Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
10 Most Often Misdiagnosed Kids Ailments by Parents
One of the roles we play as parents on occasion is that of family physician. Recognizing and treating minor ailments and then deciding whether a doctor visit might be in order is all in a day’s work for most moms and dads. That’s not to say our diagnoses are always right; we do get it wrong on occasion too, and here are some common illnesses and ailments that trip us up. The following is a list of the 10 most misdiagnosed kids’ ailments by parents:
- ADHD – Parents will often interpret the signs of this disease as being indicative of a disruptive or unruly child. It is necessary to conduct testing to ascertain that the child is indeed suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
- Asperger’s Syndrome – Parents of children with Asperger’s Syndrome will frequently confuse the symptoms with autism. Naturally, either case requires a professional diagnosis, but initial tendency is for parents to lean towards their child having autism unless proven otherwise.
- Bacterial Meningitis – Sharing many of the same symptoms of the flu such as fever and headaches, bacterial meningitis is often mistaken for the more common flu. Light sensitivity, seizures and skin rashes may also accompany those symptoms.
- Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) –This illness is characterized by sudden, abnormal narrowing of the vocal cords, which results in obstructed airflow and a wheezing sound during breathing. This is frequently misdiagnosed by parents and doctors alike as asthma.
- Food Allergies – Because reactions can vary so widely, depending on the types of allergy and food, children with food allergies are frequently misdiagnosed with other ailments. It can be difficult at first to narrow down the cause to a specific food group.
- Vomiting – As a general symptom with so many possible causes, parents cannot be certain what their child is ailing from without additional information or an examination. It could be caused by anything from upset stomach to colic, to intestinal malrotation.
- Psoriasis – This condition can cause skin to break out in a rash on the patient, and as such is often misdiagnosed initially as simple acne. Particularly because acne is such a common issue among children, it’s so often considered the cause of this skin reaction before something like psoriasis is considered.
- Mononucleosis – Mono infections typically are accompanied by flu-like symptoms. Parents often assume that to be the culprit prior to a doctor examination. Mononucleosis is usually caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).
- Common Cold – There’s a reason it’s called the common cold, and children will suffer from a cold quite readily. Also, colds can last for a long time, so other possible causes aren’t generally considered right away.
- Mental Illness – Children can be rambunctious, ornery, ill-tempered or very difficult naturally, and for any number of reasons – from soiled diapers to just plain crankiness. So it’s not uncommon for children who habitually exhibit these traits to be misdiagnosed before more serious root causes are considered.
10 Web Technologies Employers Can Use for Expense Reports
Companies who reimburse their employees business expenses can end up spending countless hours and file space dealing with employee expense reports. They have to go through and make sure all the claims being filed are legitimate and that their business isn’t paying for an employee’s personal expenses, which can end up being a fairly arduous task. They also don’t want to lose good employees because they aren’t being reimbursed in a timely manner. Since travel expenses are a large portion of expense reports, it stands to reason that these employees are often out of town and need some way to file these reports remotely. To meet this demand several web technologies have been developed that employers can use to quickly and efficiently go file their expense reports.
- ExpensePoint – Globalpoint Technologies has developed an online expense reporting system called ExpensePoint. The reporting process is fully automated with company credit card purchases imported directly into the system. Review, approval and accounting are all done in an instant.
- Concur Premier – This web based technology takes the expense reporting to a new level by also providing corporate travel bookings in conjunction to basic expense reports. This streamlines the reporting process since the expenses are uploaded automatically into their paperless transaction process.
- Verian – An online accounting software provider, Verian has the capabilities for employees to submit their expense reports from any computer or smart phone. Expenses are automatically posted to the proper accounts and employees can get reimbursed through direct deposit.
- SmartDoc – This free iPad app is a fully functioning expense report application. Employees can keep track of their expenses with SmartDoc while they travel and have a full report ready to submit when they return.
- Chrome River – Another online accounting and expense reporting system, Chrome River offers a user friendly and painless way for company personnel to submit their reports in a timely manner. Approvers and finance managers enjoy a flexible system that can be customized to their specific needs.
- ExpenseNet – Developed by InterplX, this is the first web-based reporting software built to conform to the Sarbanes/Oxley legislation. ExpenseNet has the sophisticated capabilities to handle the most complex businesses with a diverse workforce.
- ExpenseWatch – Employers who want to manage their expense reports online can use ExpenseWatch to track their travel and entertainment costs from anywhere. This software integrates with existing business workflows while also providing added flexibility.
- Paybackable – This simple online application tracks employee mileage and expenses and is integrated with QuickBooks accounting software. Paybackable is an easy way to keep track of and submit out-of-pocket expenses.
