Urban baby blog: Teaching anatomy to a toddler

Animal tails are hard to resist. I don?t know a single toddler who doesn?t like to pull dog tails. Or cat tails. You try to teach your child that pulling on tails isn?t nice, and that respecting animals is important, but sometimes even the best behaved kid can?t resist a good tug. Luckily, I have very tame and tolerant animals.

Tail tugging is all fun and games until someone crawls into bed with her sleeping parents, reaches into her father?s boxer shorts, and yanks ?dada?s tail.? Luckily, I have a very tame and tolerant (if now soprano) baby daddy.

One day your little angel is going to realize that daddies have?tails, and mommies don?t. It might be especially awkward if you have a toddler that was very excited to discover that her father had a ?tail? and wants to see it again. Then some dramatic temper tantrum is going to occur when you tell her that no, she can?t see daddy?s tail because it went away. In desperation you might bring a cat over so she can touch his tail instead. The cat will look at you with an ?et tu, Brute? expression and run away from you and your sobbing child leaving everyone tail-less. Then you will give up and plop your child in front of the television.

I?m not sure how to have the anatomy talk. My daughter is not even two years old yet, but she?s figured out that her and I are?um?the same, and daddy is different. I?m sure very very soon she will discover that one of the boys in her art class is just like daddy and the ?mommies and daddies have different parts? talk is going to turn into the ?boys have this and girls have this and it really isn?t necessary to compare parts with everyone you meet? talk. Then, (when my husband?s involuntary falsetto voice goes away) we will have to say the word penis, and my ever charming (and if you read urban baby blog last week, swearing like a sailor) child will be repeating the word penis to everyone on the street. I can picture it now. She?s going to point to the groins of total strangers and yell penis at the top of her lungs.

I have good reason to worry.?When I was my daughter?s age (according to my parents), after I discovered that daddies and the little boys at daycare had different parts, I got the ?penis talk.? Then a few days later I was at the bank with my father to deposit his paycheck. We were waiting on line with a bunch of people my dad knew and I loudly announced to them that Ashley (a boy from daycare) had a penis but it was a very little penis, and I held up my thumb and forefinger to demonstrate how tiny it was. I also announced that my daddy also had a penis but it was a great big penis and held my arms out wide to let everyone on Staten Island know of its magnitude. ?Twenty-four years later, my father still hasn?t lived it down.

Thank G-d today we have direct deposit.

I?m truly at a loss. Kids are curious, and that?s fine, but man parts and lady parts are a delicate discussion. I know it?s a bit of a safety issue too. We have to communicate that if anyone (aside from the pediatrician) asks my daughter to see her parts she should immediately go away and tell mommy or daddy. And that if she ever sees someone else?s parts she should tell mommy or daddy. Both my husband and I have tried to talk to each other about how to explain anatomy to our daughter, but it usually ends in an awkward silence and putting the talk off for when we have more time.

Maybe when our daughter is 30 and we finally unlock the bedroom door and let her out, we can do it.


Rachel Figueroa-Levin is a soapmaker, cofounder and educator at Urban Babywearing, a hyperlocal Inwood blogger and organizer, a political/life/religion/parenting satirist, and all around trouble maker. She is also the creator of New York City?s Mayor Michael Bloomberg?s Spanish-speaking alter ego @elbloombito. You can reach her via twitter @Jewyorican.

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    Source: http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/28/urban-baby-blog-teaching-anatomy-to-a-toddler/

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    New maps may reduce tourism impacts on Hawaiian dolphins

    ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2012) ? Over-eager tourists intent on seeing spinner dolphins up close may inadvertently be disturbing the charismatic animals? daytime rest periods and driving them out of safe habitats in bays along Hawai?i?s coast. But a study led by researchers at Duke and Stony Brook universities gives scientists and resource managers a promising new tool to curb the frequency of the repeated human disturbances and help reduce their negative impacts.

    ?Using the maps produced through this study we can identify the bays where the effects of human activities on spinner dolphins should be monitored most closely, and where immediate conservation actions are required,? said David W. Johnston, research scientist at Duke?s Nicholas School of the Environment.?

    ?The mapping models developed by the researchers indicated that only a small number of bays ? 21 out of 99 ? in a study area along the western coastlines of the main Hawaiian islands were suitable habitats for resting dolphins. Knowing this, Johnston said, ?conservation efforts can be focused on specific areas of importance.??

