Research a Healthcare Facility along with a Information System (IS) Paper

A Healthcare Facility along with a Information System (IS) used at this facility - Research Paper Example In other words, the facility serves a population of close to 1.5 million per year. The number of licensed beds as of 2006 is 2,700: patient care as of 2006 was as follows; the annual inpatient admissions were 145,000, annual inpatient days were 733,000, annual outpatient visits was 1,050,000 and the annual home health visits was 233,000 (MedStar, 2007). Programs and services offered by MedStar Health include adult day services, after hours care, cancer services, cardiac services, clinical trials and research, diabetes and endocrinology, executive health services, home care, international services, MedStar Partners Business Diversity Program, MedStar pharmacy, MedStar sportshealth, mental health services, nursing home, orthopedics, outpatient services, RadAmerica – Radiation therapy, rehabilitation, retirement residence, and women’s services (MedStar Health, 2011). The users of health information in MedStar constitute physicians, ancillary staff, IT professions, and pharmacists. The health information revolves around these individuals. In order to meet the requirements of MedStar Health professionals and also reduce the resources and costs needed to run an international healthcare organization, the health facility adopted a hospital information system called Microsoft Amalga (also known as Azyxxi) (Microsoft Corporation, 2008). MedStar has a network of hospitals and other healthcare services; in order to have a glimpse of how users access health information, Washington Hospital Center will be used. MedStar Health is on the move of adopting Electronic Medical Records (EMR) or Electronic Health Records (EHR). Currently, Washington Hospital Center is using both paper records and electronic records. A big challenge to the implementation is the inability to share information with other electronic records systems (Washington

Global Marketing project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Global Marketing project - Essay Example They would even want to know about the number of buyers and suppliers of toothpaste in the market and whether suppliers are price takers or price makers. 2. Information regarding the political environment of the foreign nation, the rules and regulations pertaining to employment laws and laws concerning foreign organizations opening their business in a particular nation can be obtained through secondary data. Secondary data obtained through research organizations such as Gallup can even help the company in identifying the size of the customers, the size of buyers and suppliers and the existing competition in the market. Primary data will even be required to identify the organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses. Primary data will be collected in order to identify the current demands of the customers that have not yet been satisfied by other companies and the taste of the customers (Terpstra

Land, identity, and colonial dispossession Aboriginal and settler Essay

Land, identity, and colonial dispossession Aboriginal and settler relations in Australia - Essay Example The government of Australia in 1991 began the process of reconciliation so as to progressively address the legacy of colonial injustice (Green, 2011: p34). However, the framing of policy to this end has been restrictive, while the lack of a political will has also hindered any progress in reconciliation and justice for indigenous aborigines. This has resulted in tensions between the national humans right regimes and internationally acknowledged standards of human rights. Short (2003: p292) argues that there were no formal settlement or treaty involved in the colonization of Australia with the colonizers arguing that the Australian Aborigines could not sign any settlement because Australia was not occupied prior to its colonization, which has meant that Australia’s indigenous people have been subjected racism and injustice. Despite the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation Act of 1991 that was meant to kick-start the process of reconciliation between Australian society and the indigenous Aborigines of Australia after centuries of dispossession and dispersion of the latter, there was no provision for justice for the Aborigines. This had the effect of limiting the aspirations of the indigenous Aborigines. Therefore, Short (2003: p293) claims that the Act does not seek to atone for the injustice suffered by the Aborigines and, in fact, attempt to pursue an agenda of assimilation as another phase in the process of total colonization of Australia. A s such, it is the writer’s belief that any attempt at reconciliation should seek to reflect the aspirations of the indigenous Aborigines more closely, specifically by addressing the issue of internal colonization. While the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act of 1991 officially seeks to enhance the relationship between Australia’s Aborigines and the former colonialists, while also enhancing understanding of the

