The Causes And Effects Of Plagiarism English Language Essay

The Causes And Effects Of Plagiarism English Language Essay Plagiarism is not to do any research or quotation and cite other person`s thoughts or words as your own. It is a kind of cheating and a breach of academic ethics. However, the phenomenon of plagiarism becomes more and more common and happens every day. A shocking news by The New York Times (Christine Haughney, August 10th 2012)that Fareed Zakaria, a famous host of CNN and Editor-at-large TIME Magazine, was found to plagiarize several paragraphs from an April 23 New Yorker article on the National Rifle Association was written by Jill Lepore. Consequently, Time had suspended him for a month .CNN deleted  his  article  and  informed him of  further  warming. And then,  they  started to  investigate  his  work. There is no doubt that he would suffer from  an  abrupt  frustration. His lesson will keep alert the rising  phenomenon  of  plagiarism, especially in universities. An investigation taken by The Sydney Morning Herald (Alexander, 2006) discloses th e problem in Australia. For instance, the university of technology, Sydney recorded 362 counts of plagiarism in 2005, at the same time, the University of Wollongong recorded 134. Across eight Australian universities, it is approximated nearly 3500 students have been caught cheating or plagiarism since 2001. Another research journal in Australia was launched in 2005, the International Journal for Educational honesty, to solve the education and academic problems. According to this research plagiarism in Australia, particularly in relation to the country`s historically high number of international students(Cohen, 2007, p. A51). So, what do universitys students especially international students actually think about the concept of plagiarism and what does it mean to them? Penny cook (1996) states that he notion of ownership of text is a particularly Western concept. He indicates that plagiarism is a complex phenomenon. As a result, we have found that the reasons of plagiarism in universi ty are followed by ignorance, digital resources and personal factors. The first cause of plagiarism in university is some students` ignorance. So we can find , student are always confused whether the action is plagiarism, especially for international students. For example, Students from the areas out of the UK, may have been taught different rules and academic environments before they entered in the English academy. Matalene (1985) states that her Chinese students produced a writing assignment, she found their sources were too similar and students were surprised by her subsequent objections to what they saw as a valid writing method. Later, one of her students found this eloquent way of summing up the ensuing class discussion: In this case the students agreed that they had copied from their sources but believed that they just to borrow the language from a source and copying was appropriate. They did not want to violate academic standards or pretend that they had not copied. As a result, this phenomenon have been offered, due to different cultures bring out different attitudes for plagiarism. In addition to students` ignorance, Internet may be is another cause of plagiarism. So, internet provide so many different channels for students to get all binds of information in today`s digital age. For example. They can search whatever information they need in Wikipedia and Google, at the same time, they also can share and gain tens of thousands information in facebook and twitter. And there are incalculable number of words without the author attributed. So that is the important reason that some students even don`t realize they were plagiarizing. Figures obtained from an investigation by Journal of Second Language Writing (Yongyan li,2012,P165-180) reveal that the students` understanding of plagiarism and take an interview with a girl, for example, Her teacher found that approximately 25% of her essay overlapped. According to this interview, we can found that this student never intends to plagiarize by using internet, but always did not know how to dealing with it. Well, that is true. Sometimes, when we looking for some resources on internet, it is too difficult to make a choice because of there are too many information online. The last cause of plagiarism may be some personal factors which are attitude and procrastination. Specifically, may be most students will good faith effort to write their essays, there will always be some people just do not want to work hard. Steve Schriener, an English teacher in Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, who gave his students a poetry assignment:According to Schriener s experience, and there is a find that some students did not think their actions will be caught or bothered about the consequences of plagiarism. Meanwhile, procrastination may be one of the personal factors, especially for international students. When foreign students go to a country for studying, they will