Future in Your Hand manage by Mitra Anugrah Mandiri Sentosa Incorporate

Feds want to require visitors' fingerprints when leaving US

2009-01-18T06:47:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration would require commercial airlines and cruise-line operators to collect information such as fingerprints from international travelers and send the information to the Homeland Security Department soon after the travelers leave the country, according to a proposed rule.
The proposal, which will be announced Tuesday, will close a security gap identified after the 9/11 attacks and identify which visitors have overstayed their visas.
Airlines and cruise ship operators must already provide the department with biographical information on international passengers before they leave the country. But this rule would require biometric information — such as fingerprints — to be collected and then transmitted within 24 hours of a visitor leaving the U.S., according to a Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
Over 10 years, officials estimate it will cost air and sea carriers about $2.7 billion to carry out the requirement. The department plans to enforce the rule by June 30, 2009. Some air carriers have complained the federal government should cover the cost of implementing this rule.
U.S. officials already collect fingerprints from visitors when they come into the country, but the administration has yet to complete the exit portion of the tracking program — known as US-VISIT.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., have pressed the department to roll out its biometric exit system for more than a year.
"Any uncertainty about who is entering and leaving our country is an unacceptable risk that must be addressed," Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement Monday.
There will be a 60-day comment period for the proposed rule.

Getting Things Done

2009-01-18T06:45:00.002-08:00

Getting Things Done (commonly abbreviated as GTD) is an action management method of The David Allen Company, and the title of the book by David Allen which describes the method. Both Getting Things Done and GTD are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company.
GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them somewhere. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks. What distinguishes David Allen's book from most other time- or action-management literature is the level of detail to which he describes a possible way to organize oneself.

How does GTD work?
GTD is strictly defined by David Allen on his website [1]. In time management priorities usually play a central role which is less emphasized by Allen. Instead, he promotes two key elements in time management — control and perspective. Allen advocates three major models for gaining control and perspective:
1.A workflow process
2.A framework with 6 levels of focus
3.A natural planning method
The first major model is the workflow process, which is used to gain control over all the tasks and commitments which one needs or wants to get done.[2]:20 The workflow process consists of five distinct phases listed below (with each described in greater details in the Principles section):
1.Collect
2.Process
3.Organize
4.Review
5.Do
Allen uses an altitude analogy to illustrate his second major model, 6 different levels of focus, and give perspective on tasks and commitments. These 6 levels of focus, from the bottom up, are [2]:51 :
1.Current actions
2.Current projects
3.Areas of responsibility
4.Yearly goals
5.5 year vision
6.Life goals
As you "move up" in altitude, you are able to consider the "bigger picture." The bottom level — your current to do list — is at "runway" height, and the top level — Life Goals — is at 50,000 feet, with the other 4 areas of focus at metaphorical 10,000 feet increments between the two. Considering projects, actions, unfinished business or commitments ("open loops" in GTD terminology[3]), and other "input" from a variety of "heights" gives one varying perspective.
Allen strongly advocates doing a weekly review process which utilizes the different levels of focus. The perspective gained from utilizing these different levels of focus should drive one's priorities, which in turn determines the priority of when and if one is to do the particular individual tasks and commitments gathered during the workflow process. During this weekly review, the user also determines the context for the tasks and places them on the appropriate lists. Examples of grouping together similar tasks include making a list of telephone calls to make or errands to do while downtown. Context lists can be defined by the set of tools available or by the presence of individuals or groups for whom one has items to discuss or present.
Allen expects that the first two models are sufficient most of the time to gain control and perspective on the majority of tasks and projects. However, there are some cases in which more involved planning and thinking are necessary.[2]:54 This leads to the third major model, which is the natural planning method. While the workflow model has a "horizontal" focus on doing individual tasks, the natural planning method has a "vertical" focus on planning projects and thinking through topics. The planning model consists of 5 stages which are:
1.Defining the purpose and principles
2.Envisioning the outcome
3.Brainstorming
4.Organizing
5.Identifying next actions
The psychology of GTD is based on making it easy to store, track and retrieve all the information related to the things you need to get done. Allen suggests that many of the mental blocks we encounter in regard to doing certain activities are caused by insufficient 'front-end' planning (i.e., for any project we need to clarify what is to be achieved and what specific actions are needed to achieve it). It is most practical, according to Allen, to do this thinking in advance, generating a series of actions which we can later undertake without any further planning.
Allen also contends that our mental "reminder system" is rather inefficient and seldom reminds us of what we need to do at the time and place that we can do it. Consequently, the "next actions" stored by context in the "trusted system" act as an external support which ensures that we are presented with the right reminders at the right time. There are many associated personal management tips and tricks detailed in Getting Things Done which can be useful for implementing the workflow described by Allen.
A capsule description of GTD from Allen's book Ready for Anything:
“Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up — not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you're doing (and not doing) at any time.”
Principles
The core principles of GTD are:
Collect
The notion of stress-free productivity starts with this step by off-loading what needs to get done from your head. Capture everything that is necessary to track, remember, or act on- in what Allen calls a bucket: a physical inbox, an email inbox, a tape recorder, a notebook, a PDA, or any combination of these. The idea here is to get everything out of one's head and into a collection device, ready for processing. All buckets should be emptied (processed) at least once per week.
Allen doesn't advocate any preferred collection method, leaving the choice to the individual. He only insists upon the importance of emptying the "buckets" regularly. Any storage space (physical inbox, email inbox, tape recorder, notebook, PDA, etc) that is processed regularly by the individual is acceptable.
Process
When processing a bucket, a strict workflow is followed:
Start at the top.
Deal with one item at a time.
Never put anything back into 'in'.
If an item requires action:
Do it (if it takes less than two minutes), OR
Delegate it, OR
Defer it.
If an item does not require action:
File it for reference, OR
Throw it away, OR
Incubate it for possible action later.
If it takes under two minutes to do something, just do it immediately. The two-minute rule is a guideline, encompassing roughly the time it would take to defer the action formally.
Organize
Allen describes a suggested set of lists which can be used to keep track of items awaiting attention:
Next actions — For every item requiring attention, decide what is the next action that can be physically taken on that item. For example, if the item is, "Write project report," the next action might be, "Email Fred for meeting minutes," or, "Call Mary to ask about report requirements." Though there may be many steps and actions required to complete the item, there will always be something that needs to be done first, and this step should be recorded in the next actions list. Preferably, these steps are organized by the context in which they can be done, such as "in the office," "by the phone," or "at the store."
Projects — Every open loop in one's life or work which requires more than one physical action to achieve becomes a project. These projects are tracked and periodically reviewed to make sure that every project has a next action associated with it, and thus can be moved forward.
Waiting for — When an action has been delegated to someone else, or when one is waiting for some external event before a project can be moved forward, this is tracked in the system and periodically checked to see if action is due, or a reminder needs to be sent.
Someday/Maybe — Things to be done at some point, but not right now. Examples might be "learn Chinese," or, "take diving holiday."
A calendar is important for keeping track of appointments and commitments; however, Allen specifically recommends that the calendar be reserved for the hard landscape: things which absolutely have to be done by a particular deadline, or meetings and appointments which are fixed in time and place. To-do items should be reserved for the next action lists.
A final key organizing component of GTD is the filing system. A filing system must be easy, simple and fun. Even a single piece of paper, if needed for reference, should get its own file if it doesn't belong in an existing folder. Allen suggests a single, alphabetically organized filing system, in order to make it as quick and easy as possible to store and retrieve the needed information.
Review
The lists of actions and reminders will be of little use if not reviewed at least daily, or whenever possible. Given the time, energy and resources available at that particular moment, decide what is the most important thing to be doing right now, and do it. If one is inclined to procrastinate, one may end up always doing the easy tasks and avoiding the difficult ones. To solve this, one can decide to do the actions of the list one by one, following their order, just like processing an inbox.
At least weekly, the discipline of GTD requires that all your outstanding actions, projects and 'waiting for' items are reviewed, making sure that any new tasks or forthcoming events are entered into your system, and that everything is up to date. Allen suggests the creation of a "tickler file" in order to help refresh one's memory each week with the outstanding tasks and projects.
Do
Any organizational system is no good if excessive time is spent organizing tasks instead of actually doing them. David Allen's contention is that if one can make it simple, easy, and fun to take the necessary actions, one will be less inclined to procrastinate or become overwhelmed with too many 'open loops'.
Tools and techniques
Tickler file

A slice of '43 Folders'
One device that Allen suggests is the tickler file for organizing your paperwork (also known as the '43 folders'). Twelve folders are used to represent each month and an additional 31 folders are used to represent each day. The folders are arranged to help remind you of activities to be done that day. Each day you open to the numbered folder representing today's date. You take all the items out of the folder and put the empty folder into the next month. This sort of management allows you to file hardcopy reminders to yourself. For instance, if you had a concert on the 12th of the month, you would store the tickets in the 12th folder, and when the 12th came around, they would be there waiting for you.
Software tools for GTD
Software tools were specifically suggested by Allen as helpful and important for implementing GTD, including digital outlining, brainstorming, and project planning applications. However, in 2001, Allen bemoaned the general lack of "good 'project management' tools," concluding:
... less structured and more functional applications will emerge in the coming years, based on the ways we naturally think and plan.[4]
Since that prediction a virtual explosion of GTD-supporting software has emerged, underscoring the influence of GTD on the world of time management. In April 2008, more than 100 software tools existed that provide the core features needed to implement Getting Things Done.[citation needed]
These software tools range from simple list managers for individuals to collaborative web applications, both free and commercial, for all popular platforms and devices. Much of this software specifically automates or reinforces the GTD methodology of collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing, and doing.

Fatal shark attack forces beach closures near San Diego

2009-01-18T06:45:00.001-08:00

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. - A shark believed to be a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer with a single, giant bite across both legs Friday as the man trained with a group of triathletes, authorities and witnesses said.
Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian from Solana Beach, was attacked at San Diego County's Tide Beach around 7 a.m., authorities and family friend Rob Hill said.
Martin was taken to a lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city Web site. His injuries crossed both thighs, San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Randy Webb said in a news release.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography shark expert Richard Rosenblatt says the shark was probably a great white between 12 and 17 feet long.
"It looks like the shark came up, bit him, and swam away," said Dismas Abelman, the Solana Beach deputy fire chief.
There was a single bite across both of Martin's legs, Abelman said.
The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, lifeguard Craig Miller said. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore.
Swimmers were ordered out of the water for a 17-mile stretch around the attack site and county authorities sent up helicopters to scan the waters for the shark. Eight miles of beach were closed.
"The shark is still in the area. We're sure of that," Mayor Joe Kellejian said.
Hill, a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, said he was running on the beach while about nine other members were in the water when the attack took place.
"They saw him come up out of the water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," Hill said. "The flesh was just hanging," and Martin may have bled to death before he left the water, Hill said.
A witness, Ira Opper, described the victim as "burly and athletic." He said the man was wearing a black wetsuit that was shredded on both legs.
Martin's relatives visited the lifeguard station in small groups, emerging in tears, before his body was transported to the county medical examiner's office. A man who identified himself as Martin's son answered the telephone at Martin's home a few blocks from the beach but declined to comment on the attack.
Club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark, Hill said.
However, Hill said he saw a seal or sea lion on the beach earlier this week. Miller said a seal pup was found on the beach Friday morning before the attack and was taken to a marine animal rescue center.
The shark may have confused the wet-suited swimmers with his prey, Hill said.
Rosenblatt, the shark expert, said white sharks travel through the area, and the way the man was attacked and the "massive" but clean wounds "sounds like what a white shark would do."
White sharks hunt along the bottom, look for seal silhouettes above and then rise to attack, he said.
"A human swimmer is not too unlike a seal," he said.
Shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 confirmed unprovoked cases worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006, according to the University of Florida. Only one 2007 attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal.
The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place in 2004, when a man skin diving for abalone was attacked by a great white shark off the coast of Mendocino County. On Aug. 19, 2003, a great white killed a woman who was swimming at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.
Solana Beach is 14 miles northwest of San Diego.

Housing rescue package set for House vote

2009-01-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON - A broad housing rescue package aimed at preventing foreclosures would have the government step in to insure up to $300 billion in new mortgages for struggling homeowners.
The plan, designed to stabilize a key sector of the shaky economy, is set for a House vote Wednesday. It would let the Federal Housing Administration insure more affordable fixed-rate loans for borrowers currently too financially strapped to qualify.
The White House says President Bush would veto the measure, calling it a burdensome bailout that would open taxpayers to too much risk. That's despite Democrats' attempts to attract Republican support by including a grab-bag of measures Bush has called for.
They include legislation to overhaul the Federal Housing Administration, the Depression-era mortgage insurer, and to more tightly regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that finance home loans. Also part of the plan is a measure, which Bush has repeatedly requested, allowing state and local housing finance agencies to use tax-exempt bonds to refinance distressed subprime mortgages.
Its main element, written by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the Financial Services Committee chairman, is designed to help roughly 500,000 borrowers at a cost of $2.7 billion over the next five years. Under Frank's bill, the FHA would relax its standards to let debt-ridden homeowners refinance into more affordable, fixed-rate mortgages if their lenders agreed to take substantial losses on the original loans.
Borrowers would have to show they could afford to make payments on the new mortgages. They would have to share with FHA at least half of their proceeds if they profited from selling or refinancing again.
Frank, working closely on his plan with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, has picked up some Republican support, especially among lawmakers representing areas hit hardest by the housing crisis.
But GOP leaders strongly oppose the bill, which they say would help reckless borrowers who overextended themselves, unscrupulous lenders, and investors who tried to game the market at the expense of renters and homeowners who made wiser choices.
The plan is to be combined with $11 billion in housing tax breaks, including a $7,500 credit for first-time home-buyers that would function like a zero-interest government loan, to be paid off over 15 years.
As part of the package, the House is scheduled to vote on an amendment — bitterly opposed by the financial services industry but championed by governors — that would ensure that neither the FHA plan nor other banking laws pre-empt state foreclosure laws. It's aimed at letting states that have recently moved to make it harder to evict homeowners continue those efforts.
The House also plans a vote on a separate bill — also facing a veto threat — to send $15 billion to states for the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed properties in the hardest-hit areas.
Critics say it would reward lenders, many of whom are in part to blame for the housing chaos, and act as an incentive for them to foreclose rather than find ways to help struggling borrowers stay in their homes.

If You Want to Be a Master Communicator ... Shut Up and Listen!

2009-01-18T06:40:00.002-08:00

There is no one in the world more powerful than a great communicator.

The ability to communicate masterfully is like The Midas Touch. It allows you to turn virtually any opportunity into pure gold. Through skillful communication, success becomes possible in every area of your life - career, relationships, finances. Effective communication is key to all of these and more.

So just what is it that makes someone a great communicator? What is that rare ability that allows some people to forge real, meaningful, mutually-satisfying connections with others?

For years I've taught classes, conducted seminars and coached individuals on their communication and presentation skills. And just about everyone I've worked with believes that being an effective communicator simply means being able to get their point across, to successfully express their thoughts, ideas and feelings to others.

But in fact, that is just a very small part of the equation. This ability alone will not allow you to forge meaningful connections. In fact, if all you focus on is your personal agenda, there's a good chance you'll get nowhere. How many times have you observed an eloquent speaker with what appears to be all the right techniques, a great vocabulary, all poise and polish, only to find that his or her words ultimately fall flat?

Look up "communication" in the dictionary, and you'll see that it derives from the Latin word communicare, "to impart, share," literally "to make common." So real communication isn't simply a transmission of ideas; it's an exchange, a dialogue of sorts. Effective communication is a sharing of information, a coming together of two unique points-of-view, the communicator's and the person being communicated with. Sometimes those points-of-view are in sync, sometimes they are in conflict; but they are always distinct. No one's perspective, experience, interpretation, concerns, goals, mood, etc. is identical to yours. Understanding this fact is key to making powerful connections.

If you take nothing else away from this article, please remember this statement: effective communication is always a two-way street.

In order for real, meaningful communication to take place, information must flow in both directions - not just from you, but to you. By fully appreciating this concept, you will be able to do what is necessary to make real connections with others, and ultimately improve your odds of getting what you want from each communication encounter.

Just how can you make this exchange possible? Stop talking -- and listen.

Most of us are actually pretty good at talking. We talk like crazy. We talk about our problems, our accomplishments, our relationships, our headaches, our dreams. We talk about everything that matters to us. Unfortunately, those issues are rarely what's of greatest interest to others.

On the flip side, sadly most of us are lousy listeners. In fact, most people, even when they appear to be listening intently to someone else, are actually lost in their own thoughts, often thinking about what they will say next.

Really hearing what others have to say, what matters to them, what they want, what they fear, what they hope for, will ultimately make you better able to connect with them, and help them to understand your message.

Being an effective listener is probably the single most important quality of a great communicator. Just observe some of the best there are. It's often been reported by those who know him that President Bill Clinton makes every person he speaks with feel like they're the only person in the room. The Reverend Billy Graham is able to touch the emotions of thousands of people at the same time, who feel that he's speaking personally with them. Winston Churchill tapped into the fears and dreams of an entire nation, and inspired them to greatness. Think about the great communicators you've met in your own life, and how they somehow seemed to speak a language you really understood.

Speaking the language of others. That's what real communication is all about.

Think of it this way. Supposed you had to deliver some important information to someone, but that person only spoke Japanese, and you did not. What would you do? You might have your message translated for you, or have an interpreter on hand. But if you didn't figure out how to somehow impart your message in the language that person understood, it would fall on deaf ears. No matter how eloquently you made your point, it would remain meaningless, because you didn't speak the language.

If you're going to be one of the world's great communicators, you will have to learn the language of others, and then frame your message in a manner they will understand and appreciate.

Here are a few things you can start doing right now to make yourself a more effective communicator.

1. Train yourself to really listen. When you're attempting to connect with someone, really focus on them, what they're saying and how they're behaving. Consciously try to block everything else out - your thoughts, distractions around you, etc. Make a point of not speaking yourself until the other person has expressed a complete thought. Fight the urge to interrupt or finish their sentences. Try to be genuinely interested in every word they say.

2. Acknowledge others' words and feelings. When it is your turn to talk, begin by confirming for the other person that you really heard them. There are several ways to do this. You might want to comment on what they've just told you. "I can imagine that was difficult." You might ask a question. "Wow, what happened after that?" Mirroring is another good technique for letting someone know you heard them. Basically, it is simply repeating back to the other person what they just said, and asking them for confirmation that you understood. "So it sounds like this was a really positive experience for you, is that right?" When you let people know you're really listening to them, they will be more interested when it's time for you to share your thoughts with them.

3. Listen with your eyes. There may be no better way of letting someone know you're listening than by maintaining strong, consistent eye contact. This is very important when you're speaking, but even more so when you're the listener. Don't look down. Don't look around the room. Don't look at other people. Look into the eyes of the person speaking to you, and they'll know you're interested in what they're saying. (Important! This might sound crazy, but you have to pick one eye to look at. That's right, left or right, your choice. But you have to focus on one. If you don't, your gaze will drift from one to the other. You'll exhibit what is commonly referred to as "shifty eyes," which most people interpret as a sign of nervousness.)

4. Relate your thoughts to theirs. Finally, it's your turn to express your ideas, feelings and desires. To be most effective, try to build your thoughts on what you've just heard. "I'm glad you brought that up, because I've been thinking about something very similar." Even if you're point-of-view is opposite theirs, you will make it more meaningful to your listener by pointing that fact out. "I certainly hear what you're saying, and I understand why you think that way. But I have a different perspective on the situation. Let me explain." By connecting your point to theirs, you make it relevant to them.

It all boils down to this: masterful communication is a conscious act. It requires focus, attention, forethought and an appreciation of the person with whom you hope to forge a connection.

Take the time to learn and apply these few skills, and you'll be on your way to becoming a great communicator, and to reaping untold rewards in the process.

How to Chair the Perfect Meeting

2009-01-18T06:40:00.001-08:00

Preparing for a Meeting

Know how many people you want to attend the meeting and make sure everyone you want to attend receives an invitation. Ensure they respond to the invitation regardless of whether they can attend or not. This will make it easier when preparing documentation and other materials. Once you've determined how many people will be attending the meeting, preparing all materials including hand-outs, power point presentations, a meeting itinerary and other materials at least a week or two in advance will give you enough time to make changes or corrections. Having help at this stage can make this process much smoother. If you need to send materials to those attending, do so as soon as you have them done. Create extra copies in case people forget to bring them to the meeting.

Starting the Meeting

Before the meeting starts, make sure you introduce yourself. This can make people feel more comfortable and relaxed. In order to chair a successful meeting, make sure all audio/visual equipment is working before the meeting starts. This will prevent the meeting from starting and ending later than it should. Open the meeting by explaining why it's necessary to meet and what you hope to accomplish by the end. Ask that everyone introduce each other. If you're following a specific itinerary, begin talking about the first topic. After a few minutes, people will begin asking questions and offering their opinions. While this is what you want during a meeting, you will need to ensure that everyone stays on track so all topics are covered in the time allotted.

Keeping the Meeting on Schedule

If you feel a discussion has gone on long enough, ask that everyone move on to the next topic. You can always return to the topic if there's time after the other topics have been discussed. Most people will agree and will move on. If someone in the meeting refuses to move on to the next topic, you may need to let them know that they are free to discuss it later. Your role as the chair of the meeting is to make sure that the meeting is productive, enlightening and informative to all who attend. If there is a need to return to a topic that was discussed earlier, use your best judgment and return to an earlier discussion when necessary. Closing a Meeting Once you've gone over all the topics on the itinerary, you should close the meeting by summing up what was learned. Allow those in the meeting to provide any final remarks and then end the meeting. While chairing a meeting can be stressful, if you are able to maintain control over the discussion topics and the length of time people spend talking about them, you can accomplish everything on your agenda in one meeting.

How to Beat Nerves before a Presentation

2009-01-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Create a Professional Presentation

Most presentations focus on one or two topics and can last anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. Before you begin preparing, ask the people in charge of the meeting how long your presentation should be. Take into consideration slides, handouts or other visual aids you want to use so you can create a presentation that is the perfect length.
When drafting your presentation, make sure you understand your topic so you can interact with your audience easily. During a casual presentation you will be able to use visual aids, ask and answer questions and repeat important pieces of information in order to reinforce your points.
Practice your presentation using visual aid devices that will be made available to you at the meeting. This will make you more comfortable changing from slide to slide, starting or stopping a power point slide or referring to documents you've given to the audience.
If you choose to hand out information before, during or after the presentation, make sure you bring enough copies for everyone. Find out how many people will be attending and make at least five extra copies in case additional people decide to attend.

Choose the Right Outfit

Wearing your favorite suit on the day of your presentation can help reduce any stress you have. When you know you look good, your body language will become relaxed. You may even feel more comfortable answering questions during the presentation. If you don't have anything suitable to wear, consider buying a new outfit to make the occasion even more special. Choose a neutral colored business suit (pant or skirt suit), polish your shoes and wear a white shirt underneath so you don't stand out from other people in the room. Brightly colored suits are usually not appropriate for presentations and may distract others from listening closely to what you have to say.

Talk to the Audience

Meeting with those who you will be presenting to is a great way to reduce stress. Knowing more about your audience will make them seem less intimidating. Arrive early to set-up and join the group for coffee or tea before the meeting begins. Even if you will be presenting to co-workers, make sure you mingle with other people in order to calm your nerves.
Giving a presentation can be stressful, but if you've prepared your materials in advance, you should be able to overcome any feelings of nervousness once you start talking. Make sure you listen to yourself as you give the presentation. If you feel you're talking too quickly, take a deep breath in order to slow down. This will keep you focused on what you're saying and keep the audience engaged too.

How to Ask for Good Feedback

2009-01-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

Asking for feedback is a great way to get information from others that helps us make improvements on any number of projects or situations.

Recently, I was looking for feedback and asked my peer the following:

"I've attached the two ads that I spoke to you about when we met. If you have a moment, could you please take a look at both and give me your feedback?"

This was her response:

"I do not like either. The image looks very phony to me. But if I have to choose, I would choose the one with the special introductory offer."

Having asked her to clarify what she meant by "phony," so I could find an image that looked "less phony," she responded that she doesn't like stock photography.

It was obvious to me at this point that I wasn't clear regarding the kind of information I wanted from her. This resulted in her giving me her opinion, not constructive feedback.

The purpose of constructive feedback is to provide timely, honest, useful comments and suggestions that contribute to a better process, result or improved behaviours.

I realize now that when I'm asking for feedback, I have to ask specifically for the information I need for the purpose of improving. It's my responsibility to guide them to provide me with the type of information that I seek to make the result better.

Ask Specific Questions, Get Specific Answers
I should have asked specific questions for feedback, such as:

Is the ad eye-catching? Would it be seen in a sea of other ads and newspaper copy? What could be done to make it more noticeable?

Is the wording effective? Do some sentences flow poorly? What could improve it?

Is the ad an appropriate size to be seen easily in the newspaper? If not, what would be better?

In addition to the specific questions you'd like answered, ask for any additional comments, suggestions, or observations they may have which your questions might have overlooked.

Make Sure You Ask the Right Person.
When considering what kind of feedback you want, let that lead you to the person who is best suited to respond. Choose people who can provide you with the most valuable, actionable feedback possible. It can take some thought to determine who they are, but it's well worth it.

Understanding what it is that you want from the person giving feedback helps them respond more effectively and provide you with the information you need to improve.

The World’s Crisis Why We Need a New Solution?

2009-01-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

Of course we have seen many summit meetings of International institutions, such as G-8, UN, IMF, ADB, World Bank etc to make a new solution from the world’s big problems that we are having it today. The international institutions get the final result calling together resolution. But we never see good implementation at field going on. Example the crisis food, why many countries are panic together? They don’t know what kind of right solution will be using to solve the problems. Today in the world there a lot of many face problems without solution in other word it will be worse. How is working UN, IMF, G-8 to see the global crisis such as global warming, energy and food crisis, war in Iraq, the death in Africa, the destroying forest in Brazil and Indonesia, the nuclear crisis in North Korea and Iran? They just give statement but for being implemented there is no good formula as solution.
So as the world citizen, what would like to do? Just seeing the problem is happening, or gives voice to international institutions as input to make solution.
The meeting of World Economic Forum on East Asia in Kuala Lumpur, 15-16 June 2008 try making a new solution based on analyzed the problems in the world. The participants are realizing the real solution is the best way. People are too tired getting a lot of problems such as the global warming-oil price-food crisis. The problems make the standard of living is more worse. Today many people in the world to get access in standard of living such as healthy service, good education, and standard salary for monthly needs are too difficult. Meanwhile, the leaders of world never get a good solution.
In international trade, we know the agreement of WTO, APEC, and NAFTA etc. But the free trade is not lifting the standard of living for farmers, employees, and citizen. The biggest industries from developed countries push developing countries in all sectors. It’s stupid agreement. We make it together but we kill the weak countries. There is no equal position when the trading goes on.
America is known as the country is difficult to make cooperation with other countries in Bush administration. America is just seeing the global problems from only their reviews. When we give other reviews from another perspective, America is refusing these reviews. We know America today is single super power. They want to keep international supremacy. But remember America is living in global world today, America needs making a new solution with other countries in the world. We need a global consensus to make a new solution for all of us. World’s consensus must be stepping ahead. The equal position must be creating. If we just look at single power as Manager to finish all problems everything going difficult. America has to give more politics space to other countries following as participants. We can see war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is looking at tired actually; America has spent too much budget for war’s cost. The bad impact for us happens in economy sector. Local economy sector in America is having very big problem in financial sector. Many people are difficult to buy a home and majority is American-Hispanic as example. Bush’s administration is divided for two focuses, first local economy growth goes on very slow and second they don’t know until when Iraq’s war will finish.
Some globalization experts say that America’s supremacy is reducing to give the global institutions working fully as its capabilities. West countries domination are not giving more space to global institutions to work. National interests become the main policy face and making difficult to be independent. To solve the world’s crisis Asia’s voices must be having full attention. Asia countries such as Japan, China, India, and South Korea are the new global partner. The screening of world of global economy is multipolar corporation. The countries are dependent each other. Did you know? Asia’s position on the global state is lifting lately especially in economy and business sector. But Asia voice is in politics world too weak, only China is having full attention by Europe and America of its voices. The balancing of power is having by America, Europe Union and China. But China is having a great potential to be the number one superpower status
together with America and China goes on to get this supremacy.

NYPD officers cleared in killing; rights leaders want probe

2008-07-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

Civil rights leaders demanded a federal investigation and vowed to march through the streets in protest after three police officers were cleared of all charges Friday in the killing of an unarmed man cut down in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day.
The verdict by Justice Arthur Cooperman elicited gasps as well as tears of joy and sorrow. Detective Michael Oliver, who fired 31 of the shots, wept at the defense table, while the mother of victim Sean Bell cried in the packed courtroom. Shouts of "Murderers! Murderers!" and "KKK!" rang out on the courthouse steps.
Bell, a 23-year-old black man, was killed outside a seedy strip club in Queens in 2006 as he was leaving his bachelor party with two friends. The officers — undercover detectives who were investigating reports of prostitution at the club — said they thought one of the men had a gun.
The slaying heightened tensions in the city and stoked long-standing allegations of racism and excessive use of force on the part of New York City's police, even though two of the officers charged are black.
In announcing his verdict in the non-jury trial, the judge said that the inconsistent testimony, courtroom demeanor and rap sheets of the prosecution witnesses — mainly Bell's friends — "had the effect of eviscerating" their credibility.
"At times, the testimony just didn't make sense," the judge said.
Police had assigned extra officers to the courthouse and had helicopters in the air to help deal with any unrest. But within an hour, the angry, weeping crowd of about 200 people outside the courthouse had scattered, and despite a few scuffles, no arrests were made.
Oliver and Gescard Isnora were acquitted of charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. The third officer, Marc Cooper, faced lesser charges.
The verdict does not entirely resolve issues surrounding the case.
After the verdict, the U.S. attorney's office said it will look into the case and "take appropriate action if the evidence indicates a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes."
In addition, relatives of the victims have sued the city, and those cases could either go to trial or be settled out of court with the potential for multimillion-dollar payouts.
Also, the officers, who had been on paid leave, still face possible departmental charges that could result in their firing. While the judge found that the officers' behavior was not criminal, he added, "Questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums."
The officers appeared somber later at a news conference. Each called the verdict fair. One apologized.
"I'd like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy," Cooper said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who represents Bell's family, demanded a federal investigation.
"This verdict is one round down, but the fight is far from over," the civil rights leader said on his radio show. He said he is organizing "economic withdrawal" and "civil disobedience" that could involve going to jail and marching on Wall Street, at the judge's house and at police headquarters.
"We are going to close the city down in a nonviolent, effective way," Sharpton said. "We're going to hit the pocketbooks. We're going to let you know that we are not going to be in any way diverted from exercising our civil rights."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: "We don't expect any violence, nor is there any place for it."
The officers had complained that pretrial publicity had unfairly painted them as cold-blooded killers. They opted to have the judge instead of a jury decide the case, a strategy that appeared to pay off.
District Attorney Richard Brown said that despite losing the case, prosecutors had "revealed significant deficiencies" in police tactics that need "prompt and serious attention."
The case brought back painful memories of other New York police shootings, such as the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant who was gunned down in a barrage of 41 bullets by police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. The acquittal of the officers in that case led to days of protests, with hundreds arrested.
"An ugly pattern is emerging in New York," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in Chicago after Friday's verdict. "This was a massacre. This was not a shootout. And the U.S. attorney general must give America the assurance that we all have equal protection under the law,"
The nearly two-month trial was marked by deeply divergent accounts of the night.
The defense painted the victims as drunken thugs who the officers believed were armed and dangerous. Prosecutors sought to convince the judge that the victims had been minding their own business, and that the officers were inept, trigger-happy cowboys.
Bell's companions — Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman — were both wounded; Guzman still has four bullets lodged in his body. Both testified. Guzman, a burly ex-convict, grew combative during cross-examination, and said of Isnora: "This dude is shooting like he's crazy, like he's out of his mind."
None of the officers took the stand. Instead, the judge heard transcripts of the officers telling a grand jury that they believed they had good reason to use deadly force.
The officers said that as the club closed around 4 a.m., they heard Guzman say, "Yo, go get my gun" — something Bell's friends denied.
Isnora claimed that after he warned the men to halt, Bell pulled away in his car, bumped him and rammed an unmarked police van that converged on the scene. The detective also said Guzman made a sudden move as if he were reaching for a gun.
Benefield and Guzman testified that there were no orders from the police.
With tires screeching, glass breaking and bullets flying, the officers said they believed they were the ones under fire. Oliver responded by emptying his semiautomatic pistol, reloading, and emptying it again. Isnora fired 11 rounds, and Cooper four. Two other officers who fired weren't charged.
When the smoke had cleared, there was no weapon inside Bell's blood-splattered car.

Obama's secret weapon: The media

2008-07-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

My, oh my, but weren’t those fellows from ABC News rude to Barack Obama at this week’s presidential debate.

Nothing but petty, process-oriented questions, asked in a prosecutorial tone, about the Democratic front-runner’s personal associations and his electability. Where was the substance? Where was the balance?
Where indeed. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her aides have been complaining for months about imbalance in news coverage. For the most part, the reaction to her from the political-media commentariat has been: Stop whining.

That’s still a good response now that it is Obama partisans — some of whom are showing up in distressingly inappropriate places — who are doing the whining.