Business Strategies for Healthcare Institutions Essay - 191

Business Strategies for Healthcare Institutions - Essay Example The employed strategies should subsequently take into account key stakeholders in the institution, organizational efficiency, and financial sustainability in the healthcare environment (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). Aligning healthcare reform with organizational operations is a key strategy. In essence, the idea is to make sure that the resultant reforms promote the relevance of the hospital. To do this, the director and all other key parties could undertake care transitions, where hospital operations are redefined or redesigned to accommodate key benefits realized from healthcare reform. It is important for hospital management to create healthcare value through payor relationships and revenue models. In other words, hospitals could create value and promote patient welfare through bundled payments, offering low-cost incentives, and enhancing the quality of care (Pynes & Lombardi, 2011). While the objective is to improve the performance of finance, human resource, and patient care departments, it is critical to account for all stakeholders influential to the institution. On the same note, it is important to note that the priority focuses on patient care, over and above striving to improve the long-term welfare of the healthcare institution. Efficiency, sustainability, and strong relationships in the healthcare environment translate to affordable care, increased access to services, and community engagement in hospital operations (Olden, 2011). Both internal and external hospital environments play an influential role in healthcare matters. When the community becomes engaged, the hospital builds an environment of loyalty and trust. Subsequently, the community becomes an ambassador of the hospital in selling its operations and performance.

14.Public Diplomacy has become increasingly important in recent years Assignment

14.Public Diplomacy has become increasingly important in recent years. Why Discuss and illustrate with empirical examples - Assignment Example Murrow’s Centre for Public Diplomacy, Edmund Gullion takes public diplomacy as â€Å"Through public diplomacy people understand the means by which private groups, governments, and individuals influence the opinions and attitudes of other people and governments in a manner to exercise impact on their foreign policy conclusions.† What stands out in these two definitions for Public diplomacy is that it has to involve mechanisms that will affect the attitudes as well as opinions of other people, countries and governments. This paper will examine the reasons that have led to the clamour for public diplomacy especially in recent times during the 21st century by looking at specific examples. Public diplomacy becomes the next frontier in the study and practice of diplomacy. The â€Å"ancient† diplomacy style has been supplanted with â€Å"fresh†, free American-style diplomacy (United States. (1987)Several states have advanced beyond upholding open diplomacy on the face of the world to using public to secure and promote their national interest overseas. Public diplomacy was a principally salient government quest during the Cold War era when ideologies contest, communism versus democracy, was at the peak. Bipolar quality of public diplomacy throughout the period of the cold war has been replaced by several nations involved in public diplomacy as central securities in soft power have risen. Wang (2011) outlines the theory of soft power as an international image, specifically highlighting the values underlying the interest of a particular government. For instance, United States soft power is the capacity to convince others through the acceptability of its actions. The connection with public diplomacy rests between the concept of theoretical international relations of several â€Å"forms† of power and the concrete elements of the manner in which states improve or expand the capacity of their soft power. In as much as public diplomacy has materialized to be

