Confronting Pain - HealthLeaders Media

Physical pain is beginning to define America. Back pain. Knee pain. Spinal disorders. Headaches. Arthritis. Shingles. Migraines. Pain can be here today, gone tomorrow, or a constant presence, gnawing, clawing, endless. Whether sporadic or chronic, pain prompts patients to move from physician to physician, hospital to hospital, seeking the elixir, the magic cure, the one last surgery, even for some tentative relief.<br /><br><br /><br>In fact, pain is the most common reason patients visit doctors, hospitals, and health systems. The pain condition is so ingrained that it is dubbed the fifth vital sign by <br /><br>medical professionals.<br /><br><br /><br>As such, pain represents a flourishing patient market for healthcare. Hospitals are creating pain management centers with a focus on chronic and acute pain, relying on interventional and multidisciplinary procedures targeting long-term pain.<br /><br><br /><br>Pain impacts more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined, and costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost productivity, according to a 2011 Institute of Medicine report brief. Hospitals are responding to the booming pain market by focusing on various aspects of care. For hospitals, a key strategy is structuring their pain programs, from evaluating acute and chronic pain, to providing psychological evaluation if needed and patient education.<br /><br><br /><br>Hospitals also recognize the need to improve pain management outcomes to improve patient satisfaction scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The HCAHPS survey, which is linked to CMS payments, asks patients about pain management.<br /><br><br /><br>Patient pain management is a "big part of patient satisfaction," says Thomas A. Mathew, MD, an internal medicine physician and hospitalist at the 1,100-licensed-bed Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del., which has seen significant growth the past two years in pain management.<br /><br><br /><br>For years, its pain management program was part of its palliative care program, but the growth in patients who presented with pain as a complaint prompted the system to create a multidisciplinary team specializing in pain care, including anesthesiologists and interventional radiologists, Mathew says. Over time, pain management has overtaken palliative care.<br /><br><br /><br>The 1,158-licensed-bed Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis expanded the size of its Washington University Pain Management Center from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet to accommodate a growing patient population. In the meantime, it restructured its pain program into two areas, concentrating on chronic and cancer pain in the one area and acute perioperative pain in the other. The Pain Management Center is part of the hospital's Center for Advanced Medicine, and it includes outpatient and inpatient programs.<br /><br><br /><br> "We recently moved to a larger facility because of a growing need, with more and more patients to be seen and procedures to be done. You compare year-to-year and month-to-month, and those numbers are going up steadily," says Michael Bottros, MD, director of acute pain service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Washington University Pain Management Center. "We are seeing a variety of patients, from those with head and neck pain to low back pain to postsurgical pain."<br /><br><br /><br>The organization intends to offer pain care for a multitude of service lines. "If you improve patient management, you also indirectly improve everything else," Bottros says. "It has a rippling effect. With service lines such as oncology or surgery, pain is a factor in all of them. It's a common underlying feature. We are ensuring that appropriate pain care paths are developed for the patient based on the condition and the type of surgery they've had."<br /><br><br /><br>At the 907-bed Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the number of pain patients has increased steadily, from 600 per month in 2007 to more than 1,000 this year. At least 70% are seeking treatment for spine-related pain: chronic low back pain, spinal stenosis, and herniated disks, says Chris Gilligan, MD, MBA, director of the center for pain medicine at MGH. As many as 30% of the patients are treated for other pain conditions, such as musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, shingles, and cancer-related conditions.<br /><br><br /><br>With increasing numbers of patients needing pain care, MGH has tried to make treatment more efficient, Gilligan says. For instance, back pain patients are admitted to the hospital's emergency department observation unit instead of an inpatient floor, as had been done previously. Consequently, patient length of stay in the hospital has been reduced, he adds.<br /><br><br /><br>"In the observation unit, we perform pain service consults in a very timely fashion," Gilligan says. "If we need imaging and/or injection, they happen quickly and we can reduce length of stay substantially compared to regular hospital admission."<br /><br><br /><br>Hospital pain treatment centers are becoming more prominent, especially since many general practitioners are reluctant to become involved in pain management because of their concerns about increased law enforcement scrutiny and widespread misuse of prescription drugs, says Tiffany Meert, chief operating officer of the Northern Nevada Medical Center, a 55-staffed-bed facility in Sparks, Nev. Those concerns have prompted the hospital to become involved in a partnership with a physician group to oversee pain management, she says.<br /><br><br /><br>Accidental drug overdoses that result in deaths have been rampant across the country. "It's a huge problem," says Gilligan of MGH<br /><br><br /><br>Mathew, the Christiana Care physician, says it is essential for healthcare leadership to overcome obstacles like potential drug overdoses to improve pain management. Pain care itself is "one of the biggest opportunities for improvement in medicine in healthcare, and the place where we just don't have adequate rules in the game because everybody's perception of pain is different and what the <br /><br>expectations are."<br /><br><br /><br>Success key No. 1: Dealing with prescription drugs<br /><br><br /><br>Arnold Feldman, MD, a longtime interventional pain specialist in Baton Rouge, La., didn't want to be associated with the word pain. Indeed, he removed the word from his practice sign several years ago and replaced it simply with "The Feldman Institute." While he continues to treat patients afflicted with pain, specializing in interventional pain management outpatient procedures, he wants to distance his practice from less scrupulous providers.<br /><br><br /><br>Law enforcement, especially the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is increasingly scrutinizing physicians because of so-called drug or pill mills, physician practices that overprescribe powerful drugs that are linked to the abuse of painkillers. Opioid analgesics—including morphine, oxycodone, and methadone—are among the prescription drugs most often linked to abuse.<br /><br><br /><br>Drug overdose death rates in the United States have more than tripled since 1990, "and have never been higher," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly three in four prescription drug overdoses are caused by opioid pain relievers, the CDC states. The misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers was responsible for more than 475,000 ED visits in 2009, a number that nearly doubled in five years.<br /><br><br /><br>"[Law enforcement] are scrutinizing doctors like crazy," Feldman says. "We don't want to be associated with drug or narcotics mills." Law enforcement's focus has prompted many primary care physicians to shy away from prescribing pain pills at all. "Family doctors used to treat people with pain," he explains. "They will not anymore. One of the reasons is poor education about opioids and the fear of government scrutiny and prosecution."<br /><br><br /><br>Hospitals, too, are specifically organizing pain treatment programs not only to relieve pain but also to coordinate care that thwarts potential abuses. The American Medical Association has called for a multidisciplinary clinical approach to the treatment of chronic pain with a focus on responsible prescribing of opioids. Physicians, hospitals, and health systems also are touting nondrug therapies and integrative approaches to treat pain without narcotics.<br /><br><br /><br>The government has taken steps to assist hospitals in overcoming problems with opioids. The Joint Commission, for instance, issued a Sentinel Event Alert that urges hospitals to take specific steps to prevent serious complications or even deaths from opioids. A growing number of states are enacting policies that promote the delivery of effective pain management, according to an American Cancer Society Action Network report.<br /><br><br /><br>Pain treatment programs are focusing on medication reconciliation as a key element in helping to improve treatment of patients and combat overprescribing of drugs. Such programs are often linked to sophisticated electronic medical records that keep tabs on patient usage of drugs and physician prescribing.<br /><br><br /><br>"We have made a huge effort in our center the past several years to have our medication reconciliation be more effective," says Gilligan of MGH. Under the protocol, patients are evaluated and educated about the impact of their medications. The dosages and the responses are registered in medical records. The medical record indicates what medication is appropriate and what interventions are needed.