miamicomputerrepairgenie.com

Copyright 2006 Red Ladder, Inc.

How often have you heard the statement, the only thing constant is change. No kidding, right? Anyone living on the planet earth can attest to that statement.

For most of us, the pace of change seems to have picked up dramatically over the past few years, thanks in part to the increased availability and use of technology, as well as the global economy in which we now live and work. Layer on all of the merger and acquisition activity and the ongoing waves of layoffs, and you have a recipe for constant change. Coping with all this change in the workplace is becoming increasingly difficult for people because many of us naturally fear change or resist getting out of our comfort zone.

Do you remember the story of the frog and the pan of hot water? If you put a frog in a pan of boiling water, it will leap out instantly. However, if you put a frog in a pan of cold water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will typically remain in the pan of water because it has an opportunity to adjust to the increase in water temperature.

Unfortunately for most people, when we experience change it often feels like being thrown into a pan of boiling water. So what can you do to avoid becoming frog soup? I find the best way to manage change is to practice a little change every day, particularly when you have the ability to control the change.

What does this mean? Take a new route to work. Visit a musuem during your lunch hour. Buy something new for your office. Pick up a pair of new sunglasses. Volunteer for a new project at work. If you usually drink coffee, try tea. Get a new hairdo. Take an art class. Join toastmasters. Listen to a new radio station. Take Spanish lessons. Visit the zoo.

The list could go on and on and is only limited by your creativity and imagination. The point?? Managing change on a small scale when you are in the drivers seat, helps you to develop the resilience to manage change on a larger scale.

So the next time you find yourself in the midst of change, relax and focus on the possibilities. After all, youve been practicing, right? And you never know, it could be fun and you might even like what change comes your way. Otherwise, you might just find yourself eating frog soup.

Professional writers are often admired or envied for the end products they create. Yet, few look at the process of writing as an exciting career choice. And, for good reason. It can be difficult to sit for hour after hour, putting words onto pages.

But, few professional writers actually spend all their time writing instead they get a few words or paragraphs down, take a break or write about something else, then return to the initial project. And, they may spend their whole day working this way.

And here’s where you can learn from professional writers. Don’t try to get all of your message written at once especially if it’s an important message. Instead, think of writing as a series of intense moments broken up by longer periods spent doing something else.

For example, if you need to write an important memo, think about the chunks involved in creating it. Let’s say your memo will start with an objective, in which you outline the problem that needs to be addressed. In the second section you outline the options for addressing the problem. Then, you identify and explain the solution you’ve chosen, and in the fourth section you list the benefits that should flow out of implementation of the solution.

That’s a big bag of ideas to deal with all at once. Perhaps you might start with a simple outline and a few bullet points in each section. After that, you turn to something else for an hour or two before writing the first section. Follow that with a break in which you do something else, then you write the second section. Follow that same write-break-write-break process until you’ve finished the memo.

In summary, taking a bit-by-bit approach means you’ll probably end up with a better message, one that’s more likely to get the results you want.

Are you a high school student getting ready for college? Or maybe you have your undergraduate degree but are now looking to go to professional school of some kind? Well let me tell you, you have your work cut out for you. Not only do you have to have gotten good grades in school but you also have to pay a premium for your education in today’s economic climate. Education is a good as gold and the universities aren’t stupid, so they charge a lot of “gold” for it. The good new is that college is not only for the rich kids whose parents pay for everything. There are ways to pay for school without working for 15 years after high school at McDonald’s to raise enough money. The best option is usually the scholarships that are offered.

Scholarships come in many shapes and sizes and carry with them all sorts of different expectations and criteria. The great thing about it is that there are literally more available than people use and so it is almost a lock to find large chunks of money that you can use to pay for school. The other piece of good news is that scholarships are often based on need and the people that hand them out are trying as hard as they can to find people who are serious about their education and will make a difference, for the better, using their education gained.

The potentially bad news is that many aren’t used because people don’t even know that they exist. This is due to a huge amount of scholarships that seemed to have exploded in the last 30 years and grown faster than people could organize them. Currently efforts are being made to change this and there are now several indexes that students can purchase that give all of the information necessary to contact the benefactor and provide them with the required data to show their need and also how they are going to use the money in a useful way for the betterment of mankind.

This news is becoming less bad with the explosion of the internet and its capacity to search using computers. This has taken a lot of the time out of the picture and has also allowed student so search through many more possibilities, and find and apply to more scholarships, which maximizes their chances of getting the money they need to choose their own destiny in this life through education.

Believe it or not, a diploma straight out from college is not a sure fire and effective means to assure success. Currently, people are now going back to school to earn more than a college diploma. There is that Masters Degree, additional training, that all-important certification.

The competition now is so cut throat that being educated means actually going out of your way to update yourself with the current business trend, software, theory, medicine, etc.

