeletal muscle types
  • Gaining insights into tendons
  • Understanding the structure and basic functions of the nervous system
  • Learning about nerve cells and the nervous system
  • Exploring nerve terminology
  • Studying the parts of the nervous system
  • Gaining insights into the central and peripheral nervous system
  • Examining cranial nerves
  • Understanding reflex actions and the automatic nervous system
  • Learning about sensory neurons and motor neurons
  • Exploring the spinal chord
  • Studying the physiological systems of digestion and excretion
  • Gaining insights into the digestive system and digestive tract
  • Understanding the mouth, oesophagus and stomach
  • Learning about the small and large intestine
  • Exploring digestive organs
  • Studying nutrient digestion disorders
  • Gaining insights into digestive system disorders
  • Understanding excretion
  • Learning about the urinary system
  • Exploring the body’s physiological systems
  • Studying the endocrine systems and secretions (hormones)
  • Gaining insights into the respiratory system
  • Examining the physiology of respiration
  • Understanding the male and female reproduction systems
  • Learning about the circulatory system
  • Exploring the functions of the blood
  • Studying blood vessels
  • Gaining insights into the heart

And more!

60 Amazing Facts About the Human Body

We all know the human body is complex and an extraordinary piece of living machinery , and undertaking a human biology short course (as well as these 60 amazing facts) will certainly solidify that belief!

  1. The human brain has a memory capacity equivalent to more than four terabytes on a computer hard drive.
  2. There are twenty-nine different bones in your skull.
  3. Nerve impulses sent from your brain move at a speed of 274 kilometres an hour.
  4. By the end of a person’s life, they can recall around 150 trillion pieces of information.
  5. We lose 80 per cent of our body heat from our head.
  6. 100,000 chemical reactions occur in the human brain every second.
  7. The human heart pumps 182 million litres of blood during the average lifetime.
  8. The human embryo acquires fingerprints within three months of conception.
  9. A newborn child can swallow and breathe at the same time for up to seven months.
  10. Children grow faster in the spring.
  11. At birth, a child’s body is made up of around 300 bones — an adult only has 206.
  12. Teeth are the only part of the human body that can’t heal themselves.
  13. 99 per cent of the calcium contained in the human body is in our teeth.
  14. If one identical twins lacks a certain tooth, the other twin will not have that tooth either.
  15. If allowed to grow for their whole lifetime, the length of someone’s hair would be about 725 kilometres.
  16. People with blue eyes are more sensitive to pain than others.
  17. The human eye can distinguish 10 million different colours.
  18. The retinas inside the eye contain 137 million light-sensitive cells. 130 million are for black and white vision and seven million are for helping us see in colour.
  19. Our eyes remain the same size as they were at birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
  20. The muscles which help our eyes to focus complete around 100,000 movements a day.
  21. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
  22. Women blink about two times less often than men.
  23. One percent of people can see infra-red light and one per cent can see ultra violet radiation.
  24. Women’s hearts beat faster than men’s.
  25. The human heart pumps blood at such pressure that it would be able to raise blood up to the fourth floor of a building.
  26. The total length of all the blood vessels in the human body is about 100,000 kilometres.
  27. Your right lung can take in more air than your left lung.
  28. An adult person performs around 23,000 inhalations and exhalations a day.
  29. There are about 40,000 bacteria in the human mouth.
  30. Each of us has around 2,000 taste buds.
  31. By the age of sixty, most people lose half of their taste buds.
  32. The rate at which a person’s hair grows doubles during an airplane flight.
  33. The facial hair of a blonde-haired man grows faster than that of a man with dark hair.
  34. Human lips are hundreds of times more sensitive than the tips of a person’s fingers.
  35. Human skin is completely replaced around 1,000 times during our lifetime.
  36. Human-beings are the only living things that sleep on their backs.
  37. Your fingernails grow about four times faster than your toenails.
  38. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.
  39. The average human body contains enough carbon to make 900 pencils and enough water to fill a 50-litre barrel.
  40. 50,000 cells in your body died and were replaced by new ones while you were reading this sentence.
  41. The smallest cells in a man’s body are sperm cells.
  42. When you blush, your stomach also turns red.
  43. At least 700 enzymes are active in the human body.
  44. The scientific name for the belly button is the umbilicus.
  45. Only seven per cent of people are left-handed.
  46. Every year more than two million left-handed people die because of mistakes they make when using machines designed for right-handed people.
  47. During their lifetime, a person will on average accidentally swallow eight small spiders.
  48. The structure of the human body contains only four minerals — aragonite, apatite, crystobalite and
  49. calcite.
  50. The surface area of the human lungs is approximately equal to the area of a tennis court.
  51. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.
  52. The human heart is approximately equal in size to that of our fist.
  53. The chemical compound in the body which causes feelings of ecstasy (phenylethylamine) is also contained in chocolate.
  54. A person uses seventeen muscles when they smile, and 43 when they frown.
  55. If you were locked in a completely sealed room, you would not die due to a lack of air, but from carbon dioxide poisoning.
  56. Statistically, only one person out of two billion reaches the age of 116 years old.
  57. In the morning, a person is about eight millimetres taller than in the evening.
  58. A cough amounts to an explosive charge of air which moves at speeds up to 60 miles per hour.
  59. Bones are about five times stronger than steel.
  60. A person would die quicker from a total lack of sleep than from hunger. Death would occur after ten days without sleep, whereas from hunger it would take several weeks.

 

Gain a strong foundation in both anatomy and physiology to enhance or kick-start your health science career with a human biology short course such as our Certificate of Human Biology – Anatomy and Physiology.

Enhance Your Health Career With a Human Nutrition Course

Good nutrition is essential for a healthy life, but how we eat is just as important as what we eat. The Certificate of Human Nutrition (Advanced) is ideal for caregivers, fitness professionals, life coaches, food industry workers, community health workers, allied medical and health professionals or anyone wanting to enhance their overall health and wellbeing. 

In this human nutrition course, you will deepen your knowledge of nutrition in order to plan balanced diets for individual or group needs and prepare food to ensure nutrient retention. You will study the recommended daily intakes of nutrients, the different methods of cooking and processing and its affect on food and nutrition, and the roles and features of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

You will also learn how to assess the needs and nutritional status of different individuals, and understand the timing and needs of special groups, including those who have diseases or dietary issues.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a human nutrition course include: 

