Archive | 2013

The 11/18/13 Joy Jar

19 Nov

The Obamacare web debacle has got different government officials apologizing all most daily. A true heartfelt apology goes a long way. Trying to con someone into not kicking your lame a$$ets by weasel words does not thing make the wrong better. Today’s deposit in the ‘Joy Jar’ are heartfelt apologies and a REAL attempt to change bad behavior.

Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don’t go well.
Jim Rohn

A stiff apology is a second insult… The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books.
Samuel Butler

Apology is only egotism wrong side out.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.
Red Auerbach

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”
Benjamin Franklin

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Plato, The Republic

“I’m sorry you’re angry” is NOT an apology.”
Lisa Lutz, Revenge of the Spellmans

Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.
Tryon Edwards

Dr. Wilda Reviews Seattle Art Museum’ 2014 – 2015 seasons: SAM is at a fork in the road

19 Nov

Moi was pleased to be included in Seattle Art Museum’s (SAM) preview of the 2014 – 2015 seasons. Media from all over the region gathered for lunch at the Triple Door. Lunch was provided courtesy of the Triple Door and Wild Ginger. The 2014 – 2014 season has what is now mandatory, a knock-your-socks major exhibit or two, a nod to the ethnic diversity of the region, an example or two of art mediums other than painting as well as the grand installation at the Sculpture Park. The headline is that SAM produces another stunning season, it won’t disappoint. The backstory is that SAM is at a fork in the road. It is hard to say about an institution, like SAM, who has been in existence over 85 years, what do you really want to be when you grow up, but that is the question at this moment in SAM’s history. This review has two parts, the review of the 2014 – 2015 season and some of the challenges faced by museums like SAM. Executive Director, Kimerly Rorschach disclosed that SAM will be starting the planning to produce a five year strategic plan and that Barney A. Ebsworth has given SAM a major piece, Echo for the Sculpture Garden. This gift highlights one of SAM’s major challenges, its acquisition budget.

Among the upcoming exhibits at SAM are:

William Cordova

September 20, 2013–January 19, 2014

Robert Davidson: Abstract Impulse

November 16, 2013–February 16, 2014

Leo Berk: 2013 Betty Bowen Award Winner

November 7, 2013–February 23, 2014

From Abstract Expression to Colored Planes

March 16, 2013–November 9, 2014

Light in the Darkness

A Fuller View of China, Japan and Korea

August 10, 2013–April 13, 2014

Hometown Boy

Liu Xiaodong

August 31, 2013–June 29, 2014

Inked

Wan Qingli

August 31, 2013–June 29, 2014

Sandra Cinto

Encontro das Águas (Encounter of Waters)

April 14, 2012–February 17, 2014

Miró: The Experience of Seeing

February 13–May 25, 2014

DECO JAPAN: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920–1945

May 10–October 19, 2014

This is just a sample of what is coming. Other exhibits of note include La Toya Ruby Frazier’s photographs, City Dwellers: Contemporary Art from India, and Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art. Upcoming events can be found at http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/exhibit.asp

Despite the dazzle, SAM’s strategic plan has to examine some serious issues. A 2008 blog post by Ross Dawson examined some of the issues.

In Thinking about the future of museums: fourteen key issues, Dawson opined:

Below are fourteen key issues in the future of museums.
What is a museum?
On the face of it, a museum records and makes accessible artefacts the past that have cultural value. The curatorial process is one of showing people things that enrich them. Museums need to have a clear idea of why they exist. In most cases (in addition to any financial imperatives) the objective is to benefit society, by educating and creating culturally richer and more well-rounded members of society.
Entertainment vs. education and onto experience.
Entertainment and education are quite different intents, but they can be integrated to achieve both aims. Certainly the demand from younger people has shifted strongly to only paying attention if content is truly entertaining. Beyond that, museums are fundamentally about providing experiences. People will seek engaging and powerful experiences, and if museums can provide them, their can fulfil their roles.
Complement formal education.
Recent developments of school and adult education have not kept pace with external change. There is in particular an important role for experiences that help prepare people for the future.
Speed of response.
Exhibitions are a slow medium, often taking 6 months or far more to put together. This means that any exhibit will be historical rather than truly contemporary. As people grow used to a faster informational cycle, ways of bringing together information quickly in a meaningful way is often required to engage people.
Being credible and authoritative.
In a world of infinite information, people are looking for credible sources. The brand and identity of a museum can assist in being a preferred source of information.
Physical vs. Virtual.
A museum is in almost all cases a physical space with physical exhibits. Yet access can also be provided online, including in three dimensional worlds. It is not a question of choosing between them, or even doing both. Rather the issue is how to integrate both physical and virtual so they complement each other.
Potential for geolocational tagging.
As a specific form of integrating the physical and virtual, I think geolocation is a very useful technology. This can for example enable visitors to geo-tag exhibits, making their comments visible to others moving through the physical space. Video glasses or mobile devices can allow people to pick up on and add to conversations about what they are seeing and interacting with.
Engaging younger generations.
Today schoolchildren going on a museum visit often do their reports by typing notes and taking pictures on their mobile phone. However they are far from passive consumers, and unless you allow them to be active in engaging with content, you will lose them.
Getting museum experts to interface directly with users.
The existing interface between the knowledge of the museum staff and users is the exhibit. Social media and social networks are ways to enable this more direct connection, interaction, and knoweldge sharing.
Energizing the community.
Because museums touch so many schoolchildren, they have an opportunity to engage them far beyond their visits. MIT’s ThinkCycle, which takes an open source approach to designing solutions to problems thaat touch many underprivileged people.
Helping people to answer new and important questions.
Therapeutical cloning, genetically modified food, embryonic genetic modification, are all new technologies that we as individuals and a society must work out how to respond. A museum can help people to understand these issues to help people to make up their own minds in an informed way.
Moving from gatekeepers to enabling access and building communities.
Not so long ago museums were essentially gatekeepers, choosing from all of the wonderful things they have access to, which will be on display. Now that access can be provided digitally, the issue becomes more one of making these valuable resources more accessible and visible, and building communities to share perspectives.
Museums as media organizations.
During the discussions it struck me that museums are basically media organizations, providing and editing (i.e. curating) content. Exactly the same issues apply, including that of whether to control or open out the editorial process.
From interacting with exhibits to interacting with people.
A great interactive exhibit is one that makes people visiting the museum to interact with each other. There are many fabulous technologies that can take the old push-button style of interactive exhibits into an entirely new dimension. However building live and asynchronous social networks on many levels is really where interactivity needs to go. Both stimulating and enabling conversations is where museum interactivity needs to go.
I think the issues facing museums are extremely interesting, and relevant across a far broader domain, as they fundamentally deal with the intersection of the virtual and physical in our experiences. Despite the rise of the virtual, there is extraordinary value in physical artefacts. To move into the future we absolutely need to understand and draw on our past. Physical objects are the crystallized manifestations of our collective thoughts and history. Museums are on an extraordinary journey which will see many thrive, and often look very different to how they do today. http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2008/05/thinking_about.html

So, SAM literally has to decide what does it want to be when it grows up.

Looking at attendance figures, SAM is one of the top museums in the country. See, Top 100 Arts and Culture Museum Ranking https://sites.google.com/site/silviaresanswers/Home/top-100-arts-and-culture-museum-ranking According to the Art Career Project, SAM is number six in the list of 30 Must-See Art Museums In The U.S:

6. Seattle Art Museum – Seattle, Wash.
The museum actually owns and operates three separate facilities, including the main museum, the Asian Art Museum located in the city’s Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront. All three are tremendous visits and are home to some magnificent works of art. The collection has more than 20,000 works and few museums can boast such a impressive array of different types, from every corner of the world.
Three to see:
Olympic Sculpture Park
Not only is the scenery surrounding the park a breathtaking sight to behold, but admission is free and the sculptures on display are awe-inspiring. The Eagle by Alexander Calder may be the most famous part of the collection, but don’t miss the Eye Benches, some of the most unique sculptures you will ever see.
The Art Ladder
Chances are if you visit the museum, you can’t miss the “Art Ladder” and its monstrous statues. Just make sure not to pass them by so quickly. The area is free to walk around and the statues are impressive in their size and craftsmanship.
Colors of the Oasis
http://www.theartcareerproject.com/30-must-see-art-museums-in-the-u-s/1044/#sthash.UG2EJ89g.ZPNuo6C5.dpuf

SAM is nationally and internationally recognized for the quality of its presentations, so why this fork in the road talk?

