Regions award winners announced at North of England branch annual dinner dance in Gateshead

PROFESSIONALS from the minerals extractives sector gathered in Gateshead to celebrate the first regional awards ceremony for the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) Excellence Awards on Friday 27 September 2019.

Hosted by IQ North of England at the branchs annual dinner dance, the awards ceremony took place at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. Hazen Bowskill MIQ, chairman of IQ North of England, presented the awards alongside Iain Smith FIQ, branch representative to IQ Council.

The IQ Excellence Awards celebrate the success of exceptional individuals, teams and projects around the UK. Award categories are aligned to the quadrants of the IQ Skills Wheel and recognize the positive impact professionals make across the country.

Award categories included:

STANDARDS & PROFESSIONALISMThe Best Personal Development Project award recognizes initiatives that are aimed at supporting the professional development of employees at company or site level. Rema Tip Top Industry UK Ltd won the award for Conveyor Confidence Through Understanding, with the judges expressing that the project has made a significant contribution towards some specific improved training practices and procedures.

The Health & Safety Individual Excellence award recognizes the achievements of an individual in improving the health and safety performance on site. Ben Williams, managing director at EPC-UK, was praised by the judges for going beyond legal compliance or increasing revenue.

KNOWLEDGE & INNOVATIONThe Most Effective Process Improvement award acknowledges a team, project or initiative of technical process improvement that has delivered improved operational performance. The category received many quality submissions, with Aggregate Industries crowned the winner and highly commended by the judges for its Wash Plant Improvement Project.

The Most Innovative Leader award recognizes an individual who has made the best impact on the innovation ecosystem at site, business unit or organizational level. Robin Gillespie, unit manager at Hanson UK, received praise for his dissertation findings. The benefits of using electronic delay versus pyrotechnical detonations for quarry blasting have already been introduced at Shap Quarry and recommended for implementation at Heidelberg Cement quarries around the world.

ENGAGEMENT, INFLUENCE & IMPACTThe Best Community Engagement Project award appreciates projects where sites are actively engaging their local communities and achieving positive results. Longcliffe Quarries Ltd were revealed as the winner for its Butterfly Conservation project at Hoe Grange Quarry. It was described as a very good example of a genuinely collaborative approach by the company in working with the community in developing the project.

The Most Inspirational Leader award honours an individual who has made the strongest positive impact on the team they are part of. Winner Susan Arnott, IQ North of England, was praised for her commitment and support for the Institute and its members and described as an unsung hero.

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESSThe Best Initiative to Engage Workforce or Team award recognizes the best initiative aimed at supporting workforce engagement at either company or site team level. Commit To Be Fit from EPC-UK won the award, a project that has made a significant impact in the business.

The Most Promising Future Leader award recognizes a talented individual for building their all-round knowledge and skills. Tom OBoyle, project manager at Hanson UK, received the accolade and was described as a great ambassador for the industry.

James Thorne, chief executive officer at IQ, said: There are some great initiatives happening across the north of England, as well as individuals who go above and beyond what is expected of them in their day-to-day role. The awards evening was enthused with joy and excitement. On behalf of everyone at IQ, congratulations to all the finalists and best of luck to the regional winners at the National Excellence Awards!

With IQ Excellence Awards presentations taking place in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England, each regional award winner automatically goes forward to the National Excellence Awards to compete for the overall title in each category at Hillhead 2020.

Upcoming ceremonies:

Follow #IQAwards on social or visit: http://www.quarrying.org

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IQ Excellence Awards North of England winners revealed - Agg-Net

The days get shorter. The nights get chillier. Pumpkins appear on porches. All across America, spider webs are strung and ghoulish figures flutter in the breeze. It can mean only one thing.

Halloween is upon us.

Tis the season to revel in all that is spooky and dreadful culminating in one great national night of fright. Estimates suggest 172 million people will collectively celebrate the holiday on October 31st with candy, creepy costumes, haunted houses, and jump scares. Halloween is an American institution.

And its not just for kids. Halloween has become an increasingly popular holiday among adults. As sociologist Linus Owens has noted, Halloween, with its emphasis on identity, horror, and transgression, can tell us about who we want to be and what we fear becoming.

Festival of FearWhile the scary spirit of Halloween is generally good fun, the observance is based on something most people are pretty uncomfortable confronting.

Fear.

Psychology Today explains that fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger with strong roots in human evolution. Our innate fight-or-flight responses aided us in mastering dangerous environments, avoiding harm, and ensuring the survival of our species.

A healthy amount of fear still helps us stay safe and motivates us to manage lifes difficulties.

But there are many manifestations of fear and not all of them are beneficial.

Since 2013, Chapman University in Southern California has annually conducted a national Survey of American Fears, reporting last year that the extent to which Americans are afraid, in general, appears to be on the rise.

Clinical fear disorders can cause serious health damage in numerous ways, but even less-lethal fears can take a pernicious toll on personal development and quality of life.

Fear FactorsAccording to sociologist Margee Kerr, The biggest source of fear is often related to the workplace. This type of fear can manifest in excessive focus on avoiding failure or making mistakes; aversion to public speaking, networking, or contributing during meetings; reluctance to ask for help; or even relinquishing vacation or sick time.

