Men’s Health – Revitalized with Viagra
Some times we fail to understand the problem of an impotent person. We think that sexual dysfunction may not be a problem for reproduction. There is hi tech method of in vitriol fertilization by which even an impotent man can be father of a child without actually performing all sexual activities.
But, in fact the method is not so easy. Long time treatment for both the male and the female is to be carried out and some times minor to semi major surgeries may be required for either of the male or female or both of them.
So cost of this treatment is enormous and beyond the reach of common man. Apart from this, the method may fail some times to produce results. As such doctors will not guarantee of fertilization before starting of the treatment. Imagine the cost of this long treatment and surgeries, if required!
More over your health insurance companies may not bear the cost of similar kind of treatment. Bearing the cost is next to impossible for a common person where there is a nexus between the doctors, Insurance companies and hospitals has made medical treatment to sky high and has become out of the capacity of common citizens. With horror, we have read that 25% of Americans have no health insurance coverage. Because maintaining the insurance is also a high cost affair and may be beyond the reach of great section of common citizens.
Ignoring medical insurance coverage is even more dangerous.
So your ever lasting desire to be father of a child from your wife may be out of reach of you, if you are impotent and can not bear the cost of artificial insemination.
However, it is fortunate that very few people may have to resort to this extreme step.
In general what we find around that a quite good number of people are impotent due to their Erectile Dysfunction (ED) condition. This problem can now easily be overcome – thanks to the discovery of oral medicines like Viagra or Cialis.
Actually these kinds of medicines have given Men’s Health a new life. This is particularly applicable for an impotent person suffering from ED condition. We have seen that Sexual Health, which is the greatest part of Men’s Health of the male population, disturbed by the condition of Erectile Dysfunction, has greatly improved with these kinds of medicines.
However, initially it was found that these kinds of PDE-5 type inhibitors had some side effects like stomach upset increase in heart rate etc. Soon superiority of these medicines was proved.
It was found that, after prolonged use, the side effects of the drugs have greatly reduced. It may be due to the reason that the people become habituated with these medicines and developed some kind of resistance to these symptoms or their body resistance prevented them from these side effects.
However there may be only one trouble some times may happen with the users, for which, FDA has issued warnings also. That is the problem of blurred vision, which some times lead to blindness also. But the manufacturers also defend that the problem might have occurred for other reasons also. It is not the time for taking final decisions in this regard. Studies are still going on.
In fact the good effects of Viagra prevailed over the side effects and thus the medicine conquered the world.
In conclusion we must say that the sexual health is the supreme concern for any one having a sex desire and ability. If it is disturbed by erectile dysfunction, solution is right at hand and there is nothing to worry. Because, Viagra is here to revitalize ultimately one’s sexual health which is generally a essential component of Men’s Health..
Stress ??? Try MArtial Arts
Are you a busy executive or mom trying to do everything? Are you getting so stressed out that it seems like you’re not accomplishing anything? If so, you can use martial arts to combat that stress! Many of the skills and techniques used in martial arts training are the same skills and techniques you can use to rid your body of stress.
So, you might be wondering how a skill that is commonly depicted as a fighting tool can actually reduce stress… Some of these common images of martial arts aren’t completely accurate. The cartoons, video games and movies showing martial arts as a fighting tool are only showing you one small facet of the art. The skills necessary for training martial arts can teach you how to balance your mind and body and give you the confidence you need to face the stressful events in your life.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
One of the techniques used to create this balance is using breathing and meditation techniques to help you connect and control your mind and body. There are different types of meditation: sitting, standing, kneeling and moving. Find the position that works best for you. Here’s how to start.
1. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
2. Breathe deeply. To make sure you’re breathing deeply enough, put your hand on your stomach. If your stomach isn’t pushing out as you breath in, you’re not breathing deeply enough. Try to pull the air all the way to your navel before you let it out.
3. When you breathe out, keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth. This keeps helps minimize your saliva and swallowing.
In the Chinese way of thinking, breathing like this is completing a path: The mouth is a gate and the tongue on the roof of the mouth allows your vital energy called “Qi” or “Chi” (both pronounced “chee”) to circulate throughout your body. Chi is what helps your mind and body connect.
After you’ve gotten the physical aspects of breathing down, you can start counting your breaths – this is a form of meditation that many experts teach during stress management courses. Start short and work your way up.
1. Begin with a count of 4 as you breathe in and a count of 6 as you breathe out.
2. As you go along, extend the in and out until you can get a count of 6 as you breathe in and up to 24-30 as you breathe out. Just remember that you want a short, deep breath in and a slow, long breath out.
