While stressful situations may be inevitable, the damage and side-effects of stress are not. There is a way to stop stress from affecting your body and mind. Fortunately nature has equipped our bodies with the perfect antidote to stress. It’s called the relaxation response.

Early on, Helicor decided to focus on creating a personal, affordable medical device. Typical medical-grade biofeedback systems cost thousands of dollars and require a person to be attached to a computer. Helicor team chose to create a unit that would be self-contained, portable and had no external wires or leads to attach. It is intended to be used for relaxation, relaxation training, and stress reduction.

After 4 1/2 years of design development, prototyping, testing, programming, and user feedback, the StressEraser was launched at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in August 2005. First customer shipments began in October 2005.

Biofeedback and Heart Rate Variability

The StressEraser provides a daily points-based system that allows each user to tailor the relaxation training to his schedule. The points-based system also allows the therapist to tailor the relaxation training homework to the individual treatment needs of the client.

The StressEraser personal biofeedback device is intended to be used solely for stress reduction, relaxation, and relaxation training. The device has not been clinically tested for the treatment of any psychological or physical medical conditions such as insomnia, hypertension, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, etc. The product is not intended to be used for the treatment or diagnosis of any medical condition.

The Science of the StressEraser — how it works

Your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls functions in the body that normally occur unconsciously, such as heart rate, respiration rate and digestion. This system is responsible for keeping your body in a regulated, balanced state. This balance is created by the constant back and forth nature of the two primary branches of your ANS: the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).

Your SNS is involved in mobilization responses that enable “fight or flight” behaviors known as the stress response. Your PNS is involved in “rest and renew” behaviors that enable growth and restoration and are known as the relaxation response. Parasympathetic activity is regulated by your vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body, extending from the brain stem to the base of the spine and to several organs and your heart. When the vagus nerve activates, the relaxation response is turned on. When the vagus nerve is inactive, the relaxation response is also inactive.

Your “fight or flight” or stress response can become activated by both major and minor stressors. Even states of excitement and emotions such as anger and fear activate the SNS. The primary pacifying nerve in your body, the vagus nerve, mediates the activity of the “rest and renew” or relaxation response. Overall, activation of the PNS promotes calming so you can recuperate from day-to-day stress, keeping the ANS in balance. To know more about SNS and PNS, click here.

Ideally, the SNS and PNS operate in an evenly balanced manner, keeping your body in a state of physiological homeostasis. Although there are exceptions, in general when SNS activity increases, PNS activity decreases. In particular, when SNS activity increases, the activity of the vagus nerve decreases. SNS changes in your body are all extremely important, particularly if you are in a life threatening situation in which you have to fight or escape. When the stressful moment has passed, the PNS response kicks in to relax your body and return it to a balanced state.

Our nervous systems have not yet adapted to the type of ongoing stress we face today. Ongoing minor stresses such as traffic jams, work demands, problems at home, or financial concerns tend to build up. Emotions such as anger, fear and anxiety will cause your SNS to activate. As stress accumulates, your stress response remains active for longer than your body can handle. Your relaxation response, therefore, is less active, which throws your ANS out of balance. Over time, repeated stressors and negative emotions have a cumulative wear and tear on the body that can lead to significant health problems. This is called “allostatic load.” When you are healthy, your nervous system returns to normal functioning after a stressed situation by increasing vagus nerve activity. This helps the system to recover.

When you are faced with stress on a daily basis, however, your stress response fails to shut off in a timely manner. Allostatic load leads to reduced activity of your vagus nerve. As a result, your system becomes hyperactive or begins to burn out. Hyperactive stress responses cause your system to remain in fight-or-flight mode for an extended period of time. Burn-out inhibits both your SNS and PNS from activating. In both cases, your body becomes out of balance, making your system less flexible and less able to effectively adapt to external demands. Over time, allosatic load can cause significant health problems. There is now a large literature on the relationship to stress and disease. According to the American Institute of Stress, “it is hard to think of any disease in which stress cannot play an aggravating role.” In fact, the Institute reports that up to 90% of doctors visits are stress related.

Perhaps the two most important methods of actively triggering your relaxation response are:

1. learning to change your breathing and
2. learning to change your focus. By changing your breathing and your focus, you can increase the vagal influence on your heart—and therefore relax your body.

There is growing literature on the effects of these relaxation exercises on stress-related illnesses and performance. In particular, breathing slowly can activate the vagus nerve to help enhance autonomic control. However, slow breathing without physiological biofeedback—which provides the cues that you are doing it correctly—can actually be counter-productive because you are not breathing in sync with your nervous system.

The StressEraser is a tangible biofeedback device that was specifically designed to help you find the unique breathing pattern that maximizes RSA, maintains your focus, and most efficiently triggers increased vagal influences on your heart.

Greater variability, especially due to larger rhythmic changes associated with breathing, leads to a higher amplitude RSA wave – and therefore more parasympathetic (relaxation) activity. When there is greater parasympathetic tone, it supports health, growth, and restoration.