- Expensify – Employees can submit their expense reports online by importing directly from their credit card or bank account or by scanning their receipts. Expensify has free mobile apps and flexible reporting and reimbursement options.
- Certify – Making expense reporting painless and simple, Certify has revolutionized the game of corporate expense management. Business travelers and their employers have a comprehensive system to handle global contingencies.
All of these web technologies help to free up employees from the hassle of keeping track of paper receipts and filling out tedious reports. Tracking and verifying expenses can be done more efficiently, thus reducing any time-consuming errors and verification processes. The risks of fraud and waste are greatly minimized because the expense approval is much less cumbersome. Many of these technologies integrate directly with accounting programs to eliminate data entry errors. Submitting travel expenses online has revolutionized the corporate world.
Taken From DSL Service Providers10 Classic Movie Plots Condensed for Tweeting
Like everyone else, Hollywood likes to use Twitter to plug their product. Trouble is, it’s hard to fit a good synopsis of a movie into 140 characters. Unless of course it’s a movie like Gigli, in which case just four would suffice. Anyway, here are 10 classic movie plots that we’ve condensed for Twitter:
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) – @ShipsLog What pansies I’ve got for a crew. That #Christian guy gets on my last nerve. Now he’s at my cabin door with a mob.
- Ferris Beuller’s Day Off – (1986) – RT @Cameron Lighten up, dude. You need a road trip. Let’s skip class today and head downtown for some fun.
- Field of Dreams (1989) – RT @TheVoice If I build it, I better see more than just @ShoelessJoe in my cornfield. How about a team and my Dad? Deal?
- The Graduate (1967) – RT @MrsRobinson We had some great fun, but let’s keep it real. I love your daughter and I’ll crash her wedding to prove it.
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – @TJoad Oklahoma can eat my dust. Can’t grow anything here but tired. Headin out to Cali with the family to get a fresh start.
- The Ten Commandments (1956) – @Moses Just found out I’m adopted. I’m outta here and I swear to God I’m gonna find out who’s behind this. Mark my words.
- The Shining (1980) – Wendy and the kid love the hotel. Perfect place to write this book. That is, if I don’t go bonkers from boredom first.
- Rear Window (1954) – @JeffyJeff Just chillin while the leg heals, & checkin out the neighbors. That #Ironside guy creeps me out, and where’d his wife go?
- Of Mice and Men (1992) – @George Finally landed some work. If Lenny can behave for a change, we might stick around. If not, I might just have to kill him.
- King Kong (1933) – @JungleLove Just got back from a romantic cruise. Met a real hunk. He’s a big hit on B’way. So into me that he’s climbing the walls.
10 Most Ethical CEOs in Corporate America
We remember reaching a point around 2003 when we were completely sick of reading about Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, Enron’s wayward executives. Enough with the stories of scoundrel CEOs, we said. Boy, was that naive. Enron was just the tip of a dirty, dishonest iceberg. The banking debacle introduced us to a whole new crop of shady business practices and practitioners. Since the well of unethical CEOs is apparently bottomless, we’ve compiled our 10 picks for the gentlemen of the corporate world who make us proud to be capitalists.
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Howard Schultz, Starbucks
Howard Schultz first made waves in August 2011 by urging his fellow American CEOs to stop donating to politicians until they start running the government like a successful business. In other words, not living beyond their means. The next month he was back in the news announcing a partnership with nonpartisan group No Labelsto host a national telephone forum for ordinary Americans to come together to try to find solutions for the nation’s problems. The next month: a plan to facilitate “Americans helping Americans.” Called the Create Jobs for USA program, customer donations would combine with loans from microlenders to help fund small businesses in America. -
Greg Steinhafel, Target
Steinhafel became CEO of Target in 2008, the year the Great Recession began to set in. But despite sinking sales figures, Steinhafel chose to continue the retailer’s longstanding practice of donating 5% of the company’s earnings to charity. He has also had the opportunity to prove his moral fiber thanks to an in-house dispute with a major stockholder and a controversy over a donation to an anti-gay politician. Steinhafel protected the shareholders by winning the battle but still shook hands with the combative shareholder. And to prove Target’s commitment to gay rights, he approved an increase in donations to gay rights groups to more than half a million dollars in 2011. -
Tony Hsieh, Zappos
After selling his company LinkExchange to Microsoft in 2009, Tony Hsieh realized that happiness meant more than having money. He has made it his mission since becoming the chief exec of online retailer Zappos to do everything in his power to ensure employee and customer happiness. He even wrote a bookon the subject. Today Zappos is famous for its great employee culture and its equally great customer service. He formed a company called Delivering Happiness, based on the book’s title, to help people find their own passion and turn it into profit. -
Jim Skinner, McDonald’s
