Many people locate their personalized finances being one of the more puzzling and stressful elements of their lifestyles. If you are one of these brilliant folks, don?t lose heart. This information will provde the expertise and guidance you have to handle almost any finances that you might come across.
In case your workplace provides a 401(k) with coordinating funds, use the optimum deduction through your paycheck. Your company?s coordinating cash are just like an automatic return on the cash, on the top of the returns out of your 401(k) expense selections. Failing to take whole good thing about the go with is like refusing totally free dollars.
Don?t get your checks by your financial institution! Most banking companies charge a pretty hefty charge for generating your checks because they aren?t the actual printing device. They can be loan companies however they are only a middle man when it comes to stamping. Try to find advertisements in the Saturday inserts to identify an affordable check inkjet printer.
Look around before investing in a specific loan provider for financing. Talk to numerous personal loan officers, and constantly get terminology on paper. You can even let the bank loan officer are aware of other rates you have been cited, giving them a chance to be competitive for the enterprise. Make sure you not merely assess interest rates, but additional fees and expenses also.
To really avoid some funds, purchase everything in money. Money does not bounce, and when it is with your budget, you always know how much cash you might have. Save outings on the Atm machine even though, as costs can consume your hard earned money. As an alternative, get funds back again at retailers.
Use your credit greeting card rather than creating a check out. Papers checks cost money. Even though you may postal mail order the least expensive selection, there exists nevertheless an every-check out charge that is certainly not replicated if you use your credit greeting card. Do make positive even so, the vendor doesn?t charge you a payment for utilizing a credit card.
Be frugal with the personal financial. Whilst getting a completely new car sounds tempting, as soon as you travel it away the good deal it will lose plenty of benefit. Sometimes you can get an used car in very good otherwise far better situation for any reduced selling price. You are going to preserve major and still have a great auto.
Your own personal budget don?t need to be the cause of countless stress and frustration. By applying the minds you might have just figured out, it is possible to learn just about any financial predicament. Before very long, you?ll have changed that which was as soon as one of your most significant anxieties into your very best strengths.
It is always better to do some research before making a buying decision. There are so many brands each having many models with different features. You should choose a juicer that meet all your needs.
In this article I will tell you things or factors you need to consider before making a purchasing decision. So lets get started....
Ease Of Use & Cleaning: This may not seem like a big one, but trust me, it is! If your juicer is not easy to use and clean-up after use, over time, you will find yourself using it less and less. It is always better to choose a easy to clean juicer,Its better if all the parts are dishwasher safe. So make sure that juicer is to clean,assemble and disassemble.
Nutrients rich juice: Fast juice aka centrifugal juicers causes oxidation. This is bad. It is ok If you drink juice right after making it. There is only a problem if you let the juice sit for a few hours before consuming it. Hence it is better if you opt for a slow juicer aka masticating juicer. No heat build up occurs in masticating type of juicers. Fast juicers produce heat and burn the essential nutrients and enzymes.
Yield: Make sure that your juicer has a yield of at least 40 percent. This is big factor. If you don't check up on this, you will end up wasting a lot of glasses of juice. The juice will remain in the pulp that is produced and it will be a waste.
Warranty: Juicers> warranty varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Also type of warranty fromm manufacturer to manufacturer. Some gives limited hardware warranty, some gives complete cover.
Spare Parts: Make sure that the company from which you are buying the juicer has a clear policy on replacing parts that may ware out. Juicers have many parts such as gears etc. that move at a very high speed. There is a huge possibility of wear and damage of the parts. You should clearly read company replacement policies in manual.
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ScienceDaily (July 27, 2012) ? Microbes that convert electricity into methane gas could become an important source of renewable energy, according to scientists from Stanford and Pennsylvania State universities.
Researchers at both campuses are raising colonies of microorganisms, called methanogens, which have the remarkable ability to turn electrical energy into pure methane -- the key ingredient in natural gas. The scientists' goal is to create large microbial factories that will transform clean electricity from solar, wind or nuclear power into renewable methane fuel and other valuable chemical compounds for industry.
"Most of today's methane is derived from natural gas, a fossil fuel," said Alfred Spormann, a professor of chemical engineering and of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. "And many important organic molecules used in industry are made from petroleum. Our microbial approach would eliminate the need for using these fossil resources."
While methane itself is a formidable greenhouse gas, 20 times more potent than CO2, the microbial methane would be safely captured and stored, thus minimizing leakage into the atmosphere, Spormann said.
"The whole microbial process is carbon neutral," he explained. "All of the CO2 released during combustion is derived from the atmosphere, and all of the electrical energy comes from renewables or nuclear power, which are also CO2-free."
Methane-producing microbes, he added, could help solve one of the biggest challenges for large-scale renewable energy: What to do with surplus electricity generated by photovoltaic power stations and wind farms.
"Right now there is no good way to store electricity," Spormann said. "However, we know that some methanogens can produce methane directly from an electrical current. In other words, they metabolize electrical energy into chemical energy in the form of methane, which can be stored. Understanding how this metabolic process works is the focus of our research. If we can engineer methanogens to produce methane at scale, it will be a game changer."
'Green' methane
Burning natural gas accelerates global warming by releasing carbon dioxide that's been trapped underground for millennia. The Stanford and Penn State team is taking a "greener" approach to methane production. Instead of drilling rigs and pumps, the scientists envision large bioreactors filled with methanogens -- single-cell organisms that resemble bacteria but belong to a genetically distinct group of microbes called archaea.
By human standards, a methanogen's lifestyle is extreme. It cannot grow in the presence of oxygen. Instead, it regularly dines on atmospheric carbon dioxideand electrons borrowed from hydrogen gas. The byproduct of this microbial meal is pure methane, which methanogens excrete into the atmosphere.
The researchers plan to use this methane to fuel airplanes, ships and vehicles. In the ideal scenario, cultures of methanogens would be fed a constant supply of electrons generated from emissions-free power sources, such as solar cells, wind turbines and nuclear reactors. The microbes would use these clean electrons to metabolize carbon dioxide into methane, which can then be stockpiled and distributed via existing natural gas facilities and pipelines when needed.
When the microbial methane is burnt as fuel, carbon dioxide would be recycled back into the atmosphere where it originated from -- unlike conventional natural gas combustion, which contributes to global warming.
"Microbial methane is much more ecofriendly than ethanol and other biofuels," Spormann said. "Corn ethanol, for example, requires acres of cropland, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and fermentation. Methanogens are much more efficient, because they metabolize methane in just a few quick steps."
