Tyrone

There are gender differences in learning styles specific to science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) that teachers of these subjects should keep in mind when developing lesson plans and teaching in the classroom. First, overall, girls have much less experience in the hands-on application of learning principles in lab settings than boys. This could occur in the computer lab, the science lab, or the auto lab the principle is the same for all of these settings it requires an overall technology problem-solving schema, accompanied by use and manipulation of tools, and spatial relation skills that very few girls bring with them to the classroom on day one in comparison to boys.

Lets look at some of the reasons why girls come to the STEM classroom with less of the core skills needed for success in this subject area. Overall, girls and boys play with different kinds of games in early childhood that provide different types of learning experiences. Most girls play games that emphasize relationships (i.e., playing house, playing with dolls) or creativity (i.e., drawing, painting). In contrast, boys play computer and video games or games that emphasize building (i.e., LEGO), both of which develop problem-solving, spatial-relationship and hands-on skills.

A study of gender differences in spatial relations skills of engineering students in the U.S. and Brazil found that there was a large disparity between the skills of female and male students. These studies attributed female students lesser skills set to two statistically significant factors: 1) less experience playing with building toys and 2) having taken less drafting courses prior to the engineering program. Spatial relations skills are critical to engineering. A gender study of computer science majors at Carnegie-Mellon University (one of the preeminent computer science programs in the country) found that, overall, male students come equipped with much better computer skills than female students. This equips male students with a considerable advantage in the classroom and could impact the confidence of female students.

Are these gender differences nature or nurture? There is considerable evidence that they are nurture. Studies show that most leading computer and video games appeal to male interests and have predominantly male characters and themes, thus it is not surprising that girls are much less interested in playing them. A study of computer games by Children Now found that 17% of the games have female characters and of these, 50% are either props, they tend to faint, have high-pitched voices, and are highly sexualized.

There are a number of studies that suggest that when girls and women are provided with the building blocks they need to succeed in STEM they will do as well if not better than their male counterparts. An Introductory Engineering Robotics class found that while males did somewhat better on the pre-test than females, females did as well as the males on the post-test following the classs completion.

Another critical area of gender difference that teachers of STEM should keep in mind has less to do with actual skills and experience and more to do with perceptions and confidence. For females, confidence is a predictor of success in the STEM classroom. They are much less likely to retain interest if they feel they are incapable of mastering the material. Unfortunately, two factors work against female confidence level: 1) most girls will actually have less experience with STEM course content than their male counterparts and 2) males tend to overplay their accomplishments while females minimize their own. A study done of Carnegie Mellon Computer Science PhD students found that even when male and female students were doing equally well grade wise, female students reported feeling less comfortable. Fifty-three percent of males rated themselves as highly prepared in contrast to 0% of females.

It is important to note that many of the learning style differences described above are not strictly gender-based. They are instead based on differences of students with a background in STEM, problem-solving, and hands-on skills learned from childhood play and life experience and those who havent had the same type of exposure. A review of the literature on minority students and STEM finds that students of color are less likely to have the STEM background experiences and thus are missing many of the same STEM building blocks as girls and have the same lack of confidence. Many of the STEM curriculum and pedagogy solutions that work for female students will also work for students of color for this reason.

Bridge Classes/Modules to Ensure Core Skills

Teachers will likely see a gap in the core STEM skills of female and minority students for the reasons described above. Below are some solutions applied elsewhere to ensure that girls and women (and students of color) will get the building block STEM skills that many will be missing.

Teachers in the Cisco Academy Gender Initiative study assessed the skill levels of each of their students and then provided them with individualized lesson plans to ensure their success that ran parallel to the class assignments. Other teachers taught key skills not included in the curriculum at the beginning of the course, such as calculating math integers and tool identification and use. Students were provided with additional lab time, staffed by a female teaching assistant, knowing that the female students would disproportionately benefit from additional hands-on experience.

Carnegie-Mellon University came to view their curriculum as a continuum, with students entering at different points based on their background and experience. Carnegie-Mellons new frame of a continuum is purposefully different than the traditional negative model in which classes start with a high bar that necessitates remedial tutoring for students with less experience, stigmatizing them and undermining their confidence. Below is a list of ideas and suggestions that will help ALL students to succeed in the STEM classroom.

