EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Vantage Media joined key industry authorities at the first White House Online Summit on Education held June 19. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan opened the summit with a briefing, speaking to a range of higher education topics from K-12 to post-secondary education. The summit also provided a forum to hear feedback and to discuss how to optimize collaboration with the White House and online media.

A leader in online education marketing, Vantage Media's participation reinforces Vantage Media's definitive industry expertise and heightens its ability to better utilize proprietary media and content to guide aspiring students to research and make informed decisions about their higher education goals.

"Higher education is in a state of constant change. The way students attend class, and the reasons they go to school, are far different today than they were just a few years ago," said Cappy Pratt, Vantage Media's Senior Director, Education, who participated in the summit. "The ability to dialogue with the policy makers who are shaping the direction of education is critical to ensuring long term value is created for students, schools and the greater public," said Pratt. "We were honored to be invited and look forward to continuing to contribute to this important topic."

About Vantage Media

Vantage Media delivers qualified customers to leading brands in the Insurance, Education, and Home verticals on a pay-for performance basis. Driven by, and accountable to client ROI, Vantage Media focuses on quality online media to find customers where and when they are buying. In 2011 Vantage Media merged with BrokersWeb (www.brokersweb.com), the No. 1 fastest growing company in the Insurance Industry on the Inc. 500. For more information, please visit http://www.vantagemedia.com.

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Vantage Media Participates in First White House Online Summit on Education

Coursera now offers roughly 100 free online courses from 16 colleges and universities.

Coursera, the online education service that offers courses from top-ranked universities such as Princeton University and Stanford University at no cost to the user, is adding to its list of schools and courses.

The education provider will be adding 12 universities and about 55 courses to bring its overall total to 16 schools offering approximately 100 free online classes.

[See other options for free online education programs.]

Among some of the new courses of note are more basic science offerings, which may attract students who fit the "younger educational bracket," notes Daphne Koller, a Coursera cofounder.

"The population that we've had previously on the platform has been a little bit more of the continuing education student, or [people] who already have a degree," Koller says. "A lot of our new courses are appealing also to people who are basically entering college students."

The 12 schools that will be joining Coursera, effective today, are Georgia Tech, Duke University, University of Washington, California Institute of Technology, Rice University, Johns Hopkins University, University of CaliforniaSan Francisco, University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign, University of Virginia, Scotland's University of Edinburgh, University of Toronto, and Switzerland's cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne(EPFL).

[Explore the best colleges and universities in the world.]

While Coursera has seen enrollments from 190 countries, the course offerings from Edinburgh, Toronto, and EPFL mark the first additions to the platform from international universities.

"Currently a lot of our content is in fact subtitled in different languages but this only takes you so far because students who really don't speak any English still struggle," Koller says. "To really reach the population that is the least educated in those countries to be able to offer content that is taught organically in a foreign language really expands our ability to teach the people who need it the most."

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More Universities Join Free Online Education Provider

Yoga Bites appears every four weeks.

Yogis say that we are only as young as our spine is supple, and theres a lot of truth to that.

I need not tell you about the rigors of life and the toll they take on your body, especially the spine. Yogis practice poses that decompress and lubricate the spine to create and maintain elasticity and durability, which is the pathway to a more youthful and energetic body.

A common warm-up and cool-down move in yoga practice is Cats Breath. This simple flowing sequence, or vinyasa, consists of two complimentary poses alternating fluidly back and forth.

Dont be fooled by the simplicity of this power-packed vinyasa; it brings heaps of treats to the party. The two poses that make up this flow are Cow (Bitilasana) and Cat (Marjariasana).

Lets begin on hands and knees, stacking shoulders over wrists and knees under hips with a neutral spine. If this hurts your knees, place a folded blanket, mat or towel under them. Spread your fingers and palms. Broaden the soles of your feet. You might like to smile.

Let the breath be the invitation to move. Inhale as you curl your heart and tail to the sky, dropping the belly toward the earth, like a contented purring cat. On the exhale curl the tail down and allow the spine to respond naturally to this wave as it ripples all the way up the spine.

Press whats down, down more, and feel the corresponding lift that creates at center as you draw your navel in toward the spine and round your back high like a Halloween cat. Allow all of your worldly concerns to exit right out the top of your head, down into the earth to be transmuted. Continue this spinal dance letting the breath lead. Move slowly and gently as you follow your breaths natural rhythms.

When arching in Cow keep the energy in your shoulders looping back and down, encouraging the shoulder blades to integrate fully onto your back ribs, which then lifts your heart and opens your chest from behind.

Press down into your fingertips while drawing energy up through the center of your palms, up into your shoulders, keeping the head of the arm bones engaged in their sockets. Hug muscle to bone. Practice this for three to five minutes a day this week, and observe the effects of this healing tonic for your three treasures, your body, mind and spirit.