  • Learning about cooking and its effect on food and nutrition 
  • Exploring the nutritive value of food after cooking
  • Studying fish, meat, poultry and plant foods like fruit, vegetables, cereals and pulses 
  • Gaining insights into baking, blanching, braising, grilling and poaching
  • Understanding boiling, pressure cooking, roasting, sautéing and steaming
  • Learning about preserve nutrition in food including different vitamins 
  • Exploring food processing and nutrition 
  • Gaining an understanding of canning and pasteurisation
  • Studying flours and milling and grain processing 
  • Gaining insights into wet-heat treatments 
  • Examining food additives and flavouring and sweetening agents
  • Understanding preservatives, emulsifying agents, anti-caking agents and humectants 
  • Learning about recommended daily intakes (RDI) of nutrients 
  • Exploring macronutrient intakes 
  • Studying RDI of energy and protein 
  • Gaining insights into RDI of fats, fluids and water 
  • Understanding requirements for vitamins and minerals
  • Learning about hypervitaminosis and hypovitaminosis
  • Exploring the role, sources, deficiency and toxicity of vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K 
  • Studying water soluble vitamins
  • Gaining insights into vitamins and the liver 
  • Examining vitamins and the bowel
  • Understanding vitamins, cancer and chronic diseases 
  • Learning about minerals 
  • Exploring the role of, deficiency, toxicity and sources of calcium
  • Studying iodine, iron and magnesium
  • Gaining insights into phosphorous and potassium
  • Examining sodium
  • Understanding other trace elements – chromium, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc
  • Learning how to plan a balanced diet 
  • Exploring menu planning 
  • Studying a day’s diet at a residential school
  • Gaining insights into plate waste 
  • Examining how to use the food pyramid 
  • Understanding how to approach diet planning
  • Learning about how to assess nutritional status and needs 
  • Exploring the nutritional needs of infants and young children
  • Studying the nutritional needs of adolescents
  • Gaining insights into the the nutritional needs of expectant, postpartum and nursing mothers 
  • Examining the nutritional needs of elderly people and migrants 
  • Understanding vegetarian and vegan diets 
  • Learning about timing meals and the needs of special groups
  • Exploring diet formulation 
  • Studying dietary risk factors 
  • Gaining insights into obesity, coronary heart disease, blood cholesterol and blood pressure
  • Understanding dental cavities, dietary fibre and bowel disease and diabetes 
  • Learning about gastric, gluten-free and low salt, fat and sodium diets 
  • Exploring diets that can lower cholesterol 

And more! 

2021 Australian Food Trends 

As you’ll learn in a human nutrition course, a balanced diet is often at the forefront of many people’s minds when it comes to overall health and wellbeing. However, food trends are constantly changing, and this year, some of them revolve around plant-based diets, sustainability and conscious consumption. 

#1 – Plant-based eating

Vegetarian, vegan, pegan (a paleo/vegan combination), flexitarian (a “flexible” vegetarian) … the list of plant-based dietary choices goes on … and continues to evolve. Tied to this is the ongoing trend of buying locally-grown produce and seasonal ingredients to celebrate artisanal products and regional cooking, including seeking paddock-to-plate dining experiences. 

#2 – Conscious consumption

A similar trend is “clean” eating, which means eating predominantly fruit, vegetables and whole grains and limiting meat, sugar, salt and processed foods. It also involves growing your own produce and cooking from scratch — sometimes termed “eating like a nana”! 

#3- Intermittent fasting

Google Trends data has shown that online searches for “intermittent fasting” have doubled over the past four years in Australia and continue to rise. Popular diets include the 5:2 (cutting kilojoules two days a week and then eating “normally” for the other five), and the 16:8 (eating over an eight hour period and fasting for the rest of the day). However, research has shown that people achieve better results when their diet has been personalised, rather than embracing “fad diets”. And that’s where the value of a human nutrition course comes in! 

#4 – Conscious drinking 

Australian’s love of alcohol is well known. However, another positive emerging trend towards a healthier diet is “conscious” alcohol drinking. The low “alcohol by volume” (ABV) category has continued to grow with the increasing popularity of alcohol-free spirits, low ABV beers and hard seltzer. Hard seltzers — which are typically flavoured with fruit — contain a small amount of alcohol and are one of the lowest-caloric options on the market. 

#5 – A gut feeling

Many people suffer from digestive health issues, and some of these have a moderate or severe impact on an individual’s overall health. Consumer interest has increased in a more holistic approach to health, including a greater understanding of the foundational role of gut microbiome. Products targeting and supporting microbiome — like prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics — have been shown to help address metabolic issues and conditions like immune system support, weight management and better emotional wellbeing.

#6 – New technologies 

In this era of new technologies, AI, gene editing and nanotechnology are being used to address modern food challenges. These include improving sustainability, reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions and feeding the world’s growing population. Genetic engineering is being used to increase yields, enhance nutritional value, and broaden livestock diversity and agricultural crops.

The Effect of Timing on Meals 

One of the factors  you will learn about in a human nutrition course is the effect of timing on meals if individuals are trying to lose weight. But does it actually matter what time we eat? 

Well, according to one of the largest human studies into the correlation between meal timing and body mass index (BMI), yes. Researchers from Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center in California studied meal frequency and timing and the correlation with BMI in more than 50,000 people.

The results, published in The Journal of Nutrition found four factors are associated with a decrease in BMI:

  • eating only one or two meals per day
  • maintaining an overnight fast of up to 18 hours
  • eating breakfast instead of skipping it
  • making breakfast or lunch the largest meal of the day.

Regardless of overall calorie intake, participants who made breakfast the largest meal of their day lost more weight than those who ate a bigger lunch. The two factors associated with higher BMI were making dinner the largest meal of the day and eating more than three meals per day (snacks were counted as extra meals). 

A spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia, says animal studies have produced similar findings. It showed that when animals had the same calorie intake at night compared to during the day, some animals had more metabolic control and lost more weight. Metabolic control is how our bodies convert the fuel we consume into energy. A practical example of where this can cause weight gain, higher insulin levels and poorer metabolic and glucose control is with shift workers who eat when they should be sleeping.

However, while eating more calories earlier in the day is a good general rule for healthy weight maintenance, overall intake is still the most important aspect of maintaining a healthy weight. A bigger breakfast can be important because individuals are less likely to get ravenously hungry and make poor food choices later on in the day.

Experts also say it’s crucial to include some carbohydrates, some lean protein and plenty of salads and vegetables with every meal. It’s also important that individuals try to avoid the mentality of restriction, as diets aren’t a one-size-fits-all approach. An individual’s approach to meals and food needs to fit in with their lifestyle to be sustainable. 

Learn how food interacts with the human body and how to keep the body running in optimal condition with a human nutrition course like our Certificate of Human Nutrition (Advanced).

Boost Energy with Our Bioenergetics Course

Bioenergetics in human biology is essentially the study of energy. The science of bioenergetics includes how we collect, store and use energy. It has many practical applications and is ideal for those who want to understand better energy and its impacts on work, sport, and exercise. So, if you’re a fitness consultant, personal trainer, exercise or health scientist, this bioenergetics course is ideal for you.

The Certificate of Human Biology – Bioenergetics. is an online professional development course that will provide insights into increasing people’s energy, maintaining them in different situations, and performing exercise for better energy management.

In this bioenergetics course, you will discover the different types of energy supplies, pathways of energy, acid-base balance, osmosis and diffusion, atmospheric pressure, temperature regulation and more.

Learning Outcomes

Topics covered in our online bioenergetics course include:

  • How energy is used in the human body
  • Energy pathways during resting, work and recovery
  • Significance of the acid-base balance in the body
  • Movement of materials in and out of living cells
  • Changing atmospheric pressure on the body
  • Temperature regulation in the body
  • Ergogenic aids to body performance during activity/exercise
  • Biological energy cycles, using illustrations where appropriate
  • Energy pathways in the body, including an anaerobic and an aerobic pathway
  • Function of ATP in body energy pathways
  • Significance of the following terms to understanding body energy pathways: energy, work, power, efficiency during exercise
  • Consumption of oxygen during different stages of activity, including at rest, warming up, peak activity, cooling down
  • Measurement of efficiency during the exercise carried out in a set task
  • Problems that may occur in physiological processes during running a marathon
  • Acid-base terms with relevance to exercise: buffer, alkali reserve, alkalosis, acidosis
  • Respiratory regulation of pH in the human body
  • Regulation of pH in the kidneys
  • Strenuous exercise on body pH
  • Osmosis in a biological situation
  • Distinguish between diffusion and facilitated diffusion in the human body.
  • Electrochemical forces and cellular equilibrium
  • Active transport mechanisms at a cellular level
  • Pressure changes on different parts of the body, including examples of changes due to altitude and scuba diving.
  • Decompression treatment on a diver suffering from nitrogen narcosis
  • Mechanisms of heat loss and gain in the human body
  • Thermal receptors and effectors in the human body
  • Temperature regulation during exercise
  • Effects of steroids on the body, in relation to both performance, and other health factors
  • Effect of amphetamines and other performance-enhancing drugs on the body
  • Advantages and disadvantages of amino acid use to improve physical activity
  • Vitamins and performance
  • Aspartic acid salts and performance

And more…

What is Bioenergetics?  