As you learn to find this breathing pattern, the StressEraser simultaneously guides you to focus your attention, a key aspect of proper physiological relaxation. The goal of this strategy is transform a heart rate pattern characterized by short, jagged RSA waves into one characterized by large, smooth RSA waves. The StressEraser is the only portable HRV/RSA biofeedback device that allows you to follow and manipulate your RSA wave in real time. When used properly, it enhances the state of your nervous system, while inducing feelings of calm and relaxation.

The StressEraser measures your real-time beat-to-beat heart rate via an infrared finger sensor. The finger sensor has a built-in photoplethysmograph to identify the pulsation associated with each heart beat. The StressEraser accurately identifies the time of each pulse and calculates heart rate based on the time that has elapsed between the two most recent pulses. The StressEraser plots the up and down, wavelike movement and displays the pulse rate wave on the LCD screen.

By observing the RSA wave derived from your beat-to-beat pulse rate, the StressEraser provides a window into the activity of your vagus nerve.

The StressEraser then breaks down the RSA waves to analyze the frequency of each individual wave.

Once the frequency of the wave is computed, you receive immediate feedback on whether the wave was sufficiently long and smooth to receive credit. If you are breathing in your unique optimal pattern – and have a calm, neutral mind – you score 1 point for a large smooth wave, as marked by three vertical squares. The goal is to achieve this type of wave continuously. If the wave is long enough to indicate sufficient, but not optimal RSA, the user receives 1/2 point as marked by two vertical squares. If the wave is too short, the user receives no points, as marked by one square. (Note: Seniors and beginners can set a goal for continuous two-square waves.)

The minimum suggested session is 30 points (about 5-7 minutes) with a goal of 100 points per day (approximately 20 minutes).

To achieve continuous three-square waves, you are instructed to inhale until your heart rate peaks. This point is marked by a triangle. The triangle indicates the moment that a natural burst of vagal activity is about to begin, indicating your parasympathetic response. When the triangle appears, begin your exhale and shift your thoughts to a calming focus phrase (such as counting your exhale). Then, extend your exhale until the wave begins to rise again. At the end of your exhale, inhale until the next triangle appears.

The slow breathing rate required to create this wave varies from person to person, but is usually somewhere between 4.5 and 7 breaths per minute. Your unique pattern is called your “resonant frequency.” When you attain your own resonant frequency pattern, there is a perfect phase relationship between your breathing rhythms and your heart rhythms. That is, they are in perfect sync with one another.

Breathing and heart rhythms are the two most important mechanisms involved in the neuroregulation of the heart. As with your breathing, you can consciously alter your natural heart rhythm (known as the “baroreflex”) to a certain extent. When they are in perfect sync, studies show that it helps strengthen and balance the autonomic nervous system. Once you learn to find your resonant frequency pattern, you will notice it induces feelings of mind-body relaxation.

One of the most useful features of the StressEraser is that it does not give credit if there is a disruption or “break” in the flow of a wave because of withdrawal of vagus nerve activity. These breaks might be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Extending the exhale for too long
• Strained or improper breathing
• Excessive emotion
• Being highly distracted
• Fever or illness
• Specific medications blocking vagal regulation
• Or irregular heartbeats

The StressEraser recognizes these breaks and informs you that a disruption occurred. Since the StressEraser’s feedback is in real-time, you can immediately correct the behavior that caused the wave break. Typically, a wave break is your cue to re-focus on your breathing.

In summary, the StressEraser is a tangible biofeedback device that was specifically designed to help you find the unique breathing pattern that maximizes RSA, maintains your focus, and most efficiently triggers increased vagal influences on your heart. Therefore, the StressEraser promotes health and calmness. It can be used to reduce stress for those who have issues dealing with constant stress, brief stressors (i.e., deadlines, public speaking) or to simply enhance health, performance and overall feelings of calmness.

How to Use the StressEraser

There are two primary goals of each StressEraser session – to relax your body and to calm your mind.

1. Your first goal is to relax your body by making tall, wide, smooth waves. Because breathing directly affects your HRV, the most effective way to relax is to dramatically slow your breathing. When your waves are tall, wide, and smooth, you have engaged the natural relaxation response in your body. Repeating for 10-15 minutes at a time has a lasting effect.
2. Your second goal is to calm your mind by reducing negative emotions and thoughts. Even when you are breathing properly, negative emotions will cause your waves to get shorter or to become jagged. You can reduce negative thoughts by focusing on your waves and by counting during your exhale. This exercise will clear your mind.