Microbial communities
For this new technology to become commercially viable, a number of fundamental challenges must be addressed.
"While conceptually simple, there are significant hurdles to overcome before electricity-to-methane technology can be deployed at a large scale," said Bruce Logan, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State. "That's because the underlying science of how these organisms convert electrons into chemical energy is poorly understood."
In 2009, Logan's lab was the first to demonstrate that a methanogen strain known as Methanobacterium palustre could convert an electrical current directly into methane. For the experiment, Logan and his Penn State colleagues built a reverse battery with positive and negative electrodes placed in a beaker of nutrient-enriched water.
The researchers spread a biofilm mixture of M. palustre and other microbial species onto the cathode. When an electrical current was applied, the M. palustre began churning out methane gas.
"The microbes were about 80 percent efficient in converting electricity to methane," Logan said.
The rate of methane production remained high as long as the mixed microbial community was intact. But when a previously isolated strain of pure M. palustre was placed on the cathode alone, the rate plummeted, suggesting that methanogens separated from other microbial species are less efficient than those living in a natural community.
"Microbial communities are complex," Spormann added. "For example, oxygen-consuming bacteria can help stabilize the community by preventing the build-up of oxygen gas, which methanogens cannot tolerate. Other microbes compete with methanogens for electrons. We want to identify the composition of different communities and see how they evolve together over time."
Microbial zoo
To accomplish that goal, Spormann has been feeding electricity to laboratory cultures consisting of mixed strains of archaea and bacteria. This microbial zoo includes bacterial species that compete with methanogensfor carbon dioxide, which the bacteria use to make acetate -- an important ingredient in vinegar, textiles and a variety of industrial chemicals.
"There might be organisms that are perfect for making acetate or methane but haven't been identified yet," Spormann said. "We need to tap into the unknown, novel organisms that are out there."
At Penn State, Logan's lab is designing and testing advanced cathode technologies that will encourage the growth of methanogens and maximize methane production. The Penn State team is also studying new materials for electrodes, including a carbon-mesh fabric that could eliminate the need for platinum and other precious metal catalysts.
"Many of these materials have only been studied in bacterial systems but not in communities with methanogens or other archaea," Logan said. "Our ultimate goal is to create a cost-effective system that reliably and robustly produces methane from clean electrical energy. It's high-risk, high-reward research, but new approaches are needed for energy storage and for making useful organic molecules without fossil fuels."
The Stanford-Penn State research effort is funded by a three-year grant from the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford.
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Sun Yang became the first Chinese Olympic men's swimming champion with victory in the 400m freestyle final in a near-world record time at London Games on Saturday.
Sun, 20, swept past South Korean defending champion Park Tae-Hwan at the final turn and surged home to win gold in three minutes 40.14 seconds.
He missed out on German Paul Biedermann's 2009 world record by just 0.07secs and climbed on to the lane rope to punch the air in triumph.
Sun, the 1500m freestyle world record holder, who trains in Australia under Grant Hackett's former coach Denis Cotterell, was too strong for Park, who tumbled to his first defeat to the Chinese star in international competition.
It was a compelling tussle between the two young Asian superstars with 22-year-old Park under world record pace before he was burnt off by Sun.
Sun was in tears as he spoke to reporters following his magnificent victory.
"The feeling is very nice, it's beautiful," Sun said. "It's a big dream come true for me.
"I have to (say thank you) to my coach, my parents, my friends and all the people that help me.
"Because it's the Olympic Games, I felt a little bit nervous at the start, then at the end, I felt that I could get a medal."
Park, who was reinstated to the final on appeal after being disqualified for a false start in winning his morning heat, finished in 3:42.06 while American Peter Vanderkaay in 3:44.69.
"I swam really well, it was a little bit of a pity that I came second," Park said.
"I really regret losing my Olympic title, but there was a lot going on for me this morning, so I feel a little bit bad.
"There was a problem with my start this morning, but it was solved.
"I swam as well as I can, I have no regrets about this morning."
I know many of you have noticed we have been posting fewer projects and tutorials over the last year. A big part of that has been my family's two cross-country moves in the last 12 months, and the addition of our new baby boy in December. But there has been more to it than that. I struggle with how much of my personal life to share here, but sometimes I think we as women need to do more to reach out and help one another through the challenges of life, especially as moms. I have been working through some serious issues with my children, and I finally realized I needed to set my priorities straight. My children are more important than this blog or any craft project, and I have cut back my time crafting and sitting in front of the computer to be more hands-on with them. I don't want to put my children's personal lives on display, but I feel sharing some of the solutions we've found to help them in their conflicts could bless the lives of other families with similar trials.?
I know I can't be the only one out there who has struggled to help their kids through difficulties like anger management, depression, and adjustment issues, right? Or even just the Terrible Twos (or Sixes or Eights for that matter)! Many children in many different situations struggle with anger management and self-control. And learning to deal with that is a part of life. Our family counselor helped us create "tool boxes" to help the boys learn to control their tempers and deal appropriately with difficult situations. They may not all work for your child, but here are some ideas that might help your child learn to manage their anger, calm down, and avoid a fight.
1. Blow Bubbles
As adults we often try taking deep breaths to help us calm down in intense situations. But each time I would suggest that my son take a few deep breaths to calm down, he would get even angrier. Our counselor suggested blowing bubbles instead. Not only is a fun, happy activity for children, but the act of blowing air through the bubble wand requires them to breathe deeply. Soon they've relaxed and calmed down to a point where they can talk a little more rationally about whatever issue is at hand.?
2. Blow Feathers
Similar to blowing bubbles, a game of "don't let the feather touch the ground" works wonders for a child who is full of steam. Have your child hold a feather above their head and blow it into the air. Keep it in the air only by blowing--no hands! This again helps children engage in deep breathing to calm down, and the fun of the game helps them adjust their attitude.
3. Glitter Bottles
By the time my kids were 5 or 6, timeouts had ceased to be effective. Especially because they viewed it as a punishment rather than just a way to step away from the situation and calm down. Now, instead of a timeout, I hand my son a glitter jar. He knows to shake it up good, then watch the glitter swirl and spin in the water, slowly settling to the bottom. It really has an amazing effect and it's quite soothing. It can take up to 5 minutes for the glitter to settle, and in that time he nearly always becomes calm and more relaxed. (See my easy tutorial here for these Timeout Glitter Bottles!) 4. Target Practice During one of their therapy sessions, the boys helped make this target on a piece of butcher paper. Each of them wrote something on the target that made them mad or lose their temper. She gave them each several pom poms (puff balls) to use as amunition. We hung the target on the wall in a quiet area of the house, and whenever they started errupting in anger over something, I would direct them to the target. The act of throwing something as hard as they can is a great way to release angry energy, and helps them to release their anger in a way that is not violent or harmful to others.