Bioenergetics is the study of the transformation of energy in living organisms. The study of bioenergetics in human biology involves understanding how the body acquires, processes, and uses energy for better fitness, sporting, work performance and general overall health.

The ability to understand and improve management of the body’s movement and to maintain optimum energy levels has many practical applications. So whether you’re a sports coach, athlete, school PE teacher, fitness professional or anyone who wants to understand peak energy performance– this online biogenetics course is ideal for you. 

What Are the Laws of Bioenergetics?

Law 1 – Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be changed from one form to another

Law 2 – Energy transfer will always proceed in the direction of increased entropy and the release of free energy.

10 Biogenetics Terms to Learn

  1. Catabolism – the breakdown of large molecules into smaller molecules, associated with the release of energy
  2. Anabolism – the synthesis of larger molecules from smaller molecules. It can be accomplished using the energy released from catabolic reactions
  3. Exergonic reactions – energy-releasing reactions that are generally catabolic.
  4. Metabolism – The total of all the catabolic or exergonic and anabolic or endergonic reactions in a biological system.
  5. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – allows the transfer of energy from exergonic to endergonic reactions.
  6. Lactic acid energy – also known as the anaerobic glycolysis system, the lactic acid system uses stored glucose (muscle glycogen) to create energy. If there’s not enough oxygen to go around, lactic acid is produced to help the body along. 
  7. Glycolysis – Glycolysis provides ATP to the body when stored ATP can’t maintain the intensity of exercise in the muscle. So, ATP must be created by using muscle glycogen and glucose. Glycolysis can maintain high intensities for longer durations than the Phosphagen System.
  8. Krebs Cycle – the Krebs Cycle is a series of chemical reactions used by the body to generate energy through the oxidisation of acetate – derived from carbohydrate.
  9. Oxidative System – When exercise intensity is lowered and oxygen present in the cell, pyruvate enters the cell’s mitochondria and undergoes the Krebs Cycle to create ATP from glucose and fatty acids. Marathon runners, rowers and other endurance athletes rely on the Oxidative System and the Krebs Cycle to fuel their muscles with ATP!
  10. Phosphagen System – provides energy to the body for very fast explosive types of exercise. Athletes like sprinters, powerlifters and people who rely on quick, explosive bouts of energy rely primarily on this system.

Gain the knowledge to understand the science of energy – biogenetics in human biology – and help boost people’s energy levels with a biogenetics course, like our Certificate of Human Biology – Bioenergetics.

Learn How to Farm Fish with Aquaculture Courses

Marine fish stocks across the world are increasingly under pressure, which provides ample opportunities and potential profits for those who undertake aquaculture courses. The term “mariculture” refers to a sub-culture of aquaculture that deals specifically with marine aquaculture. It is defined as the culture of marine organisms — both plants and animals — in an aquatic medium or environment which may be completely marine or a mix of sea water with varying degrees of fresh water.

Ideal for mariculture operators or anyone who works in an aquaculture production role, the Certificate of Marine Aquaculture will teach you the fundamentals of mariculture to enable you to set up a successful and sustainable business. In this aquaculture course, you will explore mariculture production systems and the factors — including diet and health issues — that need to be considered when choosing marine species for an aquaculture business.

You will also learn about the commercial production of fin fish, molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic algae and seaweeds, the role of marine invertebrates in mariculture, and the pharmaceutical uses of marine organisms.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking aquaculture courses online include:

  • Learning about aquaculture production systems, their classifications and the purposes of mariculture
  • Exploring extensive production (Ep) and intensive production (Ip)
  • Studying open (off-shore and near-shore), semi-closed and closed systems (on shore)
  • Gaining insights into cage culture and cage design – floating flexible, floating rigid, semi-submersible and submersible
  • Examining hanging, long-line, vertical, bottom, stone, stake, net and umbrella culture
  • Understanding closed systems (CAS) -recirculating, raceways, and inland ponds
  • Learning about the economics of establishing a mariculture business
  • Exploring industry competition, economy of scale, site selection and the availability of leased and quotas
  • Studying water quality management, environmental impacts and food chain problems
  • Gaining insights into using wild broodstock and nutrient and chemical pollution
  • Understanding how pathogens spread, habitat effects, biotechnology and improving the genetic quality of fish
  • Learning about choosing marketable species and understanding your competition
  • Exploring common mariculture species and the availability of animals
  • Studying climate and water resources
  • Gaining insights into finance, operational scale, market demand and risk considerations
  • Understanding product, price and promotion
  • Learning about finfish including tuna, salmon, yellowtail, sea bass and bream
  • Exploring brood stock and seed supply of finfish
  • Studying grow out and water quality management of finfish
  • Gaining insights into crustaceans including prawns, crabs and lobsters
  • Exploring brood stock and seed supply of crustaceans
  • Studying grow out and water quality management of crustaceans
  • Gaining insights into molluscs and echinoderms including abalone, oysters, mussels, scallops, clams, sea urchins and sea cucumbers
  • Exploring brood stock and seed supply of molluscs and echinoderms
  • Studying grow out and water quality management of molluscs and echinoderms
  • Gaining insights into seaweeds and aquatic algae
  • Understanding brood stock and seed supply of aquatic algae
  • Learning about tanks, ponds and land, sea and vegetative cultivation systems
  • Exploring farming methods and cultivation involving a reproductive cycle
  • Studying Laminaria japonica, Porphyra, Undaria and Eucheuma seaweed
  • Gaining insights into the pharmaceutical value of marine organisms

And more!

 

Aquaculture in Australia

Aquaculture is one of Australia’s largest growing primary industries with over 240,000 tonnes of fish produced a year with aquaculture contributing to a third of this. So … a fantastic reason to undertake aquaculture courses! The aquaculture sector is managed under strict environmental guidelines, with most of the elements of regulation resting with the states and territories. The main aquaculture sectors are:

Marine finfish

This is an inshore and offshore sea cage-farming sector, which primarily operates in Tasmania and South Australia, although there are some farms in other states. Principle species grown are barramundi, mulloway, Atlantic salmon, southern bluefin tuna and yellowtail kingfish.

Operations typically involve the pre-dawn loading of vessels and the delivery of feed to the sea cages. A second run is undertaken in the afternoon or early evening. Key species harvested include:

  • Southern bluefin tuna. The aquaculture component of this sector involves the culturing of tuna in offshore sea pontoons that can be up to 25 kilometres out to sea. Before dawn, feed is loaded on modified fishing boats that travel to the pontoons.
  • Atlantic salmon. This industry is based in Tasmania. The aquaculture sector involves the collection of broodstock and the production of fingerlings for grow out in sea cages, which are located in offshore and inshore waters. A specialist fleet of vessels performs feeding and harvesting operations at sea.