Currently there are various means to get that vital education, one form is via the internet through an online degree. First it has to be asked, is this an effective and is this the best way to get a degree?

Read for yourself and find out.

An Online degree is convenient and hassle-free but just as effective the internet has made the world such a smaller place. To be competitive means one has to be knowledgeable. To be knowledgeable, one has to study. If you are among the many who do not have enough time, enough money and the energy to go to school full time and carry all those books to the classroom and walk through all those halls, there is a solution for you: the online degree.

What the distance learning is then, may just as be called the online degree now. Distance learning provides anyone the ability to study in his or her own pace, in his or her own time. the internet has made the same process so much easier. Lectures, classmate interaction, materials are just as readily available online and with just a simple click of the mouse and viola you could do any of all things mentioned in real time and in the convenient comfort in your own home.

Online degree, where you need not be absent ever

There are no more excuses about being late because there was no parking space, or the traffic was terrible. In an online degree study, commuting does not exist. Lectures and classes may be attended to online and in real time.

The best thing about online degrees, besides saving time, saving money is possible since this is cheaper compared to the traditional degrees offered by universities.

What are its benefits?

The benefits of an online degree are many. For one, having a degree boosts your ability to earn and be in demand more — professionally speaking. According to a survey, almost seventy percent of supervisors consider a degree attained online as just as a significant factor in their decision to promote or advance an employee. This statistical fact helped bolster most major universities to offer online degrees in their curriculum.

Online degrees most especially benefit those students who have families and children and who find it so difficult to combine family life, work life and study life. Compared to a degree attained from a campus, online degrees provide one with a flexible and manageable time. There are no annoying fees that you have to put up with like football or marching band teams.

Research is also very much available as most online degrees have a system wherein the library could be accessed and materials could easily be ordered from other schools.

In summary, online degrees works best for one who wants to receive the same quality education in a lot less pricey package and in a lot less stressful condition and a lot more convenient environment.

In todays fast-changing information economy, IT project governance has emerged as one of the most vital corporate responsibilities. The relentless pressure to innovate whilst simultaneously driving down costs means that organisations are increasingly betting the farm on the successful development and deployment of new IT systems. However, the business environment now evolves so quickly that the original assumptions on which projects were based can often become fatally undermined prior to the projects completion. With technology at the heart of most businesses, the ability to maintain tight executive and board control over such projects throughout their lifecycle has become a deciding factor in determining which businesses thrive and which founder. In response to this challenge, Prince2 project management has emerged as the worlds leading methodology for ensuring that IT projects stay on track and deliver real value.

No large scale or business critical project should ever be managed on a standalone basis. The need to involve and secure buy-in from functions right across the organisation means that a project governance approach is essential. While project management is the key discipline within this, project governance is broader in scope and has six interlinked objectives:
1. Ensuring real business value through project and business alignment.
2. Controlling costs through centralisation.
3. Maximising resource allocation, particularly of high value resources.
4. Risk management through portfolio balancing.
5. Uniform application of best practice.
6. Organisational coherence.

IT decisions expose an organisation to significant risks financial, operational and competitive so it is essential that project governance be a concern for the board as a whole, rather than any one individual. The board must insist that project risks are assessed within the organisations strategic planning and risk management framework and ensure that the right investment and management decisions are made, so that competitive advantage can be enhanced and measurable business value delivered.

The boards project governance responsibilities can be summarised as follows:
To approve product initiation, manage the project portfolio and pull the plug on any underperforming projects.
To make one or more non-executive board members specifically responsible for overseeing project governance. They must have independent and informed oversight of progress on all business IT projects including attending program (or large project) board meetings.
To ensure clear accountability at all levels, with detailed, rigorously tested project plans based on a critical path analysis with clearly identified critical success factors, regular milestones and go/no go checkpoints.
To ensure that every project proposal contains a full business case with a fully costed estimate that can stand up to independent audit, with clearly stated assumptions that can withstand rigorous analysis.
To manage all IT related projects as part of a portfolio.
To adopt and deploy a recognised project management methodology.
To adopt a clearly defined risk management plan at programme and project level that reflects corporate level risk treatment requirements.
To institute a monitoring framework to inform the board of progress and provide an early alert of divergence or slippage in any of the critical success factors.
To commit funding only on a phased basis.
To ensure that internal audit is capable and accountable directly to the board for providing regular, timely and unambiguous reports on project progress, slippage, budget, requirements specification and quality requirements. Where there is project divergence the board should not release further funds until the cause of the divergence has been fully dealt with.

In selecting a project management methodology the organisation needs to choose an approach that is appropriate to its project objectives and development environment. By far the most popular methodology is Prince2, the successor to PRINCE (‘Projects in Controlled Environments’), which was developed by the UK Office of Government Commerce. While PRINCE was originally developed for IT projects, Prince2 project management has incorporated substantial feedback and is now a generic, best-practice approach for all types of projects. Since its introduction in 1989, Prince2 project management has become widely used in both the public and private sectors and is now a de facto global standard.