<br /><br><br /><br>"Every single time, someone goes over what medications [patients] are taking, what those medications do, and this is done even before the doctor sees them, and [the doctor] again goes over it all," Gilligan says. As they leave the hospital, patients review a summary report. The physicians are monitored, too. If a physician makes a mistake related to the dosage ordered, "the EMR triggers a response. It isn't perfect, but it greatly reduces the chances for errors."<br /><br><br /><br>General practitioners and nurses aren't the only team members involved in medication reconciliation, Gilligan says. "If a patient has behavioral or mental health issues, and not just the chronic pain, there are people on staff to deal with that—psychologists and psychiatrists. The psychiatrists have additional training in pain and substance abuse." Neurologists also are included in the pain unit, he says.<br /><br><br /><br>Barnes-Jewish Hospital routinely updates prescribers, interns, residents, and nurse practitioners in the hospital about patients' medications, especially for those patients transferred from one area of the hospital to another. With its medical record, the hospital's pain management center coordinates medication the patients take in the home and hospital.<br /><br><br /><br>Barnes-Jewish Hospital also implemented the Pasero Opioid-induced Sedation Scale to improve assessment of opioid medication administration in non-ICU inpatient nursing units. "A lot of us are moving away from opioids as a frontline therapy," says Bottros. "We have a system-based approach."<br /><br><br /><br>Physicians in pain management programs are increasingly striking a balance between ordering proper medications and trying to ward off potential drug abuses, the American Cancer Society Action Network has found.<br /><br><br /><br>"Keeping the patients' perspective and needs in focus is extremely important in prescribing painkillers," says David Woodmansee, associate director for state and local campaigns for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "That is the essence of balance."<br /><br><br /><br>Success key No. 2: Treating children's pain<br /><br><br /><br>While many hospitals are launching programs primarily to help adult patients cope with pain, others are focusing on children, especially cancer patients. A major concern is that younger children may have trouble communicating the extent of their pain, making diagnosis and treatment difficult. And, too often, physicians and hospitals lack expertise in providing proper medication and integrative or nonpharmacological therapies for children in pain, says Stefan Friedrichsdorf, MD, medical director of pain medicine, palliative care, and integrative medicine at the 381-staffed-bed Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in Minneapolis.<br /><br><br /><br>An independent, not-for-profit healthcare system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 children inpatient visits and more than 300,000 emergency room and other outpatient clinic visits every year. By establishing a specific pain management program, the hospital <br /><br>has added protocols that have resulted in improved outcomes and reduced length of stay for its patients, says Friedrichsdorf. The multidisciplinary team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and massage therapists. The pain management program has increased its volume of patients in each of the past several years, from a total of 1,117 children seen in 2008 to 1,440 in 2012.<br /><br><br /><br>Focusing on patient management has resulted in savings and reduced lengths of stay. One of the most significant efforts was establishing an advanced analgesia-sedation protocol for babies and children who had undergone open heart surgery. In pediatric circles, it is known that pediatric sedation requires a balance between risk and procedures. Studies have shown that the demand for procedural sedation for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is increasing.<br /><br><br /><br>Hospitals must establish proper protocols to provide safe and high-quality sedation. The Minneapolis analgesia-sedation protocol has resulted in reduced length of stay from eight to seven days, and it intubated children four hours earlier, despite the fact that the children were considered generally "sicker" from their cardio scores, according to Friedrichsdorf.<br /><br><br /><br>In the cardiovascular ICU, process improvements also meant workflow changes, he adds. Adjustments were made to team roundings, such as the requirement that twice each day—from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.—a team nurse, respiratory therapist, intensivist, cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, pharmacist, and pain physician round on every patient. If a rounding occurs at a cardiac ICU, a cardiac intensivist is involved.<br /><br><br /><br>The hospital's readmission rate within seven days, for any condition, was as low as 3.5% from January to December of 2012, which is notable when compared to 24 other children's hospitals, the lowest of which had a readmission rate of 4.1%, according to the Pediatric Health Information System, a database operated by the Alexandria, Va.–based Children's Hospital Association. Generally, Children's of Minnesota has "sent their patients home faster and that drives up satisfaction for the patients and their parents," Friedrichsdorf says.<br /><br><br /><br>Managing children's pain at hospitals across the country has been erratic, in part because of uncertainty among physicians in providing proper doses of medication for pain, says Friedrichsdorf. By not incorporating multidisciplinary teams to focus on children's pain needs, hospitals are coming up short for children, especially for those with acute chronic pain, he adds.<br /><br><br /><br>"Most children's hospitals are not even implementing the basic principles of acute or chronic pain management," he says. Among the places where these principles should be applied are in children with acute pain, postoperative pain, and cancer pain, after open-heart surgery and orthopedic procedures, and for chronic pain, such as abdominal and musculoskeletal pain.<br /><br><br /><br>"Children with cancer pain, they probably receive too little medication, and pediatric patients with chronic pain and headaches probably get too much," Friedrichsdorf says. "It's quite easy to prescribe strong medication and say, 'I'll see you in two weeks.' These kids need physical therapy and normalized lives. We extubate the children when they are admitted to our hospital and they receive advanced pain management. This is a business model that hospital leadership can get behind."<br /><br><br /><br>Success key No. 3: Comanaging pain<br /><br><br /><br>A pain management specialist looked around the Nevada desert and noticed it lacked more than water: There weren't many pain doctors around.<br /><br><br /><br>"Over the past few years, there has been only one pain management doctor for every 10,000 patients who come in for pain treatment," observes Denis Patterson, DO, now medical director of Northern Nevada Medical Center's Pain Management Center. "There's definitely a need for pain management, a huge need really, and pain management is very much underutilized in the community."<br /><br><br /><br>Patterson and his physician group were eager to establish protocols in a niche market, especially for patients who were clamoring for lower back pain care. The doctors reached a comanagement agreement with Northern Nevada Medical Center. Both physicians and hospital representatives comprise the leadership team that oversees pain management programs at the hospital's Pain Management Center.<br /><br><br /><br>"At the Pain Management Center, our goal is to return patients to a maximum level of functioning and independence by identifying the source pain and using advanced techniques to reduce the level of pain and suffering," says Patterson.<br /><br><br /><br>For the Northern Nevada Medical Center, teaming up with the physicians group was a good fit. The hospital was known in the community for its orthopedics program and had launched an outpatient rehabilitation and sports medicine unit, "which has been a fast-growing program," explains Meert, the hospital's COO. "Opening a pain management center was a natural fit for our continuum of care and for the population we serve," she says.<br /><br><br /><br>The comanagement program allows the hospital to have "highly respected, fellowship-trained pain management physicians at Nevada Advanced Pain Specialist to comanage quality outcomes and indicators as well as program enhancement and efficiency," Meert says. The hospital "invested capital" in the pain management program, especially with added imaging equipment and surgical staff. Within a year, the hospital began to recoup its investment by especially focusing on patients with lower back pain, she says, adding that "so many patients were in need." It was important that the hospital focus on "enhanced quality," Meert says. "It's a constant state of education."<br /><br><br /><br>More than 50% of patients report having knee pain, and when combining that statistic with those reporting low back and neck pain, that represents 85% of patients, according to Patterson. The hospital's pain management program is comanaged by the Northern Nevada Medical Center and a physicians group, the Reno-based Nevada Advanced Pain Specialists, which specializes in stroke, knee replacement, hip replacement, and spine surgery. The program received the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for low back pain.