Businesses are at their best when they operate like a well-oiled machine, including complying with federal and state regulations that protect civil rights. This is especially true when it comes to ADA compliance. Business owners must take extra care to avoid falling victim to misinformation. Here are the top four myths to avoid.

What is ADA?

Signed into law in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most recent laws enacted to protect civil rights. Specifically, the law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As a result, the law is designed to ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Landlords, operating within the United States, are required to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act tenants and in doing so will comply.

Myth #1: You have to spend a lot of money to be complicit

This is simply not true. The fact is that the law only requires companies to remove architectural barriers in existing facilities that could prevent access to public places such as banks, hotels, shops and restaurants “without much difficulty or expense.” As a result, it does not require anyone to spend exorbitant amounts of money building to make its facility accessible in order to comply with the ADA.

Myth #2: Barriers need to be removed immediately

FAKE. The truth is that when it comes to ADA compliance, businesses have a lot more leeway than that. The law specifically stipulates that companies are only required to do what is readily achievable at the time. As a result, owners are encouraged to make long-term plans to remedy their accessibility issues and/or remove barriers as deemed commensurate with the availability of resources.

Myth #3: Forced to hire unqualified people

Could not be farther from the truth. Business owners who adhere to ADA compliance are only required to provide equal opportunity to qualified individuals. In doing so, beaters must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which includes people with disabilities.

Myth #4: Hit with huge fines if found in violation

Again, not true. Civil courts can only impose penalties on businesses for failure to comply with the ADA filed by the Department of Justice. However, the Department of Justice only pursues such sanctions when the violation is substantial. As a result, minor violations due to delayed barrier removal, for example, are not prosecuted as much as cases that may include overt acts or persistent problems.

These are just four of the most common misconceptions about ADA compliance, and should not be considered barriers when bringing a business up to speed.

In 2006, the United States and Japan reached an agreement on the transfer of 8,000 military personnel from Okinawa to the island of Guam. There were two main problems getting in the way of this expansion; Guam’s outdated commercial port and have access to enough workers to complete the projects. This led to changes to immigration law that would allow Guam employers to hire seasonal workers who do not count toward their annual allowance of $66,000.

The first order of business is underway with a massive $193 million dollar harbor improvement project currently underway. Guam’s commercial port handles 100,000 containers annually, but to handle the construction materials needed to build bases, hospitals, schools and more, the port will need the capacity to handle twice that amount. Extensions to the current pier and container storage area will be needed to handle the influx of ships and supply containers.

infrastructure improvements

With the two main barriers, infrastructure issues will also need to be addressed. The islands’ road, utility, and bridge infrastructure is outdated, to say the least, and to support the construction of the Guam base, they will need to be upgraded. In July 2010, an environmental impact study was completed to determine the most responsible use of the aquifer and to assess improvements to the islands’ water and sewage treatment facilities.

Bottom line

Construction jobs may be slowing down in the United States, but the construction of the Guam base promises more opportunities than ever. Requests for tenders from Guam have already started pouring in with around $4 billion already awarded to seven companies. The pace is picking up on military expansion plans, and very soon there will likely be additions of residential housing, roads, sidewalks, and everything else that is needed to make modern conveniences a reality for more people. Of course, local citizens are concerned about the impact of so many people moving to their island at the same time, but with proper planning, the construction of the Guam base promises to be an opportunity for people on several levels.

Important law firm decisions should never be made in a vacuum. Instead, they must be armed with an abundance of the correct information in hand. For many law firm decisions, “the right information” means competitive intelligence.

Competitive intelligence is defined as a systematic and ethical program to collect, analyze, and manage information about the external business environment, information that can affect all plans, decisions, and operations of a law firm.

Competitive intelligence can be information about organizations – as your customers, potential customers and adversaries. It can be information about other law firms – as collaborators, opposing lawyers or even potential merger partners. It may be information about particular legal needs industries or markets.

Competitive intelligence can also be information about people – such as the people you will meet at a presentation, in the boardroom, in the courtroom (such as opposing counsel or an expert witness), or in a hiring interview.

In any of these scenarios, the knowledge of companies and people is power.