The shower of indignation on Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos over the last few days is the clearest evidence yet that the Clintonites are fundamentally correct in their complaint that she has been flying throughout this campaign into a headwind of media favoritism for Obama.

Last fall, when NBC’s Tim Russert hazed Clinton with a bunch of similar questions — a mix of fair and impertinent — he got lots of gripes from Clinton supporters.

But there was nothing like the piling on from journalists rushing to validate the Obama criticisms and denouncing ABC’s performance as journalistically unsound.

The response was itself a warning about a huge challenge for reporters in the 2008 cycle: preserving professional detachment in a race that will likely feature two nominees, Obama and John McCain, who so far have been beneficiaries of media cheerleadinThis is not to say that ABC’s performance was flawless. There were some weird questions (“Do you think Rev. Wright loves America as much as you do?”). There were some questionable production decisions (the camera cutaways to Chelsea Clinton, the stacking of so many process questions in the first 45 minutes).
But there was nothing to justify Tom Shales’s hyperbolic review (“shoddy, despicable performances” by Gibson and Stephanopoulos) in The Washington Post or Greg Mitchell’s in Editor & Publisher (“perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years”). Others, like Time’s Michael Grunwald, likewise weighed in against ABC.

In fact, the balance of political questions (15) to policy questions (13) was more substantive than other debates this year that prompted no deluge of protests. The difference is that this time there were more hard questions for Obama than for Clinton.

Moreover, those questions about Jeremiah Wright, about Obama’s association with 1960s radical William Ayers, about apparent contradictions between his past and present views on proven wedge issues like gun control, were entirely in-bounds. If anything, they were overdue for a front-runner and likely nominee.

If Obama was covered like Clinton is, one feels certain the media focus would not have been on the questions, but on a candidate performance that at times seemed tinny, impatient and uncertain.

The difference seems clear: Many journalists are not merely observers but participants in the Obama phenomenon.

(Harris only here: As one who has assigned journalists to cover Obama at both Politico and The Washington Post, I have witnessed the phenomenon several times. Some reporters come back and need to go through detox, to cure their swooning over Obama’s political skill. Even VandeHei seemed to have been bitten by the bug after the Iowa caucus.)

(VandeHei only here: There is no doubt reporters are smitten with Obama's speeches and promises to change politics. I find his speeches, when he's on, pretty electric myself. It certainly helps his cause that reporters also seem very tired of the ClintoAll this is hardly the end of the world. Clinton is not behind principally because of media bias; Obama is not ahead principally because of media favoritism. McCain won the GOP nomination mainly through good luck and the infirmities of his opposition. But the fact that lots of reporters personally like the guy — and a few seem to have an open crush — did not hurt.

But the protectiveness toward Obama revealed in the embarrassing rush of many journalists to his side this week does touch on at least four deeper trends in the news business.

1. The breakdown of journalistic conventions about point of view. In an earlier era these standards — favoring austere, stoical language conveying voice-of-God authority — were designed in part to ensure that stories betrayed no hint of the writer’s real feelings.

But the convention was a pretense. There is a generally laudable move toward more conversational — and more candid — language in stories. This shift allows a respected pro like the Associated Press’s Ron Fournier to unsheathe a knife and write this sentence earlier this year about Mitt Romney: “The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents' record and continued to show why he's the most malleable — and least credible — major presidential candidate.”

This shift is also what allows NBC News to feel comfortable with its Obama reporter, Lee Cowan, who has acknowledged that he finds it hard to keep his objectivity covering Obama.

But when does a legitimate attempt to capture the energy and mood of a political movement become boosterism? Did Cowan cross the line in this dispatch for the “Nightly News” on Feb. 5?: “Since the early days of his campaign, the candidate has morphed from the intellectual to the inspirational. … And it's that theme that's brought crowds in the door and to their feet.”

It is a thin and often illegible line between this kind of journalism and outright favoritism.

Wherever the line, it is clear that the profession collectively has stepped over it — based as much on what it hasn’t covered as what it has.

Two of the questions ABC asked Wednesday were related to subjects that have largely been met with media yawns.

One was Obama’s casual association with 1960s era radicals and would-be bomb-setters William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn: What is the nature of his relationship?

Another was about a questionnaire from a 1996 legislative race in which he endorsed a ban on handguns. Obama said the questionnaire was filled out by someone else and was in error about his views at the time. But it was later found that his handwriting was on the document: What gives?

One can dispute the relevance of these stories — though it seems certain they will be of interest to many moderate voters Obama would need in the fall — but it is indisputable that if Clinton was facing similar questions they would be the subject of constant and all-consuming coverage. There is an obvious double standard.

2. The rise of the liberal echo chamber. It used to be that if a reporter received a letter that started, “You biased S.O.B.,” it was almost certainly coming from someone on the right. In 1998 — the year of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Bill Clinton’s impeachment — those notes began coming in equal measure from the left. During the Bush era — when the media stumbled in coverage of the march to wBut it has only been in this campaign cycle that we have seen the liberal echo chamber — from websites like The Huffington Post and cable commentators like Keith Olbermann — be able consistently to drive a campaign story line. In the past, it was only the conservative echo chamber — Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh — who regularly drove stories in new media and old media alike. This is a huge shift.

3. The blurring of lines between journalist and advocate. The Huffington Post is an admirable enterprise, staking a flag in a new media landscape. Its success this year was made possible by the openness of the Web and the decline in what was once the near-monopoly power of old media institutions like The New York Times to set the agenda on national politics. (Politico is itself an experiment in that new media landscape — one reason we admire Huffington.)

But it covers politics with a mix of traditional reporters and analysts, like Tom Edsall, and with people who define themselves principally as advocates. Many of these advocates, like The Huffington Post as a whole, are proudly cheering for Obama. (This is true even though the site, almost apologetically, broke the story about Obama’s recent remarks saying small-town Pennsylvanians turn to guns and God because they are bitter.)

Obama benefits also from probably the strongest bias of traditional, old media reporters: Against partisan combat and for a brand of politics that would transcend differences in favor of cooperation and centrism on elite issues like entitlement reform. Many of these reporters see Clinton representing bad, angry, contrived old politics and Obama bravely leading the way for good, civil, authentic new politics.

4. Covering politics as it is versus as it should be. Many of the people complaining about ABC’s coverage, even some Clinton supporters, disliked the questions and the tone because they felt they were serving as a warm-up act for Republican attacks in the fall.

It is not an easy balance. It is not reporters’ job to promote the opposition’s story lines — especially dubious ones like the suggestion that because Obama does not favor flag pins on his lapel it reflects adversely on his patriotism. But nor can serious reporters avert their gaze from the fact that questions about how well candidates connect personally and culturally with voters matter a lot — they were decisive factors in both the 2000 and 2004 elections.

Gibson and Stephanopoulos handled this balancing act responsibly. They asked tough questions of both candidates. In the wake of the debate, it is time for Obama’s cheerleaders in the media to ask some questions of themselves.

HBS Cases: Negotiating with Wal-Mart

2008-07-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

What happens when you encounter a company with a great deal of power, like Wal-Mart, that is also the ultimate non-negotiable partner? A series of Harvard Business School cases by James Sebenius and Ellen Knebel explore successful deal-making strategies. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include:
• Driving a mutually agreeable deal with a large company such as Wal-Mart means price alone can't be the centerpiece of the interaction.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, sold $315 billion worth of goods in 2006. With its single-minded focus on "EDLP" (everyday low prices) and the power to make or break suppliers, a partnership with Wal-Mart is either the Holy Grail or the kiss of death, depending on one's perspective.
There are numerous media accounts of the corporate monolith riding its suppliers into the ground. But what about those who manage to survive, and thrive, while dealing with the classic hardball negotiator?
In "Sarah Talley and Frey Farms Produce: Negotiating with Wal-Mart" and "Tom Muccio: Negotiating the P&G Relationship with Wal-Mart," HBS professor Jim Sebenius and Research Associate Ellen Knebel show two very different organizations doing just that. The cases are part of a series that involve hard bargaining situations.
"Wal-Mart could clearly live without Frey Farms, but it's pretty hard to live without Tide and Pampers."
"The concept of win-win bargaining is a good and powerful message," Sebenius says, "but a lot of our students and executives face counterparts who aren't interested in playing by those rules. So what happens when you encounter someone with a great deal of power, like Wal-Mart, who is also the ultimate non-negotiable partner?"
The case details how P&G executive Tom Muccio pioneers a new supplier-retailer partnership between P&G and Wal-Mart. Built on proximity (Muccio relocated to Wal-Mart's turf in Arkansas) and growing trust (both sides eventually eliminated elaborate legal contracts in favor of Letters of Intent), the new relationship focused on establishing a joint vision and problem-solving process, information sharing, and generally moving away from the "lowest common denominator" pricing issues that had defined their interactions previously. From 1987, when Muccio initiated the changes, to 2003, shortly before his retirement, P&G's sales to Wal-Mart grew from $350 million to $7.8 billion.
"There are obvious differences between P&G and a much smaller entity like Frey Farms," Sebenius notes. "Wal-Mart could clearly live without Frey Farms, but it's pretty hard to live without Tide and Pampers."
Sarah meets Goliath
Sarah Talley was 19 in 1997, when she first began negotiations to supply Wal-Mart with her family farm's pumpkins and watermelons. Like Muccio, Talley confronted some of the same hardball price challenges, and like Muccio, she acquired a deep understanding of the Wal-Mart culture while finding "new money" in the supply chain through innovative tactics.
For example, Frey Farms used school buses ($1,500 each) instead of tractors ($12,000 each) as a cheaper and faster way to transport melons to the warehouse.
Talley also negotiated a coveted co-management supplier agreement with Wal-Mart, showing how Frey Farms could share the responsibility of managing inventory levels and sales and ultimately save customers money while improving their own margins.
"Two sides in this sort of negotiation will always differ on price," Sebenius observes. "However, if that conflict is the centerpiece of their interaction, then it's a bad situation. If they're trying to develop the customer, the relationship, and sales, the price piece will be one of many points, most of which they're aligned on."
Research Associate Knebel points out that while Tom Muccio's approach to Wal-Mart was pioneering for its time, many other companies have since followed P&G's lead and enjoyed their own versions of success with the mega-retailer. Getting a ground-level view of how two companies achieved those positive outcomes illustrates the story-within-a-story of implementing corporate change.
"Achieving that is where macro concepts, micro imperatives, and managerial skill really come together," says Sebenius. And the payoffs—as Muccio and Talley discover—are well worth the effort.
Sarah Talley's Key Negotiation Principles
• When you have a problem, when there's something you engage in with Wal-Mart that requires agreement so that it becomes a negotiation, the first advice is to think in partnership terms, really focus on a common goal, of getting costs out, for example, and ask questions. Don't make demands or statements ... you know, can we do this better and so forth. If the relationship with Wal-Mart is truly a partnership, negotiating to resolve differences should not endanger the tenor of the partnership.
• Don't spend time griping. Be problem solvers instead. Approach Wal-Mart by saying, "Let's work together and drive costs down and produce it so much cheaper you don't have to replace me, because if you work with me I could do it better."
• Learn from and lobby with people and their partners who have credibility, and with people having problems in the field.
• Don't ignore small issues or let things fester.
• Do not let Wal-Mart become more than 20 percent of your company's business. It's hard to negotiate with a company that controls yours.
• Never go into a meeting without a clear agenda. Make good use of the buyers' face time. Leave with answers. Don't make small talk. Get to the point; their time is valuable. Bring underlying issues to the surface. Attack them head on and find resolution face to face.
• Trying to bluff Wal-Mart is never a good idea. There is always someone willing to do it cheaper to gain the business. You have to treat the relationship as a marriage. Communication and compromise is key.
• Don't take for granted that just because the buyer is young they don't know what they are talking about or that it will be an easy sell. Most young buyers are very ambitious to move up within the company and can be some of the toughest, most educated buyers you will encounter. Know your product all the way from the production standpoint to the end use. Chances are your buyer does, and will expect you to be even more knowledgeable.

New Guidelines Proposed for Hedge Funds

2008-07-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

-- In the place of new government regulations, the Bush administration is coming forward with some industry-developed "best practices" to guide the operation of hedge funds.
Those guidelines were scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the leaders of the two groups working on guidelines for the funds.
One set of recommendations provides guidelines on how investors of hedge funds should operate. It was drawn up by an investors' group headed by Russell Read, the chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest pension fund in the United States.
The other set of recommendations designed to serve as guidelines for the managers of the hedge funds was draw up by an advisory panel headed by Eric Mindich, the head of Eton Park Capital Management, a large hedge fund.
The Bush administration has resisted pressure to increase government regulation of hedge funds, arguing that market discipline is the best way to handle these funds. The White House still supports that view even after the turbulence that has hit financial markets roiled by a serious credit crisis.
Those troubles claimed their biggest victim last month with the near-collapse of Bear Stearns, the country's fifth largest investment bank, which was taken over by JP Morgan Chase & Co. in a deal in which the Federal Reserve provided a $30 billion loan.
Hedge funds, vast pools of capital that operate secretively and with very little government supervision, have grown explosively in recent years.
While hedge funds cater to institutional investors and very wealthy individuals, millions of ordinary people have become investors in them through their pension plans.
Hedge funds have been caught up in the recent turmoil in financial markets, with investors growing worried about the solvency of funds that had invested heavily in securities backed by subprime mortgages, where delinquencies have hit record levels

Areas and categories and implementations of management

2008-07-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

• Accounting management
• Agile management
• Association management
• Capability Management
• Change management
• Communication management
• Constraint management
• Cost management
• Crisis management
• Critical management studies
• Customer relationship management
• Decision making styles
• Design management
• Disaster management
• Earned value management
• Educational management
• Enterprise management
• Environmental management
• Facility management
• Financial management
• Forecasting
• Human resources management
• Hospital management
• Information technology management
• Innovation management
• Interim management
• Inventory management
• Knowledge management
• Land management
• Leadership management
• Logistics management
• Lifecycle management
• Management on demand
• Marketing management
• Materials management
• Operations management
• Organization development
• Perception management
• Practice management
• Program management
• Project management
• Process management
• Performance management
• Product management
• Public administration
• Public management
• Quality management
• Records management
• Research management
• Resource management
• Risk management
• Skills management
• Social entrepreneurship
• Spend management
• Spiritual management
• Strategic management
• Stress management
• Supply chain management
• Systems management
• Talent management
• Time management
• Visual management

Management topics

2008-07-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Basic functions of management
Management operates through various functions, often classified as planning, organizing, leading/motivating and controlling.
• Planning: deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next 5 years, etc.) and generating plans for action.
• Organizing: making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans.
• Leading/Motivating: exhibiting skills in these areas for getting others to play an effective part in achieving plans.
• Controlling: monitoring -- checking progress against plans, which may need modification based on feedback.
[edit] Formation of the business policy
• The mission of the business is its most obvious purpose -- which may be, for example, to make soap.
• The vision of the business reflects its aspirations and specifies its intended direction or future destination.
• The objectives of the business refers to the ends or activity at which a certain task is aimed.
• The business's policy is a guide that stipulates rules, regulations and objectives, and may be used in the managers' decision-making. It must be flexible and easily interpreted and understood by all employees.
• The business's strategy refers to the coordinated plan of action that it is going to take, as well as the resources that it will use, to realize its vision and long-term objectives. It is a guideline to managers, stipulating how they ought to allocate and utilize the factors of production to the business's advantage. Initially, it could help the managers decide on what type of business they want to form.
[edit] How to implement policies and strategies
• All policies and strategies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff.
• Managers must understand where and how they can implement their policies and strategies.
• A plan of action must be devised for each department.
• Policies and strategies must be reviewed regularly.
• Contingency plans must be devised in case the environment changes.
• Assessments of progress ought to be carried out regularly by top-level managers.
• A good environment is required within the business.
[edit] The development of policies and strategies
• The missions, objectives, strengths and weaknesses of each department must be analysed to determine their roles in achieving the business's mission.
• The forecasting method develops a reliable picture of the business's future environment.
• A planning unit must be created to ensure that all plans are consistent and that policies and strategies are aimed at achieving the same mission and objectives.
• Contingency plans must be developed, just in case.
All policies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff that is required in the execution of any departmental policy.
[edit] Where policies and strategies fit into the planning process
• They give mid- and lower-level managers a good idea of the future plans for each department.
• A framework is created whereby plans and decisions are made.
• Mid- and lower-level management may add their own plans to the business's strategic ones.
[edit] Managerial levels and hierarchy
The management of a large organization may have three levels:
1. Senior management (or "top management" or "upper management")
2. Middle management
3. Low-level management, such as supervisors or team-leaders
4. Foreman
5. Rank and File
Top-level management
• require an extensive knowledge of management roles and skills.
• They have to be very aware of external factors such as markets.
• Their decisions are generally of a long-term nature
• Their decision are made using analytic, directive, conceptual and/or behavioral/participative processes
• They are responsible for strategic decisions.
• They have to chalk out the plan and see that plan may be effective in the future.
• They are executive in nature.
Middle management
• Mid-level managers have a specialized understanding of certain managerial tasks.
• They are responsible for carrying out the decisions made by top-level management.
Lower management
• This level of management ensures that the decisions and plans taken by the other two are carried out.
• Lower-level managers' decisions are generally short-term ones
Foreman
• They are men who have direct supervision over the working force in office factory, sales field or other areas of activity of the concern.
Rank and File
• The responsibilities of the persons belonging to this group are even more restricted and more specific than those of the foreman.

Management

2008-07-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Management in simple terms means the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, resourcing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.
Management can also refer to the person or people who perform the act(s) of management.

Overview
The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle — especially a horse), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). The French word mesnagement (later ménagement) influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries.[1]
[edit] Theoretical scope
Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), who wrote on the topic in the early twentieth century, defined management as "the art of getting things done through people".[2] One can also think of management functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan; or as the actions taken to reach one's intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, Frenchman Henri Fayol[3] considers management to consist of five functions:
1. planning
2. organizing
3. leading
4. co-ordinating
5. controlling
Some people, however, find this definition, while useful, far too narrow. The phrase "management is what managers do" occurs widely, suggesting the difficulty of defining management, the shifting nature of definitions, and the connection of managerial practices with the existence of a managerial cadre or class.
One habit of thought regards management as equivalent to "business administration" and thus excludes management in places outside commerce, as for example in charities and in the public sector. More realistically, however, every organization must manage its work, people, processes, technology, etc. in order to maximize its effectiveness. Nonetheless, many people refer to university departments which teach management as "business schools." Some institutions (such as the Harvard Business School) use that name while others (such as the Yale School of Management) employ the more inclusive term "management."
Speakers of English may also use the term "management" or "the management" as a collective word describing the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation. Historically this use of the term was often contrasted with the term "Labor" referring to those being managed.
[edit] Nature of managerial work

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
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In for-profit work, management has as its primary function the satisfaction of a range of stakeholders. This typically involves making a profit (for the shareholders), creating valued products at a reasonable cost (for customers), and providing rewarding employment opportunities (for employees). In nonprofit management, add the importance of keeping the faith of donors. In most models of management/governance, shareholders vote for the board of directors, and the board then hires senior management. Some organizations have experimented with other methods (such as employee-voting models) of selecting or reviewing managers; but this occurs only very rarely.
In the public sector of countries constituted as representative democracies, voters elect politicians to public office. Such politicians hire many managers and administrators, and in some countries like the United States political appointees lose their jobs on the election of a new president/governor/mayor. Some 2500 people serve at the pleasure of the United States Chief Executive, including all of the top US government executives.
Public, private, and voluntary sectors place different demands on managers, but all must retain the faith of those who select them (if they wish to retain their jobs), retain the faith of those people that fund the organization, and retain the faith of those who work for the organization. If they fail to convince employees of the advantages of staying rather than leaving, they may tip the organization into a downward spiral of hiring, training, firing, and recruiting. Management also has the task of innovating and of improving the functioning of organizations.
[edit] Historical development
Difficulties arise in tracing the history of management. Some see it (by definition) as a late modern (in the sense of late modernity) conceptualization. On those terms it cannot have a pre-modern history, only harbingers (such as stewards). Others, however, detect management-like activities in the pre-modern past. Some writers[who?] trace the development of management-thought back to Sumerian traders and to the builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Slave-owners through the centuries faced the problems of exploiting/motivating a dependent but sometimes unenthusiastic or recalcitrant workforce, but many pre-industrial enterprises, given their small scale, did not feel compelled to face the issues of management systematically. However, innovations such as the spread of Arabic numerals (5th to 15th centuries) and the codification of double-entry book-keeping (1494) provided tools for management assessment, planning and control.
Given the scale of most commercial operations and the lack of mechanized record-keeping and recording before the industrial revolution, it made sense for most owners of enterprises in those times to carry out management functions by and for themselves. But with growing size and complexity of organizations, the split between owners (individuals, industrial dynasties or groups of shareholders) and day-to-day managers (independent specialists in planning and control) gradually became more common.
[edit] Early writing
While management has been present for millennia, several writers have created a background of works that assisted in modern management theories.[4]
[edit] Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Written by Chinese general Sun Tzu in the 6th century BCE, The Art of War is a military strategy book that, for managerial purposes, recommends being aware of and acting on strengths and weaknesses of both a manager's organization and a foe's.[4]
[edit] Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince
Believing that people were motivated by self-interest, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 as advice for the leadership of Florence, Italy.[5] Machiavelli recommended that leaders use fear—but not hatred—to maintain control.
[edit] Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations
Written in 1776 by Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher, The Wealth of Nations aims for efficient organization of work through division of labor.[5] Smith described how changes in processes could boost productivity in the manufacture of pins. While individuals could produce 200 pins per day, Smith analyzed the steps involved in manufacture and, with 10 specialists, enabled production of 48,000 pins per day.[5]
[edit] 19th century
Some argue[citation needed] that modern management as a discipline began as an off-shoot of economics in the 19th century. Classical economists such as Adam Smith (1723 - 1790) and John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) provided a theoretical background to resource-allocation, production, and pricing issues. About the same time, innovators like Eli Whitney (1765 - 1825), James Watt (1736 - 1819), and Matthew Boulton (1728 - 1809) developed elements of technical production such as standardization, quality-control procedures, cost-accounting, interchangeability of parts, and work-planning. Many of these aspects of management existed in the pre-1861 slave-based sector of the US economy. That environment saw 4 million people, as the contemporary usages had it, "managed" in profitable quasi-mass production.
By the late 19th century, marginal economists Alfred Marshall (1842 - 1924) and Léon Walras (1834 - 1910) and others introduced a new layer of complexity to the theoretical underpinnings of management. Joseph Wharton offered the first tertiary-level course in management in 1881.
[edit] 20th century
By about 1900 one finds managers trying to place their theories on what they regarded as a thoroughly scientific basis (see scientism for perceived limitations of this belief). Examples include Henry R. Towne's Science of management in the 1890s, Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific management (1911), Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's Applied motion study (1917), and Henry L. Gantt's charts (1910s). J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. In 1912 Yoichi Ueno introduced Taylorism to Japan and became first management consultant of the "Japanese-management style". His son Ichiro Ueno pioneered Japanese quality-assurance.
The first comprehensive theories of management appeared around 1920. The Harvard Business School invented the Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) in 1921. People like Henri Fayol (1841 - 1925) and Alexander Church described the various branches of management and their inter-relationships. In the early 20th century, people like Ordway Tead (1891 - 1973), Walter Scott and J. Mooney applied the principles of psychology to management, while other writers, such as Elton Mayo (1880 - 1949), Mary Parker Follett (1868 - 1933), Chester Barnard (1886 - 1961), Max Weber (1864 - 1920), Rensis Likert (1903 - 1981), and Chris Argyris (1923 - ) approached the phenomenon of management from a sociological perspective.
Peter Drucker (1909 – 2005) wrote one of the earliest books on applied management: Concept of the Corporation (published in 1946). It resulted from Alfred Sloan (chairman of General Motors until 1956) commissioning a study of the organisation. Drucker went on to write 39 books, many in the same vein.
H. Dodge, Ronald Fisher (1890 - 1962), and Thornton C. Fry introduced statistical techniques into management-studies. In the 1940s, Patrick Blackett combined these statistical theories with microeconomic theory and gave birth to the science of operations research. Operations research, sometimes known as "management science" (but distinct from Taylor's scientific management), attempts to take a scientific approach to solving management problems, particularly in the areas of logistics and operations.
Some of the more recent developments include the Theory of Constraints, management by objectives, reengineering, Six Sigma and various information-technology-driven theories such as agile software development, as well as group management theories such as Cog's Ladder.
As the general recognition of managers as a class solidified during the 20th century and gave perceived practitioners of the art/science of management a certain amount of prestige, so the way opened for popularised systems of management ideas to peddle their wares. In this context many management fads may have had more to do with pop psychology than with scientific theories of management.
Towards the end of the 20th century, business management came to consist of six separate branches, namely:
• Human resource management
• Operations management or production management
• Strategic management
• Marketing management
• Financial management
• Information technology management responsible for management information systems
[edit] 21st century
In the 21st century observers find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead, one tends to think in terms of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.
Branches of management theory also exist relating to nonprofits and to government: such as public administration, public management, and educational management. Further, management programs related to civil-society organizations have also spawned programs in nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship.
Note that many of the assumptions made by management have come under attack from business ethics viewpoints, critical management studies, and anti-corporate activism.
As one consequence, workplace democracy has become both more common, and more advocated, in some places distributing all management functions among the workers, each of whom takes on a portion of the work. However, these models predate any current political issue, and may occur more naturally than does a command hierarchy. All management to some degree embraces democratic principles in that in the long term workers must give majority support to management; otherwise they leave to find other work, or go on strike. Hence management has started to become less based on the conceptualisation of classical military command-and-control, and more about facilitation and support of collaborative activity, utilizing principles such as those of human interaction management to deal with the complexities of human interaction. Indeed, the concept of Ubiquitous command-and-control posits such a transformation for 21st century military management.

List of relational database management systems

2008-07-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Open-source software
• CSQL
• Derby aka Java DB
• Firebird
• Gladius DB
• H2
• HSQLDB
• Ingres
• LucidDB [1]
• Mckoi SQL Database
• MonetDB
• MySQL
• Ocelot SQL [2]
• OpenLink Virtuoso (Open Source Edition)
• PostgreSQL
• Quadcap QED
• Rebol sql-protocol
• SmallSQL
• SQLite
• txtSQL

Freeware (proprietary)
• Adabas D
• Advantage Local Server
• IBM DB2 Express-C
• FrontBase
• MaxDB
• Microsoft SQL Server Express
• Oracle Database 10g Express Edition
• Sav Zigzag
• ScimoreDB
• Sybase ASE Express Edition
• tdbengine

Proprietary software
• 4th Dimension
• Microsoft Access
• Advantage Database Server
• Alpha_Five
• CA-Datacom
• Dataphor
• Daffodil database
• DB2
• EnterpriseDB
• eXtremeDB
• Faircom c-tree
• FileMaker Pro
• Greenplum
• Helix database
• Informix
• InterBase
• Jbase
• Kognitio, WX2
• Linter
• Matisse
• Microsoft Jet Database Engine (part of Microsoft Access)
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Microsoft Visual FoxPro
• Mimer SQL
• mSQL
• Multivalue
• MySQL
• Netezza
• NonStop SQL
• Oddity Databases
• Openbase
• Oracle
• Oracle Rdb for OpenVMS
• OpenLink Virtuoso Universal Server
• Pervasive
• Pick Post-Relational
• Progress 4GL
• Pyrrho DBMS
• Sand Analytic Server (formerly known as Nucleus)
• SIR (including SIR/XS, SIR2002, SIR2000 ...)
• solidDB
• GUPTA SQLBase
• Sybase SQL Anywhere (formerly known as Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere and Watcom SQL)
• Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise
• Sybase Adaptive Server IQ
• Teradata
• ThinkSQL
• TimesTen
• Unify
• Valentina (Database)
• Vertica
• VistaDB
• VMDS
• Whitecross Systems
• WinBase602

Introduction : China-North Korea

2008-06-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

China is North Korea’s most important ally, biggest trading partner, and main source of food, arms, and fuel. In the hope of avoiding regime collapse and the associated influx of refugees across its 800-mile border with North Korea, China has propped up Kim Jong-Il and opposed harsh international economic sanctions against Pyongyang. Reports suggest that when the Kim regime conducted a nuclear test on October 9, it provided a warning to Beijing shortly before the test. But China registered its anger with Kim by agreeing to UN sanctions against North Korea, and experts believe it may be reconsidering the nature of the alliance.
How has Pyongyang’s nuclear test affected Sino-North Korean relations?
After the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested a nuclear weapon, China agreed to UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which imposed sanctions on Pyongyang. By signing off on this resolution—as well as earlier UN sanctions that followed the DPRK’s July missile tests—Beijing departed from its traditional relationship with North Korea, changing from a tone of diplomacy to one of punishment. Jonathan D. Pollack, an East Asia expert at the Naval War College, describes the DPRK’s tests as “jarring” to China’s “major diplomatic initiative” of bringing North Korea to the Six-Party Talks. He says Kim Jong-Il was effectively telling Beijing, “’You can not tell us what to do and we can not be taken for granted.’” The tests have “severely strained relations,” says Jing-dong Yuan of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. He describes the tests as “a slap in the face of China.”
Will China severely punish North Korea for the October test?
How far the Chinese go in punishing North Korea remains to be seen. They have conducted some truck inspections along the border and Chinese banks have stopped money transfers to North Korea. But Beijing only agreed to UN Resolution 1718 after revisions that removed requirements for tough economic sanctions beyond those targeting luxury goods, and experts say China is unlikely to cut trade relations with the Kim regime. Despite rumors that China may cut off oil supplies to North Korea, Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development, says China will only take this action—as it has in the past—if Pyongyang fails to make a payment. Then, it can pass off such a measure to the United Nations as punishment. The Chinese are “doing just what they have to do and no more” in terms of punishing North Korea, says Selig S. Harrison, Asia program director at the Center for International Policy, who says the two countries will not jeopardize their mutually beneficial economic relationship.
How does North Korea benefit from its relationship with China?
Pyongyang is economically dependent on China, which provides most of its food and energy supplies. North Korea gets about 70 percent of its food and 70 to 80 percent of its fuel from China. Beijing is Pyongyang's largest trading partner, and an estimated 300,000 North Koreans live in China, many of them migrant workers who send much-needed remittances back home.
China also serves as a buffer between North Korea and the United States-Japan alliance, and has staved off UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea, including some threatening sanctions. China has hosted the Six-Party Talks, a series of meetings begun in 2003 in which North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States have tried to resolve the security concerns associated with North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
How does China benefit?
China's support for Pyongyang ensures a stable nation on its northeastern border and provides a buffer zone between China and democratic South Korea. North Korea's allegiance is also important for China as a force which compels the U.S. military, and the growing might of Japan, to divert resources to the Korean peninsula which otherwise might be employed to contain China itself. And China gains economically from its association with North Korea; growing numbers of Chinese firms are investing in North Korea and gaining concessions like preferable trading terms and port operations. Chinese trade and investment in North Korea now totals $2 billion per year.
Harrison says the nuclear test will not bring an end to the Sino-DPRK relationship. “They’re not hitting each other over the head; they’re two countries with an important mutual dependence.” However, he also says their alliance is held back by underlying suspicions stemming from China’s prior hegemony over the Korean peninsula.
What dilemmas exist for Sino-DPRK relations?
Mutual distrust. North Korea jeopardized relations with China, its most important ally after the fall of the Soviet Union, through the nuclear testing, yet distrust between the two countries predates the nuclear blast. Hayes says it goes back in part to 1992, when China became a “bad patron” by opening up relations with South Korea without requiring Washington to do the same for the North. The test was also a way for North Korea to tell Beijing that it is not China’s tributary state, as it was until the Korean peninsula fell under Japanese control in the early twentieth century. “Kim has to demonstrate that [North Korea] is not a pawn in the hands of Chinese leaders,” says Yuan.
North Korean refugees. China worries that DPRK regime disintegration would lead to a flood of refugees across their border, and that a South Korea burdened by the same problem would not be the same strong economic partner for Beijing. The current flow of refugees into China is already a problem: China has promised Pyongyang that it will repatriate North Koreans escaping across the border, but invites condemnation from human rights groups when sending them back to the DPRK. Yuan says Beijing began its construction of a barbed wire fence along this border for that reason.
Japanese militarism. Pyongyang’s reckless behavior has sparked increasing debate in Japan over whether it should go nuclear in the face of the North Korean threat. China has witnessed with growing wariness Japan’s remilitarization in recent years and fears the DPRK test could set off an arms race in the region. The test also drives a wedge between China and South Korea, which share a softer approach to North Korea, and the United States, which supports Japan’s growing militarism.
U.S. relations. The DPRK test complicated Beijing’s relations with Washington by calling into question China’s diplomatic approach to North Korea. Pollack says Kim conducted the nuclear test to say, “Ok, now I am on a more equal level to the United States, whether they like it or not,” and the result is a “palpable sense that [Chinese] strategy has failed.” But if China ’s policy has disappointed, so has the United States ’ more severe stance and unwillingness to engage in bilateral talks with North Korea. “It’s a shared failure,” says Pollack.
What is the role of the United States in Sino-North Korean relations?
Experts say North Korea angered Beijing by complicating its relationship with the United States. “What they’ve done has put China in a very awkward position,” says Harrison, adding that North Korea is unhappy with the way Washington uses Beijing to pressure North Korea. Yuan says Washington is pleased with China’s willingness to condemn North Korea and endorse sanctions, even if the degree to which Beijing will enforce those sanctions—and how much their enforcement is a show for the United States and the UN—remains unclear.
Rumors exist of Chinese grumblings of anger against the way Washington handles North Korea. “This has hugely damaged our reputation in the region. It has more than anything else angered the Chinese who feel the tests raise the possibility of Japan growing increasingly militaristic,” says Hayes, who predicts that in Asia, “Life will go on without the United States.”
What does the future hold for Sino-North Korean relations?
Beijing is rumored to have secured a promise that the DPRK would not conduct a second nuclear test during an October diplomatic trip to Pyongyang. Fears of further testing still loom, and if North Korea conducts another one Sino-DPRK relations could get “dicey,” says Pollack. But China will avoid moves—economic sanctions or aggressive actions—that would cause a sudden collapse of the regime. It no longer has the kind of deep knowledge of North Korean military personnel that it had twenty-five years ago when Beijing could have staged a coup. “It isn’t as though China really has the option of overthrowing Kim Jong-Il,” says Harrison.
Beijing may find ways to cause North Korea discomfort, but Hayes describes China as “patient” and foresees Beijing undertaking long-term training of North Koreans in China to help stabilize the country. “The Chinese are thinking one hundred years ahead,” he says. “China will conduct inside-out transformation of North Korea over the next twenty years.”

first listen & view... [Sinatra: Vegas]

2008-06-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

The new Sinatra: Vegas box set is the most essential Frank Sinatra release to emerge since the outstanding Sinatra in Hollywood collection of rare and unreleased soundtrack material that came out over four years ago... almost. More on that caveat later.