<br /><br><br /><br>At the Pain Management Center, patients undergo an evaluation that may include x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging scans, or nerve studies to find the specific disk, nerve root, joint, or tendon causing pain. After a physician identifies the source of pain, he or she may use image-guided techniques to deliver steroids, burn nerve endings, or perform other targeted therapies at the precise area causing pain.<br /><br><br /><br>The physicians group initiated the working relationship with the hospital after seeing the great need for pain care in the Sparks and Reno area of Nevada, say Meert and Patterson. Too often, primary care physicians lack knowledge about pain management, Patterson says. "Part of what we do is educating primary care doctors what patient management is, and that what we are trying to do is in the best interest of the patient."<br /><br><br /><br>With the comanagement arrangement, the hospital expanded staff, particularly surgery and imaging. Like other pain management programs, the staff includes therapists and acupuncturists. Physicians have increased referrals for patient care, Patterson says. The message to physicians is: "If it hurts, send them." Once patients are examined, "that allows us to triage them, work up a program, and see what's happening."<br /><br><br /><br>For both the hospital and the physicians, it's a good working relationship that allows for more patients into the program and reciprocal incentives for the medical group, Patterson says. The hospital reduces overhead costs for physicians, who bring patients to the facility. "It's nice," he says. "It lowers my overhead and they have a center where we can see patients. In return, we do a lot of cases at the hospital, and the hospital gets a facility fee. They make a profit in the end, and they have supplies for us."<br /><br><br /><br>The comanagement program involves leadership from both the physicians group and the hospital, Patterson says. It includes the physician partners and the hospital's CFO and CEO. "It's a win-win situation in the sense [that this is] an underutilized field," he says.<br /><br><br /><br>Success key No. 4: Pain management satisfaction<br /><br><br /><br>At Massachusetts General Hospital, daily meetings include physicians and administrative staff who review data and results from HCAHPS surveys, which score how patients say the hospital managed their pain. How often was the patient's pain well controlled during the hospital stay? Did the staff do everything they could to help patients with their pain?<br /><br><br /><br>MGH officials believe the hospital hasn't scored quite as well as it should, says Gilligan, the pain management director, even though the patients' perception about the hospital's level of care surrounding pain issues is consistently at or above the state average. "I think we score consistently low on that," he says. Most recently, in a survey of 300 patients from 2011 to 2012, 72% of patients reported that the pain was well controlled, which is comparable to the state average of 72%, and above the national average of 71%, according to Hospital Compare.<br /><br><br /><br>Gilligan says the hospital would score much higher if it weren't "very conservative with using narcotics for noncancer pain." Some patients say the hospital "doesn't listen to me" when they ask for more powerful drugs, he says. Still, the hospital's pain management center maintains its conservative approach.<br /><br><br /><br>Other hospital officials acknowledge that they, too, would get better satisfaction scores if they catered more to patients' requests for more drugs to relieve their pain. "To get great patient outcome scores, a lot of patients might say, 'Give me more drugs,' right?" notes Patterson of the Northern Nevada Medical Center. "It's a juggling act. I want to make sure the patients who are coming in are not just doctor shopping or trying to get drugs," he adds.<br /><br><br /><br>"That's a hard part of pain management. Could I get better patient satisfaction scores if I gave more opioids?" Patterson asks, perhaps rhetorically. "But after all, at the end of the day, I've got to do what's medically appropriate; I've got to sleep at night."<br /><br><br /><br>At the hospital, Patterson says, "I think we have a reputation as the strictest in town. The 'drug-seeking patients,' they'll come in for easy meds. They say, 'No offense, you're too strict. I'll go somewhere else.' " He tells the patients, "Hey, good luck. Let me help you out the door."<br /><br><br /><br>Hospital procedures themselves cause pain. Each year, hospitals perform about 10 million inpatient surgeries and 17 million outpatient surgeries, all of which require pain management.<br /><br><br /><br>So how does a hospital improve its patient satisfaction scores when it comes to pain management? Within the past year, Barnes-Jewish Hospital has made inroads in patient satisfaction score improvements through changed protocols, especially involving anesthesiologists in a revised process of care, says Bottros.<br /><br><br /><br>It is important that pain management is developed for the appropriate pain condition and the type of surgery a patient has had. The hospital has made "simple" rather than drastic changes to improve patient satisfaction scores, Bottros says. Barnes-Jewish Hospital has anesthesiologists in a leadership role in pain management, which has been important for postoperative care and postoperative pain control.<br /><br><br /><br>"There's a growing trend for anesthesiologists to show their worth as perioperative physicians, not just in the operating room but in preoperative assessment and planning. It is using anesthesiologists in a more robust fashion," Bottros says.<br /><br><br /><br>The hospital focuses on consistent pain management, implementing a multidisciplinary team focus, with an emphasis on communication and proper protocols. For instance, the team consistently paces the use of epidurals for pain associated with surgeries, and acetaminophen is used, not just the <br /><br>narcotics. It's important that the nursing staff consistently communicates with patients about their pain, and that message is directed to physicians.<br /><br><br /><br>The Barnes-Jewish Hospital has found ways to improve patient satisfaction scores dealing with pain. "In a very short time, the scores have increased robustly," Bottros says. In scores from patients who had gynecological surgery, patient satisfaction scores improved from 67% to 85% in two months in early 2013, he says.<br /><br><br /><br>Bottros noted that pain is sometimes difficult to control following surgery in orthopedics cases, such as knee replacement or hip pain. Yet those patient satisfaction scores also increased, from 55% to 83% for knee surgery, and 78% to 94% for hip surgery from September 2012 to April 2013.<br /><br><br /><br>Among colorectal surgical patients, for instance, patient satisfaction scores increased from 66% to 83.3% within the same six-month period, he says. "The only thing we changed is that we made sure the care path includes epidurals for perioperative pain, as well as other adjutant therapies."<br /><br><br /><br>In another area, knee replacement—where hospitals often have had difficulty achieving good scores among patients following surgery—the hospital's pain satisfaction scores jumped significantly from 55.4% to 83.3% from September 2012 to April 2013.<br /><br><br /><br>Because the reported improved patient satisfaction scores covered only a short period of time, Bottros concedes it's not a large, long-term sample. But he says the increased scores reflect the hospital's inroads into pain management and relief for patients.<br /><br><br /><br>"We try to ensure that we don't just stick to one particular technique," especially for postoperative pain management, he says. "For some surgeries, like abdominal, we use epidurals in combination with adjuvant medications such as IV acetaminophen or ketorolac, a nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug," he adds. "For other surgeries, we use IV PCA [intravenous patient-controlled analgesia] in combination with adjuvant medications such as acetaminophen."<br /><br><br /><br>Patient attitudes about how hospitals control their pain is impacted by their perception of how the staff listens to them and cares about how they feel, with communication a key, Bottros says.<br /><br><br /><br>"I think in today's society, patients are a little less stoic than they might have been in the 1950s. Today people are more open to discussing their pain. Today patients are a lot more vocal about their problems and more vocal about their complaints," he says.<br /><br><br /><br>"If you improve pain management, you are also indirectly improving other aspects of patient satisfaction," Bottros says. "If a patient is happy with pain control, it does impact other scores as well."<br /><br><br /><br>Years ago, physicians were taught that pain control was "a symptom of some underlying disease, and as pain becomes more and more prevalent, and more chronic, that pain becomes a disease in itself," Bottros says. "We have started thinking outside the box a little bit, stopped trying to search for that elusive Pandora's Box, and now we're trying to accommodate patients."<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/print/MAG-296072/Confronting-Pain">http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/print/MAG-296072/Confronting-Pain</a>