have many problems that they need to deal with. Such as the language barrier like not fully comprehending the assignment, adapt to new manners and customs. Sometimes they may have a little time to do their essays. So, some of them were forced to copy. Because of those causes, there are some serious issues of integrity, learning and relationships happened in college student. College-level plagiarism will product so many irreparable effects such as students betray trust with their fellow friends and professors. The serious punishment include expulsion from school, and when they plagiarize, they lost their original intention of studying. First of all, plagiarism is a disrespect of others, especially for teachers and classmates. For instance, Plagiarism taints teachers and students, creating a climate of suspicion. Specifically, teacher and student need to means teacher s want to rely on their students honesty. Students have to be able to trust each other. When you steal the job from other writers, you lost your credit. And maybe no longer can your teachers believe that is your own works. Also, plagiarizing teachers and the job of the independent whose work is a kind of plagiarized action. If you didnt care about the honesty of other peoples work, maybe later you would have to care about the relationship with people as well. For the classmates, if they help you before, they would think of you as a thief full of unfair, if students know that you are cheating and getting away with it, they may cheat Secondly, plagiarized is a disrespect action for yourself, especially for your leaning and motivation. When a student plagiarizes someone elses job, it means he lost a very important opportunity to improve his writing skills and the ability of thinking, as well as he waste the time and life. plagiarized work means that you spent so many time and did an insignificant job. In other words, the reason why teacher want you to writing an essay, is to expand upon what you have learned in lectures and carefully develop writing assignments. To make sure that students can articulate the knowledge they have learned by a clear way. On the campus when plagiarism is discovered, unofficial drawbacks can have serious effects. To sum up, there is no doubt that plagiarism is a kind of abominable action for yourself, your teachers and the school, even it produces a bad influence for the society. So we have to think about some serious questions that why we studying and what is the most important thing during our studying process. The answers are genuine understanding and you must make all of knowledge become your own mind. It is not just replaying something you have heard and looked. Writing is a kind of form to show your own mind to readers, and you have to achieve that the readers can distinguish what is yours and what is someone elses at a glance. At the same time, it is the very important and effective way to test whether you understand a topic authentically. However, plagiarism makes your learning become insignificance. You need to learn how to write a paper that can show your mind completely and equips your own styles, maybe sometimes you found an essay that has the same ideas as yours, it is clear and easy to understanding, so you may be influenced by it, then you would write the similar one, but it not means you have learned it, it just learns how to cut and paste. And we should think about another question that why you should believe me if without the reference. We always use so many references in our essay when we want to show our minds clearer and equip more persuasion, that is good but we have to recall what the most in our paper is, references or our own words. If just someone elses sentence, even they are from some famous people. It is true that your essay is very authoritativeness but it is a kind of plagiarism even so you are unintentional to do that. So in my opinion, plagiarism is not inevitable. In view of the above-mentioned causes in raising the output, I have written three reasons why plagiarism happens, if it happens just because there is no ability to accomplish it, we can find a solution for example the teachers can decrease the requirement and extend the time you make it temporary. It is not a way to relax just because of our only objective is we can learn and understand all of them authentically. And the second reason is internet, there is no doubt the internet can provide so many information for us, the great and the bad. I think if students can search the essay that has the same idea as them, they would copy them unhesitatingly because everybody can write the same words. So we can change the education environment like letting the students had the imagination and ability of creation when they were children, and how to pick the useful information up in the internet and become the own words not just cut and paste. The la st one is changing your attitude of learning, just thinking about plagiarism is from someone elses but not your own, it is an action to waste life.

