Hedges & Company, in partnership with Aftermarket Business magazine has launched the 12th Annual Consumer Attitude Study to gather information from thousands of consumers who have purchased auto parts and accessories in the past year.

"This study targets the general automotive consumer and looks at the entire buying process," said Julie Hedges, principal of Hedges & Company. "The study looks at what kind of parts and accessories were purchased by car, truck, SUV and Jeep owners and where they purchased them. It also asks for their opinions on current issues such as hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels."

eBrandedSolutions, Inc. announced the first international sale of its specialty software product SponsorshipPRO+. The arrangement comes through eBS’ exclusive sales agency in the UK, Communicate Sport, and is with Manchester City, one of Europe’s leading professional sports teams.

SponsorshipPRO+ was introduced to provide the sponsorship industry with a much needed marketing presentation asset. SP+ is an easy-to-use software product designed to allow sales and marketing professionals to create more effective and innovative presentations (such as proposals or post-event reports) for their sponsors. Today’s savvy sponsors require post-event reports to help quantify the value of their sponsor dollars and base their renewals accordingly.

Donna Valdes, a Largo resident and independent distributor for Waiora International, a world-class nutrition company dedicated to helping people maintain their health as they age, attended the company's international conference held on March 8-10th in Orlando, Florida.

"Waiora's conference is a great opportunity to network with my peers and gain invaluable knowledge on the company and industry," Valdes said. "Not only does the company do a wonderful job of making the meeting fun and exciting, they provide us with training and workshops that will prepare us to better our business."

Small Business Week is a good time for small company personnel managers to plan for an impending crisis – the loss of key employees due to eldercare responsibilities. Market research indicates that large businesses lose an estimated $29 billion annually due to employee eldercare duties.

The Department of Labor also cites caregiving as a leading cause for extended leaves of absence, reduced work schedules and even resignations. While large businesses can absorb the losses, small firms will be hard pressed to do so. Parent Care (http://www.parents-care.com), a web resource for caregivers, is previewing a helpful tool for HR managers. They can log onto the site, click on “employers” and test drive a unique employee benefit.

Form I-9 Compliance, LLC, the first federally approved Designated Agent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for web-based employment verification through the Basic Pilot Program, today announced the development of three technological advancements to significantly improve the following:

1. Automated submission of employer payroll records to the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) to identify employees with "No Match" problems;

Excelloz.com, the online hotel reservation website based in Thailand, introduces a new promotional offer that runs until the end of February. Every person who registers on the Excelloz website for free until the end of February will automatically be upgraded to Gold member status. This means an extra 5% discount on all hotel bookings for a period of 6 months. There are no obligations or hidden costs.

Excelloz.com has further extended its portfolio of available countries by adding accommodation choices in all countries of the United Kingdom including England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Now a wide choice of hotels in fantastic destinations like London, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and many other exciting cities can be booked easily on Excelloz.com. Furthermore, hotels in the first country in South America, Chile, has been added and are available for reservation.

Boulder Logic™ (www.boulderlogic.com), the customer reference specialists, today announced that it has added a new module, called Boulder Logic Published Pages™, to its flagship customer reference product line. The new module allows those using the Boulder Logic Reference Manager™ database to pick and publish marketing content, such as case studies and video profiles, on a personalized micro site that can be shared directly with prospects. Visitor tracking features allow a level of visibility not possible when sales content is distributed to prospects via email. With Boulder Logic Published Pages, marketing is able to facilitate the desired communication while giving sales representatives final control of the prospect experience.

As yet another report is published, confirming Britons are failing to put a financial safety net in place should accident, sickness or unemployment occur, Simon Burgess from independent Payment Protection Insurer, British Insurance, calls for companies to stop saturating consumers with statistics and reduce their prices instead.

Simon Burgess, MD British Insurance

He comments: "It's widely recognised that when people get information overload they switch off and reject any advice they're given. People need space to calculate their financial commitments, assess their priorities and come to their own conclusions.