Prince2 project management uses a structured methodology, which means managing a project in a logical and organized way, following clearly defined steps and well-understood roles and responsibilities. It perfectly matches the requirements of a project governance regime by delivering the following attributes to any project:
A controlled and organised start, middle and end
Regular reviews of progress against plan and against the business case Flexible decision points
Automatic management control of any deviations from the plan
The involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and in the right place during the project
Good communications channels between the project, project management, and the rest of the organisation.

The effectiveness of Prince2 project management results from its four cornerstones, which define what a successfully managed project should be:

Planned: Prince2 has a series of processes that cover all of the activities needed on a project from starting up to closing down. This process-based approach provides an easily tailored and scaleable method for the management of all types of project. Each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs together with the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be carried out.

Controlled: Prince2 project management divides a project into manageable stages, enabling efficient control of resources and regular progress monitoring throughout. The various roles and responsibilities for managing a project are fully described and are adaptable to suit the size and complexity of the project, and the skills of the organisation.

Results-driven: Project planning using Prince2 is product-based, which means the project plans are actually focused on delivering results and are not simply about planning when the various activities on the project will be done.

Measured: Any project using Prince2 is driven by the business case, which describes the organisations justification, commitment and rationale for the deliverables or outcome. The business case is regularly reviewed during the project to ensure the business objectives, which often change during the lifecycle of the project, are still being met.

There are clear reasons why Prince2 project management has become the worlds leading methodology. In addition to its best practice approach for the management of all project types, around 800 people per week take Prince2 project management examinations, with all training is carried out by accredited organisations. It is widely used and popular in both public and private sectors, and can easily be tailored to all varieties of projects in many different markets and businesses. For any organization that is serious about managing its IT investment, Prince2 project management is the natural choice.

Stress and anxiety levels in teenagers have drastically increased over the last few decades. As the responsibilities of the world around them lay on their shoulders heavier, more and more teens are facing health problems both on the physical and on the emotional sides. As a parent, it is hard to handle these conditions or often even know that your teens are facing them. Many times, it is easy to chalk up the teenage stress and anxiety a child is facing as just normal teen problems. Yet, serious conditions are often present and should be addressed as quickly as possible.

Why Teens Suffer From Anxiety

Teens, just like adults will suffer from anxiety as well as from stress from several reasons. First, these conditions can be hereditary, and they can have a much greater likelihood of this happening to them if their parents have had conditions such as anxiety.

For the most part, teens and children who suffer from anxiety and from stress have factors in their lives that push them in that direction. For example, they may be faced with things like divorce of their parents, stressors at school and even peer pressure. Although most parents do not realize it, teens are under a great deal of pressure in many areas of their lives. Sometimes, the body and the mind react to those conditions in the way of anxiety and/or stress.

Symptoms To Notice

Often, these conditions may be overlooked. This is common because the symptoms associated with stress and anxiety are those things that most of us would relate to just normal, teen behavior. Nevertheless, it is necessary to identify if there is a problem and treat it accordingly as it can be harmful to their health in the long run.

Symptoms of anxiety and high stress levels include:

Feelings of uneasiness. Something just does not seem right although there may be nothing wrong
Abdominal discomfort that does not seem to come from a physical condition
Dry mouth
Rapid heartbeat that is not due to physical exertion
Dizziness
Shortness of breath not associated with physical exertion
Frequent need to urinate
Tightness in the chest, sometimes escalating to true pain
Diarrhea
Problems with swallowing
Insomnia
Irritability or anger that seems unfounded
Fear
The feeling of just not being in control
Inability to concentrate on tasks

Option Treatments

The treatments for high stress and anxiety affecting teenagers may include several things. First, identifying and removing pressure is often necessary. Second, the doctor may recommend a balanced diet, physical activity and good relaxation techniques. Additionally, medications are available to treat anxiety problems, including benzodiazepine tablets. Yet, medications should be considered with caution and for the worse cases as they generally have side effects that are not pleasant or healthy either.

Alternative

For those that are looking for an alternative treatment to teenage stress and anxiety, there are many treatments available to choose from. These can include certain herbs that have been shown to treat anxiety effectively. To continue reading and find out which herbs help to treat anxiety naturally visit http://www.feelyourselfagain.com/teenage_stress_and_anxiety.html

Avery Horton The Rumpled One is a traders trader who makes a great income day trading a very simple day trading method called fading the gap.

If you could trade a method that took you less than 30 minutes to perform in the morning for $0.30 to $1 profit with 80% accuracy.would you trade it?

When you can trade 1,000+ shares in a stock that is $300 to $1,000 profit on each successful trade EVERY DAY.

