North America Update: Employer Wellness Programs On The Rise: Willis Health And Productivity Survey

Employer Wellness Programs On The Rise: Willis Health And Productivity Survey - TheStreet: "The most common types of wellness programs being offered by respondents include: Physical activity programs (53%), Tobacco cessation programs (49%) and Weight management programs (45%). Although 29% of survey respondents consider themselves to be a global organization, only 15% indicate they have implemented a wellness program for their global employees. 43% of employers said the leading barrier to measuring success was difficulty in determining the influence of wellness compared with other factors impacting health care costs. Insufficient data and not enough staffing/time remain common barriers to measuring success. This year’s survey included a subset of questions that also asked employers about Work/Life balance programs. Findings reveal that 51% of respondents reported promoting Work/Life balance programs within their worksite wellness program. After Employee Assistance Programs, flexible start/end times are the most common offering of Work Life Balance program options, reported by 81% of respondents."

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South Africa Update: Tackling Student Mental Health - Mental Health Education Programme (MHEP) aims to raise awareness of the mental and psychological issues that often have severe consequences such as student suicide

Tackling student mental health - Varsity Newspaper Online: "UCT’s Student Wellness Services (SWS) in conjunction with the SRC developed a series of talks concerning the mental and psychological well-being of students as part of an initiative to address serious issues affecting UCT students.The Mental Health Education Programme (MHEP) aims to raise awareness of the mental and psychological issues that often have severe consequences such as student suicide. The latest in the series of talks held on Friday, March 30th, concerned substance abuse specifically within the UCT student community. Cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana are the most commonly used drugs within the UCT community, said Carmelita Lee Shong and Robert Artnott from SWS, who presented the talk. However, these are not exhaustive, with a significant amount of students engaging in harder drugs. In descending order of usage, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy are all found to be commonly used drugs amongst UCT students. The abuse of over-the-counter medication has also been found to be significantly high amongst UCT students."

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UK & Spain Update: British pursuit of health and wellness tourism increases

British pursuit of health and wellness tourism increases: "Health tourism and health travel are on the up as 94% of British people now seek holidays to pursue health and fitness, says The Body Holiday survey commissioned by wellness travel agency Health and Fitness Travel. 85% are now willing to try a health and fitness holiday to improve their body and mind.

Choosing a holiday including health and fitness is very important to 82% when they are away from home with spa treatments, fitness classes, land and water based sports being the most sought after. 85% are likely to try new forms of exercise or body treatments on holiday so they can open their minds to new experiences."

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Asia-Pacific Update: 'Wellness' new weapon to improve Productivity & Performance

'Wellness' new weapon to improve productivity, performance - Indian Express: "According to Mercer Marsh Benefits survey, across the Asia Pacific region, 35 per cent of the 899 companies that participated in the survey spent over 6 per cent of their annual payroll on health benefits in 2011, while 10 per cent spent more than 15 per cent.

Alarmingly, 59 per cent of responding employers expect their health benefits expenses to rise in 2012, and senior management is growing increasingly anxious about their employees' health, the report said.

Mercer's Asia Pacific Employee Health and Benefits Leader Rosaline Chow Koo said "our clients are experiencing the real benefits of implementing health and wellness programmes, as without such preventative programmes in place their employee health profiles continue to deteriorate, particularly among younger employees."

Unhealthy behaviours lead to poor health among employees."

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Hollywood Movies Respond to Climate Climate Change Catastrophe

The Hunger Games, Birthmarked, Delirium: YA fiction on climate change. - Slate Magazine: "The Hunger Games is not the only young-adult book to describe environmental catastrophe as a pretext for authoritarian regimes or otherwise dystopic future. In Caragh O’Brien’s Birthmarked, a teenage midwife-in-training lives on the shores of Un-Lake Michigan, in a medieval-esque village just outside of, and ruled by, “the Enclave,” a walled community so evil, it steals babies. In Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, teenagers are strictly segregated by gender until they are lobotomized, cured of the disease of love; in a world where energy is prohibitively expensive and living standards are down, the “cure” is important in part because it help keeps birth rates artificially low. There’s very little accidental conception when lust is outlawed and the capacity to love surgically excised in one’s teens. Ship Breaker, Dark Life, Exodus, The Other Side of the Island, the Shadow Children books, The Blending Time, The Declaration—all are dystopic young-adult novels set in worlds transformed, to varying degrees, by climate change, resource scarcity, population growth, and other environmental disasters."

