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A folk remedy* for insomnia, the scent in lavender flowers, has now been
proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept
each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room
where their sleep was monitored. During the first week, volunteers continued to
take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling
tired. During the second week, the volunteers discontinued their medication. As
a result, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more
tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than
in the previous two weeks. This shows that over a short period of time lavender
cures insomnia.
*A folk remedy is usually a plant-based form of treatment common to
traditional forms of medicine, ones that developed before the advent of modern
medical services and technology.
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Typically, as people age, their bone mass decreases, making them more
vulnerable to bone fractures. A recent study concludes that the most effective
way to reduce the risk of fractures in later life is to take twice the
recommended dose of vitamin D and calcium daily. The three-year study followed a
group of French women in their eighties who were nursing-home residents. The
women were given daily supplements of twice the recommended dose of vitamin D
and calcium. In addition, the women participated in a light weightlifting
program. After three years, these women showed a much lower rate of hip
fractures than is average for their age.
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The following appeared in a letter from a department chairperson to the
president of Pierce University.
"Some studies conducted by Bronston College, which is also located in a small
town, reveal that both male and female professors are happier living in small
towns when their spouses are also employed in the same geographic area.
Therefore, in the interest of attracting the most gifted teachers and
researchers to our faculty and improving the morale of our entire staff, we at
Pierce University should offer employment to the spouse of each new faculty
member we hire. Although we cannot expect all offers to be accepted or to be
viewed as an ideal job offer, the money invested in this effort will clearly be
well spent because, if their spouses have a chance of employment, new professors
will be more likely to accept our offers."
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For the past five years, consumers in California have been willing to pay
twice as much for oysters from the northeastern Atlantic Coast as for Gulf Coast
oysters. This trend began shortly after harmful bacteria were found in a few raw
Gulf Coast oysters. But scientists have now devised a process for killing the
bacteria. Once consumers are made aware of the increased safety of Gulf Coast
oysters, they are likely to be willing to pay as much for Gulf Coast as for
northeastern Atlantic Coast oysters, and greater profits for Gulf Coast oyster
producers will follow.
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The following appeared in a memo from the marketing director of Bargain Brand
Cereals.
"One year ago we introduced our first product, 'Bargain Brand' breakfast
cereal. Our very low prices quickly drew many customers away from the
top-selling cereal companies. Although the companies producing the top brands
have since tried to compete with us by lowering their prices, and although
several plan to introduce their own budget brands, not once have we needed to
raise our prices to continue making a profit. Given our success selling cereal,
Bargain Brand should now expand its business and begin marketing other
low-priced food products as quickly as possible."
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The Mozart School of Music should obviously be the first choice of any music
student aware of its reputation. First of all, the Mozart School stresses
intensive practice and training, so that students typically begin their training
at a very young age. Second, the school has ample facilities and up-to-date
professional equipment, and its faculty includes some of the most distinguished
music teachers in the world. Finally, many Mozart graduates have gone on to be
the best known and most highly paid musicians in the nation.
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The following is a memorandum issued by the publisher of a newsmagazine,
Newsbeat, in the country of Dinn.
"Our poorest-selling magazine issues over the past three years were those
that featured international news stories on their front covers. Over the same
period, competing news-magazines have significantly decreased the number of
cover stories that they devote to international news. Moreover, the cost of
maintaining our foreign bureaus to report on international news is increasing.
Therefore, we should decrease our emphasis on international news and refrain
from displaying such stories on our magazine covers."
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The following recommendation was made by the president and administrative
staff of Grove College, a private institution, to the college's governing
committee.
"We recommend that Grove College preserve its century-old tradition of
all-female education rather than admit men into its programs. It is true that a
majority of faculty members voted in favor of coeducation, arguing that it would
encourage more students to apply to Grove. But eighty percent of the students
responding to a survey conducted by the student government wanted the school to
remain all female, and over half of the alumni who answered a separate survey
also opposed coeducation. Keeping the college all-female, therefore, will
improve morale among students and convince alumni to keep supporting the college
financially."
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The following appeared in a letter to the school board in the town of
Centerville.
"All students should be required to take the driver's education course at
Centerville High School. In the past two years several accidents in and around
Centerville have involved teenage drivers. Since a number of parents in
Centerville have complained that they are too busy to teach their teenagers to
drive, some other instruction is necessary to ensure that these teenagers are
safe drivers. Although there are two driving schools in Centerville, parents on
a tight budget cannot afford to pay for driving instruction. Therefore an
effective and mandatory program sponsored by the high school is the only
solution to this serious problem."
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The following is a memorandum from the sales director to the president of the
Healthy-and-Good food company.
"A recent study indicates that Venadial, a new margarine currently produced
only in the country of Alta, actually reduces cholesterol levels. Derived from
the resin of pine trees, Venadial works by activating a metabolic response that
is not yet well understood. However, cholesterol levels fell ten to fifteen
percent among participants in the study who consumed Venadial daily, and the
risk of heart attack by one-third. In addition, the new margarine is so popular
that stores in Alta are unable to keep it on their shelves. Therefore, if our
company obtains the exclusive right to sell Venadial internationally, our
profits are sure to increase substantially within a very short time."
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The following is a letter that recently appeared in the Oak City Gazette, a
local newspaper.
"Membership in Oak City's Civic Club — a club whose primary objective is to
discuss local issues — should continue to be restricted to people who live in
Oak City. People who work in Oak City but who live elsewhere cannot truly
understand the business and politics of the city. It is important to restrict
membership to city residents because only residents pay city taxes and therefore
only residents understand how the money could best be used to improve the city.
At any rate, restricting membership in this way is unlikely to disappoint many
of the nonresidents employed in Oak City, since neighboring Elm City's Civic
Club has always had an open membership policy, and only twenty-five nonresidents
have joined Elm City's Club in the last ten years."
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The following appeared in the annual report from the president of the
National Brush Company.
"In order to save money, we at the National Brush Company have decided to pay
our employees for each brush they produce instead of for the time they spend
producing brushes. We believe that this policy will lead to the production of
more and better brushes, will allow us to reduce our staff size, and will enable
the company factories to operate for fewer hours — resulting in savings on
electricity and security costs. These changes will ensure that the best workers
keep their jobs and that the company will earn a profit in the coming year."
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