Practice Slow Breathing. Before you start your first StressEraser session, it is important that you practice breathing slowly. This will give you a feel for the type of breathing you will be doing with the StressEraser. To practice, inhale for 4 seconds and then exhale for 5 seconds. Feel free to follow your watch or to simply count slowly to yourself. Continue breathing at the 4-second/5-second pace for about 2 minutes. Remember, your goal is to learn to breathe slowly – not deeply. As long as you are breathing slowly, depth will come. Your breathing should always feel relaxed, not strained. Creating a wave pattern similar to the pictures below may take a while. So take your time and do the best you can.

Your First Session

1. Press the POWER button on the right side panel (not one of the buttons on the front).
2. When prompted, insert your left index finger into the clip. Wait 5 seconds for the sensor to adjust to your pulse rate.
3. As soon as your wave appears on the screen, press the BREATHE button.
4. Whenever you are ready, inhale slowly and gently. When a new triangle appears above the wave, exhale slowly and gently. During your exhale, slowly count 1.2.3.4.5.
5. When your wave begins to rise, start your next inhale.

Note: While triangles cue your exhale, there is no cue for the inhale. If you like, you can use the squares as an approximate cue. Begin your inhale when you see the squares appear under the previous wave. Alternatively, you can count 1 second after your wave has started to rise – whichever works best for you.

Score your waves. Your goal is to consistently score 2 and 3-squares under each wave. You get no credit for 1-square waves. Each 2-square wave is worth 1/2 point. Each 3-square wave is worth 1 point. To get 2 squares, follow the instructions to create waves that are tall, wide, and smooth. Keep exhaling at the triangle and counting your exhale.

Your optimal exhale count. If 5 is an uncomfortable count for you – or if you’re not scoring 2 and 3-square waves – try exhaling for a count of 4 or 6. You can try even faster or slower, depending on your comfort level. Once you have found an exhale count that is comfortable and consistently results in 2 and 3-square waves, you have found your optimal exhale count. Continue with that count until you have scored at least 5points. (Your points accumulate in the top-left corner of the screen.)

Breathing Tips:

1. Don’t lean. For best results, find a comfortable place to sit or recline. Don’t lean forward – make sure your sitting position enables you to keep your air passages and abdominal muscles free. Breathe in and out through your nose or mouth, whichever is more comfortable for you.
2. Pursed lips. If you are having trouble breathing slowly, try pursing your lips. To do this, pucker or “purse” your lips as if you are going to whistle. This will release less air as you exhale and will help slow down your breathing.
3. Always comfortable. Remember, your breathing should always be gentle, quiet, smooth and comfortable. You should not be straining, taking long inhales, holding your breath, or doing anything that is at all uncomfortable.
4. Slow not deep. StressEraser breathing is NOT “deep” breathing. Depth will come as long as you are breathing slowly. Breathing deeply too quickly can cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded. StressEraser breathing is like normal breathing, except it is a little slower. And of course it is synchronized with the activity of your nervous system.
5. Extend your exhale. Once you are familiar with the StressEraser and are consistently scoring 3 squares, extend your exhale as long as you can until your wave starts to rise again – then begin your inhale. Remember, you benefit from making your exhales longer and longer, as long as your breathing remains comfortable and relaxed. The idea is to extend your exhale for as long as your nervous system can handle.

If you are not able to make out the above instructions, you can watch the video to understand more.

Results may vary

The indicated use of the StressEraser is for relaxation, relaxation training and stress reduction. The StressEraser is currently being tested in numerous controlled clinical trials at leading academic institutions for stress-related issues such as Anxiety, Asthma, Depression, Insomnia, Migraine Headaches, Performance (occupational & sports), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, Stress levels in physicians and pregnant women, etc

Several StressEraser studies have been completed and overall results indicate users both prefer and find the StressEraser more helpful than other relaxation techniques. Immediately after using the device, users report significant reductions in feelings of stress related anxiety, increases in feelings of calmness and relaxation, increases in cognitive performance and decreases in heart rate. Moreover, results indicate that the more efficient someone is at using the device, the more they report improvement in stress related symptoms of anxiety.

Studies reveal that the StressEraser reduces feelings of stress-related anxiety and anger, increases objective indicators of work performance, and increases heart rate variability. You can access more published work here.

Fred Muench
Stress Eraser

Fred Muench – A biography

Frederick Muench has a PhD in Clinical Psychology and is currently serving as the Director of Clinical Research and Development, Helicor, New York, NY where he is responsible for new project development, clinical trials and professional education and consulting for the StressEraser biofeedback medical device. He is also an adjunct Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University in New York, NY.

About Stress Eraser

StressEraser is an award-winning small portable medical device, that relaxes the body and calms the mind in 15 minutes. The StressEraser can be used to quiet the mind before sleeping, rapidly relieve intense stress, and even to stay calm during highly stressful situations.

From beat to beat, your heart rate reflects the activity of your stimulating and pacifying nerves. The StressEraser displays these tiny changes as a wave. By watching your wave characteristics in realtime, you learn to adjust your breathing and mental focus. This decreases the activity of the stimulating nerves (thereby decreasing stress) and increases the activity of the pacifying nerves (thereby increasing relaxation).

