The political struggle continues over the health care system and what will finally evolve after congregational action. The house voted to repeal the healthcare reform bill and to start all over on initiatives that will target the problems in the healthcare industry with fiscally responsible actions. The senate so far has held the party line and supports the current law. Many states are challenging the constitutionality of the law and the mandate for everyone to purchase health care insurance. The constitutionality of this law will probably be decided in the supreme court.No matter what happens in this next round of political shenanigans it is still your health that is on the line. The new system will not help you from getting sick, only you can control your own wellness.With the great controversy raging in the nation over what direction our health care system is going to take it is critical that we as individuals begin taking responsibility for our own wellness. If we don’t take personal responsibility for our own health we may end up relying on a government or private system that can not or will not be able to support our specific problems.The current direction of our congressional leaders is to mandate that 20-30 million people who do not currently have health insurance must by law have health insurance or face a fine. Legislation mandates that insurance companies must make health insurance available to those individuals. There is currently a projected shortage of doctors and the addition of 20-30 million more people will surely result in rationing of care. Some states that have implemented such legislation, such as Massachusetts, are already experiencing unusually long waits to get an appointment with a doctor.As a nation we are in terrible health. Our youth are facing a medical crisis today that often did not appear until middle age. Those in middle age are suffering from chronic degenerative diseases that our parents did not have until the later stages in life. Our elderly population suffers from those same degenerative diseases including macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Why are we having an epidemic of obesity, onset (type 2) diabetes and degenerative diseases? Why can’t we do a better job of preventing disease instead of just treating it once it is discovered?What can we do proactively to ensure that we are doing the very best we can for our bodies? Has the medical community provided us with the all the facts we need to know? What is the real story on how our bodies function and is there anything we can do to ensure they have the capability to fight and win the war against degenerative diseases?Our health care system is under attack and may not be able to provide for us when we really need it. For too long we have depended on the health care system to tell us through early detection what is ailing us. What that really means is that until we show symptoms of a disease the medical community has not been trained to help us. Often that discovery comes too late and we end up in the health care system being treated with solutions designed to cure or mask our disease or to keep us alive while we suffer the ravages of the disease. Wouldn’t it be easier to look for solutions to keep us healthy in the first place? Real preventative medicine would focus on preventing disease not just discovering it, what a novel concept to reduce the strain on our health care system, help people not get sick. Emerging medical science has discovered the intricacies of our bodies’ immune system and reports that keeping the immune system strong and healthy significantly reduces our risk of illness.I believe that through proper investigation and study we can find ways to remain healthy longer. Educating the average person on what the emerging science is finding out about the intricacies of our bodies will reap great rewards, not only for our health care costs but for the individual as well. I am going to dedicate my efforts in researching the medical literature to make a case for preventive health care. We must learn how to optimize our health, the quality of the rest of our lives depend upon it!Look for my next article where I will look at some science based recommendations for beginning your own preventive health care regiment. Visit my blog for information on preventive medicine and the latest health studies.