Here are some of the emails I have received from Avery recently:

1) See all the gaps that have filled within 30 minutes

2) Even where the gap hasn’t filled, there’s money to be made
What I mean by statistics is how many times during the last 100 days a stock has gone up at list $.10, $.20, … $1.00 or more from open to high:

Mark, I like to keep things simple… 1000 shares.* $.12 profit / share = $120. After commissions, I net $100. Basically, this is a $100 bill printing press.

-Avery

See all those filled gaps?!?!?!

You would have made over $1.00 per share on every trade! The QQQQ doesn’t count, I just use it to gauge the market. But it, too, filled the gap…LOL!

Compare the middle indicator to before… see how much trading each cross can net you?

It really is simple, Mark. I think you can “feel” it… can’t you?

- Avery

Hi Mark:

1) Let’s say a trader starts with $25,000 and trades 1000 shares. If the trader nets $100 a day pretax on ONE TRADE, with 22 trading days a month that’s $2,200 in about 30 minutes or less per day.

Ok..thats enough for now. I have picked The Rumpled Ones mind clean over the past week nailing down his fade the gap method. I am actually amazed he gave away so much information so freely.

So get you FREE Fade The Gap Day Trading Method Now by entering your name and email address. You will need to read your email address in order to go to the download page and access the method.

Get it now and start milking those daily profits tomorrow.

This brochure helps teens know the warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse. Those who struggle with alcohol abuse or drug addictions are finding that often the Ctreatment professionals or mainstream thinking isn’t helping them. People abuse drugs and alcohol for many reasons, and understanding the person’s motivation helps to explain why that person is abusing. that treat alcoholism, alcohol abuse and drug abuse problems. If you need help for yourself or a loved one, please use it! Everyone at the University has a responsibility to help and support a person who abuses alcohol or other drugs.

My kid’s on drugs. It gives the warning signals to look for, resources for help, and tips on prevention of substance abuse. We are committed to providing help for those in need of drug rehab programs and substance abuse services with the most accurate information available. Businesses can develop substance abuse programs to help their affected employees to overcome drug abuse and become more effective employees. Conceivably, similar genetic contributions to drug metabolism could help to explain components of the genetic contribution to substance abuse vulnerability.

Understanding drug abuse also helps in understanding how to prevent use in the first place. People abuse drugs and alcohol for many reasons, and understanding the person’s motivation helps to explain why that person is abusing. Knowledge is power and power is what you need to help another break free from the scourges of drug abuse and addiction. Unfortunately, one of the symptoms of addiction is the same problem that keeps the drug abuser from getting help. Choose to get help with sexual abuse, domestic violence, drug addiction and more. My kid’s on drugs.” It gives the warning signals to look for, resources for help, and tips on prevention of substance abuse. This brochure helps teens know the warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse. Includes a look at why people use drugs, along with warning signs of drug abuse and tips for helping friends who are using drugs. Teen drug help, alcoholism abuse resources, referrals, message boards and chat. This important video program will help supervisors and fellow employees recognize alcoholism and illegal drug abuse in the workplace. that treat alcoholism, alcohol abuse and drug abuse problems. If you need help for yourself or a loved one, please use it! Often the first person in the family to get help for a drug abuse problem is not the drug abuser himself. Everyone at the University has a responsibility to help and support a person who abuses alcohol or other drugs.

These guidelines are meant to help schools effectively prevent, manage and treat learners who abuse or are dependent on drugs. Participation in self-help support programs during and following drug abuse treatment often is helpful in maintaining abstinence. Behavioral and psychosocial treatments are the cornerstone of service available to help drug abusers achieve and sustain meaningful periods of abstinence. Conceivably, similar genetic contributions to drug metabolism could help to explain components of the genetic contribution to substance abuse vulnerability.

Often they need the help of people like you to encourage them to get the drug abuse treatment that they need. Its mission is “to help families and communities prevent drug abuse among children by promoting policies based on science. If you suspect drug abuse, do not be afraid to seek help. Talking to your kids about the dangers of drug abuse can help steer them in the right direction. Studies in drug abusers can also help to tease out such components. An intervention is an excellent tool to use to help the drug abuser to see the error of his or her ways. Businesses can develop substance abuse programs to help their affected employees to overcome drug abuse and become more effective employees. Click here to help your working parents prevent drug abuse by setting clear expectations and communicating with their children early.

Governments and corporates can help fund drug abuse rehabilitation NGOs. Much of this drop is from anti-drug abuse advertising that helps shape teenagers’ attitudes, according to the study. Those who struggle with alcohol abuse or drug addictions are finding that often the Ctreatment professionals or mainstream thinking isn’t helping them. We are committed to providing help for those in need of drug rehab programs and substance abuse services with the most accurate information available. Talk about the situation with someone who knows about drug abuse and helping abusers.

http://www.abuse-substance-treatment.com/

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Crump

Bird watching is a hobby which involves watching and tracking birds for pleasure or fun. The official term for this hobby is ornithology, although it is more commonly known as bird watching, or birding, depending on your location. However, I am lead to believe that there is more to this distinction than just geography.