After enduring scores of unnecessary and pointless posthumous Frank Sinatra "best of" compilations, reissues, repackagings and "limited editions," Sinatra: Vegas finally gives both the casual fan and the die-hard collector something we actually want: four CDs and even a DVD of previously unreleased (officially, anyway) live material spanning the years 1961 to 1987, all recorded in -- you guessed it -- Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marketing concerns were surely behind this concept as much as artistic ones -- an equally compelling collection of unreleased live Sinatra recordings from international venues could easily be assembled also -- but Sinatra: Vegas sounds way cooler than Sinatra: Argentina.

For starters, the thing looks and feels great, packaged in a sturdy black longbox with shiny silver lettering. The discs are housed in classy yet functional digipacks, and the booklet is chock full o' photos and remembrances, if a little skimpy on details (yes, some of us want to know the exact dates of the recordings, not just the month and year.) You even get a couple reproductions of vintage promotional posters to hang in your locker... or something.

The first CD is comprised of material recorded at the dearly departed Sands Hotel and Casino in November 1961. Performances from this same engagement appeared on the Saloon Singer bootleg years ago, but in vastly inferior sound quality. The fidelity here is pristine, capturing Sinatra in the loose, swinging, confident prime of his early Reprise years, with plenty of Rat Pack-y goofing around as well. While there aren't a lot of surprises among the tune selections, the lovely ballad rendition of "Just One of Those Things" is a welcome rarity.

Disc Two is something that Sinatra-holics have been dying to hear for a long, long time: some of those 1966 recordings with the Count Basie Orchestra that WERE NOT used on the classic Reprise live album -- essentially giving us a new "all alternate takes" version of Sinatra at the Sands!

The goosebumps begin from the get-go with a brief warmup and vamp by the Basie band accompanied by the (undubbed) off-mic announcer, and then Frank appears, proclaiming: "The cowboy is here!" Overall, these performances are looser and more dangerous than the familiar at the Sands versions and a fascinating counterpart to the more polished master takes.

CD Three fast-forwards us to Caesar's Palace in 1982, capturing Old Blue Eyes in fine voice during his underappreciated post-"retirement" early-80s phase, accompanied by Vinnie Falcone and a stellar band. Jazz combo versions of "Night and Day" and "I Can't Get Started" are especially enjoyable, making you wish he'd explored this format more often.

As an added bonus, Dean Martin stops by for some foolishness, and daughter Nancy even takes the stage to join Frank for a duet performance of "Somethin' Stupid" -- and he murders the tune so completely it becomes almost listenable for a change.

The fourth CD presents The Man at The Golden Nugget in 1987 during the twilight of his performing career -- rough around the edges but still a mighty force to be reckoned with. This set is of similar vintage to the Capitol Sinatra Live From Las Vegas CD released last year, but features superior sound quality and a better set list. He has a lot of fun with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "Mack the Knife," plumbs the depths of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" and digs into the brilliant ballad medley of "The Gal That Got Away / It Never Entered My Mind."

As far as I'm concerned, the DVD should be the Holy Grail of Sinatra: Vegas. It claims to be the fabled "complete unreleased" May 5, 1978 Caesar's Palace concert performed in front of an audience of liquor salesmen, celebrities, and a Catholic priest, as recorded by CBS but never broadcast in its entirety. Sinatra predicts that "this will be shown in 1982" during his introductory remarks... and he was only off by about 25 years.

Bootleg audio and video copies of this performance have been circulating among collectors for years, and it's notorious not only because of the high quality and wide variety of music performed but also for the jaw-droppingly outrageous, hilarious, and sometimes downright cringe-inducing monologues -- even by Frank's standards.

The video and sound quality are remarkable, especially considering the date and the source, and of course it's a revelation compared to the bootleg copies. The set list is a fascinating combination of tried and true Sinatra standards ("All of Me", "The Lady is a Tramp"), interesting new arrangements ("Baubles, Bangles, and Beads"), attempts to stay hip in the 1970s ("Didn't We", "Something"), the rather surreal (an audience singalong of "America the Beautiful"), and, perhaps best of all, a riveting piano/vocal performance of "Send in the Clowns."

Then there's the monologue leading up to that Sondheim weeper-turned-saloon song, as Sinatra holds court, describing how the song is a request from an unnamed man in the audience "holding up one of them torches." Suddenly, though, I sensed that something was missing here -- so I pulled out my old bootleg CD copy of this performance and sure enough -- the monologue has been edited! Sinatra's raunchy riff on Elizabeth Taylor ("Mrs. Warner") is now missing...
"Madronn' did she get fat! I mean she was so beautiful -- she was so beautiful. Somebody blew her up with a tire pump or somethin'. She's a great dame. She's marvelous. I once offered her $10,000 just to let me look at it. I wouldn't touch it, just let me look at it, that's all. She doesn't know -- excuse me, Father -- she doesn't know what I was talking about, and neither does he. Cause he ain't never seen it either. You better not have seen it! Otherwise I won't show up at Mass!"
The audience howls with laughter, as you can probably imagine, but it's MIA on this "complete" official edition DVD. [Note how a cocktail magically appears in Frank's hand after the edit at 00:49:27. Not even Mr. S can make a drink materialize that fast!]

Why is it okay for Sinatra to take potshots at Claudine Longet ("one of the great marksmen of all times"), but not Liz Taylor? And then, during the "introductions" monologue later on, there's yet another edit. While acknowledging the presence of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in the audience, this ill-advised off the cuff remark has been removed...
"Even if he is colored, he's a Hell of a man. He knows that, we tease him all the time. I'm glad to see ya, Thomas. He's my fella."
Too politically incorrect, perhaps? Well, that's Sinatra: Vegas, folks. Deal with it. Of course, when he calls Paul Anka "that little Arab," it doesn't get edited out.

What happened here? Why not include the complete monologues -- unedited and uncensored? There's plenty of swearing, drug references, and other off-color humor elsewhere in the Sinatra: Vegas recordings. What was it about these particular comments that was deemed "over the line" and by whom? Did the Sinatra Family insist on the edits before approving this release in order to "protect" their father's image and "legacy?" I think we can all handle the unsanitized Sinatra: Vegas experience, warts and all, just as the original audiences experienced it.

Sure, the Live at Caesar's Palace DVD is a fantastic, compelling performance regardless. People who haven't heard the bootleg version won't notice the deletions, and it certainly seems like "the complete unreleased concert"... as promised.

So it's too bad that this otherwise outstanding collection is tainted by these perhaps minor but conspicuous revisionist tinkerings. I now have to wonder: What might have been purged from the monologues on the four CDs?

Despite this, Sinatra: Vegas is still a welcome, overdue, and highly recommended collection. Just hang on to your original bootleg of Caesar's Palace May 5, 1978 (or find yourself a copy) to hear the truly complete, unedited, unvarnished monologues in all of their pugnacious, swaggering glory -- "Sinatra: Vegas" as it should be.

Top Tips for Better Teamwork

2008-06-12T23:34:00.001-07:00

Team building and teamwork skills are critical for your effectiveness as a Manager. Even if you are not in a leadership position yet, better understanding of teamwork can make you a more effective employee and give you an extra edge in your office..
Team building success is when your team can accomplish something bigger and work more effectively than a group of the same individuals working on their own. You have a strong synergy of individual contributions. But there are two critical factors in building a high performance team.

The first critical factor of a teamwork success is that all the team efforts are directed towards the same clear goals, the team goals. This relies heavily on good communication in the team and the harmony in member relationships.

The other important element is the diversity of skills and personalities. When people use their strengths in full, but can compensate for each other's weaknesses. When different personality types balance and complement each other.

Here are some additional team building ideas, techniques, and tips you can use in your situation.

1.) Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and completely understood and accepted by each team member.

2.) Make sure there is complete clarity in who is responsible for what. Do your best to avoid overlaps of authority. For example, if there is a risk that two team members will be competing for control in certain area, try to divide that area into two distinct parts and give each more complete control in one of those parts, according to those individual's strengths and personal inclinations.

3.) For issues that rely on the team consensus and commitment, involve more the whole team in the decision making process. For example, use group sessions with collective discussions of possible decision options or solution ideas. What you want to achieve here is that each team member feels his or her ownership in the final decision, solution, or idea. The more he or she feels this way, the more likely he or she is to agree with and commit to the decided line of action.

4.) Make sure there are no blocked lines of communications and you and your people stay fully informed.

5.) Build trust with your team members by spending one-on-one time in an atmosphere of openness and honesty. Be loyal to your employees, if you expect the same.

6.) Allow your office team members build trust and openness between each other in team building activities and events. Give them some opportunities of extra social time with each other in an atmosphere that encourages open communication. For example, in a group lunch on Friday.

7.) Be careful with interpersonal issues. Recognize them early and deal with them till full resolution.

8.) Never miss opportunities to empower your employees. Say thank you or show appreciation of an individual team player's work.

9.) Do not limit yourself to negative feedback. Be fare. Whenever there is an opportunity, give positive feedback as well.

Finally, though teamwork and team building can be challenging, the rewords from high team effectiveness are well worth it.

The Importance Of Team Motivation

2008-06-12T23:33:00.002-07:00

It is really quite simple, for a team to win or accomplish a task they have to be motivated to. However, team motivation is affected by many factors. According to experts, the clarity of purpose, the present challenges, the existing leadership, the camaraderie and the growth opportunities present in the team can affect its overall performance.

Clarity Of Purpose

One of the most important factors that can keep a team motivated is clarity of purpose. As long as the members of the team share a common goal or purpose, they will have the motivation to work together.

According to studies, team motivation is at its highest when all the members of the team fully understand their purpose and strongly believe in what they are doing. To achieve clarity of purpose and to give each team member a sense of ownership over the team's goals, everyone should be involved in the decision making process.

Moreover, involving everyone in setting the directions of the team is very important. This makes sure that everyone knows where the team is heading and what specific roles are they going to play for the team to achieve its common goal.

Present Challenges Can Increase Team Motivation

Team motivation may be determined by the present challenges faced by the team. In most cases, teams work well and have the highest level of motivation during crisis and extreme challenge. According to studies, human beings have the natural capacity to fight and defend.

This capacity to fight and defend is greatly enhanced if done through team efforts. To keep up high team motivation level, you need some challenges to test the ingenuity, courage and stamina of you team members.

The human needs of the team members are very important. Everyone needs to feel that they belong and that they are an important factor in the team achieving its goals.

According to studies, highly functional teams do not just work together; they also play and have fun together. To improve the interpersonal relationships between team members you should practice:
* Openness
* Respect
* Honesty

A team is like a family. If you lie to or cheat members of the family, you are bound to get into trouble.

Good Leadership Is The Key To Motivation

Above anything else, leadership is very important to maintain high team motivation level. A team needs to have somebody who can keep things together and do the dirty works every now and then.

A good team leader is like the head of the family. He or she should take full responsibility of everyone in the team. When choosing a team leader, you should take into consideration the capacity of the person to inspire loyalty, trust, and respect from the other members of the team. A good leader should have a lot of experience in the task at hand so the team members have faith in their abilities.

The Team Approach

2008-06-12T23:33:00.001-07:00

The drive to succeed in business can be very similar to the drive to win in a competitive sport..
Many articles and books written on the subject describe how a particular team's game strategy can be applied to business to help team members achieve greater performance and effectiveness.

In team sports, no one exemplified this approach to teamwork better than the Boston Celtics great, Bill Russell. A recent issue of Sports Illustrated called Russell "the greatest team player on the greatest team ever." The Celtics dynasty, which lasted from 1957 to 1969 and comprised 11 championships in 13 years, stands as a definitive example of how one team can completely dominate a sport.

Bill Russell was the driving force behind his team's success. His goal for the team was to be the best in the world...not next year or the year after, but right then. And his game approach to defense would often paralyze an opponent's offense. He commented, "You don't have to block every shot; you just need to make your opponent think you're going to block every shot!"

It was this attitude about teamwork that exemplified his brilliant career. He felt that an individual can attempt to be their very best, but it's far more satisfying when you can help your team be its very best, which is a much more difficult task. "If I play well, that's one thing. But to make other people play better is great."

To Russell, successful team play involved encouraging each individual to do what he does best. "Remember, each of us has a finite amount of energy, and things that you don't do well take more concentration. If you're fatigued by that, then the things you do best are going to be adversely affected."

This same approach to teamwork can be applied to the workplace. Try to ensure that members of your team spend the majority of their time on what they do best. All employees bring to the team a unique set of skills and abilities. Channelling their efforts in these areas will allow them to make their best contribution to the team.

By focusing the efforts of your team in their specific areas of expertise, you not only give your team a winning approach, but also a greater opportunity for success.

Running Head: Challenges Of Online Team Communication

2008-06-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Temme and Katzel (1995) stress that the effective team-building requires the combination of clear team goals, empowerment, atmosphere of trust within the team, authentic participation of every member of team, innovative approach to work and ability to manage risks, proper leadership and ability to make the constructive changes.

Introduction

Temme and Katzel (1995) in their article indicate that a team working together has more and better input than individuals working alone. This results in better ideas and decisions and higher quality output. They state that team-building and team dynamics issues should be of particular importance to organizational behaviour specialists.

The article by Temme and Katzel (1995) provides a model of the characteristics that exist within most successful teams. The article is very easy in understanding and communication. The main body of the article is divided on several blocks dedicated to the concepts, the combination of which is necessary for effective team dynamics. The main of them are goals and objectives, empowerment, and trust, they are extremely important to effective team-building.

Main ideas of the article

Temme and Katzel (1995) indicate that the team-building and effective team dynamics are based on the concepts as follows.

Clearly defined goals and objectives are essential so that everyone understands the purpose and vision of the team. A team leader might be surprised at how many people do not know the reason they are doing the tasks that make up their jobs, much less what their team is doing. Everyone must be pulling in the same direction and be aware of the end goals (Temme and Katzel, 1995).

Empowerment in terms of team building is clear definition of roles and especially of leader’s role and functions. Clearly defined roles help team members understand why they are on a team. When the members experience conflict, it may be related to their roles. Team members often can manage this conflict by identifying, clarifying, and agreeing on their individual responsibilities so that they all gain a clear understanding of how they will accomplish the team’s goals.

Another issue emphasised by Temme and Katzel (1995) is the authentic participation. If communication is the most important team characteristic, participation is the second most important. Without participation, there is no team; there is just group of bodies.

Authentic participation ensures that everyone on the team is fully involved. It does not mean that if leader can have five people each is speaking 20 percent of the time. Talking is not necessarily a measure of participation. We all know people who talk a lot and say nothing. It does mean that each individual is contributing when it’s appropriate. The more a team involves all of its members in its activities, the more likely that team is to experience a high level of commitment and synergy (Temme and Katzel, 1995).

The participative leadership block is not at the top of the model because it is the most important. It is at the top because it is the only block that can be removed without disturbing the rest. Participative leadership means that leaders share the responsibility and the glory, are supportive and fair, create a climate of trust and openness, and are good coaches and teachers.

Participation is everyone’s responsibility. As a team moves from a forming stage to more mature stages of group development, team members must make certain that everyone is an active participant. If a leader has team members who did not participate early in the formation of the team, they will withdraw even more as the going becomes more difficult (Temme and Katzel, 1995).

Temme and Katzel (1995) underline the importance of open and clear communication within the team. This is probably the most important characteristic for high performance teams. Most problems of all kinds can be traced back to poor communication or lack of communication skills, such as listening well or providing constructive feedback.

The ability to deal constructively with changes is also envisaged by Temme and Katzel (1995) as crucial for team dynamics. They indicate that sometimes these changes are perceived by individuals as wrong. The high performing team member sees these changes as imperative for the success of the team and respects the diverse points of view brought by others. It is more difficult to manage a highly diverse team, but the benefits will show up in the end. It takes work and a very special group of people to encourage the differences that each brings to the team, so flexibility and sensitivity are key. Change is essential to a team’s creativity and productivity. Because most people dislike changes, they often assume that effective teams do not have it. In fact, both effective and ineffective teams experience changes. The difference is that effective teams manage it constructively (Temme and Katzel, 1995). In fact, effective teams see conflict as positive. Managed change ensures that problems are not swept under the rug. It means that the team has discussed members’ points of view about an issue and has come to see well-managed conflict as a healthy way to bring out new ideas and to solve whatever seems to be unsolvable (Temme and Katzel, 1995).

In order to be effective, a team should have a clear leadership. Though being mainstreamed in other concepts, the notion of leadership needs the specific explanation. A leader’s behavior comes as much from attitude as from anything. Leaders who are effective in obtaining participation see their role as being a coach and mentor, not the expert in the situation. Leaders will get more participation from team members if they can admit to needing help, not power. Leaders should also specify the kind of participation they want right from the start. Leaders need to reward risk taking. As Temme and Katzel (1995) point out, those “half-baked” partial ideas that people bring up may be just what gets the team moving toward a solution, idea, or new opportunity. Leaders must always protect the minority views. Anyone can think like everyone else. It takes courage to think and speak differently.

In order to better understand the article, there is a need to paraphrase one concept from it, so the concept of trust, one of the key notions of the article, will be paraphrased and discussed in more details.

As Temme and Katzel (1995) indicate, to truly be successful, a team must have a climate of trust and openness, that is, a positive atmosphere. A positive atmosphere indicates that members of the team are committed and involved. It means that people are comfortable enough with one another to be creative, take risks, and make mistakes. It also concerns the relationships between a team-member and a leader of this team.

In words of Temme and Katzel (1995) it also means that person may hear plenty of laughter, and research shows that people who are enjoying themselves are more productive than those who dislike what they are doing. Trust is by far the most important ingredient of a positive atmosphere. If we interpret this notion more basically, we may find out that trust and credibility can be described behaviorally. They can be seen in a more logical way than one might think. Temme and Katzel (1995) suggest that it is important to keep in mind that what one person sees as trustworthy is not necessarily what another sees. So when a leader wants to build trust and credibility with others, it’s as important to know what those individuals value as it is to know what is already his/her “strong suit.”

Atmosphere of trust influences also other concepts that are touched by Temme and Katzel (1995) in their article. Building trust on a team will be one of the greatest challenges. If a team has done a good job of building trust, the other aspects of a positive atmosphere will come more easily. Those aspects include: individuals who are committed to the team’s goals; an atmosphere that encourages creativity and risk taking; people who are not devastated if they make mistakes; and team members who genuinely enjoy being on the team. A positive atmosphere is one of the characteristics of a mature team.

As Temme and Katzel (1995) state, “When the whole company – managers and workers, alike – embraces the traits of a real team and changes its behavior accordingly, it will truly be on its way to success. And success translates to a happier, more productive workforce and better products, services, and procedures.”
They clearly demonstrate the effect of synergy that is a result of effective teamwork and teambuilding, as we may see in this quotation. These phrases are the conclusions of the article, so with them Temme and Katzel (1995) summarize and conclude their idea about the necessity of combination of clear team goals defined, empowerment of the team and its leadership as well as the atmosphere of trust within the team for the team to be effective and able to deliver better products, services and demonstrate higher performance with more quality.

Conclusions

So, clear team goals, empowerment and atmosphere of trust within the team are the essential prerequisites for positive team dynamics and effective team building, as Temme and Katzel (1995) point out. The authentic participation of every member of team, innovative approach to work and ability to manage risks, proper leadership and ability to make the constructive changes are also crucial for team work. Temme and Katzel (1995) affirm that a manager should use all these tools to make the work of the company’s team effective, proactive and dynamic.

Mastering The Art Of Team Building

2008-06-12T23:31:00.001-07:00

In the last twenty years or so, teamwork has become increasingly significant. Most organizations today use a work model that is based on multiple kinds of "formal" and "informal" teams.

Given this development in the work world, team-building skills have come to be an essential part of seeking that new job or that promotion into the next level of management. After all, studies as well as real world experiences have shown that a group of people working as a team can generate much more productivity than the same group of people working individually.

So how do you become a team builder? How do you master the art of team building? How do you get the members to work effectively as a team? All of these skills are necessary to lead your team successfully and to master the art of team building.

-Communication. Efficient teams are created when every single member is free and able to share his/her thoughts and opinions. The decision-making process for a team must be dialogue based, not dictatorial. Good communication also involves active listening among team members and the ability of the team members to value the opinions of the others.

-Trust. All good teams are based solidly on trust. Every member of the team must be able to trust every other member to do the required work and to be an active and productive team member.

-Clear Goals. A team needs specific goals to function effectively. Team goals must be specific, decided after discussion, and must have a particular time limit.

-Progress Review. Goals by themselves are not enough in the absence of regular progress reviews. New information or even actions taken towards achieving the goal can sometimes end up affecting the completion. Teams need to conduct regular internal checks that include all team members to review the progress that has been made so far and to work out any problems that may have arisen.

-Cooperation. Each team member has to find some way of collaborating with every other member of the team. Personal accomplishments will shine through, but cooperation, not competition, is the key to team building success.

-Professionalism. Of the many individuals in a team, some are bound to have personalities that clash with each other. Team members have to be willing and able to set petty differences aside, working together with the others to achieve the team goals.

-Differences. Diversity is an asset. It often brings in new and differing ways of looking at the same issue, thinking about the same issue, and developing new ideas, all of which combine to give the team a better chance at making good decisions. Team members must be comfortable with and should revel in individual differences while respecting the value that each member brings to the team through their differences.

-Enthusiasm. Team members must be able to jump into the team process with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm helps each member to feel like a part of a vibrant.

-Collaboration. Efficient teams have members who each play a vital role in the completion of the work. Each member of the team must feel that they play a vital role in the sharing of the work and each member of the team should be held accountable for his/her share. Individual accountability is a large part of sharing and teamwork.

-Clear Responsibilities. Every team member must understand their role within the team and the importance of their share of work to the team as a whole.

Is Your Team Hiding Behind Masks?

2008-06-12T23:30:00.001-07:00

Halloween is a time when many adults (oh yes, and kids!) dress up in costumes and masks to disguise their identity on October 31 in celebration of this holiday. But, donning masks is not just limited to Halloween.

TEAM MASKS

When I first begin work with a team, I often find that many team members don "masks" that they hide behind in their communications and interactions with their team members. In other words, they are often afraid to be "real" with their colleagues - they are afraid to speak their true thoughts/feelings because it might create conflict, or because their organizational culture supports "sugar coating the truth" instead. Or, sometimes team members don't feel that they can safely speak these truths for other reasons, so they hide behind a mask of not speaking up at all, which seems less risky to them. I typically find that this hiding comes from teams who do not currently have any written team agreements about how they will communicate and interact with each other, and sometimes I also work with teams who have "unwritten agreements" where they have never talked about it but have basically agreed to never speak about issues that could cause conflict.

REAL/ROBUST TEAM DIALOGUE: SEE BEHIND THE MASKS

By comparison, when I work with teams who have created explicit agreements with each other regarding how their team will interact and communicate with each other, those team members are much more likely to be REAL with their colleagues - they speak their true thoughts and feelings, and know that their voices will be heard, because the team has created agreements that support a "safe space" for those diverse opinions and thoughts to be discussed/explored. Whether you refer to these types of communications as "robust dialogue," "speaking about the elephants in the room" or something else, we're talking about the same thing -- speaking up about issues or concerns that are impacting the team.

MOST SUSTAINABLE AND HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS

From a team dynamics perspective, this place of being "real" and proactively encouraging discussions regarding issues may be perceived as conflict - but is actually the healthiest place for a team. Why? Because a team that has enough trust, respect, camaraderie and the ability to navigate conflict is a team that will get results and will also be sustainable, because they have a solid foundation to do so. By contrast, teams who are not able to have these types of discussions often are not sustainable. They are simply not able to rise to that "higher level" to yield the results that they could, because their performance is hindered by the limited dynamics they have become mired in; thus, they are not performing at their optimal level.

Think about your personal life. Are the more meaningful and effective relationships that you have the ones where you keep the discussion at a high level and don't talk about things that are truly important to you? Or, are the more meaningful relationships that you have the ones where you talk about very important aspects of your life (including your deepest feelings) and really challenge each other to be better people? In my life, I appreciate and encourage people to challenge me so that I can learn more about myself and continue growing to be the best person I can be in this lifetime.

The same is true with teams. The more your team challenges each other to learn and grow and bring up whatever is on their mind, the more successful they will be and the longer they will be able to maintain success.

Here are some questions and tips for you/ your team to explore:

1. What does your team typically experience in the categories above - "Masks" or "Real/Robust Dialogue"? Think back to your three most recent team meetings. Were team members holding back, or "sugar coating" their words? Or, were they speaking about what was really on their minds? And, if team members were speaking their minds, how was the rest of the team responding - were team members encouraging more dialogue and trying to get a better understanding of the diverse opinions, or were they trying to shut down the discussion?

2. If your team typically lives in the "Masks" world, what do they need to be able to move into "Real/Robust Dialogue" more often? If your team does not already have team agreements for their interactions and how they will handle conflict, this is the place to start. Creating team agreements should be a carefully facilitated discussion that includes all of the aspects above plus much more, so that the team creates as much openness among team members as possible and has clear parameters for moving forward (including accountability to their agreements).

If your team already has team agreements and is still living in "Masks," then your team's agreements need to be updated to specifically incorporate how they will handle issues of potential conflict. Your team may also need some help with conflict resolution skill building and practice, so be sure to look at:

- Do they know HOW to work through conflicts and are just not doing it? OR

- Do they need to learn the skills to work through conflict? (honestly, this is what I see more often than not, which is why we often teach teams how to work through issues)

3. How is your team using its agreements? Once your team creates its agreements, there are many ways to integrate this into daily work life. For example, I am working with a team in Rancho Cordova, CA who printed out a poster size version of their team agreements and each team member signed the agreements as their commitment, and then the entire poster was framed and mounted in their workspace as a reminder of their commitments to each other! Another team I am working with in Burlingame, CA reads their team agreements prior to every meeting, and when a team member breaks an agreement, pays a monetary fine. There are many more examples of how different teams work with their agreements, but the important thing is that the agreements are

(a) Created and "owned" by the team, and

(b) Reviewed regularly, and

(c) Monitored/supported by team members who speak up when they see an agreement being broken.

4. What obstacles are preventing your team from implementing these tips above? It is important to have candid conversations with your team about the specific things that are getting in the way of your team being more effective in their communications and interactions. By taking the time to explore these ideas with your team NOW, your team is much more likely to be more effective now and in the future!

Include Team Members In Setting Goals for the Year

2008-06-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, the new year. That time when, regardless of past failures and disappointments, we hopefully make promises to ourselves and great plans for the next twelve months. We do this at home, and we also do it at work. As managers, we spend many hours planning our strategy for the department and what it should achieve during the year. But do we include our team members in setting goals for the year? Usually not.

That's a great pity, because when it comes to implementing our great plans, all members of the team, all employees, all staff members, everyone must play a part. Oh sure, you are excited --- after all, they're your plans. But how enthusiastic is everyone else? Can you really expect them to share your enthusiasm and commitment if they had no opportunity to share the vision, no part in creating the strategy, no chance to add their ideas and insights?

How difficult would it be to include team members in setting goals for the year? Not very. All it takes is the will to do it and a few logistical arrangements. Here's a suggested plan of action:

1. Let everyone know about the new process. If you are a department head or team leader, and if it is logistically feasible, do this in a group meeting. Otherwise, arrange a telephone conference. Either method is better than an e-mail broadcast, because you want to send a message right away that this is a "human" process and not just another layer of bureaucracy. This first communication could include a summary of the past year's achievements and challenges, and how these affect plans for next year. Then offer a very broad statement of what you hope to achieve in the next twelve months, one that allows for lots of ideas and input on how this can be done.

2. Allow time for people to think about the subject and develop their ideas.

3. Set up a strategy session, preferably with everyone in the same room. This meeting should be facilitated in a way that allows people to voice their ideas and opinions but does not intimidate. Their ideas may be accepted, postponed or rejected, but never ridiculed. Everyone should be treated with respect and appreciated for their input. The World Cafe process is ideal for this part of the plan, and can bring out deep, clear and unexpected insights that can make your strategy come alive.

4. Using the information from the session, create a strategic plan as well as the tactical plans need to bring it to fruition. This process MUST be completed as quickly as possible, and no later than two weeks after the meeting, in order to capitalize on the team spirit created. Any delay will dilute the positive effects and create an impression that nothing has changed.

5. Provide everyone with a copy of the plan documents, with a reminder of their commitments to follow through (this commitment will be part of the World Cafe process).

6. Set up a mechanism for ongoing group monitoring, allowing for necessary course corrections as appropriate throughout the year, based on what is actually happening. This should culminate with a year-end look back at the plans and implementations, which automatically sets the stage for next year's goal setting process.

Include team members in setting goals for the year, communicate with them appropriately and honestly about the goals at all stages, and prepare to be amazed at the positive results that can be achieved.

Has Your Team Lost It's Mind(fulness)?

2008-06-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

Allow me to elaborate a bit, and then we'll talk about mindfulness for your team! A mindfulness retreat is designed to help you slow down our usual fast daily pace to a snail's pace...no phones, no e-mail, nothing to do but BE PRESENT, in each moment. Oh yes, and did I also mention no talking? So, here I was, at this beautiful retreat center, in silence, doing only one thing at a time....for seven glorious days! The benefit, in case you're still wondering, is that when there is complete silence, you can learn to train your mind to turn off the "chatter" and eliminate (well, at least reduce!) daily distractions, so that you can be present to what is happening right now - fully present - to the one activity in which you are engaged.

Now, you may be asking "so what's the benefit to reducing the distractions"? The benefit is that you become much more mindful, or aware of everything that you do. You get to fully appreciate what you're doing because you are fully present to the experience! You also see things for what they really are - you see the truth about things - no denial - without all of the illusions we typically create in our lives. No assumptions, no distractions, no illusions.....just the truth about our current experience, feelings, thoughts, etc - right there in front of us.

Sometimes, it's really painful to be with our thoughts, feelings, etc., which is why many of us distract ourselves with other things, so that we don't have to experience those difficult feelings and thoughts. As we all know, though, by denying that something exists doesn't mean that it goes away - whether it's something in our work situations or our personal lives. By having the courage to fully experience all of our experiences, we can more fully experience everything in life.

Ok, what does this have to do with your team? Teams are impacted greatly by the level of mindfulness, or presence, of its team members. Teams that are fully present with and for each other are typically more successful.

Think about the team that you spend the most time with - your work team, your volunteer team, a parent committee, etc. Keep that team in mind as you ask these questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most mindful), how mindful is my team on any given day?

In what way(s) does my team act mindfully - i.e., in what ways is my team present to each experience with each other? This often happens when team members are fully present by fully listening to each other when each person speaks, and being open to hearing each person's opinion. Honoring and appreciating diverse opinions on a team is a critical success factor for a team, by the way!

In what way(s) does my team NOT act mindfully - i.e., in what ways is my team NOT present to each experience and each team member? A team is not acting mindfully if the team members are talking over each other, arguing loudly, etc. Or, when team members physically attend a meeting by showing up, but allow themselves to be distracted by their e-mails or answering cell phone calls while the meeting is occurring. By definition, you can't be mindful and multi-tasking at the same time!

What is one thing my team can do to become more mindful? Help your team by asking them "how can we be more mindful and present with each other?" By being more mindful, your team members will respect each other more, which will increase the trust and camaraderie on your team. For those of you who have been through our team development workshops, you know the three most critical factors contributing to a team's success: trust, respect and camaraderie.

As you can see, mindful teams are likely more productive and sustainable for the long term. If your team is already fairly mindful, congratulations - please celebrate that with them! If your team has lost its mindfulness they can get it back - you can help them get it back through implementing some of the suggestions above.

Discover How You Can Learn to Motivate Your Team Effectively

2008-06-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

Motivating a team, fellow employees or subordinates can be an interesting experience. There are many methods and strategies that one can use to motivate others.

"Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner." - Les Brown

First method that one can use to motivate others is to be a good listener. A good listener here means ability to listen with sincerity to ones' needs. For example, the needs here can include the opportunity for individuals to develop and grow in the team. A leader can motivate his team members by giving roles and challenging tasks for the individuals who sees such opportunities as a way for them to learn, develop and grow with the team.

