Fishbowl Introduces Mobile Marketing for Restaurant Industry

Fishbowl Introduces Mobile Marketing for Restaurant Industry

Smoothie King Sweepstakes Debuts Mobile Technology

Alexandria, VA (Vocus) April 2, 2008

Fishbowl (http://info. fishbowl. com/fishbowl/index. html), the leader in on-demand email marketing for the restaurant industry, announced today the expansion of its product and service line to include mobile marketing (http://info. fishbowl. com/fishbowl/solutions. html).

"Mobile is a natural extension for Fishbowl," explains Per Huge-Jensen, Product Director for mobile and web solutions at Fishbowl. "We can give our clients the same effective, targeted and turnkey marketing we have always offered through email now through mobile, helping companies to maximize their customer reach and drive sales."

Fishbowl launched its first mobile sweepstakes campaign this month for Smoothie King and its more than 500 locations nationwide. The campaign, which runs through April 28, encourages Smoothie King guests to text "SKWIN" to 55022 daily for a chance to win one of 20 $1,000 "Swimsuit Weekend" prizes. The promotion is supported by in-store signage, national radio, print and online media and an interactive microsite at http://www. skgetaway. com (http://www. skgetaway. com) where guests can also enter to win. Jacksonville, Fla.-based St. John & Partners, Smoothie King's agency of record, designed the campaign materials.

"Smoothie King's guests are always on the go, and we're thrilled to be able to offer text messaging as a quick and easy way for them to take part in our Swimsuit Weekend sweepstakes," said Cindy Kuhnau, co-founder of Smoothie King, the originator of the nutritional fruit-based smoothie.

"As mobile capabilities have broadened to offer GPS, web and the like and consumers are constantly on the go, cell phones have become a computer-away-from home. It only makes sense then that consumers want the option to receive marketing communications through their phones," said Huge-Jensen. "Smoothie King is way ahead of the curve in responding to this growing consumer need."

In addition to list-building and sweepstakes, Fishbowl Mobile will also feature time-based messaging, polling, surveys that, like email, will drive sales and customer retention and increase brand awareness and customer frequency.

About Fishbowl
Alexandria, VA-based Fishbowl is the leader in on-demand email marketing software solutions for the restaurant industry. Fishbowl serves 700 restaurant companies in North America and Europe powering email marketing to over 28,000 restaurant locations. Fishbowl's solutions make it easy for our restaurant partners to identify their restaurant guests, manage their guest database, deliver high quality email marketing campaigns to drive repeat visits and generate revenue. For more information on Fishbowl, email press @ fishbowl. com, visit www. fishbowl. com, or call 703-836-3421.

About Smoothie King Franchises, Inc.
Smoothie King is a privately held, New Orleans-area-based franchise company and the premier Smoothie Bar and Nutritional Lifestyle Center in the industry. Smoothie King Centers offer guests the industry's first, original nutritional fruit - and function-based, fresh-blended smoothies. Each Lifestyle Center also offers healthy retail product solutions, including sports beverages, energy bars, healthy snacks, vitamin supplements, herbs, minerals and other sports nutrition products. Smoothie King opened its first store in 1973 and started as the first franchised smoothie bar/health food store business in the United States in 1989. Smoothie King currently has more than 500 units operating in 32 states and the Republic of Korea. For more information, visit www. smoothieking. com.

SMOOTHIE KING SWIMSUIT WEEKEND SWEEPSTAKES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Begins at 12:00:01 am ET on 3/3/08 and ends at 11:59:59 pm ET on 4/28/08. Open to legal residents of the 50 U. S. and D. C. 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited. To enter and for complete Official Rules, go online to skgetaway. com. Standard text message charges may apply. Sponsor: Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., 121 Park Place, Covington, LA 70433.

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PayScale Releases Inaugural Compensation and Salary Index

PayScale Releases Inaugural Compensation and Salary Index

New Quarterly PayScale Index tracks whether the price of workers, as represented by the wages they are paid, is changing over time; Index provides most accurate view on what employees are earning amidst turbulent economy

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) October 12, 2010

PayScale, Inc. today announced the inaugural release of The PayScale Index that tracks quarterly compensation trends. Specifically, The PayScale Index follows changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States.

The PayScale Index utilizes a unique approach to trend measurement. Unlike indices such as the Consumer Price Index, which measures the prices of certain goods and services (periodically updated to reflect changes in buying habits of Americans), The PayScale Index uses data on all private sector full-time employees working in a given time period.