Freshwater fish

There are many small to medium freshwater fish farms throughout Australia, growing a wide range of species including silver perch, jade perch, Murray cod and eels. Systems vary from pond and dam, to automatic and intensive tank rearing systems.

Crustaceans

  • Prawns. Farms are located in four Australian states — New South Wales, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, however, the industry is largely based in Queensland’s tropical zones. Prawns are farmed in large-scale pond operations, which operate round the clock and every day of the year. The farms generally have their own hatchery and the whole operation involves hatching, growing, harvesting and processing in an integrated continual process operation.
  • Yabbies, marron and red claw. There are many small land-based crustacean farms in Australia. Yabbies are the most common and typically an incidental aquaculture operation to general land-based farming. Red claw farms are scattered throughout Australia but mostly located in New South Wales and Queensland and New South Wales. Marron farms operate mainly in South Australia and Western Australia and tend to be larger scale pond operations.

Shellfish

  • Abalone (land-based). These farms operate intensive grow out systems, and while a majority have integrated hatchery and grow-out operations, some rely on purchasing spat from dedicated hatcheries. Broodstock is regularly collected from the wild through diving operations and forms the basis of the genetic diversity.
  • Abalone (sea-based). Two types of marine abalone systems include sea cage technology and a special converted grow out vessel. Broodstock is sourced from the wild and juvenile abalone are grown in hatchery complexes. The stock is then transferred to special sea cages with unique grow out plates and the stock is managed and harvested on a continuous basis by groups of commercial divers.
  • Mussels. This is widespread industry across Australia with large-scale operations in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Marine rope systems are used to grow the mussels. As mussels are filter feeders, farms rely upon natural feed including detritus, algae and bacteria rather than pellets or artificial diets. Harvesting involves the operation of specialised mussel–stripping machinery on purpose-built vessels.
  • Pacific oysters. This industry operates mostly in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The industry is a marine based industry (apart from the hatchery complexes) with most farms accessed by commercial vessels which are used to maintain the grow out sites and harvest the oysters. The industry operates seven days a week every week of the year. Operations are generally performed before dawn, through to sunset with some unloading, bagging operations extending the work hours into the evening.
  • Sydney rock oysters. Operating in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria, this industry farms a single oyster species — Saccostrea Glomerata — in a number of ocean and estuarine settings. Operations involve small vessels engaging in daily trips to the oyster beds for checking, sorting, grading and harvesting the oysters. Once ashore, the operations grade and clean the oysters and prepare them for dispatch to various market

Types of Mariculture

As you will learn in aquaculture courses, aquaculture in Australia is generally practiced using either salt or freshwater species under either intensive or extensive production. But what is the difference between the two?

Intensive Mariculture Production (Ip)

An intensive production system is managed to ensure optimum feeding regimes, water conditions and is important for high production. It requires a managed and well-designed production unit so feed, oxygenation, light intensity, water flow and quality, waste build-up and competition are efficiently controlled and improved. Reproduction can sometimes be initiated slightly out of season by manipulating oxygen, water temperatures and light intensity.

Raceways, pools or dams are typical units for intensive production. They are designed and constructed to offer as much control as possible, to improve any natural limitations and to circumvent problems. They also enable the farmer to exactly determine his marketable stocks and have them available whenever they are needed.

Extensive Mariculture Production (Ep)

An extensive production system involves the use of natural waters like rivers, oceans, dams, lakes, saltwater estuaries and various impoundments. It is a system where animals are stocked, allowed to spawn, and increase in size and number. Typically a simple stocking and harvesting routine is followed, although sometimes there will be some input in terms of fertilisation, water, feeding and/or protection.

The use of natural waters are usually large and have sufficient cover and food to support a large number of fish and allow them to grow reasonably quickly and to a marketable size. However, they will grow more slowly than fish that are force fed under intensive conditions. But a harvestable crop is generally less expensive to produce compared to those from an Intensive Production system because manpower needs are lower, water is available at little cost, and the degree of expertise required from the farmer is considerably less.

Learn to plan and manage the farming of a wide variety of marine life to enhance your aquaculture career, or even start your own business with aquaculture courses like our Certificate of Marine Aquaculture.

 

 

Nurture Soil-less Crops With Our Hydroponics Courses

Keen to grow your own veggies and herbs, but have no room for a garden at home? Then hydroponics is your go-to solution! Derived from the Greek words “hydra” meaning water and “ponos” meaning labour, hydroponics is essentially the process of growing plants without soil. But in order to do this, you need a good understanding of how plants grow, so you can control what Mother Nature does so well — controlling light, water, humidity, oxygen, nutrients and temperature.

Ideal for home gardeners who are keen to set up a basic hydroponic system (and limit the heavy labour many gardens require!), the Certificate of Hydroponics will teach you how to grow everything from flowers and berries to vegetables and herbs.

In hydroponics courses like ours, you will learn how to manage a plant’s nutrition, control pests and diseases, and dry, cool, freeze and store plants. You will also study how to operate and manage a greenhouse, plan your own hydroponic enterprise, and grow plants for longer periods of the year … without soil, but with H2O!

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking hydroponics courses online include:

  • Learning about hydroponic systems
  • Exploring the global hydroponic industry
  • Studying its comparison to plants growing in soil
  • Gaining insights into resources and contacts
  • Examining how a plant grows
  • Understanding plant structure
  • Learning about biochemistry and biochemical cell processes
  • Exploring the mechanisms of nutrient uptake
  • Studying photosynthesis, minerals and nutrients
  • Gaining insights into the role of pH in plant growth
  • Examining hydroponic nutrient solutions and how to prepare them
  • Understanding hydroponic systems, location, equipment and soil-less mixes
  • Learning about rockwool – its properties and manufacture
  • Exploring propagating blocks – recommended practices, application and development
  • Studying nutrient film techniques (NFT)
  • Gaining insights into alternative layouts for NFT
  • Understanding the methods of solution dispensation and closed and open systems
  • Learning about nutrition, nutrition management and the nutrient formulae
  • Exploring atoms, elements, compounds and chemical names
  • Gaining an understanding of calculating formulae
  • Studying how to mix nutrients and the symptoms of nutrient deficiency
  • Gaining insights into adjusting the pH
  • Examining conductivity and how to use conductivity measures
  • Understanding plant culture and how to flow chart the crop
  • Learning about controllers – salinity, pH and atmosphere
  • Exploring post-harvest storage – cooling, drying, vacuum storage, freeze drying
  • Studying pests and diseases in controlled environments
  • Gaining insights into fungi and common fungal problems
  • Examining legislation and biological and integrated pest management
  • Understanding major pests, diseases and disorders or crops
  • Learning about leaf hoppers – thrip, virus, bacteria, caterpillars, harlequin bugs etc.
  • Exploring the commercial cultivation of vegetables and vegetable families
  • Studying propagation, temperatures for seed germination and optimum monthly temperatures
  • Gaining insights into harvesting, materials and handling
  • Learning about greenhouse cooling and fog

And more!

Best Plants to Grow Hydroponically

As you will learn in hydroponics courses, with adequate lighting and the right plant nutrition many plants can be harvested faster than those grown in an outside garden. But if you’re a novice and a little nervous about starting your hydroponic journey, what sort of plants are best grown hydroponically?