WHY DOES IT WORK?
This mind and body connection through breathing works because stress is a mental state that manifests itself as a physical symptom in your body. This physical symptom then acts as a trigger to tell you to do something about it. As you become more aware of your body, you’ll be able to notice the “trigger” before it becomes something unbearable such as a severe neck problem or a migraine headache. Once you notice your trigger, you can stop and do something about it such as practicing a breathing technique. For example, I used to get stress-induced migraines that would leave me out of commission for a whole day. Now, I’ve come to realize that it actually starts in my lower back as a small thing. If I let it go, it works its way up to my head. Now, when I noticed this trigger in my back, I stop and do my breathing. It allows the issue to surface so I can deal with it and I don’t have to deal with a migraine.
We all have those moments from time to time when we experience stress (some more frequently than others). The overall benefits of training martial arts for the mind and body (including self-awareness, self confidence, focus, concentration and physical conditioning) all lead to reducing that stress. You owe it to yourself to start relieving the stress in your life with the skills taught through martial arts. The best place to find these skills is at a fine martial arts school. Why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. To make it even easier, I’ll help you get started. Just contact me and I’ll send you my free report on how to pick a martial arts school.
Sincerely,
Robert Jones
Master Instructor
The Academy of Kempo Martial Arts
P.S. My 3 studios are located in Lynnwood, Kent, and Bellevue, Washington. If you live near one of those locations, please contact me.
Martialadvice@hotmail.com
http://www.martialarts-instruction.com
1-800-508-6141
Connecting the lease enterprise through lease management software
Information Technology has improved the leasing process, parts at a time. Every company has evolved some manner of maintaining customer information. Accounting software has kept the back-end humming. The sales force has devised methods for maintaining customers and then bridging them with funding sources. The vendor is contacted when an order needs filling. Further down the chain, the collections process is managed independently. And, the savvy leasing business has found ways of retaining customers to keep the process alive.
Limitations of the traditional Lease Management Software
But the permeation of technology has been sporadic, at best. Thus far, the existent lease management software have spot lighted sections of the leasing process, affecting each uniquely, independently and in isolation from the whole lease operation. This has forced companies to tie together the disparate sections of the lease process manually, without using any lease management software. Inevitably, intervening to help one part of the business communicate with another without a technical platform such as lease management software to collaborate both parts creates inefficiencies. While financial data would help the sales-force negotiate with repeat customers, the sales-force may not be privy to the relevant information easily devoid of innovative leasing software. The lessee may be offered an online lease application, but a potential funding source is not intimated of the new request until much later. Unfortunately, the disjointed nature of traditional technology necessitates physical intervention almost every time one link of the lease chain needs to be connected with another.
Improving productivity through consolidated lease management
Here’s where concepts like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management, so successfully used in manufacturing and telecommunications, become relevant to lease management. Today, Internet-driven technology such as the lease management software can consolidate the entire leasing process, beyond simply improving its various sections in isolation. Productivity-wise, this consolidation will do to the leasing business what the assembly line did to automobile manufacturing. And, if implemented wisely, the cost of this technology is quickly covered many times over by the resulting synergy – and the quantifiable savings — that it brings to the leasing enterprise, regardless of its size.
Managing leasing relationships through the Lease Management software
Lessor <—> Lessee
The lessee-lessor relationship, for one, fits intuitively into the Internet model of the lease management software, given the high level of interaction it requires. After all, lessees have ongoing and insatiable needs, ranging from the most basic monthly invoice to the more complex asset-dependent property tax management specifics. Lessees with numerous assets under each of their leases, for instance, need a specialized flow of information to track their assets and stay abreast of their accounts by way of an effective lease management system. With a lease becoming a service rather than a mere financial product, lessors have to find ways of catering to the growing customer demand for information. One cannot help wondering why the systems they use for lease management, veritable storehouses of the needed information, don’t have CRM functionality. Indeed, CRM is as relevant at point-of-sale as it is during the lease process; it allows lessors to understand a lessee’s ongoing needs and even distinguish one customer from another. An online interface by means of lease management software can form the perfect channel of information exchange for the data-starved lessee.
