I’m leading off with an important set of readings on genetics in relation to neuroanthropology, including plastic genes, gene-culture interactions, and critical takes on genetics in society. Then we’ve got some other top reads, followed by a section on applied anthropology that includes a lot of pdfs you can get online. Then the mind and an anthro grab-bag to finish it off.
Genetics
David Dobbs, I’m Not Vulnerable, Just Especially Plastic. Risk Genes, Environment, and Evolution, in the Atlantic
Genes are not bad, they are just sensitive. Dobbs covers his own feature article coming out in The Atlantic, which includes a video interview with Steve Soumi and his rhesus monkeys.
William Dressler et al., Cultural Consonance, a 5HT2A Receptor Polymorphism, and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study of Gene × Culture Interaction in Urban Brazil
Abstract for an American Journal of Human Biology 2009 article. Serotonin function and the ability to match society’s ideals create significant interactive effects, including greater depressive symptoms with individuals with a particular polymorphism. “These results are consistent with a process in which genotype moderates the effects of culturally meaningful social experience on depressive symptoms.”
Dr. X, Do Collectivist Cultures Evolve as Buffers to Psychopathology?
Looking at whether collectivist-individualist dimensions of culture coevolve with genetic peril for anxiety and mood disorders. “Here, we demonstrate for the first time a robust association between cultural values of individualism– collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter gene, controlling for associated economic and disease factors.” You can even get the full text free online.
Surfdaddy Orca, Making a Smarter Rat
Overexpressing the NR2B gene lets brain cells communicate just a bit longer. Result: a smarter rat.
The Neurocritic, Genomarketing!
Brains are not enough. Now companies are looking at ways to target you based on genetics. Includes a great graphic: the MAOa Card.
Cesar Vallejo, Genes and Human Freedom to a Case
Why an Italian court reduced the punishment of a man found guilty of murder. So is MAOa now a get out of jail free card? Here’s the original Nature report, Lighter sentence for murderer with ‘bad genes’
Cory Doctorow, Love of Shopping is Not a Gene: Exposing Junk Science and Ideology in Darwinian Psychology
But I thought my genes made me do it.
Nicholas Wade, Speech Gene Shows Its Bossy Nature
NY Times write-up of recent results on the FOXP2 gene that has gotten so much press as the “language gene” – but this time it’s about playing around with the chimp version and considering genetic orchestration rather than cause. John Hawks also comments, and links to more reactions to the Nature article.
Other Good Reads
My Mind on Books, The Lives of the Brain: Human Evolution and the Organ of Mind
Looks like a great new book by John Allen: “Adopting what he calls a “bottom-up” approach to the evolution of human behavior, Allen considers the brain as a biological organ; a collection of genes, cells, and tissues that grows, eats, and ages, and is subject to the direct effects of natural selection and the phylogenetic constraints of its ancestry… is book shows us the brain as a product of the contexts in which it evolved: phylogenetic, somatic, genetic, ecological, demographic, and ultimately, cultural-linguistic.”
Mo Costandi, Phantom Limbs Can Contort Into Impossible Configurations
“A study shows that some amputees can make their phantom limbs defy the anatomical constraints of the physical body, using visual imagery to make them perform movements which could not possibly be performed by a real limb.” Once again, these types of study show just how important symbolism and meaning can become – and hence point to a rich cultural neuroscience for the future
Sandra Kiume, Participatory Research
Channel N highlights a participatory research project on lodging for people with major psychiatric disorders. More of this type of research is needed!
Trey Popp, Are Better Brains Better?
A profile of the work of the neuroscientists Martha Farah and Anjan Chatterjee, and how that plays into debates over cognitive enhancement and the impact of poverty on brain development
Eric Schwitzgebel, Perplexities of Consciousness
Everything that goes into thinking, and perceiving, and sensing. What’s really going on in our minds?
Applied Anthropology
M. Margaret Clark, Malinowski Award Lecture: Medical Anthropology and the Redefining of Human Nature
Pdf of Dr. Clark’s speech, which I enjoyed reading. You can get all 29 of the Malinowski award papers here.
The Prism, Civilizing Violence For Human Rights
This article encourages people to take a more active position on human rights breaches taking place in other parts of the world. Discussion ensues.
Ryan Anderson, Beatriz Manz on Anthropology, Relevance, and Advocacy
See the quote that kicked off some of the discussion above at The Anthropological Prism.