Confronting Pain - HealthLeaders Media

Physical pain is beginning to define America. Back pain. Knee pain. Spinal disorders. Headaches. Arthritis. Shingles. Migraines. Pain can be...

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Workers getting paid like its 1989

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s1600/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s320/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Employment might be up slightly, but salaries aren’t. Despite more people going back to work, American families are continuing to struggle and, according to a </span><a href="http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb13-165.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">new U.S. Census Bureau report</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><u><span style="color: blue;">,</span></u></span> are now making less than they did in 1989 when adjusted for inflation.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As Neil Irwin of The Washington Post pointed out, 24 years ago the median U.S. household made $51,681 in current dollars, compared to $51,017 in 2012. So despite employment gains, the situation remains dire. And </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/17/the-typical-american-family-makes-less-than-it-did-in-1989/?print=1" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the drop in salary can’t just be blamed on the last recession</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, he said:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This isn’t a lost decade for economic gains for Americans. It is a lost generation.</span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why has that happened? Well one would have to be blind not to see that a </span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">drop in union membership</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> has had a major impact. In 1983, 20.1 percent of workers belonged to union. That number fell to 11.3 percent last year. </span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130513.htm" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Union jobs bring higher salaries</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. It’s not hard to understand.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Of course, the desire to pay lower wages is why groups such as the </span><a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">American Legislative Exchange Council</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (ALEC) and their corporate buddies have pushed for the implementation of no-rights-at-work laws in many states across the country. They know a good deal (for them) when they see it. So they wine-and-dine state lawmakers and spend millions to pass laws that hinder worker’s organizing efforts.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another big reason is the enactment of the </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/search?q=NAFTA&max-results=20&by-date=true"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">North American Free Trade Agreement and other so-called “free” trade deals</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. While American workers were promised more jobs and improved wages, they didn’t get either. All the benefits went to big business.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The result is while corporate profits continue to soar, nothing is trickling down to average workers. Three years into an economic recovery, they haven’t recovered a thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/2012-poverty-income-health-insurance-data_b_3943458.html?view=screen" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Former Obama administration economist Jared Bernstein</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> said:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, the economy has expanded over these past few years, but to use a seasonal analogy, today’s report is yet another piece of evidence that this growth has once again done an end run around middle and lower income households on the way to the top of the scale.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> So where do workers go from here? Just follow what thousands of them have been doing in recent months at America’s ports, fast food chains and big-box retailers. They are saying enough is enough and walking off the job. They are taking a stand for fair wages, better working conditions and the right to organize. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s the path for a good job and more money in their pocket.</span></div>

ALEC Nafta union busting wage stagnation Workers getting paid like its 1989

Employment might be up slightly, but salaries aren’t. Despite more people going back to work, American families are continuing to struggle...

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Senior Reference Librarian and Instruction Coordinator - Fairfield University Library

<strong>Senior Reference Librarian and Instruction Coordinator - </strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Fairfield University Library</span></strong></strong>. We invite applications from creative, flexible, self-motivated librarians with a strong public services commitment and a vision and enthusiasm for teaching and technology to join collegial team. The successful candidate will be hired at the Librarian II level. The position may include occasional evening and weekend hours. Responsibilities: Provides dynamic leadership in the development, implementation, promotion, and assessment of the Library’s instruction program. Creates and maintains web-based and print instructional resources. Provides Reference Desk coverage. Participates in the Library Liaison program. Requirements: MLS from ALA accredited program. Two or more years professional academic reference department experience required. Teaching experience using active learning techniques and demonstrated ability to plan user education programs. Demonstrated technological competencies. Must be self-directed, well organized, and able to meet deadlines and multiple demands. Demonstrated ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, with a variety of audiences. Flexibility, creativity, energy, and ability to work in a changing environment, and with colleagues in a goal-oriented library team. Highly Desirable: Innovative application of web-based tools and software in the design and delivery of instruction. Second Master’s degree in a related field. To Apply: Submit letter of application, resume, and telephone numbers/e-mail addresses of three references to JoAnn Garrity, Administrative assistant, DiMenna-Nyselius Library, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT 06824-5195, or directed electronically to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:librarian@fairfield.edu" href="mailto:librarian@fairfield.edu">librarian@fairfield.edu</a>. Preference given to applications received by <span style="color: red;">October 11, 2013</span>. Fairfield University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. The salary exceeds the Connecticut Library Association minimum.

Senior Reference Librarian and Instruction Coordinator - Fairfield University Library

Senior Reference Librarian and Instruction Coordinator - Fairfield University Library . We invite applications from creative, flexible, sel...

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Circulation Coordinator - Stafford Library

<strong>Circulation Coordinator -</strong> <strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Stafford Library</span></strong></strong> is seeking an energetic, customer service oriented Circulation Coordinator. Major duties include ensuring the smooth operation of circulation services, providing customer service to library users, scheduling staff, acting as the circulation liaison between the library and Bibliomation (the ILS provider), preparing statistical reports, keeping monetary records of fines and copier/FAX fees, and other duties as assigned by the Library Director. Prior library experience and strong computer skills are required. Preferred: LTA degree or other Associates degree, familiarity with the Evergeen ILS system. 26 hours per week, Mon. – Sat. including some evenings. $15.73 per hour. Union position with paid leave and pro-rated benefits. Please send a completed application, (found at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.staffordct.org" href="http://www.staffordct.org/" target="_blank">www.staffordct.org</a>), resume, and cover letter to Stafford Library, 10 Levinthal Run, Stafford Springs, CT 06076 by <span style="color: red;">September 30, 2013</span>.

Circulation Coordinator - Stafford Library

Circulation Coordinator - Stafford Library is seeking an energetic, customer service oriented Circulation Coordinator. Major duties incl...