Frostbite Chapter 14

FOURTEEN TWO GUYS I'D NEVER MET before were squaring off against each other. They looked to be in their twenties, and neither noticed me. The one who'd bumped into me shoved the other one hard, forcing him to stagger back considerably. â€Å"You're afraid!† yelled the guy by me. He had on green swimming trunks, and his black hair was slicked back with water. â€Å"You're all afraid. You just want to hole up in your mansions and let the guardians do your dirty work. What are you going to do when they're all dead? Who'll protect you then?† The other guy wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. I suddenly recognized him- thanks to his blond highlights. He was the royal who'd yelled at Tasha about wanting to lead Moroi to battle. She'd called him Andrew. He tried to land a hit and failed; his technique was all wrong. â€Å"This is the safest way. Listen to that Strigoi-lover, and we'll all be dead. She's trying to kill our whole race off!† â€Å"She's trying to save us!† â€Å"She's trying to get us to use black magic!† The â€Å"Strigoi-lover† had to be Tasha. The non-royal guy was the first person outside of my little circle whom I'd ever heard speak in her favor. I wondered how many others out there shared his view. He punched Andrew again, and my base instincts- or maybe the punch- made me leap into action. I sprang forward and wedged myself between them. I was still dizzy and a bit unsteady. If they hadn't been standing so close, I probably would have fallen over. They both hesitated, clearly caught off guard. â€Å"Get out of here,† snapped Andrew. Being male and Moroi, they had greater height and weight than I, but I was probably stronger than either one alone. Hoping I could make the most of that, I grabbed each of them by the arm, pulled them toward me, and then shoved them away as hard as I could. They staggered, not having expected my strength. I staggered a little too. The non-royal glared and took a step toward me. I was counting on the fact that he'd be old-fashioned and not hit a girl. â€Å"What are you doing?† he exclaimed. Several people had gathered and were watching excitedly. I returned his glare. â€Å"I'm trying to stop you guys from being any more idiotic than you already are! You want to help? Stop fighting each other! Ripping each other's heads off isn't going to save the Moroi unless you're trying to thin stupidity out of the gene pool.† I pointed at Andrew. â€Å"Tasha Ozera is not trying to kill everyone off. She's trying to get you to stop being a victim.† I turned to the other guy. â€Å"And as for you, you've got a long ways to go if you think this is the way to get your point across. Magic- especially offensive magic- takes a lot of self-control, and so far, you aren't impressing me with yours. I have more than you do, and if you knew me at all, you'd know how crazy that is.† The two guys stared at me, stunned. I was apparently more effective than a taser. Well, at least for several seconds I was. Because once the shock of my words wore off, they went at each other again. I got caught in the crossfire and shoved away, nearly falling in the process. Suddenly, from behind me, Mason came to my defense. He punched the first guy he could- the non-royal. The guy flew backward, falling into one of the pools with a splash. I yelped, remembering my earlier fear about skull-cracking, but a moment later, he found his feet and rubbed water out of his eyes. I grabbed Mason's arm, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged me off and went after Andrew. He shoved Andrew hard, pushing him into several Moroi- andrew's friends, I suspected- who seemed to be trying to break up the fight. The guy in the pool climbed out, fury written all over his face, and made moves toward Andrew. This time, both Mason and I blocked his way. He glared at all of us. â€Å"Don't,† I warned him. The guy clenched his fists and looked as though he might try to take us on. But we were intimidating, and he didn't appear to have an entourage of friends here like Andrew- who was shouting obscenities and being led away- did. With a few muttered threats, the non-royal backed off. As soon as he was gone, I turned on Mason. â€Å"Are you out of your mind?† â€Å"Huh?† he asked. â€Å"Jumping into the middle of that!† â€Å"You jumped in too,† he said. I started to argue, then realized he was right. â€Å"It's different,† I grumbled. He leaned forward. â€Å"Are you drunk?† â€Å"No. Of course not. I'm just trying to keep you from doing something stupid. Just because you have delusions of being able to kill a Strigoi doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else.† â€Å"Delusions?