Use Of Electronic Medical Records From Emergency...

Background Most emergency care is delivered in Emergency Departments (ED), there were over 129 million ED visits in the United States in 2010, and some of the most common reasons patients visit the ED is for abdominal pain, chest pain, fever, headache and back pain (Mutter Clancy, 2014). Doctors and the other healthcare providers in the ED use electronic medical records (EMRs), rapid blood/urine testing, and diagnostic procedures such as; X-ray, CT scan, MRI to decide if a patient requires inpatient or outpatient care (Free et al., 2013). They also use other tools such as; telemetry, bedside sonography, point of care tests, and clinical decision aids for quick decision (Free et al., 2013). The ED physician’s new mHealth technologies may allow more patients to receive the care at home that was once only accessible in hospital (Manojlovich et al., 2015), and on that way they don’t need to go to ED for minor illness. mHealth is transforming the way people with chronic illness are re trieving and evaluating information and communicating with their primary physician or other health professionals (Free et al., 2013). Mobile technology can be utilized to remind patients to take their medication at proper times, and it can assist patients record their health symptoms and send them to his/her primary physicians and specialists electronically as needed (Manojlovich et al., 2015). Instead of waiting for patients to understand that they have any abnormalities and visit their doctor,Show MoreRelatedEssay on Electronic Communication in Health Care849 Words   |  4 PagesReinvestment Act of 2009. The law promotes electronic health records and infrastructure development to cut costs in health care. While the law does not mandate their use, the federal government has set aside twenty billion dollars to help in the development of a strong health information technology infrastructure. Title IV states, â€Å"NO INCENTIVE PAYMENT IF FIRST ADOPTING AFTER 2014† (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 2009). In times of economic turmoil, medical organizations are scrambling to makeRead MoreDescription Of Emergency Department Information Systems1103 Words   |  5 Pages Unit V Research Paper By Robert Craft Columbia Southern University HTH 1304-14A Emergency department information systems have been defined as â€Å"electronic health record systems designed specifically to manage data and workflow in support/help of ED patient care and operations.† A detailed profile for EDIS outlines hundreds of essential functions of an EDIS, including clinical workflow, registration, patient tracking, orders, clinical documentation, discharge management, and administrativeRead MoreCase Case Study : Database Development1730 Words   |  7 PagesInformation Management Name: Bayo Oshunlalu Case #: Case 5-5 Case Title: Database Development. Screen 1. Emergency Department Chief Compliant Data Entry Screen. 1. What is the purpose for the screen? The chief complaint screen will allow clinicians to enter patient’s reasons for visiting the emergency department. The chief complaint data entry screen will be used to obtain and record information from patients such as symptoms, duration of symptoms, and what major problem they are experiencing as a resultRead MoreEMTALA Case Study1000 Words   |  4 Pagesun-repairable. EMTALA In 1986, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted. The federal government enacted the law to provide everyone with access to emergency medical care, even for those unable to pay. EMTALA declared that any individual who enters a â€Å"qualifying hospital† is entitled to an â€Å"appropriate† medical examination to determine if an â€Å"emergency medical condition† is present. The individual cannot be â€Å"transferred† until the â€Å"emergency medical condition† is â€Å"stabilized.†Read MoreFederal And State Legislature s Theory Of Medical Network Laws Essay1740 Words   |  7 PagesFederal and State Legislature’s Approach to Medical Network Laws How many times have you heard a provider’s office tell you that you are out-of-networking? â€Å"Out-of-Network†, two questions come to play; the first question is what does that mean to a patient and how do insurance companies determine network benefits for their beneficiaries. First, we will define the term â€Å"network† is used to describe the providers, that are. â€Å"Networking† becomes an issue of patient’s access to providers and the costsRead MoreHow Can E Health Improve The Healthcare Delivery System? Essay1748 Words   |  7 Pageswide variety of definitions. These definitions have a common theme of utilizing information and communication technologies to improve the quality of healthcare. For this article, e-Health is defined as: †¦ an emerging field in the intersection of medical informatics, public health, and business, referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies. In a broader sense, the term characterizes not only a technical development, but also a state-of-mindRead MoreEssay National Ehr Mandate1248 Words   |  5 PagesNational EHR Mandate Heidi Babcock-Marvin Ohio University National EHR Mandate An electronic