PayScale has performed a detailed analysis of how various compensable factors, like work experience, education, employment setting and job responsibilities affect pay. This analysis is based on PayScale's extensive data of over 23 million employee profiles, accounting for 250 compensable factors for 7,000 unique job titles, which show how the pay of actual workers varies with each of these factors.

"The greater accuracy of The PayScale Index is critical for understanding consumer confidence: for those lucky enough to still have a job, The PayScale Index shows that getting a pay cut or no raise over the last two years has been the typical experience, " says Al Lee, Director of Quantitative Analysis at PayScale.

The PayScale Index also examines quarterly changes in the pay of employed workers across 15 private industry categories separately, 20 metropolitan areas, and across company sizes of less than 100 employees, 100-1500 employees, and more than 1500 employees. These industries include: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Business Operation Support Services; Construction; Finance & Insurance; Food Services & Accommodation; Healthcare & Social Assistance; Information, Media & Telecommunications; Manufacturing; Mining; Professional, Scientific & Tech Services; Real Estate; Retail; Transportation & Warehousing/Storage; Utilities; and Wholesale Trade.

Index highlights include:
 Since 2006, wages are up only 4.0% for private sector employees, while the core Consumer Price Index has increased 7.5% o In 2009 actual (nominal) wages dropped 1.5%, and have been flat since; core CPI has continued to rise
O The typical private sector workers earns 3.5% less in real buying power now, while doing the same job, than they earned in 2006.
O Wages in only one industry, Mining and Oil & Gas Extraction (9.1%), have outpaced inflation since 2006.
 Over the last 12 months through Q3 2010, nationally wages are up only 0.1% o Only 5 of 20 metros have 12 month wage increases greater than 0.1%
 Baltimore (1.6%), St. Louis (0.6%), Washington DC (0.5%), New York City (0.4%), and Phoenix (0.4%) o Only 6 of 15 industries have 12 month wage increases greater than 0.1%
 Utilities (0.8%), Mining & Oil & Gas Extraction (0.6%), Finance (0.5%), Healthcare (0.2%), Transportation (0.2%) and Retail (0.2%)  The worst period for full-time private sector employee wages since 2006 were the six months between Q4 2008 and Q2 2009, when wages dropped 1.3%.  In the latest quarter, Q3 2010, there is no sign nationally of increases in actual wages or buying power: o Actual wages are down 0.1% from the previous quarter
O Buying power is down 0.2% from the previous quarter

"The PayScale Index shows the US private sector workforce is subject to the laws of supply and demand: typical wages as measured by the PayScale Index dropped as unemployment rose in the current recession. The unique market based real-time approach of The PayScale Index makes it uniquely capable of identifying these important trends in the economy," said Lee.

About PayScale
PayScale. com is the leading online provider of employee compensation data. With the world's largest database of individual compensation profiles, PayScale provides an immediate and precise snapshot of current market salaries to employees and employers. PayScale's patent-pending, real-time profiling technology collects and indexes employee pay attributes worldwide and makes this compensation data available through its online salary tools and salary benchmarking reports. PayScale was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Seattle. Follow PayScale on Twitter: http://twitter. com/payscale and Facebook http://www. facebook. com/PayScale.

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Public Participation Crucial in The Marine Mammal Center's Harbor Seal Health Study

Public Participation Crucial in The Marine Mammal Center's Harbor Seal Health Study

The public is asked to report harbor seals they may see in the wild that are wearing special color and numerically coded "hat tags" as part of a study by The Marine Mammal Center on harbor seal health issues in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sausalito, Calif. (PRWEB) July 26, 2007

The Marine Mammal Center's marine biologist, Denise Greig, is conducting a study of the effects of pollutants and environmental factors on San Francisco Bay Area harbor seals, and is requesting the help of the public to report sightings of the seals along the California coast. The Harbor Seal Health Project will attempt to shed some light on the prevalence and health effects of marine contaminants in the San Francisco Bay area. The rehabilitated seals included in the study are released with brightly colored hat-shaped tags, numerically coded each animal can be identified easily in the wild. Members of the public who view one of the seals outfitted with the tags should take care not to disturb the animal. They are asked to note the number and color of the tag, the location of the sighting, and the general condition of the animal, and report the data to The Marine Mammal Center at (415)289-7350 or sealhat @ tmmc. org.

"The harbor seal's coastal habitat is influenced by human-produced pollutants including sewage, agricultural and surface runoff, and industrial pollution," says Greig. "Our study may tell us if exposure is affecting seal health, and the seals in turn may tell us about possible impacts on human health. If the seals are affected by pathogens and contaminants in the marine environment, then it is possible that people, who feed at the same level in the food chain, could be affected as well."