1. Building Confidence

How do teachers build confidence in female students who often have less experience than their male counterparts and perceive they are behind even when they are not?

1) Practice-based experience and research has shown that ensuring female students have the opportunity to gain experience with STEM, in a supportive environment, will increase their confidence level.

2) Bringing in female role models that have been successful in the STEM field is another important parallel strategy that should be used to assist your female students in seeing themselves as capable of mastering STEM classes: if she could do it, then I can too!

3) Consistent positive reinforcement by STEM teachers of their female students, with a positive expectation of outcome, will assist them in hanging in there during those difficult beginning weeks when they have not yet developed a technology schema or hands-on proficiency and everything they undertake seems like a huge challenge.

2. Appealing to Female Interests

Many of the typical STEM activities for the classroom appeal to male interests and turn off girls. For example, curriculum in robots often involves monsters that explode or cars that go fast. Roboeducators observed that robots involved in performance art or are characterized as animals are more appealing to girls. Engineering activities can be about how a hair dryer works or designing a playground for those with disabilities as well as about building bridges. Teachers should consider using all types of examples when they are teaching and incorporating activities in efforts to appeal female and male interests. Teachers can also direct students to come up with their own projects as a way of ensuring girls can work in an area of significance to them.

Research also shows that there are Mars/Venus differences between the genders and how each engages in technology. Overall, girls and women are excited by how the technology will be used its application and context. Men will discuss how big the hard drive or engine is, how fast the processor runs, and debate the merits of one motherboard or engine versus another. These are topics that are, overall, of less interest to most females.

The Carnegie-Mellon Study took into account the differences of what engages female students and modified the Computer Science programs curriculum so that the context for the program was taught much earlier on in the semester and moved some of the more technical aspects of the curriculum (such as coding) to later in the semester. Authors observed that the female students were much more positive about getting through the tedious coding classes when they understood the purpose of it. Teachers should ensure that the context for the technology they are teaching is addressed early on in the semester by using real world stories and case studies to capture the interest of all of their students.

3. Group Dynamics in the Classroom

Research studies by American Association of University Women and Children Now have found that most females prefer collaboration and not competition in the classroom. Conversely, most males greatly enjoy competition as a method of learning and play. Many hands-on activities in technology classes are set up as competitions. Robotics for example, regularly uses competitiveness as a methodology of teaching. Teachers should be cognizant of the preference of many girls for collaborative work and should add-in these types of exercises to their classes. Some ways to do this are by having students work in assigned pairs or teams and having a team grade as well as an individual grade. (See Reading 2 on Cooperative Learning.)

Another Mars/Venus dynamic that STEM teachers should be aware of occurs in the lab there male students will usually dominate the equipment and females will take notes or simply watch. Overall, male students have more experience and thus confidence with hands-on lab equipment than their female counterparts. Teachers should create situations to ensure that their female students are spending an equal amount of time in hands-on activities. Some approaches have been: 1) to pair the female students only with each other during labs in the beginning of the class semester so that they get the hands-on time and their confidence increases, putting them in a better position to work effectively with the male students later on, 2) allot a specific time for each student in pair to use the lab equipment and announce when its time to switch and monitor this, and 3) provide feedback to male students who are taking over by letting them know that their partner needs to do the activity as well.

4. Moving Female Students from Passive Learners to Proactive Problem Solvers

The main skill in STEM is problem solving in hands-on lab situations. For reasons already discussed regarding a lack of experience, most girls dont come to STEM classes with these problem-solving skills. Instead, girls often want to be shown how to do things, repeatedly, rather than experimenting in a lab setting to get to the answer. Adding to this issue, many girls fear that they will break the equipment. In contrast, male students will often jump in and manipulate the equipment before being given any instructions by their teacher. Teachers can address this by such activities as: 1) having them take apart old equipment and put it together again, 2) creating scavenger hunt exercises that force them to navigate through menus, and 3) emphasizing that they are learning the problem solving process and that this is equally important to learning the content of the lesson and insisting that they figure out hands-on exercises on their own.