An innovative, unique courier service is available to help squeeze an extra day out of your work week deadlines.

Designed for the ultimate in cost-effectiveness and efficiency, your package, up to 20 lbs., is dropped off at our package portal" by 1030 AM. We guarantee it to be available for pickup by 3PM the SAME DAY at the destination portal.

Washington DC to New York Citys startup schedule will be Monday-Wednesday and Friday, and New York City's schedule is on Tues & Thursday. There is a special Friday service overnight for New York to Washington DC only for $25.00 which is available Saturday or Monday morning if you prefer.

Globoforce, a leading provider of on-demand global, strategic employee recognition programs for Global 2000 companies, today announced that Rachana Srivastava has joined the Company as Vice President, Services.

Srivastava joins Globoforce after three years at Wayland-based Softscape, Inc., a human capital management and enterprise case management software and services organization, where she led a professional services team as Practice Director. Prior to joining Softscape, she served in a variety of leadership roles at Framingham-based Workscape, Inc., a leading provider of outsourced benefits, compensation and performance management solutions, since 1999.

After many years on the web and with a worldwide following, lifeintheusa.com is now offering $1000 in contest prizes for the best new essays on American life.

Topic areas on the lifeintheusa.com site include the American people, culture, law, organizations, food and cooking, government, history, religion, business, finance, employment, immigration, medical care, aging, education, transportation, community, shopping, restaurants, and everyday American life.

The site is looking for new sections on matters as diverse as gay marriage, bureaucracy, public health, sports, teen fads and fashions, school violence, reality television, celebrities, body piercing, outlet malls: any area of American life that could use some explaining to someone coming from another country or culture.

Continuing its commitment to protecting online gaming providers against fraud and abuse, fraud management solutions provider iovation will speak at the 4th Annual Combating Cybercrime conference, January 22, in London. iovatio b68 n's vice president of marketing, Scott Olson, will open the one-day event with the discussion, "Exposing Fraud, Account Takeover and Cheating on iGaming Sites". The session will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. GMT.

What:

With cyber-criminals becoming smarter and more organized by the minute, the Internet gaming industry offers these criminals an ideal target to perpetrate fraud and abuse. How can fraud managers better protect their online businesses and legitimate players from cheaters and in-game abuse? In this session, attendees will learn:

The spectrum of fraud and abuse committed against online gaming sites

The impact of attacks on legitimate players and a company's bottom line

Policies and supporting tools that can reduce fraudulent transactions while increasing operational efficiencies and business profits

Attendees can also visit iovation's stand #5315 at the ICEi Conference, January 22-24, in London.

La Rabida Children's Hospital launched a newly designed website today, greeting online visitors with a fresher look and a more interactive experience while showcasing the hospital's scenic Lake Michigan location. The site also spotlights actor Joe Mantegna, a former patient, who is helping the hospital reconnect with past patients from the 1940s - 1960s.

La Rabida Children's Hospital's Newly Designed Website

The nautical-inspired graphics and kid-friendly colors mirror the décor of La Rabida's award-winning facility. In one cyber stop, web cruisers are treated to a port of call that simultaneously anchors the hospital to its rich history and sets a course for the very important role it plays as Chicago's only specialty hospital for children with special needs.

Pixion, Inc., the creators of PictureTalk, a leading cross-platform Web conferencing solution, today announced it has extended the availability of its PictureTalk services and products through recently finalized alliances with three conferencing integrators in North America. Videre Conferencing, Expedite VCS and SPL Integrated Solutions will now leverage PictureTalks advanced communication and collaboration solutions to offer their customer base enhanced Web conferencing capabilities.

Were seeing a growing demand from customers who want a single point of contact for all their communications needs, including Web conferencing," said Larry Roher, CEO and President of Expedite VCS. With this new alliance between Expedite VCS and Pixion, we are better able to fulfill this customer need."

Today Pfeifer Studio announced the launch of an e-commerce website, pfeiferstudio.com, which promises to deliver a unique online shopping experience to interior designers and consumers searching for modern home design.