5. Model Positive Behavior and Walk Away What do we do when our children cause us to lose our tempers? Our counselor helped me see that my children were often emulating my reaction to difficult situations (like yelling or rolling my eyes). She suggested I model the type of anger management techniques I wanted to see my children use when dealing with feelings of anger. And the best way to do that is often to walk away. Instead of showing my anger and frustration, now I tell my children, "I am feeling really upset right now, so I'm going to go to my room for a minute to calm down and we'll talk a little later." After I've had a good cry or screamed into a pillow, I am usually able to gain control of myself and deal with the situation in a better way. After doing this just a few times, my 6-year-old tried them same thing on me! As we began to argue, he told me he was going to his room to lay down and he'd talk to me later. I couldn't believe it. After all the times I had tried to send him to his room to calm down and being met with an even bigger tantrum, he had decided to do it on his own. Probably because I didn't mention it--he came up with the idea himself!? This last year has been challenging for our family as we left the only home our kids really knew and moved across the country to a new home, new school, new church congregation, then added a new baby and another cross country move. I was excited for the change of pace, a bigger home and yard, and the chance to meet new people, so I figured my kids would feel the same way. But after a few months we noticed a profound change in our oldest son, including problems at school, angry outbursts, loss of interest in activities he loved, difficulty sleeping, and just general negativity. Our second son started having uncontrollable tantrums that became violent and seemed to go from 0 to 60 in seconds, over the smallest things. After talking to the school counselor, our pediatrician, and a dear friend, I finally made an appointment with a family therapist. It took me a while to do it because I hated the thought that I couldn't figure this out on my own--that I wasn't able to solve the problem just by giving my children more time, love, prayers, and patience. And there is such a stigma associated with therapy in our society, which I think is a shame. (Here's where I get on my soapbox.) I don't believe our Heavenly Father expects us to be able to deal with everything on our own as parents or individuals. I know prayer works, but sometimes you can't just pray away your problems--you've got to act for prayer to work! I've learned it's okay to reach out for help from someone who is trained and experienced in handling things that we may not be equipped to handle ourselves. That's why God made therapists! ;)
Both a friend and our pediatrician suggested a great therapist, so I swallowed my pride and made an appointment. Each week we met with a family counselor who first spoke with me, then met with each of the boys separately to help them address specific issues. She used some play therapy, talked to them about their feelings and behavior, and would often give them homework assignments to work on during the week. And for me it was such a relief to have someone to share my frustration, sadness, and helplessness with, who could not only listen, but actually help me improve the situation and become a better parent. Within just a couple of months, we saw such an improvement in the attitudes and behavior of our children, and I felt a new-found confidence in my parenting that has helped even after the sessions ended. I would strongly encourage anyone who is struggling with similar issues to seek out help from a professional like a family counselor, and don't feel badly about it for one minute! You don't have to do it on your own!
It is no secret that a diet full of fried foods, giant portions, desserts, and sugary drinks alcohol, weight gain. And there is no doubt why the books accumulate when you take in more calories than you burn in physical activity. But how do you explain weight gain when your lifestyle includes regular exercise and a healthy diet that?s controlled in calories? Take the weight is quite frustrating, especially when not really understand why the needle on the scale is increasing.
There are several things to consider if you are gaining weight while watching calories and physical activity. Most likely, a variety of things working together that led to weight gain.
?Weight gain is so complicated, many factors can affect your weight. It is most likely a combination of things that one factor,? says Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry? What to do when diets do not work.
Here are five factors that may cause the ladder to climb when you least expect it.
(Need to lose some weight? Maybe 50 pounds? You?re not alone. Participate in the discussions on our message boards Diet Club.)
1. Is it possible that the increase in weight due to lack of sleep
The body functions best when well rested. ?When you do not sleep enough, your body experiences physiologic stress and, biochemically, which store fat more efficiently,? says May.
When you?re tired, can not handle stress well, you get to the food as a coping mechanism. In addition, you can take in extra calories from late-night snacks. Some people think that eating can help you sleep, but all it really does is add more calories to your daily total.
The symptoms that you can not get enough rest include fatigue levels, low energy, shaking his head with ease, and feels irritable.
Try to get eight hours of sleep each night.
?Add about 15 minutes before bed and see how you feel,? suggests in May ?Continue to experiment with new 15-minute increments until you find the amount of sleep? which is good for you.? When developing a sleep ritual well and exercise regularly, sleep better, she says.
2. It is possible that weight gain due to stress
We live in a society that requires us to do more, be more and more. Stress takes us forward and helps cope with the demands of life, but also affects our mood and emotions.
stress response ?in the case of? fight or flight ?juggling too many responsibilities, or coping with financial pressures, triggering a biochemical process by which our body goes into survival mode,? says May, ?Our bodies store fuel, slow metabolism, and void [chemical cortisol, leptin, and others] hormones are more likely to cause obesity in the abdominal region?. ?
Many people come to food to help relieve stress. But, of course, this does not work long term.
?Food is a temporary solution, because it deals with real tension that must be addressed to reduce the trigger for eating and correct the problem,? says May.
Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, assistant director of the Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA, says stress eaters tend to prefer foods high in carbohydrates because these foods would increase serotonin in the brain, which has an effect soothing. ?It?s almost like self-medication,? he said. ?Many people binge on starchy foods to feel better.? May and Bowerman recommend relaxation techniques and exercise, which also burns calories and provides health benefits.
3. It is possible that weight gain from medication
Some drugs used to treat depression, mood disorders, seizures, migraines, hypertension and diabetes can cause weight gain, a modest amount to as much as 10 pounds per month. Some steroids, hormone replacement therapy, and even oral contraceptives can also cause gradual weight creep. Your kit can be the cause of your weight gain if you win five or more pounds in a month without a change in lifestyle.
?Every drug works a little differently than weight gain, increased appetite, impaired fat is stored so, how to change insulin levels,? says May. ?And that s not all medicines have side effects similar to all people.?
In the case of antidepressants weight gain, perhaps even unrelated to the action of the drug ? feeling better can also result in a hearty appetite. Some medicines can cause fluid retention which appears in the scale of weight gain, but is not oily and usually easily corrected.
