Recent Articles
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5 tips to improve past performance ratings
Lisa Pafe Civil & GovernmentContractors often struggle to define a discriminating value proposition. While a value proposition is certainly comprised of your service or product solution, it also incorporates your past performance. A proposal demonstrates to the government a company’s prospective ability to perform the work. How does the government gain confidence in your prospective ability to deliver your solution at high quality and low risk? By examining your past performance both on relevant contracts as well as trends across time.
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Infographic: Why employee satisfaction drives company performance
Raunak Pandey Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementStatistics show that employees’ happiness is greatly dependent upon their levels of engagement and contentment in the workplace. Friendly interaction and teamwork are signs of a positive workplace with minimal absenteeism, which ultimately results in a thriving organization. On the other hand, a negative workplace shows signs of little or no communication between people, lack of passion, and high levels of absenteeism. To improve workplace morale, a company should go the extra mile towards increasing employees’ satisfaction.
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House passes $15 minimum wage bill, but its prospects are dim in Senate
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementOn July 18, the majority-Democratic House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act to gradually increase the federal minimum wage, now at $7.25 and unchanged since 2009, to $15 in 2025. Some Republican House members did cross party lines to vote to increase the federal minimum wage. "This critical policy would lift wages for more than 33 million workers, 90% of them age 20 or older and 58% of them women," according to Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist and the director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute.
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Reading and L2 acquisition
Douglas Magrath EducationLanguage skills can develop naturally. Language acquisition comes under the field of psycholinguistics: Children learn L1 without any active intervention. It is a natural process. But materials may not always be available. A case in point is a Korean student, Sodam, who excelled in English, winning awards and speaking with native fluency, according to her teachers. "Sodam had no special advantages...She had never lived in an English-speaking country. The difference was that Sodam was a reader."
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Researchers develop turmeric drug delivery system to inhibit cancer cell…
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe American Cancer Society estimates 3,500 new cases of bone and joint cancer in 2019 and expects 1,660 deaths. Clinical trials for bone cancers are ongoing, with some looking into ways to combine surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, and drugs known as targeted therapy to treat these cancers. A Washington State University research team has recently developed a drug delivery system using curcumin, the main ingredient in the spice turmeric that inhibits bone cancer cells and promotes growth of healthy bone cells.
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School counselors prepare students for 21st-century computational thinking…
Angela Cleveland and Jennifer Correnti EducationCounselors are at the forefront of opening doors to opportunities for all students. It is crucial for educational leaders to recognize the impact and service school counselors have in every school community as stakeholders and embrace engaging educational environments that support pathways to sustainable and rewarding post-secondary opportunities. Counselors recognize that technology is changing every career. Engaging students and families in conversations about sustainable careers means talking about the intersection of computer science with every vocation.
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Remodeling activity expected to slow in third quarter
Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesHaving held relatively steady during the first half of the year, growth in home remodeling and renovation activity is expected to decrease somewhat in the months ahead. Fewer existing home sales and supply-side challenges such as a lack of skilled labor and rising costs have lowered demand for new projects. Unless those conditions improve, analysts say, the long-range forecast predicts a significant reduction in annual growth in 2020.
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3 things that make it hard to fire someone in any industry
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementTerminations are stressful for everyone. While there are challenges unique to firing specialists in any industry, there are a few things that make it hard to fire someone regardless of industry. Here are some common challenges around terminations and strategies for addressing them. For example, documentation is one of the most common issues with terminations. In some cases, we do not have enough documentation.
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Is the current market too tough for upscale restaurants?
Linchi Kwok Food & BeverageOperating a restaurant is never easy, but is it particularly challenging for upscale restaurants? Restaurants Unlimited Inc., for instance, which operates 35 fine-dining and "polished casual" eateries, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last week. In June, the Four Seasons Restaurant, an iconic spot for power lunch in Manhattan, also closed for business less a year after its reopening. Are these two examples isolated cases or the tip of the iceberg? If upscale restaurants are struggling to survive in today’s market, what challenges are they facing?
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How staff debriefing can improve patient outcomes
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a healthcare administrator, you know the importance of psychological debriefing for your doctors and nurses after an adverse event. Still, are you making sure staff debriefing is being used as expansively and effectively as it can be? Research shows that targeted debriefing can improve many diverse aspects of your staff's efficiency. As a result, your patients do better. Employ these science-driven strategies to help meet your most important objectives.