Christopher Knight wrote in the 2007 LA Times article, With new space, Seattle Art Museum expands its vision:

When the Seattle Art Museum turns 75 next year, it intends to be not only the most important general art museum in the Pacific Northwest but to be nationally prominent too. It might just get its wish…

The museum’s regional rank has been secure for years, but mostly by default. The competition is slim.

Even now, if your idea of a first-rate general art museum is one that’s stuffed with European painting and sculpture dating from ancient Greece and Rome to the rambunctious launch of the 20th century, the Seattle Art Museum is not for you. Two of its long-standing strengths are African art and Northwest coastal Native American art. The small European collection is mostly mediocre and not remotely comprehensive. There’s great porcelain, but you won’t find a Picasso painting.

If you’re willing to shift conventional expectations, though, you’ll discover a museum that has been smartly rethinking itself in recent years. What’s new is this larger aspiration….

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-seattleart2may02,0,4475141.story#axzz2l2RvTWDM

Back in 2007 SAM had big aspirations, now the question is where are those aspirations leading?

Charity Navigator has some very interesting information about SAM. Here is some balance sheet information:

Income Statement (FYE 06/2012)

REVENUE

Contributions

Contributions, Gifts & Grants

$5,768,913

Federated Campaigns

$447,253

Membership Dues

$4,897,027

Fundraising Events

$438,145

Related Organizations

$294,013

Government Grants

$403,865

Total Contributions

$12,249,216

Program Service Revenue

$4,242,610

Total Primary Revenue

$16,491,826

Other Revenue

$8,023,516

TOTAL REVENUE

$24,515,342

EXPENSES

Program Expenses

$21,173,594

Administrative Expenses

$11,769,768

Fundraising Expenses

$2,482,792

TOTAL FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES

$35,426,154

Payments to Affiliates

$0

Excess (or Deficit) for the year

$-10,910,812

Net Assets

$240,796,053

See the full report at http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4449#.UosW_B7Tldh

Judith Dobrzynski wrote in the New York Times article, How an Acquisition Fund Burnishes Reputations:

Although acquiring art is a core mission, private collectors donate 80 to 90 percent of what is on view in American art museums. Fewer than two dozen museums have sizable nest eggs to buy the art they choose.

A few more, notably the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, are wealthy enough to buy steadily by drawing on unrestricted endowments, but have no special funds for acquisitions. Most of the time, when art museums find an object they desire, “we find someone who’s willing to support that acquisition,” said Dan L. Monroe, director of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.

In lean times like these, when museums are budgeting to the razor’s edge, those with pools for art purchases enjoy a distinct advantage — they are not permitted to use the money, usually about 5 percent of the principal each year, for anything but buying art…

Who has money set aside for buying art, and who does not, has more to do with a museum’s benefactors than with its size or location. The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, N.H., has more than four times what the Seattle Museum of Art has: $35 million versus less than $7.8 million. That is because Henry Melville Fuller, a trustee, upon his death in 2001 left the Currier $43 million, half designated for the art purchase fund….http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/arts/artsspecial/a-fund-for-buying-art-burnishes-collections-and-reputations.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

In terms of acquisitions, the question for most museums is how do we get there from here?

SAM is a much loved institution in Seattle and the upcoming strategic plan analysis must look at a number of issues, but most important is where does the museum go as it looks ahead to the next 85 years.

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Dr. Wilda Reviews Seattle Art Museum’ 2014 – 2015 seasons: SAM is at a fork in the road

University of California at Berkeley Study: Staying up late hurts teen’s academic achievement

17 Nov

Moi wrote in Teens need sleep: The UK’s Daily Mail reported that not only does lack of sleep result in kids not being ready to learn, but may be an explanation for some mental illnesses. In Online Night Owls ‘Risk Mental Illness’: Sleepless Nights Blamed For Rise in Teen Depression the Daily Mail reports:

Young people who become sleep deprived by using the internet into the small hours are much more likely to become mentally ill in later life, research shows.
Lack of sleep may help explain the puzzling increase in mental illness among young people in recent decades, according to an extensive study.
And regularly staying up late to surf the internet and chat on social networking sites could be one reason young people are sleeping less, according to the research.
The study of about 20,000 young people aged between 17 and 24 found that those who slept fewer than five hours a night were three times more likely than normal sleepers to become psychologically distressed in the next year.
Each hour of sleep lost was linked to a 14 per cent increased risk of distress, according to the results, published in the journal Sleep.
Professor Nicholas Glozier, who led the research, said: ‘Sleep disturbance and in particular insomnia is a predictor of later development of depression and possibly anxiety.’
Less sleep was also associated with longer-term mental health problems – which were the focus of the professor’s study.
A lot of mental ill-health comes and goes, he said. ‘It’s the ones who don’t get better that we are particularly interested in.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1308182/Online-night-owls-risk-mental-illness-Sleepless-nights-blamed-rise-teen-depression.html

It is important that children get enough sleep.

Vicki Abeles, director of the documentary “Race to Nowhere,”and Abigail A. Baird, associate professor of psychology at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Baird’s primary area of research focuses on the neurophysiology of adolescence are reporting in the Washington Post about the effect of sleep deprivation on teens. Abeles and Baird write in the article, Sleep deprivation and teens: ‘Walking zombies’:

Over the past several years we’ve created national guidelines for eating and exercise, shouldn’t we do the same for sleep?
We can also make changes in our schools, like advocating for later high school start times. An adolescent’s brain works on a different circadian rhythm than that of adults — theirs thrives with later wake-up times. After the start time at a high school in Edina, Minnesota, was changed from 7:25 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., verbal SAT scores for the top 10 percent of students increased by several hundred points. The increase could not be attributed to any variable other than later start times.
Schools should also adopt block schedules and bring back study halls, both of which reduce the number of classes students must prepare for each day and give them more in-school time to complete academic assignments rather than requiring them to put in a grueling “second shift” after school.
So as Daylight Savings Time kicks in and we lose our annual hour of sleep, let’s make a pledge to help our children get the sleep they need to be happy, healthy, and successful in school and in their lives.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/sleep-deprivation-and-teens-walking-zombies/2012/03/10/gIQAr0QP3R_blog.html

The National Sleep Foundation (Sleep Foundation) has some great information about teens and sleep. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep

Teens need sleep

Huffington Post reported in the article, Teens Who Stay Up Late Could Face Academic, Emotional Problems Later On:

Teens who stay up late on school nights — whether it be due to homework, chatting online with friends or late sports practices — may experience more academic andemotional problems than their peers who are earlier to bed, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that teens who went to bed later than 11:30 p.m. on school nights and 1:30 a.m. in the summer had lower GPAs than teens who got to bed earlier. They were also more susceptible to emotional problems.
“This very important study adds to the already clear evidence that youth who are night owls are at greater risk for adverse outcomes,” study researcher Allison Harvey, a psychologist at UC Berkeley, said in a statement. “Helping teens go to bed earlier may be an important pathway for reducing risk.”
The Journal of Adolescent Health study included 2,700 teens in grades 7 to 12 who were part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Researchers analyzed their sleep habits and circadian patterns. About 30 percent of the teens said they went to bed later than 11:30 p.m. on school nights and 1:30 a.m. in the summer.
An association was found between going to bed later and getting less sleep (though this association was not found in the summertime, and sleep duration was not associated with changes in educational and emotional outcomes later on). The researchers also found an association between going to bed late during the school year and having worse educational outcomes, as well as higher emotional distress, after six to eight years. Late summertime bedtimes were not linked with academic outcomes, but were linked to higher emotional distress.
“These findings underscore the significance of evaluating and monitoring bedtime in adolescents and the importance of intervention strategies that target bedtimes in an effort to reduce associated functional impairments, and improve academic and emotional outcomes,” the researchers wrote in the study.
The findings add to past research also suggesting an association between late nights and poorer academic performance among teens. One study, presented at the SLEEP meeting in 2007, showed that teens who stay up late during the week and then oversleep on the weekends do worse in school…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/teens-stay-up-late-academic-emotional-problems_n_4256298.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education