† he asked stiffly. I started to feel kind of nauseous just then. My head spinning, I continued toward the side room, hoping I didn't stumble. But when I reached it, I saw that it wasn't some kind of dessert or drink room after all. Well, at least not in the way I'd been thinking. It was a feeder room. Several humans reclined on satin-covered chaise lounges with Moroi by their sides. Jasmine incense burned in the air. Stunned, I watched with an eerie fascination as a blond Moroi guy leaned forward and bit into the neck of a very pretty redhead. All of these feeders were exceptionally good-looking, I realized just then. Like actresses or models. Only the best for royalty. The guy drank long and deep, and the girl closed her eyes and parted her lips, an expression of pure bliss on her face as Moroi endorphins flooded into her bloodstream. I shivered, taken back to when I too had experienced that same kind of euphoria. In my alcohol-hazed mind, the whole thing suddenly seemed startlingly erotic. In fact, I almost felt intrusive- like I was watching people have sex. When the Moroi finished and licked the last of the blood away, he brushed his lips against her cheek in a soft kiss. â€Å"Want to volunteer?† Light fingertips brushed my neck, and I jumped. I turned around and saw Adrian's green eyes and knowing smirk. â€Å"Don't do that,† I told him, knocking his hand away. â€Å"Then what are you doing in here?† he asked. I gestured around me. â€Å"I'm lost.† He peered at me. â€Å"Are you drunk?† â€Å"No. Of course not†¦but †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The nausea had settled a little, but I still didn't feel right. â€Å"I think I should sit down.† He took my arm. â€Å"Well, don't do it in here. Someone might get the wrong idea. Let's go somewhere quiet.† He steered me off into a different room, and I looked around with interest. It was a massage area. Several Moroi lay back on tables and were getting back and foot massages from hotel staff. The oil they used smelled like rosemary and lavender. Under any other circumstances, a massage would have sounded great, but lying on my stomach seemed like the worst idea just now. I sat down on the carpeted floor, leaning back against the wall. Adrian walked away and returned with a glass of water. Sitting down as well, he handed it to me. â€Å"Drink this. It'll help.† â€Å"I told you, I'm not drunk,† I mumbled. But I downed the water anyway. â€Å"Uh-huh.† He smiled at me. â€Å"You did nice work with that fight. Who was the other guy that helped you?† â€Å"My boyfriend,† I said. â€Å"Sort of.† â€Å"Mia was right. You do have a lot of guys in your life.† â€Å"It's not like that.† â€Å"Okay.† He was still smiling. â€Å"Where's Vasilisa? I figured she'd be attached to you.† â€Å"She's with her boyfriend.† I studied him. â€Å"What's with the tone? Jealous? You want him for yourself?† â€Å"God, no. I just don't like him.† â€Å"Does he treat her badly?† he asked. â€Å"No,† I admitted. â€Å"He adores her. He's just kind of a jerk.† Adrian was clearly enjoying this. â€Å"Ah, you are jealous. Does she spend more time with him than you?† I ignored that. â€Å"Why do you keep asking about her? Are you interested in her?† He laughed. â€Å"Rest easy, I'm not interested in her in the same way I am you.† â€Å"But you are interested.† â€Å"I just want to talk to her.† He left to fetch me more water. â€Å"Feeling better?† he asked, handing the glass to me. It was crystal and intricately carved. It seemed too fancy for plain water. â€Å"Yeah †¦ I didn't think those drinks were that strong.† â€Å"That's the beauty of them,† he chuckled. â€Å"And speaking of beauty †¦ that's a great color on you.† I shifted. I might not have been showing as much skin as those other girls, but I was showing more than I really wanted to with Adrian. Or was I? There was something weird about him. His arrogant manner annoyed me†¦but I still liked being around him. Maybe the smartass in me recognized a kindred spirit. Somewhere in the back of my drunken mind, a light clicked on. But I couldn't quite get to it. I drank more water. â€Å"You haven't had a cigarette in, like, ten minutes,† I pointed out, wanting to change the subject. He made a face. â€Å"No smoking in here.† â€Å"I'm sure you've made up for it in punch.† His smile returned. â€Å"Well, some of us can hold our liquor. You aren't going to be sick, are you?† I still felt tipsy but no longer nauseous. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Good.† I thought back to when I'd dreamed about him. It had been just a dream, but it had stuck with me, particularly the talk about me being surrounded in darkness. I wanted to ask him about it†¦ even though I knew it was stupid. It had been my dream, not his. â€Å"Adrian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He turned his green eyes on me. â€Å"Yes, darling?† I couldn't bring myself to ask. â€Å"Never mind.† He started to retort, then tilted his head toward the door. â€Å"Ah, here she comes.† â€Å"Who- â€Å" Lissa stepped into the room, eyes scanning around. When she spotted us, I saw relief break over her. I couldn't feel it, though. Intoxicants like alcohol numbed the bond. It was another reason I shouldn't have taken such a stupid chance tonight. â€Å"There you are,† she said, kneeling beside me. Glancing at Adrian, she gave him a nod. â€Å"Hey.