Research has also shown that females tend to engage in STEM activities in a rote, smaller picture way while males use higher order thinking skills to understand the bigger picture and the relationship between the parts. Again, moving female students (and the non-techsavvy student in general) to become problem solvers (versus just understanding the content piece of the STEM puzzle) will move them to use higher order thinking skills in STEM.

Finally, many teachers have reported that many female students will often want to understand how everything relates to each other before they move into action in the lab or move through a lesson plan to complete a specific activity. The female students try to avoid making mistakes along the way and will not only want to read the documentation needed for the lesson, they will often want to read the entire manual before taking any action. In contrast, the male student often needs to be convinced to look at the documentation at all. Boys are not as concerned with making a mistake a long the way as long as what they do ultimately works. The disadvantage for female students is that they often are so worried about understanding the whole picture that they dont move onto the hands-on activity or they dont do it in a timely fashion, so that they are consistently the last ones in the class to finish. Teachers can assist female (and non-tech-savvy) students to move through class material more quickly by providing instruction on how to quickly scan for only the necessary information needed to complete an assignment.

5. Role Models

Since the numbers of women in STEM are still small, girls have very few opportunities to see female role models solving science, technology, engineering or math problems. Teachers should bring female role models into the classroom as guest speakers or teachers, or visit them on industry tours, to send the message to girls that they can succeed in the STEM classroom and careers.

Bibliography

Medina, Afonso, Celso, Helena B.P. Gerson, and Sheryl A. Sorby. Identifying Gender Differences in the 3-D Visualization Skills of Engineering Students in Brazil and in the United States. International Network for Engineering Eucation and Research page. 2 August 2004: http://www.ineer.org/Events/ICEE/papers/193.pdf.

Milto, Elissa, Chris Rogers, and Merredith Portsmore. Gender Differences in Confidence Levels, Group Interactions, and Feelings about Competition in an Introductory Robotics Course. American Society for Engineering Education page. 8 July 2004: http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie2002/papers/1597.pdf.

Fair Play: Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games 2001. Children Now page. 19 August 2004: http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/.

Girls and Gaming: Gender and Video Game Marketing, 2000. Children Now page. 17 June 2004: http://www.childrennow.org/media/medianow/mnwinter2001.html.

Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age. District of Columbia: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2000.

Margolis, Jane and Allan Fisher. Unlocking the Computer Clubhouse: Women in Computer. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2003.

Taglia, Dan and Kenneth Berry. Girls in Robotics. Online Posting. 16 September 2004: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roboeducators/.

Cisco Gender Initiative. Cisco Learning Institute. 30 July 2004: http://gender.ciscolearning.org/Strategies/Strategies_by_Type/Index.html.

Donna Milgram is founder and Executive Director of the National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS). She is currently the Principal Investigator of the CalWomenTech Project, a $2 million National Science Foundation grant awarded in April 2006. She was also the Principal Investigator of the WomenTech Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, which had a goal of increasing the number of women enrolled and retained in technology education in three national community college demonstration sites. She led IWITTS's partnership with the Cisco Learning Institute (CLI)/Cisco Gender Initiative. Ms. Milgram produced the interactive teacher training video "School-to-Work: Preparing Young Women for High Skill, High Wage Careers."

Ms. Milgram's recent conference presentations include: the NSF ATE Conference "Recruiting Women to Science, Technology, Engineering & Math" (2004) and California Educating for Careers Conference in 2003.

Additional Resources:

http://www.iwitts.com/

http://www.womentechworld.org/

http://www.womentechstore.com/

Many changes have taken place in a span of half a century. During the 1950's, it was standard to have a garage that accommodates just one vehicle. More than 40% of the homes in that era have this common garage type. Meanwhile some have no garage at all.

Fast forward into the present years, over two - thirds of the new homes have, not just one but two car garages. Moreover, about 19% of the homes in the country have 3-car garages.

For most people, it was seen that the primary reason of their inclination towards 3-car garage plan is that the design offers substantial storage space. Aside from vehicles, large garages like 3-car garages can be used for storing garden and yard equipment, seasonal equipments for sports and recreation and others items.

As garages become larger, the new models like the 3-car garage plan have become quite sophisticated. People are finding extensive and elaborate built-in systems for shelving and storing things. There are also additional features like utility sinks, workshops, and other amenities.

