??Mandisa Madikane and Sthokozo Mabaso are HIV-positive journalists with GlobalGirl Media, which sent them from their homes in Soweto, South Africa, to cover the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. this week. "I know my voice is out there," Madikane said.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/48344803#48344803
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Despite being used by more than 80 percent of the respondents in a new Consumer Reports survey, Netflix video streaming service?doesn't seem to be very well-liked. Users mainly criticized its poor selection and did not see it as a viable option for replacing cable TV and movie rentals.
Over 15,000 people were surveyed by Consumer Reports for the study, and while it doesn't really bear out any new information, it does indicate that people understand the shortcomings of these services.
With Netflix, predictably, it's the selection. Who hasn't tried to find something to watch some night, only to spend it scrolling through endless early-2000s movies and obscure documentaries? One respondent noted that the latest movie he could find with George Clooney in it was 10 years old. Even for $8 a month, that's pretty shabby.
The larger take-away is that there still just?isn't a valid replacement for cable TV and movie rentals. You can go cheap with Netflix or Hulu Plus, but those are far from an all-access pass. You can pay per episode with Vudu or iTunes, but you may end up spending $30 just to watch a single season of a single show.?And independent movie rental places have a great selection and helpful staff, but no one wants to bet they'll be around in a couple years.
For now it seems people are satisfied to pay their money and get their cable, and then switch on the Roku or Apple TV when there's nothing good on. But given the amount of dissatisfaction with any given?part of this arrangement, be it cost, selection or convenience, the next few years may see more people than ever trying to cut the cord. Meanwhile, Netflix will take the abuse and somehow still maintain a stranglehold on its subscribers. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News?Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
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One of the most common complaints is workers who fail to get overtime pay as required by law.
By Eve Tahmincioglu, Today contributor
There?s a simple workplace axiom: You put in your hours and get paid for them. Alas, this doesn?t always happen.
There?s been a record spike in wage and hour violation claims by employees thanks to sustained tough economic times, an increase in enforcement by the government, and confusion over -- or disregard of -- overtime pay provisions.
Seyfarth Shaw
Wage and hour lawsuits have been soaring, according to federal judicial caseload statistics.
Already this year, there have been a record number of lawsuits filed under the?Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers wage and hour provisions, with 7,064 filed so far this year. That's?up from 7,006 filed for?all of?2011 and just 2,035 cases filed a decade ago, according to data compiled by employment law firm Seyfarth Shaw.
The Department of Labor's wage and hour division collected a record $224 million in back wages from employers in the latest fiscal year for more than 275,000 workers.
?Many workers still have a hard time taking advantage of their legal protections,? said Jeffrey Michael Hirsch, associate professor at the University of North Carolina?s law school and a contributing editor to the Workplace Prof Blog. ??Low-wage employees, in particular, often don't earn enough to attract attorneys, although class actions might help in some cases, so you see a lot of cases of unremedied wage theft.?
In those cases, he said, the Labor Department sometimes gets involved, especially to "send a message to employers."
The Labor Department, which sees 125 to 150 cases annually, has stepped up its efforts and pursues litigation when it cannot settle out of court, said?Sonia Melendez, a spokeswoman for the agency.
?The wage and hour division has stepped up enforcement efforts on behalf of vulnerable workers ? such as low-wage workers, migrant or seasonal laborers, workers with limited English language skills and workers who are unaware of their rights or are reluctant to file a complaint when subject to labor violations,? she said.
The bulk of wage and hour lawsuits deal with ?misclassification of employees, alleged uncompensated ?work? performed off the clock and miscalculation of overtime pay, said Richard Alfred, an attorney and chairman of Seyfarth Shaw's wage?and hour litigation practice.
He attributes the rise in lawsuits to:?
High-profile cases, such as a wage and hour case involving Wal-Mart, have gotten many employees, employers and lawyers to stand up and take notice.
In May, Wal-Mart agreed to pay nearly $5 million in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees who were misclassifed as being?exempt?from overtime rules. That paled in comparison to the $352 million the company paid in 2008 to settle allegations it didn't provide workers with proper rest and meal breaks but served notice that the Labor Department is paying close attention.
?Misclassification of employees as exempt from FLSA coverage is a costly problem with adverse consequences for employees and corporations,? said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis at the time of the announcement. ?Let this be a signal to other companies that when violations are found, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned.?
Massive monetary awards have increased the profile of such cases, making them attractive to some lawyers, Hirsch said. But he said the awards also have made?smart employers more careful. "One thing a lot of management-side firms do is perform internal audits for clients to make sure there aren't problems, particularly with overtime classifications," he said.
Not everyone is as focused on the issue, he added. ?I'd like to think that employers of low-wage workers are getting the message, but I'm not sure that's the case in general. You still hear about violations all the time.?
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Boonsri Dickinson, Business Insider ? |
Rovio's?new game, Angry Birds Space, launches tomorrow with a Walmart partnership for all merchandise related to Angry Birds at thousands of stores.