Lessor <—> Funding Source
Driven by tight marketing conditions and innovative funding models, the unique investor-lessor relationship can also benefit greatly from the use of technology via lease management software. Typically, lessors sell receivables, in whole or in part, to various investors to fund their leases. In some cases, the residual value is even sold separately with the investor and lessor sharing the proceeds generated from off-lease remarketing, contingent on various realization thresholds. But, regardless of the level of complexity in their relationship, there is one undeniable truth: Information that is already present with the lessor has to somehow travel to the investor. Typically, this entails hours of error-prone report and document preparation, the need for pain-staking clarification and, possibly, re-reporting. Again, these inefficiencies beg a rather obvious question: Why not let the investor get the information it needs, in a controlled, secure and real-time environment, devoid of manual intervention? Shouldn’t it be possible, at least in theory, for the investor to view information that lives with the lessor without the latter’s direct involvement? With an Internet based lease management system, this becomes a very practical possibility. Once the lessor determines the type and extent of information access it wants to offer, a customizable Web interface can provide the forum that eliminates the traditional inefficiencies of the lessor-investor association. <
Indeed, owing to the ease of information flow that the Net inherently facilitates, Internet based leasing software technology can tie in the hitherto unconnected parts of the lease process. Through this technology, the lessor can provide its business partners with controlled gateways to information residing in the back-end. In light of optimizing these relationships, the technology used to forge this data exchange must be based on the same technology that is used to maintain the information. If, therefore, the back-end accounting software were Internet based, it would become a minor step to make the relevant information available to investors or lessees online.
The technological consolidation of the leasing process by way of a internet based lease management software begins, then, with the back end. Lease management software is the battering ram around which the rest of the leasing process is built. In fact, Supply chain management and CRM, as they pertain to leasing, are fueled primarily by the data-rich back end. After all, here’s where every detail about a lease, from inception through maturity, is maintained. Yet, despite the obvious opportunity to realize these efficiencies, the leasing industry has not recognized the benefits of online lease management software. Most software vendors still earn a living touting systems that are entrenched in the client/server model and that are seriously limited by their legacy origins. This scenario is changing, however, with companies like Odessa Technologies, Inc., based out of Philadelphia, that make Internet based lease management systems.
Through LeaseWave(Lease accounting and management software product), Odessa Technologies provides a cost-effective means to benefiting from the Internet. LeaseWave, at its nucleus, provides for complete asset management and lease accounting functionality, allowing the lessor to efficiently manage any number of lease portfolios. Beyond this core, LeaseWave provides a series of interactive web sites that connect the lessor with business partners including lessees, funding sources and vendors. This allows for the lessor to consolidate the leasing process, tying together business partners online, on a real-time basis. Through LeaseWave, the leasing supply chain meets CRM around a robust, Internet based lease management software.
Indeed, it was through supply chain management and CRM that Wal-Mart recently revolutionized the retail industry. IT investment “enabled the company to squeeze out every last inefficiency from [their] merchandising chain.” By connecting with their suppliers such as Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart was able to reduce inventory, lower order-processing costs and thereby offer “low, everyday prices.” One better than Wal-Mart, Cisco, one of the largest Internet hardware suppliers now boasts a paper free supply chain. Cisco’s suppliers only begin assembling components after a customer places an order online, giving “just-in-time supply” a new standard. Why then can’t our retail shops (read lessors), their suppliers (read funding sources) and their customers (read lessees) be similarly connected? Don’t we also want low, every day prices?
8 Ways to Create a Happy Family
You might disagree and say, “Lori Prokop what are you writing now?” But hear me out on this.
I believe finding happiness and success are more than just money.
If you are not finding happiness in your family, this is to remind you that you have the power to improve your life within your family.
Here are Lori Prokop’s 8 ways to create (or re-create) a happy family:
1) Start with yourself. Finding happiness starts by deciding that you will create the loving spirit that can create a happy family. Develop an energy and personality where simply your spirit and presence will heal others and rejuvenate your family.
2) Look at yourself. Ask yourself this question and give yourself a true answer: “Am I contributing to family happiness or unhappiness?”
3) Heal within any feelings of mistrust or anger. This can seem to be an impossible task. But it is achievable and vital to finding happiness and success.
People make mistakes. Some make them only once. Others repeat their mistakes over and over. Each person is doing the best they can at the emotional intelligence level they have achieved.
If someone is being hurtful, blameful, angry or attacking, they are living at a very low emotional intelligence level. That doesn’t mean you need to live in this painful place with them.
Practice treating everyone in the family with love. You may not be able to be around them because of their chosen personality or behaviors. You can pray, intend or send loving energy to them. They will receive it and the power of love will heal them in remarkable ways, often better than we could have dreamed.
4) Choose to live in the upper six levels of your Life Guidance System. You have 21 emotional levels. Fifteen create what you don’t want and six emotional levels create what you do want. People ask me, “Lori Prokop, how can I live in the emotional levels that create more of what I want and result in finding happiness?”