Citation:

The Effects of Bedtime and Sleep Duration on Academic and Emotional Outcomes in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents
Lauren D. Asarnow, M.A., Eleanor McGlinchey, Ph.D., Allison G. Harvey, Ph.D.email address
Received 16 April 2013; accepted 9 September 2013. published online 11 November 2013.
Corrected Proof
Abstract Full Text PDF Images References
Abstract
Purpose
The overall aim of this study was to clarify and better characterize the sleep/circadian patterns of adolescents in a nationally representative sample.
Methods
We used three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess sleep/circadian patterns of 2,700 adolescents in grades seven through 12.
Results
Late school year bedtime was associated with shorter total sleep time cross-sectionally, whereas late summertime bedtime was not. Moreover, late school year bedtime was not associated with late summertime bedtime cross-sectionally. Late school year bedtime in Wave I (1994–1995) was associated with worse educational outcomes and emotional distress 6–8 years later. In addition, late summertime bedtime in Wave II (1996) was associated with more emotional distress at Wave III (2001–2002). Short total sleep time was not associated longitudinally with changes in emotional and academic functioning. Across Waves I and II, more than three quarters of adolescents who went to sleep at 11:15 a.m. or later during the school year or 1:30 a.m. or later during the summer reported sleeping fewer than the recommended 9 hours.
Conclusions
These findings underscore the significance of evaluating and monitoring bedtime in adolescents and the importance of intervention strategies that target bedtimes in an effort to reduce associated functional impairments, and improve academic and emotional outcomes.
Keywords: Eveningness, Sleep, Adolescents, Academic outcomes, Emotional outcomes
Disclaimer: The opinions presented in this article reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies.
Funding Sources: This project was supported by a Lisa M. Capps Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship award to L.D.A., a National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentRuth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Predoctoral FellowshipF31-HD058411 awarded to E.L.M., and grant 1R01HD071065-01A1 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded to A.G.H. This research used data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by Grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. This research used data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study, which was funded by Grant R01 HD040428-02 (PI: Chandra Muller) from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Grant REC-0126167 (PI: Chandra Muller and Co-PI: Pedro Reyes) from the National Science Foundation. This research was also supported by Grant 5 R24 HD042849, Population Research Center, awarded to the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health and Child Development. No direct support was received from Grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.
PII: S1054-139X(13)00486-2
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.09.004
© 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Here is the press release from UC Berkeley:

Teen night owls likely to perform worse academically, emotionally
By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | November 10, 2013
BERKELEY —
Teenagers who go to bed late during the school year are more prone to academic and emotional difficulties in the long run, compared to their earlier-to-bed counterparts, according to a new study from UC Berkeley.
Berkeley researchers analyzed longitudinal data from a nationally representative cohort of 2,700 U.S. adolescents of whom 30 percent reported bedtimes later than 11:30 p.m. on school days and 1:30 a.m. in the summer in their middle and high school years.
By the time they graduated from high school, the school-year night owls had lower GPA scores, and were more vulnerable to emotional problems than teens with earlier bedtimes, according to the study published online Nov.10 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The results present a compelling argument in favor of later middle and high school start times in the face of intense academic, social and technological pressures, researchers said.
“Academic pressures, busy after-school schedules, and the desire to finally have free time at the end of the day to connect with friends on the phone or online make this problem even more challenging,” said Lauren Asarnow, lead author of the study and a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic.
On a positive note, she said the findings underscore how a healthy sleep cycle promotes the academic and emotional success of adolescents.
“The good news is that sleep behavior is highly modifiable with the right support,” said Asarnow, citing UC Berkeley’s Teen Sleep Study, a treatment program designed to reset the biological clocks of adolescents who have trouble going to sleep and waking up.
This latest UC Berkeley study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which has tracked the influences and behaviors of adolescents since 1994. Focusing on three time periods – the onset of puberty, a year later and young adulthood – UC Berkeley researchers compared how the sleep habits of 2,700 teenagers aged 13-18 impacted their academic, social and emotional development. They looked at participants’ school transcripts and other education and health data.
While going to bed late in the summer did not appear to impact their academic achievement, including grades, researchers did find a correlation between later summer bedtimes and emotional problems in young adulthood.
Surveys show that many teenagers do not get the recommended nine hours sleep a night, and report having trouble staying awake at school. The human circadian rhythm, which regulates physiological and metabolic functions, typically shifts to a later sleep cycle at the onset of puberty. UC Berkeley researchers theorize that an “evening circadian preference” in adolescence is a confluence of biological factors, as well as parental monitoring, academic and social pressures and the use of electronic gadgetry.
Late-night texting and the use of other electronic gadgetry can disrupt sleep patterns (iStockphoto)
For example, bright lights associated with laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices have been found to suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle. UC Berkeley’s Teen Sleep Study uses dim lighting and limits technology before bedtime, among other interventions, to help reverse this night-owl tendency.
‘This very important study adds to the already clear evidence that youth who are night owls are at greater risk for adverse outcomes,” said UC Berkeley psychologist Allison Harvey, senior author of the paper. “Helping teens go to bed earlier may be an important pathway for reducing risk. This will not be an easy process. But here at Berkeley, our sleep coaches draw from the science of motivation, habit formation and sleep to help teens achieve earlier bedtimes.”
Categories: Education, Health & medicine, News, Press Release, Science, Social science
Tags: academic performance, adolescent health, sleep, teen health, teenagers, teens

Education is a partnership between the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), teachers(s), and school. The students must arrive at school ready to learn and that includes being rested. Parent(s) and guardian(s) must ensure their child is properly nourished and rested as well as providing a home environment which is conducive to learning. Teachers must have strong subject matter knowledge and strong pedagogic skills. Schools must enforce discipline and provide safe places to learn. For more information on preparing your child for high school, see the U.S. Department of Education’s Tools for Success http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/tools-for-success/index.html

Resources
1. National Sleep Foundation’s Teens and Sleep
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep

2. Teen Health’s Common Sleep Problems http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/take_care/sleep.html

3. CBS Morning News’ Sleep Deprived Kids and Their Disturbing Thoughts http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-6052150.html

4. Psychology Today’s Sleepless in America http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleepless-in-america

5. National Association of State Board’s of Education Fit, Healthy and Ready to Learn
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED465734

6. U.S. Department of Education’s Tools for Success http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/tools-for-success/index.html

Related:

Another study: Sleep problems can lead to behavior problems in children

Another study: Sleep problems can lead to behavior problems in children

Stony Brook Medicine study: Teens need sleep to function properly and make healthy food choices https://drwilda.com/2013/06/21/stony-brook-medicine-study-teens-need-sleep-to-function-properly-and-make-healthy-food-choices/

University of Massachusetts Amherst study: Preschoolers need naps
Does school start too early?
https://drwilda.com/tag/too-little-sleep-raises-obesity-risk-in-children/

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The 11/17/13 Joy Jar

17 Nov

Here are two quotes about honesty:

1. “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Buddha

2. The LYING of the PERMANENT POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: ‘We All Knew’ Obama’s Health Care Pledge Wasn’t Accurate
nation.foxnews.com
Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand wasn’t surprised when Americans began to get letters saying their health insurance policies had been canceled. http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/11/17/sen-kirsten-gillibrand-we-all-knew-obamas-health-care-pledge-wasnt-accurate

Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is honesty.

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
Mark Twain

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
Gloria Steinem

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays 2, 1926-29

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
Winston Churchill

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
Mark Twain

“Tell the truth, or someone will tell it for you.”
Stephanie Klein, Straight Up and Dirty: A Memoir

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”
Flannery O’Connor

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell

“There are three types of lies — lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Benjamin Disraeli

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

Hookah a growing menace for teen health

17 Nov

Peeps, the kids are thinking up new things to get into faster than moi can post. Newest fad hitting many high schools and colleges is hookah. Douglas Quenqua reported in the New York Times article, Putting A Crimp In the Hookah about hookah.