    ?We may be able to minimize detrimental effects on dolphins by putting restrictions or preventative measures into place in a relatively small number of bays, rather than limiting access to dolphins along the entire coast,? said the study?s lead author, Lesley H. Thorne, a lecturer in marine science at Stony Brook University, who received her PhD from Duke in 2010. ?That benefits tourists and tourism operators as well as the dolphins.??

    To create the new mapping models, the researchers used the geographic coordinates and key environmental factors ? such as water depth, the size and proportions of the bays, and proximity to deep-water foraging grounds ? for hundreds of spinner dolphin sightings made throughout the study area between 2000 and 2010.?

    ?Spinners are small dolphins famed for their graceful aerial movements and balletic spins. Found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world, coastal populations of the animals divide their time between daytime rest periods in shallow, protected bays and nighttime foraging in more exposed waters.?

    Distinguishing between sightings of resting and active dolphins was key to defining critical habitats, Thorne said, because while socially active spinner dolphins are more tolerant of humans? presence, resting dolphins will leave the safety of a bay and retreat to less suitable open waters if they are repeatedly interrupted.?

    ?Sleep is essential for most animals,? added Johnston. ?When deprived of their necessary ?zzzz?s,? they gradually show a decreased ability to process information and remain attentive to environmental stimuli. In technical lingo, we call this a ?vigilance decrement?.??

    Spinner dolphins are no exception to the rule, he said. Over time, dolphins that are harassed by people daily during rest periods will never fully recover their vigilance decrement, and their ability to forage successfully and detect the presence of nearby predators will be degraded. Their ability to produce sounds used for communication and navigation may also be impaired.

    ?Scientists and conservationists have long worried that spinners? popularity with tourists ? and overlap of their resting habitats with popular ocean recreation destinations ? may be placing them at risk. Reports of interactions have increased sharply in recent years, but few published studies have examined the detrimental impacts these interruptions may have on the animals, especially at the population level.?

    ??It would be next to impossible to survey spinner populations and human activities in every bay that might be a resting habitat. We?re talking about hundreds of bays in the Hawaiian islands alone,? said Thorne.?

    ??Using predictive models, such as the maximum entropy spatial modeling approaches we?ve produced, is a much more cost-effective method,? she said. ?This type of modeling has only recently been applied to the study of marine mammals, but our work suggests it may be especially useful for studies (where data is) derived from opportunistic sightings and surveys using different types of research platforms.??

    ?The study was published August 27 in the online, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

    Thorne and Johnston plan to test their models by conducting similar studies of spinner dolphin distributions and habitat use in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific islands region. Results from those studies, they said, could confirm the new models? usefulness.

    ?Johnston and Thorne?s co-authors on the PLoS ONE study include Dean L. Urban, professor of landscape ecology at Duke?s Nicholas School, and Lars Bejder, associate professor at Murdoch University, Australia, and adjunct assistant professor at Duke.?

    ?The data on spinner dolphin sightings used to develop the models in the study were provided by a team of eight additional co-authors from Murdoch University, the Pacific Islands Photo-Identification Network, the Cascadia Research Collective, the Hawai?i Marine Mammal Consortium, the Hawai?i Association for Marine Education and Research, the Dolphin Institute, the University of Hawai?i (UH) at Hilo, UH at M?noa, and Marine Mammal Research Consultants.

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    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University.

    Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


    Journal Reference:

    1. Lesley H. Thorne, David W. Johnston, Dean L. Urban, Julian Tyne, Lars Bejder, Robin W. Baird, Suzanne Yin, Susan H. Rickards, Mark H. Deakos, Joseph R. Mobley, Adam A. Pack, Marie Chapla Hill. Predictive Modeling of Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) Resting Habitat in the Main Hawaiian Islands. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (8): e43167 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043167

    Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

    Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

    Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/IIEB33EARBo/120827180023.htm

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    Improvements To Increase The Energy Efficiency Of Your Home ...

    If you are putting in new counter tops, or just doing surface fixes in your kitchen, add a decorative back splash. This area behind your counters and between the cabinets is often just painted the same color as the walls. Adding tile, or other decorative touches will really make a dramatic statement in your kitchen.

    An inexpensive way to improve your home with a small cost is to plant a tree. Future landscaping will help maximize the value of your home. The tree you plan now will grow into a great mature shade feature. A properly placed tree can also save on your cooling costs by as much as 40 percent.