What we fear is being vulnerable to judgment, ridicule, rejection. The result is unnecessarily self-limiting behavior that can prevent you from acquiring new skills, experiencing greater fulfillment, and reaching your full potential.

Facing FearIt should come as no surprise that fear is the subject of numerous TED Talks, the global clearinghouse of inspirational speakers presenting their powerful ideas. One of my favorites on dealing with insidious work-related fear is author Tim Ferris discussing why you should define your fears instead of your goals.

Ferris advocates for Fear Setting exercises aimed at recalibrating your perception.

The exercise is pretty simple: For whatever it is that youre putting off or are afraid of doing, he proposes creating a What if I. list. Define what you fear will happen, determine how you might prevent the likelihood of each negative outcome, and imagine how you could repair damage if it did occur.

Next, make a list of the benefits of even partial success at doing what you fear. For example, could it build your confidence or help you develop a new skill?

Finally, sketch out an answer to the question: If I avoid this action or decision, what might my life look like in 6 months, 12 months, or 3 years?

Fear Setting is designed to strip inhibiting fears of their power. And perhaps most importantly, it encourages shifting focus to the cost of inaction.

As Ferris says, Humans are very good at considering what might go wrong if we try something newwhat we dont often consider is the atrocious cost of the status quo of not changing anything.

With Halloween approaching, its the perfect time to question what scares you and whether it is holding you back. It just may give you the courage to speak up about your ideas, ask for that promotion, or finally try something youve always wanted to do.

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What are you afraid of? - Thrive Global

WARRENTON, Va., Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Appy Pie launches its own online learning platform - Appy Pie Academy that is aimed at offering a wide range of free online courses to entrepreneurs and learners from around the world. Appy Pie Academy hosts courses from a variety of fields, including app and website development, website design, search engine optimization, social media marketing, app monetization, copywriting, office productivity, management, marketing, personal development, project management, sales, and others. These courses are focused on equipping learners with industry specific knowledge and skills to work more efficiently.

Appy Pie Academy has a library of thousands of courses with new additions published every day. Course content is provided in short, well-defined modules and each course is focused on a unique area. This online learning platform from Appy Pie has great things to offer to the beginners as well as to the advanced learners, from any industry or background. With top rated online courses, Appy Pie Academy helps students, businesses, and individuals gain the skills they need to compete in today's economy.

"We have launched Appy Pie Academy with an aim to help small and medium sized businesses or entrepreneurs gain the latest and greatest industry knowledge and run a successful business enhancing their bottom line," said Scot Small, CEO Appy Pie. He further added, "Appy Pie Academy provides you with the best online learning experience, with a focus on dependability and high-quality content for free. It is one of the best online learning platforms for anyone looking to learn anything in reference to starting a website, blogging, copywriting, internet marketing, app monetization, app development, marketing, sales or other industry skills. Each course on our platform has been hand-tailored to teach you a specific skill in clear and easy-to-understand language."

Appy Pie has offices in London, New Delhi, and Virginia, with a combined staff of more than 300 people. The company's sole aim is to empower small businesses and help them achieve success in this cut-throat competition. A simple, yet powerful DIY platform, Appy Pie also helps startups save thousands of dollars with its workflow automation services, enabling them to create a greater impact with less efforts by adding speed, consistency, and visibility to their workflow.

About Appy Pie

Appy Pie, a Trademark of Appy Pie LLP, is an unrivaled leader in the mobile app bandwagon that allows anyone to transform their app ideas into reality, without any technical knowledge. Simply drag and drop the features and create an advanced Android or iOS application for mobiles and smartphones, as easy as pie. You can also install Appy Pie's Android and iOS App and start creating your app on the fly. You can also download the PWA version of your app through PWA Store.

Media Contact

Scot Smallsales@appypie.com +1 888 322 7617

SOURCE Appy Pie

http://www.appypie.com

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Appy Pie Academy Announces Free Online Courses on Business and Tech - PRNewswire

Patrick Beverleys mission every day is to read a book for at least 30 minutes in an attempt to find his inner peace, help control his behavior and enhance his leadership skills.

The Clippers point guard spent the summer at home in Chicago working with his trainer, Jeff Pagliocca, the two of them intertwining the work on Beverleys game and his mental approach to his behavior on and off the court.

Even with the Clippers acquiring transcendent stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George over the summer, Beverleys role as one of the teams leaders does not diminish.

In order to have the right influence on his teammates, Beverley said he had to work on my mind over the summer. Reading the Bible and one of his favorite books, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomons Secrets to Success, Wealth and Happiness, is helping him evolve as a player and person.

The more I mature as a man the more I grow, Beverley said. I read the Good Book, follow those rules, those laws in [the Bible] and I know the better basketball player Ive become. Thats been my whole thing. I gain knowledge. If I gain knowledge, then Im able to get knowledge from everywhere else and itll work out in my favor.

My trainer made it an emphasis that I do 30 minutes of reading every day and thats kind of changed the way I look at things and the way I carry myself and my behavior slow to temper and all that stuff. I just try to go from there. I read every day. Its mandatory. Its all mental and thats all behavior, you know?