Experts say that some of the most common types of drugs that can cause weight gain are:
* Steroids
* Antidepressants
* Antipsychotics
* Anticonvulsants
* Drugs for diabetes
* High Blood Pressure Drugs
* Drugs with heartburn
But it is important to remember that some extra kilos may be worth the commitment of what a particular medication does for your overall health, experts say. Moreover, even if your medication is causing weight gain, you should always be aware of eating a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
?It?s rare that the problem was solved with a change of medication,? says May. ?These things can help, but they are rarely the sole cause of weight gain.?
If you think your medication is causing weight gain, talk to your healthcare professional to see about changing your prescription. But whatever you do, do not you go to medication without medical advice.
4. It is possible that weight gain due to a medical condition
The most common medical condition that causes weight gain is hypothyroidism. A deficiency of thyroid hormone can decrease metabolism, causing a loss of appetite and weight gain.
?If you feel fatigued, lethargic, swelling, hoarse voice, intolerance to cold, sleeping too much, or headaches, you should consult your doctor for a simple test to determine if you have hypothyroidism. Far more rare is a condition known as Cushing syndrome ? a disease caused by excess cortisol ? which can also lead to weight gain.
5. It is possible that weight gain due to menopause
Women reach menopause at a range of ages, but most are in their forties and are less physically active than when they were younger. With age comes a natural slowing of metabolism. At the same time, hormonal changes can trigger hunger, depression and sleep disorders.
?It?s multifactorial. When women go through menopause, they lose estrogen, causing their shapes to change ? usually a weight loss of the hip and thigh. And you begin to win more in the middle,? says Bowerman. It explains that estrogen favors fat deposition in the lower body, and when you lose this hormone, fat is more likely to be deposited in the middle section (like men). This spare tire for the half was not so affectionately called menopot.
The key to avoiding this extra belly fat for maintaining and increasing the amount of lean body mass, which, in turn, increase your metabolism or calorie burn rate.
?Women need to understand the importance of weight lifting and bodybuilding is your health,? says Bowerman. And do not worry, doing strength training will not be muscled women, experts say.
Exercise also helps offset bone loss that can come with menopause. A combination of exercise and a healthy diet and controlled in calories, rich in calcium and vitamin D is the answer to counteract the weight gain of menopause.
Find More Health Medical Reasons To lose weight Articles
Buying a car will mean that you are most likely going to be spending a whole lot of money to purchase it. If you are going to be seeing of ways to save money on a car, then the easiest way will be to go ahead and purchase a used car instead of a new car. If you decide that you are going to purchase a used car you might still want to get a loan. This will definitely not be the easiest thing in the world to accomplish for a used car because of the fact many lenders do not like to work with these loans. There are going to be local used car dealerships that offer a we finance car loan so that you can go ahead and purchase a vehicle through dealerships that offer these loans.
Now these loans are going to work exactly how they sound. The dealerships themselves are going to finance you for a loan directly.
This helps people so much to get finance on a used car because they have much easier requirements to get a loan. These dealerships will be able to get you these amazing deals because of the fact that they do not perform credit checks on you. So no matter what type of credit score you have you will be able to get a loan in this fashion. You will not be able to raise your credit score though unless you get pre approved for an auto loan.
If you are going to buy a car through on lot financing dealerships, then you have to make sure that you get pre approved for a loan. The best part about getting pre approved is that you will be able to raise your credit score and get a loan through this process. This is something that is done completely online and will take just about ten or fifteen minutes.
If you want to get approved for the loan then it will take you just about a day of waiting before you will be approved for the best possible rate with your credit score. You will then be set up with a dealership and able to go right out and buy one.
If anything solid can be dredged from the ? 101 swamp, it is that financial methods are particularly suspect as patent ineligible subject matter. The Federal Circuit in Bancorp Services v. Sun Life strikes claims to a life insurance management regime, while also adding to a growing consensus that the ability to perform a method entirely in the mind is a strong indicator of invalidating abstractness and preemption, and reciting such methods as computer systems or media will not save them under ? 101. It looks like there are getting to be a lot of invalid business method patents floating around out there.
The case has been going on in some form since 2000, when Bancorp sued on US Patent 5,926,792. Another patent, 7,249,037, was amended into the complaint in 2009. These patents disclosed and claimed ways of managing life insurance policies where the holders invested beyond the required premium so as to minimize risk of loss between investment value and surrender value in the total investment. The claims included methods as well as computer systems and media aping those methods, like this:
A life insurance policy management system comprising: a policy generator for generating a life insurance policy including a stable value protected investment with an initial value based on a value of underlying securities of the stable value protected investment; a fee calculator for calculating fees for members of a management group which manage the life insurance policy; a credit calculator for calculating credits for the stable value protected investment of the life insurance policy; an investment calculator for determining an investment value and a value of the underlying securities of the stable value protected investment for the current day; a policy calculator for calculating a policy value and a policy unit value for the current day; digital storage for storing the policy unit value for the current day; and a debitor for removing a value of the fees for members of the management group which manages the life insurance policy.
The asserted method claims looked strikingly similar, mostly just omitting the ?[hardware X] for? phrase and starting each step with the gerund.
Following the conclusion of proceedings in Bilski, the district court found the above claim, as well as corresponding method and media claims, as failing the Machine-or-Transformation test, because the steps could be performed manually and any computer recited in the claims was a mere general-purpose add-on. The district court did not engage in formal claim construction before invalidating all claims under ? 101, leading to the first issue on appeal ? is claim construction indispensable for summary judgment of invalidity under ? 101? No, it?s just recommended:
claim construction is not an inviolable prerequisite to a validity determination under ? 101. We note, however, that it will ordinarily be desirable?and often necessary?to resolve claim construction disputes prior to a ? 101 analysis, for the determination of patent eligibility re-quires a full understanding of the basic character of the claimed subject matter.
Because claim construction is a desirable component of a subject matter eligibility determination and a question of law, the panel decided to construe the claims itself in the first instance. The big question was whether method claims not reciting hardware nonetheless required a computer for their execution (the panel agreed the above-quoted system and media claims must be construed to include hardware under their plain language). For the method claims, despite the specification disclosing only computerized embodiments and the methods being highly inefficient to do by hand, the Federal Circuit relied on plain language and claim differentiation to construe the independent method claims to not require hardware, whereas dependent claims reciting the methods being ?performed by a computer? did require hardware.