Nowadays, most people are viewing the garage as an extension of their houses. Some buyers of a 3-car garage plan even tend to consider it as a second home and install cooling and heating features in the space to be cozier.

One amazing feature of the 3-car garage plan is that it allows enough space for builders to build a second floor like a "bonus room" which can be used for other functional purposes.

The bonus rooms are very much appreciated in areas of upscale homes because it provides a flexible space, which can be converted several times for any kind of function.

It can be used as a home office, kids' playroom, exercise room, extra bedroom, loft, servants' quarters or just plain extra storage area. The uses can be converted from time to time as need arises. The possibilities of these bonus rooms in 3-car garage plan are limitless.

Since it mainly offers extra space and extra amenities, besides, it is no wonder that the 3-car garage plan is quite trendy nowadays. It is clear that people like its options for flexible customization.

Making a 3-car garage plan, placing or building it is quite daunting. However, the builders have a standard action to place them beside the house rather than in front because of its prominence.

For tips on finding the right garage plan, visit http://www.garagedesignplans101.com

If youve ever thought about trying an online poker room as a place to play poker, now is the time to do it. A good online poker room now has the technology to provide you with action that is just as fast paced and exciting as what you can get a regular casino. However, there are also many advantages over a regular casino. First, you can play from the comfort of your own home. Second, you can play any time you want for as long as you want. There are games going 24 hours a day and there are always seats available.

You can find all of your favorite games at an online poker room and play for high or low stakes. You can also choose from limit, no limit, or pot limit tables. If youre relatively new to playing poker and want to learn before you gamble a good online poker room will let you play in free rooms where you can get pointers from professional players and hone your skills. Then when youre ready to risk some money at the tables you can play Texas Holdem for a while or try your luck at Omaha, Seven Card Stud, or any other game you choose.

If you like tournament play the online poker room will offer a wide variety of tournaments in both single and multi-table formats. There are different size buy-ins and prize pools to choose from and special prizes are often offered, like free entries to high dollar tournaments.

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Whether you are currently working at home or are seriously considering the possibility, setting up & properly maintaining your home office should be part of your overall plan. Don't make the mistake of overlooking the importance of a home-business friendly environment. It may even determine your level of success.

The following list constitutes some items that are of the utmost importance when setting up your home office. Many people often overlooked these when starting a home business.

LOCATION: Where you set up your home office will depend on your particular situation, but if at all possible use a spare room. Your best bet will be to set yourself off from the rest of the house in order to afford you some privacy. If this isn't an option in your home, try to find the next best place where this could be accomplished. You need not be totally secluded from all intrusions, but you'll want the option to be able to keep distractions to a minimum when necessary.

LIGHTING: If your office has a window you'll receive natural lighting during the day. But if you plan to work in the evening or you don't have the option of using a window, you will want to provide good artificial light that's friendly to the eyes. Special light fixtures and bulbs made just for reading are readily available and could make a world of difference for a few extra dollars. Whether you choose overhead fluorescent lights, desk lamps or another type of fixture, be sure your office has plenty of good lighting.

DESK: The best scenario here would be to have a nice, professional-type desk. That's not always possible, nor affordable, for many who are just starting out. If your work area will not permit it, or it's just not in the budget at the moment, do whatever you can with what you have available. In time you'll want to invest in a good desk with plenty of work and drawer space for your PC, files, supplies, etc. You don't have to spend a small fortune to upgrade. I've found a few solid models at second-hand shops that needed only minor touching up. Check with your local Salvation Army Thrift Shop or on Yahoo Groups Recycle lists for your area, as people often donate desks they no longer have a need for in their homes/offices.

CHAIR: It may not sound like a major thing, but if you sit at a desk for long periods of time (and you shouldn't do that anyway - take a five minute break every hour!) you'll want to invest in a good chair with support for your lower back. Once again, you can find some really good deals if you keep your eyes open for them. Also, be sure to replace your chair when the padding is worn or you may start experiencing increasing back pain over time.

SUPPLIES: Know beforehand what you are going to need to run your business smoothly and then always try to have them readily available. It is inevitable that at some point you are going to run out of that thing you forgot to pick up at the store at just the wrong time. Nothing defeats productivity more than having to stop mid-stream, go pick up supplies and then try to get started back on your project again.