Beverley pointed out that he had 14 technical fouls last season, tied for fifth most in the NBA. That, Beverley said, cant continue.

He was quicker to point out the $25,000 fine the NBA levied against him last season for bouncing a basketball at a fan sitting courtside in Dallas for cursing his mother. Its something he doesnt want to happen again.

Me and Jeffs biggest thing this year is, Behavior is greatness and greatness is behavior. If you watch the guys who have been great, you didnt hear about them getting in trouble, Beverley said. You didnt hear about them being [fifth] in the league in technical fouls. Thats not cool. I want to fix that. And if I fix my behavior, I think my game matures also.

Beverley and Pagliocca agreed that no details were too small including how they trained on the court, and how they sought to improve his behavior, including when hes critical of himself. Details that Beverley says will show hes no longer a wild and reckless guy on the court.

There are certain obstacles that could happen during the season or things that hes faced in his past, said Pagliocca, who runs Evolution Athletics, in a call with The Times. How do you handle those things like a pro at all times? How can you be mature at all times? How can you make sure youre prepared at all times? And I think those conversations that weve had, the mental training, is building that preparation. It was important to him that no stone was left unturned.

Im always trying to find ways that hes advancing as a person. I think that the more hes reflecting and evaluating himself, I think the more growth thats there. I think thats what we tried to target all summer, just to make sure youre getting sharper mentally, because the basketball I think will take care of itself. How can you be the greatest player you can be? I think that comes a lot with making sure youre growing and thats behavior again.

In two-plus seasons together, Clippers coach Doc Rivers has watched Beverley blossom.

He watched how the 6-foot-1 veteran improved his game on the court, going from putting up 7.6 points, 3.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 40.7% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range during the 2018-19 regular season to averaging 9.8 points, 4.7 assists and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 43% from the field and 43.3% from three-point range during the playoffs against Golden State.

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More importantly, in Rivers eyes, is the personal development of Beverley, 31.

I want him to be just great all-around, not just on the floor. He has really bought into his leadership role with me. Now there is another step, Rivers said. There is the human step now, and I think in the long run that will help with his game as well. And hes doing that, being more thoughtful, just a lot of stuff. I just think all that helps him as a person because hes going to be a person a lot longer than hes going to be a basketball player.

The Clippers rewarded Beverley with a three-year, $40-million contract over the summer, leaving him nearly speechless as he tried to comprehend the team showing faith in him.

As such, he wants to show them his gratitude by displaying improved behavior and leadership.

Paul George, Kawhi [Leonard] and Lou [Williams], we understand that they are our bucket-getters and we understand Paul and Kawhi are our leaders, Beverley said. So, its up to everybody else to understand their role and be the best in your role. My role is different from Lous role. But Im going to make sure Im on top of my role. Im just really trying to be great. Ive learned over the years that the more I mature as a man, the more my game matures and it trickles down.

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Clippers' Patrick Beverley changes approach to life and game - Los Angeles Times

Here are the stories you shouldnt miss today:

TOP STORIES

Elizabeth Warren in the Spotlight

A record 12 Democratic candidates took to the debate stage in Westerville, Ohio, last night, and there was one thing they mostly agreed on: denouncing President Trump. Beyond that, they struck a more fractious tone on a range of issues, including healthcare, gun policy and money in politics.

But while Trump has hammered away at Joe Biden (and son), the Democratic candidates on stage took aim at Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who now leads Biden in many polls, testing her strengths and vulnerabilities as a candidate. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders looked none the worse for wear in his first debate since a heart attack this month, and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg tried to position himself as the moderate alternative to the more left-leaning Warren and Sanders, if Biden stumbles.

Here are seven takeaways from the night.

More Politics

Amid growing political pressure from Republicans, House leaders began seriously gauging support among Democrats for holding a vote to formally establish the impeachment investigation of Trump. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided Tuesday there would be no House vote for now.

Trump has vetoed legislation that attempted to overturn his use of emergency powers to divert military base construction funding to pay for his long-promised border fence. Congress is unlikely to have the votes to override the veto. In all, 127 military construction projects totaling $3.6 billion would lose funding.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading voice of the Democratic Partys liberal wing, plans to endorse Sanders for president, according to his campaign.

Exit, U.S.; Enter, Russia

In northern Syria, there is a race to control the city of Manbij, which is part of the territory overseen by Kurdish fighters backed by the United States until Trump decided to pull that support. Turkish troops and Syrian rebel proxies appeared on the verge of rushing in, while the Kurds have turned to Syrias government. Filling the void left by the U.S. is Russia, which is taking over as a power broker in the Mideast. And as this news analysis shows, an emboldened Russia is far from the only geopolitical fallout; even Israel is worried about whether Trump would turn his back.

How Californians Think About Immigration

Heres something most California Democrats and Republicans agree on: Immigrants make the U.S. a better place to live. More than 80% of registered voters here say as much, per a UC Berkeley poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times, including 92% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans reflecting the states long rift with the Trump administration on immigration. But voters are more split on how immigrants are treated. On that question, 56% say theyre treated unfairly, while 28% disagree.