† â€Å"Hey yourself, cousin,† he returned, using the family terms royals sometimes used around each other. â€Å"You okay?† Lissa asked me. â€Å"When I saw how drunk you were, I thought you might have fallen in somewhere and drowned.† â€Å"I'm not- † I gave up trying to deny it. â€Å"I'm fine.† Adrian's usual expression had turned serious as he studied Lissa. It again reminded me of the dream. â€Å"How'd you find her?† Lissa gave him a puzzled look. â€Å"I, um, checked all the rooms.† â€Å"Oh.† He looked disappointed. â€Å"I thought you might have used your bond.† Both she and I stared. â€Å"How do you know about that?† I demanded. Only a few people at school knew about it. Adrian had spoken about it as casually as he might have my hair color. â€Å"Hey, I can't reveal all my secrets, can I?† he asked mysteriously. â€Å"And besides, there's a certain way you two act around each other †¦ it's hard to explain. It's pretty cool†¦ all the old myths are true.† Lissa regarded him warily. â€Å"The bond only works one way. Rose can sense what I'm feeling and thinking, but I can't do it back to her.† â€Å"Ah.† We sat in silence a few moments, and I drank more water. Adrian spoke again. â€Å"What'd you specialize in anyway, cousin?† She looked embarrassed. We both knew it was important to keep her spirit powers secret from others who might abuse her healing, but her cover story of not having specialized always bothered her. â€Å"I haven't,† she said. â€Å"Do they think you're going to? Late bloomer?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"You're probably higher in the other elements, though, right? Just not strong enough to really master any?† He reached out to pat her shoulder in an exaggerated show of comfort. â€Å"Yeah, how'd you- â€Å" The instant his fingers touched her, she gasped. It was as though a bolt of lightning had struck her. The strangest look crossed her face. Even drunk, I felt the flood of joy that came pouring through the bond. She stared at Adrian in wonder. His eyes were locked onto hers too. I didn't understand why they were looking at each other like that, but it bothered me. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Stop that. I told you, she has a boyfriend.† â€Å"I know,† he said, still watching her. A small smile turned his lips. â€Å"We need to have a chat someday, cousin.† â€Å"Yes,† she agreed. â€Å"Hey.† I was more confused than ever. â€Å"You have a boyfriend. And there he is.† She blinked back to reality. All three of us turned toward the doorway. Christian and the others stood there. I suddenly had a flashback to when they'd found me with Adrian's arm around me. This wasn't much better. Lissa and I were sitting on either side of him, very close. She sprang up, looking mildly guilty. Christian was regarding her curiously. â€Å"We're getting ready to leave,† he said. â€Å"Okay,† she told him. She looked down at me. â€Å"Ready?† I nodded and started to clamber to my feet. Adrian caught my arm as I did and helped me up. He smiled at Lissa. â€Å"Nice talking to you.† To me, he murmured very quietly, â€Å"Don't worry. I told you, I'm not interested in her in that way. She doesn't look as good in a bathing suit. Probably not as good out of one either.† I pulled my arm away. â€Å"Well, you'll never find out.† â€Å"It's okay,† he said. â€Å"I have a good imagination.† I joined the others, and we headed back toward the main part of the lodge. Mason gave me as strange a look as Christian had given Lissa and stayed away from me, walking toward the front with Eddie. To my surprise and discomfort, I found myself walking beside Mia. She looked miserable. â€Å"I†¦ I'm really sorry about what happened,† I said finally. â€Å"You don't have to act like you care, Rose.† â€Å"No, no. I mean it. It's horrible†¦I'm so sorry.† She wouldn't look at me. â€Å"Is†¦that is, are you going to see your dad soon?† â€Å"Whenever they have the memorial,† she said stiffly. â€Å"Oh.† I didn't know what else to say and gave up, instead turning my attention to the stairs as we climbed back up to the lodge's main level. Unexpectedly, Mia was the one who continued the conversation. â€Å"I watched you break up that fight †¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said slowly. â€Å"You mentioned offensive magic. Like you knew about it.† Oh. Great. She was going to make a play at blackmail†¦or was she? At the moment, she seemed almost civil. â€Å"I was just guessing,† I said. No way was I going to bust Tasha and Christian. â€Å"I don't really know that much. Just stories I've heard.† â€Å"Oh.† Her face fell. â€Å"What kind of stories?† â€Å"Um, well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ I tried to think of something neither too vague nor too specific. â€Å"Like I told those guys†¦the concentration thing is big. Because if you're in a battle with Strigoi, all sorts of things can distract you. So you've got to keep control.