Health & Wellness
 

If You Are the Boss, You Make the Rules http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/onbiz.cfm?id=113 By Peter Mirus | May 15, 2010 5:19 PM Peter. Mirus is the CEO of Trinity Consulting, Inc. and member of the Trinity Communications board of directors. His past and current business clients come from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors and include several Fortune 1000 companies. Obviously, business owners and executives are supposed to make the rules. One of the hallmarks of a bad manager is a lack of knowledge of how to effectively make and apply rules. Here are some rules for making charitable, effective rules! Decisions should never be made in a “frustrated moment”. Good rules are well considered. Don’t make a rule if you (1) don’t have the ability to enforce it, or (2) don’t have the desire to enforce it. Rules have to have teeth. Rules must be made for a particular goal, not because of personal preferences. For example, if you want your employees to wear green shirts because you like the color green... bad rule. If you want employees to wear green shirts because your primary customers are women and studies show that women feel welcomed, safe, and growth-oriented when they see green... good rule. Generally speaking, your staff must be your employees first and your friends second. If you have an employee that is consistently breaking the rules because they believe they are your friend, and hence the rules don’t apply to them... politely but firmly redefine the relationship. Some rules will be vital to the success of your company, others will not. Know the difference. Always have a central repository (a wiki, or whatever) that contains all rules in writing. Email should never be the sole location for referencing a rule. Be worthy of your employees’ respect. Making and applying good rules is particularly difficult when you are making the transition into management, particularly if your former coworkers are now your employees. Here are some tips for effectively making that transition. (These rules are applicable to all managers, but particularly to those in transition.) Keep a good sense of humor. You may be tested a little bit, and your ability to respond with good humor (while being firm) will be very important. Make sure that your “leadership communication” is clearly distinguishable from your “friend/coworker” communication. For example, do not send a single email with both administrative information and social comment. Send separate messages. Rules are best made verbally, to the entire group, and then reinforced in writing. When announcing a rule, do it in this way: state the challenge/problem; quantify the negative impact of the challenge/problem; state the rule; quantify the benefits of the rule; thank your staff in advance for applying the rule diligently; ask if anyone has questions; answer questions; thank staff again. Make eye contact when you are having rules-related conversations with your staff. I hope these ideas will aid in your ability to be effective in your leadership role!

Retired Canadians enjoying life, pre-retired Canadians not so sure about retirement: RBC poll Retired and pre-retired Canadians have some regrets TORONTO, May 19 /CNW/ - Retired Canadians over the age of 50 with assets of at least $100,000 are enjoying retirement, with more than half (56 per cent) saying their quality of life has improved, according to the first annual RBC Retirement Myths and Realities Poll. On the other hand, only 38 per cent of pre-retirees in this same demographic group expect life to improve after retiring, with half (50 per cent) expecting no change. "It's natural to have concerns about retirement," said Lee Anne Davies, head, Retirement Strategies, RBC. "With only three-in-ten pre-retirees thinking they will love retirement, it's important to understand this is likely the fear of the unknown, an often unfounded fear. We recommend working with an advisor to plan for retirement. It can provide peace of mind knowing you have prepared." When it comes to regrets, just over half of retirees (55 per cent) and 65 per cent of pre-retirees have them. Some regrets among retirees include: not taking better care of themselves (13 per cent); not starting to save earlier for retirement (12 per cent); and not travelling enough (seven per cent). The main regret of pre-retirees was not starting to save earlier for retirement (18 per cent). The vast majority of retirees say they are having a successful retirement (95 per cent), with the biggest secret to retirement success being realistic expectations (30 per cent). Other secrets to retirement success include: having saved enough money (16 per cent); good planning (13 per cent); and staying involved with people (13 per cent). Davies gives a thumb-up to the 60 per cent of respondents who have a plan in place for retirement. "Retirement is a significant stage of your life and it's important to keep realistic expectations when planning for the future. That's where having a plan of action helps you make the most of your retirement dreams," added Davies. These are some of the findings the RBC Retirement Myths & Realities poll conducted by Ipsos Reid from March 10-19, 2010. For this survey, a national sample of 2,143 adults aged 50 and over with household assets of at least $100,000 from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-2.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. Your Future By Design(R) is RBC's distinctive approach to help clients identify, plan, and realize their goals for retirement. With the guidance of RBC financial planners and investment and retirement planners, Your Future By Design helps clients create a blueprint for a successful lifestyle and financial plan for retirement based on what is truly important to them in key areas in life, including family, health, home, lifestyle, work/business, mind and spirit, and legacy. To find out more about how RBC can help build a blueprint for the future, visit www.rbc.com/yourfuture or call 1-866-335-4055. For further information: Media contacts: Suzanne Willers, RBC, (416) 974-2727; Cyndi Maisonneuve, RBC, (416) 974-1757