    Here is a great tip to get rid of mineral build up in faucets. Simply create a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar and soak the head of the faucet in the mixture. The mixture will dissolve the mineral build up and eliminate any hard water that may be coming through the faucet head.

    Consider buying supplies for spring or summer renovations in January. This is when the best sales are on as most people aren?t doing any renovations over the winter. Purchase in bulk and then store the items up off the ground in a cool, dry location, so they end up lasting until your home improvement project begins.

    Talking to a friend who is a contractor or does other work related to construction can often provide some helpful insights. They will have a good idea of what needs to be done for a certain project. They may even be willing to lend a hand for a difficult or tricky home improvement task.

    Always keep your work area clean when doing home improvements. Many accidents occur when an area is cluttered with debris and you cannot move and work properly. Take some time from your project and clean the debris from the area. This will help keep you safe from trips, falls, and tangled cords.

    Try to drive past your home and view it as someone who does not live there. This will help you see what needs to be done as far as curb appeal and home improvements. Coming home every day we get used to how our house looks and do not see all the improvements that can be made. Try to look at it from a stranger?s point of view to assess what needs to be done.

    No matter what your budget is for renovations, plan for 25% more than you?re planning to spend. This will give you wiggle room for unexpected expenses, upgrades, and replacement parts or items. You never know what?s going to happen, but having enough money to cover any problems will give you peace of mind.

    If you are working on a new home improvement project, make sure that you are complimenting your environment rather than fighting against it. If you are in an area that has high winds, then you most likely will not be spending much time outside. As such, it probably would be in your best interest to work on indoor arrangements. By the same token, you can still enjoy the outdoors, by simply adding a glass structure. This can help block out the environment while still providing you with an outdoors atmosphere.

    One valuable home improvement project that could save you money is the installation of ceiling fans. Having a fan in each of your rooms can help keep them cool and allow the air to circulate. If you use the fans instead of air conditioning, your summer energy bill will be much lower.

    Hang your brooms up and off the floor. Over time, the bristles on the brush will become deformed and no longer clean well if the are on the floor. Hanging the brooms will extend their lifetime. You will end up replacing brooms less and you will save money by buying less frequently.

    You can completely change the look and feel of a room by using paint to create a new look. Painting is easy to do yourself and inexpensive considering the huge difference it makes in the atmosphere of any home. Use new colors or just freshen up the old, painting is a great start to making your home look new again!

    There are few tasks more satisfying than improving your home. Each improvement brightens your day or makes everyday life easier. You will be proud when friends or relatives visit and notice what you have done. So why not find a little time to carry out one or two of the suggestions that you?ve just read about? You?ll be glad that you did.

    Paris Gorsline has a column regarding best water filter

    Source: http://cannabismrsacure.letstalkaboutpot.com/improvements-to-increase-the-energy-efficiency-of-your-home-2/

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    Gardening Mama Reviews - Family Farm and Home

    If you consider purchasing Gardening Mama because this review is the best guide to decide the most suitable product for their needs.

    Features include:

    ?2-4 multiplayer wireless support via Nintendo DS single-card play.
    ?Everyone?s favorite Mama from the best-selling Cooking Mama series stars in the brand?s first offshoot.
    ?Use the stylus as your master garden tool to take care of flowers, fruit trees and vegetables in Mama?s garden.
    ?Experience unexpected garden results based on your care: flowers can bloom different colors, fruit trees can grow different fruits, etc.
    ?Multiple game modes including: Let?s Grow It, Let?s Enjoy It, Let?s Do Gardening, Let?s Harvest Multiplayer, Treasure Box and Dress Up.

    Go green in the very first gardening specific game for the Nintendo DS. In Gardening Mama, Cooking Mama, from the award-winning, multi-million selling Cooking Mama franchise, has stepped out of her kitchen and into nature for some gardening fun. Join Mama, either in single player, or with up to three friends in wireless DS single-card play as she grows, harvests and enjoys the literal fruits of her labors.