The Future, and the Foes, of #MeToo

A British-Greek billionaire heir to a Coca-Cola bottling fortune has fashioned himself the ambassador for men who consider themselves wronged by #MeToo. As Alki David fights the seventh sexual harassment case against him in as many years, hes working with a lobbyist to draft legislation to keep such cases from becoming public. With his penchant for litigation, hes an improbable emissary for the cause, even as he says he relishes his villainous image. Meanwhile, as the #MeToo movement turns two, its founder Tarana Burke unveiled a new hashtag #MeTooVoter to mobilize people heading into 2020.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

On this day in 1995, hundreds of thousands of black Americans converged on the Mall in Washington, D.C., for the Million Man March, where strangers embraced as brothers in a celebration of their new image of unity and hope, as The Times reported at the time. The tidings were of redemption and reconciliation: The Rev. Jesse Jackson said that each man should leave the rally with the declaration, I turned pain into power and promise.

Twenty years later, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, instrumental in organizing the original march, returned to lead another, one year after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Also on the 20th anniversary, The Times caught up with men who had marched from a young Watts teacher who wanted to be a walking example for his fifth-graders to a real-estate developer who would later create the Taste of Soul family festival in Crenshaw about the watershed events legacy.

Participants in the Million Man March gather on Capitol Hill and the Mall in Washington on Oct. 16, 1995.

(Mark Wilson / AP)

CALIFORNIA

Two moderate earthquakes in Northern California 100 miles from each other in less than 15 hours unnerved the Bay Area just days before the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. They proved a stark reminder of the danger that awaits.

In a stopgap effort to block no-fault evictions and rent hikes before new state rules kick in next year, the L.A. City Council moved to institute a moratorium on both.

Dozens of new apartments for homeless people could rise in Chatsworth after the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to fund a rare proposal to build such housing in the northwestern San Fernando Valley.

One in four undergraduate women at leading universities nationwide say theyve been sexually assaulted on campus. At USC, the share is higher; one in three say they have been.

Felicity Huffman has reported to a federal prison in Northern California where shell spend two weeks for conspiring to rig her daughters SAT score amid the college admissions scandal.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Julie Andrews spoke with columnist Mary McNamara about her new memoir Home Work and the hardest part of writing it. Next month, Andrews will discuss the book with readers with the L.A. Times Book Club. (Sign up for the clubs newsletter here.)

Joni Mitchell made a rare public appearance this week, wearing her familiar braids and gaucho hat, to attend Brandi Carliles live tribute to her canonical album Blue.

Among this years nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are Biggie, Whitney Houston and the MC5, plus 13 others.

Mindy Kaling is glad the Television Academy changed its rules on Emmy credits after her own bad experience.

NATION-WORLD

With the Trump administration sending Central American asylum-seekers back to Mexico pending their applications, Mexico itself has opted to bus them south in the hope theyll return home, even if that imperils their asylum claims.

The toll of death and destruction from Typhoon Hagibis that tore through central and northern Japan has climbed, as the government said it was considering approving a special budget for the disaster response and eventual reconstruction.

France is reconsidering the legacy of Marie Antoinette.

BUSINESS

In making amends for a massive data breach that affected billions, Yahoo is offering users up to $358.80 each but theres a catch, columnist David Lazarus writes.

Amid all our reporting on the streaming wars, we asked some Angelenos how they watch TV.

SPORTS

Federal agents have interviewed at least six current and former Angels players as part of their investigation into the drug-related death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, according to a person with knowledge of the interviews.

For LeBron James, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere well, except in China, columnist Bill Plaschke writes. In Hong Kong, protesters are slamming James for his comments about free speech, and celebrating Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey for his.

The Rams, coming off a three-game losing streak, traded cornerback Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens and then went all-in by acquiring cornerback Jalen Ramsey in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Rams traded three draft picks for Ramsey, including first-round picks in 2020 and 2021.

Even with the addition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Patrick Beverley remains one of the Clippers leaders. Doc Rivers credits the 31-year-olds personal development, and looks forward to the human step.

OPINION

Rudy Giuliani wants Hunter Bidens work in Ukraine investigated but what about his own, asks Jon Healey?

That the presidents supporters decry the younger Biden for cashing in on his name while Trumps children run a global company that bears theirs only shows a new level of malignant hypocrisy, Robin Abcarian writes.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

Theres water ice on the moon, but how much? For NASA, figuring that out is only one small step. (The Atlantic)

Some colleges are tracking students even before they apply. (Washington Post)

ONLY IN L.A.

For the first episode of the show Off Menu, our food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson spent an afternoon with Jazz Singsanong, the woman behind the beloved Thai Town restaurant Jitlada first shopping at the giant supermarket known as Thai Costco, then returning to Jitladas kitchen to make a few dishes that arent on its regular menu. In the process, he learned about her community and her journey to becoming an ambassador for it, and her family recipe for a funky, salty and fiery shrimp dip.

L.A. Times food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson, right, dines at Jitlada with owner Jazz Singsanong for the show Off Menu.

(Cody Long / Los Angeles Times)

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Newsletter: Elizabeth Warren in the spotlight - Los Angeles Times

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Photo: Contributed Photo /

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst is part of the Buttonwood Trees 30th anniversary celebration this weekend.