health record (EHR) defines as the permissible patient record created in hospitals that serve as the data source for all health records. It is an electronic version of a paper chart that includes the patient’s medical history, maintained by the provider over time, and may include all of the key administrative clinical data relevant to that persons care. Information that is readily available includesRead MoreThe Electronic Medical Records For The Provider1374 Words   |  6 PagesMarsha: 1. The electronic medical record promises to revolutionize the delivery of health care services. Identify the advantages and disadvantages for the patient and for the provider. How much Government regulation should be involved in the development and use? There are many advantages with the implementation of electronic medical records for the patient. One important advantage is the ability for the patient’s medical record to be shared amongst the patients other physicians. InformationRead MoreEmergency Department Chief Compliant Data Entry Screen1537 Words   |  7 PagesScreen 1. Emergency Department Chief Compliant Data Entry Screen. 1. What is the purpose for the screen? The chief compliant screen will allow clinicians to enter patient’s reasons for visiting the emergency department. The chief complaint data entry screen will be to obtain information from patient such as symptoms, duration of symptoms, and what major problem they are experiencing as a result of symptoms. The chief compliant data entry screen does not deals with obtaining information about chronicRead MoreSocial Work Practice Guidelines Are Outlined By The Nasw1327 Words   |  6 Pagesand missions. (Council on Social Work Education, n.d.). HIPPA was created to protect the privacy of patients medical and personal information. This privacy act is a guideline that provides specific information on general principles and the consequences for breach of contract. Patients must sign a release of information before protected health information is disclosed (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Confidentiality continues to be challenging and an ongoing ethical issue

The Dysfunctional Family in Brontë’s Wuthering Heights...

The Dysfunctional Family in Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Wuthering Heights Creating a haven from the cruel outside world, families ideally provide protection and support for each of their members. In Emily Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Wuthering Heights, however, bitterness grows between the Earnshaws and the Lintons. Within these two families, siblings rival for power and parents fail to fulfill their roles as caregivers. The intertwining relationships of the Earnshaws and the Lintons are marked by physical abuse, degradation, and emotional negligence. These reduce each of the family members’ life to a lonely and meaningless journey though the cold and misty moors. Unforgiving as the moors that surround them, the Earnshaws and the Lintons often resort to physical†¦show more content†¦Hareton is thus reduced to an inhuman â€Å"it.† It is not surprising, then, that Hareton is afraid of his father, but Hindley is angered because this reminds him of his failure as a father. Declaring that Hareton should be â€Å"cropped† like a fierce dog, Hindley drops his son over the railing of a staircase when the latter shrinks away from him. He is unperturbed when Nelly exclaims: â€Å"He hates you – they all hate you – that’s the truth! A happy family you have, and a pretty state you’re come to!† (77). Hindley does not seem to comprehend that physical abuse leads not to love but to fear and hatred – and ultimately, alienation from his family. Edgar Linton, normally gentle, also uses physical violence when he fights with Heathcliff over Catherine Earnshaw, now his wife Catherine Linton. Like Hindley, Edgar does not realize that violence cannot produce love. His fight with Heathcliff results in Catherine’s insanity and her eventual death. Catherine, too, is not flawless. When Nelly, under Hindley’s orders, chaperones Edgar’s visit with Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine is furious and strikes Nelly. When her nephew Hareton weeps at this abusive display, Catherine seizes the child and shakes him. She then strikes Edgar when he tries to stop her. The root of Catherine’s violence is not the same as the one that plague Hindley and Edgar: she does not physically hurt her family because she wants to be loved. She feels that she is already loved by everyone, but she

Env 100 Environmental Pollutants Sewage and Fossil Fuels Free Essays

