AP Business NewsBrief at 6:38 am EDT If consumer-directed health plans grow to account for half of all employer-sponsored insurance in the United States , health costs could drop by $57 billion annually–about 4 percent of all health care spending …
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Edmund Jacobson was a professor of physiology who developed the technique of Progressive Relaxation in the 1920s based on his research on muscular tension and relaxation. this article looks in more detail at how the general skill of Progressive Relaxation was originally applied to the treatment of phobic anxiety and worry. Jacobson studied the activity of muscles directly in his physiology laboratory, using a device specially designed for the purpose. He taught patients to systematically release tension by first learning to observe it more closely, a process known as “cultivation of the muscle sense.” Jacobson recommended that patients should try to become aware of how they unconsciously tense muscles in anxious situations or when worried and learn to respond by doing the opposite and selectively releasing all the tension from those parts of the body. Writing of pathological phobias, Jacobson says:
It is not considered sufficient in treating such a condition through relaxation for the patient to learn to be relaxed merely when lying down. rather, it seems necessary for the patient to learn to recognise when and where he is tense during the experience of fear and to relax the localities involved. this is differential relaxation. (Jacobson, 1976: 56)
A similar strategy is employed in the treatment of more abstract fears:
In training nervous persons to relax, the patients are directed, as previously indicated, in methods of observing what they do subjectively when they worry. they note tensions of which, as they assert, they have previously been unconscious. (Jacobson, 1976: 57)
According to Jacobson, when asked to monitor the location of bodily tensions during worry, subjects typically report faint sensations in the muscles around the eyes, as though looking at an image of the problem being worried about, or in the muscles involved in speech, as if they were saying the verbal thoughts that constitute part of the process of worry.
Jacobson found that when asked to monitor their physical sensations carefully during mental activity, his subjects almost always reported faint tension sensations around the eyes when picturing mental images and in their tongue, lips and throat when thinking in words, e.g., mentally reciting a poem. while these muscles were completely relaxed, mental images disappeared and verbal thoughts could not be continued. He claimed that all thinking, in words or images, entails muscular action normally so slight as to be invisible. He and his colleagues collected scientific evidence that appeared to demonstrate that thinking is accompanied by minute muscular tensions and movements, a miniature physical version of talking aloud and looking around.
When you think or worry or are excited, you see things in imagination or say things to yourself. according to numerous observations, by finding what region is tense and relaxing it promptly you mechanically remove the disturbing activity. (Jacobson, 1976: 124-125)
This is a remarkable claim and others have disputed the notion that muscles are always involved in thinking. however, it’s easy to observe that when engrossed in thought, e.g., when worrying intensely, certain people often tend to make slight hand gestures, change their facial expression, or even mutter under their breath, as if engaged in a “muted” version of normal speech and action in response to some imagined situation. It’s also true that people often report their thoughts diminishing as they relax their body deeply, particularly the muscles of the face. Note that when people merely relax superficially their thoughts often become more vivid or rapid. however, deep muscle relaxation of the face, neck, and head, tends to be experienced differently and people often feel as if they are falling asleep. Jacobson reputedly said, “It might be naïve to say that we think with our muscles, but it would be inaccurate to say that we think without them” (McGuigan & Lehrer, 2007: 58).‘Try it now’: Relaxing the Jaw and Internal Speech
It’s possible to relax your jaw and the muscles of speech and still engage in internal dialogue, if you do so superficially, but what happens if you really relax these muscles much deeper than normal, trying to make them completely limp and slack?
Notice if this seems more difficult than normal, or if it takes longer to get started or to complete the word. if so, consider the implications that this specific type of physical relaxation might have for controlling negative thoughts, particularly unnecessary worry.Releasing Tension & Worry
Tension control is therefore intended as a form of mental self-control, by controlling the muscles involved in speech and vision, and other subtle tensions associated with mental processes. Stopping thinking, in this sense, resembles stopping talking aloud, only it involves letting go of tension and activity in the muscles more deeply. Jacobson’s primary solution to “mental” problems, such as worry, is therefore to carefully pay attention to the subtle muscular tensions occurring during the process, especially around the region of the eyes and forehead, and the apparatus of speech, and to “let go” of those tensions completely, which he was confident would eliminate the associated thoughts and emotions.