Don’t be a part of family problems. Heal yourself and become a cure. Don’t tell your family you have chosen to do this. Just do it. They will notice the difference. Your newly chosen emotional levels will create positive results. With your lead and example, your family members can learn to love and respect each other.
5) Encourage high regard for each other. Teach, by example, that each family member accepts all others and lets each be who they are.
When the development process and history of their personalities is respected, even the most difficult people lighten up. When people feel understood, they no longer feel the need to defend. Love and acceptance of each person’s history will create the feeling of goodwill and real understanding.
6) Have no certain expectations chiseled in stone. Rather, expect the best and be open to what that manifests as. When we expect something certain we are often limiting the outcome by our own limited thinking.
Do not expect everyone to change at once or that it will come easily. For some the change seems immediate, for others it can take time. For some healing will seem effortless, others will need to hit rock-bottom before they begin. For some letting go of harmful beliefs, hurtful thinking and destructive prejudices happens gradually, sometimes only after personal pain or disasters.
This is sometimes a challenge because we want things right now. Many times I say to myself, “Lori Prokop, why can’t these other people do the right things?”
Pray their healing will be a safe, loving and wonderful experience. The most important element is that someone must start the healing. It will pick up for others from there.
7) Believe in assistance from a Higher Power. This is a non-religious, non-denominational, spiritual step. Miracles can and will happen for those who ask for help from a Source of 100% pure light and love. Choose actions and options that are 100% pure light and love.
8) Intend only the best for each family member. One person using their power of intention by sending energy of 100% pure light and love to other family members, though he or she may do it without others knowing, will in time see others are motivated to improve their lives.
When the intention of 100% pure light and love becomes a family practice, members will grow deeper in spiritual connection and have an easier time finding happiness.
So here is what Lori Prokop believes. Ultimately, you can change even the toughest family situation for the better. You can help family member experience success and help yourself in the process of finding happiness.
Can Hair Dye Cause Cancer?
Further study is needed to fully understand relationships between hair dyes and bladder cancer, researchers said. Basically, they found no overall increase in cancer deaths among users of hair dyes. These opinions are concerning the use of permanent hair dyes and bladder cancer in 2005. Because of the widespread use of hair dye, the possibility of a relationship between it and cancer is quite alarming. In this study, the two main criteria were exposure to personal hair dye products and an outcome of cancer at any anatomical site.
“The totality of evidence today is far more reassuring than alarming about any hazards of hair dye use,” Dr. None found evidence of a significant excess among hair dye users overall. A European Commission watchdog has criticized the hair dye industry for failing to provide evidence of the safety of its products. Until definitive evidence come in consumers may want to proceed with caution when selecting a hair dye. A European Commission watchdog criticised the hair dye industry in 2002 for failing to provide evidence of the safety of its products. But there is no strong evidence that hair dyes cause any of these.
Permanent hair dyes, the most popular choice among consumers, come in two categories: oxidation and progressive. Thus it may be concluded that it is hair dye that accidentally spilled over and has taken effect by oxidation. They are called Oxidation hair dyes because they contain Paraphenelenediamine, which is a basic constituent of these dyes.
You might feel good after a chemical hair dye but, if you’re dying your hair in this way frequently, It is belived that you’re killing yourself softly. A chemical free hair dye, use at home hair colour. A compound henna mix is not a chemical free hair dye. Suraiya As with any chemical product, you should always use hair dyes in a well ventilated area. Here are the facts: Hair dye, bleach, perms and relaxing solutions are all absorbed into the bloodstream to some degree.
Change Your Tone – Media Coverage Shouldn’t Be Toned By Software
The world of PR is benefiting from dramatic changes in the way media coverage is being delivered electronically to your computer desktop or PDA of choice. Perhaps the nuisance of ink on your fingers is being replaced by a bad case of “BlackBerry thumb” — but nevertheless getting your media coverage electronically has never been easier or more mobile.
These changes now drive the development of new tools from content providers, and new software programs to help better manage and analyze media coverage. The automation occurring at the database level and through the real-time delivery of organizational news, to internal and external stakeholders, is now almost taken for granted. And the holy grail of PR — to automate media analysis and measurement — is already under way; but where should software stop to make way for human analysis?.
Media analysis programs can save countless hours quantifying and sorting media coverage in an unlimited number of ways, including by circulation, region, ad equivalency, company programs and services, and competitive brands. However, do you really want a computer program qualifying how each story affects your organization? It’s a gamble with little upside.