ORGANIZATION: I know that no matter how well-organized an office starts out being, there are some people that are just not going to let it stay that way. They aren't, and never have been, organized themselves. With that said, do your best when setting up your office to keep organization in mind. Have the things you use often close by. Try to keep your files in the same location so that when you need to locate one, it's where its' supposed to be and you won't find yourself running all over the house looking for it.

As for filing, this can be the worst and most-dreaded (but necessary) part of office work. My best advice: keep up with it. Set aside one time-slot each week to do the filing, or any other type of paperwork drudgery that's necessary to keep it from piling up around you. Your job will be must easier in the long run.

PHONES: Depending on the type of business you have, the phone system you choose may not be a major issue. If you rely heavily on your telephone, find one with the functions you need. Likewise, if the phone is merely a source of interruption to you, then invest in a phone that offers a built-in messaging system. For many home business owners, a standard cordless phone is sufficient for their office also. A word to the wise: keep an "old-fashioned" corded phone on hand to use during power outages.

COMPUTER: If you rely on your computer for your home business, get the best one you can afford. It need not be expensive, but it MUST be reliable. If all that you can afford right now is a PC that's considered to be outdated & slow, so be it-as long as it won't cost you more money and time in repairs than you cannot afford while you're just starting your business. Old & slow is fine for the interim, but beaten & broken is not. You don't need major technical problems rearing their ugly heads while you're in the middle of a project. When you can work it into your budget, upgrade to something a little more current, but don't settle for something in the meantime that isn't reliable.

IN CONCLUSION: Most everything you have in your office, from your chair to the lights, will affect your productivity in some way. While staying within your budget, try to get good equipment and furniture. Keep in mind that many of these items can be purchased second-hand. Along that line, eBay is another option to keep in mind. (Tip: always check a seller's feedback rating before making a purchase online from someone you don't personally know to be reputable.)

Your office space should be user-friendly, comfortable and private. Whatever you do with the space you have set aside for your office, keep these things in mind and you'll be more productive over the long-term.

Copyright 2006 Craig Binkley

Craig Binkley is a husband, father and home business owner. Visit our Work From Home Directory located @ http://www.workfromhomehelper.com for legitimate work from home opportunities.

Mesothelioma - Symptoms and Solutions

Symptoms of Mesothelioma can be latent in the body for years. And even when the symptoms do become evident, the symptoms are so general that they can easily be misdiagnosed. The symptoms of this disease can even be confused with pneumonia during its early stages, making it difficult to diagnose. It is therefore important for patients to inform their doctor if they have been exposed to asbestos at any point

Types of Mesothelioma:

Pleural Mesothelioma and Peritoneal Mesothelioma are common forms of Mesothelioma. The rarest form of this disease is pericardial mesothelioma

What are some of the symptoms?

Shortness of breath and chest pains are common. This may be accompanied by a persistent cough. Those with Pleural Mesothelioma may also experience severe breathing difficulty, weight loss and fever as well as trouble swallowing and even swelling of the face and neck. Some patients may also develop a rasping voice and start coughing up blood. However, there are other patients that may not show any significant symptoms at all.

Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma can display abdominal pain and swelling, nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting. They can also suffer breathing problems, and chest pain.

Pericardial mesothelioma sufferers may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, persistent coughing and palpitations.

What causes this?

With Pleural Mesothelioma the build up of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity. This is known as pleural effusion. This type of the disease starts in the chest cavity and can then spread to other parts of the body.

In patients with peritoneal mesothelioma the disease starts in the abdomen and can spread from there. These symptoms result from tumours that lean against the abdominal wall. Bowel obstruction, anaemia, fever and problems with blood clotting may also affect peritoneal mesothelioma patients.

Pericardial Mesothelioma, starts in the cavity surrounding the heart. With pericardial mesothelioma, the tumours grow in the tissues that surround the heart and can spread from there.

For information on ways to treat Mesothelioma go to: http://www.topmesotheliomalawyer.com/Mesothelioma_Information.php

Caterina Christakos is a published author and internet publisher. Her background is in marriage and family counseling and law.

I was just leafing through some of my sales training tips that I place in articles and sales seminars.

One of them pertains to maintaining flow in conversations with the timely injection of transition phrases.