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At the Frontier Culture Museum this weekend: Good Times, Tastes & Traditions Festival

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5aRaW-ED5eGvtGROX1LeGCx35y9vlp_wji0nXfZPe7oo73Z4rByqUJKfdgxaJ_wM8UUxZCelvgtE_7lZZm-0oz2rxSBc3bIKd0QFlskhHNzlj5eGiojzmUijJ1xa-kt8-IyoHHGP80dw/s1600/Good+Times+Festival+FCMV.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5aRaW-ED5eGvtGROX1LeGCx35y9vlp_wji0nXfZPe7oo73Z4rByqUJKfdgxaJ_wM8UUxZCelvgtE_7lZZm-0oz2rxSBc3bIKd0QFlskhHNzlj5eGiojzmUijJ1xa-kt8-IyoHHGP80dw/s320/Good+Times+Festival+FCMV.png" width="255" /></a></div><br />Our festival title says it all.... <a href="http://www.goodtimesaugusta.com/#!festiva-schedule/c4nz">GOOD TIMES are ahead</a>. We will feature music and bands that expand all cultures at the 5 featured farms at <a href="http://www.frontiermuseum.org/">The Frontier Culture Museum</a>, as well as great local bluegrass, country, jazz and blues. <br /><br /><div class="font_8"><b><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span class="color_2"><u>Saturday, September 21st, 2013</u></span></span></b></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">11am: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Gates Open </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">12pm: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Registration Starts for Kid's Tractor Pedal Pull in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">12pm: Entertainment in Africa: </span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_16">Drummers / Dancers</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">12pm:Entertainment in America:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Bourbon Barrel Congress (Bluegrass)</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1pm: Entertainment in England:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">  NoneSuch</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1pm:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Beef Cooking Demo in America                         </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1pm:Entertainment in Germany:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Rhythum Road</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Sara Jane and Brian Buchanan</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2pm:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Circle 8 Square Dancers in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:15pm</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Linda Marchman – Magical Monarchs Butterfly Presentation, Tagging & Release</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:15pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Many Nights Ahead</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:30pm</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">: Sheep Herding Demo in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">3pm: Entertainment in Africa: </span><span class="color_16">Drummers / Dancers</span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14"> </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3pm: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Beef Cooking Demo in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3pm: Entertainment in America: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Bourbon Barrel Congress</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3:30pm:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Kid's Tractor Pedal Pull in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3:30pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Chaise Lounge</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">4pm: Entertainment in England: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> NoneSuch</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">4pm: Entertainment in Germany:</span><span class="color_16"> Rhythm Road</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">4:45pm:<span class="color_16"> </span>Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span><span class="color_16"> Chaise Lounge</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><br /></div><div class="font_8"><b><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span class="color_2"><u>Sunday, September 22nd, 2013</u></span></span></b></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">12pm: </span><span class="color_16">Gates Open </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">12:30pm: Entertainment in Africa: </span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_16">Drummers / Dancers</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">12:30pm: Entertainment in America:</span><span class="color_16"> Cutch Tuttle and Hound Dog Hill </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">1pm: </span><span class="color_16">Registration Starts for Kid's Tractor Pedal Pull in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">1pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span><span class="color_16"> Valley Dance Theater (Hip Hop)</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">1pm:</span><span class="color_16"> Beef Cooking Demo in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">1:30pm: Entertainment in England:</span><span class="color_16">  NoneSuch</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">1:30pm: Entertainment in Germany: </span><span class="color_16">Oum Pah Boys</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="color_14">2:15pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span><span class="color_16"> Al Hamilton Men's Choir </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:15pm</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">: Linda Marchman – Magical Monarchs Butterfly Presentation, Tagging & Release</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:30pm: Entertainment in Africa: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Drummer / Dancers</span></span><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:30pm: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Sheep Herding Demo in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2:30pm: Entertainment in America:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Cutch Tuttle and Hound Dog Hill</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3pm:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Kid's Tractor Pedal Pull in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> VSDB Bluegrass Band</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3pm: </span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Beef Cooking Demo in America</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3:30pm: Entertainment at The Dod Amphitheater:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">  Wilson Fairchild (The Reid Boys)</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">4pm: Entertainment in England:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> NoneSuch</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">~ and ~</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Entertainment in Germany:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Oum Pah Boys</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_14"><span style="font-size: 16px;">4:45pm:</span></span><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Special Presentation of a Donation to VA School for the Deaf and the Blind.</span></span></div><div class="font_8"><br /></div><div class="font_8"><span class="color_16"><span style="font-size: 16px;">*The Stonewall Area Boy scouts are helping us with Old Fashioned Cane Pole Fishing from 1pm - 5pm on Saturday and 1pm - 4pm on Sunday.</span></span></div>

Augusta County Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia Good Times September Shenandoah Valley Staunton Tastes & Traditions Festival tourism Virginia Is For Lovers At the Frontier Culture Museum this weekend: Good Times, Tastes & Traditions Festival

Our festival title says it all.... GOOD TIMES are ahead . We will feature music and bands that expand all cultures at the 5 featured farms ...

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A day at Monticello ... part 2

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8Xo7a04dC5SJB_fHg1IUjgca7_ip3t-7GyS_V49E6EqEuDk9VYpl8lECqclloz5j5mJWSe9917_JJzt5dZHLof9gLLE_rgDbnJM42xRofqgE_s3y9l7aai1FtORYXrWq_pwfaWw-46H5/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8Xo7a04dC5SJB_fHg1IUjgca7_ip3t-7GyS_V49E6EqEuDk9VYpl8lECqclloz5j5mJWSe9917_JJzt5dZHLof9gLLE_rgDbnJM42xRofqgE_s3y9l7aai1FtORYXrWq_pwfaWw-46H5/s640/27.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38YHkL4rEDVyBhpgPBfq45JafvjBhns1F0c0voHGP8GLfjzBUr6cqp4CKNLlZxHQqc2L4N4gimCXHO4P3kHOlnDpky33qhAbbg3-kItFfIqmtyBfBFib2ZdqwRqEQRKYRUCsmg_B_NxzJ/s1600/28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38YHkL4rEDVyBhpgPBfq45JafvjBhns1F0c0voHGP8GLfjzBUr6cqp4CKNLlZxHQqc2L4N4gimCXHO4P3kHOlnDpky33qhAbbg3-kItFfIqmtyBfBFib2ZdqwRqEQRKYRUCsmg_B_NxzJ/s400/28.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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Mitchell<br />September 5, 2013

Albemarle County Charlottesville family gardening Lynn R. Mitchell Monticello Mulberry Row Thomas Jefferson tourism Virginia Is For Lovers A day at Monticello ... part 2

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell September 5, 2013

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A day at Monticello ... part 1

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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqdZVxcRSwFC0kC90zSeWojgxqglob20Eozx1Gog3PfPmWIPnYz57HYwE39JvEEEdRvMOq-EK_4NR44izK0LIEDB-90EXvkIDBvYk1IFTa2ODwMidQxzWgnaNcreKFzb49_gan-zMJgZd/s1600/25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqdZVxcRSwFC0kC90zSeWojgxqglob20Eozx1Gog3PfPmWIPnYz57HYwE39JvEEEdRvMOq-EK_4NR44izK0LIEDB-90EXvkIDBvYk1IFTa2ODwMidQxzWgnaNcreKFzb49_gan-zMJgZd/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXTG4T9aOjsM8Y1pGlcVt89-jQx9lLOsyQVY0atzFcJaBmOHL2QNTX3e6uSmLtHCHvuuE8H6Xu3wMtVM5E_yaXbXeL_kTJPqSbs528V8N4Iru-0zzwSf-X1YMd8hzSFcKb_ptb32aEiFQ/s1600/26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXTG4T9aOjsM8Y1pGlcVt89-jQx9lLOsyQVY0atzFcJaBmOHL2QNTX3e6uSmLtHCHvuuE8H6Xu3wMtVM5E_yaXbXeL_kTJPqSbs528V8N4Iru-0zzwSf-X1YMd8hzSFcKb_ptb32aEiFQ/s400/26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />September 5, 2013

Albemarle County Charlottesville family Lynn R. Mitchell Monticello Thomas Jefferson tourism Virginia history Virginia Is For Lovers A day at Monticello ... part 1

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell September 5, 2013

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Grand Caverns Signature 5K Race Series - Sept. 27