In May, June, and July, harbor seals were released wearing the hats, as well as short-range radio tags to track them locally. How they and future seals released with the hat tags fare is all part of the data that Greig will collect. The data collection relies heavily on community outreach and awareness of the program. The effectiveness of the public in reporting sightings of the seals will be an essential factor in the success of the program.

About The Marine Mammal Center:
Headquartered in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Sausalito, California, The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit veterinary hospital, research and educational center dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of ill and injured marine mammals - primarily elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions - and to the study of their health. Patients that become healthy again are released back to the ocean. Since 1975, the center has rescued and treated thousands upon thousands of marine mammals and has accumulated a body of knowledge about marine mammal and ocean health from its patients. By educating the public about marine mammals, the center hopes to foster ocean stewardship and conservation. The Marine Mammal Center is supported almost entirely by private funds. For more information, visit www. marinemammalcenter. org

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Homegrown Health Plan Responds to Reduced HMO and Goverment Coverage

Homegrown Health Plan Responds to Reduced HMO and Goverment Coverage

The only good news in the midst of America's health insurance crisis is a local health co-op in Ithaca, NY. It sets an example for the nation.

(PRWEB) October 13, 2004

Ithaca, New York, known for printing its own money http://www. ithacahours. com (http://www. ithacahours. com), now boasts its own co-op health plan, costing members just $100/year (local cash accepted). Though still small, the Ithaca Health Fund http://www. ithacahealth. org (http://www. ithacahealth. org) currently provides coverage for everyday emergencies (broken bones, ambulance rides, emergency stitches, burns, etc) and some dental. There's no deductible-- payments to specified maximum amounts are made from the first dollar. At this stage, the Health Fund has become a practical alternative for those without health insurance. The Fund recently paid $2,456.47 to a member in a nearby town, for a broken ankle.

The Fund's benefit menu has expanded steadily since 1997, as over 1,300 have joined. And not just locals. Because the Fund makes payments anywhere in the world with any health provider, usually overnight, there are already members in 25 states.

One member, Ruth, fell down stairs and broke her wrist. "I was in such pain but wouldn't dare go to the hospital because I couldn't afford to. I cried and prayed-- and then I remembered I had joined the Health Fund, and that it covers broken bones." She says that when she showed her Health Fund card at Cayuga Medical Center, "I was so happy. I always liked the idea of it-- but the reality of it is even better."

Another member, Brad, said, "I am self-employed, and last year I bought into the Health Fund to supplement a catastrophic injury plan that has a very high deductible. Last month I broke my collarbone. The bills would have been a real hardship for me, but the Health Fund stepped in immediately with no red tape. It was a lifesaver."

And another, Sandra, said, "I joined the Health Fund as soon as I heard about it. The Fund is an incredible gift that we can give each other. The whole medical system is such a downer-- people's freedom of choice is taken away, the HMOs are squeezing people, leaving no breathing room. I dropped my health insurance years ago-- I couldn't afford it anyway. I'd like to see everybody join the Fund, even if they already have health insurance, so we can replace the other system with this new system of people supporting each other."

Pete Browning is co-owner of Viva Taqueria, a popular Mexican eatery. He enrolled 40 employees in the plan, paying $80 each. "It just makes good business sense," he says. "I couldn't otherwise afford to insure them. The Fund covers more every year."

"The Fund is unique in several other ways," says founder Paul Glover. "Every member has a vote to decide who's on the board of directors, and members may vote by email. No health exam is required before enrollment; membership is the same regardless of age. People can choose their own doctor, without prior notification. The premium (membership payment) remains the same year after year, even while the coverage expands. Partners may join at a reduced rate, without being married. Overhead is kept low so that nearly every dollar is available to members for payments."

The Health Fund is perhaps the most transparent of health plans. Monthly meetings are open to all. Board of directors minutes are posted to the website, as are monthly financial reports, including each payment and each denial of claim. As required by NYS and federal law, the Fund declares on its literature "I understand that the Ithaca Health Fund is not regulated by the NYS Department of Insurance." They're required by New York State law to be a project of a 501c3 nonprofit group. They've chosen the Ithaca-based Center for Environmental Sustainability. They're members of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and are HIPAA compliant.

Says Glover, "We're intending to become a model of non-profit, low-overhead health financing, and to start free and at-cost clinics."