Xenophon Essay Example for Free

Xenophon Essay Xenophon, the author of the document, The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians, was born in 434 BC and became a middle-class Athenian but was later exiled to Spartan land (pg. 81). This document was written in order to keep record of the way life was lived back in Sparta where he fulfilled his exile. The law maker, Lycurgus, was a very creative and intuitive man but additionally he was fair and just. Lycurgus made laws that would honestly benefit everyone in Sparta to the fullest extent and differ from the old ways of the other Greeks. The new ways of Sparta stunned the other Greeks by how different and irregular they were. I believe that Xenophon too was fascinated by the laws he now had to abide by and wrote it all down so that others could analyze it as well. In the document Xenophon writes, â€Å"I not only admire [Lycurgus], but consider to have been in the fullest sense a wise man† (pg 82). Xenophon was so fond of Lycurgus and his way of ruling that wanted to save these rules to be studied forever and wrote them down. This can be considered one of the first real constitutions written down in history which gives it such great significance along with the fact that it is a direct account from that time period originally written in a language we code decode. This document was written for any politically involved or scholarly person who wanted to study the ways of the Spartans. Xenophon believed that Lycurgus was as most genius law maker and thought that if he shared his ways maybe everyone else could be as good as Sparta. Lycurgus’ laws were â€Å"contrary to those of most governments† (pg 82) which is why it needed to be written down and spread around. I strongly feel that when Xenophon was exiled he tried to seek out the flaws in the governmental system that had done wrong and subconsciously abandoned all of the beliefs that the old government he used to follow cherished. In order to show their flaws, Xenophon wanted to compare both ways of life. As shown in The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians, Xenophon compares the jurisdiction between the overall Greek and the more sophisticated Spartans. For example, when he writes about the boys as objects of affection, he states that among the other Greeks such as the Boeotians and Eleians, a man and a boy may enter a union and attempt to gain favor of the young boys however, it is sometimes prohibited for them to converse. As learned in lecture, in ancient Greece, during Xenophon’s time, it wasn’t unusual for older men to be attracted to the younger Greek boys however it was not something someone would share in the open. It was referred to in another Greek writing, The Birds by Aristophanes, the two main characters imagine a land where it would be rude for a family friend not to grope another man’s son. This shows just how prevalent the phenomenon of these relations between older and younger men had become in Xenophon’s home. Lycurgus however did not agree that it should have to be so hidden and stated that an older man liked a boy because of his personality and not only due to lust and physical attraction, that it was an excellent thing and should be celebrated (pg 85). Xenophon definitely wrote to inform the general Greek population of this new way of life to those who thus far did not follow and believe in the ways that Lycurgus did. This is probably one of his greatest works not only because it is our best explanation of Spartans rules and community life, but also because it stirred up the governments around Sparta. They tried to get rid of him through exile because of his wrongdoings while he exploits their faulty governmental regulations through his writing which spread much further. Using evidence from the document, it is obvious that Xenophon was not only a true follower of Lycurgus but is a strong ancient day liberalist. Xenophon believed in all of the rules Lycurgus set up which were, at the time, contrary to popular beliefs of those in the other Greek societies. For example, Lycurgus set up a food system in which people were only to take enough to survive. It states that they should â€Å"take only such a quantity as never to be oppressed with repletion, and not to be strangers to living somewhat frugally† so that they would be â€Å"more satisfied with any kind of food† (pg 84). I feel that this shows Xenophon as a warrior or strong willed because he believes that suffering in the end will bring good fortune. This is also shown in the document when he agrees with Lycurgus’ law that one should not wear shoes in order to toughen their feet so they can become stronger and more agile. As a liberalist with a strong warrior background, Xenophon celebrated the strength and intuitive creativity of the Spartan way of life. His attitudes toward all other nations were that they were weak; the way they were set up would not be beneficial to their people. However, after being raised in Athens for all those years, how is it that he just now is changing his views? After being exiled for fighting under the rule of the Spartan king, Xenophon began living his new life as a respectable member of the Spartan community. He wrote a lot and became an active member as well as studied under Socrates, which I believed helped him to see the ways of life from a new point of view. Since the Spartans rules were so different from the others it makes sense that Xenophon would be compelled to write about their lifestyle, which was a powerful and virtuous one at that. I think the fact the these rules seemed to try to push everyone to be the best they could be in every category including virtue (honours paid to old age encouragement of virtue 91), honor (infamy and penalties of cowardice 90), to be humble (obedience to the magistrate and laws 89), and last but definitely not least, physical strength. The environment around them seems to be one with an availability of steep terrain but it is also a city. When