Hugo Cadenas Ramos, La Antropoligia Aplicada En Una Sociedad Compleja
Pdf about applied anthropology in complex societies
Rex @ Savage Minds, Is it Unethical to Say Something about Someone that They Cannot Understand?
Is there a moral obligation to make our work accessible to the people who share their lives with us?
Anne Raver, Building with Whole Trees
How Roald Gundersen manufactured his home and greenhouse using whole tree for formation and hold.
Peggy Reeves Sanday, Public Interest Anthropology: A Model For Engaged Social Science
Public anthropology from UPenn, centering around Roy Rappaport’s call to address the “disorders” of our times.
Helen Ball, Evolutionary Paediatrics: A Case Study In Applying Darwinian Medicine
Pdf that describes evolutionary medicine in an applied sense – the move from analysis to actually doing something
Mind
National Public Radio, A Head-Shrinker Studies The Zombie Brain
I got to this one after Halloween, that’s how undead I am. Must be a lack of a frontal lobe and an overactive amygdala.
The Neurocritic, Werewolves of Ontario
Another Halloween theme – “Lycanthropy is the delusion in which an individual believes he has been transformed into an animal, traditionally a wolf.” Descriptions of this syndrome have been found in medical journals of the past.
Simon Baron-Cohen, The Short Life of Diagnosis
The British autism expert reacts in this editorial to the news that Asperger’s syndrome might be left out of the new DSM with an informed consideration of diagnosis, classification, and history
Benedict Carey, A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain
J. Allan Hobson’s new theory of dreams – just your brain warming up for the day
David Pescovitz, Mind Control with Sound and Light
How the breach in the human-machine line is closing.
Andrew Hinton, Why We Just Don’t Get It
How novel understandings about how the brain works can help us understand it can be difficult for us to fully grasp new ideas.
Vaughan Bell, Rare ‘Shell Shock’ Footage Online
One of the most imperative films in the history of psychiatry, portraying management of ‘shell shocked’ British soldiers during World War One, has recently been made unreservedly accessible online.
Jonah Lehrer, Temptation
The temptations of the Frontal Cortex
Anthro Grab-Bag
James L. Peacock, The Anthropological Lens: Harsh Light, Soft Focus
Asking anthropological questions such as “What is the essence of human existence?” The first chapter to Peacock’s introductory essay/book.
John Tierney, Can You Believe How Mean Office Gossip Can Be?
Anthropologists and sociologists’ opinion when it comes to gossip. What’s good about it? What’s bad about it?
Ed Yong, Native Language Shapes the Melody of a Newborn Baby’s Cry
Distinguishing babies based on their cries.
Maximilian Forte, Reality Check for the Human Terrain System: Marilyn Dudley-Flores Responds
John Stanton’s blog starts upheaval. The woman at the center of stern accusations breaks her silence.
Romeo Vitellia, When The Devil Came To Morzine
Mass hysteria in the French town of Morzine in 1857. The philosopher Joseph Tissot investigates. Science vs. possession as explanations of what happened.
Gretchen Reynolds, Phys Ed: Why Doesn’t Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?
For some time, researchers have found that people who exercise don’t lose weight. Why is this? Along with an exercise routine, eating habits must also change in order for a person to slim down. What is “afterburn”? Dr. Edward Melanson conducts a study that explains it.
Tim Martin, Endpaper – Fiction Reaches a New Level
Computer games as a budding force in the writing world.
Gwen @ Sociological Images, Race and the Economic Downturn
Great graphics and good discussion of the effects of the financial predicament for diverse groups of Americans.
David DiSalvo, The Dynamics of Human Tribes
Gives the five tribes that humans naturally form and explains a little about them. Includes videos with David Logan and Seth Godin on tribal leadership. As David notes, they are not perfect, and certainly some anthropologists would get on their high horse about this style of analysis. But intriguing nonetheless.
Keith Hampton et al., Social Isolation and New Technology
The Pew Report – the Internet isn’t making us into lonely people hooked on flickering screens in dark basements
Wedding planning is an exciting, but stressful experience. Organizing the biggest event of your lives is no mean feat, and with so much to do before the big day it pays to use every tool at your disposal to achieve a perfect wedding day on time and on budget. This is why a wedding planning checklist is so important and why it will play a major role in your wedding planning process.
Simply put, a wedding planning checklist is an itemized list of everything you will need to do, book, buy and plan for your wedding. A checklist will be ordered by the number of months till your wedding day and will be broken down into easy to read segments listing everything you will need to do month by month, week by week and day by day.