Buttonwood Tree celebrates 30th anniversary all weekend

MIDDLETOWN The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, an intimate listening room and hub of community arts and personal development offerings, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a first-ever 30-hour performance marathon and gala event, Oct. 18-19 in Middletown.

The event kicks off Friday at 4 p.m. with a free Community Harvest Party that will span indoor and outdoor locations on the block, and feature family-friendly activities, entertainment and a variety of fall-inspired snacks, treats, and drinks, in collaboration with local food and beverage partners.

Music and activities will take place inside the community room at the Community Health Center until 10 p.m., including a performance by three former State Troubadour: Kristen Graves, Lara Herscovitch and Kate Callahan; poet Kate Rushin and other performers.

The marathon moves to the Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main St., with a mix of samples of what the club offers, and a glance back at some of the interesting stories of the past. Highlights include a Story Share with Stephan Allison, Paul Howard, Joe Fonda, Laszlo Gardony, a family-focused interactive world music concert by the NY-based group, Heard and Kitty Kathryn. youth poetry led Elizabeth Thomas, a drum-based meditative session led by Craig Norton, piano by Greg Gaylord, Caroyn Halsted, Neely Bruce and Laszlo Gardony, Nortt End Memories by Brian ORourke and others.

The Buttonwood Tree, named after the Sycamore, will conclude the 30-hour festivities Saturday night from 5-10 p.m. at the CHC, with a A Syc Party Gala, including a rooftop performance by Badslax, a local funky jazz band. The gala will honor the performance venues roots with craft cocktails, custom food, dancing and a tribute to 30 years of providing world class performance events to the Central Connecticut region. Music and dancing to the World music band, Heard and DJ Manny with Face the Musiq.

American bluesman and blues/rock journeyman, guitarist and songwriter, Tom The Suit Forst, one of the most riveting and electrifying performers on the modern blues scene will emcee the evening and perform.

The Buttonwood Tree's Mission is to support the creative endeavors of emerging artists, nurture personal development, connect, educate, enrich lives and uplift people of all ages through the Arts.

Tickets to the gala and all-inclusive tickets also include a year's membership which gives members discounts to select shows at TBT and at restaurants and businesses in town as well as a reciprocal basic membership to the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford. Tickets may be purchased online at buttonwood.org. Call 860-347-4957 for more information.

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Buttonwood Tree celebrates 30th anniversary all weekend - Middletown Press

By: Kathleen Gaines BSN, BA, RN, CBC

Nursing associations are organizations devoted to the professional and personal development of members and to the general advancement of the profession. Joining a professional nursing association is essential due to the ever-changing field of nursing.

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), professional development is a vital phase of lifelong learning in which nurses engage to develop and maintain competence, enhance professional nursing practice, and support the achievement of career goals.

Nursing organizations empower nurses to stay up to date on current practices, read what leaders in the field are saying, and get a glimpse at what other hospitals around the country are doing to innovate and advance patient care.

Joining a professional nursing association provides resources, information, and opportunities to nurses that might not be available otherwise. There are countless benefits to joining organizations and very few disadvantages. Associations do not require attendance at their meetings or conventions and participation is not required, but members are highly encouraged to take part in all the association has to offer.

The main disadvantage is the cost of joining multiple organizations. Nursing associations at the state and national levels can have substantial annual fees. Unfortunately, these fees can rarely be offset but if the fee is affordable, it is HIGHLY encouraged to join the associations directly related to your practice.

Joining a nursing organization has many benefits, including:

With all of the different choices, deciding which nursing association(s) to join can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing. Experts recommend joining the American Nurses Association (ANA) because it covers a broad scope of practice and offers a comprehensive way to stay on top of the trends in nursing. It also can be beneficial to join an organization that is specific to your specialty.

Each nursing organization has its own associated fees at the state and national levels. Prior to joining, it is important to determine which organizations fit your needs and help you in your professional practice. FYI hospitals generally do NOT reimburse for professional nursing organization fees, but always check because some do consider it part of professional development.

American Nurses Association (ANA)

Founded in 1896, the American Nurses Association is one of the oldest, largest, and most recognizable nursing organizations in the country. At the initial assembly convention in New York City, there were fewer than twenty nurses, whereas two years later there were 10,000 nurses in attendance.

Through organizational affiliates and different member organizations, the ANA promotes the rights of nurses in the workplace, lobbies Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues and supports a number of subsidiary organizations related to nursing including the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

National League for Nursing (NLN)

The NLN, founded in 1893, was the first professional nursing organization in the United States. According to the website, the NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members.

The primary purpose of the NLN represents nursing education in healthcare organizations and institutions of higher learning. The core values of the NLN are Caring, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence. The NLN has four main goals:

Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN)

With more than 11,500 members, the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses represents the largest subspecialty of the nursing profession and is the only professional nursing organization dedicated to medical-surgical nurses.

The ANA discovered an overwhelming need for a nursing association specifically for medical surgical nurses after a survey in 1990. The AMSN offers clinical practice resources, career guidance, professional development tools, and publications specifically related to the medical-surgical nursing role.