Kevin Shapiro, a 20-year-old math and physics major at the University of Pennsylvania, first tried a hookah at a campus party. He liked the exotic water pipe so much that he chipped in to buy one for his fraternity house, where he says it makes a useful social lubricant at parties.
Like many other students who are embracing hookahs on campuses nationwide, Mr. Shapiro believes that hookah smoke is less dangerous than cigarette smoke because it “is filtered through water, so you get fewer solid particles.”
“Considering I don’t do it that often, once a month if that, I’m not really concerned with the health effects,” he added.
But in fact, hookahs are far from safe. And now, legislators, college administrators and health advocates are taking action against what many of them call the newest front in the ever-shifting war on tobacco. In California, Connecticut and Oregon, state lawmakers have introduced bills that would ban or limit hookah bars, and similar steps have been taken in cities in California and New York. Boston and Maine have already ended exemptions in their indoor-smoking laws that had allowed hookah bars to thrive….
Many young adults are misled by the sweet, aromatic and fruity quality of hookah smoke, which causes them to believe it is less harmful than hot, acrid cigarette smoke. In fact, because a typical hookah session can last up to an hour, with smokers typically taking long, deep breaths, the smoke inhaled can equal 100 cigarettes or more, according to a 2005 study by the World Health Organization.
That study also found that the water in hookahs filters out less than 5 percent of the nicotine. Moreover, hookah smoke contains tar, heavy metals and other cancer-causing chemicals. An additional hazard: the tobacco in hookahs is heated with charcoal, leading to dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide, even for people who spend time in hookah bars without actually smoking, according to a recent University of Florida study. No surprise, then, that several studies have linked hookah use to many of the same diseases associated with cigarette smoking, like lung, oral and bladder cancer, as well as clogged arteries, heart disease and adverse effects during pregnancy. And because hookahs are meant to be smoked communally — hoses attached to the pipe are passed from one smoker to the next — they have been linked with the spread of tuberculosis, herpes and other infections.
“Teens and young adults are initiating tobacco use through these hookahs with the mistaken perception that the products are somehow safer or less harmful than cigarettes,” said Paul G. Billings, a vice president of the American Lung Association. “Clearly that’s not the case.”
Mr. Billings calls the emerging anti-hookah legislation a “top priority” for the lung association. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/health/31hookah.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Kids mistakenly think hookah is safe.

Richard D. Hurt, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic has posted the article Hookah Smoking: Is it Safer Than Cigarettes? at the Mayo Clinic site:

Specially made tobacco is heated, and the smoke passes through water and is then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece. The tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah pipe, and the water in the hookah does not filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke. Hookah smokers may actually inhale more tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session, which can last as long as 60 minutes.
While research about hookah smoking is still emerging, evidence shows that it poses many dangers:
• Hookah smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds, including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens). In fact, hookah smokers are exposed to more carbon monoxide and smoke than are cigarette smokers.
• As with cigarette smoking, hookah smoking is linked to lung and oral cancers, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
• Hookah smoking delivers about the same amount of nicotine as cigarette smoking does, possibly leading to tobacco dependence.
• Hookah smoke poses dangers associated with secondhand smoke.
• Hookah smoking by pregnant women can result in low birth weight babies.
• Hookah pipes used in hookah bars and cafes may not be cleaned properly, risking the spread of infectious diseases. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hookah/AN01265

Karen Kaplan reported in in the L.A. Times about Hookah growing allure among teens

In Cigars, e-cigarettes and hookahs increasingly popular among youth, Kaplan reported:

Electronic cigarettes, hookahs and dissolvable tobacco were all more popular in 2012 than in 2011, according to data CDC researchers published this week in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Cigar smoking has also become more prevalent among high school students.
Overall, 6.7% of middle schoolers and 23.3% of high schoolers were using tobacco in 2012. In 2011, the corresponding figures were 7.5% and 24.3%.
Those figures are based on surveys of roughly 25,000 students in grades 6 through 12 who participated in the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Students were considered current tobacco users if they had smoked a cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, electronic cigarette, bidis (thin, hand-rolled cigarettes) or kreteks (clove cigarettes) or used smokeless tobacco, dissolvable tobacco, or snus (a powdered tobacco) at least once in the last 30 days.
Here’s what the researchers found:
Cigarettes were the most popular form of tobacco or nicotine among middle school students, with 3.5% of kids in grades 6 through 8 saying they had smoked a cigarette in the previous 30 days. That was followed by cigars (2.8% used them), pipes (1.8%), smokeless tobacco (1.7%), hookahs (1.3%), electronic cigarettes (1.1%), snus (0.8%), bidis (0.6%), kreteks (0.5%) and dissolvable tobacco (0.5%).
Cigarettes were also the most popular item among high schoolers, with 14% of students in grades 9 through 12 reporting they had smoked one within the last 30 days. Cigars came in a close second, with 12.6% of students saying they smoked them recently. In addition, 6.4% of high schoolers used smokeless tobacco, 5.4% used hookahs, 4.5% used pipes, 2.8% used electronic cigarettes, 2.5% used snus, 1% used kreteks, 0.9% used bidis and 0.8% used dissolvable tobacco.
Though overall tobacco use was down, the authors of the report flagged the rising popularity of products other than cigarettes that are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. In the case of cigars, they noted that some of the items in that category were “similar to cigarettes in terms of appearance, but depending on their weight, can be taxed at lower rates and legally sold with certain flavors that are banned from cigarettes.” The lower prices and option of flavors probably make them especially appealing to teens, they wrote….
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-smoking-tobacco-teens-cdc-20131115,0,6663897.story#axzz2ksth5AXn

Here is the press release from the Centers for Disease Control:

Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011 and 2012
Weekly
November 15, 2013 / 62(45);893-897
Nearly 90% of adult smokers in the United States began smoking by age 18 years (1). To assess current tobacco product use among youths, CDC analyzed data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). This report describes the results of that analysis, which found that, in 2012, the prevalence of current tobacco product use among middle and high school students was 6.7% and 23.3%, respectively. After cigarettes, cigars were the second most commonly used tobacco product, with prevalence of use at 2.8% and 12.6%, respectively. From 2011 to 2012, electronic cigarette use increased significantly among middle school (0.6% to 1.1%) and high school (1.5% to 2.8%) students, and hookah use increased among high school students (4.1% to 5.4%). During the same period, significant decreases occurred in bidi* and kretek† use among middle and high school students, and in dissolvable tobacco use among high school students. A substantial proportion of youth tobacco use occurs with products other than cigarettes, so monitoring and prevention of youth tobacco use needs to incorporate other products, including new and emerging products. Implementing evidence-based interventions can prevent and reduce tobacco use among youths as part of comprehensive tobacco control programs. In addition, implementation of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which granted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products (1–3), also is critical to addressing this health risk behavior.
NYTS is a school-based, self-administered, pencil-and-paper questionnaire administered to U.S. middle school (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12) students to collect information on key tobacco control outcome indicators used to monitor the impact of comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs (4) and FDA’s newly granted regulatory authority. NYTS was conducted in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2012. The 2012 NYTS used a three-stage cluster sampling procedure to generate a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of students in grades 6–12. This report includes 2011 and 2012 NYTS data to provide an updated definition of current tobacco use, which now also includes hookahs, snus, dissolvable tobacco, and electronic cigarettes, to take into account nonconventional products that are new to the market or are increasing in popularity; data for these four products were first collected in 2011. The previous definition for current tobacco use did not include all of these products, thus yielding slightly lower estimates of current tobacco use. For example, in 2011, the previous definition for overall current tobacco use resulted in estimates of 7.1% for middle school and 23.2% for high school students (5), whereas the new definition resulted in 2011 estimates of 7.5% for middle school and 24.3% for high school students (Table).
Of the 284 schools selected for the 2012 NYTS, 228 (80.3%) participated, resulting in a sample of 24,658 (91.7%) among 26,873 eligible students; the overall response rate was 73.6%. The 2011 NYTS had a comparable overall response rate of 72.7% (5). Respondents were asked about their current use of cigarettes, cigars§ (defined as cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars), smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis, kreteks, hookahs, snus, dissolvable tobacco, and electronic cigarettes. For each product, current use was defined as using on ≥1 day of the past 30 days.
Data were adjusted for nonresponse and weighted to provide national prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals for current tobacco use overall and by product, school level, sex, and race/ethnicity. Point estimate differences between 2011 and 2012 were assessed using a two-tailed t-test for significance (p<0.05).
In 2012, 6.7% of middle students reported current use of any tobacco product (Table). The most commonly used forms of tobacco were cigarettes (3.5%), cigars (2.8%), pipes (1.8%), smokeless tobacco (1.7%), hookahs (1.3%), electronic cigarettes (1.1%), snus (0.8%), bidis (0.6%), kreteks (0.5%), and dissolvable tobacco (0.5%). Among high school students, 23.3% reported current use of any tobacco product. The most commonly used forms of tobacco were cigarettes (14.0%), cigars (12.6%), smokeless tobacco (6.4%), hookahs (5.4%), pipes (4.5%), electronic cigarettes (2.8%), snus (2.5%), kreteks (1.0%), bidis (0.9%), and dissolvable tobacco (0.8%).
During 2011–2012, among middle school students, for current electronic cigarette use, significant increases were observed overall (0.6% to 1.1%) and among females (0.4% to 0.8%), males (0.7% to 1.5%), and Hispanics (0.6% to 2.0%) (Table). For hookahs, a significant increase was observed among Hispanics (1.7% to 3.0%).
During 2011–2012, among high school students, for electronic cigarette use, significant increases were observed overall (1.5% to 2.8%) and among females (0.7% to 1.9%), males (2.3% to 3.7%), non-Hispanic whites (1.8% to 3.4%), and Hispanics (1.3% to 2.7%). For hookahs, significant increases were observed overall (4.1% to 5.4%) and among non-Hispanic whites (4.3% to 6.1%). For cigars, a significant increase in use was observed among non-Hispanic blacks (11.7% to 16.7%).
Reported by
René A. Arrazola, MPH, Shanta R. Dube, PhD, Brian A. King, PhD, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. Corresponding contributor: René A. Arrazola, rarrazola@cdc.gov, 770-488-2414.
Editorial Note
The findings in this report indicate that during 2011–2012 significant increases occurred in current use of nonconventional tobacco products, such as electronic cigarettes and hookahs, among middle and high school students; in addition, an increase in cigar use occurred among non-Hispanic black high school students. During this same period, overall current use of some tobacco products, such as bidis and kreteks, significantly decreased. These findings indicate that more efforts are needed to monitor and prevent the use of both conventional and nonconventional tobacco products among youths.
During 2011–2012, cigar use increased significantly among non-Hispanic black high school students to 16.7%, more than doubling the 2009 estimate (6). Further, cigar use among high school males (16.7%) was approximately double that of high school females (8.4%) and similar to cigarette use among high school males (16.3%). Cigars include traditional premium cigars as well as cigarillos and "little cigars," which are similar to cigarettes in terms of appearance, but depending on their weight, can be taxed at lower rates and legally sold with certain flavors that are banned from cigarettes (7). Youths are known to have higher rates of cigar use than adults, which might be related to the lower price of some cigars (e.g., cigarillos and "little cigars") relative to cigarettes, or the marketing of flavored cigars that might appeal to youths (8). Significant increases also were observed in overall use of current electronic cigarettes (9) and hookahs. Current use of electronic cigarettes doubled among middle and high school females, middle school males, and Hispanic high school students. Among non-Hispanic white high school students, this increase was slightly less than double (1.8% to 3.4%), and among high school males, this increase was slightly more than 60% (2.3 to 3.7). For current hookah use, an increase of more than 75% (1.7% to 3.0%) was observed for Hispanic middle school students; among high school students, an overall increase of more than 30% (4.1% to 5.4%) was observed, but for non-Hispanic whites, this increase was more than 40% (4.3% to 6.1%). The increase in use of electronic cigarettes and hookah tobacco could be attributed to low price, an increase in marketing, availability, and visibility of these products, and the perception that these tobacco products might be "safer" alternatives to cigarettes. Cigars, electronic cigarettes, hookah tobacco, and certain other new types of tobacco products are not currently subject to FDA regulation. FDA has stated it intends to issue a proposed rule that would deem products meeting the statutory definition of a "tobacco product" to be subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.¶
The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, data were only collected from youths who attended either public or private schools and might not be generalizable to all middle and high school-aged youths. Second, data were self-reported; thus, the findings are subject to recall and response bias. Third, current tobacco use was defined by including students who responded to questions about at least one of the 10 tobacco products but might have had missing responses to any of the other tobacco products that were assessed; missing responses were considered as nonuse, which might have resulted in conservative estimates. Fourth, in 2012, the question wording for bidis and kreteks was modified, and cigar brand examples were added to the heading and ever cigar use question of the survey; therefore, any observed changes in prevalence estimates across years might be attributed in part to these wording modifications. Fifth, the NYTS overall response rate of 73.6% in 2012 and 72.7% in 2011 might have resulted in nonresponse bias, even after adjustment for nonresponse. Finally, estimates might differ from those derived from other youth surveillance systems, in part because of differences in survey methodology, survey type and topic, and age and setting of the target population. However, overall relative trends are similar across the various youth surveys (1).
Effective, population-based interventions for preventing tobacco use among youths are outlined in the Surgeon General's report (1) and the World Health Organization's MPOWER package (10). Interventions include increasing the price of all tobacco products, implementing 100% comprehensive smoke-free laws and policies in workplaces and public places, warning about the dangers of all tobacco use with tobacco use prevention media campaigns, increasing access to help quitting, and enforcing restrictions on all tobacco product advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. Interventions are best implemented as part of comprehensive tobacco control programs, which are effective in decreasing tobacco use in the United States (2). Full implementation of comprehensive tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended funding levels, in coordination with FDA regulations of tobacco products, would be expected to result in further reductions in tobacco use and changes in social norms regarding the acceptability of tobacco use among U.S. youths (1,2,10).
References
1. US Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing tobacco use among youth and young adults. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2012. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2012/index.htm.
2. CDC. Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs—2007. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/stateandcommunity/best_practices/index.htm.
3. CDC. CDC Grand Rounds: current opportunities in tobacco control. MMWR 2010;59:487–92.
4. CDC. Key outcome indicators for evaluating comprehensive tobacco control programs. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2005. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/surveillance_evaluation/key_outcome/pdfs/frontmaterial.pdf .
5. CDC. Current tobacco use among middle and high school students—United States, 2011. MMWR 2012;61:581–5.
6. CDC. Tobacco use among middle and high school students—United States, 2000–2009. MMWR 2010;59:1063–8.
7. United States Government Accountability Office. Tobacco taxes: large disparities in rates for smoking products trigger significant market shifts to avoid higher taxes (GAO-12-475). Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office; 2012. Available athttp://www.gao.gov/products/gao-12-475 .
8. King B, Tynan M, Dube S, Arrazola R. Flavored-little-cigar and flavored-cigarette use among U.S. middle and high school students. J Adolesc Health 2013 [Epub ahead of print].
9. CDC. Notes from the field: electronic cigarette use among middle and high school students—United States, 2011–2012. MMWR 2013;62:729–30.
10. World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008—the MPOWER package. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008. Available at http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_full_2008.pdf .
* The question to assess past 30 day use of bidis changed between 2011 and 2012. In 2011, the bidis question was "In the past 30 days, on how many days did you smoke bidis?" Students selected among "0 days," "1 or 2 days," "3 to 9 days," "10 to 19 days," "20 to 29 days," or "all 30 days." In 2012, the bidis question was "In the past 30 days, which of the following products have you used on at least one day?" Students could select different products, of which "bidis (small brown cigarettes wrapped in a leaf)" was a possible selection. This change might have affected the results for bidis.
† The question to assess past 30 day use of kreteks changed between 2011 and 2012. In 2011, the kreteks question was "In the past 30 days, on how many days did you smoke kreteks?" Students selected among "0 days," "1 or 2 days," "3 to 9 days," "10 to 19 days," "20 to 29 days," or "all 30 days." In 2012, the bidis question was "In the past 30 days, which of the following products have you used on at least one day?" Students could select different products, of which "clove cigarettes (kreteks)" was a possible selection. This change might have affected the results for kreteks.
§ The heading for the cigar section of the questionnaire changed between 2011 and 2012. In 2011, the heading was "Cigars." In 2012, the heading was "Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars, such as Black and Milds, Swisher Sweets, Dutch Masters, White Owl, or Phillies Blunts," and the question on ever use of cigars also included brand names. This change might have affected the results for cigars.
¶ FDA has expressed its intent to assert jurisdiction over all tobacco products. Additional information available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201304&RIN=0910-AG38 .
What is already known on this topic?
Nearly 90% of adult smokers began smoking by age 18 years.
What is added by this report?
Although decreases in the use of certain tobacco products (bidis and kreteks) have been observed, current cigar use has increased among non-Hispanic black high school students (11.7% to 16.7%), and the use of nonconventional products, such as electronic cigarettes, have increased among middle school (0.6% to 1.1%) and high school (1.5% to 2.8%) students.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Current use of cigars and nonconventional tobacco products need to be monitored at local, state, and national levels. This is especially true for nonconventional tobacco products and specific population subgroups. To reduce tobacco use among youths, national and state tobacco control programs can continue to implement evidence-based strategies, including those that will work in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6245a2.htm?s_cid=mm6245a2_w