The use of the shortened term birding was most commonly used originally in America, whereas in the UK it was referred to as bird watching. But in the UK a third term is also widely recognised to distinguish someone as a person who watches birds and that is twitching. However, there are now three different definitions widely accepted for the three different terms, those being that birding refers to someone who watches wild birds for pleasure, bird watching is for those amateurs who study birds but who do so for their own purposes and who are not professionals in the field, and that twitching is undertaken to compile a long list of all the wild birds which have ever been seen in a particular geographic location. For those among you who participate in this hobby, you should now be able to work out which specific type of bird watcher you are!

Typically speaking, the hobby of bird watching has not had a very good press. Often seen to be the hobby of the geek, it is little known that there are actually some celebrity fans who don their binoculars to look at birds of the feathered variety. Former US president Jimmy Carter enjoyed relaxing with nature while bird watching, as did former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson. It is also a little known fact that Ian Flemings most famous creation, James Bond, was named after a famous ornithologist of the same name. Suddenly the hobby seems much cooler..!

Amateur bird watchers have also been responsible for some impressive finds over the years. The spotting of a rare species has been known to cause many professionals to descend on an area and conservational work has been undertaken as a result of the discoveries.

Bird watching is incredibly popular and it is a great way for people to get out and explore nature first hand. The best time of day for bird watching is thought to be for the first few hours after the sun rises as it is when the birds are at their most hungry and so are more visible and slightly less wary. Bird watchers often situate themselves in a hide, which is usually an enclosed hut with small spaces to view outside, so they have a good view of the surrounding area but they are largely hidden from the birds, preventing them from scaring them off.

In the world of poker, appearances can often mean the difference between a winning hand and a losing hand. When bluffing, some people attempt to appear supremely confident to offset the fact that their hands are junk. This has the effect of discouraging other players from challenging you for ownership of the pot. However, there are others that prefer to use fear and anxiety as their weapons, coldly intimidating their fellow players into abandoning their positions of strength. There is a deep element of psychology whenever someone bluffs at the poker table. There can sometimes be an even deeper element of fear and anxiety behind the bluff, both for the one doing the bluffing and for those being targeted.

It is said that nearly one in four Americans suffers from some kind of digestive disorder such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohns Disease. Although medically recognized as incurable there is no need for sufferers of Crohns and IBS to give up hope. Although the conditions cannot be eradicated, the symptoms and distress can however be controlled. It is often true that what medical science cannot cure, common sense, information and commitment can subdue.

It is a frustration to many, that in many areas, medical advancement has brought breakthrough and hope to many suffering at the hands of illness, but still there are is a silent percentage, waiting in the wings hoping for their time to come.

So how can we loosen the chains of Crohns and IBS?

1. Get Informed.

In todays world of super fast and open communication there is really no reason why someone should suffer in silence or ignorance for anything. A simple trip to the library will uncover many books and guides outlining possibilities and methods for controlling disorders such as Crohns Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. A quick search on the internet will uncover many opportunities and avenues for discovering exactly what is going on with your body.

2. Get Support.

In the same way, that there is no excuse to being ignorant, there is also no reason to be alone. Some people early on after being diagnosed with Chrons Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) go through a phase of denial thats natural but there also comes a time to pick yourself up and face your disorder head on but that doesnt mean alone. There are many national and local support groups established which will help, encourage and motivate you to live life to the full and give ideas about how to

3. Get Control

Although the general principle is something of an illusion (after all, we are all uncontrollable factors in life) it is absolutely essential for Chrons and IBS sufferers to work towards getting to grips with their disorder so they can start to feel free and live life again. For the majority, its not actually that hard as long as you have been through the process of Getting Informed and Getting Support. In my experience the only way to get control that lasts and is beneficial is to take the information and support and apply to my own life religiously. With careful monitoring, strict adherence and continual awareness, you to can live the life you deserve.

Many people in today’s world are wanting to go back to college to gain a degree or to increase their knowledge in a certain area. Unfortunately, the busyness of life doesn’t always provide the time (or the money) for desiring people to stop what they are doing and head back to school. It is not always realistic to lay aside a career for a few years simply to devote yourself to study. The good news for anyone desiring to learn more while keeping up with life can turn to online learning as a great alternative.

Online learning is one of the best things that the internet has brought us. I am amazed that all people need to do is log on to the internet and they can sign up for a nearly endless amount of amazing classes. Whether people are hoping to finish their GED or to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree or even a Master’s degree, online learning can be a great way to go.