Herbs

  • Tarragon – Artemisia dracunculus
  • Peppermint – Mentha piperita
  • Green mint – Mentha
  • Oregano – Origanum vulgare
  • Basil – Ocimum basilicum
  • Sage – Salvia officinalis
  • Stevia – Stevia rebaudiana
  • Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis
  • Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis

Vegetables

  • Lettuce – Lactuca sativa
  • Spinach – Spinacia oleracea
  • Bok Choy – Brassica chinensis
  • Tomatoes – Solanum lycopersicum
  • Peppers – Capsicum
  • Cucumber – Cucumis sativus
  • Celery – Apium graveolens

House Plants

  • Devil’s Ivy – Epipremnum aureum
  • Arrowhead Vine – Syngonium podophyllum
  • Philodendron – Philodendron bipinnatifidum
  • Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum
  • Chinese Money Plant – Pilea peperomioides
  • Female Dragon – Dracaena draco
  • Leopard Lily – Dieffenbachia
  • Chinese Evergreen – Aglaonema commutatum
  • Spider Plant – Chlorophytum comosum

Hydroponic Farming in Australia

Undertaking hydroponics courses has become increasingly popular, and given the advancement of the industry in Australia, it’s not surprising! The industry’s capacity to grow crops during different seasons and under varied weather conditions has enabled it to thrive, despite fluctuating rainfall.

Sundrop Farms in South Australia is a leading (and award winning) horticultural player in Australia producing high-value fruit using renewable sources. In fact, in 2020, it won Sustainability and Business Excellence awards in the SA Premiers Food Awards, and was one of Coles Fresh Produce Suppliers of the Year.

The Sundrop Farms’ system uses the sun’s energy to produce fresh water for irrigation, which is then turned into electricity to power their greenhouses require to heat and cool their crops. Key elements of the system include:

  • Sun – Sunlight is the vital first step of the process, from harvesting its energy and running their solar energy systems to providing the light needed to produce their high quality produce.
  • Sea water – Seawater is drawn from the nearby Spencer Gulf to provide water for their evaporative cooling systems and to feed their desalination plan.
  • Solar energy systems – Their Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) system reduces the reliance on fossil fuels by producing water, heat and electricity for greenhouse use.
  • Electricity – Steam generated from their CSP system is fed into a steam turbine to provide the electricity needed to power critical equipment in their greenhouses.
  • Desalination – Using seawater drawn from the Spencer Gulf and heat from their CSP system, their Multi Effect Distillation system produces fresh water to irrigate their
  • Fresh water – This is produced on-site, supplemented with town water and combined with nutrients to irrigate their
  • Greenhouses – Their best-in-class greenhouses provide the ideal growing environment to produce high quality fruit and provide barriers to disease and pests that are more prevalent in open field farming.

History of Hydroponic Farming

When you study hydroponics courses like our Certificate of Hydroponics, one of the topics you will cover is the history of hydroponics. As a farming system, many believed it started in the ancient city of Babylon with its famous hanging gardens — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built in the 6th century, they relied exclusively on the Euphrates River as their source of irrigation, as soil was devoid in the arid desert.

In the 10th century, the floating gardens of the Aztecs of Central America are another example of early hydroponics systems. Denied land by their more powerful neighbours, they built rafts of reeds and rushes (called Chinampas), dredged up soil from the bottom of Lake Tenochtitlan and piled it onto these rafts. Because of the variety of organic debris, the rafts produced abundant crops of vegetables.

By the 16th century, Belgian Jan van Helmont was recording the earliest known science-based research on hydroponics, noting that water delivered nutrients to plants. In 1699, Englishman John Woodward built on van Helmont’s work by creating the world’s first hydroponics nutrient solution. He concluded that the beneficial nutrients in water essential for plant growth was more accessible than in soil.

In the late 1920s, American Dr. William F. Gericke extended laboratory experiments to further studies on nutrition in commercial crops growing outside. He coined the term “hydroponics” and his work is the basis for modern hydroponic growth.

In 1936, Gericke and J. R. Travernetti published an account of the successful cultivation of tomatoes in a water and nutrient solution.

During the late 1940s, Alice P. and Robert B. Withrow developed a more practical hydroponic method using inert gravel as a rooting medium. This method later is sometimes referred to as “nutriculture”.

During World War II

During World War II, this method of hydroponics became a viable source for fresh vegetables for the U. S. Armed Forces. One of the first of several large hydroponics farms was built on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. The techniques developed on the island were used in later installations on various islands in the Pacific such as Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

During this same period, the Air Ministry in London took steps to commence soilless culture at the arid island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and the desert base of Habbaniya in Iraq.

After World War II

After World War II, the military command continued to use hydroponics. They also established one of the world’s largest hydroponic installations, a 22-hectare project in Chofu, Japan. Covering 55 acres, it was designed to produce both seedlings and mature vegetables and it remained in operation for over 15 years.

Modern Day

Advances in hydroponics have grown tremendously in the last century, and we now fully understand that healthy plants require water, carbon dioxide, sunlight and nutrients to thrive.

Technology has advanced to allow the monitoring and automation of many aspects of the modern hydroponics greenhouse. Utilising environmental controllers allows growers to monitor essential data like carbon dioxide, heat, and light levels. Combining these with the full automation of airflow and irrigation, the “smart” hydroponics farm is far more efficient than their predecessors.

The use of agricultural technology (or Agtech) including machine learning, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) is also increasing hydroponics’ benefits, including increased yields, quicker growth cycles and a reduction in resource waste.

Use you passion for applying technology to grow vegetables, herbs and other plants with hydroponics courses, such as ourCertificate of Hydroponics.

Horticultural Therapy Course to Join a Blooming Industry

Horticultural therapists use horticultural activities to improve health. It’s a relatively new area of work and study – but one set to blossom! This horticultural therapy course is ideal for those keen to explore the practical side of therapeutic garden design or deliver therapy programs. This course is ideal for you whether you plan to work in teaching, caring, counselling or psychotherapy roles or even as a garden or landscape designer.

Our Certificate of Horticultural Therapy is an online program that will enable you to assist people in developing their social skills, improve physical mobility, regain their confidence and more!

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved when you study our horticultural therapy course include:

  • Scope and Nature of Horticultural Therapy
  • Why Horticultural Therapy?
  • Who uses Horticultural Therapy?
  • Where can we use Horticultural Therapy Programs?
  • What are the Benefits of Using Horticultural Therapy?
  • General Benefits
  • Physical Benefits
  • Psychological Benefits
  • What do you need to be a Horticultural Therapist?
  • Typical Jobs or Career Paths
  • Liability
  • Understanding Disabilities and Communicating with people with disabilities – Communication, Teaching and Counselling Skills
  • The significance of communication skills to interacting with clients in a horticultural therapy situation
  • What are Intellectual disabilities/ intellectually challenged/ learning?
  • Mental illnesses /mental health issues/ mental disorders?
  • What is Communication?
  • Effective Communication Skills
  • Self-Awareness
  • Self-Esteem
  • Listening
  • Teaching Skills
  • Learning Principles – What is Learning?
  • Teaching Strategies
  • Teaching Models
  • Recognising Learner’s Needs
  • Writing a Program
  • Counselling Skills
  • Risk Management – Hygiene for vulnerable people; what extra risks are to be considered in a therapy situation – chemical, physical
  • Identifying potential risks to participants within a horticultural therapy program
  • Developing risk minimisation procedures
  • Risk Management for Vulnerable People
  • Workplace Health and Safety Issues
  • Identifying Hazards
  • Assessing sites and operations for risk
  • Conducting a Safety Audit
  • Risk Control Methods
  • Safety Precautions for a Horticultural Therapy Program
  • Manual Lifting
  • Rules for Using Tools
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Accessibility and Activities for people with Mobility issues
  • Determine solutions to improve accessibility for disabled people in horticultural situations
  • Ensuring that horticultural therapy is offered in a way that is accessible to clients and their particular needs
  • Help with Manual Tasks
  • Examples of Adaptations in Tools and Equipment
  • Physical Support

 

… And more!