Just Say No
The automation of tone and sentiment has already been incorporated into some software programs, but how accurate can it be? Every story, across every medium, will have a dramatically different meaning or impact for various organizations and their stakeholders. Behind the news emerge both winner and losers.
For instance, if a negative story breaks about a strike at one bottling plant it will be a boon for its competitors. The ability to determine which companies are negatively affected by the news is very limited. Furthermore, understanding the actual tone or possible ongoing bias of the reporter on an issue is impossible to automate. News is as much about delivering the facts, as it is provoking a reaction or emotion from the reader. Media analysis solutions can certainly help decipher the facts, but the rest should be left to a team of communications professionals.
Too Subjective?
The argument against toning media coverage has often been it is too subjective — if the news can be interpreted differently by each individual, won’t this skew the results in the end? True enough — but this can easily be solved with the introduction of a tone standardized ‘scorecard’ that is consistently applied to each story.
These scorecards can really vary, depending on the type of analysis you want to deliver in the end. Many organizations will chose to tone stories by ranking them as positive, neutral or negative.
The use of these 3 words alone is where subjectivity problems can creep in. Along with team brainstorming and training sessions on how tone can be applied, one quick fix is to use the C.B.S. Scorecard instead:
- Use Critical (in place of Negative.)
- Use Balanced (in place of Neutral)
- Use Supportive (in place Positive)
After reading an article, it is much easier to answer the question “Was that story critical, balanced, or supportive of our organization?” Instead of: “Was that story negative, neutral or positive?”
When it comes to tone it won’t always be black or white, but I’d rather leave the grey zones to a trained communications professional rather than to the guesswork of a software application.
When it comes to tone it won’t always be black or white, but I’d rather leave the grey zones to a trained communications professional rather than to the guesswork of a software application.
Beyond the ranking of articles by tone using the C.B.S. Scorecard, other metrics and meanings can be used in tandem to create and even stronger analysis. The following scorecard uses a scorecard range, from
Rating Criteria
+5 Supportive Mention + four of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+4 Supportive Mention + three of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+3 Supportive Mention + two of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+2 Supportive Mention + one of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+1 Supportive
0 Balanced
-1 Critical
-2 Critical Mention + one of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-3 Critical Mention + two of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-4 Critical Mention + three of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-5 Critical Mention + four of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
Once each story is toned, the rest of analysis can be automated by your software solution. The tone can be used independently to determine the success of the campaign by percentage of C.B.S. stories, but the tone can also be used alongside the rest of the analysis to identify possible media bias or problem areas by region or publication. The media is always analyzing your organization…why not return the favour?
New media monitoring and analysis technologies are certainly changing the face of media relations activities and provide immense return on investment, but determining the impact of a news story on your organization should be kept in human hands for the time being.
Using Graphic Images On Web Pages
Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes web page designers make is to misuse or overuse graphic images on web pages. Designers become so enthusiastic about using new technology that they tend to focus on “look what we can make for you” rather than a web page’s functionality.
Web page graphics must serve a function. If a graphic image’s only function is “to look cool,” you are unnecessarily increasing the download time of your web pages. “Looking cool” can ultimately cost you more money and make you lose potential customers.
The following list is a summary of the types of graphic images that are acceptable on a web page:
Navigation buttons – Used to help visitors navigate your web site. If designed well, these buttons can be much easier to read and find than text links.
Image maps – Also used to help visitors navigate your web site. If designed well, image maps greatly add to the visual appeal of a web page but can considerably increase the page’s download time.
Logo – Used for your corporate or business identity. Logos increase brand name recognition and add visual appeal to any document or web page.
Bullet points – Used to draw your visitors’ eyes to the main points of your document. Also used to break up a web page full of paragraphs.
Mastheads – Also known as a title graphic. Main function is to let your visitors know which web page they are on. Adding clip art or an illustration to a masthead adds more visual appeal.
Divider lines or horizontal rules – Commonly used to separate footers, categories within a single web page, and FAQ questions and answers.
Background images – Used to enhance the visual appeal of a web page and make a web site easier to navigate. One of the most common background images is a sidebar which usually contains the links to the other pages in your site.
Headings (text graphic) – Commonly used to preserve a typeface that many people do not have on their computers.
Photos – Commonly used to make your web pages seem more personal and more inviting. Visitors’ eyes are naturally drawn to photos of people. An absolute necessity to showcase products on certain e-commerce sites.<
For a truly professional-looking web site, the minimum set of graphics on web pages should be a set of navigational graphics, a logo, bullet points, and set of mastheads. If this set of graphics does not significantly increase a page’s download time, then you can add other graphic images to enhance your site. The general rule is to keep web page size between 40-60K. If you are a graphic designer, photographer, architect, or programmer, a 75K web page will still give a relatively fast download time on a 28.8 Kbps modem.