† That was actually a basic guardian rule, but it must have been new to Mia. Her eyes widened with eagerness. â€Å"What else? What kind of spells do people use?† I shook my head. â€Å"I don't know. I don't really even know how spells work, and like I said, these are just†¦stories I've heard. My guess is you just find ways to use your element as a weapon. Like †¦ fire users really have an advantage because fire'll kill Strigoi, so it's easy for them. And air users can suffocate people.† I'd actually experienced that last one vicariously through Lissa. It had been horrible. Mia's eyes grew wider still. â€Å"What about a water user?† she asked. â€Å"How could water hurt a Strigoi?† I paused. â€Å"I, uh, never heard any stories about water users. Sorry.† â€Å"Do you have any ideas, though? Ways that, like, someone like me could learn to fight?† Ah. So that's what this was about. It actually wasn't all that crazy. I remembered how excited she'd looked at the meeting when Tasha had talked about attacking Strigoi. Mia wanted to take revenge on the Strigoi for her mother's death. No wonder she and Mason had been getting along so well. â€Å"Mia,† I said gently, catching hold of the door to let her pass. We were almost at the lobby now. â€Å"I know how you must want to †¦ do something. But I think you're better off just sort of letting yourself, um, grieve.† She reddened, and suddenly, I was seeing the normal and angry Mia. â€Å"Don't talk down to me,† she said. â€Å"Hey, I'm not. I'm serious. I'm just saying you shouldn't do anything rash while you're still upset. Besides †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I bit off my words. She narrowed her eyes. â€Å"What?† Screw it. She needed to know. â€Å"Well, I don't really know what good a water user would be against a Strigoi. It's probably the least useful element to use on one of them.† Outrage filled her features. â€Å"You're a real bitch, you know that?† â€Å"I'm just telling you the truth.† â€Å"Well, let me tell you the truth. You're a total idiot when it comes to guys.† I thought about Dimitri. She wasn't entirely off base. â€Å"Mason's great,† she continued. â€Å"One of the nicest guys I know- and you don't even notice! He'd do anything for you, and you were off throwing yourself at Adrian Ivashkov.† Her words surprised me. Could Mia have a crush on Mason? And while I certainly hadn't been throwing myself at Adrian, I could see how it might have looked that way. And even if it weren't true, that wouldn't have stopped Mason from feeling hurt and betrayed. â€Å"You're right,† I said. Mia stared at me, so astonished I'd agreed with her that she didn't say anything else for the rest of the walk. We reached the part of the lodge that split off into different wings for guys and girls. I grabbed a hold of Mason's arm as the others walked off. â€Å"Hang on,† I told him. I badly needed to reassure him about Adrian, but a tiny part of me wondered if I was doing it because I actually wanted Mason or because I just liked the idea of him wanting me and selfishly didn't want to lose that. He stopped and looked at me. His face was wary. â€Å"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you after the fight- I know you were just trying to help. And with Adrian†¦nothing happened. I mean it.† â€Å"It didn't look that way,† Mason said. But the anger on his face had faded. â€Å"I know, but believe me, it's all him. He's got some kind of stupid crush on me.† My tone must have been convincing because Mason smiled. â€Å"Well. Hard not to.† â€Å"I'm not interested in him,† I continued. â€Å"Or anyone else.† It was a small lie, but I didn't think it mattered just then. I was going to be over Dimitri soon, and Mia had been right about Mason. He was wonderful and sweet and cute. I would be an idiot not to pursue this †¦ right? My hand was still on his arm, and I pulled him toward me. He didn't need much more of a signal. He leaned down and kissed me, and in the process, I found myself pressed up against the wall- very much like with Dimitri in the practice room. Of course, it felt nothing like how it had with Dimitri, but it was still nice in its way. I put my arms around Mason and started to pull him closer. â€Å"We could go †¦ somewhere,† I said. He pushed back and laughed. â€Å"Not when you're drunk.† â€Å"I'm not†¦ that†¦ drunk anymore,† I said, trying to pull him back. Giving me a small kiss on the lips, he stepped back. â€Å"Drunk enough. Look, this isn't easy, believe me. But if you still want me tomorrow- when you're sober- then we'll talk.† He leaned down and kissed me again. I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he broke away once more. â€Å"Easy there, girl,† he teased, backing toward his hallway. I glared at him, but he only laughed and turned around. As he walked away, my glare faded, and I headed back to my room with a smile on my face.