Observation on worried patients suggests that their moments of concern involve particularly often the knitting of the brows, although this tension occurs commonly in most persons when they are thinking actively or facing relatively bright light. It may be of interest for you to note how often this tension occurs in persons you meet. Darwin considered tension in this region significant, noting that the animal which frowns or contracts his brows is meeting difficulty. under this assumption, if a worrisome patient reports or seems to show such tension more or less habitually, he is drilled particularly in relaxing this region. (Jacobson, 1976: 58)
In other words, Darwin had observed that knitting the brows is a long-standing evolutionary response to encountering problems, shared with many of our animal ancestors. even in relation to quite abstract thoughts, such as contemplating the idea of “infinity”, Jacobson claimed that measurable tension occurred in the muscles associated with speech, as if words were being spoken.‘Try it now’: Relaxing the Eyes & Mental Imagery
You’re going to mentally picture (“visualise”) your finger moving horizontally, from right to left across your field of vision, while closely observing the movements in your eyes and even the faintest sensations in the muscles.
You should find that it’s difficult to picture the image while the muscles are completely relaxed and hence that by relaxing your eye muscles you can eliminate mental imagery, or by controlling your eye muscles, influence the speed of imagery, etc. (McGuigan F. J., 1981, pp. 182-188)
WellBalance fitness and weight loss camps reinforce the impact mental health ailments can have on childhood wellness Asheville, NC (PRWEB) May 08, 2012 WellBalance, a leading adolescent and adult health & wellness organization that operates fitness, …
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KIRKLAND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Hipcricket®, the one-stop mobile marketing and advertising subsidiary of Augme® Technologies, inc. (OTCBB: AUGT or “Augme”), today announced that BI WORLDWIDE leveraged Hipcricket’s mobile marketing solutions to augment its California promotion of verizon fios to local residents. the four-week campaign, concluded with 3D Mapped Projection events in three locations throughout Southern California, leveraged mobile websites, tablet-equipped kiosks, QR codes and instant giveaways to create an enticing and unique experience for California consumers that increased awareness and interest in the products and services that verizon fios offers.
the measurement capabilities of Hipcricket’s AD LIFE® platform also provided BI WORLDWIDE with real-time insight into multi-channel campaign performance and consumer engagement.
Each weekend during the promotion period, the BI WORLDWIDE Street Team held events where consumers with mobile devices were encouraged to scan any of 12 QR codes that took them to the verizon FiOS “A Network Ahead” mobile site to learn more about FiOS-related services. Participants were also able to register for a daily Grand Prize Sweepstakes and find out if they were one of the many instant prize-winners. Consumers could then opt-in by providing information and creating preference settings for verizon FiOS marketing re-engagement in the future. Throughout this experience they could share this information via their social networks, including Facebook.
In addition, BI WORLDWIDE offered tablet-enabled kiosks at each event where users could register to win prizes and click through product pages, as another alternative to scanning QR codes. Working with Hipcricket, BI WORLDWIDE provided an exciting consumer experience that built interest and engagement, while encouraging those that interacted with the street team to learn more about Verizon FiOS’ products and services.
“We are very pleased with the results that Hipcricket’s mobile marketing solutions have provided to our street team campaigns,” said Vicki Surprise, Vice President of Experiential Marketing at BI WORLDWIDE. “Extending the excitement and awareness that a local event provides directly to the personal devices of interested consumers ensures that success is realized and offers the opportunity to promote Verizon FiOS products in an engaging way. Hipcricket’s unique measurement capabilities also allowed our team to benefit from real-time insight into which QR codes were scanned and how each campaign was performing.”