Turning to the merits of patentable subject matter, the parties framed the debate as complex-computer-programming-limited-process-and-structure versus mathematical-formulas-with-computers-thrown-in antipodes. The panel saw the claims here as the patent-ineligible latter. The opinion really focused on the now familiar steps of 1) discerning an abstract idea in the claims and 2) ascertaining whether a sufficiently specific application of the idea was present. As for identifying the abstract idea, the court saw little difference between the claims here, reducible to managing a stable value protected life insurance policy, and the abstract idea of hedging energy market risk in Bilski:
Here, Bancorp?s patents ?attempt to patent the use of the abstract idea of [managing a stable value protected life insurance policy] and then instruct the use of well-known [calculations] to help establish some of the inputs into the equation.? Id. As in Bilski, the claims do not effect a transformation, and the fact that the required calculations could be performed more efficiently via a computer does not materially alter the patent eligibility of the claimed subject matter.
The panel further highlighted two indicia of insufficiently-limited abstractness emerging from Research Corp. and CyberSource: that the asserted patents did not describe how their methods improved on existing technology; and that the claimed financial method could be performed mentally or at least manually. Thus, the claims could be more easily analogized to CyberSource (invalid) than Research Corp. (not invalid):
the claimed processes in Research Corp. plainly represented improvements to computer technologies in the marketplace. For example, as compared to the prior art, the ?inventive mask produce[d] higher quality halftone images while using less processor power and memory space.? Id. at 865. No such technological advance is evident in the present invention. Rather, the claims merely employ computers to track, reconcile, and administer a life insurance policy with a stable value component?i.e., the computer simply performs more efficiently what could otherwise be accomplished manually. Bancorp, 771 F. Supp. 2d at 1065.
Second, the method in Research Corp., which required the manipulation of computer data structures (the pixels of a digital image and the mask) and the output of a modified computer data structure (the halftoned image), was dependent upon the computer components required to perform it. See CyberSource, 654 F.3d at 1376 (?[T]he method [in Research Corp.] could not, as a practical matter, be performed entirely in a human?s mind.?). Here, in contrast, the computer merely permits one to manage a stable value protected life insurance policy more efficiently than one could mentally. Using a computer to accelerate an ineligible mental process does not make that process patent-eligible.
Having found some ?abstractiness,? the panel looked at whether the computers recited in the system, media, and dependent method claims could confer subject matter eligibility by representing a specific application. They could not. Under SiRF, to ?salvage an otherwise patent-ineligible process, a computer must be integral to the claimed invention, facilitating the process in a way that a person making calculations or computations could not.? While Bancorp argued that computers were significant here by enabling the claimed precise and repetitive calculations, the court said ?[t]hat misses the point. It is the management of the life insurance policy that is ?integral to each of [Bancorp?s] claims at issue,? not the computer machinery that may be used to accomplish it.? The panel here also continued the CyberSource trend of treating system and computer readable media claims no differently from counterpart method claims that recite insufficient application on specially-configured computers.
The patentee also argued specific application was present here because the claims operated in the life insurance market and because the defendant had plead that their similar methods did not infringe, and thus were not preempted by, the claims at issue. The panel rejected both these arguments ? the first as a mere field of use limitation entitled to no ? 101 weight under Bilski and Flook, and the second as a mere artifact of alternative pleading.
Lastly, the opinion threw some support behind the majority in the recent CLS Bank v. Alice Corp., finding the facts there distinguishable. Particularly, the panel here (including the dissenter from CLS Bank) seemed to agree that the computer limitations there played a ?significant part? in the claimed method of a specific financial application. Here, however, the computer was just a facilitator to using an abstract concept. Invalidity of all claims affirmed.
Lessons: Where Bancorp Services provides the most ? 101 guidance, it is in its definition/detection of an abstract idea and treatment of computers as sufficient applications or a preemption avoiders. First, it?s undeniable from this case, CLS Bank, Dealertrack, Fort Props., and Bilski that anything approaching a business method/system/program is nowadays highly susceptible to a ? 101 attack. Panel after panel have had zero qualms with labeling a market or legal transaction as ?abstract.? Thus, at a minimum, carefully consider the facts and outcomes in these cases when drafting such applications ? and in determining if patent protection is even available to one?s innovation in these sectors. If a method or structure can operate in a non-financial or legal setting, focus on those other more technological settings.
Second, Bancorp Services reemphasizes past recommendations for avoiding abstractness to begin with. Consider the specification as prime real estate for demonstrating improvement on an existing technology, limited application of an abstract idea, and the necessity of extra-mental specific machines and transformations. In the background one might be able to identify existing technology as a very broad abstract idea. (?Several existing accounting programs track the worth of insurance policy profiles?) Then example embodiments might be disclosed as specific improvements on aspects of the concept. (?The example embodiment computer program of FIG. X supplements policy monitoring with specific calculations of current, future, and group-based valuations in order to yield improved portfolio protection that is uniquely responsive to portfolios with protected investments.?) One may be able to avoid overly-narrow descriptions by phrasing the existing abstract ideas quite generally. These tactics may help avoid the first step of toward ? 101 invalidity of identifying an abstract idea, but they are not slam dunks. The ?037 patent in particular did a good job of describing its systems as improvements over existing specific methods in the background and summary to no avail.
Where abstractness is a concern, consider demonstrating in the specification how a claimed structure or transformation is both specific and central to the claim. In the computer program space, describe example embodiments that that require a computer programmed or configured in a specific manner to flat-out work. Don?t leave room for ?any computer? to perform the method or for anyone to suspect that the method could be performed, even inefficiently, by hand or in one?s mind. (From previous advice example: disclose results of a calculation are useful only in real-time and can only be achieved by computer, coupled with a claim to real-time computer-implemented calculation, or disclose a process that depends on information remotely input or gathered from several sources simultaneously, coupled with a claim reciting a computer specially networked to the various remote sources). Don?t rely on a structural or medium claim, or incidental recitation of ?with a computer,? to save a claim that can be reduced to an abstract idea from ? 101. As seen in Bancorp Services and so many other recent patentable subject matter cases, claim validity arbiters are very much looking at just how much a computer gives life to any type of claim in determining if the claim impermissibly preempts.
Comment: The claims here seem comparable to those in CLS Bank. The CLS Bank majority really zoomed in on the ?shadow debit/credit? terms as evidence of a specific implementation of a settlement that required a computer programmed for handling these shadows. The panel here could have probably similarly focused in on the recited storage of the specialized value types and disclosure of such storage with computers to do the same. But they didn?t, and I?m not completely sure what the stopper was. It may be that claims at issue here had such little step-interactivity and dependency among the various terms; that is, the Bancorp claims do look more like a list of independent calculations of unrelated terms that could be done mentally. I?m also more than willing to admit my deficiencies in Wall Street wizarding knowledge on this one ? I can?t confidently speak as to how involved or specific the recited calculations were beyond typical estate management ideas.