When collecting competitive intelligence, there is a wrong way and a right way to do it. The wrong path is typified by hackers like Lisbeth Salander in The girl with the dragon tattoo. As much as we enjoy the book and the movie, and want Lisbeth to succeed, we cannot tolerate her tactics. This type of corporate espionage is good entertainment, but bad and unethical business.

The ethical collection of competitive intelligence complies with all applicable laws, both national and international. It is obtained from legitimate online and print sources, both in public and subscription databases. When obtained through interviews (either with staff and customers of the target competitor or as general field research), the ethics interviewer reveals both his identity and the purpose of the interview in advance.

Before beginning any competitive research project, it is essential that you have a plan. Thanks to the Internet, there is an almost unlimited amount of resources. You can waste a lot of time and money searching for all of them. Knowing your goals for a particular research project can help you focus your resources on the most likely, valid, and reliable sources for your purpose.

Competitive intelligence on companies, competitors and adversaries

Some sources of competitive intelligence about companies, competitors, and adversaries are paid, and some are free to the public. Due to the nature of their work, many law firms and law librarians already have access to many of the paid resources. These include products offered by industry giants LexisNexis and Thomson West.

For industry research, competitive intelligence professionals also like to use a product called Profound, offered by MarketReserch.com. They offer a wide range of reports for purchase. A full report can be expensive, but if you know exactly what you’re looking for, you can request just a part of a report for a lower fee.

And don’t forget it. Many of these paid resources are available for you to use for free at your local public library.

Free company research resources include llrx.com and the Zimmerman Research Guide. In its database, Zimmerman’s provides links to both company information and company personnel. Both sites are great places to start if you’re trying to get an overview of the type of research out there.

Justia.com’s Virtual Chase product offers business research as well as city and county law resources. You can find company information at Hoovers, Yahoo! Finance, Google Finance, Nexis company information, and Valuation Resources.com.

A lot of good research is available on Google. We all know how to do a Google search, but there are much more refined searches and results available through Google’s advanced general search page. Google Scholar and Google Advanced Scholar Search offer useful results that have been ‘purged’ of casual results.

Court and government sites, especially the Secretary of State’s office, include public records and a lot of useful information. If you want to know where a company is headed, check out the US Patent and Trademark Office database.

Competitive Intelligence Profiles

When preparing to meet with a potential client, lawyers often ask marketers or librarians to prepare a client profile. Too often this is done just hours before the scheduled meeting, and we have to rush it.

Even with very little lead time, you’d be surprised how much information you can get just by visiting and mining the lead’s website. You should also look for company pages or signatures on social networking sites.

When you have a little more time to prepare, such as a proposal or the resulting beauty pageant, you can dig deeper into the client’s background. Good sources for public companies include SEC filings. Good sources for private companies include the Dun and Bradstreet reports.

A good profile addresses some or all (depending on your time and research skills) of these categories:

• Fast facts
• company overview
• business segments
• products and services
• business partners
• Board of Directors
• key executives
• key developments
• customer representative
• Legal issues and litigation
• rentals
• case studies
• patent information
• marketing strategy
• Competitors
• Sources
• news articles

Armed with this kind of information, your lawyers and law firm are well equipped to make good decisions about how to approach a potential client (or anyone else) and how to make a good impression once contact is made.

Competitive intelligence about people

Sometimes information is needed about an individual rather than a company. This person could be a customer, prospective client, competitor, opposing attorney, prospective employee, or potential merger partner. When you know something about the person you are meeting with, you can plan accordingly.

Sometimes you need other types of information about people. For example, you may need to locate a former employee or a potential witness. When such a person has gone ‘out’ electronically, they may not have much to go on. This is where creativity comes into play.

In one such case, a former executive had been gone from a company for five years. He had a common name, which made the search even more difficult. Someone remembered him saying that he wanted to take over his family’s farm. By using the farm subsidy database and narrowing the search by general geographic area and the man’s age, we were able to locate him for our client.

Another reason to search for people is to acquire their contact information for use in a marketing database. Good sources of contact information include telephone directories, professional directories, and professional licensing agencies (if you know a person’s profession). Online sources include a search on Yahoo! People.

Many of the business and general resources mentioned in the “company” research section of this article work just as well for individuals.