The winner of a slew of awards like “Executive of the Year” and “Most Respected CEO,” Jim Skinner is a company chief who turned his collar from blue to white through hard work and a focus on customers. After 10 years in the Navy, Skinner returned home to Illinois in 1971 to work as a McDonald’s restaurant manager. He worked his way to CEO in 2004 and led the company to a 40% earnings bump in four years thanks to zeroing in on value and service. Now he is steering McDonald’s toward healthier food options for kids and programs like National Hiring Day, which saw much-needed jobs offered to 60,000 Americans. -
Michael Hershman, The Fairfax Group
When corporations and governments run into sticky ethical situations, they call Michael Hershman and The Fairfax Group. The president and CEO of the well-known risk management consulting firm, Hershman is considered a leader on corporate transparency and accountability. He has advised countries like India and Chile on matters of ethics. In 1993 he co-founded Transparency International, a worldwide, not-for-profit group designed to fight corruption in government, business, and society. In 2011, Hershman was brought in to help monitor the FIFA World Cup selection committee after a bribery scandal rocked the soccer world. -
Casey Sheahan, Patagonia
As a provider of outdoor wear, Patagonia has a vested interest in protecting the environment. Still, it goes above and beyond what could be considered simple due diligence from a business standpoint. The company’s Environmental Grants Program has given $22 million to conservation causes since being created in 1985. Casey Sheahan is a perfect fit for such a company. With his wife, Sheahan formed the Conscious Global Leadership Institute to “share best inner practices for inspired, heart-centered leadership.” On his watch, Patagonia Fishing and Patagonia Footwear joined 1% for the Planet, a group of companies that pledge at least 1% of all annual sales to promoting conservationism. -
Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farms
Technically, Gary Hirshberg is not a CEO. On Jan. 23, 2012, he stepped down as the chief executive of Stonyfield Farms, the biggest producer of organic yogurt in the world, after 29 years at the helm. Hirshberg started the company with one question in mind: “Is it possible to create an enterprise where everybody wins?” The “CE-Yo” as he was known was a proponent of corporate sustainability when few people had even heard the term. In 2008 he penned Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. Although the company will keep Hirshberg’s philosophy of “healthy food, healthy people, healthy planet,” his is a voice that will be sorely missed in corporate ethics. -
Kenneth Chenault, American Express
Kenneth Chenault rose to the top of the corporate ladder at AmEx by remembering what his father told him: “Focus on the things that you can control, and the only thing that you can control is your performance.” Chenault’s tremendous work ethic helped him excavate AmEx from the slump it was in when he took over in January 2001. When planes hit the World Trade Center buildings across the street from AmEx’s headquarters, Chenault saw to it that stranded cardholders found rides home, and he later OK’ed the donation of $1 million to the families of AmEx employees lost that day. -
Dan Amos, Aflac
Profits have grown nearly tenfold since Dan Amos took the helm at Aflac way back in 1990. Ninety-nine out of 100 CEOs would use that as justification to raise their salaries tenfold as well. Not Dan Amos: he volunteeredto allow shareholders to vote on the executive compensation plan, the first major U.S. corporation to ever do so. The same year, he was awarded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Corporate Citizenship Award. Aflac is widely recognized as one of the best American companies to work for, largely due to Amos’ leadership that fosters ethical business practices with social responsibilities. As just one example, he has overseen the donation of $50 million to the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. -
Mike Duke, Wal-Mart
For better or worse, as the country’s biggest company, what Wal-Mart does sets the trend for the rest of the retailers in America. Recently Wal-Mart has been making promising strides to benefit consumers under Duke’s leadership. The company recently announceda plan to reduce salt, fat, and sugar contents in its food, as well as lower prices on fruits and vegetables. First Lady Michelle Obama has lent her support to Wal-Mart’s effort as part of her program to fight childhood obesity, the first such time she has partnered with a single company.
The 10 Biggest Insurance Mistakes Americans Make
Insurance is the last thing most people want to think about. Your eyes are probably already glazed over just from reading this title. Who in their right mind wants to mull over their finances, sift through unfamiliar jargon, and face piles of insurance-related paperwork? This general disdain for everything insurance-related causes many Americans to fall into some common traps — traps that can be avoided if you know to look out for them. Read on, and you'll be prepared for worst-case scenarios and intimidating insurance salesmen.
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Getting the most basic coverage
Whether it's car insurance or life insurance, you're going to want to cover more than just the basics. Many people get a low level of coverage on their autos because it is all that is required by their state. While you may be driving legally with the basic insurance, you are barely covered. Liability limits are likely lower, which means that you may have to come up with a large chunk of change if you damage someone else's property. You also might be without medical coverage or uninsured motorist coverage. In terms of life insurance, many people just buy enough to cover bills and funeral costs if they die, but they don't consider the financial impact their death would have on the family's income. You want to make sure your loved ones can survive for several years if they lose your salary.