Obviously, one of the biggest benefits of online learning is the convenience factor. You do not have to stop your career or move to another city that offers the program you desire. Instead, you simply need only to have internet access. Having internet access opens the door to endless possibilities that can be fulfilled within your home or at a local library if you do not own your own computer. There is perhaps no more convenient way to get an education than through online learning.

Online learning is also great because it is so flexible. It can work around your schedule rather than you having to submit yourself to the learning schedule. This is great for professinoal adults or for parents everywhere. Furthering your education does not become burdensome or impossible, but rather it becomes a pleasure. We could all use a few things that are flexible in our lives, and online learning is just that. You decide on the program you want to study, the classes you want to take at any certain time, and then you just sign up and begin.

Online learning is a great way to slowly work on a degree while keeping your current job and responsibilities. I am so thankful for online learning because it has allowed me to earn my Master’s degree while maintaining a full-time writing career. No other method of education worked for my time and my needs.

I’d encourage anyone serious about pursuing more education to look no further than online learning. It’s simply amazing.

Though it is the fourth largest public school system in the United States, Florida Schools have consistently ranked close to the bottom on academic indicators, including high school graduation rates and national assessment of education progress test scores. For the past few years, Florida schools have been implementing programs to improve student scholastic achievement. Most have been well received and implemented with little-to-no resistance. The End Social Promotion policy, however, has received a lot of resistance from teachers and parents alike and is the most entrenched school custom in Florida schools.

Social promotion is the act of passing onto the next grade a student, who lacks the basic required skills. For many years in Florida schools, retaining or holding back a student has been viewed negatively by teachers, parents and students, placing a stigma upon the retained children and singling them out as abnormally different, inferior and destined to be a failures.

Study research has long held that retention does harm not good, with studies of retained students showing lower test scores in future years as compared to low-scoring students who were socially promoted onto the next grade. Such students were considered a high risk for dropping out of high school, as well.

Florida schools believe that part of this stigma is due to only a small percentage of low-scoring students being retained. If retained students are part of a large group, Florida schools believe the stigma will disappear and retention eventually will be viewed as a positive.

Many educators today believe that much of the previous study results were due to only students with the worse case combinations of skills and personal characteristics being held back, while other low-scoring students were promoted. If everyone in Florida schools sees retention as a beneficial step taken for the students, retained students could benefit from the increased positive attitudes, acceptance and learning atmosphere.

Slowly but steadily, school districts across the United States have begun to require students in particular grades to master basic skills for promotion to the next grade. Chicago was the first system in 1996 to implement a retention policy. Texas and Florida schools followed in 2002, with New York and Philadelphia joining in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Florida schools believe that schools do students no favor by promoting them to higher grades without the basic skills to succeed. The Florida schools End Social Promotion policy requires third grade students to score at a level two benchmark or above on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

After implementing its retention policy, Florida schools wanted a study to determine the scientific merits and costs (detrimental outcomes) of the retention program. Did attitudes and only specific students being retained influence the previous research? Is the Florida schools End Social Promotion policy working? A study was undertaken.

The Florida schools study compared 2001 low-scoring third graders (before the implementation of the retention policy) to the 2002 low-scoring third graders (the first students subject to retention). In 2001, only nine percent of the low-scoring third graders were retained, as compared to 60 percent in 2002. The study analyzed test score improvements between third and fourth grade for each group. The tests used for comparison were the FCAT and the national Stanford-9. Both are administered at the same time to students. Since only the FCAT is used for the retention program, using the Stanford-9 test scores in the study would indicate if students were prepped only to meet the policy requirements. Additionally, only the FCATs developmental scale scores were used to allow comparison across the two different grade levels.

The findings of the Florida schools study showed that the performance gain of the retained students in 2002 exceeded that of the socially promoted students in 2001. The improvement gains were moderate in reading, yet significant in mathematics. The results were consistent in both the FCAT and Stanford-9 tests, showing the gains were due to student skill mastery rather than prepping.

The study provides valuable information on the short-term effectiveness of the Florida schools retention policy. Due to the short duration of the study, it neither shows all the possible future benefits a student gains from retention, nor does it address any possible long-range negative effects. However, it did provide a surprising result in the substantially improved mathematics scores.

Overall, the study shows that increased efforts by teachers and students to avoid a second retention does improve student proficiency. Whether the effects continue into the future for Florida schools, only time will tell.

Okay, for some people, the feeling of diving in nature with nothing on is relaxing. For that reason, you will actually find a number of naked scuba diving clubs consisting of people who enjoy being free while in the water. Diving in the nude is very exhilarating, allowing the water to caress the body naturally. The number of people who enjoy naked scuba diving would probably surprise you.