You can get hold of a checklist free from many wedding websites where they are available to download and save on your computer. Most of the bridal magazines and printed wedding directories will also carry a wedding planning checklist which you can cut out and use. For the most part these checklists will follow a generic template for the average wedding. They will also usually be formatted for a time frame of 18 months, or 12 months.
The problem some brides can face is that this generic template does not fit with their wedding plans, perhaps because their wedding is of a totally different format or because they want to plan their wedding in a much shorter timeframe. However, even if this is the case, a free checklist can still be of much benefit to you, but you will need to write your own checklist to fit with the type of wedding you are planning.
Use the free wedding planning checklist as a framework so you know what tasks need to be completed for your wedding and design your own checklist within the timeframe you have before your wedding day. Make sure you allocate sufficient time to complete a task, source vendors and suppliers and don’t forget small details such as collecting items, your pre-wedding parties and dress fittings.
Keep a copy saved on your computer so you can edit it at anytime should you need to or print off more copies as required. It is also worth giving a copy of your checklist to those people who will be helping you throughout the wedding planning phase such as your maid of honor, your groom and your mom. Note down any important dates on a calendar and keep a copy of your checklist on your noticeboard so you can refer to it quickly when needed.
Mae Andrea is a professional writer who collects wedding favors and wedding related articles. She is honored to share to all couples the wedding planning checklist page located in the website.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/why-a-wedding-planning-checklist-is-important-1421343.html
TheBridalCoach.ca is opening its door as a response to this disfunctionality in the online wedding market. It is the first and only wedding planning membership site in North America. Their stated mission is to provide the modern bride and groom one place on the internet to find everything they need to plan their wedding the right way, in a timely manner, with the least effort and from the comfort of their home. This entrepreneurial group of wedding planners is launching its membership site on November 10, 2009, just at the beginning of the wedding planning season for most brides and grooms.
“The launch is a massive internet marketing event,” says Angela Fiebelkorn, wedding planner and CEO of www.TheBridalCoach.ca. “This membership site offers a unique combination of cutting edge technology and years of wedding planning experience and expertise.”
She further states that “a team of certified wedding planners share their collective wisdom in countless short videos that tell the bride and groom what they need to know each step of the way…
Read full story here: Wedding Planning Membership Site, TheBridalCoach.ca, Changes the Landscape of the Online Wedding Industry
Make Money Posting Links On Google
I was interviewed on the BBC last night about the GM/Opel/Vauxhall deal. I am waiting for video before posting any more about it. My general feeling, however is GM’s backing out is being driven by reflation as GM no longer needs to sell Opel/Vauxhall in this economic environment. Quite frankly, I think it is a bit premature to think reflation has been successful. But, GM has Neelie Kroes breathing down its neck. It had to act.
- GMAC’s Mortgage Unit Loses $747M in Q309 : HousingWire
Remind me, why are taxpayers propping them up?
- Should Jon Corzine Take Over Bank Of America? – Dealbreaker
He IS out of a job.
- EconomPic: ISM Services Slowly Expanding
Dichotomy with manufacturing suggests that underlying demand is weak.
- Profit `Not Satanic,’ Barclays Says, After Goldman Invokes Jesus – Bloomberg.com
Interesting.
- Barclays Chief: Jesus Loves Bonuses – Dealbreaker
Sure he does. Keep telling yourself that. I am NOT for capping pay, but this is not a good quote.
- Bank of Ireland losses near €1bn – Independent.ie
More bad news in Ireland
- Top finance blogs – Prieur du Plessis
We are in the group. And I recommend Prieur’s site very highly.
- Top earning dead celebrities 2009
Yves Saint Laurent gets top billing. MJ is only third.
- Michael J. Panzner: Treasury Officials Meet With Financial Bloggers
More on econobloggers at Treasury
- Curious Meeting at Treasury Department – Yves Smith
Must read account of Treasury’s cultivation of econobloggers
- FT.com | Money Supply | The Fed and its “extended period” language
More on the FOMC
- The Fed Thoughtfully Strokes Its Beard, Flaps Its Gums – Annaly Salvos
Hat tip Scott. Will the Fed get rid of ‘extended period’ in its statement?
- AT&T to Verizon: “There’s a Lawsuit for That”
Verizon is saying AT&T has terrible 3G coverage. A&T is livid.
- VIDEO: What the Military Industrial Complex Does Not Want You to Know: The History of Iran « Patrick J. Buchanan
A historically accurate depiction of the last 56 years in Iran.