Got a car, home, or business insurance complaint - Who you gonna call? General Insurance OmbudService offers a solution for Canadian consumers with insurance complaints TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ - Quebec consumers with car, home, and business insurance complaints or concerns now have an independent solution to their problems: General Insurance OmbudService (GIO). The General Insurance OmbudService is a consumer-focused organization that offers independent service for dispute resolution between consumers and their insurance companies. Consumers from across the country can call the toll-free national number (1-877-225-0446) and be routed to the appropriate call centre. In Quebec, calls go to GIO's dedicated Quebec call centre. "Our goal is to be an independent resource for consumers with complaints or questions about their home, car or business insurance," said Brian Maltman, Executive Director, GIO. 'We want to help them work toward solutions." GIO's services are available, free of cost, throughout Quebec via their toll-free number 1-877-225-0446 or through their web site, www.scadcanada.org.   The General Insurance OmbudService (GIO) is independent of both government and the insurance industry. GIO was created in 2002, with the sole purpose of helping Canadian consumers resolve disputes or concerns with their home, automobile or business insurers. GIO's employees are impartial professionals with experience in the insurance industry and related sectors, but with no direct ties to specific insurance companies or their boards of directors. Our goal is to use our extensive experience and industry-related insight to work toward fair solutions between individuals and their insurance companies. Consumers can contact GIO toll-free at 1-877-225-0446 or online at www.scadcanada.org  For further information: Jerry Grymek, E-mail: jerry@lma.ca,  Tel: (800) 387-1399, (416) 440-2500, Fax: (416) 440-2504.

Celebrating this long weekend? Know what you're in for and use these 10 tips to reduce alcohol-related risks! TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ - The Victoria Day long weekend marks the beginning of the summer season and, like many Ontarians, you may be planning to celebrate with family and friends. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) reminds you to celebrate safely and minimize the risks related to alcohol use. CAMH has alcohol expert Dr. Robert Mann available for media interview and has developed ten tips for hosting a party safely. The provincial government has been enforcing for the past year new legislation regarding drinking and driving. The legislation increased the penalties for those caught with Blood Alcohol Levels in the Warn range (.05% to .08%) including longer license suspensions, fines, and alcohol education and treatment. CAMH's 10 Tips for Hosting a Party Safely Don't drink too much yourself! You can stay on top of potential problems better when you can think clearly and act quickly. Plan ahead. Find out how guests will be going home from your party. Be prepared to take away car keys. Know your designated drivers. Have cash and phone numbers ready for taxis. Plan to deal with guests who drink too much. Ask someone to be prepared to help you before the party gets rolling. Serve drinks yourself instead of having an open bar. Avoid doubles. Guests usually drink more when they serve themselves. Be prepared for overnight guests. Get those blankets and sleeping bags ready. Serve snacks! It is better to eat while drinking than to drink on an empty stomach. Try veggies, cheeses and light dips - they're healthy and don't make your guests thirsty, assalty, sweet or greasy foods do. Have low-alcohol and alcohol-free cocktails and drinks available too. How about a non-alcoholic punch? Don't plan physical activities, like swimming or water-skiing when you serve alcohol. People are more prone to mishaps when they've been drinking. Stop serving alcohol a few hours before the party is over. Bring out more alcohol-free drinks and food. More and more, courts are placing legal responsibility on people who serve alcohol or host events where guests are drinking. If you plan ahead, you can lower both your risk and your guests' risks of having problems. If you are hosting a party you are responsible for the safety of your guests which includes: - injuries or damages that occur as a result of the alcohol you provide; - what happens to guests when they are in your home or on your property. Why take chances? Follow the tips listed above to reduce your risk and make your party a safe one. For more information about alcohol and other drugs call the CAMH McLaughlin Information Centre at 1-800-463-6273. In Toronto, call 416-595-6111. These tips were developed in collaboration with the LCBO. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization Collaborating Centre For further information: Media Contact: Michael Torres, CAMH Media Relations, (416) 595-6015 or email media@camh.net CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH - More on this organization News Releases | (102) CNW Group Photo Archive | CNW Group Photo Archive | © 2009