The ?792 patent was subject to challenges in two earlier cases in 2004 and 2008, but only indefiniteness was raised as an invalidity in the prior cases. I think it reflects just how much has changed in the last four years on the ? 101 front. Given the courts? lumping of system, media, and method claims together for ? 101 purposes, I?m pretty sure even State Street?s ?data processing system for managing a financial services configuration? would not be patent eligible these days. A whole slew of issued patents of similar mid-90s to mid-aughts vintage are likely not nearly as valid as they once were.
Two final observations. First, the court disposed of the argument that the claims were not preemptive because of non-infringment. The court dodged this ?clever? argument by saying non-infringment was merely plead as a defense in the alternate. Does this suggest the court might be of a different opinion if the case arrived on appeal with an actual verdict/finding of non-infringement and invalidity? Second, Judge Lourie used claim differentiation to broaden a claim, despite the specification?s disclosure of only the subject matter of the dependent claim (i.e., computer systems) in a fairly limited fashion. This is rare for him. Even though the dependent and system claims ultimately fell, would construing the independent method claim narrowly, as requiring a computer, perhaps admitted that computers were more central to the method for 101 purposes?
Maybe if Bruce Wilson coached baseball in a neighborhood other than Englewood, he could just coach baseball.
Maybe he wouldn't have to fight against a community where the homicide rate continues to soar, and the pull and tug of gangs and drugs hover over nearly every aspect of his young players' lives.
Maybe last week he wouldn't have had to jump in his car and chase down a 16-year-old player who, in a moment of frustration and revenge, was about to make a terrible mistake that could have landed him in prison or the graveyard.
That may sound dramatic, but Wilson views saving these young men as part of his job as head coach for the Skyline Youth Athletic Association, which has about 90 youths, ages 10 to 17, the majority of whom are growing up in Englewood.
Wilson, who lives in West Englewood, knows that the area parks, the street corners, the routes from home to school are a type of feeder system for the gangs and drug dealers. So his goal is to keep his young men busy and off the streets.
"Your life can change just like that here," said Wilson, 47. "Luckily, baseball takes up a lot of their time. When they wake up in the morning, they have a purpose. They know that at a certain time they're coming to the park to practice or to play a game."
He said it's best to bring boys into the baseball fold when they're young. By the time they're teenagers, it's almost impossible to get them to play on a team.
"I'm proud to say that my 16- and 17-year-olds now play year-round at their high schools, and they have good grades," he said. "We started these kids when they were 11 and 12, and they have continued to play."
Wilson and a Lindblom Park supervisor created a private youth baseball association in 2007 that later became Skyline. The original 12 players included Wilson's son, Branden Wilson, and his best friend, Devon Robinson. When I first wrote about Devon in 2007, he was hanging out in Lindblom Park for long hours to avoid a home life that was in shambles.
This summer, Devon is working full time at another South Side park.
Of Wilson's 12 original players, seven are still on the team. He said five have left the community and are faring well. But for those who remain, he's trying to keep them safe and help them get ready for college.
From the start, the association has struggled. In the beginning, the baseball field in Lindblom Park, before it was resurfaced, was such a wreck that the boys didn't know where to place the bases. The kids didn't have the right equipment and wore mismatched uniforms.
But over the years, Wilson has dug into his pockets to support the team, and donations have come in. That first group of boys went from being in last place to winning championships.
Because it costs too much for the 16- and 17-year-olds to play with kids their own age in the Amateur Athletic Union, they're currently playing in an adult league. Wilson said that once again they're in last place.
"In the summer, I have to play them where I can to keep them busy," he said. "It's just like that very first year (in 2007). If they play against competition that's better, it eventually makes them better."
Over the years, he's watched his boys develop into young men. Many are well-mannered and self-possessed.
"But when we first started, some of them were loud, and they cursed," Wilson said. "We recently played another team that was rough around the edges, and my boys were like, 'Oh my goodness.' And I laughed and said, 'That was you guys a few years ago.' They had to learn to put on their caps and tuck in their shirts and shake the hand of their opponents."
He said although they have come a long way, they still have a long way to go. Unfortunately, part of their journey takes them through the streets of Englewood.
Last week, he learned that one of his players was about to seek revenge after his father was beaten by a gangbanger. Wilson said he drove around the community until he found the young man.
"I told him to get in the car," he said. "Then, as I drove, I talked to him the way I'd talk to my son. He started to tear up. These guys are 15 and 16, but they've already been to war. They see their friends being shot up, and they've got post-traumatic stress syndrome.
"I remember when they were boys, they used to smile a lot, but now they think they have to frown to survive."
Wilson said he talked to the young man's father and told him that he was going to pick him up on Saturdays and Sundays for games, including an upcoming tournament at the University of Notre Dame.
He said the young man is a good center fielder and pitcher and he hopes he'll be able to attend a junior college and play baseball there. Wilson hopes all of the young men will attend college.
"I'm sending their stats and the videos I've made of them during practice to college coaches and putting them on YouTube, so hopefully somebody will see these kids and keep taking a chance on them," Wilson said.
ScienceDaily (July 23, 2012) ? Public health crises of the past decade -- such as the 2003 SARS outbreak, which spread to 37 countries and caused about 1,000 deaths, and the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic that killed about 300,000 people worldwide -- have heightened awareness that new viruses or bacteria could spread quickly across the globe, aided by air travel.
While epidemiologists and scientists who study complex network systems -- such as contagion patterns and information spread in social networks -- are working to create mathematical models that describe the worldwide spread of disease, to date these models have focused on the final stages of epidemics, examining the locations that ultimately develop the highest infection rates.
But a new study by researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) shifts the focus to the first few days of an epidemic, determining how likely the 40 largest U.S. airports are to influence the spread of a contagious disease originating in their home cities. This new approach could help determine appropriate measures for containing infection in specific geographic areas and aid public health officials in making decisions about the distribution of vaccinations or treatments in the earliest days of contagion.
Airports in New York, Los Angeles and Honolulu are judged likeliest to play a significant role in the growth of a pandemic.
Unlike existing models, the new MIT model incorporates variations in travel patterns among individuals, the geographic locations of airports, the disparity in interactions among airports, and waiting times at individual airports to create a tool that could be used to predict where and how fast a disease might spread.