- Profile: Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner
"The EU competition commissioner forcing through the radical break-up of Britain’s banking system"
- Rising factory orders bolster recovery prospects | Reuters
More evidence of a manufacturing recovery.
- FT.com – Sony Ericsson unveils Android-powered phone
Google is getting serious play here. Android has arrived.
- House prices rise by 1.2%, says Halifax
Better mth to mth than Nationwide but worse yr-on-yr.
- Rolfe Winkler – Burlington…not so Buffett-like
This analysis says Burlington Northern is not a good deal.
- Norwegian Wood – Edward Hugh
A comprehensive overview of the Norwegian economy after the rate rise
Distraction of the Day: Defining Adultery in the Age of Alzheimer’s
Of Love and Alzheimer’s – WSJ
Related posts:
- News from around the web: 2009-10-20
- Links: 2009-05-13
- Links: 2009-03-16 – blogger edition
- Links: 2009-08-15 blogger edition
- News from around the web: 2009-10-03
Google’s gold standard of whether or not a website should be ranked well continues to change over time, but for quite a while the best method has gone unchanged… relevant backlinks from legitimate, authoritative sites. On page Search Engine Optimization and lots of great content may get your site indexed for specific keywords, but quality backlinks will drive up its rank.
Since backlinks have become a known commodity, many linking scams and services continue to pop up all over the web. Don’t be persuaded in spending the money for these services. Not only will you not improve your ranking, you may be putting your websites at great risk of being dropped from search engine indexes.
Yes, there are such things as bad inbound links.
Here is a quick list of some of the types of links you DON’T want pointing at your website. This list is not to be confused with links that simply to not pass value such as links with the rel=”nofollow” attribute.
- Don’t get links from sites that blatantly sell text links.
- Don’t buy into link farms. You may have run across a deal like, get 1000 links for $29.95 per month. Stay away from these programs.
- Stay away from popular link brokers like text-link-ads.com or textlinkbrokers.com. These brokers will sell you text links with the direct intent of influencing Google’s search results. This is a violation of Google’s Terms of Service.
- You will find users on popular webmaster forums offering to sell high pagerank links. Many of these sites are created by buying expired domains with high Google PageRank values and quickly throwing up template websites with little to no value/unique content. These sites will not maintain these PageRank values as soon as Google realizes they have changed ownership and content. There are also many ways Google can identify that these simple sites are selling links.
- Make sure your links come from US based and targeted websites if your entire target market is in the US.
- You really don’t want links created by spam software. Most of this software leaves a footprint and it is quite easy for Google to identify.
- You really don’t want links from junk websites. These are sites like affiliate sites that have little or no unique content.
- Don’t post links to spam sites relating to the three P’s (porn, pills and poker). Period.
- Avoid the temptation of posting links to a forum that the owner no longer effectively manages and that is full of spam.
- Avoid the temptation to add and publish your URL in link memes. A meme is a growing list of links that passes from one site to another for the sole purpose of sharing links and pagerank across the list of participants.
These are just ten of the types of links you don’t want, but this list is not all inclusive.
When it comes to WordPress plugins for posting on my blog, I use several which I couldn’t do without and find extremely useful for several reasons when producing blog posts or controlling posts from guest bloggers.
So after my post about the WordPress Plugins used for my Weekly and Monthly Stats I thought I would bring you some blogging tips and show you just some of the WordPress plugins that I use and fine helpful in my blog. You can get all these plugins via the links from this blog or you can use the “add new” option in your WordPress dashboard under plugins.
- Broken Link Checker – This is great when you have made posts with links and over time these links may become broken, this plugin allows you to find them and edit them via your dashboard.
- Dashboard: Scheduled Posts – If you have posts scheduled then this plugin will display them on your main dashboard, so you can easily see what posts are scheduled.
- Insights – Adds a search box with options on your posting page to search your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO, then add links and images to your post.
- No Self Pings – There is nothing worse than posting on your blog with a link to an earlier post and getting a pingback from your own site, this plugin stops this.
- Pending Post Indicator – This is ideal when you have guest bloggers, it will tell you on the main dashboard if you have any pending posts from a user waiting for review, enabling you to post guest posts quickly.
- Post Template – If you are posting weekly updates or a post which has a similar layout each week, then this plugin will enable you to save a template and use them to quickly create a posts with similar layouts.
- Search & Replace – I find this plugin very useful, it will allow you to search your database and replace anything you want, example: if you change your twitter name, you could search for the address and change all occurrences of the old address to the updated one.