Competitive intelligence experts often use a site called Jigsaw, owned by Salesforce. It’s a database of business-to-business contracts populated by marketers and salespeople from across the country. By contributing their contacts, users gain access to the database. Includes 30 million contacts. It’s an especially good source for contact information for people below the usual C-level executives listed in most directories.

If you know the location of a person, you can search local and regional media for mentions of their names and activities. Social networks such as Martindale Hubbell, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube are also good resources. So are blog searches. Social media includes contact information, but also extends your inquiry with less formal “chat” about people, their activities, and the companies they work for.

When collecting information about people, you want to use a wide variety of sources, and you want to be very careful to validate any information you find before acting on it. There is a lot of misinformation out there. There are also privacy concerns.

Today, information about companies and individuals is widely available. In fact, you could easily draw all the data. The trick is to focus your search in light of your business goals. With this information in hand, you are well positioned to make good decisions about the future of your law firm and your work.

This article is based on a January article. 10 2012 presentation to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Making Association by Wanda McDavid and Judy Goater of Access Information, a Denver-based firm that provides competitive intelligence for law firms across the country.

When someone is in police custody and is questioned about a crime that has taken place, the police must warn Miranda. The right to remain silent is included in the Miranda warnings to protect a suspect from self-incrimination. She’s probably heard this warning before on TV or in the movies.

Anyone in this situation should remain silent because, as the Miranda Warning says, anything you say can and will be used against you.

If you have started to speak and suddenly remember your right to remain silent, stop! It is worth emphasizing that it is always best to exercise your right to remain silent from the start of your time in police custody. However, you can still exercise it if you remember your right during the questioning. Exercising this right in Illinois, or in any state, does not require any specific language. Just say you are doing it or just don’t say anything. The police must stop questioning.

“Good Cop/Bad Cop” doesn’t just happen in the movies and it’s not always dramatic. For example, if asked about shoplifting, the “good cop” might tell you that it’s routine and try to get you to talk. Keep silence. He has the right to remain silent and must exercise it, no matter how informal the situation may seem.

Don’t forget your right regarding written statements. Your signature “speaks” for you and anything you sign, a confession or even a simple statement, can and will be used against you.

You may not have done anything wrong and your words may seem harmless, but once you’ve said them (verbally or in a written statement), they can still be misrepresented and then used against you.

After you are released from police custody, do not talk to anyone, including family, friends, or co-workers. By talking to anyone, you instantly involve that person and he or she can be called as a witness against you. That being said, you do have attorney-client privilege with an attorney and are free to speak with them.

If you find yourself being questioned in police custody, remain calm and simply request the presence of your lawyer.

Learn Japanese fast! Welcome back to your Japanese items! Here you’ll find out how to say “Welcome back” and “I’m home” in formal and informal Japanese. Plus, you’ll discover how to effectively use one of the most important forms of Japanese words, both formally and informally. In this Japanese for beginners article, master the volitional form of Japanese verbs. Some of the words you will learn are “swim”, “study” and “meet”. You will enjoy the many charts that demonstrate the formal and informal volitional forms of all kinds of verbs. And, the example sentences are sure to become part of your Japanese vocabulary. It’s all here!

Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

tadaima – “Right now, I’m home”

O-kaerinasai. – “Welcome home”

senpai – “higher, higher”

mainichi – “every day”

sabishii gold samishii – “lonely, lonely” (final adjective -i)

taihen – “hard hard”

futsuu – “ordinary, habitual”

tanjoobi – “birthday”

shiru – “to know, to understand” (verb class 1)

dakar – “so, therefore”

deeto – “date” (romantic)

minna of – “With everyone”

tanjoo-kai – “Birthday Party”

jooshi – “chief, superior”

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

Vocabulary and useful phrases

————————————————– —————————————-

“Am at home.“

informal: Tadaima

Formal: Tadaima kaerimashita.

“Welcome back.”

informal: O-kaeri.

Formal: O-kaerinasai.

————————————————– —————————————-

For more information on these phrases:

SEE Rookie series Nihongo Doojoo Style you and beyond Item 16

SEE Series for Beginners Season 4 Article 2

————————————————– —————————————-

shit imasu

————————————————– —————————————-

There are some verbs that we usually use in the [ te-form of a verb ] + [ iru / imasu ] construction. shiru (“know”) is one of them. However, in the negative form, we use shiranai gold shirimasenNO shit inai gold shit imagine.