Secondly, motivation in the team can also include team leader understanding to create a conducive and supportive environment. The environment is crucial factor in encouraging and motivating fellow team members to work together. Here, such conducive and supportive environment can be created by encouraging healthy relationships among each other in the team. Healthy relationships here mean creating mutual understanding in working with each other which can include a culture of respecting each other opinions in the work.

Thirdly, motivation can include the significant of rewarding and recognizing individuals in the team for their efforts and contributions. One can learn greatly that in motivating others, rewarding others can be as simple as a token of appreciation given. Recognizing individuals' efforts can also include providing compliments or positive feedback such as 'Well Done' or 'Great Job'. Such feedback can enable individuals to be motivated and do their best in their work and effort. Other methods of recognizing work or effort can include sharing of exemplary attitude and work excellence during the team sharing sessions.

Apart from that, another method of motivation that one can use is to create avenues for individuals in the team to express their thoughts and feelings being in the team. Such avenues can includes providing a feedback box in the working area, setting an online survey or forum for team mates to share and express their feelings. Another avenue to express feelings and thoughts that can be very useful is a consistent sharing session among the team members. For example, before the team starts their work, they can sit down and reflect together as a team. Such reflections may include themselves thinking about working towards to improve their work, family and personal lives. Overall, one can realize here that motivation can play a significant part in working well together as a team.

Discover How You Can Learn the Significance of Focus for Your Team

2008-06-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

There are many great lessons that one can learn from the importance of focus. One can learn that focus is important in many different aspects in life such as building a business, playing team and individual sports and building a strong relationship with others.

"No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined." - Source Unknown

First great lesson about focus can be found when one is faced with big challenges in life. When face with big challenges in life, it can either motivate or break down individuals or team. The lesson here is when facing with major challenges, one can learn greatly by focusing on developing solutions for the challenges. Brainstorming and developing solutions can enable individuals or team to deter any distractions that might prevent them from overcoming the challenges.

Second great lesson here is it can enable individuals or team to identify the problems involved in the challenges clearly. Maintaining focus here can enable the individuals or team to list details of possible causes for the problems faced. Through such activities, it can enable team to work well together. Working well together can encourage great development of cohesion and support among each team member.

Third significant lesson in focus especially when working in a team is it enables the team to leverage on each other strength well. Through such measures, it can enable individual to develop and improve on each other strength well. For example, in business team, the business development team can develop on methods of branding the company to the next higher level while the finance team can focus on better management of money for the company. Such niche area of focus can enable the team to leverage on each other strength well and such efforts can ultimately provide great improvement and success for the team.

Fourth great lesson is it can also provide great test for the individuals and team when face with adversity and challenges. The lesson here is when face with adversity, it is important to focus on remaining together as team. There are many methods and strategies that team can use to overcome the challenges and adversity. Such methods can include welcoming constructive feedback among the team, monitoring on the development for the team effort and celebrating success together as a team. Such methods can enable better team work effort and satisfaction in the team. Overall, one can realize that focus can provide significant and positive results for individuals and team growth.

Virtual Reality Games

2008-06-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

Scientists are also exploring the possibility of developing biosensors for VR use. A biosensor can detect and interpret nerve and muscle activity. With a properly calibrated biosensor, a computer can interpret how a user is moving in physical space and translate that into the corresponding motions in virtual space. Biosensors may be attached directly to the skin of a user, or may be incorporated into gloves or bodysuits. One limitation to biosensor suits is that they must be custom made for each user or the sensors will not line up properly on the user’s body.

Mary Whitton, of UNC-Chapel Hill, believes that the entertainment industry will drive the development of most VR technology going forward. The video game industry in particular has contributed advancements in graphics and sound capabilities that engineers can incorporate into virtual reality systems’ designs. One advance that Whitton finds particularly interesting is the Nintendo Wii’s wand controller. The controller is not only a commercially available device with some tracking capabilities; it’s also affordable and appeals to people who don’t normally play video games. Since tracking and input devices are two areas that traditionally have fallen behind other VR technologies, this controller could be the first of a new wave of technological advances useful to VR systems.

Virtual Reality on the Web
Some programmers envision the Internet developing into a three-dimensional virtual space, where you navigate through virtual landscapes to access information and entertainment. Web sites could take form as a three-dimensional location, allowing users to explore in a much more literal way than before. Programmers have developed several different computer languages and Web browsers to achieve this vision. Some of these include:

* Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)- the earliest three-dimensional modeling language for the Web.
* 3DML - a three-dimensional modeling language where a user can visit a spot (or Web site) through most Internet browsers after installing a plug-in.
* X3D - the language that replaced VRML as the standard for creating virtual environments in the Internet.
* Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA) - a format used to allow file interchanges within three-dimensional programs.

Of course, many VE experts would argue that without an HMD, Internet-based systems are not true virtual environments. They lack critical elements of immersion, particularly tracking and displaying images as life-sized.

Air Pollution and Acid Rain

2008-06-01T00:19:00.002-07:00

You may have some firsthand experience with air pollution, because almost every city--and even parts of the country--have polluted air. How did the air get this bad? Electricity production--the pollution generated by power plants--has contributed a lot to poor air quality. Cars are another big problem. While the cars made today pollute far less than cars made a few years ago, the are many more cars on the road today, and the typical car drives more miles each year than ever before. As a result, air pollution from cars hasn't decreased much.
In some areas, such as Los Angeles, air pollution has become so bad that the government has been forced to restrict many everyday activities, including driving a car, having a barbecue, even mowing the lawn with a power mower. All of these activities contribute to air pollution.
What's wrong with air pollution? When the air gets too dirty, it can be uncomfortable to breathe, and with every breath you may be inhaling substances that can make you sick. But even when the air is only a little polluted, the effects can still cause many illnesses, particularly among very young children and older adults like your grandparents.
That's not all. Air pollution also hurts plants and animals. It can poison trees and crops, and may even kill entire forests.

When the Rain Becomes Poison
We used to count on a good rainfall to cleanse the air of pollutants. Now, in some parts of the United States, even the rain is polluted. We call it "acid rain," even though the problem also pollutes the snow, sleet, hail, and even fog!
What turns the rain into poison? The problem comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, including gasoline burned in automobile engines and oil used for cooking and heating. The biggest source is the burning of coal--especially certain kinds of coal that contain high levels of sulfur--in electric-generating plants.
All of these sources release either sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides. Once in the air, these two substances mix with other chemicals and water to form sulfuric acid. When these chemicals mix with moisture, they fall to Earth, where they can cause a great deal of harm.
What happens to acid rain when it reaches the ground? For one thing, it poisons fish and other things that live in rivers, lakes, and streams. It also kills trees. Buildings and monuments can also be affected. Some of the oldest and most treasured buildings in the world have been found to have damage caused by acid rain.
Acid rain also affects people. Some scientist see it as a threat to human health, causing lung disease and other serious problems. Babies, senior citizens, and people who have respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis are among those most seriously affected by acid rain.

What Can You Do?
The most important thing you can do is to conserve energy wisely. The less we use, the less we must generate through polluting power plants. As you'll see, there are many things you can do to reduce your energy use--without limiting the activities you've always done.

Water Pollution

2008-06-01T00:19:00.001-07:00

Finding fresh water is getting harder. For one thing, there are more people on the planet, and that requires more water for washing, growing food, and sustaining life. All those people create a lot of waste, some of which ends up polluting rivers, lakes, and streams. And companies that dump hazardous substances into the water make the problem even worse.
The water in your home is probably pumped from rivers and reservoirs. The more water you use, the more likely it is that some beautiful valley will be flooded as a reservoir, or that some river will begin to run dry, killing the wildlife in and around it. And the more dirty water you send down the drain, the more difficult it is for the sewage system to cope. Accidental overflows of sewage can seriously pollute land and water.

What Pollutes the Water?
There are many, many sources of water pollution, some of which may surprise you. We usually think of huge pipes dumping industrial waste into rivers, but only 10 percent of water pollution comes from industrial dumping.
To fully understand what pollutes water, it is first important to understand where your drinking water comes from. Nearly half of all Americans and three-fourths of those who live in cities get their water from underground sources. Underground water picks up whatever it passes through. Rainwater and melted snow--running off parking lots, rooftops, streets, and farms--carry with them deadly substances. During a storm, the pollutants are washed into rivers and streams. And once they get into the water cycle, they never seem to leave.
One big source of pollution is farmers. Farming uses about two-thirds of all water in the United States. Every year, millions of pounds of pesticides and fertilizers run off of farmland and contaminate the water supply.

How Much Do You Use?
It is difficult to imagine how much water is used in your home every day. Here is a rough guide.

1 flush of the toilet 3.5-7 gallons
1 bath 25-30 gallons
1 10-minute shower 50-70 gallons
1 washing machine load 25-40 gallons
1 dishwasher load 9.5-12 gallons

Try to figure out approximately how many gallons of water you use in your home. If your home is typical, each member of your household uses about 80 gallons of water a day. That's a lot of water, and the less we use, the better it will be for the environment.

What Can You Do?
There are two things you can do: don't waste water and don't be a polluter. Be sure to check out the Going Green in the Home section of this site to learn how to save water in your household.

Air Pollution and Acid Rain

2008-06-01T00:18:00.002-07:00

The Virtual Reality Headset

2008-06-01T00:18:00.001-07:00

Today, most VE systems are powered by normal personal computers. PCs are sophisticated enough to develop and run the software necessary to create virtual environments. Graphics are usually handled by powerful graphics cards originally designed with the video gaming community in mind. The same video card that lets you play World of Warcraft is probably powering the graphics for an advanced virtual environment.

VE systems need a way to display images to a user. Many systems use HMDs, which are headsets that contain two monitors, one for each eye. The images create a stereoscopic effect, giving the illusion of depth. Early HMDs used cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, which were bulky but provided good resolution and quality, or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, which were much cheaper but were unable to compete with the quality of CRT displays. Today, LCD displays are much more advanced, with improved resolution and color saturation, and have become more common than CRT monitors.

data suit
Photo courtesy of Dave Pape
A data suit to provide user input
Other VE systems project images on the walls, floor and ceiling of a room and are called Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE). The University of Illinois-Chicago designed the first CAVE display, using a rear projection technique to display images on the walls, floor and ceiling of a small room. Users can move around in a CAVE display, wearing special glasses to complete the illusion of moving through a virtual environment. CAVE displays give users a much wider field of view, which helps in immersion. They also allow a group of people to share the experience at the same time (though the display would track only one user’s point of view, meaning others in the room would be passive observers). CAVE displays are very expensive and require more space than other systems.

Closely related to display technology are tracking systems. Tracking systems analyze the orientation of a user’s point of view so that the computer system sends the right images to the visual display. Most systems require a user to be tethered with cables to a processing unit, limiting the range of motions available to him. Tracker technology developments tend to lag behind other VR technologies because the market for such technology is mainly VR-focused. Without the demands of other disciplines or applications, there isn’t as much interest in developing new ways to track user movements and point of view.

Input devices are also important in VR systems. Currently, input devices range from controllers with two or three buttons to electronic gloves and voice recognition software. There is no standard control system across the discipline. VR scientists and engineers are continuously exploring ways to make user input as natural as possible to increase the sense of telepresence. Some of the more common forms of input devices are:

* Joysticks
* Force balls/tracking balls
* Controller wands
* Datagloves
* Voice recognition
* Motion trackers/bodysuits
* Treadmills

Holes in the Ozone Layer

2008-06-01T00:17:00.003-07:00

Ozone is an invisible gas, a form of oxygen. A thin layer of ozone exists between 12 and 30 miles (20 to 50 kilometers) above the Earth and forms a protective shield that is vital to our survival. Without it, the sun would burn us, a few things would grow.
The ozone layer shields us from one particular kind of sunlight: ultraviolet (UV) light. Some UV light is important--it helps plants to grow, for example. UV light also gives people a suntan. But if much more UV light were allowed to filter through the ozone layer, it would cause some big problems. Millions of people could get eye and skin diseases, farmers' crops could become damaged, and fish could run out of food.

The Dangers of Chlorofluorocarbons
What is destroying the ozone layer? One of the biggest culprits is a family of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (pronounced KLOR-o-floor-o-CAR-bons), or CFCs. These are used in manufacturing hundreds of different products, including many that you and your parents buy regularly. Some kinds of plastics and foam packaging materials are made with CFCs. They are also used to keep refrigerators and air conditioners cool.
Why are CFCs so bad? When they are released into the atmosphere and interact with sunlight, CFCs release chlorine atoms. As they rise into the atmosphere, these chlorine atoms attack and destroy parts of the ozone layer. A single chlorine atom can destroy thousands of ozone molecules.

Ozone Holes
In 1985, scientists noticed that the ozone layer was not just thinning, but that there was actually a big hole in it over Antarctica. A very big hole. By 1987 it had stretched to cover an area the size of the United States. In 1988, scientists found another hole, this time over the arctic. The holes constantly change shape and size, depending on the time of year.
In 1990, many countries agreed to cut the use of CFCs substantially by the year 2000. Enviornmentalists hope that we can make a complete switch from CFCs even sooner. Several companies around the world are researching substances that can replaces CFCs in air conditioners, refrigerators, plastics, and in many manufacturing process.
The fact is, even if we were to stop using CFCs today, the existing chemicals would ensure the continued destruction of the ozone layer for at least a century! So, the sooner we stop, the less destruction of the ozone layer we will cause in the future.

What Can You Do?
The main thing you can do is avoid using products that contain CFCs. This isn't always easy to do because CFCs are used in thousands of products, including egg cartons, bicycle seats, toy stuffing, furniture cushions, yogurt machines, cameras, computers, TV sets, radios, and jewelry. But some products, such as plastics foam packaging, are easier to avoid. (Although fast-food containers usually do not contain CFCs, they contribute to the growing pile of trash. So, you should avoid them whenever possible.)

Virtual Reality Interactivity

2008-06-01T00:17:00.001-07:00

Immersion within a virtual environment is one thing, but for a user to feel truly involved there must also be an element of interaction. Early applications using the technology common in VE systems today allowed the user to have a relatively passive experience. Users could watch a pre-recorded film while wearing a head-mounted display (HMD). They would sit in a motion chair and watch the film as the system subjected them to various stimuli, such as blowing air on them to simulate wind. While users felt a sense of immersion, interactivity was limited to shifting their point of view by looking around. Their path was pre-determined and unalterable.

cyber space mountain capsule
Photo courtesy of Sue Holland
DisneyQuest’s Cyber
Space Mountain Capsule

Today, you can find virtual roller coasters that use the same sort of technology. DisneyQuest in Orlando, Florida features CyberSpace Mountain, where patrons can design their own roller coaster, then enter a simulator to ride their virtual creation. The system is very immersive, but apart from the initial design phase there isn't any interaction, so it's not an example of a true virtual environment.

Interactivity depends on many factors. Steuer suggests that three of these factors are speed, range and mapping. Steuer defines speed as the rate that a user's actions are incorporated into the computer model and reflected in a way the user can perceive. Range refers to how many possible outcomes could result from any particular user action. Mapping is the system's ability to produce natural results in response to a user's actions.

Navigation within a virtual environment is one kind of interactivity. If a user can direct his own movement within the environment, it can be called an interactive experience. Most virtual environments include other forms of interaction, since users can easily become bored after just a few minutes of exploration. Computer Scientist Mary Whitton points out that poorly designed interaction can drastically reduce the sense of immersion, while finding ways to engage users can increase it. When a virtual environment is interesting and engaging, users are more willing to suspend disbelief and become immersed.

True interactivity also includes being able to modify the environment. A good virtual environment will respond to the user's actions in a way that makes sense, even if it only makes sense within the realm of the virtual environment. If a virtual environment changes in outlandish and unpredictable ways, it risks disrupting the user's sense of telepresence.

Immersion vs. Interaction
Developers have discovered that users feel a stronger sense of telepresence when interaction is easy and interesting, even if the VE isn't photorealistic, whereas very realistic environments that lack opportunities for interaction cause users to lose interest relatively quickly.

The Greenhouse Effect

2008-06-01T00:16:00.001-07:00

The Earth is surrounded by windows. We call these windows the atmosphere, a layer of air many miles up in the sky. As the sun shines on the Earth, the atmosphere lets the heat reach the ground, then prevents some of it from escaping back into space.
That's all fine. In fact, we need the atmosphere. Without it, the Earth would be as cold and lifeless as the surface of the moon. The problem is that our atmosphere is changing. Some of our favorite activities create gases that pollute the atmosphere. As those gases build up, the atmosphere keeps in too much heat.

What are Greenhouse Gases?
The most important is carbon dioxide, also known as CO2. All humans and animals produce CO2 every time we exhale, the but there's nothing we can do about that. The main source of CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels--coal, oil, and gasoline--and wood.
Another greenhouse gas is nitrogen oxide, which is given off by cars as we drive them and by coal-burning power plants as they generate electricity.
Still another is methane, which is created by rotting plants and by household garbage as it deteriorates in landfills. (Humans and other animals also create methane--everytime we pass gas.)

What is the Effect?
We've been creating all of these gases for a long time. But now we're producing too much of them and they are making the Earth a little hotter. Here's what could happen if average temperatures on Earth increases just a few degrees:
• Some of the ice around the North Pole and the South Pole would melt.
• That melted ice would cause the sea levels to rise.
• People living near sea level could be flooded.
• Some places would become too hot to live in.
• Many farmers' crops would no longer grow.
Some scientists now think that the average temperatures on Earth could rise by between 3 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the next century. If that happened, water levels could flood much of New York City. In Washington, D.C., water would flood the Lincoln Memorial and nearly reach the Capitol steps!
That's just the beginning. As things got even warmer, hundreds of different living creatures could die and become extinct, while many kinds of pests (such as rats and mosquitoes) could multiply in the warmer climate.

The Earth's Natural Remedies
Some gases are soaked up naturally. Sea water soaks up carbon dioxide, and so do the tiny organisms in the sea called plankton. But because plankton soaks up more CO2 in colder water, as the Greenhouse Effect warms up the oceans, the plankton will absorb less carbon dioxide.
Plants on land also soak up CO2, especially the trees in the mighty rainforests of the world. But because trees in the rainforests are being cut down and burned, there are fewer trees to soak up the greenhouse gases. What's worse, the burning of trees actually produces even more CO2, contributing to the greenhouse problem. In fact, rainforest burning is one of the greatest contributors to the Greenhouse Effect.

What Can You Do?
One big way to help is to cut down on the use of energy. Every time you turn on the lights, open the refrigerator, turn on the heat, or take a ride in the car, you are using energy--electricity, gasoline, and natural gas, for example. The power plants that generate the electricity and the automobile engines that burn gasoline all create vast amounts of CO2.

Face-to-Face, Phone or E-mail?

2008-06-01T00:15:00.001-07:00

The empirical study of how communications media affects individuals' definitions of the negotiation, especially in an era of expanding communications possibilities, is also drawing the interest of researchers. Should you meet face-to-face, bargain by phone or resort to e-mail? The answer, researchers say, is, it depends.
"The technology we use to negotiate affects our definition of the negotiation game and the behavior deemed appropriate for the interaction," write Bazerman, Valley et al.
Generally, face-to-face meetings foster rapport and offer fewer openings for misunderstanding and deceit. If both parties are already familiar to each other, however, face-to-face meetings may not be necessary. And if tensions are already high, then negotiating by phone may be the best choice, so as to reduce the possibility of pressure tactics.
E-mail is a tricky new area. Since e-mail lacks what researchers call social context cues, it allows more "talk time" for all, and this dimension of egalitarianism may make for a more fruitful exchange. There is a downside, though, because e-mail also seems to make people less inhibited in a negotiation scenario. If the negotiation is already tense, this lack of inhibition can make a bad situation worse.
One study found, for example, that among 24 four-person decision making groups interacting via computer, there were 102 instances of rude or impulsive behavior. Another 24 groups that interacted in person yielded only 12 remarks of that nature.
Crossing Cultures
Negotiating across cultures is cited in the article as being "akin to a dance in which one person does a waltz and another a tango." So what can negotiators do to make the process a little more graceful?
The group outlines recent experiments that focus on two areas: differences in the negotiation game between cultures, and how negotiators might change their game (or even their mental models) to bring about better negotiation.
In the first area, research has focused most actively on the cultural dimension referred to as "individualism-collectivism." This research has revealed, for instance, that negotiators from certain cultures—i.e. United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands—seem more concerned with maintaining individual rights, while others—from Colombia, Pakistan, Taiwan, for example—focus more on preserving relationships. The first group is more likely to resort to competition and problem solving in the negotiation, while the second prefers more indirect means of arriving at a solution.
Less research attention to date has addressed three other important dimensions of cross-cultural interaction. These include power distance (how social hierarchies affect negotiation), context of communication (the degree to which messages inherit meaning from the setting in which they are delivered), and different conceptions of time (whether negotiators from certain cultures prefer to handle issues in a sequential or simultaneous fashion).
Other research suggests that negotiators might deliberately change the negotiation game across cultures, either by transcending their own cultural background or by having opponents jointly follow the culture with which both negotiators are most familiar. While these are reasonable ideas in theory, the jury is still out on whether or not they are viable for the typical negotiator.
Negotiation with More Than Two Players
As the number of parties in a negotiation increases, the complexity of the dispute expands rapidly. New research is studying how this complexity affects the negotiation and suggests ways to transcend the confusion.
Negotiators might make the problem work better for everyone by applying certain rules, such as controlling participants' opportunities to speak or specifying how the group will make a decision (via majority rule, unanimity, etc). Many of these methods, however, also place constraints on the negotiation since they prevent people from learning enough about each other's interests to strive for the best possible outcome.
Experiments also indicate, however, that negotiating teams can have distinct advantages, including enhanced capability to exchange information and generate high quality ideas.
A Sub-Field No Longer
As laboratory researchers, write Bazerman, Valley, Curhan and Moore, they are "sympathetic to the constraints of the laboratory methodology" and cognizant of how important it can be to understand how their participants redefine the game.
"Most negotiation experiments are easiest to create when it is in the power of the researcher to specify the game," the group writes. "Unfortunately, this researcher specification may have inhibited the study of how negotiators psychologically define the game."
The psychological study of negotiation, once a mere sub-field of social psychology, can now draw on a wealth of work throughout many different segments of psychology: social psychology, cognitive psychology, behavior decision research, and clinical psychology. It may well also benefit from preliminary studies in how physiological factors can affect negotiation.
As the group points out in their conclusion, "We hope that these multiple lenses can create a more unified understanding, so that psychology can help the world overcome barriers to effective negotiation behavior."

The Virtual Reality Environment

2008-06-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

Other sensory output from the VE system should adjust in real time as a user explores the environment. If the environment incorporates 3-D sound, the user must be convinced that the sound’s orientation shifts in a natural way as he maneuvers through the environment. Sensory stimulation must be consistent if a user is to feel immersed within a VE. If the VE shows a perfectly still scene, you wouldn’t expect to feel gale-force winds. Likewise, if the VE puts you in the middle of a hurricane, you wouldn’t expect to feel a gentle breeze or detect the scent of roses.

Real Virtual Objects
Passive haptics are one way VE developers have tried to enhance interactivity. Passive haptics are real objects in a physical space that are mapped to virtual objects in a virtual space. Users wear an HMD or similar portable display while in the physical space. When they look toward the physical object, they'll see the virtual representation of it in their display. When they approach the object and try to touch it, they encounter the real object in the physical space. Anything a user does with that object in real space appears as a reflected action upon the virtual object in virtual space.

Lag time between when a user acts and when the virtual environment reflects that action is called latency. Latency usually refers to the delay between the time a user turns his head or moves his eyes and the change in the point of view, though the term can also be used for a lag in other sensory outputs. Studies with flight simulators show that humans can detect a latency of more than 50 milliseconds. When a user detects latency, it causes him to become aware of being in an artificial environment and destroys the sense of immersion.

Going for a swim
Swimming in VR systems doesn’t refer to jumping into a pool -- it describes the effect of latency within a virtual environment. If you were to look around in a VE and notice that the change in point of view was not instantaneous, you would experience swimming. The effect is distracting and can even make you experience motion sickness, called simsickness or cybersickness in VR circles.

An immersive experience suffers if a user becomes aware of the real world around him. Truly immersive experiences make the user forget his real surroundings, effectively causing the computer to become a non entity. In order to reach the goal of true immersion, developers have to come up with input methods that are more natural for users. As long as a user is aware of the interaction device, he is not truly immersed.

The Emerging Art of Negotiation

2008-06-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

A negotiation is rarely open-and-shut, but research is starting to reveal a number of ways that this complicated and often-volatile process might go a lot better for all concerned. HBS Professor Kathleen L. Valley, HBS Senior Research Fellow Max H. Bazerman and two colleagues point the way toward a new understanding of the psychology of negotiation.
It's easy to come up with a recipe for disaster when the subject is negotiation. As in chess, once you sit down at the table every move counts. So many factors compete to undermine an optimal settlement: the emotions of both participants; the potential for misunderstanding what could be gained (or lost); differing interpretations of what constitutes fair play.
Be it a straightforward business transaction, a divorce or an international struggle to reach a peace agreement, there's much that can go wrong.
But there's also much that can go right—or at least go better for all concerned.
Ongoing psychological research points toward new directions in the understanding of what makes a negotiation work or not work. In an article recently published in the Annual Review of Psychology, HBS Professor Kathleen L. Valley, HBS Senior Research Fellow Max H. Bazerman and their colleagues Jared R. Curhan and Don A. Moore (doctoral students at Stanford and Northwestern respectively) synthesized groundbreaking negotiation studies to date, and pinpointed five emerging areas of research which they consider critical for the future.
The psychological study of negotiation has undergone tremendous shifts in perspective over the last 30 years, they write, with these changes often occurring in tandem with broader developments in psychology and in society as a whole. Most recently, analysis has begun to look at social or personal factors against a backdrop of "rational" (or optimal) ones. While Bazerman and Valley and their colleagues herald the developments in negotiation studies, they also believe that the five emerging areas will enable researchers to comprehend—most importantly—how negotiators themselves define and create the game, both psychologically and structurally.
Learning how negotiators define the game, the group writes, "may be key to better understanding why parties do not reach agreements when we think they should."
Preconceptions Count
No one goes into a negotiation completely blind. Almost everyone who walks into a negotiation already holds a fairly strong preconception of how they expect it to go down. How such preconceptions, or what researchers call "mental models," actually control the outcome of a negotiation is one of the important new areas of investigation.
Mental models, they have found, encompass a variety of interlocking elements. These elements can include how each person understands himself or herself; how they understand their relationship with the other person as well as that person's characteristics; and what they perceive and know about the bargaining process and structure.
One area of new research into mental models is looking into how the framing of a negotiation can change the game. In one experiment, for example, it was shown that the amount of cooperation among participants was affected far more by what the game was called—whether the participants were told it was a "Community Game" or a "Wall Street Game"—than by the individual dispositions of the participants.
"Simply changing the name of the game changed the mental models the parties brought to the situation, and with it their definitions of what was acceptable or appropriate behavior," the group writes.
Other studies examine what are known as "shared mental models." In these studies, researchers analyze how the interaction between negotiators, springing from the negotiators' beliefs and preconceptions, can actually alter the game and fix its outcome.
"Ethical" Behavior
Varying interpretations of ethical standards are also tightly linked with how negotiators understand and define the game. Laboratory research on ethics in negotiation is starting to reveal, for instance, just how flexible and ambiguous such "standards" can be.
Different motivations and incentives all weigh in to alter negotiators' interpretations of ethical standards. Researchers are also discovering that people tend to see themselves as more ethical than the next person, and often justify ethically questionable behavior as self-defense. Negotiators have a hard time compromising on issues that are sacred to them, and may regard the negotiation itself as immoral. On the flip side, negotiators who declare that a topic is "sacred" and off-limits for discussion—when in fact it is not—can place unnecessary constraints on the game and on their ability to reach compromise.

Virtual Reality Immersion

2008-06-01T00:08:00.000-07:00

In a virtual reality environment, a user experiences immersion, or the feeling of being inside and a part of that world. He is also able to interact with his environment in meaningful ways. The combination of a sense of immersion and interactivity is called telepresence. Computer scientist Jonathan Steuer defined it as “the extent to which one feels present in the mediated environment, rather than in the immediate physical environment.” In other words, an effective VR experience causes you to become unaware of your real surroundings and focus on your existence inside the virtual environment.

virtual reality bubble
Photo courtesy of VIRTUSPHERE
A virtual reality unit that allows the user
to move freely in any direction

Jonathan Steuer proposed two main components of immersion: depth of information and breadth of information. Depth of information refers to the amount and quality of data in the signals a user receives when interacting in a virtual environment. For the user, this could refer to a display’s resolution, the complexity of the environment’s graphics, the sophistication of the system’s audio output, et cetera. Steuer defines breadth of information as the “number of sensory dimensions simultaneously presented.” A virtual environment experience has a wide breadth of information if it stimulates all your senses. Most virtual environment experiences prioritize visual and audio components over other sensory-stimulating factors, but a growing number of scientists and engineers are looking into ways to incorporate a users’ sense of touch. Systems that give a user force feedback and touch interaction are called haptic systems.

For immersion to be effective, a user must be able to explore what appears to be a life-sized virtual environment and be able to change perspectives seamlessly. If the virtual environment consists of a single pedestal in the middle of a room, a user should be able to view the pedestal from any angle and the point of view should shift according to where the user is looking. Dr. Frederick Brooks, a pioneer in VR technology and theory, says that displays must project a frame rate of at least 20 - 30 frames per second in order to create a convincing user experience.

The death of Hunter S Thompson has brought a whole raft of tributes to the founder of "Gonzo journalism". But what exactly is Gonzo, where did it come

2008-06-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

Aged just 67, the often drunken, drug-addled chronicler of the dark side of the American Dream has gone the way of all flesh, by his own hand, in the manner of his hero, Ernest Hemingway.
Obituarists from Wapping to Sydney have hailed Thompson as, among other things, "a great American", "explosive, shocking and frequently funny" and "a supernova of chaos, conspiracy theory and beautifully phrased bile".

GONZO - WHERE FROM?
Thompson credited Bill Cardosa with coining word
He said it was "some Boston word for weird, bizarre"
It possibly comes from the Italian gonzo or Spanish gonso, both meaning fool
And all have spoken of him as the inventor, and ultimate practitioner, of Gonzo journalism, that compelling and outrageous amalgam of reportage and literature, held together by an intoxicating emulsion of drink, drugs and sexual excess.
As a literary style, Gonzo has a number of roots, most notably the so-called New Journalism of the late 1950s and 60s.
Championed by Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer and Thompson himself, New Journalism blurred the old distinctions between journalism and creative writing.

Lasting legacy: Hunter S Thompson
It was the time of "love-ins" and "happenings", of flower children, surfers and hot-rod racers.
The tone was resoundingly colourful and experimental and, horror of horrors, the writer's own feelings and experiences often formed a cohesive part of the story.
Fellow-travellers also played a role in defining Gonzo. Most notable among these was Terry Southern, satirist and screenwriter on Dr Strangelove, Barbarella and that hippest of all hippy odysseys, Easy Rider.
Southern, whose sunglass-framed face graces the cover of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album, was scurrilous and frequently pornographic - witness his novel, Candy - and was feted by the New York Times as "the hippest man on the planet".
But where Tom Wolfe politely declined an acid tab in his iconic Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Hunter S Thompson denied himself nothing.
Excess... and then some
As Wolfe put it: "He was something totally new in journalism and in literature."
From now on, all bets were off. The writer became the story. Structure was thrown out of the window, replaced by a shambolic, yet magical, rollercoaster ride of artless hedonism.
This from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-coloured uppers, downers, screamers, laughers and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.

Must have been one heck of a picnic.

Tom Wolfe: New Journalism's urbane paladin
The UK had, after a fashion, its own exponents of Gonzo writing, confessional scribblers fuelled by drink, terrified of women and constantly in thrall to the Siren-call of the race course and the bookie.
There was the late, lamented, Jeffrey Barnard, the Coach and Horses' own writer/boozer, and the extraordinary novelist, Julian Maclaren-Ross, the template for Anthony Powell's X Trapnel, whose warning to fellow creative drunks echoes down the years:
"Only beware of Fitzrovia," Tambi said... "It's a dangerous place, you must be careful."
"Fights with knives?"
"No, a worse danger. You might get Sohoitis you know."
"No I don't. What is it?"
"If you get Sohoitis," Tambi said very seriously, "you will stay there always day and night and get no work done ever. You have been warned."

Back in the States, writers like PJ O'Rourke took up the baton of Gonzo. His bitingly waspish works, including the groundbreaking Holidays in Hell, thrilled a generation.
New horizons
Today, though, even O'Rourke looks neutered. The Republican Party Animal espouses the virtues of British Airways in a series of anodyne, if well remunerated, television adverts.
But 33 years after Fear and Loathing, and with technology opening-up new avenues of expression, Gonzo journalism has gone from strength to strength.
Weblogs allow writers unfiltered access to the internet and some bloggers, like the celebrated London call-girl Belle de Jour, have taken the process full-circle, pulling-in lucrative publishing deals.