Environmental Pollutants: Sewage and Fossil Fuels ENV/100 March 2013 Environmental Pollutants: Sewage and Fossil Fuels Environmental pollutants, according to the Blacksmith Institute (2013) negatively affect billions of the world’s population as a result of exposure to poisons associated with sewage and the fossil fuel crude oil. These poisons have led to long-term detrimental effects on ecosystems and has attributed to the premature deaths of 40% or 2. 8 billion of the world’s population of which three million children under the age of five die prematurely because of exposure these contaminants. We will write a custom essay sample on Env 100 Environmental Pollutants Sewage and Fossil Fuels or any similar topic only for you Order Now Researchers estimate that this number will grow to approximately 3. 6 billion by 2050 if these invasive toxins continue to remain prevalent in the world’s environment (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2012). In this paper, Team D will discuss the effects that sewage and crude oil have on the quality of air, soil, and water, environmental biological diversity, disposal methods, and alternative solutions toward the use of crude oil (University of Phoenix, 2013, Week Five Syllabus). Sewage As defined by Oilgae (2013) sewage refers to wastewater that commonly derives from liquid or solid human activities that contaminate the Earth’s air, soil, and water. These contaminates contain infectious organisms, referred to pathogens that cause diseases, such as bacteria dysentery and cholera, viral diseases of hepatitis and polio, and protozoal disease of amoebic dysentery and giardiasis (Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, 2002). Additionally, as stated by Nakate (2013) these toxins alter biological diversity through eutrophication, which degrades water quality, ultimately alters aquatic species, hinders native plants, and increases biological oxygen demand (BOD). As the rise in levels of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous as well as organic wastes in water pathways initiates extreme growth of bacteria and algae that proves lethal to living organisms as well as disrupts the function and structure of the entire ecosystems. These pollutants generally fall under four specific categories; commercial, industrial, sanitary, and surface runoff and effective management of their sewage waste byproducts (Oilgae, 2013). Commercial According to Oilgae (2013), this category contains liquid and solid waste materials associated with offices, restaurants, and service organizations in which sewage waste, such as cleaning chemicals or garbage placed in open air dumpster’s seep into the surface soil and water, or emit into the air through decomposition. Industrial This sewage originates from discarded water employed during the chemical and manufacturing process, such as mining (Oilgae, 2013). Mining produces high-levels arsenic, cyanide, and sulfuric acid wastewater or tailing, which miners dump into surface water pathways or pile uncovered that contaminates ground water, soil, and air through emissions of the toxic dust particles and through rainwater (Blacksmith Institute, 2012). Sanitary Shandilya (2013) defines this category as domestic waste initiated from institutional and residential activities that dispense wastewater associated detergents, soaps, and human bodily wastes that drain into sewage systems, lakes, or streams, which contaminates drinking water and harms animals and aquatic life. Surface Runoff This category represents as agricultural sewage, which includes fertilizers and pesticides that contain rich nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous, which accelerates enrichment leading to eutrophication as the waste travels through rainwater or dumped into water pathways (Shandilya, 2013). Sewage Waste Management The effective management of sewage waste would include abolishing untreated sewage and enforce a pre-treatment process that includes extensive filtering of effluents, employing microbes that convert wastes into solids; therefore, easily separated, and disinfecting partially pure effluents through chemical precipitation (Hollis, 2013). The pre-treatment process of chemical precipitation involves adding chemicals to the waste to create particles that remove toxins through decantation; therefore, properly transferring, disposing, and reusing the cleansed water (Edwards, 1994). This treatment process can prove beneficial to other wastes producers like that of fossil fuel crude oil. Fossil Fuel: Crude Oil Crude oil, as illustrated by Kaiser (2009) represents the world’s primary industrial energy source with estimates showing 30 to 40% of the world uses this fossil fuel for energy consumption, and indentified as black gold. This oil, a hydrocarbon, and derived from organic material from lakes and oceans that contain pressure and heat. Oil, generally falls into two categories; conventional, which proves less expensive, easy, and fast, or non-conventional that has an established reputation s expensive, slow, and difficult; whereas, crude oil has a classification of light, medium, or heavy, depending on the American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity. Crude oil, receives is name because it has dozens of different hydrocarbon compounds in which oil refineries work on accomplishing refinery of crude oil in three steps. 1. Breaking down thousands of compounds within the crude oil to chemical units. . Remove contaminants, entirely. 