“Verizon FiOS helps consumers live their borderless lifestyles by providing blazing fast Internet and the most advanced home-entertainment service – where they want it, and when they want it. Consistent with Verizon’s state-of-the-art technology, Hipcricket’s use of 3D projection mapping was a savvy and engaging way to promote Verizon FiOS to local neighborhoods in Southern California, “ said Kim Cochran, Verizon Director of Marketing in California.
Hipcricket’s AD LIFE technology platform leverages all mobile channels so that brands and agencies can continuously engage with opted-in consumers anywhere at any time. the company powers multi-channel SMS and MMS campaigns, mobile websites, QR codes and branded apps for its clients, which include many national and regional brands (e.g., Nestle, Macy’s, MillerCoors and the American Cancer Society).
“BI WORLDWIDE’s use of Hipcricket to enhance its Verizon FiOS Southern California events represents a perfect example of how mobile marketing campaigns can optimize the success of local awareness movements,” said Doug Stovall, senior vice president at Hipcricket. “Our mobile contributions to the campaign are driving consumer awareness, increase sales, and, ultimately loyalty, providing Verizon FiOS with access to consumer relationships for future engagement.”
For a behind the scenes look at the Verizon FiOS 3DMapped Projection event, click on the following link http://youtu.be/PdFky768XuA .
About Hipcricket
Hipcricket, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Augme Technologies, inc. (OTC.BB: AUGT.OB – News), is the one-stop mobile marketing and advertising company that empowers brands, agencies and media properties to engage customers, drive loyalty and increase sales. Hipcricket’s customers connect with consumers across every mobile channel, including SMS, 2D/QR codes, mobile websites, advertising networks, social media and branded apps. Hipcricket’s proven technology, strategic and marketing services and experienced account management teams have provided measurable successes across an industry-leading 175,000 campaigns for many national and regional brand-name companies and organizations, such as Macy’s, MillerCoors, Nestle, Clear Channel and the American Cancer Society. Hipcricket has also created the first mobile ad network that taps into the buying power of the mass market with industry-leading capabilities to target customers via location and highly-specific demographic information across SMS, display, rich media and video.
Hipcricket is based in Seattle, Washington, with operations in New York, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami.
Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/southern-california-verizon-fios-campaign-115500086.html
Elaine Richter relaxes in a float tank at Cloud nine Float Center Boulder. ( MARK LEFFINGWELL ) Cost $50 for one-hour float session; $135 for three one-hour sessions; $200 for five one-hour sessions. $20 for each additional half hour.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Maurice Sendak, author of the beloved children’s book where the Wild Things are, has died at age 83.
Sendak died of complications from a stroke, according to Sendak’s longtime editor, The New York Times reports.The Brooklyn-born author had already written some seven children’s books when, in 1963, Harper & Row published where the Wild Things are. Sendak both wrote and illustrated the unconventional story about an unruly boy named Max dressed in a wolf suit who, sent to his room by his mother as punishment for misbehaving, travels to a land of monsters and proves himself the wildest thing of all. Initially met with very mixed reviews, the story quickly gained in popularity and in 1964 was awarded the Caldecott Medal, the highest U.S. honor for children’s literature.Sendak is credited with injecting children’s literature with previously absent depth and psychological meaning, and his art was hailed for both its edginess and whimsy. where the Wild Things are in particular inspired not only other writers, but also musicians and artists. An animated adaptation was created in 1973, and it was the subject of a hit film by director Spike Jonze in 2009.Sendak wrote some 20 books in all and illustrated dozens. His most recent, the picture book Bumble-Ardy, was published last September. In 1996, Congress and then-President Clinton presented Sendak with the National Medal of Arts. Sendak lived with his partner, Eugene Glenn, for 50 years until Glenn’s death in 2007.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