I use the example of a person you call who says right away, Im pretty busy right now.

You can offer to call back, politely say goodbye, or you can parry the statement with a transition such as: Well I appreciate that and Ill make it brief.

Your decision as to what strategy to employ will be informed to a major extent not by your personal style or even your training in using transitions, important as these considerations are.

Your strategy will be governed by the size of prospecting universe that youre phoning into.

Example: One of my clients is a large distributor of farm equipment in the Midwest. How many prospects can buy HUGE crop cultivation machines, or even tractors?

Not that many. Even the most eccentric New Yorker won't commute to work On a Deere, so market enlargement is, practically speaking, out of the question for combines and harvesters.

Farmers are your market, and with consolidation and the rapid disappearance of family spreads, there arent that many to call, so you had better cultivate strategies for keeping those folks you have on your short list on the phone, or otherwise interested in hearing from you.

On the other hand, if your prospecting base is relatively large, you may not have to parry or address objections, at all.

At the first hint of resistance, you can seek out the next set of ears.

Beware of sales training that is so doctrinaire that it implores you to ALWAYS do this or that.

Your particular marketing universe will, to a large extent, determine the tools you can use.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, (See: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932#) he is quoted often in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week. President of Clientrelations.com and Customersatisfaction.com, his seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities. Dynamic and fun, Gary brings over two decades of management and consulting experience to the table, with the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms. More than a talking head, Gary is a top mind that you'll enjoy working with. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com.

What are the characteristics of the Best Mlm Leads? This is a good question to ask before you spend any money buying leads to build your MLM business. Before we get to that let's take a look at why you would want to buy MLM leads in the first place.

Over the years the multi-level marketing business has gotten a black eye because of the over hyped promises of money and freedom. Very few people have ever achieved a high level of success in any MLM business. And even fewer have ever been able to maintain the level of achievements over a period of time.

That does not make MLM companies bad. Nor does it make the opportunities they afford the average person as a way to make extra money or even as a way to drastically change your lifetsyle. It can be done and using MLM leads is a great way to do it.

There are 2 big benefits to buying MLM leads.

1. It gets you away from approaching your friends and relatives. If you have been in more than one MLM business over the years you may have already approached them and used up your credibility when you were unsuccessful.

2. This is a duplicatible way to build your business that you can pass on to your downline. Any successful network marketing business will tell you that one of the main components of success is duplication. Anyone can buy leads and work them over the phone or thur the internet with the use of an autoresponder.

If you are unsure of how to work a lead over the phone I would suggest getting the book "Recruit Your Way To Millions" by Fred Stegge. After reading this book you will be able to explain what you do and what you offer to a new prospect in 30 seconds or less. http://www.team-schuman.com/recruit-your-way

If you are unsure of what an autoresponder is or how to use one read this article I wrote "How To Effectively Use An Autoresponder." This is an absolutely essential business tool if you are going to succeed online with your MLM business.

http://team-schuman.com/articles/article15.html

Now that you understand some of the benefits of buying MLM leads and how to market to them let's take a look at what are the characteristics of the Best MLM Leads.

1. How many times are the leads sold? Many MLM lead companies sell their leads over and over. You will be contacting a prospect that has already been marketed to. Personally I like eads that are exclusive to me.

2. How old are the leads? Would you rather contact a prospect that has expressed an interest in the past 48 hours or in the past 48 days. Being able to strike while the iron is hot so to speak is a great benefit of a fresh lead.

3. How many leads do you get for your money? Obviously the more leads you can get for the best price the more leads you can buy at a time. This is especially important when you are first starting or when you are helping your downline get started.

4. What is the quality of the lead? Nothing compares to a lead that contains both a phone number and email address along with a few qualifying answers to questions like "How much can you invest to get started" or "How soon do you want to get started" or When is the best time to contact you?" If a prospect is answering these type of questions you are getting a much better quality lead than if you just have a name and email address.

5. What is the response rate? This will improve as your skill level at working your leads improves, but the fresher higher quality leads will give you a better response rate even when your skill level is low.

6. Do your leads come with any extras such as an autoresponder, training on how to work leads, pre-written email marketing letters, phone scripts, your own website, flash presentations, etc.

