It seems every time the government even mentions the phrase “economic stimulus” the scammers’ ears perk up and they are chomping at the bit to start taking the money of unsuspecting victims.  Well, the latest stimulus package is no exception and they are striking while the iron is hot.

How does it work?  Well, this one is a bit more transparent and less clever than some of the scams we have seen in the past but will still be successful as so few outside of the Beltway actually understand how the stimulus will affect them. 

Phone solicitors call unsuspecting individuals and tell them they are with (Insert Fake Company Here) and tell them that, because of President Obama’s stimulus bill, they can receive a reduction in their credit card interest rates if they just provide their information and account numbers.

This is an especially insidious scheme in these tough economic times when everyone is looking for ways to save some cash.  Often when they receive such calls, they are inclined to share information they would normally know to keep to themselves in the hopes it will be used to their benefit.

There are also those being told via the post that their business is entitled to a tax rebate through the stimulus package and that they are being assessed by the Small Business Administration regarding their eligibility for such a rebate.  And, of course, they are asked for personal information to establish their eligibility.

While these are two of the more common stimulus scams, they are not the only ones out there.  These scams will evolve and become increasingly more complex as time goes on and the stimulus package funds are distributed to their respective entities.

What you need to know if you are an individual or small business owner is that, more than likely, you will not personally benefit from the stimulus package and need to vigilant of anyone wanting to exploit your lack of information on the issue.  If you are unclear about the distribution of this money, you will want to examine it more closely and do a bit of research to ensure you understand the benefits of the package and what sectors it will cover.
 

At many schools, community service is a graduation requirement.  And, for many students, working in a nursing home or other geriatric facility is how these service hours are fulfilled.  While it is not always the first preference for how students would like to spend their time, most come away with a deeper understanding of themselves and the elderly folks with whom they work.

Below are five tips for bridging the divide between students and their older (and wiser) new friends:

1.    Sympathy – Young people need to realize they will someday be old and that everyone eventually faces the challenges of aging.

2.    Communication – If there is discomfort or awkward silences, addressing them gently can be a great ice breaker.  Perhaps the student will admit he is nervous or unsure about how best to approach the situation.

3.    Humor – Students should keep their senses of humor.  While this does not mean they are not cruelly amused in any way, students should keep things light and fun whenever possible.

4.    Common ground – There is SOMETHING the student and their older counterpart have in common.  By working to find that common ground, all involved will learn more about one another and ultimately bond over their resulting similarities.

5.    Respect – As stated previously, both the young and old have plenty to learn from one another.  If each chooses to respect the life experiences of the other, it will prove to be a very profound experience.

While working in a nursing home once, I found myself faced with an angry woman from whom I wanted to escape.  She was unhappy, unhealthy and, I thought, insane.  But, I was personally assigned to keeping her company and had to make the best of it. 
After asking her questions about herself I found that she had attended the same church as my grandmother.  It turned out that she not only knew my grandmother but had gone to high school with her.  Though they hadn’t spoken in years, they were good friends when they were younger. 
We spent that afternoon (and many thereafter) talking about their old neighborhood and my grandmother’s school days.  My grandmother died when I was ten and I never had the chance to learn much about her life.  The experience was one of the best of my life.
 

With the economic crisis worsening and many speculating that far more bad news is on the horizon, many people have gone to disturbing extremes when dealing with their situations.  There are other things to do when disaster strikes, and faith is one thing that can help you and others weather the storm.

Compassion

Showing compassion for your fellows is one approach to dealing with times of crisis.  If you are able to help others in need or not, compassion for others goes a long way in helping us to realize that we are all being affected.  Don’t allow yourself to fall into the “better him than me” trap; situations change and tables can turn.  

Empathy

Try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes for a change.  Practicing empathy helps us not only to be thankful for that which we have, but often is a call for action.  Be willing to take on different perspectives and see what you can do to help rectify the situation.  Every little bit helps.

Humility

Often, we feel like our lives are on a certain course and that planning for the future is a way of ensuring that we don’t fall too hard in life.  Economic crises reawaken our sensitivity to many things, among them the realization that even the best laid plans often go awry.  Realizing that we aren’t always the ones in control of our destinies helps bring back a much-needed sense of humility and helps us band together for a common cause.

Service

Crises are also opportunities to rise above the daily struggle and beyond our comfort zones into the realm of service.  What better way to help your fellow human beings than by doing whatever you can to make sure those less fortunate still live with the essentials?  Offering time, money, or other Christian services to work toward overcoming great obstacles puts your faith into action and renews togetherness in communities and breaks down barriers.

Spirituality

The worst thing a person can do during tough times is to lose hope.  Faith, and spirituality are great sources of strength that will help you to weather the storm, which you can make stronger with a Christian college education.  Open your heart and stop focusing on the negative.  Have faith and know that better times are around the corner.