"This is how the Canadian single-payer plan began," according to David Steele, a professor of researcher at the University of British Columbia. He explains, in an article about the Fund http://www. ithacahealth. org/steele. htm (http://www. ithacahealth. org/steele. htm), how another small city, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, started in 1947 a local health plan so Successful that it spread throughout Canada by 1971. Concludes Steele, "Change has to come from the grassroots. At the national level, there is far too much entrenched power. The Ithaca Health Fund is young and it's growing, but it's working and it has immense potential."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Paul Glover (607) 272-4330 paglo@lightlink. com

Ithaca Health Fund, Box 362, Ithaca, NY 14851 http://www. ithacahealth. org (http://www. ithacahealth. org)

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Best Bath Systems One-Piece Fiberglass Shower Installation Cost is 82% Less than Ceramic and 30% Less than Mud Set Surrounds

Best Bath Systems One-Piece Fiberglass Shower Installation Cost is 82% Less than Ceramic and 30% Less than Mud Set Surrounds

RSMeans study confirms that easier shower surround installation saves labor costs on new construction and remodels of healthcare and assisted living facilities and universities.

Boise, ID (PRWEB) February 17, 2010

An independent study conducted by RSMeans Company has determined that the installation of Best Bath Systems (www. best-bath. com (http://www. best-bath. com)) one-piece roll-in fiberglass shower surrounds takes significantly less time and money than ceramic tile and fiberglass mud set shower surrounds.

RSMeans (http://rsmeans. reedconstructiondata. com/), a division of Reed Construction Data, is a leading supplier of construction cost and materials pricing information. Developers, architects, engineers and contractors in North America rely on their products and services to project and control the cost of both new construction and renovation projects.

The 2009 study (http://www. best-bath. com/resources/docs/Best-Bath_RSMeans_Study. pdf) measured the average installation time and labor costs for seven Best Bath Systems one-piece shower surrounds in a continuing care retirement community in Massachusetts. Labor was based on the average wages in 30 major U. S. cities. They determined benchmark average costs of installation at:
 Best Bath Systems one-piece roll-in shower surround: $126  Mud set fiberglass surround: $178  Ceramic tile surround: $685

Best Bath one-piece roll-in commercial shower surrounds (http://www. best-bath. com/Commercial/Products/Default. aspx) are pre-leveled and require no additional mud set material. Designed for durability with a wood core, fiberglass and a gelcoat surface, they are ideally suited for the bathing needs of hospitals, independent living communities, university dormitories and condominiums where safety and accessibility are of the utmost concern.

Installing ceramic tile surrounds entails hanging cement backer boards, mixing and applying thin set mortar, laying tile, adding reinforced plywood bracing (hidden from view) for safety bars, grouting and grout sealing. Best Bath one-piece surrounds merely require adhesive to secure the unit. Comparing the two by installation time, ceramic surround installation averages 11.75 hours vs. 1.72 hours for the Best Bath surround.

Conventional fiberglass shower assemblies have a cavity that must be filled with a mud set to bond the unit into place. Installation time on average is 2.44 hours or 30% longer than Best Bath plus the additional material and mixing cost.

Findings of the study revealed that the Best Bath surround installation resulted in a cleaner job site, reduced training costs and easier installation of safe bathing accessories such as shower grab bars and seats at a later date.

About Best Bath Systems: For over 30 years, Best Bath Systems has provided safe bathing solutions for people of all abilities. We specialize in durable prefabricated shower surrounds, walk-in tubs and accessories for both home and commercial applications – all backed by a 30-year warranty. Trouble-free installation comes with our unique one - and multi-piece fiberglass and gelcoat wall and shower pan units that feature SnapJoint Assembly. This system saves significant installation time and labor costs and is easy to clean and maintain. Learn more at www. best-bath. com.

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Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Launches Lippincott's Nursing Procedures & Skills

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Launches Lippincott's Nursing Procedures & Skills

Latest technology offers hospitals an evidence-based bedside reference and training tool. On October 31, 2007, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins launched Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills, an Internet-based point-of-care tool that offers evidence-based clinical reference and training for nurses and unprecedented support for hospitals seeking American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) MagnetTM accreditation.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) November 4, 2007

On October 31, 2007, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins launched Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4), an Internet-based point-of-care tool that offers evidence-based clinical reference and training for nurses and unprecedented support for hospitals seeking American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) MagnetTM accreditation. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Built on the award-winning Procedures product, this new offering comes with enhancements that combine superior clinical content with unparalleled ease of use.