Examples:

formal speech

1. Formal: Ano hito or shitte imasu ka.
   informal: Ano milestone, shitteiru?

   Translation: “Do you know that person?”

2. Formal: That is, shirimasen.
   informal: iya shiranai.

   Translation: “No.”

————————————————– —————————————-

minna of

————————————————– —————————————-

this particle of indicates the condition of the agent of the action.

Examples:

1. Watashi wa hitori of afurika ni itta.
   “I went to Africa alone.”

2. Yamakawa-san wa kazoku minna de ryokoo o shita.
   “Mr. (or Mrs.) Yamakawa went on a trip with his whole family.”

target grammar

In this article, we are going to learn how to form volitive informal forms of a verb.

————————————————– —————————————-

“Come on!“

informal: ikoo.

Formal: ikimashoo.

————————————————– —————————————-

Volitional Form

• formal volitional form of a verb [ masu stem of a verb ] + mashoo

For more information:

SEE Series for newcomers Nihongo Doojoo Style You and Beyond Article 12

SEE Series for beginners season 4 Article 7

• Informal volitional form of a verb

class 1 verbs

(1) Drop the final -you

(2) Add –Oh

“English” /dictionary form /Volitional Form

“buy” / thatto / thatOh

“go” /Ito / IOh

“talk” /hanasto / hanasOh

“wait” /maststo / mastOh

“die” /shinto / shinOh

“play” /asobto / asobOh

“to ride” /neitherto / neitherOh

class 2 verbs

(1) Drop the final -ru

(2) Add –I or

“English” /dictionary form / Volitional Form

“eat” /tableyou / tableI or

“to see” /halfyou / halfI or

class 3 verbs

“English” /dictionary form / Volitional Form

“do” /sure / shyOh

“come” /kuru / koyoo

————————————————– —————————————-

Practice 1

Fill in the blanks to complete the chart.

————————————————– —————————————-

“English” / Dictionary form / Volitional informal / Volitional formal

“meet up” /In /___/ aimashOh

“hear” /kiku /kickOh / ___

“swim” /oyogu /___/ oyogimashOh

“to drink” /___ / ___ / last nameOh

“cut” (class1) /kiru / ___ / ___

“sleep” (class2) /neru / ___ / ___

“carry” (class 2) /kiru / ___ / ___

“study” (class 3) /benkyoo suru / ___ / ___

“bring” (class 3) /motte kuru / ___ / ___

————————————————– —————————————-

practice 2

Rewrite the following sentences in informal Japanese.

————————————————– —————————————-

1. Terebi or mimashoo. ______________________________________________________________________
2. Kekkon or shimashoo. ______________________________________________________________________
3. O-cha or nomimashOh. ______________________________________________________________________
4. Japanesepod101.com[Japanesepod101com[Japanesepod101com[Japonéspod101com[Japanesepod101comoh kikimashoo. ______________________________________________________________________
5. Nihon-go or benkyoo shimashoo. ______________________________________________________________________

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau

When Henry Thoreau said this, he was living in a different era, one where the Internet didn’t exist. For David Thoreau, understanding metadata and link building would be impossible, but he still realized a fundamental truth. That it is not the true appearance that is significant, the way in which it is perceived by others is what truly counts. For search engine optimization, This is an important concept. In SEO, there is a lot to could be seen, but it is what is perceived that counts. It counts more that a website is perceived as popular than if it really is or not. However, the opposite seems to be true for SEO as a career. Some perceive it unfavorably, but there is a great opportunity for those who take it. In reality, search engine optimization is a viable, profitable, and opportunity-rich career option.

Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing a website to rank high on major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. [1] SEO is a subset of internet marketing and is really a process of optimizing a website for any user (or bot) that visits it. Comparable to optimizing a physical store through signage and attracting more foot traffic and, inevitably, more sales because the new signage made the store more visible. That’s SEO, except the store is a website, and the signs, traffic, and visibility are all virtual.

Due to the increased use of the Internet and search engines, the role of SEO in marketing and advertising has become vital to business success. For this reason, SEO has become an indelible part of the general strategy of any company. Unless search engines or the Internet disappear, there will always be some form of optimization. There is some speculation that search engines will evolve towards personalized, individualized, and compartmentalized search, which can only include sites that have paid to be there or have cooperated with the search service in some way. While this may be true even in this scenario, a “middleman” will be necessary. Someone who helps business owners with websites and users find each other.