3. Transform the individual chemical units. As the oil becomes refined and separated into various fuels, this conversion leads to creation of numerous products, such as gasoline and other petroleum products that transports through 23,000 miles of pipeline within the United States. This conversion and transportation of fossil fuel byproducts has proven harmful to the environment as well as the d isposal of these fossil fuel oils in which society must seek alternative energy resources. Fossil Fuel and the Environment Fossil fuels, according to Green Energy Choice (2013) have become one of the world’s greatest greenhouse gas emitters that contribute three-fourths of the entire world’s carbon, methane, and other gas emissions. The production of electricity involves burning fossil fuels at an extremely high temperature, which results in high concentrations of pollution in the water and air. For example, the atmosphere naturally absorbs one ton of greenhouse gases; however, the atmosphere traps approximately 25% extra of the sun’s radiation because of the annual rise in greenhouse gas secretions. As 98% of the United States energy creation coming from the non-renewable fossil sources, the disposal of oil proves vital toward protecting the environment. Disposal of Oil As communicated by Septer (2013), recycling waste or used oil proves valuable to the environment, and the economy as inadequate disposal of waste oil damages water, land, and air resources. Recycling oil assists in the preservation of natural resources and conserves energy production. The most important motive for recycling oil surrounds the preservation of resources associated with crude oil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that â€Å"2. 5 quarts of high-quality lubricating oil is produced from just one gallon of waste oil; conversely, it takes an astonishing 42 gallons of crude oil to manufacture the same 2. 5 quarts of high-quality oil† (para. 3). Therefore, recycling oil proves beneficial because it does not pollute water pathways and does not finish in landfills as well as lowering the cost through oil re-refining rather than oil filtering. Therefore, the improper disposal of oil, such as throwing it away harms the environments; whereas, the energy saved in converting waste oil into fresh oil have has vast benefits, such as cleansing one gallon of waste oil employs â€Å"less resources than refining 42 gallons of crude oil† (para. 6). Alternative Solutions According to Alternative Energy (n. d. ) crude oil represents a limited accessible fossil fuel and analysts believe that by 2050 accessible crude oil in its entirety will become extinct, which has led scientist to create alternative fuel sources other than fossil and nuclear. The world uses nuclear fuel as demonstrated with the more than 300 global nuclear power plants in which France and Japan generate approximately 80% of electrical power from these plants. As illustrated by Alternative Energy (n. d. ) two alternate energy resources to replace the use of crude oil include solar and wind energy. Solar energy has proven to become one of the best power energies for the environment in that the solar power systems can remove â€Å"more than 110,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases out of atmosphere as well as prevent the requirement to burn 60,000 pounds of coal† (para. ). Solar does not produce acid rain, urban smog, or any other pollutants. Wind power represents the second alternate energy source and quickly becoming one of the most hopeful new energy sources for electricity and the cost has reduced by â€Å"15% with doubling of installed capacity worldwide† (para. 13). Subsequently, worldwide wind energy capacity has reached app roximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity after 1999 and these energy hours provide enough energy comparable to the size of five Miami cities. Conclusion As premature deaths continues to rise with an expectation of reaching more than three billion by 2050 along with the increasing growth in population, the Earth’s natural resources ultimately will become extinct because of the relentless and prevalent environmental pollutants of which sewage and crude oil contribute. Team D has illustrated the importance of understanding the initiators of sewage and crude oil pollutants, their cause and effect on the environment as well as proper waste management presented by chemical precipitation, and alternatives energy sources of solar and wind. However, the decisions made today will significantly influence the days of tomorrow; therefore, to protect the environment and the community members within each ecosystem, humanity must strengthen its commitment toward the reduction of premature deaths and its creators. References Alternative Energy. (n. d. ). Alternative energy. Retrieved from http://www. altenergy. org/ Blacksmith Institute. (2013). The world’s top ten toxic pollution problems 2012: Pollution facts. Retrieved from http://www. worstpolluted. org/pollution-facts-2009. html Edwards, J. D. (1994, December 30). Chemical precipitation – – Basics. Retrieved from http://cleanh2o. com/ww/chemppt. html Green Energy Choice. (2013). Fossil Fuels: How do they negatively affect the environment? Retrieved from http://www. greenenergychoice. com/green-guide/fossil-fuels. html Hollis, T. (2013). How to manage waste water. Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/how_ 10030919_manage-waste-water. html Kaiser, D. (2009, October 23). Alternative energy replacements for crude oil. Retrieved from http://suite101. com/article/alternative-energy-replacements-for-crude-oil-a161973 Nakate, S. 2013, January 24). Sewage water pollution. Retrieved from http://buzzle. com/ articles/sewage-water-pollution. html Oilgae. (2013). Types of wastewater. Retrieved from http://www. oilgae. com/algae/cult/sew typ/typ. html Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. (2002, October). Surfacing sewage its effects on our environment. Retrieved from http://www. deq. state. ok. us/factsheets/land/ srfsewage. pdf Orga nisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2012, March 15). OECD environmental outlook to 2050: The consequences of inaction. Retrieved from http://www. oecd-ilibrary. org/environment/oecd-environmental-outlook-to- 2050_9789264122246-en Septer, J. D. (2013). Waste oil recycling information. Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/ about_6596196_waste-oil-recycling-information. html Shandilya, R. (2013, March 5). Facts about water pollution. Retrieved from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/facts-about-water-pollution. html University of Phoenix. (2013). Week Five supplement: Course Syllabus. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ENV/100 – Principles of Environmental Science course website. 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Sicko and Moore free essay sample

Michael Francis Moore is a controversial American filmmaker who has directed numerous documentaries. These documentaries have taken a large spectrum of popular American issues and reduced them to one: capitalism. His most popular cinematic works include Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Capitalism: A Love Story, and most ­notably, SiCKo. With a liberal stance, Moore has documented his own vision on America’s large corporations, such as the Bush administration’s foreign policy, financial crises, and the American healthcare system. Although all of his movies are worth naming, SiCKo is one of Moore’s most complex documentaries, for it discusses the issue of the United States of America’s healthcare system. The issue is not only complex, but also highly debated for it affects the lives of millions of Americans in very profound ways. Broderick Fox, author of Documentary Media History, Theory, Practice, illustrates different styles that filmmakers use in documentaries. For example, he writes, â€Å"The interventional gaze makes no attempt to hide, but rather actively confronts the situation† (Fox 104). We will write a custom essay sample on Sicko and Moore or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Throughout the movie SiCKo, Moore â€Å"actively confronts the situation,† as he sends out the message that America needs universal healthcare supported by our government, because we are a country that neither abandons our citizens to health care debt nor denies our citizens the right to health care. Moore does this through his exceptional ability to throw himself into the middle of the debate of whether America Dawli 10 should reform its current privately owned healthcare system to a government owned system. Jane Chapman, author of the book Issue in Contemporary Documentary, defines documentaries as having, â€Å"discursive formations, presenting first ­hand experience and fact by creating a rhetoric immediacy and ‘truth’, suing photographic technology† (Chapman 8). Moore’s documentaries fit this definition, and for this Moore has attracted much deserved criticism for his unique â€Å"rhetoric immediacy† and for the â€Å"truth† he advocates for. Whether or not Moore is politically correct, his filming technique is creative and unconventional. He uses various strategies, such as ironic humor, over ­dramatization, over ­simplification, and strategic omission, in order to get his point across. Critics argue that Moore’s credibility is hurt, for he stretches the truth. However, Moore’s strategies are purposeful and directly aimed at what he is trying to accomplish: an increase in the debate on the American healthcare system. Moore’s use of ironic humor is unconventional because healthcare is a serious issue that ultimately lacks all forms of humor, as it affects the â€Å"real lives of real Americans† (SiCKO). Although the severity of this issue is somewhat ignored at times, Moore is capable of making such a humorless topic into one that is entertaining. The fact that Moore uses ironic humor throughout the documentary widens his audience because it attracts individuals who were not likely to watch a basic documentary on the United State’s healthcare system, due to the topic’s serious nature, but chose to do so based on Moore’s reputation as a satirical filmmaker. As Ernest Callenbach, a writer for Film Quarterly, states, â€Å"[A] powerful appeal in Moore’s films is that he is funny, in a down ­home way† (Callenbach 18). For example, Moore takes the victims affected by the â€Å"evils† of healthcare on a boat trip to Guantanamo Bay, which he claims is the only place in America that has free healthcare. During Moore’s adventure, the