Related Reading
This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 8:10 am and is filed under blogging tips, wordpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
See: NASCAR Merchandise
Following Talladega and comments by NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston on his blog, there has been a lot of discussion of the coverage of NASCAR races; more importantly how that coverage is shaping the audience’s perception of what they’re seeing.
All I can say is, it’s about time. Earlier this year I took up the topic of NASCAR and perception. No matter your feelings on the state of the sport, it’s undeniable that the color of coverage shapes what people feel.
Dustin Long interviewed Brian France on the issue of TV coverage. He touched on this issue. He said:
“We fully expect a lot of criticism for any number of reasons, judgment calls that are made, officiating calls that are made and some strategy or policy decisions that are made. We’ve always had that. That’s OK. What I’m saying is in opinions that are under the guise of criticism or being critical that just go on and on and on without much thought that’s different from some policy or rule violation that we didn’t handle correctly, somebody is more than fair to criticize us. It’s just there’s an unprecedented level that occurs when you espouse your opinion about how to do one thing or another.”
If you’re truly being honest with yourself, unless you’re out gathering news, where you get your news or in this case your racing coverage, is going to shape how you feel about it. For instance if you watch the local TV station that is big into covering local crime, chances are you’re going to believe crime is higher in your city. Likewise watching Fox News over MSNBC is likely going to shape how you see issues.
How many times in the last two seasons have you heard about ratings declines, or sagging attendance? The fact is attendance is down in the NFL and ratings are down 6% for MLB on ESPN (we’re no worse off than any other sporting event). If you hear something enough (like this race is boring) though you’ll start to believe it, it’s human nature. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
I personally found the coverage a little much. I doubt the brass at ESPN was thrilled with it. They’re only driving away the audience for programming ESPN’s already paid for.
The NASCAR writer for the Oakland Press wrote a blog post giving kudos to ESPN for standing up to NASCAR. What are they standing up to NASCAR about? At the end of the day they’re only hurting themselves. ESPN is spending $270 million a year or $2.16 billion (from Sports Business Resource Guide) over the life of their contract for the rights to broadcast NASCAR races. Now you tell me, is it in ESPN’s best interest to say, “hey this product we’re broadcasting is really boring?” I don’t think so.
A couple of weeks ago Dustin Long did a wide-ranging interview about the state of the sport with Larry McReynolds, Kyle Petty and Jimmy Spencer. One of their big criticisms was the negativity that comes out of the sport’s media. While I think this was a pot calling the kettle black moment (they went on to criticize the sport pretty heavily) they made a good point.
Larry McReynolds said:
Darrell has put a great analogy. He goes, if you go to a restaurant and you’ve been going to that restaurant for years and you love that restaurant but you constantly read in the paper, it’s a bad restaurant, it’s a bad restaurant. Eventually, you’re going to say, I’m not going to that restaurant. Even if they rehire a complete new chef, staff, you’re still going to be hesitant about going back to that restaurant.
From time to time I like to watch old races and I’ll be honest with you, it really doesn’t look all that different. There aren’t constant battles for the lead, races do sometimes get spread out, and sometimes one car just dominates. The one big difference is you don’t hear Eli Gold or Ken Squier or Bob Jenkins criticizing the product. If you don’t believe me, track down a race from 10 or 15 years ago.
I don’t mean to suggest that NASCAR fans are more susceptible to this. But I do believe that this negativity runs rampant around here; more so than in other sports. When was the last time you were watching an NFL game and heard Joe Buck say how boring it was?
I think just like in every other sport, announcers need to walk a fine line. Criticize the league or sanctioning body for controversial decisions, fine; don’t drive fans off though by criticizing the product.
See: nfl merchandise
Hey! I'm Carol, welcome to my blog. Here you'll read about stuff I like, stuff I do, stuff I make, my dogs, the Jersey Shore and stuff I sell too.
I own the Dandelion Vintage Clothing website, online since 1997. I sell vintage clothing, lingerie and accessories from the 1900s to the mid 1960s. I have a nice selection of wearable vintage and my prices are affordable too. Fresh vintage stock is added every Monday. Email Carol
Since a last year, I've got a request and offering from my fellow friends for me to do the owned brand's kit design. Untill Accidentally I've design a few kits for Nathian Sports base on miss-comunication on the project, So just go on. Suddenly on the progress I've been haunted by the design copyright by other fellow designer. I'm acceepted all the critic and apologized for what happened. For me, It's a parted of my career more than 10 years in these biz. More important for me now, I'm still can share few of my project to you all free. And I'm still can smile greatfull to see few of my template design by other designer posted and published anywhere.