When in a position of leadership, there are many things that need to be conveyed to those who follow your lead.  Rather than just being a manager or supervisor, the most important thing is to be an effective leader.  Leaders possess a wide array of skills and traits that set them above the rest.  What follows is a brief list of some traits that good leaders should possess.

Excellent Communication Skills

If you want to be taken seriously as a leader, your communication in all forms needs to be highly effective.  We live in a world that involves written and verbal communication constantly.  The grammar and language in an email is just as important as the way you present yourself in person.  You are the one in the spotlight most of the time, so the way you speak and how you convey your thoughts to others is something that is always under scrutiny.

Direct

Going hand in hand with communication skills, good leaders are very direct people.  As a leader you need to know exactly what it is that you want and convey that to those beneath you.  It is very important to say what you mean and mean what you say, to quote a cliché.  Being direct about what you want without backing down ensures that there is no “wiggle room” in regard to your expectations.

Fairness

Good leaders are often put in the situation of having to judge or arbitrate between others that work for them.  Fairness is something that requires patience and a touch of humanity.  The ability to listen to both sides of an argument or situation and be able to make an informed decision that is fair and just is another one of the skills good leaders need to maintain success.

Capable

Sometimes you need to lead by example, and this is a great way to demonstrate that you can do anyone’s job that works for you if you have to.  You can do this without saying a word; just roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches with your employees for a few hours here and there.  Nothing earns respect from people quite like demonstrating that you are willing and able to get your hands dirty once in a while.

Kind, Yet Firm

The benevolent leader is not an anomaly in the business world and is a trait worth cultivating.  If you are able to demonstrate through leadership that you can be kind and just to people, you are well on your way to creating a fantastic working environment for your employees.  However, when things go wrong, you must be able to be firm and assert yourself.  There is no reason to always be harsh or too kind; treading the line between these two types of behavior is what great leaders do.  

That a lose in the last four months of about 22%. The Harvard endowment had almost $37 billion in it on June 30,
make it the biggest endowment in the nation.

According to the WSJ, Harvard has said that the actual loss could be even higher, once it factors in declines in hard-to-value assets such as real estate and private equity – investments that have become increasingly popular among colleges. The university is planning for a 30% decline for the fiscal year ending in June 2009.

Of course, Harvard is not alone in this dilemma. Most university endowments have taken a hit on the stock market in the last few months.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Jorge Salcedo

College Admissions Counseling suggested in a post earlier this month that four year graduation rates are important to consider when selecting a college. The example they use give the state of Minnesota, where the four year graduate rate ranges from 91% to only 18%. The lower the rate, the longer it will probably take you to graduate…

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Baris Simsek

According to the paper Anthony Callisto Jr., SU's director of public safety, issued the alert because he had heard a "shots fired" call on a police scanner while in his car. A 19 year old Syracuse resident had been shot at 11:30am. Kevin Quinn, SU vice president for public affairs, said the alert reached about 27,000 university students and employees via e-mail, text messaging and automated phone calls at 11:39 a.m.

A second alert was sent at 12:24pm when SU officials learned that the suspect in the shooting had headed away from campus in his vehicle

According to the paper, the alert system costs the university about $50,000 annually. It was started in response to the April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech's own emergency alert system crashed earlier this month during a false alarm.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Rich Legg

Juicy Gossip showed up on radar about a years ago. The site allows anonymous posting by pretty much anyone on pretty much anything.

Students at the schools and personnel at Juicy Gossip have complained that free speech is being restricted by the blockages and compared the actions of the universities to Chinese government censorship. Of course, free speech is not the idea that anyone has the right to say anything. Free speech has limitations when it begins to trample on the rights of other people; and speech is only protected by the First Amendment when it is in the public interest.

It will be interesting to see if more schools block the site.

© kcjc009

The layoffs come after the university signed off on a $450,000 separation agreement with the former president, Richard Roberts, who stepped down last year after allegations that he misspent school funds. Richard Roberts is the son of the school's founder, Oral Roberts.

According to the AP story, ORU's budget for this fiscal year is about $92 million, and the school is more than $17 million in debt.

© mulmatsherm

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported today that the text-message alert system at Virginia Tech partly failed during a false alarm recently.

A report of what sounded like gunshots prompted Virginia Tech to use its text-message emergency-alert system last week for the first time, but the system failed to deliver all of the messages.

About 30,000 people have signed up to get the emergency text messages on the Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va. Lawrence G. Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech, said in an interview with The Chronicle that "The system froze up. We're very disappointed, and I am not happy in the slightest at this level of service."

Tech uses a company called 3n to manage the alert system and the Chronicle could not reach 3n for comment.

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