American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)

The American Association of Critical Care Nurses is the worlds largest specialty nursing organization that is specifically intended for critical care nurses. The AACN is a national level organization with more than 200 chapters throughout the United States. Each individual chapter has specific requirements for membership.

The AACN offers critical care certification resources, continuing education opportunities, and networking events that help to support its core values of accountability, innovation, leadership, and collaboration.

American Academy of Nursing

Members of the American Academy of Nursing are among the most educated in the nursing profession, with 90% holding doctoral degrees and the remaining 10% holding masters degrees. An invitation to join this organization represents recognition of one's accomplishments within the nursing profession.

Members of this organization include association executives, university presidents, chancellors, deans, state and federal political appointees, hospital chief executives and vice presidents for nursing, nurse consultants, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma)

Sigma currently has more than 135,000 active members in over 90 countries. There are approximately 530 chapters at more than 700 institutions of higher education. In 1936, Sigma became the first US nursing organization to fund nursing research.

Sigma awards more than $200,000 in grants, scholarships, and monetary awards, has a handful of education and research conferences including a yearly research congress, online continuing nursing education including interactive learning activities, and a career development program.

National Student Nurse Association

The National Student Nurse Association is the official pre-professional organization for nursing students. Formed in 1953, the NSNA originally functioned under the ANA and the NLN; however, in 1968, the NSNA became its own autonomous body.

The organization has over 60,000 members in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The NSNA mentors the professional development of future registered nurses and facilitates their entrance into the profession by providing educational resources, leadership opportunities, and career guidance.

The Board of Directors comprised of nine elected nursing students that represent the interests of the members. The annual convention draws more than 30,000 students.

Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN)

The mission of the SPN is to advance the specialty of pediatric nursing through excellence in education, research, and practice. Since its inception in 1990, SPN has grown to over 3,500 members including from over 28 sub-specializations. Dedicated specifically to pediatric nursing, this association is a must join for all pediatric nurses.

A comprehensive list of professional nursing organizations can be found here.

Joining a professional nursing organization requires only four steps:

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Benefits of Joining Nursing Organizations - Nurse.org

In the past decade, psychologists have made a welcome leap, expanding beyond a narrow focus on the North America, Europeand Australiain their research to include people from all over the world. One benefit has been greater insight on global distribution of cultural featuresthe society-level differences in psychological phenomena such as happiness, individualism and aggressiveness. Greater knowledge about the distribution of such features across the earth may help us better understand the many roots of cultural similarities and differences. Powerful cases in point are studies demonstrating that countries differ substantially in terms of mean happiness and the additional finding that this pattern is anything but random. In both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, happiness is higher in countries farther away from the equator (such as Denmark or New Zealand) than those closer to it (such as Vietnam or Cambodia).

Even more intriguing, we have uncovered the same pattern for individualism and creativity. Like happiness, these cultural features trend higher as one moves away from the equator. When we looked at aggressiveness, we found the opposite pattern: the closer you live to the equator, the more likely you are to exhibit aggressive behavior. To explain these robust links between latitude and culturefrom happiness to aggressiveness and beyondscience needs a new field. Latitudinal psychology seeks to explain why societies differ so much and why location on the north-south axis of the earth is so critical.

Latitudinal psychology literally maps psychology and culture onto the world. It provides a new look at cultural differences and how they may have been developed. For example, perhaps lower happiness in locations closer the equator is primarily a function of less opportunities for economic development in the tropics and therefore fewer possibilities for personal growth. Such insights should be helpful not only to learn about the ecological roots of cultural differences but perhaps even to appreciate and respect them.

One explanation that may immediately come to mind is that climate shapes these cultural features. After all, latitude is strongly associated with climatological differences, such as annual temperature and rainfall. But climate does not work as a sole, or even primary, explanation, because it is associated with many other factors, including national wealth, the prevalence of viruses and other ecological risks, and natural hazards, any or all of which may play a role in a cultural feature such as happiness. What is needed, then, is a global perspective that focuses on key aspects of the natural or man-made environment that is shaped by climate and related factors. This latitudinal perspective seeks to understand cultural features such as happiness, creativity or individualism in terms of the global environmentthe global ecologywhich poses challenges to the individuals and groups that shape and reinforce these features. While the ecological perspective is growing in psychology, it is not extremely well documented in the literature. So a few illustrations should be helpful.

There has been some research showing that in countries farther away from the equator, people are more likely to have a clock culture, which emphasizes punctuality, as well as the overall importance of time and planning. The saying Time is money highlights a clock culture. In contrast, in nations closer to the equator, there is less emphasis on time and more on the appreciation of an event as it unfolds. Event cultures in these nations are perfectly captured in sayings such as Give time to time (Darle tiempo al tiempo) in Mexico or Any time is Trinidad time in Trinidad and Tobago, a country even closer to the equator than Mexico. An ecological interpretation is that time and planning are emphasized in cultures with large seasonal influences located at a greater distance from the equator, where one needs to plan for the next season (e.g., seasonal planning in agriculture and preparing for cold winters). Also, the potential for economic productivity may be greater in nations in those areas, and activities related to such productivity call for planning and a strong orientation on time.