Any extra graphic images on your web pages should serve a function that is directly related to your business. For example, on a web site, you can have illustrations serve multiple functions:
If a design firm has professional illustrators in its staff, they should showcase this talent in some form throughout the web site.
Illustrations can also serve a navigational function. In some web sites, you can tell which section of a web site you are in based on the illustration shown.
A talented web graphic designer can design graphic images which download quickly and look good. Graphic images should be sized down without losing the integrity of the graphic image.
Remember, graphic images are primarily used to enhance a web pages function. If graphic images considerably increase your web pages’ download time, you will have to either size down the graphic images, replace them with smaller images, or replace them with the HTML default bullets, horizontal rules, or coloured heading text
How To Get Your Kids To Speak Your Language
COUNTRY OF MANY PEOPLES
This country,,, (The authors raised their kids in the United States but they believe that their experience can be useful for people in other non-spanish-speaking countries.) This country is made up of people from all over the world. We or our parents came from Latin countries. We now live here. We function in two different worlds, the American world and the world of our parents. All of us live in these two different worlds in different ways. Some of us were born in the countries our parents came from; others of us were born here. This makes a difference in how and how much we live in our two worlds.
COUNTRY OF MANY LANGUAGES
The one thing that is most important in our parents’ world is their language which is also ours in different ways. The Spanish language of our parents is an issue to all of us every day. We may be proud to speak it well. We may be ashamed at not speaking it well. Some of us may have gone through periods of trying not to speak it because we wanted to speak English better. We may only speak it when we come across someone who needs help in understanding English. We may only remember some sayings of our grandparents or children’s songs taught to us by our parents.
You may want to review (or study it for the first time) your Spanish. We could only find one reference for you. It is expensive and is a textbook, not too appealing but complete. Take a look at Nuevos Mundos, Spanish for Native Speakers 2nd Edition, Workbook : Curso de espanol para estudiantes bilingues”
F. Bruce Robinson, assistant director in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ division of education programs asks “How does America preserve this important resource of people who are proficient in other languages? Instead of trying to depress the knowledge these students come to school with, we ought to be trying to build on it.” (Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 2, 1994, page A15)
OUR CHILDREN AND OUR LANGUAGE
We all want our children to speak the language of their heritage. We discount the opinions of those who say that it is better to forget Spanish and to concentrate on speaking English well. These people are just wrong. It does not hurt your English to speak another language; it helps. Spanish is particularly useful to children in their learning English vocabulary. Just today I taught my daughter the difference between vowels and consonants. Knowing Spanish really helped with the idea of the consonants. I told her that the consonants have no voice; they can only be pronounced with the vowels. The con-sonants suenan con the vowels.
But although most of us agree that it is a good thing for our kids to speak Spanish, most kids in the US whose parents were born in Latin American countries do not speak Spanish well.
Even if both parents speak Spanish at home, quite often the kids answer their parents in English. Look around at your Latin friends and relatives and you will see that most give up on teaching their kids to speak Spanish. Chicano and Puerto Rican families seem to have a little better luck than Latinos from other countries with keeping Spanish alive in their barrios but even their younger generation is losing fluency in Spanish.
However, parents who want their children to speak Spanish can go against the current and set the stage for their children to grow up speaking Spanish. It is not easy. Most families fail in their resolve but it can be done. This report will give some hints on how to improve your chances.
REASONS FOR OUR CHILDREN TO SPEAK SPANISH
There are many reasons why it is good for the kids to speak your language. One obvious reason is the advantage that it might be for them in the job market. As long as we live in a world with shrunken distances and growing international trade, someone has to be able to talk with people from other countries.
Professor Francisco X. Alarcón of the University of California at Davis says that “now that we are moving toward a global economy, it’s O.K. to be bilingual in the U.S.” (Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb.2, 1994, page A15)
Another good reason for you to work at your children’s learning to speak Spanish is because it will make you proud to hear the compliments of your friends and countrymen because your children are able to speak your language. You grow in prestige as a person who values your roots.
Your children will also be able to speak with their relatives thanks to improved phone service which is entering the most remote villages of our countries. Direct dialing from the United States is economical enough to be able call a few times a year. The thrill of being able to talk to their uncles, aunts, and cousins will get the kids interested in keeping up their language.
They will be speaking to their relatives not only by phone but will be able to visit them. The experience of knowing another culture will put them ahead of their classmates who have no ties to their roots.