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Not shopping around
No one wants to spend a lot of time thinking about insurance. It's boring and complicated and forces you to think about the worst-case scenario. So you might be tempted to just find a policy, buy it, and be done with the whole ordeal. Doing this, though, could cost you thousands of dollars because insurance rates definitely vary. One company might quote you $1,500, while another will come in at $3,500. Which would you want to pay? With easy comparison websites, shopping around won't take too long, and you'll be glad in the end that you checked out all your options.
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Buying unnecessary policies
If you're especially paranoid or you just get a really persistent, doomsday insurance agent, you might find yourself wanting to buy every type of insurance out there. Better safe than sorry, right? Maybe not in this case. You could be sorry when you find out that the return on the policy isn't really worth the money you're putting into it. Taking out life insurance on a child, for example, isn't needed because the death of a child won't eliminate a source of income for your family. Other types of insurance might apply to events that are already adequately covered by other policies or organizations, such as rental car insurance, something that's often taken care of by your regular insurance, and credit card loss insurance, which is unnecessary because banks limit your liability on stolen cards.
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Underinsuring their homes
As many as 2/3 of American homes are underinsured, meaning that the owners can lose lots of money if their homes are ever damaged or destroyed. What you'll want to consider when insuring your home is what it would cost to reconstruct it. These reconstruction costs are different than market value, which is the amount many people assume they should insure their house for. Reconstruction costs could be much higher than the market value of your home because there's significant inflation on building materials. Reconstruction contractors may cost more, and demolition and debris removal can add to the price tag. Keep all of these things in mind when buying your home insurance policy so you don't end up footing a much bigger bill than you can handle.
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Leaving out non-monetary "income"
Many people calculate how much life insurance they need by following an old and maybe outdated guideline: take your annual income and multiply it by seven. In theory, this would allow your family to live on for seven years without changing their financial situation. But this equation discounts the value that your non-monetary contributions hold in your life. For instance, if your family's health insurance is through your company, and you die, your spouse is left to purchase his or her own health insurance, which will be an added cost. Even spouses who don't work have hidden assets that you may forget to consider. A stay-at-home mom is eliminating the cost of putting a child in daycare, an expense that should be calculated into her life insurance policy.
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Forgetting to update coverage
When you have a major life change, say buying a new house or having a baby, a lot of important things probably get pushed out of your brain. Don't let insurance coverage be one of them. When there's a new addition to the family, or any reason to expand or change coverage, make sure you do it. You wouldn't want something to happen and then remember you hadn't gotten around to talking to your agent. Even if you're not changing your policy, you've got to keep your information up-to-date. If you forget to provide your new address or credit card number you could end up being late on your payments and getting your policy canceled.
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Not knowing their policy
According to a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 60% of participants couldn't answer basic questions about what their home insurance covered. This is seriously bad news if something were to happen to their homes. The same is true when you don't understand the extent of any of your policies. If you find out after a mishap that your insurance won't cover the damage, you'll be out some serious money because it's too late to change your policy. On the flip side, if you don't think your coverage extends to your problem and you don't check, you may be missing out on a benefit you're already paying for.
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Foregoing disability insurance
One in three Americans between 35 and 65 will be disabled for more than 90 days at some point in their careers, according to the American Council of Life Insurers. Would you be able to survive without your income for three months or more? That's a question you should seriously consider before deciding against disability insurance, which will replace a portion of your income while you can't go to work. If you have an accident or get a serious illness, even if it doesn't leave you permanently disabled, you could be in real financial trouble.
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Providing inaccurate information
You know when you're shopping for insurance that a bad driving record will probably raise your car insurance rates. And a terminal illness will make getting life insurance next to impossible. This makes many people want to fudge the truth a little bit to get a better deal. Some people lie about speeding tickets or accidents they've had for auto insurance. Others lie about smoking, income, or family history of cancer to qualify for better life insurance. Some lies are easy to uncover. For example, traffic violations appear on your motor vehicle record. Others may not be discovered until after death, but can void your insurance plan. Everything will work out better and go more smoothly if you just 'fess up on your application.
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Dropping insurance to save money
It's no secret that times are tough economically and people across the country are looking for ways to tighten their budgets. Insurance, especially life and home policies, often seems like an unnecessary monthly expense and many Americans opt to cut the cost. Bad idea. Sure, you never think something bad is going to happen, but Murphy's Law says that something awful will happen as soon as you drop your insurance. You could be paying to rebuild your house, which often costs more than building a new one, or leaving your family without enough to live on. If you're really hurting financially, search for a more affordable policy or amend your coverage.
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