"We've designed Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4) to not only meet the critical needs of nurses, but also to give hospitals a powerful tool that meets regulatory guidelines and supports their efforts to achieve improved patient care and outcomes," said Rich Wohl, Executive Vice President, Publishing for Wolters Kluwer Health. "Nurses will get instant access to critical patient care information, and nurse managers will get unrivaled customization and tracking capabilities."

Developed by a team of expert nurses with extensive clinical experience, Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4) offers an impressive combination of features that help promote, monitor, and maintain staff excellence. More than 580 procedures and skills have been thoroughly reviewed by in-house Wolters Kluwer Health staff and independent reviewers to ensure that all content is in full compliance with nursing practice standards and the guidelines of The Joint Commission, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and other respected nursing authorities. Nearly one thousand full-color images and videos give nurses accurate, step-by-step guidance and show critical steps of procedures being performed. "Quick Lists" provide brief refreshers when time is critical.

"We are opening a state-of-the-art hospital in December and are purchasing only the best resources. That's why we chose Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4)," said Carol Beaumont, Director of Inpatient Nursing, Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, Bolingbrook, Illinois. "The vast amount of information that will be at our nurses' fingertips is awesome, and the fact that it will all be maintained and updated by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins will go a long way in easing our workload so we can concentrate on what's important - our patients."

Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4) allows nurse managers and administrators to create an unlimited number of custom procedures, competency checklists, and quick lists, to ensure that all content matches their facility's current policies and guidelines. An "audit trail" feature precisely tracks all custom changes. Procedures also have associated competency checklists, to help nurse managers evaluate and document staff performance.

For more information or to request a free-trial of Lippincott's Nursing Procedures and Skills (http://www. lww. com/product/?978-0-7817-8801-4), contact your Lippincott Williams & Wilkins representative at 1-800-326-1685.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW. com (http://www. lww. com)) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is a division of Wolters Kluwer, a leading global information services and publishing company with annual revenues (2006) of €3.4 billion and approximately 18,450 employees worldwide. Visit WoltersKluwer. com (http://www. wolterskluwer. com).

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Teachers Needed in China; New Group Formed to Assist in Increasing Demand

Teachers Needed in China; New Group Formed to Assist in Increasing Demand

Travel and teach for six months or one year in China. Teachers in English and other disciplines are urgently needed.

(PRWEB) December 29, 2005

It is recruiting season in China once again and a new group, VESL, has being formed to assist Colleges, Schools, and Private Teaching Centers with the daunting task of choosing foreign teachers and experts for 6-12 month assignments.

Coming to China is relatively easy and immensely rewarding.

Requirements are: A Bachelor's Degree and either two years of teaching experience or a TESL certificate for a foreign expert job (generally teaches oral English)or A Masters Degree or above for a Foreign Expert. Foreign Experts may teach in any discipline.

A valid Passport from a country with English as its Native Language as well as a Medical Exam. Candidates should be of reasonably good health though the health exam is generally to rule out contagion, not to discriminate against infirmities. Volunteer, In-Company Training and Internships may be counted toward the teaching requirement for many of the jobs

Though each contract will vary slightly successful candidadtes will receive 4-10,000 RMB per month in salary (2-10 times the national average pay)and be given one-way airfare ( or cash equivalent) for completion of a one semester contract or round-trip fare for a year's signing.

Teachers are in the classroom 12-20 hours a week and get a reasonable vacation period and a modest travel allowance each semester.

Most teachers will instruct conversational, business, or oral English. Opportunities exist for teaching other subjects and in other disciplines for those with a Masters or above

Free housing with all appliances, TV, Computer(most of the time), cooking utensils, and furniture are standard at all institutions. Medical Insurance in some institutions and free Chinese Language Training in many Schools are also offered.

One of the many difficulties for schools who recruit is hiring teachers who are truly what they claim to be and are not just runaways from legal or unemployability issues in their home country. To that end a friend is establishing a database of "Verified" teachers. These will be teachers that have had their letters of recommendation and school credentials validated. Verification is not required but, schools will increasingly rely on "Verified" teachers for their vacancies.

If you have any interest in teaching in China or questions about what it might entail please send your name and email address (it will not appear publicly)along with what level of school you wish to teach, the subject you wish to teach, what degree you currently hold, your area of preference (rural, North, South, metropolitan, public, private...) and the length of time to wish to be employed (6 or 12 Months) and whether or not you wish to be "Verfied". You will be matched with employers and will receive, within a week, an email with links to jobs that suit you and sites that will prepare you for your trip to the Middle Kingdom. You can then apply for specific available jobs as you wish. Your data will not be sold or distributed to anyone. There is no cost for this service.

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