Career Options

Since the growth of the search industry has been enormous and is expected to increase at the same rate as the current growth, the need for SEO professionals has increased dramatically. Also, because the industry is relatively new, there is no official school for learning SEO. Therefore, there are not enough trained SEO professionals to meet the demand for manpower. This sounds bad, but for someone interested in SEO as a career, it’s a great thing. Not only are there many different SEO positions to choose from, but they also all offer a great salary. And while recommended, a college degree is not necessary.

There is a huge discrepancy in the search engine world about what SEOs in different positions should do. The consensus is that a base minimum should be around $30,000 a year. Most likely, for an entry-level position, this salary would be representative of a content/copy writer, link builder, SEO researcher, or customer relationship coordinator. Pay for these positions can be as high as $75,000 a year, and in some cases as much as $100,000. An SEO with a little more experience can earn a base salary of $50,000 a year in positions such as search engine specialist, director SEO, Search Marketing Consultant or Campaign Manager, and depending on the company, you can earn up to $100,000 and even $200,000 a year for a Search Marketing Consultant.

These salaries are high and an SEO expert can hold positions such as Team Managers, Director/Manager of Organic Search or Vice President/Director of Search Marketing. In a position like this, salaries are expected to be extremely high starting at around $80,000 and can bring in up to $200,000-300,000 dollars a year in salaries.

Aside from the extremely high salary grade for SEO professionals, the educational requirements are extremely lax. Considering that, formal education teaches nothing about SEO; those without degrees have a unique opportunity to obtain secure, well-paying jobs. Plus, many things you’ll learn in the course of your role will give you skills and talents for the future should you decide SEO isn’t for you. Some of the skills that any SEO will learn are; writing, effective communication, organization, marketing methods/techniques, general advanced computer literacy, team building/leadership, and discipline (time management or self-motivation).

How to learn SEO

Since there is no “SEO School” or anything like that, there is some confusion about how to learn search engine optimization. Many wonder how the original practitioners learned all the methods widely practiced today. At first, OGs learn through a combination of trial and error and study. Back then there weren’t the kind of easily accessible resources that we have today. They read the approved methods of the major search engines and experimented.

Now trial and error play their part, but there are accelerated learning methods that make the process easier. The best way to learn SEO is to start reading on all the most popular blogs like SEOmoz, bruce clay, seo book, andy hagan, matte cuts and websites like Search Engine , organic SEO, Round table, Search Engine. There are many resources available beyond this short list and anyone interested in SEO is encouraged to read everything available.

There are also seminars and workshops that are just emerging as search engine strategies and searchmarketingexpo. As the industry grows, there will be more opportunities for workshops, seminars and classes and it is advantageous to attend as many as possible. In the future there will be cheaper, more accessible and more content-rich programs and eventually there will even be a career path for those who can teach SEO.

Finally, there is the absolute best way to learn; practice. If you want to learn fast and put what you’ve learned into practice even faster, getting an entry-level job at an SEO company or a large company with an in-house SEO staff is the best way to go. Although you must continue with private education and read a lot, learning from a job is the best way to learn because you get the benefit of learning condensed knowledge in order to learn more, faster. This route also helps to eliminate a lot of the trial and error and you’ll make fewer major mistakes because your teachers should have already made them. Plus, there’s simply no substitute for human interaction; learning from an experienced SEO is like learning from a private tutor.

Search engine optimization careers are still in their infancy, but one thing is for sure. Search Engine Optimization is a viable, profitable, and opportunity-rich career option. SEO specialists will always be available, their job description and pay may change, but their service is so important to current and future business operations internationally that all this SEO isn’t over the top and it’s not another dot-com bubble. The great Internet age that is and yet to come only reinforces the need for various marketing services. The competition is low; the salaries are high and the opportunities even greater. The risks are small and the benefits are great. ace Robert James Waller saying, “In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once; no matter how many lives you live“.

If you have been injured in a car accident or injured by the actions of another person, you have probably been told that you need to speak with a personal injury lawyer. In fact, in most cases, it is in your best interest to have an attorney handle your case. Here are 5 benefits of having a personal injury lawyer represent you.