How to Prevent Your Teen from Smoking

Science Daily reported about a Swedish Study which showed that parents are influential in their child’s decision whether to smoke.

Teenagers are more positive today towards their parents’ attempts to discourage them from smoking, regardless of whether or not they smoked, than in the past. The most effective actions parents could take include dissuading their children from smoking, not smoking themselves and not allowing their children to smoke at home. Younger children were more positive about these approaches than older children. Levels of smoking amongst participants were stable at 8% in 1987 and 1994, but halved in 2003. The decrease in the proportion of teenagers smoking is thought to result from a number of factors, including changes in legislation and the decreasing social acceptability of smoking.
Use of snus, a type of moist snuff, remained relatively constant. Fewer teenagers thought their parents would be concerned about snus use, probably reflecting a general perception that snus is less of a health hazard than smoking. Unsurprisingly, older children were more likely to smoke or use snus than younger children.
The authors of the study concluded that the prevalence of smoking in adolescents in Sweden has fallen and an increasing number of teenagers have never smoked. “The fact that adolescents respond positively to parental attitudes to smoking is encouraging,” says Nilsson. “Parents should be encouraged to intervene with respect to their children’s tobacco use.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303193956.htm

Another study reported by Reuters came to a similar conclusion that parents influence the decision whether to smoke

Friends and parents have a strong influence over whether teenagers move from experimenting with cigarettes to becoming full-fledged smokers — but so do parents, a new study finds.
The study, which followed 270 teenagers who had become occasional smokers before high school, found that 58 percent made it a daily habit by 12th grade.
But the likelihood of that happening depended partly on friends and parents, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
“We found that parents play an important role in preventing teens’ smoking escalation from experimental to daily smoking,” Dr. Min Jung Kim, of the University of Washington in Seattle, said.
When friends or parents smoked, teens were more likely to become daily smokers. On the other hand, they were less likely to become habitual smokers when their parents had a “positive family management” style — monitoring their comings and goings, doling out reasonable punishments for rule-breaking and rewarding good behavior.
Teens whose parents kept tabs on them and were non-smokers themselves had a 31 percent chance of becoming daily smokers. The odds were 71 percent among teenagers with parents who smoked and were more lax in managing their kids’ behavior. http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/08/26/us-smoking-teens-idUSTRE57P43R20090826

The Mayo Clinic has some excellent tips on preventing your teen from smoking These 10 tips can help.

1. Understand the attraction.
Sometimes teen smoking is a form of rebellion or a way to fit in with a particular group of friends. Some teens light up in an attempt to lose weight or to feel better about themselves. Others smoke to feel cool or independent. ..
2. Say no to teen smoking.
You may feel as if your teen doesn’t hear a word you say, but say it anyway. Tell your teen that smoking isn’t allowed. Your disapproval may have more impact than you think. Teens whose parents set the firmest smoking restrictions tend to smoke less than do teens whose parents don’t set smoking limits. The same goes for teens who feel close to their parents.
3. Set a good example.
Teen smoking is more common among teens whose parents smoke. If you don’t smoke, keep it up. If you do smoke, quit — now. ..
4. Appeal to your teen’s vanity.
Smoking isn’t glamorous. Remind your teen that smoking is a dirty, smelly habit. ..
5. Do the math.
Smoking is expensive. Help your teen calculate the weekly, monthly or yearly cost of a pack-a-day smoking habit. You might compare the cost of smoking with that of electronic gadgets, clothes or other teen essentials.
6. Expect peer pressure.
Friends who smoke can be convincing, but you can give your teen the tools he or she needs to refuse cigarettes. Rehearse how to handle tough social situations. It might be as simple as, “No thanks, I don’t smoke.” The more your teen practices this basic refusal, the more likely he or she will say no at the moment of truth.
7. Take addiction seriously.
Most teens believe they can quit smoking anytime they want. But teens become just as addicted to nicotine as do adults, often quickly and at relatively low doses of nicotine. And once you’re hooked, it’s tough to quit.
8. Predict the future.
Teens tend to assume that bad things only happen to other people. But the long-term consequences of smoking — such as cancer, heart attack and stroke — may be all too real when your teen becomes an adult. Use loved ones, friends or neighbors who’ve been ill as real-life examples.
9. Think beyond cigarettes.
Smokeless tobacco, clove cigarettes (kreteks) and candy-flavored cigarettes (bidis) are sometimes mistaken as less harmful or addictive than are traditional cigarettes. Hookah smoking — smoking tobacco through a water pipe — is another alternative sometimes touted as safe. Don’t let your teen be fooled. Like traditional cigarettes, these products are addictive and can cause cancer and other health problems. Many deliver higher concentrations of nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar than do traditional cigarettes.
10. Get involved.
Take an active stance against teen smoking. Participate in local and school-sponsored anti-smoking campaigns. Support bans on smoking in public places.
If your teen has already started smoking, avoid threats and ultimatums. Instead, be supportive. Find out why your teen is smoking — and then discuss ways to help your teen stop smoking, such as hanging out with friends who don’t smoke or getting involved in new activities. Stopping teen smoking in its tracks is the best thing your teen can do for a lifetime of good health. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/teen-smoking/HQ00139

As with a many issues adolescents face, it is important for parents and guardians to know what is going on in their children’s lives. You should know who your children’s friends are and how these friends feel about smoking, drugs, and issues like sex. You should also know how the parents of your children’s friends feel about these issues. Do they smoke, for example, or are they permissive in allowing their children to use alcohol and/or other drugs. Are these values in accord with your values?

Resources

1. A History of Tobacco http://archive.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html

2. American Lung Association’s Smoking and Teens Fact Sheet Women and Tobacco Use
African Americans and Tobacco Use
American Indians/Alaska Natives and Tobacco Use
Hispanics and Tobacco Use
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Tobacco Use
Military and Tobacco Use
Children/Teens and Tobacco Use

Older Adults and Tobacco Use
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/specific-populations.html

3. Center for Young Women’s Health A Guide for Teens http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/smokeinfo.html

4. Kroger Resources Teens and Smoking http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/Wellness/Smoking/Teens/

5. Teens Health’s Smoking http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/tobacco/smoking.html

6. Quit Smoking Support.com
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/teens.htm

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BBC report: Parents to be paid to attend parenting academy in England