Boaters Beware: Get Certified 6 Million Canadians Still Without Operator Card OTTAWA, May 17 /CNW Telbec/ - As Victoria Day long weekend and the unofficial kickoff to summer quickly approaches there are still 6 million Canadians without a Pleasure Craft Operator Card, commonly referred to as a "boating licence". Summer 2010 marks the first-ever boating season where ALL Canadian boat operators, regardless of age, must be certified and those without an Operator Card risk expensive fines. "May 22-28 is North American Boating Safety Awareness Week and part of maintaining best practices when on the water is to be carded in Canada - in fact it's the law," said Robert Dupel, spokesperson for BoaterExam.com. The law, as part of a 10-year federal law phase-in period, will see non-compliant boaters receive fines of no less than $250 across Canada's lakes, rivers and waterways. Boat operators must have a card regardless of size of motor including for example an electric motor on a canoe. With time running out for many who plan to launch their boats on the May 24th weekend, there is still an opportunity to learn about boating safety and become certified before hitting the water. BoaterExam.com is a Transport Canada Accredited Course Provider offering the Pleasure Craft Operator Card exam online and is a convenient way to get certified quickly and efficiently. To obtain the card boaters must receive a grade of 75% or higher on a 36-question, multiple-choice exam after which time a temporary card can be printed with the permanent card mailed shortly after. For those wanting to learn from an instructor, BoaterExam.com offers a safe boating classroom course as well. "It's imperative that Canadian boaters know the legal requirement for being certified when on the water this season," added Dupel. "With the water levels at record lows in some parts of the country, now more than ever boaters need to know and practise safe boating on the water this season." BoaterExam.com is Canada's largest course provider offering boaters a number of ways to become certified: online or in class in English and French. For more information visit: www.BoaterExam.com  or call their Boating Safety Info Line toll-free at: 1-866-688-2628 from 9 a.m. to midnight EST daily. For further information: an in-water safe boating demonstration or request for interview, contact Robert Dupel at 1-866-688-2628, cell: (613) 799-6463, robert@boaterexam.com