Films like Supersize Me embrace the Gonzo spirit
On the big screen, Michael Moore is pure Gonzo. Bowling for Columbine, for instance, featured Moore as director, star and protagonist, successfully campaigning for K-mart to remove bullets from its shelves.
More recently, satire, experimentation and polemic came together in Morgan Spurlock's chillingly hilarious Super Size Me, in which he ate nothing but McDonald's products for a month, with predictable consequences.
But not everyone is taken with the idea of journalist as agent provocateur.
The highly-rated US blogger Billmon Billmon recently voiced his disillusion at the genre: "What began as a spontaneous eruption of populist creativity is on the verge of being absorbed by the media-industrial complex it claims to despise."
The truth of the matter may well be that, in its purest form, the only real Gonzo journalist was Dr Hunter S Thompson himself.
To the end, more extreme than the rest, he died, as he had lived; recklessly and defiantly unrepentant.
Let the final words, then, be his.
If I'd written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people - including me - would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today.
Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.

How Virtual Reality works?

2008-06-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

What do you think of when you hear the words virtual reality (VR)? Do you imagine someone wearing a clunky helmet attached to a computer with a thick cable? Do visions of crudely rendered pterodactyls haunt you? Do you think of Neo and Morpheus traipsing about the Matrix? Or do you wince at the term, wishing it would just go away?

virtual reality cave display
Photo courtesy of Dave Pape
A virtual reality CAVE display projecting images onto the floor, walls and ceiling to provide full immersion.
If the last applies to you, you're likely a computer scientist or engineer, many of whom now avoid the words virtual reality even while they work on technologies most of us associate with VR. Today, you're more likely to hear someone use the words virtual environment (VE) to refer to what the public knows as virtual reality. We'll use the terms interchangeably in this article.

What's in a name?
Virtual reality has gone by many other names besides virtual environments. Other terms for virtual reality include cyberspace (a word invented by science fiction author William Gibson), artificial reality, augmented reality and telepresence.

Naming discrepancies aside, the concept remains the same - using computer technology to create a simulated, three-dimensional world that a user can manipulate and explore while feeling as if he were in that world. Scientists, theorists and engineers have designed dozens of devices and applications to achieve this goal. Opinions differ on what exactly constitutes a true VR experience, but in general it should include:

* Three-dimensional images that appear to be life-sized from the perspective of the user
* The ability to track a user's motions, particularly his head and eye movements, and correspondingly adjust the images on the user's display to reflect the change in perspective

In this article, we'll look at the defining characteristics of VR, some of the technology used in VR systems, a few of its applications, some concerns about virtual reality and a brief history of the discipline. In the next section, we'll look at how experts define virtual environments, starting with immersion.

The Da Vinci Code

2008-05-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

The Da Vinci Code is a mystery/detective novel by American author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday Fiction. It is a worldwide bestseller with more than 60.5 million copies in print (as of May 2006) and has been translated into 44 languages. It is thought to be the sixth biggest selling book of all time. Combining the detective, thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, the book is part two of a trilogy that started with Brown's 2000 novel Angels and Demons, which introduced the character Robert Langdon. In November 2004, Random House published a "Special Illustrated Edition", with 160 illustrations interspersed with the text.
The plot of the novel involves a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the "true" story of Jesus. In the book, the Vatican knows it is living a lie but continues to do so to keep itself in power. The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. Fans have lauded the book as creative, action-packed and thought-provoking. Critics have attacked it as poorly written, inaccurate and creating confusion between speculation and fact. From a religious point of view, some critics consider it sacrilegious, and decry the many negative implications about the Catholic Church and Opus Dei.
Dan Brown's novel was a smash hit in 2003, even rivaling the sales of the highly popular Harry Potter series [1]. It spawned a number of offspring books and drew glowing reviews from the New York Times, People Magazine and the Washington Post [2]. It also re-ignited interest in the history of the Catholic Church. As well as re-invigorating interest in the church, The Da Vinci Code has also spawned numerous "knockoffs" (as they are referred to by Publishers Weekly) [3], or novels that have a striking resemblance to The Da Vinci Code, including Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar, and The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry.
Sony's Columbia Pictures has adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard directing. The film was released on May 18, 2006, and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing.

Plot summary
The book concerns the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (see Bérenger Saunière) of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found in the Denon Wing of the Louvre naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a Pentagram drawn on his stomach in his own blood. The interpretation of hidden messages inside Leonardo's famous works, (which relate to the concept of the Sacred feminine) including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.
The main conflict in the novel revolves around the solution to two mysteries:
• What secret was Saunière protecting that led to his murder?
• Who is the mastermind behind his murder?
The novel has several concurrent storylines that follow different characters. Eventually all the storylines are brought together and resolved in its denouement.
The unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The solution itself is found to be intimately connected with the possible location of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the Knights Templar. The story also involves a fictional rendition of the Catholic organization Opus Dei.
The novel is the second book of a trilogy by Brown in which Robert Langdon is the main character. The previous book, Angels and Demons, took place in Rome and concerned the Illuminati. Although Angels and Demons is centered on the same character it is not necessary to read the book in order to understand the plot of The Da Vinci Code. The next book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2007. Its working title is The Solomon Key, and it is understood to concern Freemasonry.
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Characters in the book
These are the principal characters that drive the plot of the story. It seems to be Dan Brown's style that many have names that are puns, anagrams or hidden clues:

Are We Alone in Love?

2008-05-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

Only three percent of mammals (aside from the human species) form "family" relationships like we do. The prairie vole is one such animal. This vole mates for life and prefers spending time with its mate over spending time with any other voles. Voles even go to the extreme of avoiding voles of the opposite sex.

When they have offspring, the couple works together to care for them. They spend hours grooming each other and just hanging out together. Studies have been done to try to determine the chemical makeup that might explain why the prairie vole forms this lifelong, monogamous relationship when its very close relative, the montane vole, does not.

According to studies by Larry Young, a social attachment researcher at Emory University, what happens is that when the prairie vole mates, like humans, the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin are released. Because the prairie vole has the needed receptors in its brain for these hormones in the regions responsible for reward and reinforcement, it forms a bond with its mate. That bond is for that particular vole based on its smell -- sort of like an imprint. As further reinforcement, dopamine is also released in the brain's reward center when they have sex, making the experience enjoyable and ensuring that they want to do it again. And because of the oxytocin and vasopressin, they want to have sex with the same vole.

Because the montane vole does not have receptors for oxytocin or vasopressin in its brain, those chemicals have no effect, and they continue with their one-night stands. Other than those receptors, the two vole species are almost entirely the same in their physical makeup.

The Long Haul?

2008-05-31T23:56:00.002-07:00

What about when that euphoric feeling is gone? According to Ted Huston at the University of Texas, the speed at which courtship progresses often determines the ultimate success of the relationship. What they found was that the longer the courtship, the stronger the long-term relationship.

The feelings of passionate love, however, do lose their strength over time. Studies have shown that passionate love fades quickly and is nearly gone after two or three years. The chemicals responsible for "that lovin' feeling" (adrenaline, dopamine, norepinephrine, phenylethylamine, etc.) dwindle. Suddenly your lover has faults. Why has he or she changed, you may wonder. Actually, your partner probably hasn't changed at all; it's just that you're now able to see him or her rationally, rather than through the blinding hormones of infatuation and passionate love. At this stage, the relationship is either strong enough to endure, or the relationship ends.

If the relationship can advance, then other chemicals kick in. Endorphins, for example, are still providing a sense of well-being and security. Additionally, oxytocin is still released when you're having sex, producing feelings of satisfaction and attachment. Vasopressin also continues to play a role in attachment.

Interview

2008-05-31T23:56:00.001-07:00

Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani met with TIME’s Scott MacLeod and Nahid Siamdoust to discuss the U.S., Rafsanjani’s presidential campaign and Iran’s nukes. Excerpts:

Time. When you announced your candidacy, you said you had doubts Iran’s future. What did you mean?
We don’t want to give the playing ground to the extremist elements. Those who persuaded me believed that a moderating current in charge in the country could improve our relations with the world. I believed in their logic.

Time. May Iranians criticize you for not standing up with a louder voice for democracy in Iran. Are you in favor of democracy in Iran?
I certainly believe in democracy, but I believe we have to take this course step by step. But in Iran after the revolution, we have always had true democracy. Our constitution was also approved by the overwhelming vote the people. Everything in Iran relies on the vote of the people. What else would be your definition of democracy besides this?

Time. What do you offer to the millions of young people who are impatient and unhappy?
We have to provide educational opportunities, think about their employment, provide them better conditions to many if they’d like to. If they have views and opinions, they shouldn’t have any problems expressing them.

Time. Would you be willing to extend a moratorium on Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for improved cooperation and improved relations with the West?
No, we’re not willing to suspend. But we’re ready to provide greater assurances to the world that we won’t move from peaceful nuclear technology. If we need time and negotiations for creating this confidence, we’re prepared. Our key policy is that the world move toward total nuclear disarmament.

Time. Is it Iran’s interest to insist on your right to a fuel cycle even if it means being taken to the U.N. Security Council?
I don’t see any reason why the international community should take us to the Security Council just because we’re trying to apply our own rights. If that is what you think, then you must interpret the world as very brutal. Now, if they do take such drastic actions, it won’t be just Iran that will lose. Others will lose as well.

Time. You were fore sending of your relatives to discuss the possibility of normalizing relations with the U.S. President Reagan once sent you a bible. Does that say something about your approach to dealing with the U.S.?
This means that we don’t have any problems with the people and the country of the United States. Whenever there has been an opportunity for reasonable cooperation, we’ve seized it. It was America that initiated the cutting of relations with Iran. (In 86) we made a limited agreement with them for receiving weapons in return for freeing hostages. But even there, the Americans behaved badly and messed up the game.

Time. Are you the statesman to take the initiative and break out of the cold war with the U.S.?
I think if the U.S. come long, it is possible to end hostilities. (The U.S.) has to take a serious step that indicate its goodwill for cooperation.

The Comeback Cleric

2008-05-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

Eight years after leaving office, Rafsanjani is poised to become Iran’s President again. Will he win over the West this time?
For a man who has spent nearly a decade out of the spotlight, Ayatullah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani still knows how to make an entrance. Arriving for an interview with TIME inside a domed marble Tehran palace, Rafsanjani, 70, strides in with the bounce of a man half his age. He’s even accompanied by his film crew. It’s all part of a slick campaign aimed at selling one of Islamic Republic’s old founding fathers as a hip reformer in tune with restless young Iranians, in hopes of returning the former president to the job he left in 1997. As he settles into a gilt trimmed chair, he says he may do a campaign commercial with the Iranian director of the recent film The Lizard, a huge hit that poked rare fun at the righteous clerics who form Iran’s ruling class. “It is an idea,” Rafsanjani says. “There is no script yet.” He laughs when told that his son Mehdi has already jokingly come up with a title the Spot: The Lizard II.”
It might as well be “Rafsanjani: The Sequel.” With Iranians set to go to the polls beginning next week for the first presidential election since 2001, Rafsanjani is poised-but with a 36% showing in opinion surveys, not guaranteed-to win a third term as President, having served twice from 1989 to 1997. Known as Iran’s most cunning political actor, he has positioned himself as the most palatable compromise candidate in the eight-man race, a centrist who can act as a bridge between Iran’s hard-line conservatives and its disillusioned reformers. At the same time, he is projecting a conciliatory line toward the U.S. and its European allies, with whom the Iranian regime is engaged in a high-stakes diplomatic showdown over the country’s nuclear ambitions.
In an hour long interviewed with TIME, Rafsanjani brushes aside the enmity that has characterized U.S.-Iranian relations since the Islamic revolution in 1979 and intensified since President George W. Bush inducted Iran into axis of evil in 2002. “We don’t have any problems with the people and the country of the United States, he says, adding that if the U.S. release Iranian assets in America-billions of dollars have been frozen since 1979-it is possible to end hostilities.” Says Rafsanjani: “When ever there has been an opportunity for reasonable cooperation, we’ve seized it.”
Given the Islamic republic’s two-year cat-and-mouse game with the U.S. over Iran’s nuclear program, the world has reason to be skeptical of Rafsanjani’s emollience. Iranian and European negotiators averted a possible crisis last month in Geneva when Iran agreed to shelve plans to resume uranium enrichment activities in exchange for a European pledge to present a detailed package of economic incentives after Iran’s presidential election. Rafsanjani-who stepped up Iran’s nuclear efforts in the 90s with the construction, assisted by the Russian, of the Bushehr power plant-says he support the talks but warns the EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) against dragging them out. He told TIME that Iran will eventually restart work toward completing the nuclear-fuel cycle-insisting, as the Iranian long have, that the intent is to produce energy for civilian use.
“We’re not willing to suspend,” Rafsanjani says. ”But we’re ready to provide greater assurances to the world that we won’t move from peaceful nuclear technology.” However, the Bush Administration believes that he is not likely to abandon what the U.S. regards as the regime’s ultimate goal, a nuclear weapon. “Some people think Rafsanjani is great reformer,’ a senior State Department says. “He has indicated he might want to open up relations with the U.S. But he’s also the father of the Iranian nuclear program.” Notes a senior White House official: “If you look at his past performance, you have to be skeptical, to say the least.
If nothing else, Rafsanjani has proved to be one of Iran’s most durable politicians. A confidant of revolutionary leader Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, Rafsanjani served as the powerful speaker of the Majlis, or National Assembly, for nine years before becoming President two months after Khomeini’s death in 1989. In the mid-80s, he played a pivotal role in the secret arms-for-hostages talks with Reagan Administration officials. Rafsanjani acknowledged to TIME that ”we made a limited agreement with them for receiving weapons in return for freeing hostages” held by pro-Iranian militants in Lebanon. He received a leather-bound Bible that Reagan sent as a gift through former aide Oliver North, which Rafsanjani says is inscribed with Reagan’s signature.
Rafsanjani’s resilience has enabled him to survive debacles that would have ruined a lesser pol. Many Iranians blame him for prolonging Iran’s eight –year war with Iraq by encouraging Khomeini to continue fighting after Iran’s decisive recapture of the gulf port of Khorramshahr in 1982. As president, Rafsanjani with stood criticism from human-rights activists and a German court for ignoring, if not approving, the murder by Iranian hit squads of regime opponents in Europe; the Iranian government rejected the accusations outright. Rafsanjani’s critics view him as opportunistic, corrupt in financial dealings and lacking guiding principles. “Have you ever heard of Machiavelli?’ ask Ibrahim Yazdi, head of the Iran Freedom Movement and a former colleague of Rafsanjani’s. His policy is always to be ambiguous. But he is a cleric, and deep down, he is a conservative.
But since announcing his candidacy for President in early May, Rafsanjani has tried to downplay his conservative reputation. When addressing young people, he emphasizes education and job opportunities but acknowledges that generation’s discontent over the lack of freedom. In campaign leaflets, he promises a transition to democracy. His makeover is testament to his ability to read political winds. The landslide re-election in 2001 of current President Mohammed Khatami made the idea of change so popular with voters that in this year’s campaign everyone is posing as reformer of some sort-even hard-line conservative, who appear in campaign posters as smiling, gentle souls.
The question on the minds of Iranians is whether Rafsanjani can deliver as President. His supporters insists that his experience and revolutionary credentials give him the clout to push through reforms-like greater press freedom, fewer dress-code and social restrictions, and better relations with the West-that are opposed by hard-line conservatives, who control the judiciary and security forces and are backed by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. In recent years, the mullahs have responded to the rising clamor for change by blocking reform initiatives of the elected leadership. Khatami was so intimidated by Khamenei that in 2000 he wouldn’t shake President Bill Clinton’s hand at the U.N. without calling the Supreme Leader back home for permission, which Khamenei refused.
Sources close to Khatami say Rafsanjani and Khamenei, whose rivalry dates to the revolutionary days, have a poor relationship and that Khamenei sent a message through Khatami instructing Rafsanjani’s response: “ I am the pillar of the revolution. I don’t take permission.” When Khamenei overturned the supervisory Guardian Council’s decision to disqualify reformist presidential candidate Mustafa Moin, some Iranian analysts saw it as an attempt to whittle down Rafsanjani’s vote totals and make him a weakened victor.
Rafsanjani says he plans to reach out to disaffected young Iranians-“If they have views and opinions, they shouldn’t have any problems expressing them,” he says-but he’s likely to risk his position by pushing for radical reform. ‘I certainty believe in democracy, but I believe we have to take this course step by step,” he says. A senior White House official says that given Rafsanjani’s conservative impulses, the U.S. will continue to “talk directly to the Iranian people’ in hopes of strengthening popular opposition to the regime. Yet Rafsanjani’s gradualist approach is finding a receptive audience among some young Iranians who look at Iraq and conclude that regime change isn’t as easy as it sounds.
“Democracy won’t come overnight,” says Mohammed Moaddab, 27, a graduate student in international affairs who voted twice for Khatami but is supporting Rafsanjani. “We need realism.” That may not satisfy idealists in Tehran or Washington. But with Rafsanjani as President, that may be the most they can expect.

Chemical Bonding

2008-05-31T23:53:00.001-07:00

In romantic love, when two people have sex, oxytocin is released, which helps bond the relationship. According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, the hormone oxytocin has been shown to be "associated with the ability to maintain healthy interpersonal relationships and healthy psychological boundaries with other people." When it is released during orgasm, it begins creating an emotional bond -- the more sex, the greater the bond. Oxytocin is also associated with mother/infant bonding, uterine contractions during labor in childbirth and the "let down" reflex necessary for breastfeeding.

Vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone, is another chemical that has been associated with the formation of long-term, monogamous relationships (see "Are We Alone in Love?"). Dr. Fisher believes that oxytocin and vasopressin interfere with the dopamine and norepinephrine pathways, which might explain why passionate love fades as attachment grows.

Endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, also play a key role in long-term relationships. They produce a general sense of well-being, including feeling soothed, peaceful and secure. Like dopamine and norepinephrine, endorphins are released during sex; they are also released during physical contact, exercise and other activities. According to Michel Odent of London's Primal Health Research Center, endorphins induce a "drug-like dependency.

The big question about Barack Obama

2008-05-31T23:50:00.002-07:00

That's Barack Obama's political résumé. Is it enough to qualify him to be president?
Sure, says Carol Hood, Democratic Party chairman in Calhoun County, Iowa. "Anymore, that might be a good factor," she says. "He doesn't have a lot of people he owes things to."
Probably not, says Matt Pearson, Democratic Party chairman in Buena Vista County, Iowa. "He could use a little more experience," he says. "A lot of the people I know say they really like him, but just don't think it's his time yet."
Obama said Tuesday that this could be his time to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago," Obama, 45, said in a statement released as he created a presidential exploratory committee. "But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels … I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics."
Obama's personal story, eloquence and hopeful approach to politics have made the only black in the U.S. Senate a top prospective 2008 candidate. When a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll asked Democrats and independents who lean toward Democratic candidates to choose among 15 presidential prospects last weekend, 18% said they would be most likely to support Obama. He ranked second to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the choice of 29%, and ahead of Al Gore, the 2000 presidential nominee; John Kerry, the 2004 nominee; and Kerry's running mate, John Edwards.
Edwards was a presidential candidate before he became Kerry's running mate in 2004. During his campaign, Edwards, who served one Senate term, also faced the experience issue.
"Of course" Obama will have to answer similar questions, Edwards told USA TODAY in December. "Just as I did and will, and as anybody else who wants to be president of the United States will have to do," Edwards said. "The test applies to all of us."
Obama wouldn't be the youngest presidential nominee or chief executive. William Jennings Bryan was 36 when he first became a Democratic nominee. John F. Kennedy was 43 when he was elected. Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when he was sworn in after the assassination of William McKinley.
Nor would Obama be the least experienced nominee or president. Wendell Wilkie had never been elected to any office before he became the Republican presidential nominee in 1940. Woodrow Wilson had been New Jersey's governor for two years when he was elected in 1912. George W. Bush served six years as Texas governor before being elected president.
Still, some Democrats say they need a more seasoned nominee who's prepared to tackle foreign policy issues such as the war in Iraq and dangerous relationships with Iran and North Korea.
Obama's inexperience is "the big question mark" about his candidacy, says Rep. Beth Arsenault, a Democrat who was just elected to the New Hampshire Legislature.
"It's not a deal-stopper necessarily," she says, "but two years in the Senate? It's not a lot."
The campaign crucible
David Axelrod, Obama's political strategist, says presidential campaigns aren't ultimately about candidates' job histories.
"Campaigns themselves are a gantlet in which you get tested," he says. "People get to see how you handle pressure and how you react to complicated questions. It's an imperfect and sometimes maddening system, but at the end of the day it works, because you have to be tough and smart and skilled to survive that process."
Some legislators who worked with Obama in the Illinois Senate say he proved he can overcome gaps in experience with his ability to quickly grasp complicated issues.
Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard, who took office in 1993, says he gravitated to Obama when the rookie arrived in Springfield in 1997.
"Sen. Obama was someone who I thought — and I was right — could tackle extremely complex things like ethics reform, the death penalty or racial profiling by law enforcement," Dillard says.
Obama was "a full partner" in drafting and passing the state's first major ethics law in 25 years, Dillard says. Obama also helped pass laws requiring that police interrogations and confessions in capital cases be videotaped and creating a state earned-income tax credit.
Such successes are rare, "especially in a rough-and-tumble place driven by seniority like Illinois is," he says.
State Sen. Donne Trotter, a Democrat, says Obama is "a quick read, a quick study."
Obama's tenure as a constitutional lawyer, he says, "prepares him to learn the intricacies and nuances of what the federal government is all about."
Trotter watched the newcomer research a universal health care system, educate other senators and become the architect of the legislation. Obama "is a reader, a learner of different approaches and philosophies," he says. "He has the brainpower to absorb the facts … and make good decisions."
'Managed to get it right on Iraq'
Obama has proved that, Axelrod says, with one decision that sets him apart from other possible Democratic presidential candidates, including Clinton: His opposition from the start to the war in Iraq. "However many gray hairs he has, he managed to get it right on Iraq," Axelrod told Chicago's WTTW-TV last week.
Experience doesn't guarantee success in the White House, historians and political scientists say.
Lyndon Johnson had a long career in Congress before becoming president, but history considers his White House record mixed because of the Vietnam War, says Dean Spiliotes, a political scientist at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Phil Gramm was a veteran senator and Lamar Alexander a former governor and Cabinet member when they ran for president in 1996, but neither won the Republican nomination, he notes.
"What really matters is your temperament and your ability to make good decisions," Spiliotes says. Voters, he says, "make their decision at a very intuitive, gut level. … They have a mental checklist of what a president looks like, sounds like and acts like."
Richard Norton Smith, a historian who has run several presidential libraries and museums, says it would be better "for Obama's sake, not to mention for the country's" if he had more experience. It would also be better if the campaign season were long enough for voters to fully gauge his character and aptitude for the presidency, Smith says.
As Obama's supporters often point out, Lincoln was a former member of the Illinois Legislature who had served briefly in Congress before becoming president. But the parallels in the men's careers are no indication of success for Obama, Smith says. Sometimes the election of inexperienced candidates whose charisma is their greatest asset "produced great presidents, and sometimes it produced decidedly mediocre ones," he says.
Nicole Schilling, chairman of the Democratic Party in Greene County, Iowa, says Obama's lack of a long political record will work to his advantage. "Some people are saying he's young, he needs to wait," she says. "I think it's going to work to his advantage here. … He's kind of a blank slate, and people are projecting what they think onto him."
'Not your Mayflower Americans'
Obama's experience is broader than his time in elected office. He was a community organizer in Chicago and led voter-registration drives. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He lived for a time in Indonesia, a Muslim country. He has traveled to the Middle East, Africa and Iraq.
"He has lived abroad and has relatives who are certainly not your Mayflower Americans and understands different cultures," Dillard says. "Many presidents with foreign-policy experience have not lived firsthand the type of life that Barack has."
None of the Democratic activists interviewed about Obama's chances suggested that his ethnicity matters, and the fact that he is black has not been a dominant factor in his campaigns.
In his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, he wrote that "white guilt has largely exhausted itself in America" and said it's not always easy for black politicians "to gauge the right tone to take — Too angry? Not angry enough? — when discussing the enormous hardships facing his or her constituents."
Obama's rawness has sometimes been evident since he went to Washington.
Last year, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sent Obama a biting letter accusing the Illinois senator of playing partisan politics in wrangling over an overhaul of ethics rules. "I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions," McCain, a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2008, wrote to Obama. The two later reconciled.
At a town meeting last year in Wheeling, Ill., Obama was asked by a youngster what he would do if someone gave him $1 billion. First, Obama said he'd pay off his mortgage and give the rest to his wife. He thought a moment and revised his reply, adding that he'd give "most of it" to charity. Then he said he'd put "several hundred million into buying mosquito nets" to prevent malaria in Africa.
In The Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote about his ambition. He describes his failed 2000 campaign for Congress as a consequence of "restlessness." He described feeling "envy of seeing younger politicians succeed where I had failed, moving into higher offices, getting more things done."
Obama also wrote about his distaste for "the meaner tasks" of politics: "the begging for money, the long drives home after the banquet had run two hours longer than scheduled, the bad food and stale air and clipped phone conversations with a wife … who was pretty fed up with raising our children alone and was beginning to question my priorities."
Last fall, Obama sounded like a man planning to run for president in an interview with Men's Vogue. "My attitude about something like the presidency is that you don't want to just be the president," he said. "You want to change the country. You want to make a unique contribution. You want to be a great president."
Mell Brooks, Democratic chairman in Littleton, N.H., says he thinks Obama can achieve that goal despite his inexperience.
"No doubt 20 years' experience is better than 10," he says." For some individuals, it might well be a drawback, but it depends on the intellect, the knowledge and the ability of the candidate," he says. "For Obama, inexperience is not a big drawback."

The Chemistry of Love

2008-05-31T23:50:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of chemicals racing around your brain and body when you're in love. Researchers are gradually learning more and more about the roles they play both when we are falling in love and when we're in long-term relationships. Of course, estrogen and testosterone play a role in the sex drive area (see How Sex Works). Without them, we might never venture into the "real love" arena.

That initial giddiness that comes when we're first falling in love includes a racing heart, flushed skin and sweaty palms. Researchers say this is due to the dopamine, norepinephrine and phenylethylamine we're releasing. Dopamine is thought to be the "pleasure chemical," producing a feeling of bliss. Norepinephrine is similar to adrenaline and produces the racing heart and excitement. According to Helen Fisher, anthropologist and well-known love researcher from Rutgers University, together these two chemicals produce elation, intense energy, sleeplessness, craving, loss of appetite and focused attention. She also says, "The human body releases the cocktail of love rapture only when certain conditions are met and ... men more readily produce it than women, because of their more visual nature."

Researchers are using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to watch people's brains when they look at a photograph of their object of affection. According to Helen Fisher, a well-known love researcher and an anthropologist at Rutgers University, what they see in those scans during that "crazed, can't-think-of-anything-but stage of romance" -- the attraction stage -- is the biological drive to focus on one person. The scans showed increased blood flow in areas of the brain with high concentrations of receptors for dopamine -- associated with states of euphoria, craving and addiction. High levels of dopamine are also associated with norepinephrine, which heightens attention, short-term memory, hyperactivity, sleeplessness and goal-oriented behavior. In other words, couples in this stage of love focus intently on the relationship and often on little else.

Another possible explanation for the intense focus and idealizing view that occurs in the attraction stage comes from researchers at University College London. They discovered that people in love have lower levels of serotonin and also that neural circuits associated with the way we assess others are suppressed. These lower serotonin levels are the same as those found in people with obsessive-compulsive disorders, possibly explaining why those in love "obsess" about their partner.

The New Age of Terror

2008-05-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

Soldiers in the war on terror have learned much since 9/11. So, too, has the enemy. How the London plot was foiled-and where we are in five-year struggle.
Have we learned anything since 9/11? President George W. Bush has apparently learned not to overreact. In the panicky days after the September 11 attacks, the president wanted to see ant scrap of information, no matter how thinly sourced. As a result, raw and unfiltered intelligence gushed into the Oval Office. A few weeks after 9/11, for instance, authorities in Pennsylvania received a frightening tip from an FBI office overseas: terrorist had a nuclear device on a train somewhere between Pittsburg and Philadelphia. The report went a straight to the White House, where the president was anxiously consuming threat traffic like a midlevel CIA analyst. The information, while terrifying, turned out to be bogus. Within a day it had been traced back to a conversation between two men overheard at a urinal in Ukraine.
Characteristically, some time later, Bush made a mordant joke of the scare. “Is this another Ukrainian urinal incident?” he would sarcastically inquire when some alarming but shaky intelligence came across his desk. His briefers learned to screen out the more lurid but unchecked tidbits, like the poison pen or jilted love letters that sometimes arrive at the FBI to falsely accuse a former spouse or boyfriend of conspiring with terrorist. Bush now trust his team to weed out such speculative intelligence, said senior Bush aide. The aide, who declined to be identified discussing the president’s state of mind, implied, perhaps without meaning to, that earlier in his administration the president was warier of intelligence advisers.
Though Bush can still probe the minutiae in intelligence briefings (He’s like a street cop, say Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House), the president took fairly hands-off approach to the biggest terror investigation since 9/11. Over the past several months, although British intelligence was closely tracking a plot to blow up as many as 10 airliners headed toward United States from Britain, Bush was kept only loosely in the loop. At a briefing on August.3, he was basically told,” This is happening and you should know about it, but we don’t have a lot of details yet,’ said a senior White House aide who asked to remain anonymous discussing intelligence briefings. The next day, the president was given a fuller picture. On Sunday, August. 6, Bush spent 45 minutes talking to British Prime Minister Tony Blair about timing-when to alert the airlines?-but he was informed of the impending arrest only they were about to happen. At the time. He was at his Texas ranch, building a dock on the lake and riding his bike. While British intel was closing in on the alleged plotters, Bush was egging his junior aides to join the “100 Degree Club,” an annual run in the scorching heat. Bush, who has quit jogging because of bad knees, rides a bike around his panting staffers, shouting, “Keep going! You can do it!”.
Five years after 9/11, The President’s advisers say they have learned a great deal about how to fight a war on terror, and they are no doubt correct. Bush was right to step back and to let his intelligence officials do their jobs. Before 9/11, America and its allies had few, if any, spies capable of penetrating jihadist cells. Although U.S. officials knocked down press reports that the Brits were able to plan a mole inside the plot, they do say that British intelligence had help-presumably one tip and maybe more-from Britain’s large and disaffected Muslim community. And although rival intelligence agencies at home and abroad still sometimes squabble and spar (and deny and deceive), they also cooperate better than they did Al Qaeda became a truly menace. “Everything flowed and worked as it needed to,” said the Senior Bush aide. “That’s what made this a seamless operation, from start to finish.”
Unfortunately, the enemy has also learned much in this new age of terror. No matter how often the United States or its allies capture a high-value-target- a top Al Qaeda leader- a new one seems to emerge as the shadowy terror network metastasizes. It is unclear if Al Qaeda Central, a hierarchical command structure, still exerts authority, but it may no matter: with the internet and fanatical inspiration, Al Qaeda can morph and spread. The new jihadists learn from the experiments and mistakes of their predecessors. The most recent bombing against radical Islam. A plot was foiled. But a look back at recent history shows how the terrorists can turn old plots into new ones.
Back before there was a war on terror, U.S. intelligence officials could not imagine that scale of what they now face. Steven Simon was a White House national-security official who went around the world meeting with counter terror operatives in other countries, or fingernail pullers, as he jokingly called them. He was in the Philippines in the fall of 1994, chatting with some embassy officials, when he became intrigued by the strange case of a Philippines Airlines flight to Japan that had been target of a terrorist bomb over the Pacific. The Pilot had been able to land the damaged plane, but a Japanese businessman had been blown in half by the bomb planted under his seat. Law-enforcement officials couldn’t figure out a motive. The businessman didn’t seem to be the target of an assassination. Only later did Simon realize that the explosion was a test run for something much more ambitious and horrible, and that the business was only the first casualty of what the terrorist hoped would be a steep butcher’s bill.

Types/Stages of Love: Attachment

2008-05-31T23:48:00.001-07:00

The attachment, or commitment, stage is love for the duration. You've passed fantasy love and are entering into real love. This stage of love has to be strong enough to withstand many problems and distractions. Studies by University of Minnesota researcher Ellen Berscheid and others have shown that the more we idealize the one we love, the stronger the relationship during the attachment stage.

Psychologists at the University of Texas in Austin have come to the same conclusion. They found that idealization appears to keep people together and keep them happier in marriage. "Usually, this is a matter of one person putting a good spin on the partner, seeing the partner as more responsive than he or she really is," says Ted Huston, the study's lead investigator. "People who do that tend to stay in relationships longer than those who can't or don't."

Playing a key role in this stage are oxytocin, vasopressin and endorphins, which are released when having sex (more on this later).

Let's find out more about the chemistry of love.

Types/Stages of Love: Lust and Attraction

2008-05-31T23:46:00.000-07:00

There are three distinct types or stages of "love":

1. Lust, or erotic passion
2. Attraction, or romantic passion
3. Attachment, or commitment

When all three of these happen with the same person, you have a very strong bond. Sometimes, however, the one we lust after isn't the one we're actually in love with.

Lust
When we're teenagers, just after puberty, estrogen and testosterone become active in our bodies for the first time and create the desire to experience "love." These desires, a.k.a. lust, play a big role both during puberty and throughout our lives. According to an article by Lisa Diamond, entitled "Love and Sexual Desire" (Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol 13 no. 3), lust and romantic love are two different things caused by different underlying substrates. Lust evolved for the purpose of sexual mating, while romantic love evolved because of the need for infant/child bonding. So even though we often experience lust for our romantic partner, sometimes we don't -- and that's okay. Or, maybe we do, but we also lust after someone else. According to Dr. Diamond, that's normal.