"Our work is the first to look at the spatial spreading of contagion processes at early times, and to propose a predictor for which 'nodes' -- in this case, airports -- will lead to more aggressive spatial spreading," says Ruben Juanes, the ARCO Associate Professor in Energy Studies in CEE. "The findings could form the basis for an initial evaluation of vaccine allocation strategies in the event of an outbreak, and could inform national security agencies of the most vulnerable pathways for biological attacks in a densely connected world."
A more realistic model
Juanes' studies of the flow of fluids through fracture networks in subsurface rock and the research of CEE's Marta Gonz?lez, who uses cellphone data to model human mobility patterns and trace contagion processes in social networks, laid the basis for determining individual travel patterns among airports in the new study. Existing models typically assume a random, homogenous diffusion of travelers from one airport to the next.
However, people don't travel randomly; they tend to create patterns that can be replicated. Using Gonz?lez's work on human mobility patterns, Juanes and his research group -- including graduate student Christos Nicolaides and research associate Luis Cueto-Felgueroso -- applied Monte Carlo simulations to determine the likelihood of any single traveler flying from one airport to another.
"The results from our model are very different from those of a conventional model that relies on the random diffusion of travelers ? [and] similar to the advective flow of fluids," says Nicolaides, first author of a paper by the four MIT researchers that was published in the journal PLoS ONE. "The advective transport process relies on distinctive properties of the substance that's moving, as opposed to diffusion, which assumes a random flow. If you include diffusion only in the model, the biggest airport hubs in terms of traffic would be the most influential spreaders of disease. But that's not accurate."
Outsize role for Honolulu
For example, a simplified model using random diffusion might say that half the travelers at the Honolulu airport will go to San Francisco and half to Anchorage, Alaska, taking the disease and spreading it to travelers at those airports, who would randomly travel and continue the contagion.
In fact, while the Honolulu airport gets only 30 percent as much air traffic as New York's Kennedy International Airport, the new model predicts that it is nearly as influential in terms of contagion, because of where it fits in the air transportation network: Its location in the Pacific Ocean and its many connections to distant, large and well-connected hubs gives it a ranking of third in terms of contagion-spreading influence.
Kennedy Airport is ranked first by the model, followed by airports in Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, Newark, Chicago (O'Hare) and Washington (Dulles). Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is first in number of flights, ranks eighth in contagion influence. Boston's Logan International Airport ranks 15th.
"The study of spreading dynamics and human mobility, using tools of complex networks, can be applied to many different fields of study to improve predictive models," says Gonz?lez, the Gilbert W. Winslow Career Development Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "It's a relatively new but very robust approach. The incorporation of statistical physics methods to develop predictive models will likely have far-reaching effects for modeling in many applications."
"Nowadays, one of the most ambitious scientific goals is to predict how different processes of great economic and societal impact evolve as time goes on," says Professor Yamir Moreno of the University of Zaragoza, who studies complex networks and spreading patterns of epidemics. "We are currently capable of modeling with some detail real disease outbreaks, but we are less effective when it comes to identifying new countermeasures to minimize the impact of an emerging disease. The work done by the MIT team paves the way to find new containment strategies, as the newly developed measure of influential spreading allows for a better comprehension of the spatiotemporal patterns characterizing the initial stages of a disease outbreak."
This work was supported by a Vergottis Graduate Fellowship and awards from the NEC Corporation Fund, the Solomon Buchsbaum Research Fund and the U.S. Department of Energy.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Denise Brehm.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Christos Nicolaides, Luis Cueto-Felgueroso, Marta C. Gonz?lez, Ruben Juanes. A Metric of Influential Spreading during Contagion Dynamics through the Air Transportation Network. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (7): e40961 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040961
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Matt Cain launched a solo home run off opposing pitcher Cole Hamels in the top of the third inning this afternoon in Philadelphia. Not to be outdone, Hamels connected for a solo shot of his own off Cain in the bottom of the inning. No word on whether Hamels was whistling ?Anything You Can Do? during his home run trot, but it can?t be ruled out.
Cain and Hamels are the first pitchers to homer off each other in the same game since Kevin Millwood and Denny Stark on May 18, 2002. Per ESPN?s Jayson Stark, they are the first pitchers to homer off each other in the same inning since Kevin Gross and Fernando Valenzuela did it on May 14, 1990.
There?s a chance Cain and Hamels could have more in common soon, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Phillies and Hamels are ?moving in the right direction? in negotiations on a long-term contract extension. Cain?s $127.5 million commitment with the Giants is considered a starting point on negotiations for Hamels.
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Is a sales tax increase the solution to funding Ohio schools?
Property owners ? who currently fund schools with taxes on the value of their property ? might think so, but trading one tax for another doesn?t really address the problem.
Ohio has been going back and forth for what seems like forever on how to adequately fund public education.?There have been court cases and appeals, complaints and praise, new standards and testing to document performance, more complaints and praise, more court cases and appeals and still no one is really happy.
It?s been going on for so long now that most Ohioans don?t remember what it?s all about or what the final Supreme Court decision was.?But they know that their local school systems are laying off teachers, cutting programs and asking for money while blaming the state for reductions in funding.
In my hometown of Toledo, the Toledo Public School Board decided to put a new, permanent 6.9-mill levy on the ballot in November.?They say they really need more than 8 mills, but they don?t think Toledoans will support that big of a hit to their wallets, especially in this economy ? and with six other levies on the ballot at the same time.?Just for reference, a 6.9 mill levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $211 per year.
So it?s no surprise that the idea of using Ohio?s sales tax to replace the property taxes is being raised again.
To come up with the more than $9.9 billion that would be needed to replace what is being collected, legislators would have to raise the sales tax from 5.5 cents on the dollar to 13.2 cents, the House Finance & Appropriations: Primary & Secondary Education Subcommittee was told Wednesday.
But it?s not that simple, because when you raise the sales tax, people don?t purchase as much ? at least, not within the state if they have that option.
Since I?m only about a mile from the Ohio-Michigan state line, I could easily go to stores in Michigan and pay only a 6 percent sales tax, saving me 7.2 cents on every dollar I purchase.?This might not make sense for small purchases, once you balance gasoline and travel time, but if it?s a major appliance or Christmas shopping, it would.
But numerous reports and studies say sales taxes hurt the poor more than other taxes do. Since the poor spend a larger proportion of their income on consumption goods, they end up paying a larger percentage of their income in taxes?on those goods.?When they have limited income to begin with, paying more of that income in taxes on items they cannot go without doesn?t sit well with many people, especially politicians who want votes.