Targeting malaria hotspots Tool maps hotspots for malaria control, but elimination focus under debate http://www.eht-forum.org/news.html?fileId=news100514082256&from=home&id=0 Source: Flickr/US Army Africa | Friday 14 May 2010 A group of researchers have revealed1 a tool which they say has the potential to stamp out malaria from areas on the verge of eliminating the disease. As more malaria-fighting tools and funds become available, the possibility of eliminating the disease from some areas may be within reach, according to a special report2 published today in Science. The tool, published in the June edition of Journal of Infectious Diseases, can be used to predict hotspots of malaria transmission using the results of a pin-prick blood test to assess antibody levels in people passing through local health facilities. Over the past decade, the funding made available for malaria control to countries where the disease is endemic has soared, according to the Science report. In 2009, the total stood at almost US$1500 million, up from less than US$100 million in 2000. This has led to gains in the control of the disease. More people have access to anti-mosquito bednets as well as newer, more effective antimalarial drugs, and indoor insecticide-spraying has increased. In Africa, disease-control campaigns have been most successful in small countries. In Rwanda, the rapid roll out of these interventions in 2007 reduced the incidence of malaria by more than 50% in children under five years of age. But many of the larger African countries continue to shoulder a heavy burden from the mosquito-borne disease. A quarter of all malaria cases recorded in Africa occur in Nigeria, and the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made the country “one of the most difficult countries anywhere to fight malaria”, say the authors. The first steps on the path to malaria eradication could be taken by stopping the transmission of the disease in specific geographical regions where it is already largely under control, according to the report. The recent reductions in malaria incidence have stirred debate on how best to allocate funds to control the disease in the future. Some experts believe that public health authorities should channel money into programmes designed to stamp out malaria once and for all in areas where control strategies have reduced incidence successfully - thereby “shrinking the malaria map”. Others say that money is better spent in trying to reduce the burden in areas that remain badly affected by the disease. Brian Greenwood, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK, believes it is reasonable to attempt both strategies - so long as the balance is right. “It’s silly not to think about elimination,” he explains. “If South Africa and China want to eliminate malaria then they should be encouraged.” Disease control funds should be allotted with a 90–95% focus on areas hardest hit by the disease, and the remaining 5–10% earmarked for elimination programmes in areas where the burden is lower, he suggests. But in terms of research funding, Greenwood believes the scales should be tipped in favour of elimination. Much of the malaria-control research currently underway will not produce real-world applications for five to 10 years, he points out. “By that point, more countries may be at the point [near elimination] when they can consider using them.” Greenwood is part of the research group that this month published details of a tool aimed at elimination. The team believe that it could be used to put an end to malaria transmission in countries where the disease has been brought under control. Working in a sub-district of Tanzania''s Korogwe region, they mapped malaria-transmission hotspots – areas where the incidence of the disease among 1200 infants was high. Using three different measures of malaria risk, and with the help of spatial statistics, they determined which one of the measures was most successful at predicting the high-incidence “clusters”. One of the risk measures was based on information about the antibody levels against the malaria parasite in 1630 local people who came to one of four district health centres about a medical problem of any kind. The second measure was based on a measure of infection with the parasite in these patients. The third measure of risk was an environmental variable: the distribution of mosquito vectors in the region. This was based on various data sources, including the number of mosquitoes collected in the homes of 600 children enrolled in another study. Statistical tests revealed the presence of antibody markers was the best predictor of the actual incidence of the disease. “Serological markers of exposure to malaria showed a tight correlation with malaria incidence and predicted transmission hot spots with high precision,” write the authors. “This [approach to identifying transmission hotspots could work in countries approaching elimination,” says Greenwood. Focusing control activities in these areas could help stop the transmission of the malaria parasite, he adds. Health authorities in 20–30 countries have now said elimination of the disease could be a realistic aim. These include the southern African nations of Namibia, Botswana and Zanzibar, some Middle Eastern countries, island nations, as well as China and Mexico, according to Greenwood.

God is all in your head http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/777439 March 10, 2010 | Stuart Laidlaw The human brain tries to explain the world around us, applying whatever it knows to develop a reasonable explanation for what it sees and experiences. And for the things it can't explain, the brain simply fills in the holes with its own neat little invention, a new book says. "Our principle concern was to understand why religion works," says Lionel Tiger, and anthropologist and co-author of the new book, God's Brain. In the book, Tiger and psychiatrist Michael McGuire argue that some 150,000 years ago, humans figured out that they were all going to die. This changed everything. Humans began to wonder about the purpose of their lives and what came next. Suddenly, the world stopped making sense. This was stressful. We wanted an explanation. The human brain needed answers, so created God, an afterlife and religious stories that explained the world around us. Having answers released serotonin into the brain, a natural stress reliever, and it was good. For millennia to follow, Tiger and McGuire argue, the rituals of religion provided more comfort, more serotonin and more followers. "All the religions map the major transition points and crises of human life, and make them easier to deal with," Tiger says. "There is almost always a complex ritual that has to happen and people can focus on rather than the drama of what's actually happening." That contract began to fall apart in the last century or two, however, as science answered some of the age-old questions that religion once addressed. We still needed that serotonin boost, however, if only from artificial sources, Tiger says. "While people may not be going to church, they are going to the medicine cabinet." Tiger and McGuire aren't the first to say that man may have created God, rather than the other way around. American geneticist Dean Hamer wrote The God Gene six years ago, arguing that humans are "hardwired" to believe in some sort of deity. And John Shelby Spong, the retired Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey and author, says that humans invented God to make sense of the world once we figured out that we will all die. And French philosopher Voltaire posited more than 300 years ago that, "If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him." Tiger says there is nothing in the book to offend true believers, saying they might see the brain as "God's instrument." "If you accept that there's a God, then what's God's way of operating?"