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWA1eJxP8r8cbIzrCqZ5JRtee56sY70_IBQz7IP0EcwDjdE5rm6J1BD2hLgxkLq32TBbKitnsOnGa-e56sM3IN1cFmzxsDKLim4UPoP7dbWw3EUyd14hf74VKGwENZApQmzFDCRBglYlD_/s1600/25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWA1eJxP8r8cbIzrCqZ5JRtee56sY70_IBQz7IP0EcwDjdE5rm6J1BD2hLgxkLq32TBbKitnsOnGa-e56sM3IN1cFmzxsDKLim4UPoP7dbWw3EUyd14hf74VKGwENZApQmzFDCRBglYlD_/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />

Grand Caverns Park Grand Caverns Signature 5K Race Grand Caverns Signature 5K Race Series - Sept. 27

 

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5 Motivational Quotes for Weight Loss (with images)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, it's the middle of September, it's end of the year, you in a state of recession! Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed!! According to my experiences i will give you the best and most influential quotes for staying motivated to lose your weight. Remember without motivation you cannot get results even if you follow the best weight loss program in the World. Read and share them with your friends:</span></span></div><br /><br /><center><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5028478688240504"; /* inPost_waysforweightloss_336-280 */ google_ad_slot = "6975892477"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--></script><script src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></center><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Challenge..</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Challenge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMpBuZ4QI65awCEaTSWcIsJlgZnqpiVnsND5xQQvQDjjrtTMB2BgD-TRVtofprWLfSoqvrCIUMpm7Xui8iMFKJtxO8YS-Bc2npoXgzVoPXA382yCeSglSvgXOFgBgV8BRCN_1e3cl9BY/s1600/challenge.jpg" title="Challenge" /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Wake up with Determination. Go to bed with Satisfaction.</b></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Satisfaction" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPUD6Z5nG7N8RkkVHTHwjViDd4Ar-v2cPUHTiSR3VIqbLMBdNdh5CSoewo6qz0i0L2Y2aN4A1PaU4TnR7rxOatyyAJRulH87GS91d78LEl_Ik0TAT3jaF1oeDnBA-vVfaw-6FzRWAIkA/s1600/SATISFACTION.jpg" title="Satisfaction" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Winners find a way losers find an EXCUSE.</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="EXCUSE" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3ABrSl5676-LZxmMuZ-QXmY2rBYNsTe-vidlWaeLQ8EOXYZBc6z5G6qBiPzYdVJ55OgSqp1X-KhWhyqJMH46QR6f7Jwk-R6XryOBFvqYYFoth4kEk6RcM-qgioZJ7R9z1nCiSn7S9v0/s1600/EXCUSE.jpg" title="EXCUSE" /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">No More Excuses:</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="No More Excuses" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1JQTzfszKtmI0oPRz_k4SZ2jnmtIng1En7_6li0KgV27K1eYsWeZQ4LoovWdkBUGM9Ok3QNGuwB6vm8WCE99_j-juuhceIUQcGN1ao2qwJSPFhQCYT9FgAxdQC8uDUvG-2uV4U9YYyE/s1600/No+more+excuses.jpg" title="No More Excuses" /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">You Choose:</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="You Choose" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1o6VpNNdX7j9v1JPpIo4BOMh0zz6DWAofk0OfmwSSUSvw_-PpFYQQSAkgWSe8x-lZmMOURHQH8jS0mGmZOtAJNI0mwTZ4slm3vFb6oO7UJMAkHFNc87xfTPrGfFgbo91Xw8Z7q_FYjM/s1600/your-choice.jpg" title="You Choose" /></div><br /><center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5028478688240504"; /* LargeInPost_waysforweightloss_300-600 */ google_ad_slot = "6695176472"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 600; //--></script><script src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </center><br /></div>

Motivation Motivation for Weight Loss 5 Motivational Quotes for Weight Loss (with images)

Well, it's the middle of September, it's end of the year, you in a state of recession! Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed!!...

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Treadmill Cardio Exercise Benefits

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Naomi Woods</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>It is sad that many people find themselves overweight and out of shape. Modern lifestyles factors, which include junk food diets, sedentary office work environments and the various media outlets, have caused a significant amount to disregard or forget the effect these have on their health. Daily cardio or muscle building can get you into condition by helping you drop a few pounds, firm up your muscles, boosting your stamina and strengthening your body against injuries. Consider a home fitness treadmill trainer. This machine can help you keep fit by making it easy and convenient for you to exercise whenever you have the time.<br /> <br /> Why You Should Exercise on a Treadmill<br /> <br /> Regular use of a treadmill trainer, whether it be for walking or for running, can condition and shape up your body. Such cardio-intensive exercise helps you burn more calories than a cycling machine or most other gym workouts. You can find a variety of standard workout applications, created by certified fitness trainers, that will help you achieve different fitness goals. Treadmills are great fitness machines because so many different people can use them. Athletes use them to train on, casual users use them to stay fit, and obese people use them to lose weight.<br /> <br /> Common Treadmill Features<br /> <br /> The most common feature found on treadmills is the ability to set workout speeds. Many treadmills also come with incline adjustments, which raise the tread belt to varying height levels. The benefit of these basic treadmill machine features is that they allow you to mix up your workouts so that they're always interesting and so that you'll never get bored of exercising.<br /> <br /> Modern treadmills have many inbuilt workout programs. You'll find a multitude of fitness programs that are created by pro certified fitness trainers. Choose one and follow the instructions for a helpful guided workout session. As you use the treadmill machine, the speed and incline will automatically change at regular intervals. This can be a slow increase or in a pre-determined mixed pattern.<br /> <br /> Heart rate monitors are found on many treadmills. They can be used in conjunction with a treadmill trainer program that exercises the heart. This monitor may need to be attached to your body or gripped in your hand. Commercial-grade treadmills, such as those found in gyms, health clubs, universities and luxury hotels, come with chest-strap heart rate monitors, which better keep an eye on your heart rate. Various monitors found on a treadmill machine, including the heart rate monitor, allow you to track your workout intensity and cardiovascular fitness levels.<br /> <br /> Something. The capability to remember customized workouts is most helpful when there are multiple users of the treadmill machine. A handful of treadmills out on the market can use the onboard memory to bookmark workout history, making it easy to see the fitness progress made and to target new fitness goals.<br /> <br /> A growing number of treadmills today come equipped with iFit Live technology. This feature lets you bring up maps that mimic real life running trails, giving you a workout experience that mimics that which you'd find outside. You can use iFit Live technology to prepare for a marathon being held in another city or country. Motivate yourself by seeing how you stack up on select race courses with iFit Compete Live. Any treadmill that has Internet connectivity and is compatible with the iFit Live technology can run this multipurpose feature. Other premium features available on premium treadmill machine models include features such as color touch displays or television functionalities.<br /> <br /> Components of a Treadmill<br /> <br /> The two most visible elements found on a treadmill machine are the tread belt and the motor. The tread belt is placed over rollers and is driven by the motor as you walk, jog and run on top. A running deck supports the weight exerted on the tread belt, as the rollers move the conveyor belt. Certain treadmills have running decks that can be elevated, providing different inclines to work out on. Increasing the incline levels of the treadmill trainer deck can give you more challenging aerobic workouts.<br /> <br /> These days, you'll find that most decks rest on elements that absorb the recurrent impact incurred on the machine. The most widely used damping component is a cushioning system, which in certain cases can be adjusted with varying tension levels. The belt, motor, rollers, running deck, and cushioning system all play a role in providing you with distinct workout experiences on a treadmill machine.<br /> <br /> Treadmill structures are built foldable or non-foldable. Systems with foldable frames are ideal where space is scarce. Lift up the deck of a treadmill which has a foldable frame and you may be able to reclaim some space. Foldable treadmills usually are more expensive than non-foldable ones. You'll find that non-foldable treadmills are more prevalent as they are less costly and more heavy duty in construction.<br /> <br /> Treadmill Highlight Considerations<br /> <br /> It's important to look at a treadmill's feature set, but take note to the treadmill's design and intended user type. There are treadmills that are designed just for walking and jogging and there are treadmills which are designed specifically for runners. Your body weight could affect the performance of a treadmill machine. There are treadmills with more robust motors to accommodate for these type of users. Taller users need a treadmill machine with a longer tread belt that can easily accommodate their long strides. Recurrent use of a treadmill trainer should warrant a more powerful motor and a commercial-grade frame. Any workout product you get is an investment into your health. Take some time to do your research and read some <a href="http://workoutwarriors.webs.com/">fitness treadmill reviews</a> and see what people are talking about.<br /> <br /> Last Words<br /> <br /> Health and fitness are issues that you need to take seriously. Adding a treadmill system to your home gym can help you better your body and well-being. Take some time to think about what your health and fitness needs are. Check the measurements of the treadmill machine and be certain that it's going to fit into the spot that you want to place it at. Think about all these things while at the same time keeping note of whether or not various machines fall in your budget.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'><a href="http://fitnesswarrior.moonfruit.com/">Treadmill review sites</a> are excellent places to gather product specs. Visit a few and see what people are sharing and what systems are popular.</div><br /> </div><br />