addressing that the children should not wear shoes he specifies that it will allow them to go up steep inclines with greater ease so I feel that there are either many steep steps leading towards their great buildings in the city or possibly rough terrain. Another thing I noticed is that the Spartas are very set on being powerful, strong and ready to battle so it is very likely that the warriors in Sparta must be equipped to walk over far, steep distances in order to battle. The surrounding areas of Sparta are possibly spread out from city to city do that one city is not directly touching another Greek city even though they may be close. Again, while addressing the wear of the Spartans, Xenophon states that they need to wear only one outfit so that they can become accustomed to both the cold and heat which leads me to believe that the general climate there was about the same as it would be over here in North America today. As far as the people in Sparta, they are all accustomed to joining in competitions, becoming stronger and becoming the best of the best. Sparta differs a lot from Athens not only based upon its laws but the way the people act and react to one another. In Sparta the women we to be equal to the men; â€Å"the female should practice bodily exercises no less than the male sex †¦expecting that when both parents were rendered strong, a stronger offspring would be born from them. † (pg 82). Not only does this show that the people of Sparta were all about toughness and strength but it goes back to support the idea that Xenophon too was like them and had a warrior like personality about him. Also, they are trying to spread equality between the men and women in ancient Sparta which is something that women are still struggling with today. In the other Greek nations the women are to sit and spin wool, to be sedentary, which would be parallel to the old ideas in American history which would not let women hold places in many jobs, institutions or positions in war. Sparta believes that men and women should both become strong and sturdy, ready for war. Although the women were not completely equal to men, this coincides with the way American women in modern day have worked so hard to become equal to men. One rule in particular that seems very odd is a part of a rule previously mentioned; Citizens are to be frugal when it comes to food. The second part of the rule is that if one does become hungry, it is â€Å"honorable to steal as many cheeses as possible† (pg 84) but on the contrary, if caught doing so, one will be greatly punished. It is like saying that it is not illegal unless caught like in today’s society how underage drinking is one of the most common problems but unless you get caught there won’t be a problem. This rule was likely created in order to make the Spartan people more cunning and creative in order to make them more useful in battle. Also, survival of the fittest may come into play in this situation; It is clear that the Spartan’s were mainly concentrated on being strong and warriors so if one was not smart enough to find ways to steal cheese and felt as though he did not have enough to eat, he would either have to leave Sparta or he may perish. Either way the Spartans would have lost one of their weak links and would become stronger as a whole. This document most clearly tells us that Lycurgus was a very great leader and a liberalist of his days going against all that the other Greeks believed to be true. Not only that, but Lycurgus created one of the strongest nations in which Xenophon quickly felt at home. Although he may not directly state it, Xenophon conveys a sense of bitterness towards the other Greeks by judging everything they do. He makes it seem ridiculous that the rules the follow were ever thought to be substantial laws when he makes remarks that nearly make fun of their way such as when he says things like â€Å"a man should feel ashamed†(83), â€Å"how can we expect women treated thus way should produce†(82), or â€Å"Instead of being rendered effeminate†(84). Although it may be easily miss ed, after given a bit of thought it is clear that Xenophon is, in a way, making fun of the others by calling their men feminine, men shameful and telling them they do not even know how to treat their women. He shoots small phrases and insults to the others in order to diminish their power and pull support over to their side. Clearly he was very successful in using his persuasion technique as the Spartans rules spread to the â€Å"modern ruling classes of England and continental Europe† which both have based their education on the Greek classics (82). This document is a very scholarly piece and gives one of the greatest accounts of history back in ancient Greece on not only the Spartan side but also on the side of all of the other Greek. It gives a good overview of multiple ways of life and sets up a time period in which new laws were being created which would eventually take over the old ways that the others used to follow. It reminds me of when the American’s first made their laws apart from the British rule, although they were a small nation compared to Great Britain, they were powerful and thoughtful in their rule making. Based on the rules that Lycurgus placed on his people, I believe the Spartans could be considered the original revolutionaries. I feel during this time the Athenians looked at the Spartans with distaste and thought they were much smarter than the Spartans who were trying to enforce new, unorthodox rules which would make them stronger. It probably also scared the Athenians a little because their people were not strong and built like the Spartans, instead they had the intelligence, which Xenophon and Lycurgus found to be insufficient anyway as they criticize the way of education used in Athens in the constitution. This document is of great importance as it set up the new way of life and set apart the Spartans from all other Greeks which is part of the reason they are so famous today.

