WTVS News

Archive for March, 2011

Toys have always been tools not just for fun, but for teaching children. Even the most basic childhood staples, like dolls, toy animals, and building blocks , offer kids the opportunity to play at being adults, whether they realize it or not. They can raise kids, tend livestock, and build structures, learning by doing as well as by taking the real examples in front of them and mimicking them in play. Toys that teach geography are a little more specialized, but they are a great addition to any nursery or child’s room.

The most basic geography toys are map puzzles. Even very small toddlers can put together a puzzle of the world, with each continent being one piece. As they get older, puzzles can be more complex, showing countries, oceans, and states or provinces.

A globe is another common toy. It is not usually considered something to be played with but something to be used as a tool. However, kids find ways to build games around anything. They may decide to spin the globe to randomly identify countries or see who can find a specific spot fastest.

Even a Texas Wall Map can become a toy in the hands of an imaginative child — or under the direction of a creative parent. It becomes a mental playground for stories about the Alamo, the Civil War, and the settling of the American West. It provides context not just about cowboys and ranchers, but Native Americans, oil tycoons, and modern football champions.

The tremendous advances in technology that have taken place over recent years have caused some people to consider this era a new revolution in electronics and other technological areas. The health care system is one of the fields that is being greatly impacted by these developments and the changes are occurring in more than the obvious realm.

Most people will associate technological advances with patient treatment options, and that’s certainly true. However, technology is also changing the way patient information is documented, stored and even accessed. With new developments in EHR software, records are being stored more easily and accurately, as well as more economically and efficiently.

So, what is EHR It stands for electronic health records, and the basic idea behind it is software that has been created to store, update and sometimes even quantify patient health care information. This interactive potential of the software indicates that there are possibilities with it that are still in exploration and development. There are some suggestions that the software programs can be built to assist with certain diagnostic procedures. Regardless of where the developments in electronic software might lead in the future, the benefits they are providing patients and doctors’ offices alike today are already well worth their discovery.

Over the last decade the word outsourcing has become something of an insult in many business circles. The media and various politicians have latched onto it as a convenient scapegoat for all the economic woes in the country as well as any uptick in the unemployment rate. What they seem to forget is that many of the companies who offer outsourcing are actually American corporations. And that means that the profits — including taxes on those profits — land squarely in American communities, not overseas.

Business Process Outsourcing, otherwise known as BPO is one of the common forms of outsourcing in the US. A number of American companies offer services such as accounting, customer service, and even human resources to those who want to streamline their business. Clients are able to turn over all the logistical headaches associated with running a business and focus on their core business. Since BPO companies specialize in these services, they are usually able to improve the quality and efficiency of services, so that the client’s customers actually get a better experience.

While most of the services provided by BPOs are handled by foreign centers, some do operate call centers and billing offices within the US, staffed by American workers. Even those outsourcing firms that run centers in India, Mexico, Canada, and other countries, will have several corporate offices within the United States. This allows them to be near their clients in order to provide better service and to work closely with them to develop solutions to their business needs. It also allows the corporation to keep training and administration functions in the US, where they can directly oversee and manage them.