There are more examples that show that latitudinal differences in location, even within the same country, are related to culture. For example, research in rural China revealed that people who live in southern regions where rice is produced tend to be more collectivistic and less individualistic than those who live in wheat-producing regions up north. Rice farmers increase economic benefit by working together, the researchers noted, whereas wheat farmers can (mostly) do the job on their own.

Turning back to the puzzle posed by the findings with which we began this article: How can we explain that happiness, creativity and individualism are higher, and that aggressiveness is lower, in countries farther way from the equator? Our analyses uncovered the importance of two ecological explanations: The first is wealth. Nations farther away from the equator are also wealthier on average, providing greater opportunities for education, along with autonomy and personal growthfeatures related to happiness, creativity and individualism. Conflict is less likely to be about survival than less urgent needs or concerns, which may help us understand why aggressiveness (often to outgroups) is weaker in wealthier countries. The second is natural threats, whether from pathogens (e.g., malaria), venomous animals (e.g., snakes) or natural hazards (e.g., flooding or drought). Such threats may not only undermine happiness and creativity but also bring about an orientation to those in a group to protect themselves from these risks, perhaps along with some aggressiveness to other groups.

Latitudinal psychology describes how cultural features are distributed over the world, with a focus on the north-south axis. Ecological perspectives are promising in explaining the origins of culture and why societies and nations can be so different from one another, in terms of happiness or aggression. Such knowledge may also help us better understand that not all populations are the same. This recognition is important because we increasingly face a new reality in which we are becoming more interconnected with other groups, cultures and societies. Indeed, psychology has to become broader and broader because the world is getting smaller and smaller.

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Latitude Adjustment: Distance from the Equator Shapes Our Thinking - Scientific American

Ryan Daniel Moran, founder of capitalism.com, describes why entrepreneurship is an inside-out game.

October10, 20196 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Ryan Daniel Moran is the founder and CEO of capitalism.comand has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs all over the world to build businesses and grow profits. In our interview, he discusses why he feels entrepreneurship is the fastest route to self-discovery and personal development. He also explains why the pursuit of freedom may be fundamentally misunderstood, and whyentrepreneurs can yield better results for themselves and their business by working on their inner game.

Entrepreneurship is the fastest route to self-discovery and personal development that exists on the planet. This is because entrepreneurship, specifically in free-market capitalism, requires an immense amount of personal responsibility.

Because personal responsibility is at the root of entrepreneurship, this is an inside-out game. What I mean is thatthe results that you create are in direct proportion to what is going on under the hoodwhat's going on between your ears.Whatyou produce in the marketplace is a reflection of your mindset, your beliefs, your time horizon and the way that you treat others through the products you produce, through the way you show up and through your systems and processes. What is produced in the world is a direct reflection of what is going on inside the entrepreneur."

Related:Replace Non-Stop Hustle With This Self-Care Mindset to Achieve Lasting Success

You can spot an entrepreneur who does not have their act together when you see someone who is operating with a very short-term time horizon. When you see someone who is addicted to very short-term results rather than producing something very long term, you know that they are operating from a place of scarcity. When someone is looking at the marketplace wondering what they can get out of it rather than what they can create and give to it, you know that person is operating from a place of lack.That person is playing scared and insecure and theyre seeking safety, so they will always be looking for short-term results. Since we know that the best results come from the long-term, you know that person is not going to be successful. People don't want to do business with people like that and it's hard to cast a vision for your employees when you're operating from that place."

"The way that you flip that is by addressing what's going on between your ears, addressing what is going on under the hood.We feel safe as human beings when we feel connected to other people. We don't feel connected to other people because we hide behind screens. We divide each other by race, ethnicity, gender, income level and we categorize people rather than connect and communicate with people. That creates a sense of divide, of being against one another, that doesn't make us feel safe. It makes us feel scared

We flip the script by pursuing connections. We flip the script by addressing our health. We flip the script by listening to or reading books by those who have done the hard work for long enough. It comes from turning social media off and instead, paying attention to those that we want to be like. Our emotions and our beliefs are not ingrained with us. Theyre learned so we can learn differently."

Related:Train Your Brain With These Winning Mindset Techniques From Olympic Medalist Nicole Davis

"I have discovered that the safer I feel, the better I treat my customers. The more in tune I am with who I want to be in the world the better vision I can cast. The less that I worry about money, the more money I make because I'm willing to do the things that are necessary to create money.

Out of all the bio hacks, optimization tricks, endless morning routine recommendations, heres what Ive found to be the most impactful. I became very involved in therapy.For the last five years, I've been doing an out there form of chiropractic called Network Chiropractic. I came full circle on my belief in prescription drugs and found an open-minded biohacking doctor who is willing to prescribe both supplements and prescription drugs to address the things that I wanted to address.

When you optimize your body, it's easier to optimize for your mind and vice versa. When you optimize for your mind, it's easier to address your relationships and vice versa. It is an exponential game where you tweak each system to create a bigger result in every other area."