1. Personal injury attorneys know personal injury law.

This may sound obvious, but many people think that they know as much as a lawyer and that a lawyer only charges money. That is simply not true. Just because you have been injured does not mean that you are entitled to full compensation for your injuries. Few states recognize contributory negligence today, but contributory negligence says that if you contributed even slightly to a car accident, you are not entitled to compensation. Most states recognize some form of comparative negligence that allows you to receive at least some compensation for your injuries depending on your involvement in the car accident.

Another part of personal injury law is knowing what personal injury claims a person is entitled to. There are many possible claims, many of which a non-lawyer would not consider.

You benefit from the lawyer knowing personal injury law in that an insurance adjuster cannot BS or misrepresent the law by trying to convince you that you will not receive the compensation to which you may actually be entitled.

2. A personal injury attorney knows insurance law.

This may sound like it doesn’t make a difference, but it can make a dramatic difference. For example, an insurance policy may provide a benefit of $20,000 to an injured person. Adjusted insurance tells you that it will give you the full $20,000 since you have a good personal injury claim. What the insurance adjuster doesn’t tell you is that there may be ways under state law that you can receive more. For example, some states allow “stacking” of insurance policies in certain circumstances and this means that you may receive more compensation.

You benefit from a personal injury attorney knowing whether state law entitles you to more than apparent compensation for your injuries.

3. Personal Injury Lawyers Know Approximate Values ​​of Injuries

Experienced attorneys have handled a number of cases and have a good idea of ​​what most injuries are worth. Additionally, personal injury lawyers know what facts can increase or decrease the amount of compensation to which you are entitled. By virtue of the attorneys’ experience, insurance adjusters and attorneys cannot mislead or misrepresent the value of a personal injury claim.

4. A personal injury attorney will go to court.

Insurance adjusters know that if a case goes to court, the insurance company could be forced to pay much more than it wants to pay. Adjusters also know that if you are representing yourself, it will be difficult for you to go to court. They know that a personal injury lawyer will go to court. Therefore, adjusters need to be more realistic in what they offer you as compensation for your personal injuries.

5. Personal injury lawyers generally increase the value of a case.

Basically, for all of the reasons mentioned above, insurance adjusters will offer more compensation when you are represented by an attorney. Some people will tell you that the increased amount of compensation is offset by a lawyer’s fee. So you end up with the same amount at the end. Sometimes that is true, but in many cases, due to her knowledge and experience, a personal injury attorney will recover more than enough for your personal injury claims to offset the attorney’s fees.

I cannot and do not want the experience or effectiveness of any personal injury lawyer. The above is merely a guide to what you can expect. Also, the results of any case can vary from attorney to attorney.

This is general information only. If you have any questions, talk to an attorney licensed in your state.

This article may be republished, but the wording must not be changed and the author links must remain active.

When it comes to health and the diagnostic instruments and tools required to serve health, the factors of quality, precision and accuracy are of the highest priority.

For the doctor or nurse, nothing is more relevant and useful than the use of the stethoscope. Ask any doctor or healthcare professional, and chances are they’ll be using a littman stethoscope.

It was in 1963 when Harvard Medical School professor David Littmann, a renowned cardiologist, invented a stethoscope that would revolutionize the world of medical auscultation.

Named in his honor, this invention continued to be improved and developed, resulting in a highly acclaimed stethoscope aptly named the 3M Littmann Cardiology Stethoscope.

This stethoscope is uniquely equipped to help the clinician detect heart sounds, lung sounds, and other hard-to-hear body sounds that admit of distracting noises.

Using new 3M Ambient Noise Reduction technology, it is now possible to reduce disturbing room noise by an average of 75% (-12 decibels) over the bell and diaphragm operating range. This is convincingly the most important feature of the Littman stethoscope.

Apart from this, the new tunable diaphragm technology used in Littman stethoscopes allows the healthcare professional to modify the pressure on the chest piece to switch from bell to diaphragm mode and vice versa. This makes it very versatile for adaptive use.

As a result, the technology has spawned an entirely new line of Littmann stethoscopes, including the Littmann Master Cardiology Electronic Stethoscope for pediatric, pediatric and veterinary disciplines.