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Yoga Bites: Cow and Cat: 2 poses can help to keep spine supple

VOL. 127 | NO. 138 | Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Booksellers at Laurelwood will host a life-coaching workshop with Cynthia Schulz Tuesday, July 17, at 6 p.m. at the bookstore, 387 Perkins Road Extended. Schulzs presentation is titled Failure is Never Final. Visit thebooksellersatlaurelwood.com.

Talk Shoppe will meet Wednesday, July 18, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Hutchison School, 1740 Ridgeway Ave. Certified public accountant Jimmy Luke of Titan CPA will present New Tax Tips for Real Estate Investors. Cost is free. Visit talkshoppe.biz or call Jo Garner at 482-0354.

Sales & Marketing Society of the Mid-South will meet Wednesday, July 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Holiday Inn University of Memphis, 3700 Central Ave. Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich will speak. Cost for nonmembers is $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Visit sms-midsouth.org.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens will host a Munch and Learn lecture Wednesday, July 18, from noon to 1 p.m. at Dixon, 4339 Park Ave. Cost is free with regular gallery admission.

Books for Kids will open its second Memphis library for at-risk children Wednesday, July 18, at 2 p.m. at the library, 2635 Spottswood Ave. Visit booksforkids.org.

Memphis Botanic Garden will hold Farmers Market at the Garden Wednesday, July 18, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 750 Cherry Road. Visit memphisbotanicgarden.com.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC will hold a breakfast briefing on Workplace Bullying Thursday, July 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Baker Donelson, 165 Madison Ave., suite 2000. Whitney Harmon and Joann Coston-Holloway will speak. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Cost is free. Email rsvp@bakerdonelson.com.

Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club and Littler Mendelson PC will present Is Your Handbook Legal? as part of its HR Lunch Bytes series Thursday, July 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Littler, 3725 Champion Hills Drive, suite 3000. The series is geared toward human resources executives and business owners. Cost is free. Email rsvp.lpbc@lpinsurance.com.

The Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division board of commissioners will meet Thursday, July 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the MLGW administration building, 220 S. Main St. Visit mlgw.com for an agenda.

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Events

MIAMI -- Here at The Other End the smiles are more sincere, the work a lot harder and the satisfaction, well ... step inside Mario Cristobal's office for a moment.

"It's a hell of a book one day," Florida International's 41-year-old coach begins.

And with that Cristobal is off with harrowing memories of what it used to be like at FIU. Six years ago he arrived to find a toddler of a program needing one heck of a diaper change. Cristobal, of sound mind and body apparently, took over a program that was about to go on probation. By the coaches' count, the program lost 17 ineligible players, and sported an APR less than 900 (the new NCAA minimum is 930). Oh yeah, and it was coming off an 0-12 season.

"It's kind of frightening the first meeting we ever had, I was the biggest guy in the room at 250 pounds," Cristobal continued. "That's not good. I was like, 'When is the varsity coming in?' We didn't get a weight room until going into our fourth year."

Before that, the workout facilities consisted of four benches inside roped off racquetball courts. Somewhere in a corner was an infomercial -- a Bowflex minus Chuck Norris.

Here at The Other End of major-college football is a rising program with a rising coach. The school exists in the shadow of big brother (Miami), playing in what is traditionally the lowest-rated FBS conference. The only link, in most people's minds, is that unfortunate 2006 brawl.

That doesn't make Cristobal, the Panthers and the Sun Belt any less worthy. It might make them the next Boise State. That's the standard, isn't it, for every wannabe trying to make do with a 20,000-seat stadium in a "What's That? conference" with big boys monopolizing the sport?

The case can be made: We are witnessing FIU's breakthrough before our eyes. The program is arguably ahead of the standard set by Boise State at a comparable stage. This season will mark Year 7 in FBS for the Panthers. In 2012, FIU has a chance to go to its third consecutive bowl.

Forget Boise for a moment, the comparison here will always be with the U. Cristobal grew up here, played offensive line and won national championships for the Hurricanes. The tall, striking coach oozes hotness as FBS' first Cuban-American coach. Cristobal has had more than one chance to leave, but is sticking around, at least for a bit longer.

The rest is here:
Cristobal turns Florida International around, and himself into a coaching commodity

VALDOSTA For Simone Martinez, leading a healthy life involves so much more that just diets and doctors. She knows because she is submerged in both worlds as a nurse and a student studying towards her health coach certification.

I will graduate by the end of August, said Martinez.

Martinez is currently going to school online through a one year program to receive her health coach certification with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Upon graduation in August, Martinez will enter an immersion program through the institute to further her education in the field.

Martinez was born and raised in East Germany. In 2002, she began working as a nurse in Germany after graduating with her general nurse license.

Ive been a Registered Nurse (RN) for ten years, said Martinez.

In 2005, she moved to Kaiserslautern, Germany where she met her husband who is in the Air Force in 2006. In 2008, Martinez and her husband moved to the United States. Initially, her husband was stationed at Moody Air Force base. However, her husband was leaving the military and changing careers. As a result, they moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2009.

While there, Martinez worked as a nurse at a university hospital. Switching from becoming a nurse in Germany to one in the United States was no easy task.