See: assisted living facilities
Working in a long-term care facility or a nursing home requires a dedication not seen by all nurses. If you as a nurse want to see your patients become well enough to be discharged, then a long-term facility is not for you. If, however, you enjoy having the same patients day after day, and develop a rapport with your patients and their families, then working in a nursing home may just be your cup of tea. Not every nurse can deal with the stress of losing friends, which is how you may come to regard your patients.
Nurses employed by long-term care facilities do not require any education beyond the basic Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Associate Science in Nursing (ASN). Job duties are different for each level of nursing, but the ASN or RN can do everything the LPN can do. Both types of nurses can give medications and chart on the patients. LPNs cannot assign RNs any duties, though they can request their assistance as needed. Also, only RNs can clip toenails of diabetic residents, due to the risk of infection and further injury. RNs also have the task of supervising the duties assigned to the LPNs. Medications can be given by either nurse.
After initial employment, nurses can and do attend various seminars and continue their education regarding the specialized care of geriatric patients, such as Alzheimer's or osteoporosis. This helps the nurse to develop better methods of care, which in turn gives the resident a better quality of life. The more you can learn about concerns specific to the geriatric generation, the better nurse you will be.
As you continue to work in a nursing home, you will discover and develop better ways to cope with your patients. It is well known that older citizens become confused and combative, making it difficult to give care to them. Maybe giving them a doll to hold, or speaking of their family will make it easier for them to take their medication or accept a bath. Listening to music may soothe residents so they sleep more peacefully. Some tasks may take longer than you plan, so be as flexible as you can.
You will not learn coping mechanisms immediately. By helping other staff members, and observing their techniques, you will see what works and what does not. Keep in the back of your mind that your patients are still people, too, and afford them the decency and respect you would want if the roles were reversed. You can then look forward to a long and rewarding career.
Good posture is a sign of physical and emotional health. But ask nearly anyone with back pain if they have good posture, the answer more often than not is no.
So, if most people do not know what good posture is, how can they expect to maintain it? Education about posture is usually limited to one sentence, “sit up straight.” But there is much more that the posturally challenged need to know before they attempt to combat a slouch. Most importantly, attempting to correct posture without basic guidelines can result in just as much pain and dysfunction as the “bad posture” itself. Fortunately there is hope with a little bit of knowledge and application of the posture basics below.
Know What Proper Posture Is and Isn’t
Good posture isn’t simply standing up straight and keeping your shoulders back. Healthy posture maintains the proper alignment of structures so that optimal biomechanical function is achieved. This limits physical stress and prevents breakdown of the body. The feet and the abdominal musculature play vital roles in posture maintenance, as they are the foundation and the core strength respectively. A flat foot or a weak transverse abdominis muscle will cause postural distortions to varying degrees which predisposes the body to pain and injury.
The Plumb Line
There are certain points of the body that should align themselves vertically so that the body bears its weight and moves through space efficiently. Imagine a perfectly straight line passing through the body from the head to the floor. This line is called a plumb line and it is used to visualize these “posture points” and to identify structural imbalances three dimensionally.
Posture Points
Posture points are best identified in the profile or side view. Starting at the feet, these points pass slightly in front of the bony part of the ankle, the center of the knee, the front of the sacrum, the lumbar vertebra, the bony part of the shoulder and up through the opening of the ear. These points ideally should all fall along the plumb line. If the neck or a shoulder drifts in front of the line, there is an imbalance in the opposing musculature from front to back and the posture is disrupted.
From a posterior view the spine should be in the midline and align itself with the middle of the base of the skull. The shoulders and nape of the neck, as well as the earlobes should be horizontally symmetrical. In this position, asymmetries such as an elevated shoulder and a lowered earlobe signifying a head tilt on the same side can be visualized.
From the anterior or front view, the plumb line passes along the midline of the breastbone and bisects the area between the eyebrows. A forward shoulder, a high or low patella, or unleveling of the horizontal alignment of the eyes can be identified in this position.
Posture Basics
Good posture first requires a level foundation. Fallen arches, flat feet and damaged achilles tendons must be attended to appropriately to prevent the legs from functioning as if they are two different lengths. Orthotics or professionally fitted shoe inserts are a good way obtain this balance.