It's the first franchise to launch since Angry Birds,?Rovio CMO?Peter Vesterbacka said during a discussion at?IGNITION West.
For the launch of Rovio's new space game, it teamed up with NASA and National Geographic.?
"It's not just the launch of a game, it's the launch of a franchise. It's bigger than most movie launches in Hollywood. Rovio is one of the first brands to launch from the digital to the physical world," he said.?
Rovio turned down a $2 billion acquisition offer from Zynga last year. On stage, Vestabacka said the company's role model is Disney, a $74 billion company, but that its goal is to be "much bigger."
That's ambitious! Disney does $28 billion in merchandise sales annually. Mickey Mouse alone accounts for $9 billion.
Vestabacka said if Walt Disney were getting his start today, he'd do it in games, not cartoons. Vestabacka says Disney's company would probably be more like Rovio, not Zynga.
"Zynga is a game company. We stopped looking at ourselves as a game company. We sold 25 million plush toys last year. For us, it's about making Angry Birds available everywhere,"?Vesterbacka said.?
"You go shopping in China, you see Angry Birds everywhere. We are the most copied brand in China, which means we are the most loved brand. We aren't advocating piracy... but we have millions of Chinese people who love Angry Birds," he said.
Angry Birds has grown faster than Google, Skype, Facebook, and Skype, said Business Insider Nicholas Carlson, who moderated the panel.
This is what?Vesterbacka told us before he went on-stage.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/rovios-peter-vesterbacka-talks-about-the-new-angry-bird-game-2012-3
The biggest mistake you can make is to search for short cuts to achieve goals. By doing this, you waste your time and energy and stop your progress. In the long run, this will definitely de-motivate you from achieving success.
Even if the goal takes long to achieve, that's okay. Time will pass anyway, so why not use it well and achieve something?
Strategy for keeping motivation high
If you find it hard to achieve goals, focus on one goal at a time. This way your mind will be concentrated on only one thing, and not distracted by anything else.
When you progress and achieve couple of goals this way, you will be able to set more goals at the same time. This way you will continually raise your personal development motivation because you will see positive results.
Always try to write down the deadline of the goal in your daily planner. You should keep referring to the deadline to keep your mind focused on accomplishing the goal on time.
Try to develop a habit of taking action every day towards your goal. This will increase your personal development motivation because you will be proud of yourself by being so pro-active. This, of course, will also gradually lead to the accomplishment of the goal.
Remove all distractions
You should stop doing activities that fail to get you closer to the goal (like watching TV or surfing internet). If you really cannot abandon activities as such, at least try to eliminate them from your life as often as you can.
If you are really serious about progressing in life, you should mainly do things that get you closer to your goals and keep away from distractions.
By doing this you will progress much faster and later on you will be grateful that you made such choice. Less cluster in your daily activities will improve your personal development motivation and make you feel in control.
Set priorities
If you know that there is some hard work that you must do to achieve your goal, don't put it off. You should say to yourself that by accomplishing it you will tremendously shorten the time of your goal achievement. This will motivate you to complete whatever hard work there is.
If you feel you are still lacking personal development motivation, read some inspirational articles or self-help books. They will quickly get you back on track. You should keep doing whatever makes you happy and keeps you motivated. This usually means doing what you love, thinking positively and blocking yourself from negative influences.
If you are motivated for longer than usual, congratulate yourself. Acknowledging that you've done a good job really improves your personal development motivation.
Block negative influences
When you feel that you are getting upset or negative about accomplishing goals, you should stop for a while and reflect. Do you really want to achieve that particular goal? What would your life look like in 1, 5, 10 years from now if you quit? That should get your motivation back unless you realise that the goal is not as beneficial as you initially thought.
Also, many people give up because they listen to their friends and relatives who say 'Be realistic!' or 'What if you fail?' or something similar. Never ever listen to such destructive advice. Only you know what you are capable of, don't let anyone get you down. Completely ignore everyone that has something negative to say about your goals.
You should be surrounded by people that raise your motivation, not the opposite. If all your friends and relatives are negative, stay away from all of them. Stay alone for a while, surround yourself with good books and other positive information. You will attract positive people as soon as your thinking becomes positive.
You should never give up your power to someone else and hope for the best. Best will never come to your life this way. Try to only listen to yourself and ignore everyone who tries to dissuade you from taking action.
No one will raise your personal development motivation but you. You hold 100% responsibility for everything in your life. Understanding this is the only way to achieve all your goals and excel in personal development motivation.
Simona Rich is a success mentor that gives advice about self improvement and goal-setting. Her website http://www.Personal-Development-Coach.net is full of free articles and great tips about creating better future, wealth, positive thinking and other self-help resources.
This website also offers a free test to assess your progress in personal development.
Source: http://www.self-improvement-advice.com/2012/03/personal-development-motivation.html
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