Littmann stethoscopes are among the most popular stethoscopes for cardiologists, where Littman stethoscopes such as Littman cardiology III, Littmann cardiology STC, and Littmann Master classic II are used for both adult and pediatric auscultation.

One particular innovation is that the stethoscope carries a large diaphragm side and a small diaphragm side. The large side of the diaphragm is for adults and the small side is specially designed to sound with pediatric patients or extremely thin adult patients. This makes it a truly versatile tool for the doctor, nurse or cardiologist.

In addition to the standard adult size, Littman offers a one-inch pediatric hood and an infant hood.

Since nurses form the foundation of the healthcare system and require stethoscopes, they are not far behind. There are active online nursing forum communities where nurses from around the world discuss and share information on the use of nursing and medical tools, such as the littmann nursing stethoscope, and there is a nurse kit that includes a littman stethoscope for members at a special price.

The next time we see a doctor with a stethoscope, chances are they are using a Littman stethoscope, and we can thank the efforts of the brilliant cardiologist Professor David Littmann.

Nation states have used mercenary soldiers since Biblical times. The Romans used Gothic mercenaries to fight Hannibal and his Carthaginian army. The English used Celtic warriors to defend against the Vikings. The British used Hessians during the Revolutionary War here in the United States. Mercenaries have enjoyed a very mixed reputation since government entities have used this soldier-for-hire service.

The most successful use of a mercenary army must surely be the late 20th century prowess displayed by a company called Executive Outcomes. In conflict-torn countries across Africa, governments and multinational corporations have hired the company to protect assets like oil fields and diamond mines while the carnage raged around them. Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Botswana and Angola are just some of the countries that have implemented executive results. Chevron, DeBeers, Rio Tinto/Zinc and Texaco are just a tip of the companies that have contracted with the company to protect valuable production assets.

The name Executive Outcomes would seem to indicate that this mercenary army provided more than bullets and contract soldiers, and they did. The firm acted as an adviser to governments, provided in-depth background checks on prospective employees, wrote software, provided training at its company-owned schools and controlled more than 30 legitimate businesses. However, it was as mercenaries that Executive Outcomes dazzled.

The company consisted mainly of forming the South African Special Forces, peppered with a few British, Scottish, Irish and American soldiers of fortune.

The speed and lethality of Executive Outcomes’ operations became legendary, instilling fear in its opponents and admiration in interested parties such as the CIA, Hamas, the Israeli Mossad and the Russian KGB.

Executive Outcomes offered a turnkey service tailored to every geopolitical and corporate need. If a refinery needed protection from revolutionaries, it was done, and the corporate assets hired to protect the company were never lost. If a town or city needed liberation, this would be accomplished with unbridled speed, tactics, and firepower.

The company’s most famous and public success was in Sierra Leone. A brutal civil war had turned the country into a supernatural zone of death, inhumane killing, rape, torture and hatred. The little boys were armed to the teeth and took great pleasure in killing children, the disabled, puppies and each other.

Sierra Leone has one of the world’s largest diamond deposits and the mines were constantly attacked by rebels. The Sierra Leone government and the United Nations feared that if the rebels took control of the diamond mines, they could use the conflict diamonds to further finance their folly. The rules of engagement and the fees paid to Executive Outcomes were never publicly disclosed. It was also never announced, but it was widely believed that the company was contracted and paid for by the United Nations.

The United Nations had placed 4,000 peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone. They had suffered a series of embarrassing losses and, predictably, were unable to stop or even slow down the rebels a bit. The decision to hire Executive Outcomes was painful for the international community. Diplomacy would never work. Hunger was rampant. The possibility of the fighting spreading to Nigeria and other countries was imminent. The idea that a private company could resolve the situation, and quickly, was a bitter pill to swallow for the diplomatic community.

Executive Outcomes assembled a team of 300 professional mercenaries. If they were a baseball team, the equivalent would have been a team of 300 Albert Pujols or Mickey Mantles. These guys were good, the best fighters in the world. Each had extensive experience in multiple nasty wars, from Angola to East Timor, and many more. They faced a rebel army made up of an undisciplined but brutal force estimated at between 50,000 and 60,000 rebels.