These are the top qualities of the Best MLM Leads. Be careful when choosing a place to get your leads. Not all MLM Lead companies are created equal. It is going to be the single most important decision you make when trying to grow your MLM Business. Make the wrong choice and you will waste your time and money as well as the time and money of your downline. Make the right choice and you can be building your business successfully for years to come.

Copyright 2004 Jeff Schuman

About The Author

Jeff Schuman has made over $35 Million Dollars in sales in his 20 year sales and marketing career. His Best Mlm Leads website contains the best mlm leads companies available today. His Team-Schuman.com website contains the best make money, and make money online websites anyone can use to get started making money from the comfort of their own home.

http://www.team-schuman.com/bestmlmleads

http://www.team-schuman.com

Homework is a fact of life. If you have school-age children, youve probably found yourself doing math problems of helping with English essays. But parenting does not necessarily mean that youre stuck doing homework again. Although it is your duty to make sure your kids fulfil all their academic tasks, it's also your duty to instruct them on how to do it themselves; while you fade into the background as a supervisor. So don't get frustrated by all the cutting, researching, and solving; teach your children these simple steps.

1.Take a few minutes to relax. Although traditionally parents demand that the kids start working on their homework as soon as they get home, I have found that its not always the best alternative. School can be as stressful as a full time, demanding job, and like you, your child needs to relax before tackling the assignments. Just a few minutes will do; enough to eat, change clothes, and get organized.

2.Pick a good place. An adequate place is one with few distractions, great lighting and comfort. Make sure the temperature is comfortable; there is an appropriate chair and desk or comfy rugs and/or pillows. Access to a computer and printer are also necessary. Also, avoid changing places after youve found one that works.

3.Get your materials ready. In order to keep from having to get up every few minutes to fetch one thing or the other, make sure the chosen study spot has a decent supply of everything like pencils, pens, crayons, markers, erasers, sharpeners, ruled paper, white paper, calculator, etc. I always suggest to students that it might be a good idea to also have a snack readily at hand (something that wont make a mess, though), that way you wont have to interrupt your work because you have the munchies. Be sure to have all books, notebooks and other documents with you before you begin.

4.Keep an agenda or homework guide. Relying on your memory might not always be a good idea. Make sure you have a specific place to write down all your upcoming assignments. It will save you a lot of trouble, time and unnecessary phone calls.

5.Take a break. Few children are able to concentrate on homework for hours at a time. Usually a short 10 minute break between assignments can be relaxing and invigorating.

Overall, teach your kids to take advantage of their study time by making it a calm, stress-free experience. Your goal is to help them become independent and responsible students.

Dinorah Blackman-Williams has been a teacher for 16 years. She lives in Panama with her husband and preschooler Imani. Dinorah is currently working on her second book. Her first book can be previewed and purchased at http://www.lulu.com/blackman

A frightening eating disorder is sweeping the diabetic population according to recent medical reports. Coined Diabulimia, this is a psychological condition affecting an estimated one third of diabetic women, including nearly half a million women in the US. These women, who need to take insulin regularly to survive, are skipping insulin injections in an attempt to lose weight.

Determining the exact number of women affected is tricky as most diabulimics are unlikely to admit to skipping insulin injections whilst they are actually in the habit of doing so, but it is clear that this is a growing phenomenon.

Many people believe word is spreading via internet message boards and chat rooms, where existing diabulimics are encouraging more and more women to lose weight by not taking their required insulin doses. Although the practise of losing weight by skipping insulin injections in not a new one, it seems to have grown out of control with the advent of the internet.

- So how does missing insulin shots result in weight loss?

Skipping insulin injections can cause diabetics to lose weight rapidly in a number of ways:

a. They are not getting any calories from the food they are consuming as there is no insulin to break down sugars and transport them to the bodys cells.
b. Very high blood sugar levels can cause muscle breakdown resulting in weight loss.
c. Excessive urinating caused by high blood sugar could result in dehydration which also leads to weight loss.

- The risks for diabulimics are extremely high

For a diabetic who is dependant on insulin shots, missing their medication can be extremely dangerous. The risks range from kidney and heart disease, to nerve damage resulting in blindness or amputations. Missing vital insulin injections can ultimately increase the risk of a coma and even death.