The flip side of that is the property tax.?Some complain that individuals who live in apartments prefer property taxes, because they don?t have to pay them.?This is a common misperception as landlords must take into account property taxes when setting their rental rates. The renter doesn?t pay the property tax directly, but they pay their portion in their monthly rent.?And in recent years, landlords have starting including a clause in their contract that allows for any voted property tax increase to be added to the rent automatically.
Regardless of the method of funding, the distribution will be an issue always ? and that?s what the fight is constantly about:?who gets the money.
If they raise the sales tax, will the state allocate it back to the counties from whence it came??Will it be split up equally among all the schools??Or will it focus on some complicated funding formula that takes into account numerous factors resulting in an allocation that only a rocket scientist could understand?
A better method might be to just take the total amount of money collected ? regardless of which method ? divide it by the number of school-aged children in the state and hand it over to the parents to spend on the child?s education as they see fit.?This ?let the money follow the child? scenario is so much easier for people to understand and gives parents the freedom to decide what is the best educational option for their children.
But such a common sense approach often meets with objections from school unions, school bureaucracies and elected school board members.?Such a concept would require them to compete for the attendance of children, something many reject.
And we can?t forget the irresponsible parents who wouldn?t spend the money on their children as intended ? children shouldn?t suffer because of the failure of their parents.?So maybe instead of giving them money, we give them a voucher.
But such a loaded word in the educational system would never pass muster, so clearly that option is out.
In the end, the arguments always revolve around how much, who pays, who receives and who gets to decide.?Special interests lobby for the method that benefits them the most, and politicians worry about what their vote means in terms of their re-election.
Just for once, wouldn?t it be nice to see the discussion focus less on the money and more on what is in the best interest of the children the money is supposed to be benefit?
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When it comes to customer service, the insurance industry has languished under the cloud of a not-so-stellar reputation. However, a new survey suggests that insurers are paying closer attention to customer service.
For the second year in a row, The Temkin Group, a customer research and consulting company, has released its annual Trust Ratings. The ratings are the result of a nationwide survey conducted in January 2012 that asked 10,000 consumers to evaluate more than 200 companies in 18 industries.
According to Bruce Temkin, founder and managing partner of the company, consumers were asked to rate their likelihood to trust companies to meet their needs on a seven-point scale ? 1 meaning they do not trust the company at all and 7 meaning they trust the company completely. And guess what? When all was said and done, the insurance sector did surprisingly well.
Customer service is ?expectation?
?Consumers need to believe that the insurance company will support them if they ever have a claim. Insurance is quite unique that way,? Temkin says. ?The most important service is also the key value for consumers, but very few of them actually experience it. So all of the other aspects of customer service need to make the consumers feel as if they will be treated well if they ever have to put in a claim.?
Between the 2011 and 2012 surveys, the insurance industry made more significant improvements than any other sector, earning more than a 5 percent gain in overall customer trust. And while five companies scored ?poor? ratings ? Travelers, 21st Century, MetLife, American Family and Liberty Mutual ? two insurers (Farmers and Allstate) made double-digit gains. Furthermore, eight other insurers climbed in the rankings.
?Customers now drive the business, and that?s really becoming a part of the culture for the insurance industry across the board,? State Farm spokesman Dave Phillips says. ?Customer service is now an expectation, not a nicety.?
According to Temkin, insurers were evaluated, in part, on how efficiently their customer service departments functioned, how accessible they were to consumers and what emotional effect the company?s customer service departments had on consumers. The results were as follows:
? Taking top honors was USAA, which beat all other companies in every industry category to score a 78 percent consumer trust rating ? a 30 percent improvement over the standing in 2011. ? USAA, State Farm and The Hartford received the highest functional ratings, while Liberty Mutual, American Family and 21st Century received the lowest. ? USAA, State Farm and The Hartford received the highest accessible ratings, while 21st Century, MetLife and Travelers received the lowest. ? USAA, State Farm and AAA received the highest emotional ratings, while 21st Century and Travelers received the lowest.
Seven insurers landed in the ?OK? category ? AAA, Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and The Hartford ? and the industry overall found itself in the middle of the pack, ranking eighth among 18 other industries.
?I like to say that customer service in the insurance industry is now finally sitting at the big kids? table,? says Seth Hall, vice president of customer service at Philadelphia Insurance Cos., (which was not ranked in the survey). ?Customer service is no longer just some necessary evil. It?s at the center of making businesses more profitable.?
Changing tide
John Tschohl is president of the Service Quality Institute and author of several books on customer service. While insurance companies always have spent millions of dollars a year on advertising, he says, only recently have they begun to see the financial value in customer service. After all, he says, when you?re dealing with an industry where each company sells essentially the same products, high-quality service will separate one insurer from another.
?When I first started in 1979 in customer service, I saw companies spending a fortune in marketing and ads. But then when people walked through the door, they got treated like dirt,? Tschohl says. ?But if you treat people like kings and queens, they give you their money. It?s a simple concept.?
Let me speak to a human
Michael McIntyre, president and CEO of The Authentic Salesman, a Dallas-based consulting and sales training firm, says customer service in the insurance industry has changed for the better and for the worse.
On the plus side, he says, more companies are adopting?a ?customer first? approach?and putting their money where their mouth is. For instance, USAA, State Farm and The Hartford constantly train all of their employees while also rewarding excellence in customer service, McIntyre says.
?However, the old guard is still running other company?s customer service centers directly into the ground,? McIntyre says.
They have done this, he says, by relying too heavily on intelligent voice recognition (IVR) systems or, worse yet, outsourcing customer service to the other countries.
?Consumers don?t want to be put on hold or talk to an IVR,? McIntyre says. ?They want a human being, they want interaction, and they want an authentic conversation.?
Social media raises the stakes
Mike Barry, a spokesman for the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute, says the Internet probably represents the single biggest change in the way companies approach customer service.
?You now have customers interacting with their insurance company without ever talking to them and, perhaps more importantly, you have customers interacting with one another,? Barry says.
According to Dan Young, head of insurance relations at CarStar and a former 20-year employee of Allstate, the constant and growing presence of social media has placed much-needed pressure on the industry to deliver a positive customer experience.
?If you do a great job there are great rewards. But if you blow something, there are a lot of people who can know about it in a big hurry,? Young says. ?You now run the risk of a poor reputation spreading quickly, which means possibly losing current and future customers.?
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