    Key Features

    • Everyone?s favorite Mama from the best-selling Cooking Mama series stars in the brand?s first offshoot.
    • Use the stylus as your master garden tool to take care of flowers, fruit trees and vegetables in Mama?s garden.
    • Growing live products means that you may experience unexpected results based on your care?flowers can bloom different colors, fruit trees can grow different fruits, etc.
    • Multiple game modes:
    • Let?s Grow It ? Grow many kinds of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Manage your garden as it seeds, blooms fruit, bears fruit and matures. Fertilizer and soil conditions will affect your results.
    • Let?s Enjoy It ? Produce items from the flowers, fruits and vegetables you have raised (i.e. grow strawberries and make strawberry jam; grow flowers and press them into an album; grow pumpkins to make jack o lanterns, etc.).
    • Let?s Do Gardening ? Follow Mama?s expert guidance as you decorate various chapel, house and store gardens while making gardening goods like pergolas and hanging baskets, and planting flower beds and trees.
    • Let?s Harvest Multiplayer ? Compete against up to four friends online to harvest fruits and vegetables. The winner harvests the most.
    • Treasure Box ? Keep the products you?ve made from your gardening and trade those creations with friends online.
    • Dress Up ? Change Mama?s costume and customize your game layout and design. The better your score in the other modes, the nicer items you can earn to customize.
  1. 2-4 multiplayer wireless support via Nintendo DS single-card play.
  2. Screenshots:


    As most of people know that Gardening Mama is a great Quality Product

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    Source: http://promisedlandfamilyfarm.com/mowers-outdoor-power/gardening-mama-reviews

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    Houston county health department - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

    So if you improve your diet you in addition may will have to follow- through basically make fitness important. You will find books that may demonstrate approaches for growing versatility or strengthening core parts of the body, and/ or you will find Dvd disks with extensive programs that you should follow if you want to have a distant guide. These expense incorporate your health insurance deductibles, co- signings, over the counter prescription, doctor? s visit etc. Medications work only when the individual is strong from his inside otherwise nothing works on his body. These illnesses are inflammatory conditions caused houston county health department by infection from the nicotine gums. Canadian Overview Last Year PBS? s NewsHour scientists reported that Medicare insurance is Canada? s universal healthcare system, that is openly funded and distributed, and provides care mainly through private companies. Allows explore this and discuss and detail county these allegedly health advantages. And it is not just a system. Health care Crisis In comparison with other nations, health care within the U . Get Help While you look for affordable plans individual medical health insurance items, you may want to talk to professionals or professionals. 4) Locate houston an HSA provider. Despite statistics department showing which more than 50% from the American human population is overweight, so many people are in both denial class or are reluctant to reside in a condition of ? poor? health, as present in market research supplied by Mintel, a number one researching the market firm. Pennsylvania? s guidelines alleviate any financial burden a university student may face in case of a medical emergency or need. Furthermore, nowadays, you could have this nutrient through the type of several supplements intended absolutely help optimize your wellbeing. For this reason why vegetarians have develop a lot of methods to health class lesson plans make their food just as much tasty and healthy because the non vegetarian one. Consider how good that will cause you to feel. Find out more about Nh Home Healthcare. Today, you will find many trained experts who operate in this sector. Nevertheless the scenario has transformed. Simpler Routine Check- ups Frequently, routine check- ups and general health care consume higher productivity of the family? s budget than hospitalization or specialized health treatment. Work at home- This can be a great chance for nurses for you to use home, possessing their very own business being an RN wellness coach. Our study discloses that among industry trends, EMR and EHR have observed growing usage and therefore, a powerful demand is available for that items houston county health department utilized in these types lesson of services. A memorial service for Senator Wellstone converted into a fascist political rally with individuals screaming, ? We are gonna win!

    Related Post Houston county health department

    Tips & Alerts Keep approaching insurance companies, as numerous health insurance providers operate underneath the ? squeaky wheel? theory. A few of the famous Each one of these conditions may cause an interior blocking recent from the machine. I had been like this. article 4) Complete any forms This really is because of the irritating results of the chloramine off cuts which could easily go into the air. Uniform data standards can 1. This information is health written around the assumption that you simply follow the 3 rules above. Comprehending the need and demand insurance to New Year? s? causes it to be seem as though insurance change isn? t feasible at in other cases just one day each year.

    Source: http://curryrecipe-jp.net/health-2/houston-county-health-department/

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    Reliable Information About Equipment Leasing And Its Benefits ...

    Equipment leasing is an agreement between the lending and borrowing parties. This agreement takes place when the borrowing person promises the lender that they will pay for the commodity in question. The borrower has the right to use the commodity for the stipulated period of time.