In addition to the great feeling that you get while diving nude, there are also the safety considerations. For instance, some subtropical and tropical waters have problems with sea lice that become caught under clothing. The problem is that sea lice sting and it hurts. However, sea lice do not cling to exposed skin, which means people can scuba dive naked and not have to worry about these annoying creatures. Keep in mind that it is recommended body hair be trimmed or shaved.

Additionally, naked scuba diving also helps the diver to become better aware of the underwater environment, which actually teaches better diving skills. For instance, underwater, there are rocks, cliffs, coral, and other items that when brushed up against with a wetsuit can do damage to expensive gear or even create a safety hazard. By feeling the environment on the body, you become more aware of your diving and the environment, which means being more careful.

Just as there are many benefits of naked scuba diving, there are some risks too. In this case, male divers should avoid the process of feeding fish. The reason is that some fish cannot tell food from a male’s appendage, thus causing a bite. In addition, men should protect themselves when in large schools of fish. While this might sound funny, it can be a problem and bites do occur. Therefore, just be aware of the environment when diving without a wetsuit or bathing suit so you take the right protective measures.

Interestingly, many divers are now trying naked diving and finding they love it. The following are some sites that accept nude diving should you decide to try it for yourself:

St. Maarten – Orient Beach French

Mexico
Cozumel – San Francisco Beach
Yucatan, Mayan Corridor – Playa Del Carman
St. Barts

Honduras
Half Moon Bay
West End Bay

Antigua
Hawksbill

Bahamas
Nassau (Breezes)
Cat Island (Cutlass Bay)

Bonaire
Sorobon Beach Resort

Dominican Republic
Hispaniola (Eden Bay Resort)

Florida
Key Largo (Jules Undersea Lodge)

Jamaica
Runaway Beach (Breezes)
Braco (Grand Lido)
Nigro (Grand Lido)

It is the time of the year when the NBAs Most Valuable Player is voted for. This means 125 voters among who you can find media people that devote their entire professional careers to go across the country analyzing every move every game and sharing with the readers and viewers. It is comforting to have people of this knowledge on the sport voting for the best player in the NBA.

If you remember the 2005 MVP for the NBA was expected to be between Shaquille ONeil and Steve Nash. Nash ended up winning by very little difference. That year the voting was so stretch that people ended up thinking if the race between them affected the voters. I personally do not think that was the case.

For the 2006 Season a similar thing is expected to happen. The reality is that MVP voters usually are reluctant to recognize young players or those from teams not considered cream of the crop. With the exception of the 1998-99 season, there hasn’t been an MVP winner from a team that won fewer than 50 games since 1982. That is not to say that 50 wins is a pre-qualifier, but it illustrates that voters tend to reward the best teams.

The playoffs are about a month away and there is plenty of suspense surrounding the final weeks of the season and the candidates to the MVP. Is it Kobe Bryant keeping the Lakers in the playoffs? Maybe Chauncey Billups get it thanks to his clear display of guidance in Detroit? What about LeBron James, who took the Cavaliers to a higher level? We will certainly find out sooner than you think.

The problem of adopting the correct posture whilst at work is a very important issue which anyone using an office chair and Workstation needs to take very seriously.

Spinal health is a new area of safety management which all organizations need to take extremely seriously if they care about their employees welfare. Spinal problems usually give a warning sign to the individual, like a piercing sound from a smoke alarm; the alarm is not the problem. The alarm has a cause, just like every ache or pain has a cause. Some people choose to cover up pain instead of correcting the cause.

The nerve rich facet joints on the back side of each spinal bone are a common cause of back pain. If these pairs of interlocking fingers are not moving right, they can cause painful symptoms. The discs between spinal bones can be a source of pain also. The rings of fibrous tissue act as spacers and shock absorbers for the spine.

If you know the cause of your pain in this area you are left with several options with one option being bed rest but research has shown that this on a prolonged basis can delay recovery making the problems worse.

Physical therapy is another option to take, remember though that exercising spinal joints that are not working correctly is similar to driving a car with misaligned wheels. Other options include numbing the area or covering up the pain with and pain relievers. These only offer temporary relief to the symptoms and do not correct the problems of spinal joints.

The most drastic measure to take is to consider surgery. Surgery may make sense but is expensive and can be risky with an estimated half of all surgery not working.

An ideal option to go for is to use a registered practitioner, Chiropractic adjustments can help improve spinal functions and is natural and will look to correct the underlying problem. This can usually be funded by your health insurance company.

A wage garnishment is a legal procedure through which a percentage of a person’s earnings are withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt. Most wage garnishments are made by court order. Other types of wage garnishments are of legal or open procedures made by the IRS or state tax collection agency levies for unpaid taxes and federal agency administrative garnishments for non-tax debts owed to the federal government.

Wage garnishments do not include voluntary wage garnishments. Some debtor’s may voluntarily consort with their employers to turn over a specified amount of their earnings to a creditor to absolve the debt voluntarily, without the use of a court order.