Politics of Tuesday, 8 may 2012
Source: GNA
mr Kwabena Karikari, Hohoe Municipal Officer of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Monday said the 40-day biometric registration exercise ended impressively, despite initial technical hitches in the two constituencies; Hohoe North and South. he said the first three days of the first phase was associated with frequent breakdown of equipment, and registration officials trying to master their job. mr Karikari in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the fourth phase of the exercise recorded low figures with the first and second phases churning out impressive numbers. he said 179 applicants were challenged throughout the exercise and that the Election Review Committee, comprising representatives of the police, political parties, Ghana Education Service, traditional rulers and the EC would soon meet to evaluate the cases. mr. Karikari said the registration exercise was carried out in 47 and 17 clusters for the Hohoe North and South constituencies respectively. he said the traditional polling stations of 116 and 69 respectively for the two constituencies would be maintained during voter exhibition and actual voting later in the year. he noted that Hohoe Central Mosque and Koloenu E. P. Primary registration centres in Hohoe North and South, recorded the highest figures of 1,764 and 1,261 respectively in the second and first phases respectively. the EC Official however said registration centres at Akpafu-Todzi L/A Junior High and Wobey L/A Primary in the Hohoe North and South constituencies recorded the least numbers of 53 and 244 for the last phase. the two areas registered 21 and 70 applicants on the last day of the registration exercise but had 233 and 169 on the old voter register. the two constituencies have 69,577 and 34,337 voters on the old register. he expects a drop in this figure from the current exercise due to the returns and officials were working assiduously to complete the compilation of records. on a question of the allegation of registration of foreigners, mr Karikari said “that is not the mandate of the EC but the Ghana Police Service,” and commended stakeholders for their comportment, which guaranteed a smooth exercise. meanwhile, mr Kwabena Otuo Acheampong, Hohoe Municipal Crime Officer, told the GNA that though some cases of suspected registration of foreigners were reported, the locus of the reports were not incriminating to warrant arrest.**
RODRIQUE NGOWI
CANTON, Mass. — Finding shoes for the nation’s tallest man takes more than a trip to the mall; more like a trip across the country.
Igor Vovkovinskiy flew to Massachusetts on Thursday from Minnesota so shoe engineers at Reebok could try to custom build shoes strong enough to support his massive frame.
He’s 7 feet, 8 and one-third inches tall. Technicians estimate his shoe size at somewhere between a 22 and 25 – sizes impossible to find at the mall.
Vovkovinskiy’s 16 foot surgeries in six years have left him a virtual shut-in. All, he wants, he said, is shoes that fit so he can get outside, walk his dog, and enjoy his life.
the damage to his huge feet came from wearing shoes that don’t fit, said Vovkovinskiy, of Rochester, Minn.
“Every time I’ve had surgery and the wound began to heal up, wearing these same shoes, or the previous shoes that I had, would just open the wound right back up,” Vovkovinskiy said as technicians prepared equipment at a basketball arena for the shoe-fitting.
Medical insurers, Vovkovinskiy said, have ignored his pleas for help in paying for proper-fitting shoes and did not bother to respond to numerous letters that from physicians “stating that ‘it’d be a lot cheaper to make shoes that’d fit his body than to keep having surgeries.’” Vovkovinskiy says his only shoes have no traction, making it “suicidal” to leave his home, particularly in wet or snow conditions.
“I haven’t been able to go for a joyful walk for six years now – that’s something that I’ve missed and I know my dog has missed,” he said. “I look forward to just going for a walk with my dog, just walking around the neighborhood.”
Vovkovinskiy was at Reebok headquarters in Canton on Thursday for a complex shoe-fitting that involved, among other things, custom pressure-mounting equipment, imprints in bio-foam, a powerful three-dimension scanner to map the shape of his feet, calipers to take precise measurements of length, tape measures and a handful of technicians.