    To lease out in lay mans language may be used to mean handing over your equipment to someone else who over the stipulated period of time becomes the new owner. For this to be actualized, the new owner will be liable to pay some rental fees. It should however be noted that the lender will always remain to be the owner of the asset even over the agreed duration of time.

    Leases are grouped into two categories, the finance lease or the rental agreement lease and the operating lease. In the rental lease the hire period is long to an extent that the lease holder tends to use the property for almost the rest of its life period. During this time the lessee will be using that particular item as if he is the rightful owner although he is not.

    A lease is usually classified as an operating lease if in any case it does not secure for the lending party the upturn of the capital expense and a return on the invested funds throughout the lease period. Therefore, the property should always be treated as a fixed asset thus the receivable rentals should be added in income during the leasing period. Costs, including depreciation, incurred in earning the rental income should be charged to income.

    Property ownership comes with many advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include the prospect of gainful operations over the productive life of the asset, more income from the appreciation in value of the asset, or residual value realization. The disadvantages include the changes in return due to changing economic conditions, technological obsolescence and idle capacity. The lender should be keen to expend any costs that they have incurred in negotiating and arranging the lease in the same year they were incurred.

    A finance lease cannot just be cancelled. However, it may be cancelled under some conditions. For instance, this may happen upon occurrence of some remote contingency with permission of the lender or if the lease is extended or renewed. These conditions are usually rare.

    It should be noted that when leasing, the rights and obligations involved in this contract will be similar to those of the outright buyer. One is required to be keen in considering the choices that are at their disposal. As a result of this, accounting comes in. One is accountable to the leasing terms and conditions.

    The lessee will therefore, in the balance sheet include finance lease assets together with owned assets under the heading of tangible fixed assets. However, leased assets should be distinguished from owned assets and amount disclosed, again show a liability in respect of lease payments not yet made. The liability in respect of minimum lease payments not yet paid is split into long-term and current liabilities.

    Equipment leasing has been of great importance and of benefit to many people over years. Despite the fact that even equipments from leasing, they also are termed as assets. These assets can be accounted for in the account books. This however will be determined by the fact that they will in future be of economic benefit by increasing the inflow to the enterprise.

    If there is a necessity for an equipment leasing service you may look online for more details. discover the best equipment rental company by reading this website http://leasingadvice.org/ today

    Source: http://immfinancial.com/2012/reliable-information-about-equipment-leasing-and-its-benefits/

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    Rooney could be out for 4 weeks with injury

    Rooney could be out for 4 weeks with injury

    ??MANCHESTER, England (AP) -Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney could be out injured for a month after sustaining a deep gash to his right leg Saturday in his team's 3-2 win against Fulham.

    Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48789553/ns/sports-soccer/

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    Mirge School Environment Improvement Program: Evidence of - Yes

    During June, I returned to Nepal and?visited?Mirge to personally check out the progress of the 'Herbal Garden' at Kalidhunga Higher Secondary School and the volunteer accommodation, catch up with teachers, community members, and meet and plan the next activities with the staff at ECCA.

    The start to our journey to Mirge was an amusing and somewhat frantic beginning. Angel had organised micro-bus tickets for our party, which included Sean who was to be our first volunteer in this program. We arrived early but unsuccessfully searched for our bus at the Bus Park. We eventually heard that there was no bus to Mainapokhari because it had?developed?mechanical problems. We frantically went from bus ticket seller to ticket seller trying to get on another bus which would be heading in the same?direction. The situation was getting?desperate and it looked like the trip was going to be cancelled. However, I was?insistent?and determined to get to Mirge because I was eager to see the progress of the?program?and talk to teachers about its?impacts. Constant monitoring is an?important?part of my?involvement?in the program. So with a quick call to a?reliable?travel agent we had within a few minutes?reorganized?the transport and contracted a 4-wheel drive and driver to get us on our way. In the end this was by far the better?solution?as we could get directly to the?schools?and avoid a 3 hour walk which we?would?have?had to have done if we had taken the bus. So?determination?won?out?and 6.5 hours later we arrived at KHSS.