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Wellness Pilipinas!: Zambales Connection (an introduction to part 1) by Zara Jane Juan

Wellness Pilipinas!: Zambales Connection (an introduction to part 1) by Zara Jane Juan: "Luscious waves, powerful sunrise, attractive sunsets, calm community, playful birds, kids, and chickens... And on top of it all, the most awesome view of the stars along the dark and quiet shoreline as the neighborhood sleeps in harmony night after night... ... What a paradise!

Where on earth can you find that locked doors are not a requirement to live. Everyone seems to trust anybody... I was able to sleep soundly without worry in my rented humble nipa hut fronting the sea, though that was my first night, alone! I mean literally without a companion! The community respects each and everyone because every member of the community believes that no one who visits the shoreline of Zambales is a plain stranger. They believe that each one comes back to Zambales, because they belong there... a relative... of the 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree, 4th degree... or, simply, just an old friend way back who traveled once and had the longing to come back again... and again..."

I came here to prepare myself for my chosen peace mission in the Southern Philippines affected by recent typhoons. However due to my allergies, I need to first ready my health in order for me to survive. Doctors advised me to have a vacation in the beach for natural healing. And what a practical way to do it as fast as I can but to go back to my Grandma's hometown, San Isidro, Cabangan, Zambales. In fact, I long for this, to travel alone, live alone, incognito! Just me and the sea, my pen, my notebook and my quiet private time to pray and meditate. The only problem is, it needs to be safe! And Zambales has it, a wish come true! A very simple life away from the city!

Along the way, however, I got inspired to write about my Grandma's place, not just San Isidro, but the whole Zambales. I find it amazing, how their culture remains so simple... the simple meal... the simple celebrations... the simple smiles that enlightens the crowd... and how they manage to keep it for years with a very dry land, not too much to expect, no flares, no fuzz, nothing. I am practically amazed how they survive without, in my observation, a typical competitive spirit of the city dwellers.

So I made a decision to stay longer because my missionary peace work covers the preparation of the community to the effects of changing climate as part of my worldwide advocacy work on Climate Change Peace Building Adaptation Campaign. Zambales is a good start, I guess for my behavioral study of people living near the sea.

This is the first draft of my behavioral study, I aptly call it the Zambales Connection....

Everything seems beautiful until one night, I've learned that vote-buying is rampant in the place. It completely slips my mind that a special congressional election will take place and I happened to be there, what a vacation! I thought I can forget my work and concentrate on the goodness of life but here am I face with the conflict if I will write what I saw, heard and experience. How naive am I to know that vote buying is an organized activity where the voters have to signed their names in order for them to get their money ranging from P500 to P1,000 per voter. I refrained from knowing further and resorted to meditative prayer to compose myself, however my conscience bothers me, especially when I saw how "malicious" money can turn a peaceful community to a "mob". I need to write it especially when in the course of my investigation, I have found out that vote buying is just a new trend in the 2nd District of Zambales. I've learned that before, people vote their leader because it is their personal choice and they believe in their leader as a matter of principle. Now, with the introduction of the malice that votes can be bought, people vote out of "kahihiyan" that they already accepted some money that "bought their votes". Is there a logic in here?

It is my vocation to teach and promote good culture. And I believe, it is the responsibility of a leader or any politician to lead people to peace by introducing them the proper culture. Vote buying is a malicious intention designed to corrupt even the most innocent ones. Making it part of the people's life is prelude to poverty.

As I said to the community, you deserve more than that! You are the protectors of the sea, you are not beggars! You actually deserve to be given a dignified life through an Environmental Fund which can be allocated by your elected politician to every household living in the shoreline.

People do not know their rights and will remain silent, quiet until numb.That is how corruption works in cycle. Until someone stood up and do something, corruption of the mind will remain a trend.

When do we stop it? When we share what we know to those who don't know. Education, more orientation, and more empowerment will liberate our mind.

Good thing, I still see the kids playing, praying & hoping.... unmindful and innocent.

With this, I am still inspired to work on this further, not just as an advocacy, but as a responsibility to save what remains for the proper culture to survive in this changing climate.

So help me God.

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Beijing: GMZ Energy Secures $14 Million in Series C Funding to Produce New Class of Renewable Technologies

GMZ Energy Secures $14 Million in Series C Funding to Produce New Class of Renewable Technologies; Closes Oversubscribed Financing Round - MarketWatch: "GMZ Energy, a leader in thermoelectric materials and systems and a GE ecomagination Challenge winner, today announced it secured $14 million in Series C financing. The new investment was led by Mitsui Ventures and includes I2BF Global Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (a joint venture of GE, NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips), Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and BP Alternative Energy. With the new funding, GMZ will expand its engineering and go-to-market capabilities as the company moves into production of a new class of renewable technologies."

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