Once the foundation is leveled, the core muscles must be strengthened and retrained. The abdominal muscles, particularly the transverse abdominis, must maintain its tension in order to support the posture. When this muscle is functioning properly, the shoulders, neck and head cannot drift forward and will naturally align themselves closer to the plumb line. For this reason, attempting to correct posture by pulling back the shoulders is fatiguing and ineffective, and creates exactly the physical stress that you are trying to avoid with postural correction.
To strengthen the transverse abdominis muscle, gently pull your belly button back approximately one centimeter toward the spine without using your breath to assist you. The pelvis will shift slightly forward and the abdomen should elongate. Maintain this slight tension when walking, sitting and standing. Once these muscles are re-educated, your body will more naturally adapt to the new, corrected position with much less thought and effort.
Specific postural distortions can be addressed and fine tuned once the above basics of posture are mastered. In addition, structural causes of postural distortion such as an anatomically short leg, osteoporosis or scoliosis can be identified with simple posture examinations by your health care professional.
Be Aware
The most important tool in postural health is awareness. Become familiar with your own postural patterns and weaknesses so that you can develop the skills to manage them. Health and well-being can be directly enhanced by knowing and applying the basics of good posture and frequent postural checkups should be part of the healthcare regimen for you and your family.
Re: assisted living facilities
Introduction
Long term health care refers to the provision of a number of different services for persons with a chronic illness or disability. Long term medical care includes both medical and non-medical care which assists the patient in the performance of activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, and using the restroom. Long term care can be provided in the home, community housing, an assisted living home or a nursing home. It is estimated by the Department of Health and Human Services that approximately 12 million Americans will require long-term health care by the year 2020.
Long term Health Care Services
The particular medical care available to a patient is determined in part by the state and community in which they live. However, some of the common types of long term health care which are discussed below include: community services, home care, accessory dwelling units, subsidized housing, board and care homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, hospice care, respite care, and PACE programs.
Community Services. Some community services are provided by volunteer groups. Other services are made available through the Area Agency on Aging, the Aging and Disability Resource Center, or the Center for Independent Living. Some of the services provided to seniors are free, others may be provided at a low cost, and still others are provided in exchange for a voluntary donation. The community services include:Adult Day Care, Meal Programs (Example: Means-on-wheels.), Senior Centers, Friendly Visitor Programs,Assistance with Shopping and Transportation, Legal Assistance,Financial Management (Example: Payment of bills)
Home Care. Assistance with personal activities including laundry, shopping, cooking and cleaning can oftentimes be provided by friends and family members or volunteer groups. However, other professional care providers are available to perform specific functions that may not be performed by family and friends. For example, home health care agencies provide both nursing and attendant care in the patient's home.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) An accessory dwelling unit can be added to an existing residence for the benefit of a person requiring long term care. It enables an individual to maintain a level of independence. The ADU is a second living space within a home or a separate building a the lot which includes separate living and sleeping area, kitchen and bath. Each city's zoning ordinances will determine if this option is a viable one for the proposed location of the ADU.
Subsidized Senior Housing. Seniors of low to moderate income may qualify for federal and state programs that pay for housing. Some of the programs may also assist with the costs of meals and other activities as well. The individual is often placed in an apartment complex and pays a percentage of their income as the rental payment.
Board and Care Homes. A board and care home is a group living arrangement designed for individuals who do not require the medical services of a nursing home but do require daily monitoring and assistance. The home provides support services including bathing, dressing. These homes are referred to as 'group homes'. The monthly fee is determined by a sliding scale that is based on monthly income. The monthly fee includes rent, meals, and the cost of other shared services.
Assisted Living Facilities. Residents of an assisted living facility may live in a private room or apartment and yet meet with other residents for meals and social and recreational activities. The facility provides help with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing as well as providing medical care medications, and perhaps transportation. The facility may include a health care services unit on site. The resident of the facility pays a rental fee and additional fees dependent on the particular medical services and non-medical services that they require. The services offered by an assisted levity facility vary greatly from one facility to the next.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) A CCRC is a retirement community that offers a number of different kinds of housing and a number of different levels of care. Some residents may be housed in individual homes or apartments while others may reside in an assisted living facility. Still other residents may be placed in a nursing home in order to receive a high level of medical care. As the resident's needs change, they are moved from one level of housing and health care to another. The communities have vastly different requirements in terms of commitments to remain within the facility and the services provided by the facility.