    We were greeted by a beaming and animated principal, Bombari Dahal. Dragging me by the arm to look at a group of men and women who were sifting soil at a new building site, he displayed the ?broadest smile I had seen for a long time and with broken English that translated roughly as "look, look. Community!", he pointed at the beginnings of a new passive solar classroom in?construction. I?could?sense that something had significantly changed in the attitude of Bombari, the community and other school staff.? As Angel showed me the new 'Herbal Garden' which had been initiated by the student's Nature Club as a result of the Reformation and?Management?Training back in May, he told me that since this training Bombari had observed a radical change of attitude in his students. He attributed this to the emerging success of the Nature Club. I immediately felt like jumping up and 'punching in the air' like so many sportspeople do now after winning a hard earned victory on the tennis court or football pitch. However, I contained this and?internally?and silently yelled to myself "YES! They get it! It's working!" In regard to tangible results I could see and celebrate the?efforts?of the community who had come together to establish the Herbal Gardens, the water fountains and 7000 litre storage tank, but my absolute joy was in?response?to the subtle evidence of empowerment, ownership and responsibility within the teachers, community members and students. At last I had confirmation that this process was working and I contemplated at the time that we must support this enthusiasm until it is?permanently?embedded in those who it will benefit. After all, this program is entirely about empowerment and the skills of self-managing?change.? At the time of this post, the WATASOL water purification?program?had just been completed and I await?eagerly?the report. I have added a link to the details of this program and you are invited to read about the goals and processes that will lead to a sustainable community based approach to water purification. With careful management?gastroenteritis and associated?health issues will be?eliminated?from this community while?simultaneously?creating?an income stream for the school. I will report on the programs details in the next blog.

    ?Thank you again for your ongoing support and I look forward to telling you more about the latest developments.

    Source: http://mirgeseiprogam.blogspot.com/2012/08/evidence-of-empowerment-and-change-of.html

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    Poll: Big swath of voters undecided, unexcited

    In this photo combination, President Barack Obama, left, reaches out to shake hands after speaking at a campaign event at Capital University on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, shakes hands with supporters after finishing his speech during a rally at Guerdon Enterprises in Boise, Idaho Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. Two months out from Election Day, nearly a quarter of all registered voters are either undecided about the presidential race or iffy in their support for a candidate, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows. These voters could well prove decisive in a close contest. And they will be tough nuts for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to crack. (AP Photo)

    In this photo combination, President Barack Obama, left, reaches out to shake hands after speaking at a campaign event at Capital University on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, shakes hands with supporters after finishing his speech during a rally at Guerdon Enterprises in Boise, Idaho Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. Two months out from Election Day, nearly a quarter of all registered voters are either undecided about the presidential race or iffy in their support for a candidate, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows. These voters could well prove decisive in a close contest. And they will be tough nuts for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to crack. (AP Photo)

    (AP) ? Call them maybes.

    Two months out from Election Day, nearly a quarter of all registered voters are either undecided about the presidential race or iffy in their support for a candidate, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

    These voters could well prove decisive in a close contest. And they will be tough nuts for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to crack.

    Just 29 percent of them have a strong interest in the campaign, compared with 51 percent of those who've made up their minds. So no, they won't be hanging on every word coming out of the national political conventions in Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., over the next two weeks.

    Who are they? These so-called persuadable voters are more often men than women. They are a bit younger than those who've made up their minds. They have less education and income. And they are far less partisan.

    A quarter are independent or unaffiliated, while more than a third consider themselves Democrats and a similar share count themselves as Republicans.

    They are folks like Eric Avila, a 35-year-old Democrat from Tampa who didn't vote in 2008, has been unemployed since he was laid off from a sales job four years ago and doubts that either candidate will do much to reduce joblessness.

    Avila plans to vote this time but finds the campaign rhetoric from both sides grating. "It kind of gets on your nerves after a while," he says, "all of this stuff a person's promising, and it just gets forgotten or buried under a whole bunch of other things."

    Take that, Barack and Mitt. Their challenge is to figure out what will shift people like Avila firmly one way or the other.

    Ask the persuadables what will be the single most important factor in deciding their vote, and they have a multitude of answers at the ready.

    "Whoever runs the cleanest campaign," says one of those surveyed.

    "Whoever has the dirtiest ad campaigns on TV," counters another.

    A third, who speaks for many, confesses she has "no idea" what will win her over.

    How the persuadables ultimately vote could hinge on which issues rise to the top of the campaign.