 

What is Horticultural Therapy?

Horticultural therapy is a process that aims to improve a person’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing through programs that involve gardening and plant-based activities.

The caregiving role of tending garden has a therapeutic effect that improves self-esteem, encourages social interaction, enhances motor skills and promotes calm and relaxation.

What is a Therapeutic Garden?

Therapeutic gardens are plant-based environments designed to facilitate an immersive experience in nature through gardening. These gardens are specifically designed to maximise health benefits and wellbeing.

A garden is considered therapeutic if the space is accessible to accommodate people with a wide range of abilities. Another feature of a therapeutic garden is selecting sensory-orientated plants that have various colours, textures, and fragrances.

A successful therapeutic garden will operate in partnership with a horticultural therapy program designed by a horticultural therapist.

Types of Therapeutic Gardens

There are many varieties of therapeutic gardens that can be designed to meet the needs of individuals or organisations. These gardens can enhance treatment programs, from occupational therapy to physical therapy and mental health.

Enabling gardens

These gardens encourage gardening for people with limited mobility and range of motion. They are therapeutic, easy to access – often feature raised garden beds, vertical gardens, sensory plants and pathways that are easily navigated on foot or via wheelchair or other mobility aids.

Rehabilitation gardens

A rehabilitation garden encourages functional therapeutic outcomes for those who are recovering from injury. These gardens provide an environment that promotes movement, mild exercise and rehabilitation.

Restorative gardens

A restorative garden (also known as a healing garden) is simply a place of relaxation in nature. It provides rejuvenation by being at one with nature and often incorporates water features, seating, wildlife, meditative statues and spaces and gardening activities.

Dementia gardens

Designed to specifically meet the needs of people living with dementia, these gardens improve emotional wellbeing through socialisation and meaningful activity. They are well laid out to minimise disorientation and distress and have high accessibility, balancing safety with independence.

Sensory gardens

A sensory garden provides maximum and appropriate sensory stimulation. The purpose of a sensory garden is to engage all five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Groups who most benefit from sensory gardens include those living with dementia, autism spectrum disorder, post-traumatic stress, ADHD, sensory processing disorder and those with impaired vision and brain injury.

Edible gardens

Herbs, seeds, veggies, fruits and flowers are all part of the wonderful variety that can make up an edible garden. These gardens offer therapeutic benefits, but they can also encourage cooking, healthy eating and further social interaction. People with a disability, older people and children, find it rewarding to tend to this type of garden and grow their own food.

Woodland therapy

Woodland therapy, also known as ‘wild’ horticultural therapy, is linked with ‘forest bathing’ (a Japanese term promoting the natural healing power of nature). This type of therapy can include forest walks, mindfulness, yoga, woodwork, storytelling, craft and breathing exercises.

Benefits of Horticultural Therapy

Therapeutic horticulture is a growing area of interest worldwide. In fact, research shows that the flexible nature of horticultural therapy allows people to feel empowered in a non-threatening space. Therapeutic gardens also help people develop nurturing skills, boost mindfulness, and increase serotonin and dopamine levels, which are crucial to happiness and relaxation.

Therapeutic Gardens Australia reports that therapeutic gardens can provide the following benefits:

  • Improve wellbeing and positivity
  • Psychological comfort
  • Offer distraction
  • Improved air quality (fewer respiratory ailments)
  • Faster healing
  • Reduce pain (and reliance on pain medication)
  • Fewer post-surgical complications
  • Decreased stress and anxiety
  • Lowered blood pressure
  • Increase productivity and focus

 

Understand the benefits of horticultural therapy and how it can become a partial or fully funded activity that generates income with a horticultural therapy course, such as our Certificate of Horticultural Therapy.

Go Global With Our Short Business Courses

In this modern age of globalisation, decision-making skills that facilitate international expansion are highly valued. Ideal for small business owners and business advisors, analysts and managers, our short business courses, such as the Introduction to International Business will enable you to support the strategies, development and management of organisations on a worldwide scale.

Short business courses focusing on international business provide the fundamentals to interpret trends in Australian and international markets. You will learn about data collection and data sources, interpreting domestic and international trends, and the cultural impacts on buyer behaviour and business activity. You will also study analysis tools like SWOT and PEST, and gain the promotional skills to optimise the growth of products and services including online and via networking, trade fairs and conferences.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking short business courses include:

  • Exploring how to interpret and take advantage of trends in Australian and international markets
  • Studying the research process and how to analyse data from international markets
  • Gaining insights into data collection and data sources
  • Examining how trends impact international business activity
  • Understanding cultural impacts on business activity and culture and buyer behaviour
  • Exploring effective communication and trend analysis
  • Studying target markets and market segments
  • Gaining insights into time series analysis
  • Examining measures of central tendency and dispersion
  • Understanding quantitive and qualitative data analysis and collection
  • Learning about SWOT analysis, the STEEP model and PEST diagrams
  • Exploring competitor comparison and profiling
  • Studying research reports, written report formats and marketing plans
  • Gaining insight into forecasting international markets and business needs
  • Examining competitors and how to gather and document marketing intelligence
  • Understanding commercial services and organisation vision and needs
  • Learning about international joint ventures
  • Exploring online marketing, core business strategies and forecasting
  • Studying core activities, customer base, values and directions
  • Gaining insights into business values and performance comparisons
  • Examining strengths, weaknesses and critical success factors
  • Understanding products and services and capabilities and resources
  • Learning about trends and developments, the research process and the use of search results
  • Exploring threats and opportunities
  • Studying advance warning of new products and services
  • Gaining insights into legal, ethical and environmental constraints
  • Examining time series forecasting techniques
  • Understanding how to forecast emerging international marketing needs
  • Learning how to promote products and services to international markets
  • Exploring promotions, promotional messages and promotional objectives
  • Studying the impact of culture

And more!


5 Trends That Will Change Business in 2020 and Beyond

When undertaking short business courses like our Introduction to International Business, you will study some of the trends in Australian and international markets. According to the Export Council of Australia, after years of slowing global growth and trade wars, the future is looking up for Australian companies that are keen to grow and expand. Here are five key trends they are forecasting.

#1 – New markets for trade

Despite concerns about growing protectionism, trade liberalisation is continuing. Australia now has trade pacts with most major Asian economies and is further strengthening its relations with key trading partners like the United  States.

This is great news for Australian businesses looking to go offshore or expand their international trade. For example, lower barriers to trade in parts of the world, including in Asia, will enable companies to diversify their customer bases and access the world’s fast-growing middle classes. Australian businesses can also potentially expect more trade pacts, notably with the European Union (EU) and potentially the United Kingdom.