Reebok says it’s building the shoes at a cost of $12,000 to $20,000. it has helped Vovkovinskiy before and hopes to again, the company said.
the size of Vovkovinskiy’s shoes depends on measurements such as the length, width and distance from his soles to the top of his feet. Those measurements are particularly tricky with Vovkovinskiy because he has unusually shaped toes and feet because of his numerous surgeries.
it will take the company up to six weeks to create prototypes for Vovkovinskiy to try out. then, they’ll fine-tune them to produce proper-fitting shoes.
Vovkovinskiy, 29, is originally from Ukraine, but at age 7 moved with his mother to Minnesota for treatment of his condition, known as pituitary gigantism. He was 6 feet tall at the time.
Vovkovinskiy said his life changed when the series of surgeries started. That forced him to spend about three years on bed rest, during which time his muscles weakened and he gained weight.
“Living the last six years has been a nightmare basically,” he said.
Shoes that fit will get him outside and make a huge difference, he said.
“Basically, I’m a prisoner of my own house, even though I am medically cleared to walk,” Vovkovinskiy said. “Where am I going to go with shoes that are painful?”
the plight forced Vovkovinskiy to launch an online campaign to raise $16,000 to pay for a custom-fit new pair of shoes. He said he expected to take more than a year to raise the money, but social-media sites and news reports fueled interest from donors and he was able to raise the money overnight.
then Reebok called, offering to help him again for free. Vovkovinskiy says he plans to use the money he raised online to set up a shoe fund for life.
“That means everything from boots in the winter to sandals and then, once I start applying for jobs, dress shoes,” he said. “I’m so overwhelmed by people’s generosity. I’m so thankful.”
He is already looking forward to window shopping, going to the mall and even venture out to do things that friends talk about on social Websites.
Those simple wishes are rather ambitious for Vovkovinskiy who says he hasn’t been able to fit in a normal car for about 10 years and “traveling by airplane is just terrible.”
“I’ve always had difficulties but, yeah, I try to make my life as normal as possible,” he said. “I try to do everything that everybody else does.”
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April 16, 2012
PULLMAN – the Washington State volleyball team, under the direction of Head Coach Jen Greeny, looks to keep its undefeated spring record intact when it plays in the third tournament of the 2012 spring season this Saturday, April 21, at Gonzaga University.
After sweeping the nine sets of the WSU Spring Tournament April 7, the Cougars did not lose a set at the Idaho tournament April 14 in Moscow. Washington State defeated Eastern Washington 25-16, 25-19, downed Gonzaga 25-17 and 25-22, and then battled through to defeat Idaho 25-18, 31-29.
As part of the Washington State Athletics Spokane Week, the Cougar volleyball team plays this Saturday at the GU Martin Center, taking on Gonzaga at 10 a.m., meet Eastern Washington at 11 a.m., and play Idaho at noon. 
Nominations are now open for Apple’s annual Design Awards, which celebrate the best iOS and OS X apps on the market today.
Judges for this year’s contest are looking for apps that are well-designed, state-of-the-art, and innovative. the apps should be easy to use and engaging, take advantage of the latest hardware and OS releases, and inspire users in “new and creative ways,” according to Apple’s Design Awards Web page.
To be considered for this year’s award, an app must be available in the iOS App Store or Mac App Store by May 1, Apple said.
The winners will be announced Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), which takes place from June 11-15 in San Francisco. Developers looking to buy a ticket to the conference are too late — this year’s event sold out less than two hours.
Last year’s Design Awards winners for the iPhone developer category included the sword-fighting game Infinity Blade, Golfscape GPS Rangefinder, and physics puzzle game Cut the Rope. in the iPad developer category, winners included the music mixing app djay, physics-based game Osmos, and book app Our Choice.
Winners in the Mac developer category last year included music app Capo, image editor Pixelmator, and tower offense game Anomaly Warzone Earth. in the student developer category, winners included GPA calculator Grades 2, baseball history app Pennant, and news and social network browser Pulse News.
Developers can nominate an app for an Apple Design Award, though winners are not selected based on the number of nominations they receive. in fact, an app doesn’t even need to be nominated to win.
The Apple Design Awards have been running since 1996.
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