    Romney holds the advantage among these voters on the economy, creating jobs and the federal budget deficit. But on two issues that have recently grabbed the spotlight ? social issues and Medicare ? Obama is the more trusted candidate among these voters.

    Neither Obama nor Romney carries much weight with the persuadables, though: Half have an unfavorable opinion of each candidate.

    Count Pam Zickert, an independent from Santa Maria, Calif., among those who are undecided and unenthusiastic.

    The 62-year-old retiree dislikes Obama, finds Romney "a bit bland" and has no intention of watching the political conventions.

    "It's tough to pick a presidential candidate when none of them are inspiring," says Zickert, who voted for Republican John McCain in 2008.

    William Galston, an expert on government and politics at the Brookings Institution and a former Clinton administration official, says that because the persuadables are more difficult to win over, Obama and Romney so far have been more focused on firming up support among their base supporters than on cultivating those on the fence.

    Romney's selection of conservative darling Rep. Paul Ryan as a running mate was "a decision to place mobilization ahead of persuasion," he says, and Obama's campaign has been systematically targeting the basic building blocks of his winning 2008 coalition: women, Hispanics, younger voters and gays and lesbians among them.

    In a polarized political environment and with limited dollars to spend, says Galston, "you can increase your vote total much more per dollar by ginning up the enthusiasm of the people who are already for you."

    Still, in a tight race, the persuadables could ultimately make the difference in key swing states, and they can't be ignored. The campaigns may well spend the convention weeks and September firming up their base supporters, then devote the debates and the final weeks of the race to reaching out to more fickle persuadables.

    In the AP-GfK survey, taken Aug. 16-20, the 23 percent of registered voters who are considered persuadable included 7 percent who expressed no presidential preference, 7 percent with soft support for Obama and 9 percent with soft support for Romney. The poll involved landline and cellphone interviews with 885 registered voters, including 192 considered persuadable. The margin of sampling error for registered voters was plus or minus 4.1 percent, and for persuadables 8.9 points.

    Will the persuadables actually show up and vote? History suggests yes.

    In an AP-Yahoo study that interviewed the same people multiple times over the course of the 2008 presidential campaign, 38 percent of registered voters were persuadable in interviews conducted just ahead of that year's conventions. When that same group was interviewed on Election Day, three-fourths said they had voted.

    When will the undecideds make up their minds?

    In 2004 and 2008, about 10 percent of voters reported they didn't decide until the last week, according to exit polls.

    Michelle Woodby, a 36-year-old Republican homemaker from Tecumseh, Mich., says she's been known to wait until the last minute.

    With small kids to care for and little time to watch the news, Woodby says she hasn't fully tuned in yet.

    So far, Romney's opposition to abortion has won her over, but Woodby says she's still got a lot of studying to do ? and she shows a decided lack of enthusiasm for the job.

    "I need to do my homework," she says, "which I dread."

    ___

    Online: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

    ___

    Associated Press writer Josh Lederman and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-08-25-The%20Persuadables/id-20d02e686a43424eb2b811d3ca29ce64

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    Essence Healthcare appoints Richard Jones as president, chief executive officer

    IBR Staff Writer Published 10 August 2012

    Essence Healthcare, a health insurance provider has named Richard Jones as president and chief executive officer, with a plan to streamline its operations in Medicare advantage health segment.

    Jones will succeed Frank Ingari, who is resigning to become chief executive officer of NaviNet, America's largest real-time health care communications network for physicians, hospitals and health insurers. Ingari will continue to serve as on the Board of Essence Healthcare.

    Lumeris, a sister company of Essence Healthcare that specializes in the enablement of high-performing accountable health care delivery systems, together with three Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates acquired NaviNet earlier this year.

    Richard Jones said, "Frank's experience at Essence will help broaden the functionality of NaviNet's multi-payer communications platform, which is used by many of the area's health care providers."

    "I believe that doctors and patients across the St. Louis area will benefit from a joint Lumeris-NaviNet solution that further encourages more coordinated and accountable health care."

    Jones has over 20 years of executive experience in health care working with Essence and has been a member of the Essence Healthcare board of directors, while also served as the company's chief financial officer.

    Essence Healthcare provides Medicare comprehensive and affordable health insurance that focuses on wellness, care coordination and personal service.

    Source: http://reinsurance.insurance-business-review.com/news/essence-healthcare-appoints-richard-jones-as-president-chief-executive-officer-100812

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