Another reason to encourage our children to speak Spanish can be gotten from the history of a previous group of Latin immigrants to the United States, the Italians.
‘The contempt for the experiences and languages of their parents which foreign children sometimes exhibit… is doubtless due in part to the overestimation which the school places upon speaking English. This cutting into his family loyalty takes away one of the most conspicuous and valuable traits of the Italian child.’ She attributed the lawlessness of some of the immigrant children to their disrespect for their parents and therefore for all authority.”
(La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience, Mangione and Morreale, p. 222)
Finally, the ability to speak another language can be a great boost to a child’s self esteem. If the child’s parents make it clear that they are proud of their language and of their people, the child will feel closer to his parents and to their heritage, customs, and most importantly to their values.
HOW TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO SPEAK SPANISH
Start early. Try to speak only Spanish to the child. If only one parent speaks Spanish well, that person should always speak Spanish with the child. Do not be afraid of “confusing” the child. Children can identify with different speakers of different languages as they grow up.
1. Read simple stories and fairy tales to the child in Spanish. if you can’t find children’s literature in Spanish, then make your own translations as you go along. It is not necessary that the translation be perfect. Make up your own stories. It is important for your child to have the memories of hearing nursery rhymes in Spanish.
2. Leave your radio tuned de Spanish language stations. Linguists place a great deal of importance on “passive listening” as part of learning a language, especially for young children.
3. In most areas there is a Spanish language TV station. Put on the Saturday morning cartoons in Spanish.
4. Teach simple nursery rhymes and simple songs to your child. If you don’t remember them or if you were not taught any from your parents’ traditions, look for them in garage sales, college bookstores, or your local library. Do you remember el patito or pinpón? Look for songs in Spanish.
5. Rent videos in Spanish. They are beginning to be available – and not only in cities with a big Spanish-speaking population!
6. Use proverbs and dichos in Spanish. Some expressions that you would say in English are just as legitimate proverbs in Spanish. Get your child used to hearing them in Spanish. You can do this even if you don’t speak Spanish well. For example, say mejor tarde que nunca instead of “better late than never”. Little by little, poco a poco, you’ll feel at home with more uniquely Latin expressions. They have something of the culture wrapped up in them. They are stubbornly different from Anglo Saxon proverbs.
7. Get used to saying menos mal in place of “just as well”. The English expression is “better than nothing”; in many Southamerican countries, the equivalent expression is peor es nada. Find proverbs.
8. Don’t correct their Spanish when they speak. Don’t interrupt the flow of their conversation. Don’t make their speaking Spanish to be another homework assignment. It should be something special, even something “secret” in your family. Kids like the mystery and intrigue of having something special of their own. Their speaking Spanish should be a joyful, non-threatening experience. If they make mistakes in their grammar, correct their errors by using the same expression correctly a few minutes after. Don’t come right back at them with the correct form or they will begin to feel conscious of their expression and choke off their freedom of expression.
9. Get a good syllabary to teach them the value of the letters and how to read in Spanish. If your child’s first language is Spanish teach them to read Spanish before they learn English. You will be doing them a big favor. They will learn to sound out the regular spelling of Spanish which will be a good base on which to learn how to read in English. You will get the same results as those who spend money on expensive Phonics programs.
10. The best way to get your children to grow in Spanish is to send them to spend some time with relatives or friends where they will only speak and hear Spanish. This works best at around 7 years old when children play easily with one another and when Spanish will just come naturally even to the child who has very little exposure to the language. Another good age for a child to be exposed to a Spanish speaking environment is at around 12 years old. At this age, the child has greater mental development and can observe customs and situations in which certain expressions are used. At twelve years old most kids are still pre-adolescents and are not hampered by the embarrassment, self consciousness, and “feeling different” which hold back teenagers from learning a language or customs different from their own.
Use any of the above methods but start! Your efforts will communciate to your children the importance that you give to Spanish even if these efforts are not always completely successful.
3 Simple Ways To Jumpstart Your Home Business
Are you a victim of time-impoverishment just as one is cash-strapped? Then an online business opportunity is an easy solution to help you balance your personal life and make some fast money!! An online business opportunity not only offers great growth prospects but also has no time restraints. So how does one get started?
Few guiding steps follow:
– Make sure that you are geared with the right tools to run the business on your mind. First requirement is a good computer. Computers today come in numerous configurations: laptops, desktops, media centers, business machines; but what is to be kept in mind are speed of the computers, storage capacity, portability etc. consult a technician to get the machine that best suits your needs.
– Next you need a work-space, depending on what you are most comfortable in. Furniture, telephones, printers, general office supplies are few of the basic requirements.