Treadmill Cardio Exercise Benefits

By Naomi Woods It is sad that many people find themselves overweight and out of shape. Modern lifestyles factors, which include junk foo...

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Importance Of Regular Exercise

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By William Cliff</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>It is unfortunate that many people find themselves overweight and out of shape. Modern lifestyles factors, which include processed foods diets, inactive office work environments and the various media outlets, have caused a good portion to ignore or forget the effect these have on their health. Day-to-day cardio exercise or muscle building will get you into shape by helping you lose a few pounds, firm up your muscles, increasing your stamina and strengthening your body against injuries. Consider a home fitness treadmill machine. This machine can help you keep fit by making it easy and convenient for you to exercise whenever you have the time.<br /> <br /> Merits of Treadmills<br /> <br /> Treadmills are used to walk, jog and run on. Some people use them to condition their bodies, such as to lose weight. Others use them to train on, most often for races and marathons. Treadmills offer more opportunities for engaging in intensive cardio workouts than other gym fitness units. The majority of today's treadmills come with workout apps that can help you lose pounds, build fitness and endurance, and tone up. Many people find that the treadmill is the best fitness machine to exercise on because it accommodates to so many different fitness needs and because it's so easy to use.<br /> <br /> Common Treadmill Features<br /> <br /> Speed adjustment is a basic and essential feature on treadmills. Incline adjustment functionality is another commonly found feature in treadmills, and it allows you to lift the tread belt to various heights. These treadmill trainer features also make workouts interesting and motivate you to continue exercising daily.<br /> <br /> Today's treadmills come outfitted with many prebuilt workout apps. You'll find a wide range of fitness programs that are developed by expert certified fitness trainers. Choose one and go along with the commands for a helpful guided workout session. The speed and the incline of these set workout programs change automatically, so you don't have to interrupt your workout to push any buttons. This can be a steady increase or in a pre-determined mixed pattern.<br /> <br /> Some treadmill machine programs work to exercise your heart. A heart rate sensor assists in these types of workouts. are generally. The more premium treadmill machines offer a chest-strap heart rate monitor which can more precisely monitor your heart rate and your calories burned. In other words, it can monitor your cardiovascular fitness level and the intensity of your workout.<br /> <br /> designed with. This is particularly useful when you share the treadmill trainer with others. Built-in memory can also be used to save workout history. This data can be referenced to help assess fitness progress and motivate to new fitness objectives.<br /> <br /> Trendy among treadmill machine models today is a feature called iFit Live capability. This technology connects online and lets you load up maps and trails to workout on. If you were signed up for a race, you could download and install a map of the course and train on it. Compare yourself with others competing through a specific course with iFit Compete Live. The iFit Live technology necessitates a treadmill machine to have Internet connectivity. It also needs the treadmill machine to be iFit Live capable.. Enhanced treadmills also have full-color LCD touch screens and a music player to keep your rhythm going when you exercise.<br /> <br /> Treadmill Components<br /> <br /> A treadmill trainer consists of a wide conveyor belt controlled by an electric motor or flywheel of varying power. This belt moves backwards over rollers, so you have to move forward while adapting your walk, jog or run to match the speed of the belt and avoid falling off. A running deck props up weight exerted on the tread belt, as the rollers move the conveyor belt. You can raise or lower the deck to the desired incline angle to emulate an uphill climb or downward slope outdoors. Bump up the incline levels of the running deck and you'll get a better cardio workout.<br /> <br /> These days, you'll find that most decks sit on elements that absorb the regular impact sustained on the product. The most frequently used damping component is a cushioning system, which in some cases can be adjusted with varying tension levels. The components just described all work in conjunction in providing you with varying workout experiences.<br /> <br /> One additional thing to note about a treadmill's design: some have foldable decks and others have non-foldable decks. The foldable form be more effective for home gyms where space is fixed. What happens is you lift the deck up into a vertical position. Foldable treadmills usually are more expensive than non-foldable ones. Most businesses, such as gyms, hotels, and health clubs use non-foldable treadmill machine platforms.<br /> <br /> Treadmill Highlight Considerations<br /> <br /> There are lots of treadmills out there. Many emphasize different feature sets. When shopping for a treadmill you should also contemplate its target user type. A treadmill machine designed only for walking will cost less than a jogger's treadmill; a running treadmill will be the most expensive. Your body weight could affect the performance of a treadmill trainer. There are treadmills with more robust motors to allow for for these type of users. The treadmills with long belts and decks are great for tall people because they accommodate their longer strides. Consider a commercial-grade fitness treadmill trainer. These will last you for the long haul. For some, these <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Working-Out-At-Home:-Running-Treadmills-and-Elliptical-Trainers&id=7918622">fitness units</a> are worth the investment, and they're willing to pay more for the better designs.<br /> <br /> Wrap Up<br /> <br /> The many health and fitness advantages of a treadmill trainer make it an essential unit for your home gym. Before rushing to make a purchase, consider your health, fitness and durability needs, and the features that you will use often. Be sure you take accurate measurements of the location of where you want the treadmill to go to ensure that it'll fit. Take into consideration all these things while at the same time keeping note of whether various machines fall in your budget.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'><a href="http://goarticles.com/article/Benefits-of-Training-on-Treadmills-and-Ellipticals/7801108/">Fitness websites</a> are excellent resources to accumulate information. Look through a handful and see what people are talking about and what systems are sought after.</div><br /> </div><br />

Importance Of Regular Exercise

By William Cliff It is unfortunate that many people find themselves overweight and out of shape. Modern lifestyles factors, which includ...