"We are working with established resources, have a design studio in the most beautiful place on earth and the network to deliver our designs directly to those who want them the most," said AJ DeForest, founder and design director of Pfeifer Studio.

The web site offers luxury home furnishings and fashion, such as leather trays, fur pillows, New Zealand wool throws and turned wood tables, designed in the heart of New Mexico. The home furnishings are produced by artisans from across the globe and all styles on the site are true exclusives, available nowhere else.

CrackerJax is partnering with Dream Shot Golf to offer golfing guests the opportunity to win over $10,000,000 in cash and prizes! The year round partnership will launch on the Scottsdale family fun park's 15th anniversary, Thursday, January 22. The $10 entry fee gives customers one shot at sinking a 150-yard hole in one. Each customer that makes the shot receives $5,000 cash and a $5,000 trip to Las Vegas. During the trip to Vegas (October 16, 17 &18, 2009) the winners will attempt another hole in one with a successful shot awarding them $10,000,000. Every Dream Shot participant will receive a scratch and win ticket which can result in anything from discounts to CrackerJax to free driving range ball cards to a new G2 Ping Driver.

The clinical trial found that permanent hearing loss was reduced in the ear closest to the acoustic trauma when compared to the placebo. The results of this study add to the extensive body of positive evidence done in the laboratory. The complete study detail will be published in several peer-reviewed publications in the coming months.

This study was carried out under the direction of Navy Commander Ben Balough MD. Commander Balough states, The successful completion of this clinical trial marks an important milestone in the development of a much needed medical solution to prevent hearing loss. Further work will need to be done to refine optimal dosing to achieve maximum benefit. This study substantiates that the effects seen in the laboratory may be translated effectively in humans. The collaboration between Naval Medical Center San Diego and American BioHealth Group is a terrific example of diverse entities joining together for the good of all those individuals who will benefit from this work including, most urgently, our service personnel in all branches of the military."

Golden Budha is introducing weekday lunch buffet for $7.45 per person. Lunch buffet starts May 22 (Monday) 11:30AM TO 1 PM.

Immediate service, variety, take out option

$7.45 / person

Sample Menu

Egg roll

Governor's Chicken

Chicken with Vegetables

Cashew Chicken

Sweet and sour pork

Szechwan String Beans

Tofu Home Style

Vegetable Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Noodles

Soup of the Day

Golden Budha Chinese Restaurant is located in the theatre district of the Chicago West Loop area. When you enter the office building, you will see a large golden Buddha welcoming you and pointing you to the entrance with a staircase over a waterfall. The beautiful sky- lit Fen Sui / Yin-Yan dining rooms are at the base of the atrium. There is a huge bar, perfect for cocktail parties or receptions.

Leading online retailer of plus size swimwear, active wear and lingerie, www.AlwaysForMe.com, has been named as one of 5000 fastest-growing private companies for 2008 by Inc. magazine, coming in at number 537. The annual Inc. 500/Inc.5000 list published in September ranks young and established US-based companies through financial data, such as revenue growth, over the last three years.

RANKS #537 ON INC. 5000 LIST OF THE FASTEST-GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES

A leading online retailer of plus sized swimwear, active wear and lingerie for women worldwide, www.AlwaysForMe.com provides fashion forward and affordable apparel options in sizes 16W-26W. Since its inception in 2000, www.AlwaysForMe.com has seen sales increase in excess of 75% annually.

FamiliLink today announced the official launch of the company. Founded in 2007 by Laura Nuhaan, CEO and Co-Founder and Inger Rarick, VP of Marketing and Co-Founder, the team has been working extensively with savvy industry leaders, renowned geriatric specialists, care facilities, and seasoned technology executives to bring their product to market-ready status.

Screen shot of typical FamiliLink Home Page

Adults over the age of 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population and their care is falling square on the shoulders of their baby boomer children, some 77 million strong. Often referred to as the "sandwich generation" since they are not only caring for children at home, they're in charge of caring for their aging parents as well.