The StressEraser is classified by the FDA as a Class II 510(k) exempt medical device. The indicated use is for relaxation, relaxation training and stress reduction. The StressEraser is available for $299 from the StressEraser web site at http://stresseraser.com. The StressEraser is currently available to U.S. residents only.

Congratulations to Bob G. of Chester, NH who was the first to correctly identify the reasons why everyone should own the CarMD diagnostic kit. Our thanks go out to CarMD for providing this great diagnostic tool to one of our listeners.

Congratulations to Brian S. of Manchester and Todd E. of Nashua, our winners of the Klipsch S4 in-ear speakers. These high-end in-ear speakers will allow them to have a private concert experience anytime they listen. Thank you to Klipsch for providing these give-aways to our listeners.

The trick to my tasty and healthy wings is I boil them first. That knocks off a lot of the fat and makes them nice and tender. Then you can throw them on the grill and get ‘em nice and crispy.

So here is how to make them:

INGREDIENTS
1 4-pound bag of frozen or fresh chicken wings (try to get a combo of both wings and drumettes)
1/2 FRANK’S REDHOT cayenne pepper sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS
1. Boil the wings in a large pot for 10 minutes. Drain water and excess fat from wings when done.
2. Grill wings on barbecue until crispy. 

3. Prepare sauce as below. 

TAVERN STYLE SAUCE: Add 1/2 cup barbecue sauce to the 1/2 cup cayenne pepper sauce and mix well. Then mix the wings in the Tavern sauce and serve.  Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 full rack, BABY BACK or SPARE RIBS

1 cup, FRENCH’S YELLOW MUSTARD

4 teaspoons, PAPRIKA

2 teaspoons, SALT

2 teaspoons, PEPPER

1 teaspoon, BROWN SUGAR

1 teaspoon GARLIC POWDER

1 teaspoon, CAYENNE PEPPER

THE STEPS:

A. Wash the ribs, pat dry and rub with mustard evenly coating. 

B. In a bowl, mix the paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. 

C. Rub the dry rub on top of the mustard evenly coating the ribs.

D. Wrap up ribs and let marinate for as long as possible, up to 8 hours in a refrigerated place or cooler.

E. Grill until desired doneness. 

SpeedDate.com allows singles to post basic information about themselves which allows users to start dating immediately, minimizes complications from lengthy profile requirements, and allows singles to make matches based on chemistry, not qualifications “on paper”  Members learn how to make the most of an online profile to communicate the right message to other online singles.  The slowdown in the economy many people are spending more and more time at home which compounds the problem of meeting people.  So with Speed Date the membership is FREE.  The three minute dates allow you to know whether there is a connection or not.  And for those who cannot live without their iPhone they have now released an application that allows you to take dating on the road at your fingertips.

About Dan:

Dan Abelon is originally from New York, where he earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. Dan later moved to California to attend Stanford Business School, where he met SpeedDate’s other cofounder, Simon. Before earning his MBA at Stanford and starting SpeedDate.com, Dan worked as a strategy consultant for IBM Business Consulting Services. While at IBM, he founded SmartVolunteer.org, an Internet service that utilizes the web to match skilled volunteers with nonprofits. 

About Speed Date:  

SpeedDate.com is the world’s first online speed dating website. SpeedDate’s patented system allows singles to meet each other through 3-minute online speed dates from the comfort of home. In under an hour on SpeedDate, you can meet up to 15 people using live video and instant messaging. Since we launched in late 2007, SpeedDate has hosted millions of online SpeedDates.

Unlike other online dating options, SpeedDate.com allows singles to immediately determine if they have chemistry before taking the time to meet in person. SpeedDate works because you get a much better sense of your connection to another person when your first meeting is a live interaction.

The Zoosk online dating member community includes more than 40 countries around the globe but with fully localized the experience by integrating more than 13 languages into its platform with more coming soon.  It is the first to have geo-coded many areas around the world which allows for members to connect with others who are truly located near them.

There are many ways to join Zoosk.  You can add the Zoosk application through Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster and MySpace or simply sign up at Zoosk.com. Then simply send messages to others through a wink or a flirt. When sending a flirt, users have the ability to attach a virtual gift, such as a bouquet of flowers or a rose or even purchase virtual gifts with “Zoosk coins,” which can be purchased through the Zoosk online store.

The entry level allows you to set up a date card and meet and connect with others through winks and flirts but upgrading to a Premium Membership allows for unlimited ability to communicate with other users, have a secure premium profile placement, and the ability to see who has viewed your Date Card. 

About Alex:

Alex Mehr is an Entrepreneur, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Zoosk.com

About Zoosk:

Zoosk.com is a safe, fun, and delightful online dating site for millions of singles to interact and search for their matches. As the fastest growing social dating network, Zoosk seamlessly integrates with the most popular social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and Hi5. Zoosk is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Leveraging the collective voice of our enthusiastic users to spread the word about Zoosk, we have fostered a community of 15 million members (a.k.a. zooskers) spanning over 40 countries around the globe.

