Recent Articles
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Slowing down for the holidays
Michelle LaBrosse Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementFor many businesses, winter is a busy and frenetic time of the year. It just so happens that the need for increased productivity — whether it's to finish end-of-the-year projects, or adjusting to increased demand for your product — also coincides with fewer work days to do the work, since many holidays fall during this time.
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What does Betsy DeVos’ appointment mean for public schools?
Brian Stack EducationPresident-elect Donald Trump recently named Michigan's Betsy DeVos to be the next Secretary of Education. DeVos, a strong advocate for school vouchers and school choice in her home state, is expected to bring this topic to center stage when she begins her term in Washington in the coming months.
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Ethology and veterinary practice: Implications of Russian fox studies
Dr. Myrna Milani Pet CareMuch of what we know about the physiological and behavioral effects of domestication comes from the farm fox studies conducted by a Russian team of geneticists, led by Dmitre Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut. A mere 40 years and 30-35 generations of breeding wild foxes strictly for friendliness toward humans resulted in animals with behaviors closer to that of domestic dogs than their wild cohorts. More importantly, these studies offer four valuable insights for veterinary practitioners.
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How can we lower drug costs in 2017?
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalFor many Americans, news stories about increasing prescription drug prices have become commonplace. The costs of prescription drugs within group health plans have continued to increase at double digit rates in recent years, and experts are forecasting more of the same for 2017.
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5 steps for creating a seamless dental marketing plan
Sarah Moore Oral & Dental HealthcareNo one needs to tell you that getting and keeping patients is a critical factor in your business success. Perhaps the critical factor, considering your practice won't go far without anyone to serve. You already know this, of course, but what you may not know is that each client you snag is worth between $10,000 and $45,000 over a 20-year span. Multiply that by three to five in the case of a family, and the numbers really add up.
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How do you solve a complex problem like struggling schools?
Deb Page EducationThe challenge of improving an underperforming school is a classic example of an ill-structured problem — a complex challenge with no clear predetermined or procedural way to overcome it and with many different causes and many potential solutions.
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Why do restaurants and hotels have the most FLSA prosecutions?
Noelle West Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementHere's a startling fact: The accommodation and food services industry ranks No. 1 in volume for FLSA wage and hour prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Labor. To put that number in perspective, that's approximately 25 percent of all the cases the DOL has brought since 1985 — almost 30,000 in total. To put it another way, hotels and restaurants across the country — large and small — have paid out more than $276 million in government prosecutions alone.
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Where you live affects how long you live
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationVariation in life expectancy across counties in the United States is substantial and not fully explained by traditional social determinants of health, such as race and socioeconomic status. A recent study in Health Affairs finds that life expectancy is more broadly linked to individual and community-level factors ranging from the burden of disease to the safety of neighborhoods. It is the first study to establish a relationship between a summary measure of population well-being and life expectancy in a nation sample of 3,092 counties.
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What the new legalization of marijuana in California means
Sheila Pakdaman Mental HealthcareOn Nov. 8, Californians voted for our next president, and we also voted on a series of propositions. One of the most watched of these propositions was Proposition 64, the legalization of the use of marijuana. About 13 million Californians voted on Proposition 64, and 56 percent were in favor, thus passing the law. In 1996, Proposition 215 had legalized medical marijuana, so how is Proposition 64 any different? It legalizes recreational use — with restrictions.
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Industrial robotics in the food and beverage market
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageA recent report by Zion Research shows that global demand for industrial robotics is growing at 6 percent per year. By 2020, the market is estimated to reach $42 billion — up from $30 billion in 2014. These "industrial robotics" are essentially dynamic and intuitive machines that can perform a multitude of complex industrial tasks like drilling, welding, soldering, material handling and molding, among many others. Time-consuming and difficult tasks can now be easily performed via these robots, reducing production time and increasing efficiency in business.