 

#2 – Historically low interest rates

As central banks cut interest rates to counter soft economic growth, some companies are capitalising on the opportunity to make larger operating and capital investments. Many Australian businesses see interest rate fluctuations as the second biggest external influence on their growth prospects. Strong corporates will likely take advantage of low-interest rates to pull forward the investment needed to accelerate growth.

 

#3 – Evolving technologies

Machines are continuing to take over repetitive and mundane tasks as digitisation increases, which frees up employees to focus on higher-value work. Blockchain technologies can accelerate international transactions by enabling parties to process payments digitally instead of via paper-based letters of credit. This can reduce the time required to execute trade transactions from 10 days to less than 24 hours. The arrival of high-speed 5G mobile communications is also significant and will speed up merchandise production and distribution.

Other game-changers are robotics and the Internet of Things, which should both increase productivity and efficiency. It will also enable companies to optimise working capital and efficiency in terms of payments, as it will become even faster and more convenient to move money.

 

#4 – Focus on sustainability

Concern about sustainability and climate change will only gain ground in the future, especially given the bushfire crisis in Australia experienced in 2019/2020.

Today’s customers are more likely to do their research before buying in terms of whether a product has social or environmental impacts. As such, many organisations are feeling pressure to become more ethically and environmentally sustainable.

Companies will therefore need to adapt and review supply chains to enusre increasingly high standards of sustainability. This includes putting sustainability on their business agenda, engaging independent stakeholders with expertise, gaining access to high-quality internal reporting on performance, and understanding their carbon footprint.

 

#5 – Rising consumption

Increasing incomes and wealth are driving a remarkable rise in consumption, particularly in North Asia. In China, for example, the growth of its middle class has led to greater spending. Now the propensity of its young customers to spend more than save is helping diversify its economy. This offers a substantial opportunity for Australian trade.

It is estimated that by 2030, over fifty per cent of Chinese households are expected to become richer, which will give them a greater ability to spend. For Australian businesses looking at these markets, it is crucial to be aware of diverse consumer demographics, as well as preferences and behaviours.

 

SWOT and PEST Analyses

Analysis is a valuable tool in short business courses, including when studying international business. Two standardised methods used across the globe are SWOT and PEST analyses. But how do they differ?

SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat. It’s a term often used in business strategic planning to help identify internal and external factors affecting business. Strengths and weaknesses are internal to a business and are things that can be controlled. Opportunities and threats are external and are often out of an organisation’s control.

  • Strengths – a SWOT analysis will help you identify areas of your business that are performing well. These areas are your critical success factors and they give your business a competitive advantage.
  • Weaknesses – these are the characteristics that put your business at a disadvantage to others. A SWOT analysis can help you identify these characteristics and improve or minimise them before they become an issue.
  • Opportunities – these can be created by external factors, such as changes in the market and new consumer trends. A SWOT analysis can help you identify opportunities that your business could take advantage of.
  • Threats – these are external factors that could cause problems for your business, such as a new government policy or changes to the market. It can help you identify threats and ways to counteract them, depending on your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.

Typically, more value can be gained from a SWOT analysis if it’s conducted with a specific question or objective in mind. For example, it can be used to decide if and how you can take advantage of a new business opportunity, respond to new trends, implement new technology or deal with changes to your competitors’ operations. It can also be used to address individual business issues like staffing issues, business culture and image, new product development, organisational structure, financial resources and operational efficiency.

PEST Analysis

A PEST analysis is a process for identifying the political, economic, social and technological factors that affect your supply chains – both locally and globally. It will give you a better understanding of the environment in which your business operates, and the external factors that may impact the production of your goods or services. You can also carry out a PEST analysis on the buyer, which will give you insights into their requirements and needs. These include:

  • Political factors include current and planned or future legislation, government policies, regulatory agencies, political change like elections, grants, funding and other initiatives, and local and international trading environments.
  • Economic factors include economic trends and growth, local interest, tax, exchange and inflation rates, trade cycles, international economic factors and industry trends.
  • Social factors include consumer and lifestyle trends, demographics, media opinions, ethical issues and major world or local events.
  • Technological factors include innovation, research and development, automation, the digital economy, telecommunications and technology incentives.

Gain foundational knowledge in international business to position a company for growth into global markets with short business courses such as our Introduction to International Business.

Manage Personal Finances and Live Better!

Some people have an intuitive ability to deal with their individual or organisation’s finances in order to maximise their assets. Others need some help to enhance their knowledge and make better decisions with a variety of financial challenges. This course is ideal for those wanting to build their own personal wealth, enhance the financial success of their organisation, or lay the foundations for a career in the finance industry.

The Certificate of Personal Finance Management will give you insights into how to spend, borrow, save, invest and ultimately manage your finances. In this course on how to manage personal finances, you will learn about financial terminology, how to plan and manage your money, capitalise on your home and minimise taxation. You will also study the intricacies of the money market and superannuation, and how to communicate with and leverage the benefits of banks.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a course that helps you manage personal finances include:

  • Understanding financial terminology
  • Learning about financial management goals
  • Exploring financial terminology and language
  • Studying financial statements
  • Gaining insights into planning and managing your cash
  • Examining budgeting and cash flows
  • Understanding profit and loss
  • Learning about balance sheets and financial records
  • Exploring how to problem solve
  • Studying how to borrow for goods and against property, assets etc.
  • Gaining insights into the types of loans and sources of funds
  • Understanding how to get mortgages that suit you
  • Learning about credit card control
  • Exploring debt management
  • Studying buying and what to look for
  • Gaining insights into hidden traps and consumer protection
  • Examining when not to buy on credit
  • Understanding forms of credit
  • Learning about the money market
  • Exploring sterling money market operations
  • Studying reserve averaging scheme
  • Gaining insights into standing facilities
  • Examining OMOs
  • Understanding investment types – housing, land, stocks, bonds, trust funds, annuities, antique business investments and more
  • Learning how to buy shares
  • Exploring about investment appraisals and how to spread your investment
  • Studying how to manage your cash, debt, insurance, housing and strategic planning
  • Gaining insights into making, using, keeping, counting and enjoying your money
  • Examining how to invest in shares
  • Understanding how to buy or start a business

And more!

A Quick Guide to Financial Terminology

In order to manage personal finances well, you should be familiar with some basic financial terminology. Here’s a quick rundown …