16 Nov

Moi wrote in Parent involvement: Bronx’s Mercy College parent center:
Moi wrote about the importance of parental involvement in Missouri program: Parent home visits:
One of the mantras of this blog is that education is a partnership between the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), teacher(s), and the school. All parts of the partnership must be involved. Many educators have long recognized that the impact of social class affects both education achievement and life chances after completion of education. There are two impacts from diversity, one is to broaden the life experience of the privileged and to raise the expectations of the disadvantaged. Social class matters in not only other societies, but this one as well. A few years back, the New York Times did a series about social class in America. That series is still relevant. Janny Scott and David Leonhardt’s overview, Shadowy Lines That Still Divide http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/national/class/OVERVIEW-FINAL.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0describes the challenges faced by schools trying to overcome the disparity in education. The complete series can be found at Class Matters http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/class/
Teachers and administrators as well as many politicians if they are honest know that children arrive at school at various points on the ready to learn continuum. Teachers have to teach children at whatever point on the continuum the children are. Jay Matthews reports in the Washington Post article, Try parent visits, not parent takeovers of schools. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/try-parent-visits-not-parent-takeovers-of-schools/2012/05/30/gJQAlDDz2U_story.html
The key ingredient is parental involvement. The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (Council) has a great policy brief on parental involvement. http://www.wccf.org/pdf/parentsaspartners_ece-series.pd

Missouri program: Parent home visits

Parent involvement: Bronx’s Mercy College parent center

Educators, parents, and politicians all over the globe are trying to foster parent involvement

Judith Burns of the BBC reported in the BBC article, Cash for parents to learn how to support schoolwork:

Parents in two urban areas in England are to be offered money to attend a parenting academy to learn how to support their children’s schoolwork.
Some parents will be paid around £600 to attend all 18 sessions in the trial.
The scheme, for disadvantaged families, will test whether cash can encourage parents to help their children learn.
Brian Lightman, general secretary of the heads’ union ASCL, said parental engagement was a good thing but feared the payments could be seen as a bribe.
“We need to look at different ways of helping parents engage in their children’s learning but I have reservations about simply paying them,” said Mr Lightman.
But he added that the cash could be a genuinely positive thing if it were used, for example, to enable parents to take time off work to attend the courses.
Numeracy, literacy and science
The trial, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), will run in 14 primary schools in Middlesbrough and Camden and will cost a total of almost £1m.
The idea is to equip parents with the skills to support their children’s learning in numeracy, literacy and science….
Some 1,500 parents and carers will be randomly divided into three groups.
One group will get free childcare and meals when they attend. A second group will not only get these benefits but will be paid for every session they attend. A third control group will not attend the sessions.
The attitudes and abilities of all the children with parents in the three groups will be assessed at the beginning and end of the project.
The idea is based on a US project, in which parents of pre-school children in an area of Chicago were paid up to $7,000 a year to attend two sessions a week aimed at boosting their basic maths and literacy as well as their knowledge of how to support teachers and help with homework….
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24943762

Here is information about the Chicago Heights Miracle Project:

Chicago Heights Miracle Project
________________________________________
Rewarding Student Performance
Almost half of inner-city Americans fail to graduate from high school and most don’t make it to the 10th grade. In 2008, The Kenneth and Anne Griffin Foundation teamed up with University of Chicago economists John List and Steven Levitt (author of Freakonomics), and the Chicago Heights School District to test a unique incentive program, dubbed the Chicago Heights Miracle Project.
The aim of the project was to use cutting edge methods of investigation in behavioral economics to evaluate the impact of various incentives on student achievement.
Students were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups, or to a control group. Each month in which a student met academic, behavioral, and attendance standards that student became eligible for an incentive.
• Eligible students in the first group earned $50 each month.
• Parents of eligible students in the second group received $50 each month.
• Eligible students in the third group were entered into a lottery for a chance to win $500.
• Eligible students in the fourth group were also entered into a lottery, but their parents received the prize money.
The most significant impact was seen on students who were falling just short of their established goals. For these students, the incentive program had lasting effects: they not only began to meet standards but continued to outperform the control group into 10th grade. The researchers agreed that incentives can play an important role in getting children—especially borderline children—through school. Knowledge gained from the Chicago Heights Miracle Project led to the development of the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center.
Watch the movie trailer of Freakonomics which mentions Chicago Heights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfC-ZHJ4A5U
Read an article about Dr. List’s experiments in the Chicago Maroon, the University of Chicago newspaper. http://chicagomaroon.com/2009/5/15/professor-strives-to-test-economic-theories-in-real-life-experiments/
View the researchers’ presentation about the project.
http://www.griffin-foundation.org/areas/chicago-miracle-heights-project.html

It is going to take coordination between not only education institutions, but a strong social support system to get many of children through school. This does not mean a large program directed from Washington. But, more resources at the local school level which allow discretion with accountability. For example, if I child is not coming to school because they have no shoes or winter coat, then the child gets new shoes and/or a coat. School breakfast and lunch programs must be supported and if necessary, expanded. Unfortunately, schools are now the early warning system for many families in crisis.

Related:

Tips for parent and teacher conferences https://drwilda.com/2012/11/07/tips-for-parent-and-teacher-conferences/

Common Sense Media report: Media choices at home affect school performance https://drwilda.com/2012/11/01/common-sense-media-report-media-choices-at-home-affect-school-performance/

Parents can use tax deductions to pay for special education needs https://drwilda.com/2012/10/24/parents-can-use-tax-deductions-to-pay-for-special-education-needs/

Intervening in the lives of truant children by jailing parents https://drwilda.com/2012/10/07/intervening-in-the-lives-of-truant-children-by-jailing-parents/

Making time for family dinner https://drwilda.com/2012/09/10/making-time-for-family-dinner/

Embracing parents as education leaders

Embracing parents as education leaders

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The 11/16/13 Joy Jar

16 Nov

Moi had the great pleasure and honor of volunteering as a judge at the University of Washington Law School’s Moot Court competition today. There were many other volunteers. Many organizations rely on volunteers to carry out their message and mission. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the millions of volunteers who make the world a more civilized and better place.

The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.
DeAnn Hollis

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.
Elizabeth Andrew

Volunteering is not a choice, it’s a responsibility.
Unknown

Never doubt that a small group of commited people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
Booker T. Washington

A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under which they will never sit.
Greek Proverb

The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Ghandi

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.
Winston Churchill

Don’t ever question the value of volunteers. Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals.
Unknown

Volunteerism is the voice of the people put into action. These actions shape and mold the present into a future of which we can all be proud.
Helen Dyer

Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop…
Dr. Dorothy I. Height

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.
Erma Bombeck

Volunteering creates a national character in which the community and the nation take on a spirit of compassion, comradeship and confidence.
Brian O’Connell

The 11/15/13 Joy Jar

15 Nov

Moi is a proud OLD FART. According to the Urban Dictionary, an OLD FART is described:

An old guy that is just not right
Peter turned the age of an old fart officially on Nov 22nd but, had been practicing for quite some time.
old fart over the hill aged just not right awesome
by old fart’s son November 21, 2010
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=old%20fart

Moi got the moniker as a term of derision by an individual who wanted to mock her. Moi embraces the term. In fact, moi has a blog, COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART: http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/about/
Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy jar’ is turning a negative into a positive and embracing being a happy OLD FART.

It is a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily.
Lydia Maria Francis Child

The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as youre learning, youre not old.
Rosalyn S Yalow

We spend the first half of our lives trying to grow up and the other half trying to figure out how we got so old!
Nishan Panwar

You know you’re old when your regrets overcome your dreams.
Unknown

Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.
Aristotle

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Cili Davis

It is not how old you are, but how you are old.
Jules

I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.
Glenda Jackson

The 11/14/13 Joy Jar

15 Nov

Most people, no matter their race, creed, religion, or national origin want to live in peace. They want their government to deliver basic services and protect them from aggression by outsiders. There are times of totalitarianism where the government becomes the enemy because the government lives by its own strange brand of truth. Dagmar Hovestädt of CNN reported in the article, Germany’s Stasi past looms over NSA spying furor:

It was the Stasi, the “shield and sword” of the Communist party, that was charged with ensuring the power of the party. And it did that mostly by monitoring of people and their behavior. Because even in a regime as repressive as East Germany, people wanted to express who they really were. Many found the courage to follow their hearts and thus became a danger to the existing power structure. That is why the Stasi became an all-encompassing entity in East Germany. It had to have its eyes and ears everywhere possible to make sure “enemies” of the party were uncovered early and disrupted in their activity. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/opinion/nsa-germany-stasi-shadows/

Today, the U.S. President was trying to walk back campaign rhetoric concerning the healthcare law. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the truth wherever it can be found.