– Next on list is high-speed Internet connection. Online business demands good deal of time spent online doing basic research. For that if you have to wait for eons, it can be quite putting off.
Once through with the settings, you need to go about doing some research to find a great online business opportunity. Countless websites offer scores of online business opportunities.
Some things that are to be kept in mind include, availability of ample marketing support in terms of site promotion. A complete back office system with a strong customer support where one can view his stats. Do not collaborate with a company that does not have a strong customer support. The choice of the right ‘sponsor’ is of utmost importance. He should be available to help you expand your online business. Ask him certain basic questions like: “how long have you been with the said company?”, “what is it unique about you that others won’t offer?”, “how much do I need to spend for marketing?”, “what has been your success rate” etc.
Be careful & attentive while these questions are answered and go ahead only if you think the person is making genuine claims.
It is true that one does want to get off to a good start, but one should never be hasty. Weigh your options, be thorough and meticulous with your pursuits and your online business would be a success indeed!
10 Common Lies Told by Women
Why are some relationships more honest than others? Why are some couples more truthful with each other while others like to deceive the partner? Nobody deserves to be lied, but there are no doubts that women are telling lies considerably and often. But so men do the same.
If you have trust issues in your relationship, in general, a woman may lie to you. Trust is something that you must build from the beginning of the relationship. Even though, a lot of people say ”white lies” in order to make others feel better. Some women lie because, as caring creatures they want to spare the feelings of the man they are dating or seeing.
So, here are some common lies told by women that you should know. Someday you might hear them from your partner and it is better to know their real meaning.
1.You’re perfect. I love you just the way you are and I wouldn’t change a thing about you. Let’s be serious; nobody is perfect. At the beginning of a relationship all of them say this because they didn’t know you very well but after some time will definitely find something that needs changed. So, if she tells you something like this, don’t be too enthusiastic because she finds you perfect just for a couple of days, and after that she will ask you to change.
2.You’re right. Every time you are arguing with you’re girlfriend usually ends up by telling you that you are right? Maybe this makes you feel proud of you, but you have to know that this is a big lie. She said this just to make you shut up, even if she didn’t consider that you’re right. She knows that after a while you will see that she was right, and may be waiting for apologize.
3.Nothing is wrong. The most common lie ” I’m fine” when asked if there is something wrong is the most used by women. You see that she is upset, she is acting strange or doesn’t want to talk to you too much and ask her what is the problem she says that everything is fine. They don’t want to tell the real truth but they are expecting that men to figure out that something is wrong and those they had a mistake with something.
4.I do love sports honey. Maybe she agrees to stay and watch with you every week at a football game but this doesn’t really mean that she like it. She accepts to do this just to show you that she is different from other girls and you have common interest. You may be thinking that you have found the perfect girl for you, because not many of them would like to stay to watch football, but don’t be too happy because after a while she might had enough and get angry every time you sit down to watch a game.
6.Your family is adorable, so I like spending time with your family. The truth? Maybe twice a month. Think about it. Do you really think that she likes to spend time with your family where everybody is criticizing her and watch her every move? She agrees to spend time with your family when is necessary but she doesn’t do it with much pleasure even if she is pretending in front of you that she likes them.
7.Your bank account doesn’t matter. I hope you didn’t believe this. We all know that this is definitely a lie. All women want a guy that is financial stable and independent, a guy that can assure her a future with no financial problems. This doesn’t mean that you have to be very rich to have a girlfriend, but you have to have some money.
8.It doesn’t bother to me if you look after women or go with your boys at strip-clubs. This is too good to be truth. Even she says that this is ok, she will definitely be upset that you want to go. They hate to feel second best to a night out with the guys, and accept this in order to make themselves seem less pathetically needy. If you choose to go, she will make you a lot of comments after, so you better think twice before you go.
9.You are very good in bed. If she choose to speak about this topic without you ask her, you don’t have to believe all she says. If she starts to compliment you about your sexual experience it doesn’t mean that she really believes that. Often a woman who cares about a man tell him all that she knows he wants to hear just to make him feel good about himself. So think about your girlfriend, your relationship, your sexual experience and see if you really deserve compliments on this topic.
10.Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. If you just make a mistake, or fail in bed, you might hear this lie from your girlfriend. She doesn’t want to show you how upset she is on you but in her mind thinks something else. I wouldn’t be too sure that your mistake is forgiven and I would worry in not making too many ” accidents” like these.
With all these presented, now will be more easy for you to know when your girlfriend is lying. As you see, what a woman says is not what she really thinks.
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