Sexologist John Money draws the line between love and lust in this way: "Love exists above the belt, lust below. Love is lyrical. Lust is lewd."

Pheromones, looks and our own learned predispositions for what we look for in a mate play an important role in whom we lust after, as well. Without lust, we might never find that special someone. But, while lust keeps us "looking around," it is our desire for romance that leads us to attraction.

Attraction
While the initial feelings may (or may not) come from lust, what happens next -- if the relationship is to progress -- is attraction. When attraction, or romantic passion, comes into play, we often lose our ability to think rationally -- at least when it comes to the object of our attraction. The old saying "love is blind" is really accurate in this stage. We are often oblivious to any flaws our partner might have. We idealize them and can't get them off our minds. This overwhelming preoccupation and drive is part of our biology. We'll go deeper into the chemicals involved in attraction in The Chemistry of Love.

In this stage, couples spend many hours getting to know each other. If this attraction remains strong and is felt by both of them, then they usually enter the third stage: attachment.

Terror management theory

2008-05-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

Terror management theory (TMT) is a developing area of study within the academic study of psychology. It looks at what researchers claim to be the implicit emotional reactions of people when confronted with the psychological terror of knowing we will eventually die (it is widely believed that our awareness of mortality is a trait that is unique to humans). The theory was first developed in the late 1980s by Skidmore College psychology professor Sheldon Solomon, University of Arizona psychology professor Jeff Greenberg, and Colorado University @ Colorado Springs psychology professor Tom Pyszczynski, who were graduate students at the University of Kansas at the time. The trio were inspired by the theories of Ernest Becker (The Denial of Death, 1973) and Freud, on how potent reminders of one's own ultimate death often provoke a belief in some form of mystical transcendence (heaven, reincarnation, spiritualism, etc.).
The theory builds from the assumption that the capability of self-reflection and the consciousness of one’s own mortality, can be regarded as a continuous source for existential anguish. Culture diminishes this psychological terror by providing meaning, organization and continuity to men's and women's lives. Compliance with cultural values enhances one's feeling of security and self-esteem, provided that the individual is capable of living in accordance with whatever particular cultural standards apply to him or her. The belief in the rightness of the cultural values and standards creates the conviction necessary to live a reasonable and meaningful life. Because of this men and women strive to have their cultural worldview confirmed by others, thereby receiving the community’s esteem. However, when one’s worldview is threatened by the weltanschauungen of another, it often results in one’s self-respect being endangered as well. In such a situation people not only endeavour to deny or devalue the importance third party weltanschauung, but try to controvert the ideas and opinions of others which may, as a consequence, escalate into a conflict.
Research has shown that people, when reminded of their own inevitable death, will cling more strongly to their cultural worldviews. The data appears to show that nations or persons who have experienced traumas (e.g. 9/11) are more attracted to strong leaders who express traditional, pro-establishment, authoritarian viewpoints. They will also be hyper-aware of the possibility of external threats, and may be more hostile to those who threaten them.
The theory gained media attention in the aftermath of 9/11, and after the re-election of President George Bush in the USA, Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK, and John Howard in Australia.
Terror management researchers have shown that making research participants think about death will lead to such changes in behaviors and beliefs that seemingly protect worldview and self-esteem. Nevertheless, these researchers have not yet demonstrated that this happens for the reason they propose, namely to alleviate unconscious fears of death. Direct tests of this hypothesis are likely to soon emerge in the scholarly literature.

Taking Aim at Mao :A New Biography of Mao Zedong Claims that The Chinese Leader was beyond redemption

2008-05-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Just so you know where they stand, Jung Chang and Jon Halliday declare in the very first sentence of their impeccably detailed biography of Mao Zedong that he “was responsible for well over 70 million deaths in peacetime, more than any other 20th-century leader.” And that’s one of the more positive things they have to say about the man who is still widely revered as the founder of the modern China. To Chang and Halliday, Mao was a scheming opportunist who butchered his way to the top, then squandered the lives and wealth of his people ina bungled quest for global influence.
The authors make an impressively strong case. Chang, a former Red Guard and barefoot doctor now married to Halliday, a British Historian, is known for her 1991 memoir Wild Swans, one the biggest-selling books of all time (10 million copies, 30 languages). Since its publication Chang has done little except delve into the life of the man who devastated her family in Wild Swans. (Her parents, dedicated Communists, were denounced as class traitors during Mao’s Cultural Revolutions; her father was tortured, driven insane and worked to death in a labor camp). Chang’s obsession is evident. About one-sixth of the 800-page Mao: The Unknown Story cites the diaries, intelligence reports, diplomatic messages and other documents she and Halliday unearthed in China, Russia and elsewhere, plus the 150 or so former Mao minions, victims and acquaintances they interviewed, including a dozen heads of state and government as well as the nurse who heard the Great Helmsamn’s last words (“I feel ill; call the doctors”). It’s difficult to gauge the reliability of all this research, but it builds a case sure to anger Mao fans everywhere, especially his successors in Beijing. Among the charges:
 During China’s civil war, Mao did not organize and lead the 1934-35 Long March of Red Army remnants to safety from pursuing Nationalists. Instead, the authors say, his relatively small force was left behind by disdainful colleagues and then decimated by his own scheming and incompetence.
 Mao survived the Long March largely because Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek made a secret deal with Stalin: Chiang let the Red Army escape in exchange for the Russian’s release of the Generalissimo’s son and eventual successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, held hostage in Moscow. Mao, meanwhile, solidified his power by luring a rival Red Army faction to its destruction and burying the survivors alive.
 Mao didn’t fight the Japanese during World War II, according to Chang and Halliday, but instead welcomed their invasion of the mainland. He and Stalin Planned to divide China with Japan; Mao would end up running a Soviet puppet state much smaller than today’s People’s Republic.
 To fund the Red Army in the early 1940s, Mao grew opium, bringing in as much as $ 60 million a year. He stopped after over-production drove down the price and Party officials-thought not Mao-decided the practice was unseemly.
 Mao made a fortune in royalties from his writings, which Chinese were forced to read while other authors’ works were suppressed. According to Chang and Halliday: “ Mao was the only millionaire created in Mao’s China.”
Some of the news in the book is not new. Mao’s womanizing, gourmandizing and peculiar personal habits-his aversion to bathing and teeth brushing, for instance-surfaced in the entertaining 1994 memoir by his physician Li Zhisui. Evidence of Mao’s Machiavellian ruthlessness has been seeping out of China for years. Journalist Jasper Becker that China’s granaries were bulging during the 1958-61 famine, the worst in history.
But Chang and Halliday have some genuine scoops-on Mao’s wartime conniving with the Japanese, his key role in fomenting the Korean War and, thanks to Halliday’s excavation in newly opened Russian archives, his complex dealings with Stalin. As with Chiang, Stalin held Mao’s son Anying hostage in Moscow for four years until Mao freed a pro-Soviet Chinese official.
Chang and Halliday also connect a few dots. While 38 million Chinese were starving to death during 1958-61, much of the grain they produced was being shipped to the Soviet Union, where it accounted for two-thirds of all food imports. It was a weapons-technology-for-food program, a demonic bargain to make China a military superpower even at the cost of its own citizens’ lives. “Half of China may well have to die,” Mao said of this deal to his inner circle in 1958, according to Party documents. China’s acquisition of the atom bomb. The authors calculate, caused 100 times as many deaths as the ones dropped by the U.S. on Japan.”

Aphrodisiacs

2008-05-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

According to the Food and Drug Administration, aphrodisiacs are based in "folklore, not fact." Still, people continue to believe in the love-inducing effects of certain foods, herbs and extracts. There are several common aphrodisiacs that may or may not have actual effects on your love life. Discovery Health listed some of these:

* Asparagus: The vitamin E in this vegetable is said to stimulate sex hormones.
* Chili peppers: Some researchers say that eating hot peppers makes us release endorphins, which might lead to "other things."
* Chocolate: This favorite for Valentine's Day contains phenylethylamine, one of the chemicals your body produces naturally when you're in love (see The Chemistry of Love).
* Oysters: Oysters contain high levels of zinc, which reportedly increased the production of testosterone. Testosterone increases libido for both sexes.

Others include Ginkgo, Spanish fly (dead beetle parts) and Damiana.

Most of these are supposed to create the desire for sex or improve male sexual ability rather than attract a mate. But, if you're stimulating hormones that make you more interested, then you're more likely to meet someone and fall in love. And, even if they don't actually work, some say that if you think it's going to work, you're halfway there.

Take good care on 3 unexpected factors

2008-05-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Today is the last part for my post of 5 Tips to prepare yourself for risk. So I make a conclusion on the right procedure that you should care about before you invest.
First of all, you do all the research and learn A to Z of the investment. Then you do all the preparation that you should do ( Those that I mention in my tip 2). Since, now, you have the great idea on the investment, and then you should have the ability to process and make your own strategy to invest and use the benefits of the investment options that you can get. You think all the things you do is complete and the investment is 100% safe and profitable. However, I means sometimes life is not that easy, you still have the risk to lost money. Why?
When comes to investment, there are a lot of factors that outside our prediction, here is 3 that I want to share:
1. Human Factors - When comes to money, there are a lot of party involved. So as your investments. For example, you invest in a stock and you know the price will raise. However, because of a mistake that made by the CEO, the stock price is going down unexpected. So this considered human factors.
2. Timing - Timing is very important for investing. When you want to invest and at what level you must exit and take the profit. This is what we always call entry and exit level. If you enter the market or exit at the wrong timing, you probably will drop down the profit or even lost in the investment.
3. Yourself - Yes, yourself is the biggest unexpected factor. Sometimes, our emotion is the hardest to control. When comes to money, we always bring along our emotion. And the funny thing is, emotion does always affect our decision making. Even you have your own investing plan or strategy, because of your emotion you will forget the plan and make your wrong decision. I experienced this before!
PS: If you have any new suggestion, you are always welcome to give comment on this to add more tips.
Anyway we are not a god, so sometime there are a lot of thing that we can control. But 1 thing I believe and this is also what I learnt from my mentor - Experience will train you up and make your prediction and decision more accurate!

What Makes us Fall in Love?

2008-05-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

We all have a template for the ideal partner buried somewhere in our subconscious. It is this love map that decides which person in that crowded room catches our eye. But how is this template formed?

Appearance
Many researchers have speculated that we tend to go for members of the opposite sex who remind us of our parents. Some have even found that we tend to be attracted to those who remind us of ourselves. In fact, cognitive psychologist David Perrett, at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, did an experiment in which he morphed a digitized photo of the subject's own face into a face of the opposite sex. Then, he had the subject select from a series of photos which one he or she found most attractive. According to Dr. Perrett, his subjects always preferred the morphed version of their own face (and they didn't recognize it as their own).

Personality
Like appearance, we tend to form preferences for those who remind us of our parents (or others close to us through childhood) because of their personality, sense of humor, likes and dislikes, etc.

Pheromones
The debated topic of human pheromones still carries some weight in the field of love research. The word "pheromone" comes from the Greek words pherein and hormone, meaning "excitement carrier".

In the animal world, pheromones are individual scent "prints" found in urine or sweat that dictate sexual behavior and attract the opposite sex. They help animals identify each other and choose a mate with an immune system different enough from their own to ensure healthy offspring. They have a special organ in their noses called the vomeronasal organ (VNO) that detects this odorless chemical.

The existence of human pheromones was discovered in 1986 by scientists at the Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and its counterpart in France. They found these chemicals in human sweat. A human VNO has also been found in some, but not all, people. Even if the VNO isn't present in all of us -- and may not be working in those who do have it -- there is still evidence that smell is an important aspect of love (note the booming perfume industry). An experiment was conducted where a group of females smelled the unwashed tee shirts of a group of sweaty males, and each had to select the one to whom she was most "attracted." Just like in the animal world, the majority of the females chose a shirt from the male whose immune system was the most different from their own.

How does love works?

2008-05-31T23:38:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been in love, you've probably at least considered classifying the feeling as an addiction. And guess what: You were right. As it turns out, scientists are discovering that the same chemical process that takes place with addiction takes place when we fall in love.

Love is a chemical state of mind that's part of our genes and influenced by our upbringing. We are wired for romance in part because we are supposed to be loving parents who care diligently for our helpless babies.

In this article, we'll find out what love really is and what happens in our bodies that makes us fall in love -- and ensures we stay there. We'll also look at what attracts us to someone in the first place. Is it their pheromones, or do they just fit the right "love template?"

What is Love?

2008-05-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

Romantic love both exhilarates and motivates us. It is also critical to the continuation of our species. Without the attachment of romantic love, we would live in an entirely different society that more closely resembled some (but not all) of those social circles in the animal world. The chemicals that race around in our brain when we're in love serve several purposes, and the primary goal is the continuation of our species. Those chemicals are what make us want to form families and have children. Once we have children, those chemicals change to encourage us to stay together to raise those children. So in a sense, love really is a chemical addiction that occurs to keep us reproducing.

Regardless of the country or culture, romantic love plays an important part. While cultural differences in how that love is displayed vary greatly, the fact that romantic love exists is undisputed.

But let's get down to the nitty gritty. What is it that makes us fall in love with someone in the first place?

\volume 3- Growth Investment

2008-05-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

Through its subsidiaries, Florida-based GeoPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: GORX; Recent Price: $4.35; Market Capitalization: $42.9 million) manufactures, packages and markets over-the-counter and generic pharmaceuticals, health and beauty care, dietary supplements and convenience foods products. GeoPharma also operates a wholly owned subsidiary that is the exclusive pharmacy benefit manager for certain union health plans, insurance companies, and other self-insured companies.
The company's strategy is to build a multi-faceted company that's able to capitalize on efficiencies and synergies arising from vertically integrated operations. GeoPharma's vertical operations include the capabilities of manufacturing and distribution, sales and marketing, an in-house formulation laboratory and other chemical analysis services, customer service and public relations.
A vertically integrated model could prove to be a key advantage in the highly competitive generic pharmaceutical market where, in addition to cost efficiencies, success is often determined by the amount of time to market. According to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association, generic drugs usually enter the market 30% below the brand price and decline to 60% or 70% of the brand price after two years. The market of generics has seen tremendous expansion of late, growing to $28.0 billion in 2005 from $12.0 billion in 2001, representing over half of all prescriptions. However, with intense competition quickly eroding profit margins, a vertically integrated firm stands to benefit from getting its product to market faster and from having lower unit costs associated with that product.
GeoPharma's primary manufacturing facility is a 33,222 square foot leased space in Largo, Florida. The second manufacturing facility is also located in Largo, at a size of 10,000 square feet. Combined, GeoPharma's two FDA registered facilities can manufacture approximately 900 million tablets and capsules annually. For the year ended March 31, 2005, these plants operated at 40% of capacity.
Subsidiary Belcher Pharmaceuticals, which is the prime manufacturing entity, produces over-the-counter and generic drugs as well as the company's dietary supplements. Belcher Pharmaceuticals entered the generic drug segment in March 2003. Since that time, it has acquired manufacturing rights to several key off-patent drugs for human and veterinary use.
For example, Belcher has filed a patent on a unique method to stabilize the drug Levothyroxine, sold under the brand names Synthroid (Abbott) and Soloxine/Levoxyl (King Pharmaceutical). Belcher has also filed an animal Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Carprofen, the generic version of Pfizer's Rimadyl, arthritis and joint-ailment products prescribed for both the animal and human markets. Pfizer's patent expired in 2004.
Sales of private label pharma- and nutraceuticals, manufactured by the Belcher division, accounted for approximately 36% of total revenues, or $17.9 million for the year ended March 31, 2006. One of GeoPharma's advantages is that its private label business is not dependent on any one customer for more than 5% of its revenues.

GeoPharma Inc. subsidiary Go2PBM Services is the pharmacy benefit manager for Careplus Health Plan, a New York-based Prepaid Service Plan (PHSP) that also provides healthcare to individuals through Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus. Go2PBM generated one-third of GeoPharma's total revenues for the March 31, 2006, year-end, or $16.5 million.

GeoPharma Inc. subsidiary Breakthrough Engineered Nutrition markets its own branded line of dietary supplements: Lean Protein Bites, Carbslim, Lean Protein and Thermo ZXE. Roughly 29.7% of GeoPharma's total sales, or approximately $14.7 million, came from its branded products sold through the Breakthrough Nutrition subsidiary in the year ended March 31, 2006.

In August 2005, GeoPharma formed American Antibiotics to manufacture and distribute Beta-Lactam antibiotic pharmaceutical products. For the year ended March 31, 2006, revenues from the newly formed American Antibiotics totaled $0.5 million, or 3.9% of total revenues.
GeoPharma's consolidated operating revenues for the year ended March 31, 2006, were $49.74 million, up 76.2% from the year before. Likewise, gross profit increased 115.6% to $12.46 million year-over-year. Net income for the year was $1.79 million, a reversal from the net loss of $0.9 million in 2005.
GeoPharma is shifting its revenue streams along different lines, moving toward becoming vertically integrated, and in the process, improving margins significantly. For the trailing twelve months (ttm), GeoPharma's earnings totaled $0.20 per diluted share. At a price of $4.48, this translates into a pricing multiple of 22X ttm earnings. Rising Star Stocks currently rates GeoPharma a Buy with a price target of $6.00, which represents a pricing multiple of 30x ttm earnings.

Viven A. Schmidt

2008-05-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

WHEN GEORGE BUSH ANNOUNCED the beginning of a new world order, he had in mind a world in which democratic governments would together keep peace in the world and make it possible for everyone to be free to prosper in a liberalizing international economy. Peace, as we quickly came to see, was a pipe dream, as has been global prosperity. The only part of the agenda that has been continuing on schedule is the liberalizing. Capital has become increasingly mobile and business increasingly international as borders that act as barriers to trade fall and as regulations that constrain commerce are lifted.
This has largely been the product of the concerted efforts of nation-states that, through international trade organizations such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), international financial entities such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and regional bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have sacrificed their own independence as they have increased that of business. It has also resulted from the political and economic reforms internal to nation-states, such as privatization, deregulation, and decentralization, which have diminished central governments' powers at the same time that they have freed business even more.
What are the consequences of this liberalized new world order for the nation-state? In this essay I argue that however beneficial it may be for global prosperity and business, the jury is still out regarding its effects on global democracy and government generally. Because the international and regional organizations in no way constitute supranational governments, and because they quite narrowly focus on trade, they are freeing business from the traditional constraints imposed by national governments and societal interests without substituting some equivalent at the supranational level. The result is a strengthening of business, with transnational corporations less tied to nations and national interests, and a weakening of the nation-state overall, in particular of the voice of the people through legislatures and nonbusiness, societal interests.
Some would counter that the rise of regional and international trade organizations will have strengthened the nation-state by reinforcing executive power and reinvigorating the rule of law;(1) and that business will always be subject to national regulation, whatever the origin of that regulation. This is, no doubt, true, but it suggests a partial view of what constitutes strength for the executive and implies a limited definition of the nation-state, since it ignores the role of legislatures and societal interests. Moreover, it entirely overlooks the potential impact of all of this on the state-society relationship, and it denies the effect on nations of multinational corporations that put global profits before community interests.
To begin with, while the power of the executive may be enhanced, autonomy will be diminished, as governments must negotiate with others on the formulation of policies that in the past had been their purview alone. Moreover, the strengthening of the executive and the judiciary refers primarily to powers over legislative and societal interests, not to state capacity, which will in many cases be weakened. By liberalizing their trade policies, by deregulating their economies, and by privatizing their enterprises, national governments have much less control over what goes on in their own territory or what their own multinationals do elsewhere, and they no longer have the resources they had in the past to solve social problems. At the same time, multinational corporations are less bound economically, politically, and morally to nation-states, while supranational bodies such as GATT, NAFTA, and the EU, by concentrating on trade, have given scant attention to the social spillovers.
Most importantly for issues of democracy in the nation-state is the fact that at the same time that the executive may very well have been strengthened, the legislature is likely to be weakened, to say nothing of the societal interests that will have increasing difficulty gaining a voice in decisions made at the supranational level that cannot be modified at the nation-state or local levels. In other words, deliberative democracy may also suffer as a result of this new economic world order. But it will suffer differently, depending upon the nation's particular characteristics as well as the extent to which it had to change in order to meet the competitive challenges created by the new international economic environment. Within Europe, the smaller European countries and France have suffered more disruption than Germany, Great Britain, and Italy. The two most powerful economies in the world, the United States and Japan, have so far felt very little of all this, although they are likely to feel the effects increasingly over the next few years, as regional trade bodies such as NAFTA or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gather momentum, and as the World Trade Organization (WTO) develops.
Thus, nation-states are experiencing the disruptive effects of the new economic world order at different rates, and although many will undergo a weakening of the nation-state and of the voice of the people, a few may find one or the other strengthened--Italy and Japan being cases in point. Overall, however, democracy is at risk.
None of this is to suggest that we should turn back the clock and abandon the international and regional attempts at coordinating economic policy. It is, rather, to point to the dangers inherent in these attempts and to recommend that governments begin thinking of ways to overcome the greatest threats to national democracy and, by extension, to global stability. The real challenge is not so much to establish supranational bodies capable of ruling on the whole panoply of social and economic problems involved in the internationalization of trade as to ensure that nation-states provide new vehicles for democratic expression at the national level that also provide national democratic access to supranational decisionmaking.
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURES ON THE NATION-STATE
In recent years, the editorial pages of newspapers have been covered with impassioned accounts of the problems confronting nation-states. Some have been concerned that the internationalization of the financial markets has left governments with minimal influence and little to do other than stabilize prices and government spending in order to avoid pressures on their currency and to attract investment. Others have expressed alarm over the growing power and concentration of multinational business (the top five hundred of which control two-thirds of world trade). Yet others have warned of the potential labor adjustment difficulties and the threat to national labor and environmental standards resulting from the efforts of international and regional trade organizations, in particular with regard to NAFTA. And some have even linked the internationalization of trade to the breakup of the nation-state, not only by reference to the relatively benign cases of separatist movements in places such as Quebec, Catalonia, and the Basque region, but also in terms of fundamentalist religious and communitarian movements.
In response to many of these problems have come increasing calls for the creation of supranational political institutions to deal with the social spillovers resulting from the decisions of supranational economic institutions. So far, such calls have fallen on deaf ears. No one wants to meddle with the markets.
The Pressures from the Rise of Business
There is little new in the argument that the increasing internationalization of business has freed it from the constraints of national governments. In the 1960s and 1970s, a vast literature developed on multinationals that saw the increasing economic interdependence and technological advances in communications and transportation as contributing to the escape of large corporations from nation-state control, and even to the rise of a new transnational corporation that would lose all national identification.(2) Very quickly, however, scholars found that the view of the overarching power of the multinational corporation and the concomitant decline of the nation-state, whether seen in a positive or negative light,(3) was overstated. Much of it overestimated the power of the multinational corporation and underestimated that of the nation-state.(4)
The predictions of the 1970s appear more relevant today, as home and host countries have been giving up their traditional controls over business in a wide range of areas in the context of international and regional trade agreements. As a result, multinationals have been coming closer to the "stateless" ideal that in recent years has come to symbolize the escape of business from nation-state control, where companies aspiring to status as global corporations seek to dissociate themselves from their countries of origin, with their operations scattered around the world and their subsidiaries lobbying as members of whatever country in which they are located.(5)
The statelessness of the multinational manifests itself in a variety of ways: the dispersion of operations; the loss of loyalty to home or host country when it comes to jobs and operations; and the ability to avoid burdensome taxes. As US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has argued, the dispersion of operations through the growing numbers of joint ventures, the increasing importance of capital markets for financing, the multinational character of production, and so forth, make corporations part of a "global web" that increasingly defies categorization by national origin.(6) Moreover, along with this dispersion of operations, multinationals have increasingly lost any sense of obligation to stay in communities in which they have invested. Even multinationals from countries such as Germany, where corporations have traditionally felt a social obligation to the community in which they operate, have increasingly been relocating with an eye to lower taxes and lower wages. And whether they stay or move, multinationals successfully use their mobility to pressure workers and to gain wage concessions. Finally, multinationals have also been quite adept at minimizing their tax liabilities through transfer pricing, setting profits or losses in countries where tax laws are beneficial to the company, despite the best efforts by countries such as Japan and the United States to limit this practice.

Reporting E-mail Scams

2008-05-22T02:01:00.000-07:00

If you're the victim of a traditional swindle, most people know what to do: File a police report with the proper jurisdiction if it's a criminal matter, or hire a lawyer. But Internet fraud and e-mail scams happen in the nether world of Cyberspace, where it's not always easy to find a cop on the electronic street corner. What's a victim to do?

There are definite steps you can take for reporting e-mail scams and Internet fraud. Several federal agencies, responding to the growing volume of scams, have set up divisions to take reports and investigate such incidents. Reporting e-mail scams helps everyone on the Internet.

fbi e-mail scam alert
Image courtesy of FBI
The FBI monitors e-mail scams and sends out alerts.

The FBI, together with the National White Collar Crime Center, run a Web site dedicated to Internet crime, called the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Visitors can learn more about Internet crime, review a "Frequently Asked Questions" gallery and view e-mail fraud and Internet scam examples. The site contains a large number of tips for avoiding specific scams. It also has a link for filing a complaint against a third party whom you believe has defrauded or attempted to defraud you.

The U.S. Department of Justice also hosts Web sites that allow you to report Internet fraud and e-mail scams. The site contains links to documents on how to report such crimes broken down by the specific type of fraud. It points out, for instance, that the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Service, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement all play a role in investigating and prosecuting e-mail scams and Internet fraud, depending on its nature.

There are also many private Web sites that contain information and tips about what to do if you suspect an Internet or email scam. Site such as Scamdex and Hoax-Slayer are two examples.

If the past is any indication, e-mail scam artists and Internet fraud perpetrators will continue to evolve with technology, constantly probing security systems for weaknesses and searching for victims to dupe. Like expert marketers, a recent trend has e-mail scams shying away from the "mass mailing" approach they once used in favor of targeted, more personalized appeals. Internet users should always use caution when receiving e-mails from unknown sources and should avoid following links they provide. Use the delete key, experts advise. If you think you've been a victim, report it to the online authorities.

Avoiding E-mail Scams

2008-05-22T02:00:00.002-07:00

E-mail scams are constantly evolving, driven by the nature of the crooks who invent them. In many cases, avoiding e-mail scams or Internet fraud can be achieved by being aware of the different methods that scam artists use. Here are some prime examples of e-mail scams along with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim:

* Phishing: This scam involves thieves trolling the Internet with fake e-mails, Web sites, chat rooms and other devices while illegally using the names of trusted financial brands in an attempt to convince victims to divulge personal financial information such as credit card or social security numbers.
* Money handling: This scam involves recruiting a third-party to receive funds stolen through another e-mail scam into an account before then transferring the money overseas, minus a commission. One such e-mail that recruits money handlers, or "mules," often has a subject line like, "I need your assistance," and a message that describe the sender as an overseas government official who is trying to move his countries' assets to a new secure location.
* Advance fee fraud: In this arrangement, a person is approached by someone posing as Nigerian official about an opportunity to make a huge commission by helping the crooked "official" hide a massive overpayment on a government contract. In the end, the victim is persuaded to provide a large up-front fee to keep the transaction moving forward.
* Lottery scams: Potential victims are notified via e-mail that they have won a large prize in a foreign lottery. In most cases, the victim is asked to provide either an up-front fee, or bank account or social security numbers so that the lottery can transfer the money.
* Internet auction scams: In this case, scam artists pick victims from those using sites such as eBay or Craigslist. They contact those bidding by e-mail asking to work with them outside the auction to make a deal. As usual, the perpetrator asks for payment up front, often in cash.

The best way to avoid e-mail scams and Internet fraud is by using common sense, experts agree. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you receive an e-mail from an unknown source, practice extreme caution. Keep in mind that the latest wave of e-mail fraud relies on targeting e-mails to specific individuals whom the crooks have picked through various means. Because of this, such an e-mail may contain information designed to peak your interest. Don't be fooled.

Phishing sample
Image courtesy of AntiPhishing.org
E-mail scams such as phishing involve sending fake e-mails.

Also, never click on a link provided in such an e-mail, as it may take you to a site where malicious software will attempt to invade your computer. If someone is offering you something for free, such as software downloads, be suspicious.

Above all, NEVER give out personal, sensitive information, such as social security, bank account or credit card numbers in response to such e-mails.

Vincent Weafer, an Internet security expert for Symantec, advises computer users to make sure they take advantage of patches offered by browser providers, which can plug holes in security systems discovered after the software's release, CNN reported.

Money Magazine asked several identity theft experts how they protect themselves. The experts said the most important steps include:

* getting free credit reports three times a year
* keeping an eye on online banking and brokerage accounts
* using cash or credit cards (not debit cards, which are associated with your bank account) when practical
* telling banks and other institutions not to share your financial info with another party.

Consumers should guard their social security number closely and ignore e-mail and other solicitations asking for sensitive information. On the next page, we'll talk about how to report e-mail scams.

How E-mail Scams Work

2008-05-22T02:00:00.001-07:00

Almost everyone who has e-mail has been greeted with a message that offers an amazing financial opportunity. From pleas from African government officials to notices that you've won a lottery (that you don't remember entering), the e-mail messages appear too good to be true. And they are.

E-mail scams and Internet fraud are two of the most common complaints of computer users today. Often well disguised and including just enough true information to be enticing, e-mail fraud can be potentially dangerous to the recipient's finances and credit rating. These thieves may seek to steal your money directly, using bank account or credit card numbers you provide. Or they may seek to steal your identity, running up charges in your name. Money Magazine reports that more than 93 million personal data records have been lost or stolen since February 2005.

online shopping
© Photographer: Tyler Olson | Agency: Dreamstime
Shopping online requires careful monitoring to avoid potential e-mail scams.

No one is safe. The FBI issued a warning in July 2007 about an increasing number of e-mail scams where the perpetrators impersonated the FBI to intimidate victims into giving up personal data. A similar e-mail scam was sent to taxpayers seemingly from the Internal Revenue Service, telling the taxpayers that they had an unclaimed refund.

E-mail scammers also act quickly. In November 2007, CNN reported that scammers were e-mailing people and asking them to donate to victims of the California wildfires.Such scams also appeared after 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

A recent report from Symantec, a supplier of Internet security software, said Web pirates are moving away from viruses and other damaging software and instead are focusing on financial gain through fraud. Government and private citizens in the United States provide more than half of the Internet activity that might lead to identity theft, the report stated.

E-mail scams and Internet fraud are widespread and costly. The FBI estimates computer-related crimes, including virus attacks, identity theft and other fraud, has cost $400 billion in the United States. The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a joint venture between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, logged its 1 millionth complaint in the summer of 2007.

In this article we'll discuss e-mail scams and Internet fraud -- how to recognize it and how to protect yourself

Appetite Increase

2008-05-22T01:54:00.000-07:00

Definition

Hunger is a normal desire for food. Hyperphagia and polyphagia refer to being focused only on eating (gluttony), or eating excessively before feeling full. These can be symptoms of various disorders.
Images:
Lower digestive anatomy
Lower digestive anatomy
Alternative Names
Hyperphagia; Increased appetite; Hunger; Excessive hunger; Polyphagia
Considerations

Both psychological and endocrine gland disorders can cause polyphagia, which is fairly common.

Polyphagia can be intermittent (come and go), or persistent, depending on the cause. It does not always result in weight gain.
Common Causes

* Anxiety
* Premenstrual syndrome
* Bulimia (most common in women between ages 18 and 30 years old)
* Diabetes mellitus (including Gestational diabetes)
* Graves' disease
* Hyperthyroidism
* Hypoglycemia
* Drugs -- such as corticosteroids, cyproheptadine, and tricyclic antidepressants

Home Care

Emotional support, and in some cases psychological counseling, are recommended.

For drugs that cause increased appetite and weight gain, ask your health care provider if you can decrease the dosage or discontinue the medication. CONSULT WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER BEFORE CHANGING MEDICATIONS.
Call your health care provider if

* There is an unexplained, persistent increase in appetite.
* Other unexplained symptoms accompany the problem.

What to expect at your health care provider's office

A history will be obtained (with emphasis on eating habits) and a physical examination performed. Once determined, the underlying cause will be treated.

Medical history questions may include:

* Eating habits
o Have you changed your eating habits?
o Have you begun dieting?
o Do you have concerns about your weight?
o What do you eat in a typical day?
o How much do you eat?
* Medication
o What medications are you taking?
o Are you taking any new medications, or have you changed the dose of your medications?
o Do you use any illicit drugs? If so, what?
* Time pattern
o Does the hunger occur during the sleep period?
o Does the hunger seem to occur in a pattern related to your menstrual cycle?
* Other
o What other symptoms are occurring at the same time?
o Have you noticed an increase in anxiety?
o Do you have frequent urination?
o Is there increased heart rate?
o Do you have palpitations?
o Is there an increase in thirst?
o Have you had an unintentional weight gain?
o Is there intentional or unintentional vomiting?

The physical examination will probably include a measurement of the body weight. Psychological evaluation may also be performed in some cases.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed are:

* Blood tests, including a chemistry profile
* Tests for suspected physical causes (such as thyroid function tests)

After seeing your health care provider:

You may want to add a diagnosis related to increased appetite to your personal medical record.