Hospice Care. Only terminally ill patients are cared for by Hospice health care. The care offered includes both that required to meet the patient's physical needs as well as that to meet their emotional needs. The singular goal of hospice is to provide comfort to terminally ill patients and their families. Each patient is assigned a team of doctors, nurses, home health aides, social workers,
Respite Care. Respite care refers to the placement of a patient being treated by hospice care in a hospital for a short stay in order to give the care giver a period of rest.
Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Pace is a Medicare and Medicaid program that manages the medical care, social, and long term care services that are required to enable a very frail patient to remain in their homes and maintain their quality of life. PACE is not available in all locations.
Home and Community-Based Waiver Programs. Individuals eligible for Medicaid may obtain financial assistance with the costs of some home and community-based services. This program helps people maintain their independence while obtaining the care they require outside an inpatient facility.
A number of agencies are available to assist you in evaluating each of the options for long-term care. Some of these agencies are identified below.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA). This agency provides support to adults age 50 and older and their caregivers. The Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 will assist you in locating the Area Agency on Aging in your area. www.eldercare.gov
Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). ADRC provides assistance to individuals regardless of income or age. www.adrc-tae.org
Center for Independent Living (CILS). CILS assists individuals with disabilities.www.ncil.org/directory.html
State Technology Assistance Project. The project provides information regarding medical equipment and other assistive technology that is available to the patient via the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North American (RESNA). www.resna.org
State Medical Assistance Office (Medicaid). This office provides information regarding assistance programs for low income individuals.
Re: Female Fertility Age
Whether you are just deciding to get healthy before getting pregnant or you have been trying to conceive for while, it is never too late to think about what you are putting into your body and how it can affect the outcome of your efforts.
Foods
According to Neal D. Barnard, M.D. and Kristine Kieswer, authors of “Power Foods for Fertility”, whole grains such as pasta, rice, bread, cereal, and oatmeal are food choices for optimal hormone balance. Other food choices for hormone balance include vegetable such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale and broccoli. Legumes and fruit are also great for hormone balance.
Fruit and Vegetable are great in boosting fertility in not only women but in men also. Vegetables are dioxin chelating foods, they take the dioxins out of your body. Dioxins are found in meat and can cause infertility.
A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health on 18,000 women over 8 years determined that women who ate foods with higher amounts of trans fats, animal proteins and carbohydrates, along with some other dietary factors, were more likely to have ovulation disorder.
The study suggests switching some of your protein sources, such as replacing the animal proteins from beef and chicken, to vegetable proteins like beans and nuts. When 5% of total calories eaten comes from vegetable protein instead of animal, the risk of ovulation infertility drops by more than 50%.
Vitamins and Minerals
The potent antioxidant Vitamin E is believed to improve fertility due to its protective effect on sperm cell membranes. A deficiency of Vitamin E may lead to absorption in females and loss of fertility in men. Lack of Vitamin E inhibits the formation of sperm and may cause a decline in the formation of key sex hormones which are responsible for sperm production. Selenium and Zinc are also found to be essential for male fertility. Selenium can be found in red meat, liver and seafood. Both Zinc and vitamin E can be taken in pull form with a full glass of water.
Herbs
Herbs are another great choice to aid in fertility with the same results as but without the use of actual fertility drugs and their side effects. Herbs can help to establish normal hormonal functioning, and to nourish and tone the uterus.
Red Clover - Red clover blossoms are best taken as a strong infusion (one ounce of dried blossoms brewed overnight in a quart of boiling water). Pills and capsules have little effect. Women have found success after drinking up to a quart of the infusion everyday for at least six weeks. The blossoms are believed to restore health to the entire reproductive system. Most notable in the red clover is the presence of vitamin E, selenium and zinc, as mentioned above. Red clover has ten times more plant hormones than soy.
Nettle Leaves - Nettle leaves are reputed to have more chlorophyll than any other herb. Almost every vitamin and mineral known to be necessary for human health and growth is known in be in nettle leaves. Due to these properties it is obvious why this herb is also known to increase fertility in women and men.
Dong Quai - Considered the “female ginseng”, Dong Quai, is another herb associated with fertility due to its balancing effect on hormones without the effects of hormones.
Please remember to check with your doctor before making any drastic dietary changes.
Neal D. Barnard, M.D. and Kristine Kieswer, “Power Foods for Fertility.” Lamas Beauty
Unknown, “Fertility Herbs and Vitamins.” The Fertility Shop
Unknown, “Useful Fertility Herbs.” Herbal Remedies Info
Unknown, “Red Clover for Promoting Fertility.” Everything Under the Moon
Cathy Wong, “Dong Quai.” About.com
Kent Malone