House Styles The Look of the American Home

The Value of Apple Certification

Apple certification is something not many people even know is available. One reason is that Macs are still not nearly as popular as Microsoft Windows in the corporate world. Still, it does have a specific niche in business. Creative organizations like advertising agencies and media outlets like newspapers, magazines, and video production facilities normally rely much more heavily on Macs than other businesses. In addition, a number of school districts nationwide are Mac based. And most large companies have a few Macs scattered around, especially in corporate art and video departments. That’s why it can make sense to get an Apple certification. Although not nearly as numerous as, for example, Microsoft certified individuals, Mac certified pros are valuable in the right setting. Application Certifications There are basically two certification paths for Apple: application-oriented and support/troubleshooting-oriented. Apple Certified Pros have expertise in particular programs, like the Final Cut Studio video editing suite or DVD Studio Pro for DVD authoring. For certain applications, like Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio, there are several levels of training, including the Master Pro and Master Trainer credentials. These can be handy to have if you’re self-employed and do contract video editing work, for example. If teaching is your thing, consider becoming an Apple Certified Trainer. The chief benefit of a certification like this would be for instructors and trainers working with students learning the programs. Technology Certifications Apple also offers a number of titles for the more â€Å"geeky† folks. Those who like computer networking and digging into the guts of an operating system are targeted here. There are three Mac OS X certifications offered, including: Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP). This is an entry-level credential for support personnel, equivalent to the MCP. It covers the Mac OS X client, but not Mac OS X server.Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC). The next level adds Mac OS X server support and is geared toward entry-level system administrators working on smaller networks.Apple Certified System Administrator (ACSA). This is for high-end Mac system administrators, working in complex and often large environments. You should have several years experience working with and administering, Mac networks before attempting this one. Apple also has credentials for hardware and storage specialists. Apple’s storage device is called Xsan and offers two titles for experts in this area: Xsan Administrator and the Apple Certiï ¬ ed Media Administrator (ACMA). The ACMA is more technical than Xsan Administrator, involving storage architecture and networking duties. On the hardware side, consider becoming an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT) Certification. ACMTs spend a lot of their time pulling apart and putting back together desktop machines, laptops, and servers. It’s the Apple version of the A credential from CompTIA. Worth the Money? So, given the range of Apple certifications available, the question is whether they’re worth spending the time and money to achieve since there are far fewer Macs in business use than PCs? One blog by an Apple fan asked that question and got some interesting answers. â€Å"The certifications are very useful and are valid industry recognised accreditation. Im pretty sure that a having Apple accreditation on my CV helped me get my current job,† said one Apple Certified Pro. Another compared the Apple certifications and Microsoft: â€Å"As for Apple vs Microsoft... MCSEs are a dime a dozen. Any Apple Cert is rare and if you have both (like I do) it is very marketable and valuable to clients. Scarcity is key to being valuable and my business in the past 18 months has exploded due to Apple and our requirement for dual certs.† One multiple-certification Mac expert had this to say: â€Å"The certifications definitely help, when it comes to showing prospective clients (and even future employers) that you know Macs.† Additionally, this article from Certification Magazine discusses how one college is starting to turn out Apple-certified students who are finding work, in part thanks to the credential. Judging from those responses, it’s safe to say that Apple certification is quite valuable in the proper situation.