Tips for Saving Time and Money During the Holiday Shopping Blitz

Holidays are a great time to shop and enjoy local events. All of the latest brands, newest technology, and deals seem to converge during the holidays. Despite the great joy of holiday shopping there also comes with it considerable stress. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas season jumping forward we have only a few precious weeks to get our affairs in order. You may want to consider a few tips before getting started. 

-Make a List and Check it Twice: Think through the things you want to buy. Having a list will help ensure you are not distracted by all the extra stuff. The list should contain the most expensive items you desire to purchase. You likely don’t want to list little Johnny’s socks. 

-Create a Budget: It is best to look at how much you are willing to spend before the holiday season. Separate this budget into the big ticket item pool and the loose leaf pool for the small items you will inevitably buy but don’t have any specific plans for. 

-Search Online for the Best Deals: Sometimes you can find the best deals and purchase your items online without ever needing to go to the store. If the prices are better than what you can find in the store without any hassle go ahead and buy them. 

 -Know the Stores and the Products: When purchasing expensive products it is beneficial to search online and find the stores that carry these products and the price they charge. You may be shocked to see that the prices vary widely. 

-Create Your Schedule and Plans: One you know the stores and the items they contain it can be beneficial to pick days you are going to each store. Schedule plenty of time for browsing, sitting around for coffee, eating lunch and enjoying your time. This is a stress savor. Spread your shopping over the few weeks. 

-Wrap your Gifts When You Buy Them: After bringing home the gifts it is beneficial to wrap those up quickly so sneaky little eyes don’t have a chance to browse. People will keep walking by the tree every time something is added. You might find a little joy when family members try and guess what is new. It also provides a pleasant atmosphere for visitors.

-Save Money throughout the Year: If you don’t want to max out your credit cards it is beneficial to create an account and put your money away throughout the year. Interest bearing accounts will give you a little extra money but don’t expect much. Shopping is less stressful when the money is already available.

Are Great Lakes Fish Starving? Study Confirms Fresh Water Food Source Problems

Are Great Lakes fish starving?  According to a U.S. Geological Survey and three University of Michigan Professors the fundamental amount of phytoplankton is decreasing which limits the food supply for native species. Invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels are increasing which impacts other species within the system (1). 

As phosphorous amounts decline due to the rise of invasive species it impacts phytoplankton growth (2). This growth is necessary to feed fish all the way up the food chain. As the ecosystem goes through fundamental changes it is incumbent to ensure that native species are not lost in the overall process. The Great Lakes are a single entity and unique within the world. 

 The study has collected significant information over a longitudinal time frame in an effort to understand how fish like Salmon  and others have collapsed (3). The lack of phytoplankton is changing even the look of the Great Lakes as water becomes clearer but less able to sustain life.  

There are some efforts to restore the Great Lakes as a natural resource. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative includes 11 federal agencies and significant investments of billions of dollars (4). The initiatives plans include a number of goals:

1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern;
2. Combating invasive species;
3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off;
4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats; and
5. Tracking progress and working with strategic partners.

Gifted College Students and Androgynous Identities

College students are trying to determine an identity in life and a path forward in their careers. Gifted college students don’t fit well into narrow stereotypes and maintain identities that are deep and complex. Research by Miller, et. al. (2009) on gifted gender roles indicate that gifted excitability and higher potential have androgynous identities that accept a more complex set of male and female personality traits.

Gender identity and personality are associated into an intertwined relationship. Incorrectly people assume that males are supposed to be instrumental while females are supposed to be expressive. There is an assumption that the sex is related in some way to the personality and behavior of the individual. Societal influence appears to be the most profound definition of how boys and girls should act. 

Males and females are considered opposite ends of the spectrum. Generally, people adhere to one or the other.  When doing so they prescribe tightly to social norms regardless of internal processes.  When individuals have androgyny they are capable of accepting both male and female aspects of their personality within the same individual construct. Undifferentiated individuals do not adhere to either male or female roles nor have they integrated varying aspects of gender behavior. 

Androgynous individuals are considered psychologically the healthiest. They can understand their personal characteristics as existing on a plane of traditional male to female aspects and accept the varying degrees of their personality that fits within these modes. They are not rigidly defined by sex norms and are situational in their actions and behaviors. One aspect of their personality may be more masculine (i.e. sports) while another could be more feminine (i.e. empathy) in traditional sex roles.

According to Dabrowski’s theory of high gifted development with over excitability, their success lays in developmental potential, social environment, and internal decision-making.  Those with over-excitabilities that impact the central nervous system develop to higher levels because they have stronger experiences of emotional, intellectual, imaginational, sensual, and psychomotor stimuli. When an individual contains all of the potentials they have the highest capabilities for development.

The authors study of 562 gifted college students found that those with androgynous identities have intense over-excitabilities. Such individuals have the highest potential for advanced personality development. Of all the excitabilities emotional, intellectual, and imaginational seems to have the greatest influence on personality development.  Colleges and teachers should not rigidly define sex and stereotypes for this group so as to ensure the most comfortable learning environment.

We can draw some inferences from this study. Gifted college students do not fit rigidly into male and female social roles. Those with the highest excitabilities and potential incorporate aspects of both male and female traits within their personality. This is part of advanced development. When people rigidly define their behaviors by their sex they lack a sense of awareness and genuiness about themselves which can create tension. Professors should avoid pushing less developed stereotypes about sex roles on gifted college students who have higher potentials in multiple facets of their personalities.

Miller, et. al. (2009). Gender identity and the overexcitability profiles of gifted college students. Roeper Reivew, 31 (3).

Are the Fish You Eat Contaminating You? Pitch Your Trash

Fish is a huge staple from sushi to fish sticks. Most Americans consume a considerable amount of fish in any particular year.  According to Fisheries of the United States 2012 report most Americans eat about 14 pounds of fish in any given year (1). What would happen if this fish contained contamination?

 New research in Nature helps us understand that some of the pollutants in natural fish are a result of sea plastic dumped by humans (2).  Fish are like sponges and much of what they eat makes it into their bloodstream and fatty cells. When humans eat this food they naturally ingest the contaminants into their own system. 

Tuna and sword fish appear to contain higher levels of lead and other contaminants. These fish are used widely in recipes and offered at most restaurants. About 10% of the sea pollution comes from plastic and this is something that can be avoided if people simply pitch their plastics in the trash can. Pitch your trash today!

Journal Article

World Business and Economics Research Conference

Conference Date: Feb 24-25, 2014

Submission Deadline: Jan 20^th, 2014

Papers related to all areas of Accounting, Banking, Finance, Economics, Management, Business Law, Business Ethics, Business Educations, e-business and Social Sciences are invited for the above international conference which is expected to be attended by the authors from nearly hundred countries. People without papers can also participate in this conference. This annual meeting in Auckland is sponsored by the World Business Institute, Business Care Australia and American Research and Publication International, New York plus eight refereed international journals.

http://www.newzealandconfo.com/