Related: What 'The Sopranos' Taught Me About Managing Stress, Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Most people who are pursuing what they call freedom are actually running away from things that have held them back. They want freedom from things that happened or decisions that they made in the past. There's a mistake that people make when they equate money and freedom. Money and freedom are not related. People say that they want money because they see it as a route to undo past decisions.I made this decision, more money will allow me to stop stressing about that bad decision.You can also just own the fact that it was a bad decision and undo it.

I shouldn't have bought that big house. Sell the house.

I shouldn't have taken that endless job. Quit the job.

I shouldn't have racked up so much debt. Stop spending so much.

But, we have cultivated a hustle culture. We have cultivated an addiction to work in order to get free when the two are actually against one another. Now, you can be free and work all the time. If that is genuinely what you desire to do, that is freedom. Freedom is in the doing. Freedom is the enjoyment of the process rather than the addiction to the end result.

"We should be pursuing the process that we love but most of us have never cultivated the muscle of doing what we enjoy. We have instead pursued the results that give us survival so that later we can enjoy the process.

What if you just enjoy the moment now, and went all-in on that? You only do that when you feel safe enough to do it. That doesnt mean hustling so that you have the money and resources later. You can do it now. That has been the hardest lesson that I've had to learn through personal development. I probably would have never discovered it had I not become an entrepreneur because entrepreneurship is the fastest route to personal development."

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How to Spot a Wantrepreneur -- and How to Avoid Becoming One - Entrepreneur

Carol Dweck, world-renowned Stanford University psychologists latest book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she describes the two opposing mindsets that people possess. These outlooks are the view that each of us holds about our abilities and talents. And they may also be what is holding back your career. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, my colleague Joe Folkman and I discuss how these mindsets define for us where our abilities and qualities come from and whether or not these opinions can change.

The first attitude is a fixed mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe that their talents are set in cement and cant change. They believe a person is born with certain attributes and nothing else can be developed. The second is a growth mindset and comes from a belief that your basic qualities can be cultivated through effort and that most talents and capabilities can be developed or learned. The learning requires hard work and dedication, but talents can be acquired over time.

These mindsets are expressed in a persons behavior. A fixed mindset manifests itself as a desire to prove yourself to others. Those with this mindset resent and avoid feedback and criticism. The person tends to select tasks that make them look good and make them succeed.

Those with a growth mindset display behavior that is focused on improving. A growth mindset encourages learning and effort. These individuals see criticism as having great value because it allows you to learn. The tendency to display a proving versus an improving mindset determines how you handle challenging situations, and the obstacles and barriers that arise. It also affects the amount of effort you put forth on a challenging task and how you handle criticism.

Over the last year weve been gathering data about peoples reaction to feedback. As we delved into the data we discovered a group of questions that measured the orientation around proving versus improving. Our dataset had just over 7,000 self-assessments, with 63% from North America and the remainder from other parts of the world. In the assessment we identified eight items in which people choose between alternatives that described a proving or an improving behavior, such as the three examples below:

In this self-assessment, the prove alternative would be characterized as defensive or resistant to feedback, while the improve alternatives were more open, interested and accepting of feedback. From the overall results we found that 8.3% of respondents had a strong Prove orientation, 8.4% were evenly divided in their orientation and 83% had an Improve orientation. Given this was a self-assessment among people who were interested in personal development, its not surprising the majority had the Improve orientation.

Confidence

We were curious how confidence would impact this Prove and Improve orientation. Often when people are resistant and defensive about feedback, they convey that they are highly confident individuals. But the results told a very different story.

In the graph below the negative numbers show an orientation toward Proving and the positive number toward Improving. The best predictor we could find of people having an orientation toward Proving was their lack of confidence.

When a person lacks confidence, they feel vulnerable. Having a fixed mindset is a highly vulnerable state. If I am not smart or capable there is nothing I can do about it and I will fail, they believe. This puts them in a defensive position and makes them afraid of feedback or suggestions for improvement. The lack of confidence makes people feel a need to constantly prove their value and worth.

Age and Gender

We found correlations between the Prove and Improve orientation with age and gender. The result showed statistically significant differences between male and females. We often hear from females that they feel they are constantly being tested and need to prove themselves to others when they first start their career. Believing they must prove themselves may be exactly the wrong orientation for their career success. Instead, the proving orientation encourages them to resist feedback and be defensive rather than be open and accepting of feedback. Notice that between the ages of 46-60, male and female orientations look nearly the same. As both genders age, their improving orientation increases.

Based on overwhelming research confirming that it is much easier to change a persons behavior than to change their attitudes, wed recommend that anyone wanting to move toward a growth mindset begin by asking for feedback from colleagues. Start with small doses and gradually increase the amount and frequency. You will learn that the information you gain is beneficial, and that your willingness to ask for feedback elevates you in the eyes of others.

Managers can help subordinates move from a fixed to a growth mindset by recognizing and praising hard work, tenacity and resilience rather than innate abilities such as intelligence.

We agree with and appreciate the work of Carol Dweck. We have a strong belief in the value of a growth mindset as the foundation for any successful personal development process. Our evidence strongly suggests that people can change and significantly improve. But in order to do so, they need to stop Proving and start looking for ways to Improve.

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Stuck In Your Career? Here's How To Stop 'Proving' And Start 'Improving' Instead - Forbes