United Dawli 10 States Coast Guard stops and questions Moore and his crewmembers about their destination. Moore cleverly answers, â€Å"We’re not going to Cuba! We’re going to America! It’s American soil† (SiCKo). This voyage is humorous because Moore plays upon the irony that in order for American citizens to receive free quality health care, they must be taken the prison, which houses some of America’s most dangerous criminals. Another example in the film is when Moore â€Å"discovers in a British hospital corridor a â€Å"CASHIER† window, which he pretends to suppose is the hidden flaw in British free health services† (Callenbach 18). However, he soon learns that the â€Å"Cashier† is actually a place where the hospital pays its patients for any costs they may have incurred throughout their stay, such as transportation costs to and from the hospital. Moore compares the fact that people can actually get paid to go to the hospital in England, to America where patients need to pay for their health care, and illustrates this point using humor and sarcasm. As Chapman illustrates, â€Å"Documentary is also recognized as being a very engaged sort of cinema, which means that there are inevitably pressures and sometimes conflicting claims† (Chapman 8). In other words, although Moore engages the viewer and thus creates an affinity between himself and his viewers through humor, he also hinders his credibility? it is inappropriate for Moore to make jokes about such a serious matter that involves individuals with serious illnesses. Moore also over ­dramatizes events as a strategy to capture his audience. He cleverly inundates the viewer with three narratives of healthcare disasters told by individuals. For example, Moore presents a case where a mother loses her 18 ­month old daughter: the child developed a high fever and was denied the proper treatment and medication because her daughter was not insured. Quickly after this story, the viewer becomes inundated with similar Dawli 10 stories. The quick back ­to ­back string of stories accentuates the drama and creates hyper ­stimulated, emotional viewers. As Jacob S. Hacker, a writer from The New England Journal of Medicine, lists the multiple tragedies, â€Å"a woman seriously injured in a car crash whose insurer denies payment because she doesn’t obtain ‘prior authorization’ to visit the emergency room, an elderly couple who move into their daughters storage room because they cannot afford their medicine, an uninsured man forced to choose which of his two fingers to have reattached after an accident† (Hacker 1). All of these stories are indeed tragic and cause the viewer to be emotionally manipulated to sympathize with these individuals while developing anger towards the American healthcare system and even possibly the American government for not taking care of their citizens. As stated in the book, The Documentary: Politics, Emotion, Culture, by Belinda Smaill, â€Å"Emotion shapes how political issues and individuals are represented and perceived in documentary is crucial to how we engage with the vicissitudes of the public sphere† (Smaill 187). In other words, a documentary relies upon the emotion of its viewers in order to be successful. This strategy is purposeful for it encourages individuals to understand that it is their duty to debate in favor for universal healthcare. Additionally, Moore over ­simplifies the complex issue of American healthcare to make it more understandable to the average citizen. Through lightening the perplexity of the healthcare system, more viewers are capable of comprehending his proposals and views, and also his argument becomes more convincing. Moore over ­simplifies the issue by only presenting us with only black and white concepts: that the American healthcare system is awful, while healthcare in other countries – such as France and Canada – is flawless. However, he fails to recognize the consequences, which would result if ‘free’ universal healthcare were to be implemented. For Dawli 10 example, critics argue that the name ‘free universal healthcare,’ and the way Moore uses the term, are very misleading. In France, where healthcare is free according to Moore, there is a 13. 55 per cent payroll tax, 5. 25 per cent income tax, and additional taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical company revenues (Tanner 2). These taxes are significantly higher than taxes in America, for France needs to pay for their citizens’ entire healthcare. Therefore, the ‘free’ universal healthcare is, in reality, not all that free. Furthermore, as Sanjay Gupta, a writer for CNN, states, â€Å"I also worry that Michael, who is an accomplished film maker, tried to leave people with the impression that health care is free in many other nations and there is a state of utopia† (Gupta 1). The point which Gupta touches upon is highly relevant to Moore’s technique in the film SiCKo, because it alludes to his tendency to over ­simplify and exaggerate the truth in order to get his point across in the most effective manner. In regards to healthcare outside of the United States, Moore also formulates an argument that there are no waiting lists in foreign countries