About Paul:

Paul is the CEO of The Right One, Together Dating which boasts 60 locations and growing. Under Mr. Falzone’s leadership the Company is ranked 31st in the 2007 Boston Business Journal, Fastest Growing Private Companies in Massachusetts and was recently named to Inc Magazine’s list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America with a three year growth rate of 133%. Paul Falzone spearheaded the merger between the two companies in 1999 and directed the transformation of national marketing from direct mail to internet in 2002. Currently he oversees the long term strategic direction of the company along with R&D. Mr. Falzone holds a B.S. degree from Suffolk University.

About The Right One:

Before describing the specifics of our membership programs, we’d first like to introduce ourselves. We are the largest personal introduction service in the world and have survived, and thrived, over the years because of many things:

1. We care about our members.

2. We train our staff in a variety of relationship issues.

3. We spend a great deal of time and money keeping our membership “fresh”, new, and diverse.

4. We understand your concerns about safety.

5. We put our money where our mouth is and offer guarantees on our memberships. We provide the services promised.

With over 90 locations and offices across the nation we have the experience and the membership to meet our members needs. And should you ever need to move your membership to another location, you can transfer to any of our affiliates providing you are still a member in good standing. Simply talk with your personal consultant about such a transfer.

In the past social networks were large, rich and diverse and above all happened naturally.  But today companies are asking us to do more with less and the number of hours spent working and commuting has risen significantly.  This means we have less and less time to devote to building social networks and less time to spend in community organizations that help us build them.  Bottom line our social networks are in trouble.

We can’t wait until disaster strikes to find out how strong–or weak–our social networks are.  When everything goes south… the sudden lay-off, the terminal diagnosis, the fire that destroys our home. That’s not the time to find out what our social networks can do – or realize that they aren’t up to the job.

Do we know whom to call to bring chicken soup, get another opinion, get help with insurance issues? Can we immediately shoot our resumes to a list of professionals who respect us and “know people who know people” in our industries? Do we have a place to crash for the night and a shoulder to cry on?

Social media is transforming the Internet–and the way we do business. If you aren’t harnessing the power of these vital tools, chances are your competitors are. But harnessing the power of Web 2.0 requires more than just technical savvy, it calls for an understanding of how these social networks operate–because these sites are communities, with all that name implies.  We all have busy lives and adding Social Networking to it can be a positive addition.  However, in order for it to be a positive experience you must clarify your social networking goals.  Are you using it to establish additional business connections build a political constituency or are you looking for a deeper and more fulfilling relationship? So what is the first step and where do you start. Listen in to Jeanne as she and Craig discuss this very issue.

About Jeanne:

Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD works with online marketers, government agencies, and large corporations to develop social network strategies, craft surveys, and harness the power of social media.   She is co-founder of MySurveyExpert.com, which provides survey services for small- to mid-sized businesses; of MySocialMediaExpert.com, which crafts social media strategies; and is CEO of MySocialNetworkExpert.com, which helps professional women develop optimal networks for their careers and their lives.

About Optinet Resources LLC:

At Optinet Resources, we help our clients craft social networks to harness all of these benefits. We begin by assessing our clients’ social networks. We then develop a plan to strengthen weaknesses of their social networks and guide their progress to help them create and maintain social networks that are optimal for them.

We provide these social network services individually, to business people and entrepreneurs. We also teach clients in companies and associations to develop their social networks, through online social network assessment and social network seminars.

We make sure your social network:

• Provides resources to build your business or career: money, employees, expertise.

• Offers you and your family practical assistance in the hectic day-to-day busy-ness of life – and in times of crisis.

• Helps you secure your next job, client, sale.

• Supports and mentors you, personally and professionally.

About Sam:

Sam Yagan is Co-Founder & CEO of www.OkCupid.com, the largest free online dating site in America, as well as www.CrazyBlindDate.com, a free website where you can coordinate dates last minute, whenever you want. This site is for adventurous, social people who want a fun, last minute date for the evening. He is a noted relationship and dating expert, having been featured and interviewed on The Mike & Juliet Show, NBC News (Boston, MA & Austin, TX), CBS News (Austin, TX), Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta, ABC’s Hot Topics, On Dating, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, LoveToKnow, Cupid Cast TV, among others. Sam regularly provides relationship advice in popular magazines and newspapers including Cosmopolitan, The Village Voice, Seventeen, Philadelphia Inquirer, OK! Magazine, among others. Sam was profiled in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Fast Company; he also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was named to Billboard magazine’s list of “Top 30 Executives Under 30.” Sam has a BA with honors in Applied Mathematics & Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he graduated first in his class, earning the Henry Ford II, Arjay Miller, and Siebel Scholarships.