The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration has dispensed Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to limit the amount of an employee’s earnings that are garnished and protects employee’s from losing their jobs if their wages are garnished for only one debt.

Title III of the CCPA is enforced in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories and possessions. This is a law that protects everyone who receives personal earning and incomes, e.g. wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses or earnings from a pension or retirement plan. The CCPA also forbids an employer from discharging an employee whose wages are garnished for any one debt, regardless of the number of levies made or attempts made to collect that debt, because of one single wage garnishment. The CCPA does not forbid discharging an employee when an employee’s wages are separately garnished for two or more debts owed.

The amount of pay subject to wage garnishment is based on the employee’s disposable wages. This is the amount of pay left over after all legally required deductions are made, e.g. federal, state and local taxes, State Unemployment Insurance, Social Security or any other withholdings for employee retirement systems required by law.

Deductions that are not required by law and that may not be subtracted from gross earnings when calculating disposable earnings under the CCPA are: voluntary wage deductions, union dues, health and life insurance, charitable contributions, savings bonds, optional retirement plans, reimbursements to employers for payroll advances or merchandise.

Title III of the CCPA sets a maximum amount that may be garnished in any pay period, regardless of how many wage garnishment orders are received by the employer. For common wage garnishments, excluding those for child support, alimony, bankruptcy, or any state or federal tax, the weekly amount may not exceed 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings or by the amount by which an employee’s disposable earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage. If a state wage garnishment law differs from the CCPA, the law resulting in the smaller wage garnishment must be observed.

Acne, unlike your typical infection, is not something that’s over and done with if you manage to make it go away. You still have to deal with the after-effects left behind by the problem. Acne scarring is one of the most common problems encountered during the post-infection stage. If not treated properly, acne can leave physical marks. Acne scarring, with the social stigma that it tends to generate, may end up becoming an even bigger problem than the acne that caused it. No wonder, some people actually see depression as one of the more serious effects of this kind of skin problem.

Copyright 2006 Ingela Berger

An excerpt from “The Role of Your Life”.

Life often takes us on detours. Let me guess; when you look back you have come a long way to get to where you are today. Sometimes you feel that, after all, you have learned a lot on your long journey, but you keep wondering why you didnt choose a different path that specific time in the past, and you regret that you werent wiser.

Many times we feel regret. The detour we are on is so unnecessary because we know what we once wanted. We can picture ourselves in surroundings that could have been so good. But many of the detours may be necessary. We just dont learn some things until we have made painful experiences. We could call the detour an unconscious maturity process. We grow, but we do not know how or into what. That can be a costly way to reach maturity and development. Some of us do not seem to learn anything despite all the difficulties we go through. But if we discover a way to consciously work for personal growth, if we take hold of our own development and dont let it lie in the hands of unpredicted occurrences, we can face our crises and sufferings with open eyes, and hence seize the possibilities of development that they give us. We can also avoid some of the detours further on along the road.

Henrik Ibsens Peer Gynt” reminds us of the importance of not letting ourselves down, not choosing these unnecessary detours. He reminds us of the questions we have to ask ourselves: Who am I? What do I really want with my life? Peer Gynt was a man who took many long detours in his life. He fooled his mother, his friends, his beloved Solveig, and himself. He went through life without really living it. When things were too difficult, he fled; from others and from himself. He joked and jested about the serious things that he was terrified of, and made himself and others some real trouble. Peer Gynt walked roundabout his own life, bragging, blaming others, and taking no responsibility for the people who placed hope in him. A bad conscience followed him in the shape of a troll, but he kept fleeing away, putting off all problems to the future. After many years and as many dearly bought experiences, he was reminded of his mortality in an accident at sea. In a key scene he peels the symbolic onion, peel by peel, from the outside in. He then realizes who he really is and finally he returns to the waiting and forgiving Solveig.

Peer Gynt finally asked himself the important question: Who am I? One wonders if he would have found his answers sooner, had he listened to his dear mother Aases mild admonitions in time. Maybe he could have spared some agony and pain.

Life doesnt have to be constant detours and labyrinths. We can teach ourselves a better way of living. We can steer our own development into a desired direction. I want to suggest that there is a way that is right for you. I believe you can learn how to find it. I cannot find it for you. I can give you the tools you need, but you have to do the job. I also believe that there constantly will be new chances and opportunities for us to choose direction. There isnt just one right way for me in life. If I miss a side road there will most likely be another one further along the road. There will also be side roads that will mislead us, and its not always easy to decide which the best road is in advance.

Finding the way to ourselves and to the inner resources and qualities that we all possess, learning how to use them to grow and develop, and sharing them with other people, those are great tasks and challenges in life. At every new crossroad we have a new opportunity to do just that. Lets not miss these opportunities over and over again, like Peer Gynt did.