The mercenaries relied on speed, surprise, coordinated tactics, and logistics. The rebels relied on superior numbers and firepower. The competition was, well, no competition. Within days, the rebels had been driven from the capital, thrown into the jungle, and killed by concealed fire teams and snipers.

The United States had suffered an embarrassing defeat in a similar situation in Somalia a year before the events in Sierra Leone. The incredible success of Executive Outcomes opened the eyes of military planners, governments and humanitarian groups around the world. It was a shame for them. As the mercenary army secured Sierra Leone, the violence subsided and food and medical care flowed back into the country. The unpopular truth was that Executive Outcomes, a 300-strong army, had accomplished a feat that no government could or would undertake.

This is where the story takes a sad, almost perverted turn. Eighteen months into stabilizing the country of Sierra Leone, the government, under strong international pressure, asked the Executive Outcomes forces to leave. They did, and within a few weeks the rebels regrouped and infiltrated the cities again.

Also, at this time the genocide in Rwanda was beginning to receive international news coverage. Executive Outcomes presented the CIA, the United Nations and the French government with a business plan offering to enter Rwanda and stop the killing. Surprisingly, they all said no and the issue was kept secret. No government took action as more than 800,000 Rwandans were massacred in a televised ethnic cleansing.

In 1999, the South African government outlawed mercenary activities, effectively putting Executive Outcomes out of action. The embarrassment that the company had brought to the doorstep of weak and wavering governments was too much for them. Rather than use and manage Executive Outcomes as a tool to minimize and eliminate criminals everywhere, the United Nations preferred to serve up prudish drivel while a country was raped, looted and murdered.

I wish we lived in a perfect world, or a sane one. We don’t. I wish there was no need for a mercenary army to exist anywhere. However, Executive Outcomes showed that that force, when used by the good guys, would be a force for good.

Executive Outcomes is the military equivalent of an organization like the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Executive Outcomes’ disruptive innovation was negotiating contracts with governments and international organizations, delivering fast, clear and decisive results, minimizing loss of life, stabilizing the territory and provide a chance for peace. The company should have been praised, not ridiculed by cowardly and vapid bureaucrats and politicians. The company was a classic example of entrepreneurial success, solving problems and delivering the necessary benefits.

Do you have a talent for public speaking? Have you ever wondered how other people feel so comfortable speaking in front of a crowd? Do you want to be like them? Well, for some people they don’t see the importance of public speaking skills. They simply do not realize their essence in their entire being. But this is a major misconception about the essence of public speaking skills. The main reason why other people show no interest in speaking to the crowd is simply because they are actually afraid of speaking in public. They either get tongue-tied or want to faint every time they face the crowd.

On the other hand, there are also other people who think that public speaking is only for sales and marketing professionals. Therefore, they do not even dare to try to do it. But contrary to all these misconceptions, possessing good communication skills can be a factor for career advancement. If you notice, the ones who get fast or fast promotions are the squads that have eloquence and confidence to face the public. Even if they are not that smart, but once they face the crowd, everyone pays attention to them. This is due to how they converse with their listeners. And talking to multiple people is very important in any business or other areas.

A concrete example of this is if you are applying for a job. Of course, before being accepted, you must pass the interview. This is the crucial part when applying for a job. Because this is the doomsday stage, whether they hire you or not, you need to show them your best shot. And the most important skill you need for this is your communication skills. The interviewer will assess you based on how well you communicate with other people, either verbally or in writing. Therefore, being able to talk to one person or group of people is really imperative for everyone.

This is basically the reason why other smart people are dominated or defeated by people who are good at public speaking. Even if they are full of intelligence but do not communicate well with the public, it is not enough to put them on top. It is very fundamental to know how to express what you think and feel about the people around you. Therefore, if you have a hard time pulling yourself together to face them, then you cannot step up on your own.

Public speaking skills are not only good for telling something to a large crowd. Keep in mind that your communication and public speaking skills are interrelated, and therefore if you overcome your fear of public speaking, you will also improve your interpersonal communication skills with other people.

Therefore, if you are given the opportunity to practice speaking in public or develop your communication skills, do not let it pass you by. Grab it and make sure you maximize the time given to you to learn all the techniques to improve your skills. Public speaking is a talent that you need to use frequently to improve it. And this skill will open up more opportunities for you in your career or in your personal life.