Excessive Urination at Night

2008-05-22T01:51:00.000-07:00

Definition

Waking up several times a night to urinate is called nocturia.
Images:
Female urinary tract
Female urinary tractMale urinary tract
Male urinary tract
Alternative Names
Nocturia
Considerations

Normally, urine decreases in amount and become more concentrated at night. That means, most people can sleep 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate.

But, persons with nocturia get up more than once during the night to urinate. Because of this, those who have excessive urination at night often have disrupted sleep cycles.
Common Causes

* Drinking too much fluid before bedtime -- particularly coffee, caffeinated beverages, or alcohol
* Benign prostatic hyperplasia
* Diabetes
* Chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection
* Chronic renal failure
* Congestive heart failure
* Cystitis (acute urinary tract infection)
* Drugs such as diuretics, cardiac glycosides, demeclocycline, lithium, methoxyflurane, phenytoin, propoxyphene, and excessive vitamin D
* Obstructive sleep apnea

Home Care

Keep a diary of how much fluid you drink, how often you urinate, and urine output. Record your body weight at the same times and on the same scale daily.
Call your health care provider if

* Excessive nighttime urination continues over several days, and is not explained by medications or increase of fluids before bedtime.
* You are bothered by the number of times you must urinate during the night.

What to expect at your health care provider's office

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your nighttime urination, such as:

* When did it start?
* How many times does this occur each night?
* Has there been a change in the volume of urine produced?
* Do you ever have "accidents" or bed wetting?
* How much urine is voided each time?
* What makes the problem worse? Better?
* How much fluid do you drink before bedtime? Have you tried restricting fluids before bedtime?
* What other symptoms are also present? Do you have increased thirst, pain or burning on urination, fever, abdominal pain, or back pain?
* What medications are being taken?
* How much caffeine do you consume each day?
* Have you had any bladder infections in the past?
* Is there a family history of diabetes?
* Does nighttime urination interfere with adequate sleep and rest?
* Do you drink alcoholic beverages and, if so, how much each day?
* Have you changed your diet recently?

Electrolytes and fluids will be monitored over a period of time.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:

* Blood urea nitrogen
* Serum creatinine or creatinine clearance
* Fluid deprivation
* Osmolality
* Serum electrolytes
* Urinalysis
* Urine concentration
* Urine culture

Treatment depends on the cause. If excessive nighttime urination is due to diuretic medications, you may be told to take your medication earlier in the day.

Frequent Or Urgent Urination

2008-05-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

Definition

Frequent urination means needing to urinate more often than usual. Urgent urination is a sudden, compelling urge to urinate, along with discomfort in your bladder.

A frequent need to urinate at night is called nocturia. Most people can sleep for 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate. Middle aged and older men often wake to urinate once in the early morning hours.
Images:
Female urinary tract
Female urinary tractMale urinary tract
Male urinary tract
Alternative Names
Urgent urination; Urinary frequency or urgency
Common Causes

Together, frequent and urgent urination are classic signs of a urinary tract infection. Since inflammation reduces the bladder's capacity to hold urine, even small amounts of urine cause discomfort.

Diabetes, pregnancy, and prostate problems are other common causes of these symptoms.

Other causes include:

* Interstitial cystitis (an ongoing inflammation of the bladder that is much more common in women than men; often difficult to diagnose and treat)
* Diuretics and many other medications

And, less commonly:

* Radiation therapy
* Bladder dysfunction
* Bladder cancer

Common causes of nighttime urination:

* Drinking too much before bedtime, especially caffeine or alcohol
* Enlarged prostate

Home Care

Follow the therapy recommended by your doctor to treat the underlying cause of your urinary frequency or urgency. It may help to keep a diary of times and amounts of urine voided to bring with you to the doctor.

In some cases, you may experience some urinary incontinence for a period of time. You may need to take steps to protect your clothing and bedding.
Call your health care provider if

Call your doctor right away if:

* You have fever, back or side pain, vomiting, or shaking chills.
* You have increased thirst or appetite, fatigue, or sudden weight loss.

Also call your doctor if:

* You have urinary frequency or urgency, but you are not pregnant and you are not drinking excessive amounts of fluid.
* You have incontinence or have altered your lifestyle because of your symptoms.
* You have bloody or cloudy urine.
* There is a discharge from the penis or vagina.

What to expect at your health care provider's office

Your health care provider will take a medical history and perform a physical examination. Medical history questions may include:

* When did the increased urinary frequency start?
* How many times each day are you urinating?
* Is there more frequent urination during the day or at night?
* Do you have an increased amount of urine?
* Has there been a change in the color of your urine? Does it appear lighter, darker, or more cloudy than usual? Have you noticed any blood?
* Do you have pain when urinating, or a burning sensation?
* Do you have other symptoms? Increased thirst? Pain in your abdomen? Pain in your back? Fever?
* Do you have difficulty starting the flow of urine?
* Are you drinking more fluids than usual?
* Have you had a recent bladder infection?
* Are you pregnant?
* What medications are you taking?
* Have you had any previous urinary problems?
* Have you recently changed your diet?
* Do you drink beverages containing alcohol or caffeine?

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:

* Urinalysis
* Urine culture and sensitivity tests
* Cystometry (a measurement of the pressure within the bladder)
* Cystoscopy
* Neurological tests (for some urgency problems)
* Ultrasonography (such as an abdominal ultrasound or a pelvic ultrasound)

Treatment is determined by the cause of the urgency and frequency. Antibiotics and medicine may be prescribed to lessen the discomfort, if needed.
Prevention

For nighttime urination, avoid excessive fluid before going to bed, particularly coffee, other caffeinated beverages, and alcohol.

Excessive Thirst

2008-05-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Definition

Excessive thirst is an abnormal feeling of always needing to drink fluids.
Images:
Insulin production and diabetes
Insulin production and diabetes
Alternative Names
Increased thirst; Polydipsia; Excessive thirst
Considerations

Drinking lots of water is usually healthy. However, the urge to drink too much beyond a certain limit may be the result of an underlying disease, either physical or emotional. Excessive thirst may be a symptom of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), and can be an important clue in detecting diabetes.

Excessive thirst is a fairly common symptom. It is often the reaction to fluid loss during exercise, or to eating salty foods.
Common Causes

* A recent salty or spicy meal
* Bleeding enough to cause a significant decrease in blood volume
* Diabetes
* Diabetes insipidus
* Drugs such as anticholinergics, demeclocycline, diuretics, phenothiazines
* Excessive loss of water and salt (possibly due to not drinking enough water, profuse sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting)
* Loss of body fluids from the bloodstream into the tissues due to:
o Conditions such as severe infections (sepsis) or burns
o Heart, liver, or kidney failure
* Psychogenic polydipsia, the result of a mental disorder, is a condition causes a person to drink too much

Home Care

Because thirst is usually the body's signal to replace water loss, it is usually appropriate to drink plenty of liquids.

A very strong, constant urge to drink may be a sign of a psychological problem, which may mean psychological help is needed.

For thirst caused by diabetes, follow the prescribed treatment to properly control blood sugar levels.
Call your health care provider if

* Excessive thirst is persistent and unexplained
* Thirst is accompanied by other unexplained symptoms, such as blurry vision and fatigue
* You are passing more than 5 quarts of urine per day

What to expect at your health care provider's office

The health care provider will get your medical history and perform a physical examination.

Medical history questions may include the following:

* How long have you been aware of having increased thirst?
* Is it consistent during the day?
* Is it worse during the day?
* Did it develop suddenly or slowly?
* Are you eating more salty or spicy foods?
* How much salt do you have each day?
* Did you change your diet?
* Have you noticed an increased appetite?
* Have you noticed an unintentional weight gain?
* Have you noticed an unintentional weight loss?
* Has your activity level recently increased?
* What other symptoms are happening at the same time?
* Have you recently suffered a burn or other injury?
* Are you urinating more or less frequently than usual?
* Are you producing more or less urine than usual?
* Have you noticed any bleeding?
* Are you sweating more than usual?
* Is there any swelling in your body?
* Do you have a fever?

A psychological evaluation may be recommended if compulsive thirst of psychological origin is suspected. Fluid intake and output will be closely watched.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include the following:

* Urinalysis
* CBC and blood differential
* Serum calcium
* Blood glucose level
* Urine osmolality
* Serum osmolality
* Serum sodium

Type 2 Diabetes

2008-05-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

Definition

Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It occurs when the body does not respond correctly to insulin, a hormone released by the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes.

See also:

* Diabetes
* Type 1 diabetes
* Gestational diabetes

Images:
Diabetes and exercise
Diabetes and exerciseDiabetic emergency supplies
Diabetic emergency suppliesLow blood sugar symptoms
Low blood sugar symptoms15/15 rule
15/15 ruleStarchy foods
Starchy foodsGlucose in blood
Glucose in bloodAlpha-glucosidase inhibitors
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitorsBiguanides
BiguanidesSulfonylureas drug
Sulfonylureas drugThiazolidinediones
ThiazolidinedionesFood and insulin release
Food and insulin releaseMonitor blood glucose - series
Monitor blood glucose - series
Alternative Names

Noninsulin-dependent diabetes; Diabetes - type 2
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move glucose (blood sugar) into cells, where it is used for energy.

If glucose does not get into the cells, the body cannot use it for energy. Too much glucose will then remain in the blood, causing the symptoms of diabetes.

There are several types of diabetes. This article focuses on type 2, which is usually accompanied by obesity and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance means that insulin produced by your pancreas cannot get inside fat and muscle cells to produce energy. Since the cells are not getting the insulin they need, the pancreas produces more and more. Over time, abnormally high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia. Many people with insulin resistance have hyperglycemia and high blood insulin levels at the same time. People who are overweight have a higher risk of insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body's ability to use insulin.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs gradually. Most people with the disease are overweight at the time of diagnosis. However, type 2 diabetes can also develop in those who are thin, especially the elderly.

Family history and genetics play a large role in type 2 diabetes. Low activity level, poor diet, and excess body weight (especially around the waist) significantly increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.

Other risk factors include:

* Race/ethnicity (African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans all have high rates of diabetes)
* Age greater than 45 years
* Previously identified impaired glucose tolerance by your doctor
* High blood pressure
* HDL cholesterol of less than 35 mg/dL or triglyceride level of greater than 250 mg/dL
* History of gestational diabetes

Symptoms

Often, people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms at all. If you do have symptoms, they may include:

* Increased thirst
* Increased urination
* Increased appetite
* Fatigue
* Blurred vision
* Frequent or slow-healing infections
* Erectile dysfunction

Signs and tests

Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed with the following blood tests:

* Fasting blood glucose level -- diabetes is diagnosed if higher than 126 mg/dL on 2 occasions.
* Random (non-fasting) blood glucose level -- diabetes is suspected if higher than 200 mg/dL and accompanied by the classic symptoms of increased thirst, urination, and fatigue (this test must be confirmed with a fasting blood glucose test).
* Oral glucose tolerance test -- diabetes is diagnosed if glucose level is higher than 200 mg/dL after 2 hours.

Treatment

The first goals are to eliminate the symptoms and stabilize your blood glucose levels. The ongoing goals are to prevent long-term complications and prolong your life. The primary treatment for type 2 diabetes is exercise and diet.

LEARN THESE SKILLS

You should learn basic diabetes management skills. They will help prevent complications and the need for medical care. These skills include:

* How to test and record your blood glucose (see blood glucose monitoring)
* What to eat and when
* How to take medications, if indicated
* How to recognize and treat low and high blood sugar
* How to handle sick days
* Where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

It may take several months to learn the basic skills. Always continue to educate yourself about the disease and its complications, as well as how to control and live with diabetes. Over time, stay current on new research and treatment.

SELF-TESTING

Regular self-testing of your blood sugar tells you how well your combination of diet, exercise, and medication are working. Tests are usually done before meals and at bedtime. More frequent testing may be needed when you are sick or under stress.

A device called a glucometer can provide an exact blood sugar reading. There are different types of devices. Usually, you prick your finger with a small needle called a lancet, which gives you a tiny drop of blood. You place the blood on a test strip, and put the strip into the device. Results are available within 30 to 45 seconds.

A health care provider or diabetes educator will help set up an appropriate testing schedule for you. You will also be taught how to respond to different ranges of glucose values obtained when you self-test.

The results of the test can be used to adjust meals, activity, or medications to keep blood sugar levels in an appropriate range. Testing provides valuable information for the health care provider and identifies high and low blood sugar levels before serious problems develop.

Accurate record keeping of test results will help you and your health care provide plan how to best control your diabetes.

DIET AND WEIGHT CONTROL

Meal planning includes choosing healthy foods, eating the right amount of food, and eating meals at the right time. You should work closely with your health care provider to learn how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you need in your diet. Your specific meal plans need to be tailored to your food habits and preferences.

Managing your weight and eating a well-balanced diet are important. Some people with type 2 diabetes can stop medications after intentional weight loss, although the diabetes is still present. A registered dietitian can be helpful in determining your specific, individual dietary needs. (See diabetes diet.)

REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Regular exercise is important for everyone, but especially if you have diabetes. Regular exercise helps control the amount of glucose in the blood. It also helps burn excess calories and fat so you can manage your weight.

Exercise improves overall health by improving blood flow and blood pressure. It decreases insulin resistance even without weight loss. Exercise also increases the body's energy level, lowers tension, and improves your ability to handle stress.

The following should be considered when starting an exercise routine:

* Check with your health care provider before starting an exercise program.
* Choose an enjoyable physical activity that is appropriate for the current fitness level.
* Exercise every day, and at the same time of day, if possible.
* Monitor blood glucose levels at home before and after exercise.
* Carry food that contains a fast-acting carbohydrate in case blood glucose levels get too low during or after exercise.
* Wear a diabetes identification bracelet and carry change or a cell phone for a phone call in case of emergency.
* Drink extra fluids that do not contain sugar before, during, and after exercise.
* Changes in exercise intensity or duration may require modification of your diet or medication to keep blood glucose levels in an appropriate range.

MEDICATION

When diet and exercise do not help maintain normal or near-normal blood glucose levels, your doctor may prescribe medication. Some of the most common types are listed below. They are taken by mouth.

* Oral sulfonylureas (like glimepiride, glyburide, and tolazamide) trigger the pancreas to make more insulin.
* Biguanides (Metformin) tell the liver to decrease its production of glucose, which increases glucose levels in the blood stream.
* Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (such as acarbose) decrease the absorption of carbohydrates from the digestive tract, thereby lowering the after-meal glucose levels.
* Thiazolidinediones (such as rosiglitazone) help insulin work better at the cell site. In essence, they increase the cell's sensitivity (responsiveness) to insulin.
* Meglitinides (including repaglinide and nateglinide) trigger the pancreas to make more insulin in response to how much glucose is in the blood.

If you continue to have poor blood glucose control despite lifestyle changes and taking medicines by mouth, your doctor will prescribe insulin. Insulin may also be prescribed if you have had a bad reaction to other medicines. Insulin must be injected under the skin using a syringe and cannot be taken by mouth.

Insulin preparations differ in how fast they start to work and how long they work. Your healthcare provider will determine the appropriate type of insulin to use and will tell you what time of day to use it.

More than one type may be mixed together in an injection to achieve the best control of blood glucose. Usually injections are needed one to four times a day. Your doctor or diabetes educator will show you how to give yourself an injection.

FOOT CARE

People with diabetes are prone to foot problems. Diabetes can cause damage to nerves, which means you may not feel an injury to the foot until a large sore or infection develops. Diabetes can also damage blood vessels, which makes it harder for the body to fight infection.

To prevent injury to the feet, a person with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:

* Check your feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection.
* Wash feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly.
* Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly.
* Protect feet with comfortable, well-fitting shoes.
* Exercise daily to promote good circulation.
* See a podiatrist for foot problems, or to have corns or calluses removed.
* Remove shoes and socks during a visit to the health care provider to remind them to examine your feet.
* Stop smoking because it worsens blood flow to the feet.

CONTINUING CARE

A person with type 2 diabetes should have a visit with a diabetes care provider every 3 months. A complete examination includes:

* Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a 3-month average of your blood glucose level. This test measures how much glucose has been sticking to red blood cells and other cells. A high HbA1c is an indicator of risk for long-term complications. Currently, the ADA recommends an HbA1c of less than 7% to protect oneself from complications.
* Blood pressure check
* Foot and skin examination
* Ophthalmoscopy examination
* Neurological examination

The following evaluations should be done at least once a year:

* Random microalbumin (urine test for protein)
* BUN and serum creatinine
* Serum cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides
* ECG
* Dilated retinal exam

Support Groups

For additional information, see diabetes resources.
Expectations (prognosis)

The risk of long-term complications from diabetes can be reduced. If you control your blood glucose and blood pressure, you can reduce your risk of death, stroke, heart failure, and other complications. Reduction of HbA1c by even 1% can decrease your risk for complications by 25%.
Complications

Emergency complications include diabetic coma.

Long-term complications include:

* Diabetic retinopathy (eye disease)
* Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease)
* Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage)
* Peripheral vascular disease (damage to blood vessels/circulation)
* High cholesterol, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease

Calling your health care provider

Call your health care provider immediately if you have:

* Trembling
* Weakness
* Drowsiness
* Headache
* Confusion
* Dizziness
* Double vision
* Lack of coordination

These symptoms can rapidly progress to emergency conditions (such as convulsions, unconsciousness, or hypoglycemic coma).
Prevention

Everyone over 45 should have blood glucose checked at least every 3 years. Regular testing of random blood glucose should begin at a younger age and be performed more often if you are at particular risk for diabetes.

Maintain a healthy body weight and keep an active lifestyle to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
References

Rao G. Insulin resistance syndrome. Am Fam Physician. 2001 Mar 15;63(6):1159-63, 1165-6.

Watson S, Miller K. Encyclopedia of the Human Body: The Endocrine System. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2004.

Larson PR, Kronenberg HM, Melmed S, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 10th ed. St. Louis, MO: WB Saunders; 2003.

Type 1 Diabetes

2008-05-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

Definition

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic (lifelong) disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to properly control blood sugar levels.

See also:

* Diabetes
* Gestational diabetes
* Type 2 diabetes

Images:
Endocrine glands
Endocrine glandsInsulin pump
Insulin pumpGlucose test
Glucose testInsulin pump
Insulin pumpType I diabetes
Type I diabetesMonitor blood glucose - series
Monitor blood glucose - series
Alternative Names
Insulin-dependent diabetes; Juvenile onset diabetes; Diabetes - type 1
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Diabetes is a lifelong disease for which there is not yet a cure. There are several forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is often called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes. In this type of diabetes, cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that allows glucose to enter body cells.

Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of going into the cells. The body is unable to use this glucose for energy despite high levels in the bloodstream. This leads to increased hunger.

In addition, the high levels of glucose in the blood cause the patient to urinate more, which in turn causes excessive thirst. Within 5 to 10 years, the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are completely destroyed and the body can not longer produce insulin.

Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but it usually starts in people younger than 30. Symptoms are usually severe and occur rapidly.

The exact cause is unknown.
Symptoms

* Increased thirst
* Increased urination
* Weight loss despite increased appetite
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Abdominal pain
* Fatigue
* Absence of menstruation

Signs and tests

The following tests can be used to diagnose diabetes:

* Urinalysis shows glucose and ketone bodies in the urine, but a blood test is required for diagnosis
* Fasting blood glucose is 126 mg/dL or higher
* Random (nonfasting) blood glucose exceeds 200 mg/dL (this must be confirmed with a fasting test)
* Insulin test (low or undetectable level of insulin)
* C-peptide test (low or undetectable level of the protein C-peptide, a by-product of insulin production)

Treatment

At diagnosis, the immediate goals of treatment are to treat diabetic ketoacidosis (also called DKA) and high blood glucose levels. Because of the sudden onset and severity of symptoms in type 1 diabetes, treatment for newly diagnosed people may involve hospitalization.

The long-term goals of treatment are to prolong life, reduce symptoms, and prevent diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney failure, and amputation of limbs.

These goals are accomplished through education, insulin use, meal planning and weight control, exercise, foot care, and careful self-testing of blood glucose levels.

INSULIN

Insulin lowers blood sugar by allowing it to leave the blood stream and enter cells. Everyone needs insulin. People with type 1 diabetes can't make their own insulin, and they must take insulin every day.

Insulin is injected under the skin or inhaled. In some cases, a pump delivers the insulin continuously. Insulin does not come in pill form.

Insulin preparations differ in how fast they start to work and how long they last. The health care professional reviews blood glucose levels to determine the appropriate type of insulin the person should use. More than one type of insulin may be mixed together in an injection to achieve the best control of blood glucose.

The injections are needed, in general, from 1 to 4 times a day. People are taught how to give insulin injections by their health care provider or a diabetes nurse educator. Initially, a child's injections may be given by a parent or other adult. By age 14, most children can be expected (but should not be required) to give their own injections.

DIET

Meal planning for type 1 diabetes requires consistency to allow food and insulin to work together to regulate blood glucose levels. If meals and insulin are out of balance, extreme variations in blood glucose can occur.

The American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association has information for planning healthy, balanced meals. A consultation with a registered dietitian or nutrition counselor can be helpful.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Regular exercise helps control the amount of sugar in the blood and helps burn excess calories and fat to achieve optimal weight.

Ask your health care provider before starting any exercise program. Those with Type 1 diabetes must take special precautions before, during, and after intense physical activity or exercise.

SELF-TESTING

Blood glucose monitoring is done by checking the glucose content of a small drop of blood. The testing is done on a regular basis and will inform the person with diabetes how well diet, medication, and exercise are working together to control diabetes.

The results can be used to adjust meals, activity, or medications to keep blood sugar levels within an appropriate range. It will provide valuable information for the health care provider to suggest changes to improve care and treatment. Testing will identify high and low blood sugar levels before serious problems develop.

FOOT CARE

Diabetes causes damage to the blood vessels and nerves, which can result in a decreased ability to feel injury to or pressure on the foot. A foot injury could go unnoticed until severe infection develops.

Additionally, diabetes affects the body's immune system, decreasing the body's ability to fight infection. Small infections can rapidly progress to death of the skin and other tissues. Amputation may be needed.

See: Daily foot care routine

TREATING LOW BLOOD SUGAR

Low blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, can occur from too much insulin, too much exercise, or too little food. Hypoglycemia can develop quickly in people with diabetes. Symptoms typically appear when the blood sugar level falls below 70. Watch for weakness, shaking, sweating, headache, nervousness, and hunger.

If these symptoms occur and you have a blood sugar test kit available, do a blood sugar check. If the level is low, the person with diabetes should eat something with sugar: fruit juice, several teaspoons of sugar, a cup of skim milk, or regular soda. If you don't have a test kit handy, sugar should be eaten anyway - it can't hurt. Symptoms should go away within 15 minutes. If the symptoms don't go away, more sugar should be eaten and the sugar level tested again.

AFTER the symptoms go away, more substantial food can be eaten. Eat simple sugar first to get the situation under control. Even if you or your child is hungry, "real" food should not be eaten until the sugar level comes up - real food won't produce enough sugar and takes too long to digest.

If you are a parent, relative, or friend of someone experiencing these symptoms, monitor the person closely. If symptoms become worse -- confusion, seizures, or unconsciousness -- give the person a shot of glucagon. If you don't have glucagon, call 911 immediately.

You should have some glucagon stored for emergencies. Make sure everyone in your home, as well as babysitters and caregivers, knows how to use it. Periodically remind everyone how to use it, and check the expiration date.

Don't panic. Glucagon works very fast -- usually within 15 minutes. Lay the person on the side to prevent choking. If the person is not better in 15 minutes, call 911.

TREATING HIGH KETONES

When there is not enough insulin to move glucose into cells, glucose can build up in the blood. The body then looks for other forms of energy and uses fat as a fuel source. As fats are broken down, acids called ketones build up in the blood and urine. In high levels, ketones are poisonous. This condition is known as ketoacidosis.

You can check for ketones using a simple urine test available at pharmacies. This test should be done every 4-6 hours anytime a person with diabetes has a blood sugar above 240 or if they are sick, unusually thirsty, has a dry mouth, frequent urination, or vomiting.

The warning signs that ketoacidosis is getting serious might include flushed face, dry skin and mouth, nausea or vomiting, stomach pain, deep, rapid breathing, or fruity breath odor.

If these symptoms occur, call the doctor or go to the emergency room right away. If left untreated, this condition will lead to coma and even death.

MONITORING

Visit your health care provider or diabetes educator at least four times a year. Have your glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) regularly checked. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels should be checked yearly, along with kidney function.

Visit your ophthalmologist (preferably one that specializes in diabetic retinopathy) at least once a year, or more frequently if signs of diabetic retinopathy develop.

See the dentist every 6 months for a thorough dental cleaning and exam. Make sure your dentist and hygienist know that you have diabetes.

Check your feet every day for early signs of injury or infection. Make sure your health care provider inspects your feet at each visit.

Stay up-to-date with all of your vaccinations and get a flu shot every year in the fall.

EDUCATION

You are the most important person in managing your diabetes. Diabetes education involves learning how to live with your diabetes and helps prevent complications. You should know the basic steps to diabetes management:

* How to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
* How to recognize and treat high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
* Diabetes meal planning
* How to give insulin
* How to monitor blood glucose and urine ketones
* How to adjust insulin and food intake during exercise
* How to handle sick days
* Where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

Expectations (prognosis)

The outcome for people with diabetes varies. Studies show that tight control of blood glucose can prevent or delay complications to the eyes, kidneys, and nervous system. However, complications may occur even in those with good diabetes control.
Complications

Emergency complications include:

* Ketoacidosis
* Hypoglycemia

Long-term complications include:

* Vascular disease, including blocked arteries and heart attacks -- risk can be reduced by treating high cholesterol and blood pressure, exercising regularly, and avoiding or quitting tobacco products
* Eye problems, including diabetic retinopathy , retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataracts
* Kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy)
* Nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy)
* Foot problems, including skin changes, arterial insufficiency, neuropathy, and specific foot deformities (hallux valgus, bunion, hammertoe, and calluses)
* Infections of the skin, female genital tract, and urinary tract

Calling your health care provider

If you are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you should probably have medical follow-up weekly until you have good control of blood glucose. Your health care provider will review results of home glucose monitoring and urine testing, and a diary of meals, snacks, and insulin injections.

As the disease becomes more stable, follow-up visits will be less frequent. Periodic visits to your health care provider is very important for monitoring potential long-term complications associated with diabetes.

Call your health care provider or go to the emergency room if you have symptoms ketoacidosis:

* Increased thirst and urination
* Nausea
* Deep and rapid breathing
* Abdominal pain
* Sweet-smelling breath
* Loss of consciousness (This may occur in insulin dependent diabetics who miss a dose of insulin, or if they are sick or have an infection.)

Go to the emergency room or call 911 if you have symptoms of severe hypoglycemia or insulin reaction:

* Trembling
* Weakness
* Drowsiness
* Headache
* Confusion
* Dizziness
* Double vision
* Lack of coordination
* Convulsions or unconsciousness

You can treat early signs of hypoglycemia at home by eating sugar or candy or taking glucose tablets. If your signs of hypoglycemia are still not relieved or if your blood glucose levels remain below 60 mg/dL, go to the emergency room.
References

Standards of medical care in diabetes--2007. Diabetes Care. Jan 2007;30 Suppl 1:S4-S41.

Larsen PR, Kronberg HM, Schlomo M, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 10th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2003:1427-1468, 1485-1504.

Armstrong C. ADA Releases Standards of Medical Care for Patients with Diabetes. Am Fam Physician. Sept 2006; 74(5); 871-874.

Diabetes

2008-05-22T01:37:00.000-07:00

Definition

Diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood.
Images:
Endocrine glands
Endocrine glandsDiabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathyIslets of Langerhans
Islets of LangerhansBlood test
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Type I diabetesDiabetic blood circulation in foot
Diabetic blood circulation in footFood and insulin release
Food and insulin releaseInsulin production and diabetes
Insulin production and diabetesMonitor blood glucose - series
Monitor blood glucose - series
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar), resistance to insulin, or both.

To understand diabetes, it is important to first understand the normal process of food metabolism. Several things happen when food is digested:

* A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose is a source of fuel for the body.
* An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. The role of insulin is to move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where it can be used as fuel.

People with diabetes have high blood sugar. This is because their pancreas does not make enough insulin or their muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond to insulin normally, or both.

There are three major types of diabetes:

* Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood. The body makes little or no insulin, and daily injections of insulin are needed to sustain life.
* Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1 and makes up most of all cases of diabetes. It usually occurs in adulthood. The pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to the insulin. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not know they have it, although it is a serious condition. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common due to the growing number of older Americans, increasing obesity, and failure to exercise.
* Gestational diabetes is high blood glucose that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes.

Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans. About 54 million Americans have prediabetes. There are many risk factors for diabetes, including:

* A parent, brother, or sister with diabetes
* Obesity
* Age greater than 45 years
* Some ethnic groups (particularly African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic Americans)
* Gestational diabetes or delivering a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
* High blood pressure
* High blood levels of triglycerides (a type of fat molecule)
* High blood cholesterol level
* Not getting enough exercise

The American Diabetes Association recommends that all adults over age 45 be screened for diabetes at least every 3 years. A person at high risk should be screened more often.
Symptoms

High blood levels of glucose can cause several problems, including frequent urination, excessive thirst, hunger, fatigue, weight loss, and blurry vision. However, because type 2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:

* Increased thirst
* Increased urination
* Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
* Fatigue
* Nausea
* Vomiting

Patients with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

* Increased thirst
* Increased urination
* Increased appetite
* Fatigue
* Blurred vision
* Slow-healing infections
* Impotence in men

Signs and tests

A urine analysis may be used to look for glucose and ketones from the breakdown of fat. However, a urine test alone does not diagnose diabetes. The following blood glucose tests are used to diagnose diabetes:

* Fasting blood glucose level -- diabetes is diagnosed if higher than 126 mg/dL on two occasions. Levels between 100 and 126 mg/dl are referred to as impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes. These levels are considered to be risk factors for type 2 diabetes and its complications.
* Random (non-fasting) blood glucose level -- diabetes is suspected if higher than 200 mg/dL and accompanied by the classic symptoms of increased thirst, urination, and fatigue. (This test must be confirmed with a fasting blood glucose test.)
* Oral glucose tolerance test -- diabetes is diagnosed if glucose level is higher than 200 mg/dL after 2 hours (This test is used more for type 2 diabetes.)

You should also ask your doctor how often to you need your hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level checked. The HbA1c is a measure of average blood glucose during the previous 2 to 3 months. It is a very helpful way to determine how well treatment is working.

Ketone testing is another test that is used in type 1 diabetes. Ketones are produced by the breakdown of fat and muscle, and they are harmful at high levels. The ketone test is done using a urine sample. High levels of blood ketones may result in a serious condition called ketoacidosis. Ketone testing is usually done at the following times:

* When the blood sugar is higher than 240 mg/dL
* During acute illness (for example, pneumonia, heart attack, or stroke)
* When nausea or vomiting occur
* During pregnancy

Treatment

There is no cure for diabetes. Treatment involves medicines, diet, and exercise to control blood sugar and prevent symptoms and complications.

LEARN THESE SKILLS

Basic diabetes management skills will help prevent the need for emergency care. These skills include:

* How to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
* What to eat and when
* How to take insulin or oral medication
* How to test and record blood glucose
* How to test urine for ketones (type 1 diabetes only)
* How to adjust insulin or food intake when changing exercise and eating habits
* How to handle sick days
* Where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

After you learn the basics of diabetes care, learn how the disease can cause long-term health problems and the best ways to prevent these problems. People with diabetes need to review and update their knowledge, because new research and improved ways to treat diabetes are constantly being developed.

SELF-TESTING

If you have diabetes, your doctor may tell you to regularly check your blood sugar levels at home. There are a number of devices available, and they use only a drop of blood. Self-monitoring tells you how well diet, medication, and exercise are working together to control your diabetes and can help your doctor prevent complications.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that premeal blood sugar levels fall in the range of 80 to 120 mg/dL and bedtime blood levels fall in the range of 100 to 140 mg/dL. Your doctor may adjust this depending on your circumstances.

WHAT TO EAT

You should work closely with your health care provider to learn how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you need in your diet. A registered dietician can be very helpful in planning dietary needs.

People with type 1 diabetes should eat at about the same times each day and try to be consistent with the types of food they choose. This helps to prevent blood sugars from becoming extremely high or low.

Persons with type 2 diabetes should follow a well-balanced and low-fat diet.

HOW TO TAKE MEDICATION

Medications to treat diabetes include insulin and glucose-lowering pills called oral hypoglycemic drugs.

Persons with type 1 diabetes cannot make their own insulin, so daily insulin injections are needed. Insulin does not come in pill form. Injections that are generally needed one to four times per day. Some people use an insulin pump, which is worn at all times and delivers a steady flow of insulin throughout the day. Other people may use a new type of inhaled insulin.

Insulin preparations differ in how quickly they start to work and how long they remain active. Sometimes different types of insulin are mixed together in a single injection. The types of insulin to use, the doses needed, and the number of daily injections are chosen by a health care professional trained to provide diabetes care.

People who need insulin are taught to give themselves injections by their health care providers or diabetes educators.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes may respond to treatment with exercise, diet, and medicines taken by mouth. There are several types of medicines used to lower blood glucose in type 2 diabetes. They fall into one of three groups:

1. Medications that increase insulin production by the pancreas. They include glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide, repaglinide, nateglinide, and sitaglyptin.
2. Medications that increase sensitivity to insulin. These include metformin, rosiglitazone, and pioglitazone.
3. Medications that delay absorption of glucose from the gut. These include acarbose and miglitol.

