There are hundreds of PG movies offered for entertainment. This article proposes to conduct a character analysis and an assessment of the main plot story lines of popular movies as it relates to the psychological, growth and development of children. It is anticipated that parents may find use these movies as tools to foster strong moral character, reasoning skills, honesty and integrity in the midst of a chaotic world where seemingly-- anything goes. It will be updated periodically. Please enjoy. << MORE >>

Medical Regression and Re-lapse. Just this month, the newly issued March 2, 2009, issue of Forbes contains a cover story based upon the article, Miracle Survivors written by Robert Langreth. The journalist reports that recent studies suggest that as many as 1 in 3 breast tumors vanish on their own before detection by a doctor. The magazine with a rich history in taunting pharmaceutical drugs making significant breakthroughs in the fight against cancer wryly quoted Jedd D. Wolchok, an oncologist at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, on spontaneous remission, he says, is “either divine intervention or the immune system.” Incubation. It is widely known that for premature babies, the provision of natural light, love, human touch, and tenderness while they are housed in incubators greatly reduces the effects of stressors associated with delayed growth. Winter of America’s Soul What do these processes have to do with the restoration of the American spirit, in modern society and during modern times? Well, during times of chaos, economic recession/depression, unemployment, home foreclosures, business bankruptcies, wanton federal spending, maybe this time is the winter of our souls. << MORE >>

Abstract: This paper examines the role of the accompanying spouse as an unlikely change agent in expatriate management. An international relocation is classified as a work transition and one in which significant change issues can, and do, arise at the organizational, employee and spouse/family levels. In particular this paper examines the discourse surrounding the causes of expatriate assignment failure, with a focus on terminology and the mis-use of language to suit an agenda. It seeks to examine, through narrative, the lack of spousal adjustment and family issues as the most often cited reason attributed to premature return and/or assignment failure. Challenging this widely held view was the basis of two studies presented in this paper, both of which were conducted using samples of more than 80 expatriated families (employee and accompanying spouse). The narrative findings lend support, based on narratives and individual stories of ambiguity and contradiction, that poor organizational change management during expatriation is largely attributed to the lack of corporate policy addressing the specific needs of internationally mobile families. Keywords: Expatriates, Accompanying Spouse, Narrative, Empirical Research << MORE >>

This article is to celebrate the birthdays of two presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, to honor all past US presidents, to reflect upon the personal philosophy our new president, Barack Obama and to offer him our support.

Just yesterday, president Obama was quoted paraphrasing  Macbeth while attending the re-opening ceremony of the Ford Theatre in celebration of Abe Lincoln’s 200 birthday. President Obama took the proverbial beating as apparently quoting Macbeth is considered an omen and precursor for bad things to come.

Bad things to come?  Does Obama believe in omens? ...<< MORE >>

Just recently the Obamas selected to enroll their daughters in the exclusive Sidwell Friends Quaker Day School rather than the public schools within the District of Columbia. Their decision may be in contrast to the hundreds if not thousands of families who are faced with a similar dilemma—but differing outcome.<< MORE >>

A complete expatriate package should include the following: 1. Relocation expenses such as packing of household materials, shipping furniture from one location to the other, payment of taxes once the furniture and household items have been received by customs at the new host country. Use of agent services to clear your household and personal belongings through customs. << MORE >>

Is your expatriate pool in need of a transfusion? Perhaps one of the best ways to support the life blood of global expansion is through the creation, institution and management of innovative work and family support policies. For instance, depending upon the research source cited, around 69% to 80% of the expatriates accepting overseas assignments are married (Harrison, 2001; Windham, 1999). Spouses accompany roughly 77% of married expatriates (Windham, 1999). According to the literature presented by academe, expert consultants, and practitioners in the field, the accompanying spouse is of critical importance to the success of an overseas assignment (Torbiorn, 1982; Arthur and Bennett, 1995; Punnett, 1997). With regards to dual career couples, Harvey (1998) considered spousal adjustment an important aspect of the spouse’s overall satisfaction with the international relocation. << MORE >>

Here are some helpful tips for the repatriated family returning home after living overseas for an extensive period of time. Say Goodbye to the Past. In the rush to pack your belongings, order shipping containers and/or oversee the entire moving process with professional movers, take the time to wish farewell to your dear friends, surrogate sisters, business colleagues and even acquaintances. If you have children, make sure that you provide opportunities for your teenagers, kids, and even toddlers to arrange sleepovers and farewell parties. And in your haste, don’t forget to offer support to your expatriate spouse. If you don’t have the time, hire a temporary personal assistant to collect, store and computerize contact information from business cards and memoranda. Provide suggestions to create a telephone tree to gather USA-based network of professional referrals and contacts. Even if your spouse maintains his position with his present employer, an expanded USA-based network can open doors for future opportunities.<< MORE >>

This paper examines the expatriate and family as elusive participants in management research. It reviews the current literature and focuses on inappropriate sampling which may lead to research manipulation. Furthermore, it seeks to challenge the view that family and spousal problems are responsible for most assignment failures and early departures. In addition to traditional methods, this research used electronic mail surveys, group computer mediated communications, computerized self administered questionnaires, and foreign field research. Such methodologies introduced findings that corporate support policies inadequately address the needs of internationally mobile families. Keywords: expatriate, accompanying partner, failure rate, early departure<< MORE >>

The main goal of this article is to offer a 'things to do list' for the over 40 crowd or over-educated entangled in the over-under-un- employed job market. It is a companion piece to the abstract and more philosophical advice posted earlier. Refer to the article here. To Do List 1. Be open to re-invention. According to Ret. General Colin Powell, "nowadays, every one of our jobs is becoming obsolete. The proper response is to obsolete our activities before someone else does. " 2. Look at your job in a different way. Based upon your expertise, what could be done differently to reduce costs, increase margins and/or improve process flows, product quality and increase customer satisfaction?<< MORE >>