Michael’s Bio:

Dr. Michael Rabby, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Portland in Oregon. He joined the UP faculty in 2005 following three years of service at the University of Central Florida. Prior to that, Rabby taught at the University of Houston after earning his doctorate in communication from Arizona State University.

He currently teaches courses in quantitative research methods and interpersonal communication at the University of Portland and his areas of research and analysis include interpersonal relationships and the maintenance of them, the Internet’s impact on relationships, online romantic relationships, long-distance relationships, and couples’ verbal communication. He has produced numerous papers and articles for peer-reviewed journals and other publications.

 University of Portland:

The University of Portland’s Department of Communication Studies seeks to understand how people use symbols to construct knowledge and exert influence. At the heart of this mission is the fundamental concern with the processes through which humans convey messages to audiences and a belief that human communication is central in creating just societies. The department is dedicated to educating students in the liberal arts tradition to produce knowledgeable, responsible, and skilled professional communicators that understand how to communicate effectively and ethically in all human arenas.

The hardware in the vehicle opens the door for revolutionary new technologies services to be introduced such as voice-based email, vehicle control from an iPhone, real-time diagnostics and remote emissions inspections provide real benefits for the consumer.

Similar to cell phone application stores, HUGHES Telematics will provide drivers with the ability to add applications, content, functionality and services to their vehicles. These services may include traffic management tools, customized weather notices, social networking applications and other location based services instead of simply relying on product planners to predict what will be current in three years, five years, ten years.

In the near future drivers will have access to “virtual accessories” Hughes Telematics will provide drivers with the opportunity to purchase connected accessories such as navigation, satellite radio and Bluetooth at any time after purchasing the car. These accessories come built in to every car, and the drivers can choose how and when to activate such as for a one time use, one month, or lifetime.  This technology will do for the vehicle what USB did for the computer. Hughes Telematics is the first in the industry to achieve Next Generation Telematics Architecture, which is both flexible and open, allowing the ability to add services, content providers and applications long after the purchase of the vehicle.  This means that they are able to future-proof tomorrow’s cars with a combination of connectivity to the vehicle and their Next Generation Telematics Architecture gives them the ability to continually update the vehicle’s capabilities protect obsolescence as future services are introduced.

One of the core values of Hughes Telematics is simplicity.  The technology leverages natural voice recognition allowing drivers to speak naturally in their own words to activate services.  This eliminates the need to memorize key words and is as simple as having a conversation.

HUGHES Telematics is a tier-one supplier to Chrysler and Mercedes and will be launching “connected car” service with both companies in calendar year 2009.  While the initial service will be focused on safety and security, the company has developed an industry-first auto communications platform that includes:

About Eric:

Erik Goldman is President of HUGHES Telematics, a telematics service company that is majority owned by Apollo Management, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. He has served in this position since the company’s inception in 2006.

Prior to joining HUGHES Telematics, Goldman spent nearly 25 years in varied engineering, operations and business development roles in the telecom and telematics industries. Most recently, Goldman served as Vice President of SkyTerra Communications, where his responsibilities included acquisition, development and corporate oversight of the organization’s portfolio companies in the wireless and satellite services industry.

Prior to SkyTerra, Goldman served in leadership roles developing military communications networks with Raytheon and Mitre Corporation, commercial mobile wireless businesses with dbX Corporation, a holding company established to invest in, develop and operate new businesses in the telecom, paging and satellite communications industry and most recently was with Leo One Worldwide where as Vice President of Technology & Strategic Development he led the development of a global Telematics solution for the automotive industry.

Goldman earned his MBA from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He has written numerous white papers, and has published in the International Journal of Satellite Communications. In addition, he has held a number of government security clearances including Top Secret and holds a U.S. Patent, with several others pending.

About Hughes Telematics:

They are delivering the next generation of vehicle information-based technologies and services – today. Their patented systems allow complete connectivity to any make or model vehicle, but that is just the beginning. What really differentiates them from other companies is their broad portfolio of services. Each designed to significantly improve vehicle and customer relationship management potential while greatly reducing costs. Whether in the business of automotive manufacturing, dealer operations, fleet management or affiliated services such as insurance or car rental, we can help map out the fastest road to greater efficiency and revenue. They will also demonstrate solutions never thought practical.

Image via Wikipedia

How adventurous are you? Have you ever played with marine animals and other animals? These camps are for people who love and care animals.

Explore the new adventure camps from SeaWorld. These camps are truly adventurous and kids will really enjoy when dolphins and other animals kiss them. Kids can really explore, discover and connect with marine animals.

SeaWorld offers various camps – residential camps, group camps, day camps, and sleepovers / overnight camps. To know about 2008 residential camps, visit here.

Some of the residential camps are Ocean Explorers, Career Camp, Advanced Career Camp, Coastal Career Discovery, Two Park Combo Camps and Group Camp. These camps are targeted for specific age groups. All residential campers will also get an opportunity to visit SeaWorld’s state-of-the-art rescue and rehabilitation facilities.