  • Asset – an item of a tangible (like real estate) or intangible nature (like a business brand name) that has a benefit or value, such as the capacity to generate interest or revenue. An “encumbered asset” is an item of value used as security or collateral for a loan, which has a registered interest against it. For example, a property for which you have a mortgage. An “unencumbered” asset is one without any debt or interest registered against it, such as property for which you have paid off a mortgage.
  • Balance sheet – a statement of equity, assets and liabilities that shows the financial position of an individual or organisation.
  • Balance transfer – the movement of money from one account to another. For example, a credit card balance transfer involves the movement of an amount of money on another account to a credit card. It can also refer to the movement of money to another institution to consolidate debt or take advantage of better interest rates and/or payment terms.
  • Collateral – also known as “security”, collateral is an asset which a borrower uses to secure funding from a lender. If the borrower can’t repay their debt, the asset can be acquired by the lender.
  • Compound interest – this is interest calculated on the total amount of funds including the principal amount and any previously accumulated interest. “Simple” interest is only calculated on the principal amount.
  • Depreciation – the loss in value of an asset over time.
  • Dividends – an amount paid to shareholders from an organisation’s profits relative to the number of shares held.
  • Equity – the value of an asset after all debts against it has been calculated. For example, if a property is worth $800,000 and has a $500,000 mortgage against it, the owner has equity of $300,000.
  • Fixed interest – this is the amount earned on funds to be paid on top of a principle calculated as a percentage that remains unchanged for the term of the loan. It can also refer to a loan type where the interest rate doesn’t fluctuate during a period, being the fixed-rate term.
  • Guarantee – a non-cancellable indemnity bond that is backed by an insurer. It offers investors the security that an investment will be repaid. A “limited” guarantee is when the amount the guarantor is responsible for is limited to a set time frame or sum. A “non-limited” guarantee is when the guarantor is obligated to repay all amounts due.
  • Line of credit- a loan that allows the borrower to withdraw money from an account up to a specified limit.
  • Loan to value ratio (LVR) – the amount, as a percentage, borrowed for an asset against the value of the asset.
  • Managed fund – an investment account supported by collateral or security from a number of different investors.
  • Margin call – an amount requested by a lender when the value of a loan is too high compared to the value of the security or collateral the borrower has offered. This is related to the loan-to-value ratio. This generally relates to loans used to purchase shares.
  • Negative gearing – the process of using borrowed money to fund an investment where the returns from the investment are less than the repayments on the borrowed funds. It allows for a deduction of losses against taxed income.
  • Official cash rate (OCR) – this is defined by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). It is an operational target for the implementation of monetary policy. Broadly speaking, it is used to denote the interest rate which financial institutions pay to charge or borrow to lend funds in the money market on an overnight basis.
  • Offset account – this is an account linked to a loan account where any amount in credit reduces the principal of the loan for the purpose of calculating interest. It is typically used to reduce interest calculated on the principal but has the flexibility of transaction accounts.
  • Product disclosure statement (PDS) – a document provided to a client containing details of the financial product subject to legislation.
  • Redraw facility- a feature that allows a borrower to access excess funds that have been paid towards a loan.
  • Self-managed super fund (SMSF) – an investment vehicle that houses your retirement savings that you can manage yourself, subject to certain legal rules. SMSFs are regulated by the Australian Taxation Office.
  • Stamp duty – a tax imposed by a state or territory government incurred upon purchasing a property or business.
  • Term deposit – a deposit held with a financial institution that has a fixed term with maturities ranging from a month to a few years.
  • Unencumbered security – an asset or property that is not encumbered by a creditor claim. For example, a house without a mortgage is unencumbered security. An encumbered asset is one with a registered interest against it, for example, a property for which you have a mortgage.
  • Variable interest – an amount earned on funds to be paid on top of a principal calculated as a percentage that changes throughout the term of the loan. It can also refer to a loan type where the interest rate fluctuates with market forces, often in response to changes to the official cash rate.

Source: Macquarie Bank

 

Enhance your understanding of finance and money management to secure a job in the finance sector or manage personal finances to increase your cash flow with our Certificate of Personal Finance Management.

9 ‘No-Qualification’ Jobs That Are In-Demand Now!

No degree? No drama, according to the latest research by Seek Australia, which shows there are nine in-demand jobs that you can apply for right now without qualifications.

The impact of COVID-19 has seen massive changes in both industries and people’s mindset about what work should look like. Fortunately, change often spells opportunity and career-wise, it’s a great time to rethink your priorities and life goals. Do you want more time with your family? Are you in a career rut? Are you looking to turn a passion into a paying profession? It’s all possible, and you don’t need to spend a fortune on education to make it a reality.

So, let’s take a look at SEEK’s most in-demand jobs that you can apply for right now without qualifications!

Merchandiser

Do you have an eye for design? Would you like to style in-store displays and plan exhibitions? If so, visual merchandising is the ideal career for you.

Seek says – Job ads are up 257% for this role!

Jump the job applicant queue with our Certificate of Visual Merchandising!

Retail Sales Assistant

Are you a people person? If you enjoy working with others and meeting new people, have a natural sales ability and thrive in a customer service environment, you should consider an exciting career in retail.

The Retail industry is one of Australia’s largest employers and provides an excellent opportunity for those entering or re-entering the workforce, as jobs are plentiful. This industry is also one of few that offers flexibility in working hours with part-time, weekend and night work.

Seek says – Job ads are up 266%!

If you’d like to improve your chances of landing a role, why not enrol in a short professional development course like our Certificate of Retail?

 

Dental Assistant

Dental assistants (or dental nurses) prepare patients for dental examinations and assist dentists with instruments, treatments and X-rays.

Seek says there’s something to smile about—job ads for Dental Assistants are up 255%!

Increase your job prospects with a professional development course like our Certificate of Dental Reception and Office Administration!

Retail Store Manager

If you work in retail and want to launch your career in a leadership or managerial role, we’ve got good news for you!

Seek says job ads up 211% for retail store managers.

Bump your application to the top of the pile with our Certificate of Retail Management!

Salesperson

Whether you sell products or services, salespeople with ambition can earn enviable salaries. You can work in various environments, from retail to real estate, automotive or telecommunications, depending on your interests.

The good news – training is often on the job, and Seek says job ads are up 200%!

Give yourself the edge with our Overcoming Objections to Nail the Sale.

Delivery Driver

If you love to drive and prefer to work solo, a job as a delivery driver could be the perfect job for you.

Are you going somewhere? You are if you want to work as a delivery driver because Seek says job ads up 175%.

You’ll need a driver’s licence and a positive attitude – but why not lift your skillset with our Road Transport Driver Program?

Warehouse Storeperson

You’re fit as a fiddle and want to stay that way with an active job. It sounds like you’d make an ideal warehouse storeperson.

Seeks says job ads up 160%!

A forklift licence is highly valued, but you can double your chances of success with an online professional development course like our Certificate of Warehouse Operations and Recordkeeping.

Personal Carer

Would you like to feel empowered to work in a home or community care setting to provide the utmost care to those most vulnerable in society? If caring for others is your superpower, you’d make an outstanding personal carer.

Care for a change of career? You’re in luck because job ads are up 156%!

If you want to boost your success as an applicant, you might care to take a professional development course like our Certificate of Home and Community Care.

Employment Consultant

If helping people gain meaningful employment and achieve career goals appeals to you, you’d make a great Employment Consultant.

Considering so many people are rethinking their careers right now, it’s little wonder jobs are up 120%.

You don’t need formal qualifications as an Employment Consultant, but strong communication and interpersonal skills in a customer-service role are important. Why not up your odds of getting this job with our Certificate of Employment Services?

 

So, ­­­if you’re interested in one of these in-demand jobs, now’s the perfect time to pursue an opportunity. Consider one of the related courses on offer and make sure your resume is top-of-mind when employers look to fill a role. You’ll also be investing in yourself – what better way to positively move towards the new normal?

Find your new direction today!

Follow a manual added link

1300 76 2221

Link to: Contact Us

Chat

Australian Online Courses - Footer Australian Online Courses - Footer Australian Online Courses - Footer

Head Office
Level 7, 154 Melbourne Street
South Brisbane QLD 4101
Postal Address: 
PO BOX 431 Toowong DC QLD 4066

Phone 1300 76 2221

Terms and Conditions    Privacy    Sitemap

© 2024. All Rights Reserved   |   ABN: 67 625 541 639    |   Site by GO Creative