Adaptation to Climate Change

Adaptation to Climate Change ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE; AN ISSUE THAT MUST NOT BE OVERLOOKED There are many compelling questions one can ask about how climate science experts and economic experts interpret the change in climate and man’s contribution to it. To argue that our earth is not warming is futile; nonetheless, the risk of trying to prevent it is very high. It is only useful if we try to adapt. In the field of climate change, scientists denounce non-science experts claiming that these are technical questions for those who understand the theories and concepts. The controversy over whether global warming exists or not, is undoubtedly, a scientific question. However, deciding whether we should intervene, and if so, what actions to embrace is clearly not a scientific question. It is an economic question, which puts us firmly in the realm of economic experts. For any continuing event, there are five theory responses: maximizing, inverting, preventing, adapting and ignoring. Supposing we do not want to maximize or ignore global warming, the three applicable options are reversing, prevention (known as â€Å"mitigation† in the climate change idiom) or adaptation. Right up until the present day, the favoured option has been prevention. For a period of twenty-five years, public servants have debated only this response. Margaret Thatchers speech to the UN assembly (in 1989) throws light on the beginning of this approach. Later came Al Gore and Kyoto with the Stern Review adding to the list. Currently, David Cameron and Edward Miliband debate about whether or not climate change is a national security threat and which party is best placed to prevent this threat. There are good scientific reasons to believe that prevention (or even inverting) is a realistic option. Since the `90s there have been tremendous breakthroughs with our ability to reduce chlorofluorocarbons. Despite this, there are those who believe that the past twenty-five years have brainwashed us into believing that our potential and ability to prevent global warming by reducing Carbon emissions is much less compared to some Sulphur emissions and other pollutants. These years of framing tremendous exorbitant prevention schemes only took some few degrees centigrade off global warming, in comparison with the rise of three to four degrees. This puts the minimum price of such vanity at 5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product each year, with some models recommending that the definite cost is realistically more than 20 per cent. Scientific inclined people reply by saying we must increase our attempt to prevent global warming from advancing. However, China and India and America will disagree and in economically desolate Britain there are no chances requesting for more. Considering prevention were realistic, policy analysis recommends it would be dreadful an idea to consider. At the moment, according to government criteria in the UK, there is difficulty in trying to get access to a global warming mitigation scheme that matches cost with benefits. As an example, the rediscovery of the strategy for the renewal of energy having a twenty-year cost of fifty-seven billion pounds to seventy billion pounds but only benefits around four billion pounds to five billion pounds. The problem is so worse that couple of years back the guidance for the ministerial sign-off of policy impact assessments amended the strategy so that ministers no longer proclaim that their assertion that benefits will exceed costs. At the present moment, they sign to acknowledge they solely assume that benefits â€Å"justify† costs. The few analysis that found more positive net profits, such as the Climate Change Act of 2008, reckoned a global consensus that has not been implemented. On that note, it is absurd to recommend that the UK’s doing ten times more to prevent warming proceedings could perhaps be an outstanding scheme, even though it will be possible to work. The economics of preventing global warming has simply not been up to the task. Prior to the famous Stern Review, economic experts observing the sector thought that adapting to the change in climate patterns should be the pivotal strategy. What â€Å"adaptation† will suggest in a practical way is that we cut the risk of spending too much money, and the program will be less complicated. There are some UK Green schemes that influence the public to use extravagant energy and make them pay out incompetent immense sum of capital to cater for insulation. These Green systems also tax their traveling in ways that force them to execute reduced trade and craft which does not only hamper the growth, but also make adaptation very hard and unyielding. In the year 2012 the UK authority acquired forty-five billion pounds from fuel taxes, which corresponds to 2.9% GDP. While UK authorities evaluate green schemes will increase medium-scaled vocation invoice by thirty-eight per cent over the next sixteen years. On the contrary, the most outstanding project is by instigatin g GDP to allow the folks to be more prone to behaving in ways that are friendly to their habitat Moreover, the public should not misuse their wealth, on mitigation attempts while fragmenting capital for adaptation. If the UK authorities do not have enough funds and they should opt between money for energy and money for flooding protection, it must be considered a walkover. There is the need to investigate several ways to adapt to the warming of our globe with likely brutal climate. These strategies should change the methods of supporting our rivers by building flood defence systems, developing of crops that can be tolerant to drought and using water sources that are scarce in a more efficient manner. Adaptation would not be inexpensive or straightforward. However, it will be more attainable than prevention and will cost so much less. Additionally, adaptation is highly safer than prevention on two significant techniques. Firstly, we do expect that global warming will not occur as we presume. Ten years earlier, scientists studying climate patterns have scuffled to explain that the temperature has not sprung in view of the late 80s. They persist it does not make any discrepancy to their indelible tale about whether warming advancement exists, and what their consequential effects are. Moreover, perchance, it could be right. Nevertheless it makes a change to policy assessment.   If, in 1997, it was clear that abstaining from mitigation of climate patterns could not cause any rise in temperatures, there should have been a concern to adjust the way we assess our schemes. Virtually no scheme which has no effect within three to five years is a good one to start, by virtue of how we discount our future. Secondly, adaptation is much safer considering we only know nearly insufficient facts about prevention strategies and may suffer a great loss if they do not function, or they might develop delinquent long duration response. When we adapt only when there is a need, there is a reduction in waste of time and capital that is crucial to sustainable development.   At the point of finality, adaptations make us prosperous and have richer tastes. It seems plausible that we can devise means that can stop global warming from getting out of hand. However, we have wasted twenty-five years in trying to prevent warming of our globe, and have merely scraped the plain. In that initiative, we have lost untold large sums of money and are planning to waste even more. We do not have to disbelief the real existence of climate change to reject the notion that adaptation is a not a good tactic. Our method of prevention has perished, adaptation is the key. WORD COUNT: 1235 BISMARK NTIM-PEASAH KOFI BIBLIOGRAPHY: . Australian Broadcasting Corporation, viewed 28 November 2014, .GOV.UK, viewed November 2014, viewed 28 November 2014, .The Guardian, viewed 2 December 2014, .Scientific American, viewed 4th December 2014, .European Commision, viewed 7 December 2014, .The Telegraph, viewed 7 December 2014, . The Telegraph, viewed 7 December 2014, .Wikipedia, viewed 11 January 2014,