Ocean Explorers Camp is for 5-6 grades kids. They will discover SeaWorld’s marine animals through behind-the-scenes action and up-close animal encounters. They will be in the water and part of an out-of-this world experience.

Here are just some of the experiences of Ocean Explorers Camp:

• Interact with dolphins
• Snorkel in a shark cage in SeaWorld’s Shark Encounter.
• Sleep next to beluga whales and manatees

Career Camp is for 7-9 grades kids. Kids will dive in and discover the rewards and adventure of working behind-the-scenes of this world-renowned zoological park. An amazing opportunity if kids have a passion for marine life.

Here are just some of the Career Camp experiences:

• Learn about what it takes to train and work with animals
• Swim with dolphin, snorkel through stingrays and tropical fish and interact with exotic birds at nearby Discovery Cove
• Maintain and enrich animal exhibits
• Talk with animal experts

Advanced Career Camp is for 10-12 grades kids. This camp will prepare kids for the limitless rewards and challenging responsibilities of a career working with animals. They work and play in the world’s most amazing classroom, and learn from SeaWorld’s most knowledgeable experts.

Here are just some of Advanced Career Camp experiences:

• Learn about what it takes to care for and work with animals from animal experts
• Enrich animal habitats
• Swim with dolphins, snorkel through stingrays and tropical fish and interact with exotic birds at nearby Discovery Cove

Coastal Career Discovery Camp is for 10-12 grades kids. They will dive deep into zoological careers. Get hands-on experience with the distinctive ecology and careers of Central and Southern Florida, while spending time with marine life professionals. You’ll also get up-close to some of SeaWorld’s incredible animals.

Here are just some of Coastal Career experiences:

• Swim with dolphins, snorkel through stingrays and tropical fish and interact with exotic birds at nearby Discovery Cove
• Snorkel in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• Zip through the Everglades in an airboat
• Snorkel in a shark cage
• Canoe down a Florida waterway

Two-Park Camp is a unique concept where kids can enjoy both worlds. It’s a combination of Busch Gardens camp with a SeaWorld Orlando camp for twice the experience and limitless memories. Organizers provide transportation from park to park. For more details, click here.

Group camps will take learning about animals and the environment to the next level. This interactive, hands-on style of educating can’t be replicated in any classroom. Students will investigate and discover on their own—through visual, auditory, and tactile learning. For more details, click here.

Day Camps range from single-day programs to week-long, daytime adventures, and offered in summer, spring and fall. Day Camps promise a ton of fun for campers of all ages with quality educational experiences along with superior safety standards and low counselor-to-camper ratios.

Hands-on, up-close experiences with animals and the great outdoors make Day Camps unparalleled and truly unforgettable. Caring, well-trained counselors help ensure an action-packed week of laughing and learning for all.

Do you want to spend the night inside the park, next to animals? Then you can opt for sleepover camp. Whether it’s waking up next to polar bears, penguins or belugas or a moonlight tour on the Serengeti Plain, Sleepover campers experience the park at night — something very few can claim. Fun crafts and activities, and you’ll get a chance to make friends and memories for a lifetime. Families can also share the experience through special parent-child Sleepovers offered throughout the year.

If you are looking for a fun and educational overnight trip for your school or Scout troop? Create a strong group bond as you start a new year together or top off a great year. Show them how much fun learning can be and give them an experience they’ll remember forever. Offered year-round for grades 1-12, A group Sleepover at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens is a unique, up-close, encounter with amazing animals.

If you are looking for one unforgettable slumber party for your child? Or, maybe you’re vacationing and looking for a safe, special, and fun overnight group experience for your kids that will also give you and your spouse a night to yourselves.

About Adventure Camps:

SeaWorld / Busch Gardens Adventure Camps are designed for group field trip: educational, safe and secure, easy on the teacher to organize —and so cool that the students will remember it forever.
There aren’t many experiences better than camp for helping kids grow, forge lasting friendships, and discover their role in the world around them.

For nearly 25 years, SeaWorld had a proud tradition of providing safe, fun and educational camp experiences for kids of all ages—in the not-so-traditional setting of world-class theme parks. In the last 10 years, more than 250,000 youth have attended SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Day Camps, multi-night Resident Camps, and one-night Sleepovers.

Camps operate at SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, and Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. Group camps are multi-night, structured programs for grades 4 and up.

Home to more than 60,000 animals, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove care for the largest zoological collection in the world. For more than 40 years, we’ve been committed to animal care, wildlife conservation, education and research.

A self-made millionaire and father of seven, Troy Dunn gives you practical templates for easy, kid-friendly businesses that you can introduce to your children so that they can start earning their own money quickly.