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iOS 7 download release date arrives

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><style>.my_adslot { width: 320px; height: 50px; } @media(min-width: 500px) { .my_adslot { width: 468px; height: 60px; } } @media(min-width: 800px) { .my_adslot { width: 728px; height: 90px; } } </style><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- 9/18-5 --><br /><ins class="adsbygoogle my_adslot" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4973891917352186" data-ad-slot="5229708912" style="display: inline-block;"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-4973891917352186"; /* 9/18-4 */ google_ad_slot = "5369309715"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 600; //--></script><script src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/">http://www.itpro.co.uk</a><br />iOS 7 download release date arrives<br /><img src="http://static.itpro.co.uk/sites/itpro/files/styles/article_main_image/public/ios_7_new.png" /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 7, is now available to download, following on from several months of developer beta testing. </div><blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #2c6db0; float: right; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 1em 0px 0.4em 0.4em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 225px;"><div style="border: 0px; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.4; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's like getting a brand new device, but one that will be instantly familiar to our users.</div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It will be available to <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/624793/iphone-4-review" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Link to iPhone 4 review">iPhone 4</a> and above users, in addition those running the iPad 2 and later, the<a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/643960/apple-ipad-mini-review-first-impressions" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Link to iPad Mini first look"> iPad mini</a> and fifth generation of the iPod touch.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition to more than 200 features, developers can take advantage of over 1,500 iOS 7-friendly APIs. A number of 64-bit apps will also be developed to showcase the OS' unique talents and the power of the soon-to-be launched iPhone 5s, Apple confirmed. </div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It's like getting a brand new device, but one that will be instantly familiar to our users," said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Apple's software engineering arm. </div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Next month, we'll be shipping our 700 millionth iOS device, and we're excited about what our hundreds of thousands of iOS developers are doing to bring great new features to their apps."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The availability of Apple's next-generation mobile operating systems comes several days ahead of the release of the latest additions to its smartphone family: the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Both devices will be released in the UK on 20 September, the company confirmed.  The former has been dubbed the <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/20240/iphone-5c-and-iphone-5s-features-release-date-and-specifications" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title=" launch day article">iPhone 5c</a>, and comes in a choice of colours – including light green, orange, yellow, blue and white – and shares a lot of the same features with Apple’s current flagship device, the <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/643135/apple-iphone-5-review" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Link to iPhone 5 review">iPhone 5</a>.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/20240/iphone-5c-and-iphone-5s-features-release-date-and-specifications" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title=" release date article">iPhone 5s</a>, the higher-end device of the two smartphones, has been hailed by Apple as the “most forward thinking phone” it has ever created, and boasts an A7 processor, <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/security/20583/iphone-5s-can-biometrics-unlock-apples-enterprise-appeal" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Link to Touch ID - enterprise benefits">Touch ID fingerprint scanner</a>, a reworked 8MP camera and is available with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We've previously published our wish list of what we'd like to see in the latest version of the Apple iOS, but did we get it right? Take a look at page two to see our original wish list - we didn't do too badly considering the closely guarded secret that is Apple future releases. Feel free to comment on the story if you disagree - or if you feel underwhelmed by the iOS 7 feature set.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The biggest difference to <a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/smartphones/20533/apple-live-blog-iphone-5c-iphone-5s-and-ios-7" style="border: 0px; color: #0d4b75; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Link to iOS 7 live blog launch">iOS 7</a> lies in the user interface. It certainly looks and feels very different to previous generations of the OS. That said, Apple says it has tried to keep things familiar, but users will be the best judge of that when it's widely available.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There's a flatter homescreen, with layers that make icons appear as if they're floating. From the demo showcased at WWDC it doesn't look too hippyish but, again, users will be the real judge as some experts have already warned the changes are likely to divide opinion.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Business users will be happy with the changes to folder app limits, which have now been completely removed. A new Control Centre means commonly used features such as Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness and music play/pause/stop are there with a mere swipe.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There's also a new Notifications Centre, meaning users can see what has happened during any period of inactivity right from the lock screen, such as messages or emails received.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">AirDrop makes it easier to share content with other users without having to bump phones together and an enhanced Siri with male and female voices in English, French and German (with other languages to follow) will help add mass appeal. What's more, in-car controls will make for safer driving for many iOS users too.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The mobile version of Safari has also been enhanced and iCloud keychain tweaks will ensure greater security, especially should the worst happen and your iOS-based device fall into the wrong hands.</div><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">iOS devices are used by many business users due to the availability of apps, security and ease of use. We’ve picked the seven core features we wanted to  see Apple introduce in iOS 7. How well did we predict the future?</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7. Refreshed interface/customisable skins</strong> The iOS interface has been the same since day one and is due an upgrade. While we don’t think Apple will carry out a complete overhaul of the interface, refreshed icons and new ways of navigating could be more likely.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’d also like to see Apple offering users different themes that can be applied without having to go to the App Store, so users can customise their handsets.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Widgets/Interactive icons</strong> Apple has been an opponent of widgets, claiming they are not necessary when you have apps.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The firm is unlikely to start rolling them out. Perhaps, it is more realistic that it will introduce interactive icons – where a long press on will bring up a preview of the app so you can quickly glance at the latest email, for example.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Quick settings in the notifications menu</strong> One thing which is far superior in Android is the notifications menu. Apple has already “borrowed” the drop down list to show emails, texts and other notifications, and it would be a good idea to add a quick settings portion to this.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This would prevent users from having to go into the “Settings” menu to execute simple commands such as turning on/off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connections.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Improved multitasking</strong> iOS doesn’t quite have full blown multitasking, which is also available in Android. Apple has stuck with “app switching”, which allows users to cycle between open apps after double tapping the home button.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This isn’t that intuitive and we’d like to see Apple offering up full app previews. We’d also like the ability to run two apps side-by-side on devices such as the iPad. Being able to browse the internet and read email, for example, would be an invaluable feature.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Actionable notifications</strong> Instead of having to open up full applications when you receive a notification such as a text message, it would be great to be able to tap a “reply”, quickly fire off a response and get back to what you were doing. Similarly it would be good to have an “accept” button in the notification.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Battery saver mode</strong> The battery life on the iPad has generally been strong, but the iPhone has been plagued with issues.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A battery saver mode that automatically kicks in when the level hits the 20 per cent mark would be ideal. Better yet, would be a system that allows users to optimise performance when the battery is low.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Enhanced keyboard</strong> The keyboard has long been the worst feature of iOS devices. It’s too basic, and simple tasks such as changing the position of the cursor or copying and pasting can cause frustration.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are many concept videos out there, but it’s these additions to the iOS keyboard, from Daniel Hooper, which we would like to see most:</div><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RGQTaHGQ04Q?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">(This article was originally published on 26/04/13 and updated on 09/06/13 as Apple's developer conference neared and then again on 10/06/13 following the WWDC keynote. It was updated again on 01/07/13 and 22/07/13 to include further details about the release date of iOS 7, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 ( and then again on 10/09/13 as Apple's iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s launch event confirmed release and other iOS 7 details).</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-4973891917352186"; /* 9/18 */ google_ad_slot = "1953341717"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div></div>

iOS 7 iOS 7 download release date arrives

http://www.itpro.co.uk iOS 7 download release date arrives Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 7, is now available to download, following ...

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