Matt Hunt, Science Information Manager from the research charity Diabetes UK made the following statement:

This eating disorder is extremely dangerous. Blood glucose that is too high for too long can cause serious complications, with diabetes being the leading cause of blindness amongst the working population in this country. Cardiovascular disease can also result from long periods of insulin abuse as well as kidney disease and nerve damage.

- Do you think someone you know may be diabulimic?

If someone you know is skipping insulin injections in order to lose weight you may notice the following symptoms.

1. They have low energy levels and excess fatigue
2. They are going to the toilet more frequently than usual
3. They are eating more than usual but still losing weight

Always encourage someone that you know is skipping insulin injections to get professional help. This is a psychological disorder, and although it may seem illogical to you to risk serious health issues just to be slim, it may not seem that way to the diabulimic.

- Balancing the fear of being fat against the fear of critical illness

Those suffering from Diabulimia are often aware of the potential damage they could do by skipping their insulin, but their worries about this are far outweighed by their fear of being fat. The weight loss that results from missing insulin shots is almost immediate and visible, the damage being done to the body is less obvious, occurs more gradually, and is easier to ignore.

Many people suffering from this disorder start small, perhaps missing just a couple of injections to fit into a particular dress for a big night out. Before they know it they may be missing most of their shots, taking just enough stay alive. They reason that they will begin to take their medication again once they are thin enough, but somehow, no matter how much weight they lose, they never believe they are thin enough.

Although gradual weight loss can be very positive for overweight diabetics, enabling them to control their blood sugar more effectively, missing insulin shots is never a good way to lose weight. Although diabulimia is not currently an officially recognized medical condition, it is as serious an eating disorder as anorexia or bulimia and it affects a frighteningly large number of diabetic women.

Lisa Janse is a professional writer specializing in health topics. Learn more about living with Diabetes by reading more practical and interesting facts about Diabetes Diets and Diabetes Type 2 at http://www.sugardiabetes.net

Nowadays, there isnt a home without a DVD player, but one of the latest and coolest ways to electronically enhance your life is installing one into your car! Car DVD players come in all different varieties and prices, but even the cheapest ones will send you into movie viewer heaven!

Steps:

1. Look for a car DVD player that you can afford. Car DVD players can be simple or very extravagant. Portable units that sit between the seats and plug into the cigarette lighter are generally more reasonable as opposed to a full-blown in-car theater system (from $100 to $3,000 and more).

2. Most people who are looking to add electronics to their vehicle will want to future-proof their purchase by choosing car DVD players. Anything else that is not as advanced will simply be outdated.

3. Inspect your car for the best place to install a car DVD player. You'll want your car DVD player to take advantage of the best-quality inputs available.

4. Bring a DVD with you when you shop. There are three competing, incompatible formats: DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. Even if a player says it takes your format, make sure to test it.

5. Buy an all-in-one car DVD player or individual components if your budget is small (under $250) and your needs are simple. An all-in-one unit includes a videocassette player (VCP) or a DVD player, speaker and screen.

6. Component systems tap into your vehicle's stereo and pipe sound directly to headphones for quiet viewing. Most high-end car stereo retailers carry these systems. Choose a component system ($400 and up) where a single video source can run several screens, usually liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). The car DVD player screens can pop out of the dashboard, drop down from the car's ceiling or mount in headrests.

7. Make sure any component system is expandable, so you can adjust your system in the future for more or different screens and input devices.

8. A diversity antenna, also known as a dual-antenna, is used for better TV reception when the car is moving and is recommended.

9. Making sure that your vehicle's electrical system can handle the demands of a mobile entertainment system is very important. You may need a professional installer to determine this for you.

10. Remember that the audio encoding-Dolby Digital or digital theater system (DTS)-on the DVD itself is critical.

Tips: Car DVD players can also play audio CDs. If you burn CDs on your computer, bring along a homemade disc to test it.

-A laptop computer with a DVD drive can serve as an entertainment system for smaller cars with one viewer. Mobile entertainment systems are theft targets. Invest in a good car alarm.

Warnings: Front-seat viewing is illegal, not to mention idiotic while a car is in motion. Make sure to install your car DVD player in a proper place!

Daniel Urmann is a contributor and author for the website Just Car DVD Players.