Young Buck$ includes everything Dunn has learned during his very successful business career as an entrepreneur and in his work with thousands of young people seeking business guidance. It features chapters on age-appropriate, step-by-step action plans for you to help your children find and implement great money-making ideas. Additional chapters explain what schemes you should avoid, how to spot business scams, why lotteries are a terrible place to put your money, why it’s good for kids to invest in the stock market, and practical advice on the legal aspects of owning a business.

His latest project is called Troy The Locator, was designed by Troy Dunn for the purpose of continuing his mission of “reuniting half the world with the other half”. and it will air on Women’s Entertainment Television. Interested in finding someone who you have lost contact with — they are still looking for 6 more contestants.

In 1990, Troy helped his own mother (who was adopted as a baby) locate her own biological family. That single event caused Troy and his then-partner to build an organization that did one thing- help people reunite with long lost friends and family members.

In the past 16 years, Troy and his team have assisted thousands of people worldwide in doing just that. In fact, it is estimated that over 300 million people have personally witnessed one of Troy’s reunions on national TV. Troy has personally appeared (many times) on virtually every network morning show and syndicated talk show in the U.S. plus TV guest appearances on shows on the BBC in the U.K.

Those appearances have earned him the respect of media notables from Barbara Walters to John Walsh and have brought him an unexpected level of public recognition that actually makes it more difficult to “surprise” someone with a dream reunion- because they know instantly why he is there!

TroyTheLocator.com was launched to help more people than ever in their pursuit of a long lost friend and family member. The Instant People Locator is the brain child of Troy and was created using one of the most in-depth and accurate data files available anywhere. Unlike other online people finder searches, Troy’s Instant People Locator does NOT rely on worthless white pages for its data but instead combines thousands of somewhat obscure record files into one massive data pool, which he then makes available to the public for more accurate Locate results.

Additionally, while his constant TV work now keeps him from maintaining his private investigator license, he has contracted with a select group of his personal favorite investigators from all over the country to do the Pro Locates for visitors to TroyTheLocator.com. These investigators have either been personally trained by Troy or have previously worked for Troy in a locating capacity.

ABOUT TROY

Troy Dunn is a self-made millionaire. He is a successful businessman and public speaker, radio host, and writer on the subject of financial success and personal happiness. For his business venture dedicated to reuniting separated friends and family, Troy was considered for more than a decade one of the most frequently seen guest experts on national television. After thirteen years of building and running that company, Troy sold it for undisclosed millions, freeing him to focus on his passion for assisting other organizations. He now consults four corporate clients a year in motivating their own management teams in leadership, overcoming obstacles, team-building, and guerrilla marketing and in major media manipulation, strategy, and results. Troy married his high-school sweetheart, Jennifer, and together they are raising seven beautiful children.

Troy Dunn is no doubt familiar to you from his 14 years of national television appearances as “the reunion guy” on virtually every talk show on TV. He has made numerous guest appearances on Good Morning America, Regis & Kelly, 48 Hours, Sixty Minutes, and has even been interviewed by Barbara Walters! He is also the host of the new NBC reality show, “Extreme Reunion” where he will be making people’s dreams come true! (Watch your local listings)

For the past four years, Troy has been the host of the syndicated talk radio show, “The DunnDeal Show”, heard from coast to coast in 81 cities and Canada. He is retiring from radio to focus on his new television show but still makes over 30 guest radio appearances every month!

In 1992, Troy and his partner self published their first book, The Locator, which drove revenue in excess of $10 million dollars over the next 8 years! Subsequently, this success lead to publishing deals for Troy with two of the largest publishers in the U.S., Bantam-Doubleday and Berkley-Putnam. In the Spring of 2004 Troy is releasing his latest book which is geared towards parenting success.

Due to his very busy schedule, Troy is able to accept only a small portion of the speaking invitations sent him each week, and chooses his engagements not based on fees, but on the quality of the audience and organization inviting him. He has been the keynote speaker at major corporations such as the SONY EXECUTIVE RETREAT as well as PIZZA HUT CORP, has been the Closing Keynote for the YEO World Conference (where all members must own a business with gross revenue of at leat 1 million dollars) and has even done informative break-out sessions for organizations such as American Mothers Association. From audiences as large as 10,000 to groups as small as 200, Troy loves to be around great people and selects his engagements based on that criteria.

As a personal diversion from corporate America and an escape from the studio lights of television, Troy does a few stand up comedy show each year to sell-out crowds in target U.S. cities. His show, “The Family Comedy Tour”, is 100% pure clean comedy that is geared right for the heart of the american family. Old or young, married or single, with or without kids, Troy’s 75 minute stand-up routine will leave you howling in tears of laughter as he transports you back to your own childhood and sometimes into your own home! He really downplays his comedy talents and has turned down invitations to make a full-time career out of it, but if you can convince him to come to your area and perform his show, you will be a hero to your audience! (Some groups have actually used Troy’s comedy show as a fund raiser by selling the show tickets and merchandise, such as t-shirts, autographed photos, etc..)