In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell

We often want one thing and pray for another, not telling the truth even to the gods.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.
Ramakrishna

In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is dredged up only as a final resort when the alternative options of deception, threat and bribery have all been exhausted.
Michael Musto

There are two ways of lying. One, not telling the truth and the other, making up statistics.
Josefina Vazquez Mota

Telling the truth, and confronting the challenge, is what politics is about.
Johann Lamont

In the process of telling the truth about what you feel or what you see, each of us has to get in touch with himself or herself in a really deep, serious way.
June Jordan

The great advantage about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.
Dorothy L. Sayers

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.”
William Faulkner

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
Franz Kafka

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”
Spencer Johnson

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.”
Cicero

“In a room where
people unanimously maintain
a conspiracy of silence,
one word of truth
sounds like a pistol shot.”
Czesław Miłosz

“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.”
James E. Faust

i
“Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But a half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.”
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“If an offense come out of the truth, better is it that the offense come than that the truth be concealed.”
Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles

“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. “One word of truth outweighs the world.”
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
Mahatma Gandhi

No need to kill all the lawyers, they are dying of natural causes

14 Nov

Here’s today’s COMMENT FROM AN OLD FART: Moi is an Emeritus Attorney, she practices pro bono law and no longer works for fees. She still gets the bar magazine called the NW Lawyer and this month’s edition is designed to smack the barristers into reality. First, there is the article, The First Thing We Do: Let’s Kill All The Lawyers http://nwlawyer.wsba.org/nwlawyer/november_2013#pg26

The real reality check comes from Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) President Patrick A. Palace as he opines on the state of the profession in the article, Game Changers at page six:

The Changing Profession

Some lawyers blame the loss of business on the economy and are waiting for the good times to return. Others complain that they are under attack by unauthorized practitioners and we need to build more protections, but most agree that practicing law is getting harder. And there are specific reasons practice is getting harder. http://nwlawyer.wsba.org/nwlawyer/november_2013#pg9

Palace goes on to describe the challenges of law practice in detail and offer some possible paths to surviving the environment. This is a must read for anyone considering a career as a lawyer

The career conundrum starts early. Kelsey Sheehy posted at U.S. News the article, Study: High School Grads Choosing Wrong College Majors:

Teens are selecting college majors that don’t match their interests, according to a new report, but experts say that is OK.

Choosing the right college major is almost as important as choosing the right college.

Majors give students direction and allow them to map out their path to graduation. Some majors, such as engineering, information technology or accounting, also help prepare students to enter a specific career field.

Students who select a major that matches their interests are more likely to stick with it and finish their degree on time, but few high school graduates are choosing a major that suits them, a report released today by ACT Inc. finds.

Almost 80 percent of ACT test-takers who graduated in 2013 said they knew which major they would pursue in college. Of those students, only 36 percent chose a major that fit their interests, according to the study. ACT used answers from the exam’s Interest Inventory, which asks a series of questions to determine career areas where a student might excel.

This disconnect isn’t exactly surprising, says Beth Heaton, senior director of educational consulting at College Coach, an advising firm.

A former regional director of admissions for the University of Pennsylvania, Heaton has read thousands of college applications. She now advises teens trying to get into college.

“The vast majority of them have no idea what they really want to do when they grow up. Even the ones who claim that they do,” she says. “How can you know? If you’re 16, 17, 18, you know so little of the world….” http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2013/11/11/study-high-school-grads-choosing-wrong-college-majors

Here is the press release from ACT:

Many Students Select a College Major That Doesn’t Fit Their Interests Well

November 11 2013

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Only about a third of ACT®-tested high school graduates selected a college major that is a good fit with their interests, according to a new research report from ACT titled College Choice Report Part 1: Preferences and Prospects. The findings suggest that high school students need more help planning for college and career—and that the majority want such assistance.

ACT’s research looked at the 79 percent of ACT-tested 2013 high school graduates who reported a college major that they planned to pursue, comparing their ACT Interest Inventory profile with profiles of college students in the same program of study. Students complete the ACT Interest Inventory when registering for the exam. Interest profiles for students with the same majors were based on a national sample of undergraduate students with a declared major and a grade point average of at least 2.0.

Although the majority of ACT-tested graduates selected a major that was at least a moderate fit with their interests, only 36 percent selected one that was a good fit, while nearly as many—32 percent—selected a major that was a poor fit with their interests.

“It’s important for students to have the information they need to make the best decisions about their future,” said Jon Erickson, ACT president of education and career solutions. “They should be made aware that choosing a college major that reflects their interests will give them a better chance of succeeding and could also contribute to their satisfaction and happiness in school and on the job.”

Previous ACT research has suggested that students whose interests are similar to those of people in their chosen college majors are more likely to remain in their major, persist in college and complete their degree in a timely manner. Students who change their major while in college may have to take additional courses to satisfy degree requirements or even transfer to a different institution, potentially delaying their graduation.

ACT’s report indicates that a student’s intended major can play a significant role in which college he or she chooses to attend. Half of those students who indicated a planned major reported that the availability of a particular major was the most important factor in selecting a college.

“Students who start out with the right major choice can save significant time and money, which is increasingly important given the rising cost of attending college,” said Erickson. “Far too many colleges require students to select a major without looking at how well the students’ interests fit with their intended program of study.”

The ACT report suggests that students would welcome help with their planning. Around three out of five ACT-tested 2013 graduates indicated that they needed assistance with their educational and occupational plans. Among students who were undecided on a college major, the number indicating that they needed assistance rose to more than seven out of ten.

“We must do more to help students connect their majors and, ultimately, their careers to their interests, so they can be on a path for success,” said Erickson. “ACT offers a number of free resources to help students plan for college and career, and we are working to develop more to help in this area.”

ACT’s free resources include the World-of-Work Map, which is included with every ACT score report, and the new ACT Profile, the first college and career readiness social community. ACT’s website for students, http://www.actstudent.org, offers other free college and career planning resources, including tips, checklists, and information on topics such as academic preparation, choosing a college major, choosing a college, and applying to colleges.

ACT will release the College Choice Report Part 2 in July 2014. http://www.act.org/newsroom/releases/view.php?lang=english&p=3064#.UoUmc3rYZWA.

Moi is not picking on the legal profession, but she is making a point that what might have looked like an optimum career path in past years may not be the path for the future. Dennis Smith has a good brief article at College Recruiter. Com, Choosing A Vocation: Finding Your Calling

“What do you want to do with your life?”

I’ve heard everything from,

“I want to be the VP of Engineering!”, to “I don’t really know what I want to do….I only know what I don’t want to do.”

In my opinion, both answers are good. I’ve known engineers that knew they were going to be engineers from their mother’s womb. I’ve known others who, like myself, enjoy doing so many different things that they graduate from college not having made specific plans for the day after graduation.

In making this decision, the mistake made by many of us is that we too often listen to the multitude of voices that are willing to offer up advice about what “we” should be doing with our lives. As my grandfather used to say, “That advice and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee.

What is it that matters most? What is it that you want to do more than anything? What makes you truly happy? What is it that makes you “alive?

Curt Rosengren says,

“If there’s one thing I’ve discovered over the years, it’s that just about anything we set our minds to is possible. Moreover, one of the biggest – if not the biggest – obstacle we face lies smack dab between our ears. We’re so often overcome with fear of what might go wrong that we don’t dare to even take a step.” “But….what would you do if you were brave?”

Students should be thinking about what is the appropriate life balance for them. http://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2006/12/12/choosing-a-vocation-finding-your-calling/

Another important part of career or vocational selection is life balance.

WebMD and the Mayo Clinic have some good suggestions about life balance.

WebMD advises in 5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance:

1. Figure Out What Really Matters to You in Life

2. Drop Unnecessary Activities

3. Protect Your Private Time

4. Accept Help to Balance Your Life

5. Plan Fun and Relaxation

http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/protect-health-13/balance-life

The Mayo Clinic has tips for striking the proper work-life balance http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/work-life-balance/WL00056/NSECTIONGROUP=2

A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.

Albert Camus

After two weeks of working on a project, you know whether it will work or not.

Bill Budge

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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