The increasing importance of technology in every industry continues to drive the need for a diverse group of qualified professionals to manage the implementation and changes in technology. Pursuing a degree at a technology management graduate school can be the right step for beginning a rewarding career in the management of everything from computer hardware to information security within an organization.Overview of Technology ManagementTechnology management professionals are in high demand because of the unique set of skills they possess. In this field, professionals are able to make leadership and management based decisions, develop solutions to technology issues, and approach the management of technology from a systems thinking perspective.For any management professionals, some of the skills that are required include being able to manage personnel, organizational design and communication, and financial analysis and decision making. Technology management professionals combine this knowledge with specific information technology and systems technology skills and knowledge to effectively lead and make decisions for the assessment, forecasting, strategies, and decision making with a number of different information technology departments.Technology Management Graduate Degree CurriculumThere are a number of technology_management graduate school choices for prospective students. While there are differences depending on the individual program and school, students most often complete a set of core courses, electives, and a graduate program in order to complete the graduate degree. This combination helps to prepare graduates to transfer relevant, useful skills into the workforce.From graduate level courses in technology to business, students are able to learn a variety of skills and gain valuable knowledge. Some courses in technology often included information technology_management, operations, emerging technologies, and ethics. Additionally, students will take business and management courses such as supply chain management, sales and marketing, and accounting for technology.These courses give students the opportunity to gain a broad foundation to develop an understanding of the basic fundamentals of technology management. The electives and the master’s project build on that foundation to help students begin to focus their education on a specific area of technology_management. Some examples of electives include knowledge management and relationship management. The master’s level project combines the knowledge, theory, and skill a graduate student has gained though academic coursework to examine how that ability can be transferred to a real-world, challenging business issue or problem in order to find a solution or manage a specific scenario.Career Development with a Technology Management Graduate DegreeTechnology professionals must develop a variety of skills. In addition to understanding information technology, professionals in this field must also be able to manage change with technology and technology systems, integrate functional areas of business, leveraging technology, and business management principles to effectively lead the technology driven functions of a business.These skills are needed in many different types of positions across all types of workplaces, from the federal government to non-profit and educational organizations to private corporations. From the chief information officer to information technology manager, a degree in technology_management is a helpful tool to gain the experience and skills needed for all types of management positions of technology-driven departments.

Most of us know where to invest money in good times, but when it looks like the sky might be falling, knowing where to invest money and how to invest it becomes a puzzle. In 2014 and 2015 good investments might be hard to find, especially if yesterday’s good investments like stocks and bonds tank. This is not a prediction, but rather a “heads up.” You can’t prepare if you’re not aware, so let’s take a closer look at the sky.We all know that safe choices like money market funds and bank savings accounts don’t look like good investments for 2014 because they pay peanuts. But what if the sky starts falling: either interest rates ignite and/or the stock market tanks? Either way or both… where to invest money is the question of the day. Safe choices will look like good investments for parking money that must be safe.Wall Street’s traditional answer to where to invest money: put about 60% into stocks with about 40% in bonds holding a cash reserve on the sidelines. Problem: in 2014 and 2015 losses in stocks may not be offset by gains in bonds… as was the case for the last 30 years or so. If interest rates soar from today’s record-low levels, neither stocks nor bonds look like good investments.For over 30 years interest rates were falling and bonds were generally good investments. With today’s ridiculously low rates (created by our government to stimulate the economy) a rebound in interest rates is in the cards (as the government unwinds its stimulus). When that happens, bonds will no longer be where to invest money for higher interest income with relative safety. Bonds are NOT good investments when rates go up; they lose money. That’s the way it works. How to invest in bonds in 2014 and 2015 if rates take off: lighten up and opt for safety.Stocks had been very good investments five years running as the year 2014 began. This was at least in part due to government stimulus and cheap money. In a sense, stocks were where to invest money because nothing looked cheap except for money (short term interest rates were set at about one-tenth of one percent). With a gain of over 150% in five years, the downside risk in the stock market is mounting. This begs the question of how to invest money in stocks if the sky starts to look ominous.Remember that the stock market is actually a market of stocks, which means that the vast majority of stocks get hit when the market crumbles – but at least a few will be good investments. And the best way to find good investments in a bad market is to watch the price action. For example, as the market climbed 30% in 2013, some gold stocks were down about 50% by early 2014. If you don’t know how to invest in or how to pick a specific gold stock… you might want to know where to invest money to get a piece of this action. The answer is to invest money in gold funds and let them pick the gold stocks for you.The bottom line is that in 2014 and 2015 investors face an uphill battle, because both stocks and bonds look pricey. That presents a new challenge to today’s investor in search of where to invest money. We are facing uncharted waters in this modern electronic world, where no one really knows how to invest or where to find good investments for the future. This includes the big investors like life insurance companies and pension funds.My suggestion is to take some profits in your stocks and bonds, because the tide will turn eventually if not in 2014 or 2015. Then you’ll have a cash reserve, so you can take advantage of the situation as the skies darkens. Smart investors are always in search of where to invest money next, especially when a change of trend is in the cards. At such times, yesterday’s underperforming sectors or industries often become today’s good investments.