There are some injectable medicines used to lower blood sugar. They include exenatide and pramlintide.

Most persons with type 2 diabetes will need more than one medication for good blood sugar control within 3 years of starting their first medication. Different groups of medications may be combined or used with insulin.

Some people with type 2 diabetes find they no longer need medication if they lose weight and increase activity, because when their ideal weight is reached, their own insulin and a careful diet can control their blood glucose levels.

It is unknown if hypoglycemic medicines taken by mouth are safe for use in pregnancy. Women who have type 2 diabetes and take these medications may be switched to insulin during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Gestational diabetes is treated with insulin and changes in diet.

EXERCISE

Regular exercise is especially important for people with diabetes. It helps with blood sugar control, weight loss, and high blood pressure. People with diabetes who exercise are less likely to experience a heart attack or stroke than diabetics who do not exercise regularly. You should be evaluated by your physician before starting an exercise program.

Here are some exercise considerations:

* Choose an enjoyable physical activity that is appropriate for your current fitness level.
* Exercise every day, and at the same time of day, if possible.
* Monitor blood glucose levels before and after exercise.
* Carry food that contains a fast-acting carbohydrate in case you become hypoglycemic during or after exercise.
* Carry a diabetes identification card and a mobile phone or change for a payphone in case of emergency.
* Drink extra fluids that do not contain sugar before, during, and after exercise.

Changes in exercise intensity or duration may need changes in diet or medication dose to keep blood sugar levels from going too high or low.

FOOT CARE

People with diabetes are prone to foot problems because of the likelihood of damage to blood vessels and nerves and a decreased ability to fight infection. Problems with blood flow and damage to nerves may cause an injury to the foot to go unnoticed until infection develops. Death of skin and other tissue can occur.

If left untreated, the affected foot may need to be amputated. Diabetes is the most common condition leading to amputations.

To prevent injury to the feet, people with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:

* Check your feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection.
* Wash your feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly.
* Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly.
* Protect feet with comfortable, well-fitting shoes.
* Exercise daily to promote good circulation.
* See a podiatrist for foot problems or to have corns or calluses removed.
* Remove shoes and socks during a visit to your health care provider and remind him or her to examine your feet.
* Stop smoking, which hinders blood flow to the feet.

Support Groups

For additional information, see diabetes resources.
Expectations (prognosis)

With good blood glucose and blood pressure control, many of the complications of diabetes can be prevented.

Studies have shown that strict control of blood sugar and blood pressure levels in persons with diabetes helps reduce the risk of kidney disease, eye disease, nervous system disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Complications

Emergency complications include diabetic hyperglycemic hyperosmolar coma.

Long-term complications include:

* Diabetic retinopathy
* Diabetic nephropathy
* Diabetic neuropathy
* Peripheral vascular disease
* Hyperlipidemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease

Calling your health care provider

Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if symptoms of ketoacidosis occur:

* Increased thirst and urination
* Nausea
* Deep and rapid breathing
* Abdominal pain
* Sweet-smelling breath
* Loss of consciousness

Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number if symptoms of extremely low blood sugar (hypoglycemic coma or severe insulin reaction) occur:

* Weakness
* Drowsiness
* Headache
* Confusion
* Dizziness
* Double vision
* Lack of coordination
* Convulsions or unconsciousness

Prevention

Maintaining an ideal body weight and an active lifestyle may prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Currently there is no way to prevent type 1 diabetes.
References

Standards of medical care in diabetes--2007. Diabetes Care. Jan 2007;30 Suppl 1:S4-S41.

Larsen PR, Kronberg HM, Schlomo M, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 10th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2003:1427-1468, 1485-1504.

Armstrong C. ADA Releases Standards of Medical Care for Patients with Diabetes. Am Fam Physician. Sept 2006; 74(5); 871-874.

Caballero E. Prediabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Jan 2007; 92(1); 15A-16A.

Lung Cancer - Non-small Cell

2008-05-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

Definition

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. It usually grows and spreads more slowly than small cell lung cancer.

There are three forms of NSCLC:

* Adenocarcinomas are often found in an outer area of the lung.
* Squamous cell carcinomas are usually found in the center of the lung by an air tube (bronchus).
* Large cell carcinomas can occur in any part of the lung. They tend to grow and spread faster than the other two types.

Images:
Lungs
LungsVitamin B3 source
Vitamin B3 sourceVitamin B6 benefit
Vitamin B6 benefitVitamin C benefit
Vitamin C benefitSecondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer
Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer
Alternative Names

Cancer - lung - non-small cell; Non-small cell lung cancer; NSCLC
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. Being around the smoke from others (secondhand smoke) also raises your risk for lung cancer. However, people who do not smoke and have never smoked have become sick with lung cancer.

A review of decades of research has recently shown that smoking marijuana may help cancer cells grow, but there is no direct link between the drug and lung cancer.

High levels of air pollution, working with or near cancer-causing chemicals or materials (such as asbestos), and drinking water containing high levels of arsenic can increase your risk for lung cancer. Radiation therapy to the lungs can also increase the risk.
Symptoms

Early lung cancer may not cause any symptoms. Symptoms you should watch for include:

* Cough that doesn't go away
* Coughing up blood
* Shortness of breath
* Wheezing
* Chest pain
* Loss of appetite
* Losing weight without trying
* Fatigue

Other symptoms that may be due to NSCLC:

* Weakness
* Swallowing difficulty
* Nail problems
* Joint pain
* Hoarseness or changing voice
* Swelling of the face
* Facial paralysis
* Eyelid drooping
* Bone pain or tenderness

Note: These symptoms can be due to other, less serious conditions. It is important to talk to your health care provider.
Signs and tests

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history. You will be asked if you smoke, and if so, how long you have smoked.

When listening to the chest with a stethoscope, the health care provider can sometimes hear fluid around the lungs, which could (but doesn't always) suggest cancer.

Tests that may be performed include:

* Chest x-ray
* CBC
* Sputum test
* Bone scan
* CT scan
* MRI
* Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
* Thoracentesis

In some cases, the health care provider may need to remove a piece of tissue from your lungs for examination under a microscope. This is called a biopsy. There are several ways to do this:

* Bronchoscopy combined with biopsy
* Pleural biopsy
* CT scan directed needle biopsy
* Mediastinoscopy with biopsy
* Open lung biopsy
* Endoscopic esophageal ultrasound (EUS) with biopsy

If the biopsy reveals you do have lung cancer, more imaging tests will be done to determine the stage of the cancer. Stage means how big the tumor is and how far it's spread. Non-small cell lung cancer is divided into five stages:

* Stage 0 - the cancer has not spread beyond the inner lining of the lung
* Stage I - the cancer is small and hasn't spread to the lymph nodes
* Stage II - the cancer has spread to some lymph nodes near the original tumor
* Stage III - the cancer has spread to nearby tissue or spread to far away lymph nodes
* Stage IV - the cancer has spread to other organs of the body such as the other lung, brain, or liver

Treatment

There are many different types of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer:

* Surgery - part or all of the lung is removed
* Radiation therapy - uses powerful x-rays or other radiation to kill cancer cells
* Chemotherapy - uses drugs to kill cancer cells and stop new ones from growing
* Laser therapy - a small beam of light burns and kills cancer cells
* Photodynamic therapy - uses a light to activate a drug in the body, which kills cancer cells
* Watchful waiting - in rare cases, the person may only be monitored until symptoms change

Treatment depends upon the stage of the cancer. A combination of treatments may be needed. Research has suggested that chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy prior to surgery might be the best treatment for some patients.

Surgery is the often the first line of treatment for most patients with stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer, and some patients with stage III tumors. Surgery can cure the disease.

Chemotherapy alone is often used when the cancer has spread (stage IV). Chemotherapy has been shown to prolong the life and improve the quality of life in some stage IV patients.
Support Groups

For additional information and resources, see cancer support group.
Expectations (prognosis)

Cure rates are related to the stage of disease and whether you are able to have surgery.

* Stage I and II cancer can be cured with surgery, sometimes in more than 50% of cases.
* Stage III tumors can be cured in some cases, but cure rates are much lower than earlier stage NSCLC
* Patients with stage IV disease are almost never cured, and the goals of therapy are to extend and improve the quality of their life.

Complications

* Spread of disease beyond the lung
* Side effects of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy

Prevention

If you smoke, stop smoking. It's never too early to quit. Try to avoid secondhand smoke.

Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Routine screening for lung cancer is not recommended. Many studies have been done to look at the idea, but scientists have concluded that, at this time, screening would not find help improve a person’s chance for a cure.
References

Mehra R, Moore BA, Crothers K, Tetrault J, Fiellin DA. The association between marijuana smoking and lung cancer: a systematic review. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jul 10;166(13):1359-67.

American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2006. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society; 2006.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Lung cancer screening. Ann Int Med. 2004;140:738-739.

Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKena WG. Clinical Oncology. 3rd ed. Orlando, Fl: Churchill Livingstone; 2004:1690-1

Breast Cancer

2008-05-22T01:23:00.000-07:00

Definition

Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the tissues of the breast.

There are two main types of breast cancer:

* Ductal carcinoma starts in the tubes (ducts) that move milk from the breast to the nipple. Most breast cancers are of this type.
* Lobular carcinoma starts in parts of the breast, called lobules, that produce milk.

In rare cases, breast cancer can start in other areas of the breast.

Many breast cancers are sensitive to the hormone estrogen. This means that estrogen causes the breast cancer tumor to grow. Such cancer is called estrogen receptor positive cancer or ER positive cancer.

Some women have what's called HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2 refers to a gene that helps cells grow, divide, and repair themselves. When cells have too many copies of this gene, cells -- including cancer cells -- grow faster. Experts think that women with HER2-positive breast cancer have a more aggressive disease and a higher risk of recurrence than those who do not have this type.
Images:
Female Breast
Female BreastNeedle biopsy of the breast
Needle biopsy of the breastOpen biopsy of the breast
Open biopsy of the breastBreast self-exam
Breast self-examBreast self-exam
Breast self-examBreast self-exam
Breast self-examMammary gland
Mammary glandSentinel node biopsy
Sentinel node biopsyMastectomy - series
Mastectomy - seriesBreast lump removal - series
Breast lump removal - series
Alternative Names
Cancer - breast; Carcinoma - ductal; Carcinoma - lobular
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Over the course of a lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Risk factors you cannot change include:

Age and gender -- Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. The majority of advanced breast cancer cases are found in women over age 50. Women are 100 times more likely to get breast cancer then men.

Family history of breast cancer -- You may also have a higher risk for breast cancer if you have a close relative has had breast, uterine, ovarian, or colon cancer. About 20-30% of women with breast cancer have a family history of the disease.

Genes -- Some people have genes that make them more prone to developing breast cancer. The most common gene defects are found in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These genes normally produce proteins that protect you from cancer. But if a parent passes you a defective gene, you have an increased risk for breast cancer. Women with one of these defects have up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer sometime during their life.

Other genetic defects have been linked to breast cancer, including those found in the ATM gene, the CHEK-2 gene, and the p53 tumor suppressor gene, but these are very rare.

Menstrual cycle -- Women who get their periods early (before age 12) or went through menopause late (after age 55) have an increased risk for breast cancer.

Other risk factors include:

Alcohol use -- Drinking more than 1-2 glasses of alcohol a day may increase your risk for breast cancer.

Childbirth -- Women who have never had children or who had them only after age 30 have an increased risk for breast cancer. Being pregnant more than once or becoming pregnant at an early age reduces your risk of breast cancer.

DES -- Women who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent miscarriage may have an increased risk of breast cancer after age 40. This drug was given to the women in the 1940s-1960s.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) -- You have a higher risk for breast cancer if you have received hormone replacement therapy for several years or more. Many women take HRT to reduce the symptoms of menopause.

Obesity -- Obesity has been linked to breast cancer, although this link is controversial. The theory is that obese women produce more estrogen, which can fuel the development of breast cancer.

Radiation -- If you received radiation therapy as a child or young adult to treat cancer of the chest area, you have a significantly higher risk for developing breast cancer. The younger you started such radiation, the higher your risk -- especially if the radiation was given when a female was developing breasts.

Breast implants, using antiperspirants, and wearing underwire bras do not raise your risk for breast cancer. There is no evidence of a direct link between breast cancer and induced abortion or pesticides.

The National Cancer Institute provides an online tool to help you figure out your risk of breast cancer. See:
Symptoms

Early breast cancer usually does not cause symptoms. This is why regular breast exams are important. As the cancer grows, symptoms may include:

* Breast lump or lump in the armpit that is hard, has uneven edges, and usually does not hurt
* Change in the size, shape, or feel of the breast or nipple -- for example, you may have redness, dimpling, or puckering that looks like the skin of an orange
* Fluid coming from the nipple -- may be bloody, clear-to-yellow, or green, and look like pus

Men get breast cancer, too. Symptoms include breast lump and breast pain and tenderness.

Symptoms of advanced breast cancer may include:

* Bone pain
* Breast pain or discomfort
* Skin ulcers
* Swelling of one arm (next to breast with cancer)
* Weight loss

Signs and tests

The doctor will ask you about your symptoms and risk factors, and then perform a physical exam, which includes both breasts, armpits, and the neck and chest area. Additional tests may include:

* Mammography to help identify the breast lump
* Breast MRI to help better identify the breast lump
* Breast ultrasound to show whether the lump is solid or fluid-filled
* Breast biopsy, needle aspiration, or breast lump removal to remove all or part of the breast lump for closer examination by a laboratory specialist

If your doctor learns that you do have breast cancer, additional tests will be done to see if the cancer has spread. This is called staging. Staging helps guide future treatment and follow-up and gives you some idea of what to expect in the future.

Breast cancer stages range from 0 to IV. In general, breast cancer that stays where it has started is called in situ or noninvasive breast cancer. If it spreads, it is called invasive breast cancer. The higher the number, the more advanced the cancer.
Treatment

Treatment is based on many factors, including type and stage of the cancer, whether the cancer is sensitive to certain hormones, and whether or not the cancer overproduces (overexpresses) a gene called HER2/neu.

In general, cancer treatments may include:

* Chemotherapy medicines to kill cancer cells
* Radiation therapy to destroy cancerous tissue
* Surgery to remove cancerous tissue - a lumpectomy removes the breast lump; mastectomy removes all or part of the breast and possible nearby structures

Other treatments:

* Hormonal therapy to block certain hormones that fuel cancer growth
* Targeted therapy to interfere with cancer cell grow and function

An example of hormonal therapy is the drug tamoxifen. This drug blocks the effects of estrogen, which can help breast cancer cells survive and grow. Most women with estrogen sensitive breast cancer benefit from this drug. A newer class of medicines called aromatase inhibitors, such as exemestane (Aromasin), have been shown to work just as well or even better than tamoxifen in post-menopausal women with breast cancer.

Targeted therapy, also called biologic therapy, is a newer type of cancer treatment. This therapy uses special anti-cancer drugs that identify certain changes in a cell that can lead to cancer. One such drug is trastuzumab (Herceptin). For women with stage IV HER2-positive breast cancer, Herceptin plus chemotherapy has been shown to be work better than chemotherapy alone. Studies have also shown that in women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer, this medicine plus chemotherapy cuts the risk of the cancer coming back by 50%.

Cancer treatment may be local or systemic.

* Local treatments involve only the area of disease. Radiation and surgery are forms of local treatment.
* Systemic treatments affect the entire body. Chemotherapy is a type of systemic treatment.

Most women receive a combination of treatments. For women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer, the main goal is to treat the cancer and prevent it from returning. For women with stage IV cancer, the goal is to improve symptoms and help them live longer. In most cases, stage IV breast cancer cannot be cured.

Stage 0 -- Lumpectomy plus radiation or mastectomy is the standard treatment. There is some controversy on how best to treat DCIS.

Stage I and II -- Lumpectomy plus radiation or mastectomy with some sort of lymph node removal is standard treatment. Hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and biologic therapy may also be recommended following surgery.

Stage III -- Treatment involves surgery possibly followed by chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biologic therapy.

Stage IV -- Treatment may involve surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or a combination of such treatments.
Support Groups

Talking about your disease and treatment with others who share common experiences and problems can be helpful. See: Cancer support group
Expectations (prognosis)

How well you do after being treated for breast cancer depends on many things. The more advanced your cancer, the poorer the outcome.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the number of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is found. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the 5-year survival rates for persons with breast cancer that is appropriately treated are as follows:

* 100% for stage 0
* 100% for stage I
* 92% for stage IIA
* 81% for stage IIB
* 67% for stage IIIA
* 54% for stage IIIB
* 20% for stage IV

Complications

New, improved treatments are helping persons with breast cancer live longer than ever before. However, even with treatment, breast cancer can spread to other parts of the body. Sometimes, cancer returns even after the entire tumor is removed and nearby lymph nodes are found to be cancer-free.

You may experience side effects or complications from cancer treatment. For example, radiation therapy may cause temporary swelling of the breast, and aches and pains around the area. Ask your doctor about the side effects you may have during treatment.
Calling your health care provider

Contact your health care provider for an appointment if:

* You have a breast or armpit lump
* You are a woman age 40 or older and have not had a mammogram in the last year
* You are a woman age 35 or older and have a mother or sister with breast cancer, or have already had cancer of the breast, uterus, ovary, or colon.
* You do not know how or need help learning how to perform a breast self-examination

Prevention

Many risk factors -- such as your genes and family history -- cannot be controlled. However, a healthy diet and a few lifestyle changes may reduce your overall chance of cancer in general.

Breast cancer is more easily treated and often curable if it is found early.

Early detection involves:

* Breast self-exams (BSE)
* Clinical breast exams by a medical professional
* Screening mammography

Most experts recommend that women age 20 and older examine their breasts once a month during the week following the menstrual period.

Women between the ages 20 and 39 should have a doctor examine their breasts at least once every 3 years. After age 40, women should a clinical breast exam every year.

Mammography is the most effective way of detecting breast cancer early.

Screening recommendations:

* The American Cancer Society recommends mammogram screening every year for all women age 40 and older. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommends mammogram screening every 1-2 years for women age 40 and older.
* If you are high risk, experts say you should start getting a mammogram at age 30. Certain women at high risk of breast cancer should also have a breast MRI along with their yearly mammogram. Ask your doctor if you need an MRI.
* For those at high risk, including those who have or had a close family member with the disease, annual mammograms should begin 10 years earlier than the age at which the relative was diagnosed.

Questions have been raised about the benefit of screening mammography in women under age 50 and over the age of 69. Annual mammograms in women between 50 and 69 have been show to save lives. But while screening can also detect early breast cancer in younger and older women, it has not been shown to save lives.

This is a topic filled with controversy. A woman needs to have an informed and balanced discussion with her doctor, along with doing additional reading and researching on her own, to determine if mammography is right for her.

Women at very high risk for breast cancer may consider preventive (prophylactic) mastectomy, which is the surgical removal of the breasts. Possible candidates for this procedure may include those who have already had one breast removed due to cancer, women with a strong family history of breast cancer, and persons with genes or genetic mutations that raise their risk of breast cancer.
References

Saslow D, Boetes C, Burke W, et al. American cancer society guidelines for breast screening with MRI as an adjunct to mammography. CA Cancer J Clin. 2007 Mar-Apr;57(2):75-89.

Lehman CD, Gatsonis C, Kuhl CK, et al. MRI evaluation of the contralateral breast in women with recently diagnosed breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2007 Mar 29;356(13):1295-303. Epub 2007 Mar 28.

Piccart-Gebhart MJ, Procter M, Leyland-Jones B, et al. Trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 20;353(16):1659-72.

Romond EH, Perez EA, Bryant J, et al. Trastuzumab plus adjuvant chemotherapy for operable HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 20;353(16):1673-84.

Menard S, Pupa SM, Campiglio M, Tagliabue E. Biologic and therapeutic role of HER2 in cancer. Oncogene. 2003 Sep 29;22(42):6570-8.

Prostate Cancer

2008-05-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

Definition

Prostate cancer is cancer that grows in prostate gland. The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man's reproductive system. It wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.
Images:
Male reproductive anatomy
Male reproductive anatomyMale urinary tract
Male urinary tractBPH
BPHProstate cancer
Prostate cancerPSA blood test
PSA blood testProstatectomy - series
Prostatectomy - seriesTURP - series
TURP - series
Alternative Names
Cancer - prostate
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

The cause of prostate cancer is unknown, although some studies have shown a relationship between high dietary fat intake and increased testosterone levels. When testosterone levels are lowered either by surgical removal of the testicles (castration, orchiectomy) or by medication, prostate cancer can slowly get better.

There is no known association with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and is the most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75 years old. Prostate cancer is rarely found in men younger than 40.

Men at higher risk include African-America men older than 60, farmers, tire plant workers, painters, and men exposed to cadmium. The lowest number of cases occurs in Japanese men and those who do not eat meat (vegetarians).

Prostate cancers are grouped according to how quickly they spread and how different they are from the surrounding prostate tissue. This is called staging. There are several different ways to stage tumors, a common one being the A-B-C-D staging system, also known as the Whitmore-Jewett system:

* Stage A: Tumor is not felt on physical examination, and is usually detected by accident after prostate surgery is done for other reasons.
* Stage B: Tumor is only in the prostate and usually detected during a physical exam or with a blood test (PSA test).
* Stage C: Tumor has spread beyond the prostate but is not in the lymph nodes.
* Stage D: Tumor has spread (metastasized) to lymph nodes or other parts of the body, such as the bone and lungs.

This system also contains several substages.
Symptoms

With the advent of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause symptoms. Additionally, while most of the symptoms listed below can be associated with prostate cancer, they are more likely to be associated with non-cancerous conditions.

* Urinary hesitancy (delayed or slowed start of urinary stream)
* Urinary dribbling, especially immediately after urinating
* Urinary retention
* Pain with urination
* Pain with ejaculation
* Lower back pain
* Pain with bowel movement

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

* Excessive urination at night
* Incontinence
* Bone pain or tenderness
* Hematuria (blood in the urine)
* Abdominal pain
* Anemia
* Unintentional weight loss
* Lethargy

Signs and tests

A rectal exam often reveals an enlarged prostate with a hard, irregular surface. A number of tests may be done to confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

* PSA test may be high, although non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate can also increase PSA levels.
* Free PSA may help tell the difference between BPH and prostate cancer.
* Urinalysis may show blood in the urine.
* Urine or prostatic fluid cytology may reveal unusual cells.
* Prostate biopsy confirms the diagnosis.
* CT scans may be done to see if the cancer has spread.
* A bone scan may be done to see if the cancer has spread.
* Chest x-ray may be done to see if the cancer has spread.

A newer test called AMACR is more sensitive for determining the presence of prostate cancer than the PSA test.
Treatment

The appropriate treatment of prostate cancer is often controversial. Treatment options vary based on the stage of the tumor. In the early stages, surgery and radiation therapy may be used to remove or kill the tumor.

Prostate cancer that has spread may be treated with drugs to reduce testosterone levels, surgery to remove the testes, or chemotherapy.

Surgery, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy can interfere with sexual desire or performance on either a temporary or permanent basis. Discuss your concerns with your health care provider.

SURGERY

Surgery is usually only recommended after thorough evaluation and discussion of all treatment options. A man considering surgery should be aware of the benefits and risks of the procedure.

* Removal of prostate gland (radical prostatectomy) is often recommended for treatment of stage A and B prostate cancers. This is a lengthy procedure, usually done using general or spinal anesthesia. An surgical cut is made through the abdomen or perineal area. You may remain in the hospital for 5 to 7 days. Possible complications include impotence and urinary incontinence, although nerve-sparing procedures may reduce the risk of these complications. This surgery should be done by a urologist with extensive experience doing this specific procedure.

* Orchiectomy alters hormone production and may be recommended for metastatic cancer. There may be some bruising and swelling initially after surgery, but this will gradually go away. The loss of testosterone production may lead to problems with sexual function, osteoporosis (thinning of the bones), and loss of muscle mass.

RADIATION THERAPY

Radiation therapy is used primarily to treat prostate cancers classified as stages A, B, or C. Whether radiation is as good as prostate removal is a debatable topic, and the decision about which to choose can be difficult. In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the preferred alternative. Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal:

* External beam radiation therapy is done in a radiation oncology center by specially trained radiation oncologists, usually on an outpatient basis. Prior to treatment, a therapist will mark the part of the body that is to be treated with a special pen. The radiation is delivered to the prostate gland using a device that resembles a normal x-ray machine. The treatment itself is generally painless. Side effects may include loss of appetite, fatigue, skin reactions such as redness and irritation, rectal burning or injury, diarrhea, cystitis (inflamed bladder), and blood in urine. External beam radiation therapy is usually done 5 days a week for 6 - 8 weeks.
* Internal radiation therapy places radioactive seeds inside you, directly in or near the tumor. This is called brachytherapy. A surgeon makes a small cut in the area to inject the seeds. They are so small, you don't feel them. The seeds can be temporary or permanent. Because internal radiation therapy is directed to the prostate, it reduces damage to the tissues surrounding the prostate. Side effects may include pain, swelling or bruising in your penis or scrotum, red-brown urine or semen, impotence, incontinence, and diarrhea.
* Radiation is sometimes used for pain relief when cancer has spread to the bone.

MEDICATIONS

Medicines can be used to adjust the levels of testosterone. This is called hormonal manipulation. Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level often works very well in preventing further growth and spread of the cancer. Hormone manipulation is mainly used to relieve symptoms in men whose cancer has spread. Hormone manipulation may also be done by surgically removing the testes.

The drugs Lupron or Zoladex are also being used to treat advanced prostate cancer. These medicines block the production of testosterone. The procedure is often called chemical castration, because it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. However, it is reversible, unlike surgery. The drugs must be given by injection, usually every 3 months. Possible side effects include nausea and vomiting, hot flashes, anemia, lethargy, osteoporosis, reduced sexual desire, and erectile dysfunction (impotence).

Other medications used for hormonal therapy include androgen-blocking agents (such as flutamide) which prevent testosterone from attaching to prostate cells. Possible side effects include erectile dysfunction, loss of sexual desire, liver problems, diarrhea, and enlarged breasts.

Chemotherapy is often used to treat prostate cancers that are resistant to hormonal treatments. An oncology specialist will usually recommend a single drug or a combination of drugs. Chemotherapy medications that may be used to treat prostate cancer include:

* Mitoxantrone
* Prednisone
* Paclitaxel
* Docetaxel
* Estramustine
* Adriamycin

After the first round of chemotherapy, most men receive further doses on an outpatient basis at a clinic or physician's office. Side effects depend on the drug given and how often and how long you take it. Some of the side effects for the most commonly used chemotherapy drugs for prostate cancer include:

* Blood clots
* Bruising
* Dry skin
* Fatigue
* Fluid retention
* Hair loss
* Lowering of your white cells, red cells or platelets
* Mouth sores
* Nausea
* Tingling or numbness in hands and feet
* Upset stomach
* Weight gain

MONITORING

You will be closely watched to make sure the cancer does not spread. This involves routine doctor's check ups. Monitoring will include:

* Serial PSA blood test (usually every 3 months to 1 year)
* Bone scan or CT scan to check for spreading of the cancers
* Complete blood count (CBC) to monitor for signs and symptoms of anemia
* Monitoring for other signs and symptoms, such as fatigue, weight loss, increased pain, decreased bowel and bladder function, and weakness

Support Groups

The stress of illness may be eased by joining a support group whose members share common experiences and problems. See support group - prostate cancer.
Expectations (prognosis)

The outcome varies greatly, primarily because the disease is found in older men who may have a variety of other complicating diseases or conditions, such as cardiac or respiratory disease, or disabilities that immobilize or greatly decrease activities.
Complications

Impotence is a potential complication after prostatectomy or radiation therapy. Recent improvements in surgical procedures have made this complication occur less often. Urinary incontinence is another possible complication. Medications can have side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire.
Calling your health care provider

Call for an appointment if you are a man older than 50 who has:

* Never been screened for prostate cancer (by rectal exam and PSA level determination)
* Not had regular, annual exams
* A family history of prostate cancer

You should discuss the advantages and disadvantages to PSA screening with your health care provider.
Prevention

There is no known prevention. Following a vegetarian, low-fat diet or one similar to the traditional Japanese diet may lower risk. Early identification (as opposed to prevention) is now possible by yearly screening of men over 40 or 50 years old through digital rectal examination (DRE) and PSA blood test.

There is a debate, however, as to whether PSA testing should be done in all men. There are several potential downsides to PSA testing. The first is that a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer. The second is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. The decision about whether to pursue a PSA should be based on a discussion between patient and health care provider.

Cancer

2008-05-22T01:10:00.000-07:00

Definition

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancerous cells are also called malignant cells.
Alternative Names

Carcinoma; Malignant tumor
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Cells are the building blocks of living things. Cancer grows out of normal cells in the body. Normal cells multiply when the body needs them, and die when the body doesn't. Cancer appears to occur when the growth of cells in the body is out of control and cells divide too rapidly. It can also occur when cells “forget” how to die.

There are many different kinds of cancers. Cancer can develop in almost any organ or tissue, such as the lung, colon, breast, skin, bones, or nerve tissue.

There are multiple causes of cancers, including:

* Radiation
* Sunlight
* Tobacco
* Certain viruses
* Benzene
* Certain poisonous mushrooms and aflatoxins (a poison produced by organisms that can grow on peanut plants)

However, the cause of many cancers remains unknown.

The most common cause of cancer-related death is lung cancer.

The three most common cancers in men in the United States are prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer. In women in the U.S., the three most frequently occurring cancers are breast cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer.

Certain cancers are more common in particular geographic areas. For example, in Japan, there are many cases of gastric cancer, while in the U.S. this type of cancer is relatively rare. Differences in diet may play a role.

Some other types of cancers include:

* Brain cancer
* Cervical cancer
* Uterine cancer
* Liver cancer
* Leukemia
* Hodgkin's lymphoma
* Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
* Kidney cancer
* Ovarian cancer
* Skin cancer
* Testicular cancer
* Thyroid cancer

Symptoms

Symptoms of cancer depend on the type and location of the tumor. For example, lung cancer can cause coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain, while colon cancer often causes diarrhea, constipation, and blood in the stool.

Some cancers may not have any symptoms at all. In some cancers, such as gallbladder cancer, symptoms often are not present until the disease has reached an advanced stage.

However, the following symptoms are common with most cancers:

* Fever
* Chills
* Night sweats
* Weight loss
* Loss of appetite
* Fatigue
* Malaise

Signs and tests

Like symptoms, the signs of cancer vary based on the type and location of the tumor. Common tests include the following:

* CT scan
* Complete blood count (CBC)
* Blood chemistries
* Biopsy of the tumor
* Bone marrow biopsy (for lymphoma or leukemia)
* Chest x-ray

Most cancers are diagnosed by biopsy. Depending on the location of the tumor, the biopsy may be a simple procedure or a serious operation. Most patients with cancer undergo CT scans to determine the exact location of the tumor or tumors.

A cancer diagnosis is difficult to cope with. It is important, however, that you discuss the type, size, and location of the cancer with your doctor upon diagnosis. You also will want to ask about treatment options, along with their benefits and risks.

It's a good idea to have someone with you at the doctor's office to help you get through the diagnosis. If you have trouble asking questions after hearing about your diagnosis, the person you bring with you can ask them for you.
Treatment

Treatment also varies based on the type of cancer and its stage. The stage of a cancer refers to how much it has grown and whether the tumor has spread from its original location.

* If the cancer is confined to one location and has not spread, the goal for treatment would be surgery and cure. This is often the case with skin cancers.
* If the tumor has spread to local lymph nodes only, sometimes these can also be removed.
* If all of the cancer cannot be removed with surgery, the options for treatment include radiation, chemotherapy, or both. Some cancers require a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Although treatment for cancer can be difficult, there many ways to keep up your strength.

If you have radiation treatment, know that:

* Radiation treatment is painless.
* Treatment is usually scheduled every weekday.
* You should allow 30 minutes for each treatment session although the treatment itself usually takes only a few minutes.
* You should get plenty of rest and eat a well-balanced diet during the course of your radiation therapy.
* Skin in the treated area may become sensitive and easily irritated.
* Side effects of radiation treatment are usually temporary and vary depending on the area of the body that is being treated.

If you are going through chemotherapy, you should eat right. Chemotherapy causes your immune system to weaken, so you should avoid people with colds or the flu. You should also get plenty of rest, and don't feel you have to accomplish tasks all at once.

It will help you to talk with family, friends, or a support group about your feelings. Work with your health care providers throughout your treatment. Helping yourself can make you feel more in control.
Support Groups

The diagnosis of cancer often causes a lot of anxiety and can affect your entire quality of life. Several support groups for cancer patients to you cope.
Expectations (prognosis)

The outlook varies widely among different types of cancer. Even among people with one particular type of cancer, the outcome varies depending on the stage of the tumor at diagnosis. Some cancers can be cured, some that are not curable can still be treated well, and some patients can live for many years with the cancer. Other tumors are rapidly fatal.
Complications

One complication is that the cancer may spread. Other complications vary with the type and stage of the tumor.
Calling your health care provider

You should contact your doctor if you develop signs or symptoms suggestive of cancer.
Prevention

One of the best ways to prevent cancer is to not smoke or chew tobacco. Many cancers can be prevented by avoiding risk factors such as excessive exposure to sunlight and heavy drinking.

Cancer screenings, such as mammography and breast examination for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colon cancer, may help catch these cancers at their early, most treatable stages. Some people at high risk for developing certain cancers can take medication to reduce their risk.