I had to retake nursing boards in America, said Martinez.

She obtained a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification.

I wanted to show that I got education in America, said Martinez.

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Coaching people to a healthier life

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health and fitness by rob clarke - Video

Washington, July 17 : A new study has found that the more hours young children spend watching TV, the worse their muscular fitness and the larger their waist size as they approach their teens, with possible consequences for adult health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two should not exceed more than two hours of TV viewing a day. However, evidence suggests that an increasing number of parents now use the television as an 'electronic babysitter'.

As a consequence, a research group from the Universite de Montreal, Canada, set out to determine whether there is a correlation between the number of hours spent watching TV in early childhood and subsequent physical fitness in the same school-age children.

The Canadian team used participants from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, and assessed parental reports of the number of hours the child spent watching TV per week at 29 and 53 months of age. Muscle strength and abdominal fat correlate with fitness, and, were therefore measured when children were in the second and fourth grade, using the standing long jump test and waist circumference.

The researchers found that each hour per week of television watched at 29 months corresponded to a 0.361 cm decrease in the Standing Long Jump Test, indicating a decrease in muscle strength.

An extra hour's increase in weekly TV exposure between 29 and 53 months of age predicted an extra 0.285 cm reduction in test performance. Also significant was that waist circumference at fourth grade increased by 0.047 cm for every hour of television watched between the ages of 29 and 53 months, corresponding to a 0.41 cm increase in waistline by age 10, or a 0.76 cm increase for those who watched more than 18 hours of TV a week.

Since physical fitness is directly related to future health and longevity, increased waist size and reduced muscular strength that carries into adulthood could predict negative health outcomes later in life.

"TV is a modifiable lifestyle factor, and people need to be aware that toddler viewing habits may contribute to subsequent physical health," the team's lead investigator, Dr Caroline Fitzpatrick from New York University who conducted this research at the Universite de Montreal and Saint-Justine's Hospital Research Centre, commented.

"Further research will help to determine whether amount of TV exposure is linked to any additional child health indicators, as well as cardiovascular health," she added.

The study has been published in BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. (ANI)

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Too much TV in childhood could lead to larger waistline later in life

Posted by admin in Outdoor & Sports on July 16th, 2012 | no responses

The National Physique Committee sanctioned amateur bodybuilding, figure, bikini, physique and fitness championship the Tahoe Show is Aug. 25 at MontBleu in Stateline.

The 2012 Tahoe Show adds a Health and Fitness Expo, new mens and womens physique divisions, live video web-stream, new stage design and a Peoples Choice Award where the audience will text their vote for the best athlete.

This will be the first time a live web-stream with a text message Peoples Choices Award has been included at a bodybuilding competition. The winners of this American Idol style voting will be in Muscular Development magazine.

The promoters of the Tahoe Show are bringing back a number features that made the show a success in 2011.

From the website the competitor can register to compete, as well as purchase show photos, tanning, event DVD, hair and makeup, a lakeside photo shoot the Sunday after the show and new this year, a posing clinic with IFBB pro bodybuilder Ben Pakulski and NPC nationals figure competitor Jesse Hilgenburg.

Expected at the show are about 200 competitors and more than 1,700 spectators.

For tickets, information, registration and a full event schedule go online, email [emailprotected] or call (775) 267.7564.

Continued here:
Bodybuilding show adds health-fitness expo

LONDON -- The last five years have been tough for those in retirement. Portfolio valuations have been hammered, annuity rates have plunged, and uncertainty has ruled the roost. There's no sign of things improving anytime soon, either, as the eurozone and the U.K. economy look set to muddle through at best for some years to come.

A great way to protect yourself from the downturn, however, is to build your retirement fund with shares of large, well-run companies that should grow their earnings steadily over the coming decades. Over time, such investments ought to result in rising dividends and inflation-beating capital growth, especially if you keep the shares within a tax-efficient ISA or SIPP.

It's no coincidence that the world's most successful investor, Warren Buffett, prefers such companies. He recently invested in a large FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) company that fits the bill perfectly. You can find full details in this free report.

In this series, I'm tracking down the U.K. large caps that have the potential to beat the FTSE over the long term and support a lower-risk, income-generating retirement fund. Today I'll take a look at Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB.L) , whose 140 billion pound market capitalization makes it the largest company in the FTSE 100 and one of the world's five "supermajor" oil companies.

In this article I've focused on Shell's class "B" shares, which pay dividends in pounds and are most commonly held by U.K. investors. Shell also has class "A" shares -- Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSA.L) -- which are virtually identical but pay dividends in euros. The total value of these two types of shares gives Shell its 140 billion pound market cap.

Size matters Shell is an integrated oil company, which means that on top of extracting oil and gas and selling it on the open market, it also sells refined products like petrol and diesel to consumers. This means that it is not solely dependent on a high oil price to make big profits -- although that certainly helps! The link between profitability and the price of oil also explains why Shell's yearly performance is not directly linked to the FTSE 100:

2007

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Is Shell the Ultimate Retirement Share?