with universal healthcare. He does this by interviewing patients in Canadian hospitals, who appear to be completely satisfied with the health care they receive. However, there are currently 800,000 Canadians on the waiting list for commonly needed surgeries (Tanner 2). Waiting lists are not unusual for countries with ‘free universal healthcare. ’ Also, Michael Tanner, author of SICKo: Michael Moore’s Latest Fantasy, states, â€Å"Even though American men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than their counterparts in other countries, they are less likely to die from the disease. † In fact, â€Å"less that one out of five American men with prostate cancer will die from it, but a quarter of Canadian men will, and even ominously, 57 per cent of British men and nearly half of French and German men will† (Tanner 2). This clearly shows that despite the fact that health care is â€Å"free† in countries, such as Canada, their residents Dawli 10 are also dealing with a healthcare system that considerably less efficient at treating their patients. In addition, America spends 18% of its GDP on healthcare expenditures. In all reality, America spends more money than all the other countries in the world. Despite spending 18% of its gross domestic product on health care expenditures, America is still left with unhealthy individuals and lower life expectancies compared to Europe and Canada. This is a result of American’s poor nutrient and diets, not of low level of health care (Curran 1). Moore states that the reason why America has lowered life expectancy when compared to countries in Europe is because America does not have the same ‘free universal healthcare’ that these countries have for citizens. However, â€Å"most experts agree that life expectancies are a poor measure of health, because they are affected by too many exogenous factors such as violent crime, poverty, obesity, tobacco, and drug use† (Tanner 2). Moore continues to present the viewers with the negative aspects of the American healthcare system through over ­simplifying the issue. Although it may appear that Moore presents the absolute issue of healthcare, he, in reality, changes the actual issue. As Michael Tanner states, â€Å"He often refers to the 47 million Americans without health insurance, but fails to point out that most of those are uninsured for only brief periods, or that millions are already eligible for government programs but fail to apply† (Tanner 1). Also, Moore fails to recognize that â€Å"hospitals are legally obligated to provide care, regardless of ability to pay and while physicians do not face the same legal requirements, few are willing to deny treatment because a patient lacks insurance† (Tanner 1). Through Moore’s strategy of over ­simplification, it makes Moore’s argument easier to comprehend.

Home Depot Case Study

Home Depot Case Study Home Depot Incorporation was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1978 by Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. Both Arthur and Bernie had been fired from a small company that dealt with home improvement products thus the decision to start a retail store providing these products. At its commencement, Home Depot had a warehouse stocked with a wide variety of home improvement products at very low prices.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Home Depot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From then on, the company has grown to be the largest chain offering home improvement items in the world. At the start, the company grew at a much slower pace but with time the business picked and today Home Depot is a successful enterprise. With over 2,000stores across the globe, Home Depot is a booming enterprise with Lowe as its main competitor. With reference to the case study, this paper will assess Home depot’s growth strategy, i ts current business environment, the industry, competitors, the strategies used, and how the company can address the challenges it is facing. The business environment of a company includes the various aspects of its surrounding which affects the operations in one way or another. In other words, Home Depot’s business environment is a set of conditions that cannot be controlled by nature whereby these conditions affects its normal functioning. Just like any other company, Home Depot has internal and external environments. Its internal environment consists of factors like manpower, machinery, cash, and management which can be controlled by the business. Home Depot can make changes in the internal environment with respect to changes in the business’s functioning. This is evidenced by changes in the top management since the company’s inception and the growing number of its workforce and stores. From the year 1979 to the year 2006, the company’s revenue grew fr om $ 22 million to $90.8 billion respectively. When Home Depot commenced its operations up to the year 2000, one of its co-founders acted as the CEO (Hess 2). Having grown the company’s revenue tremendously, the board of directors embraced change by replacing Blank with Bob Nardelli. Having served in the military, Nardelli employed a completely different strategy. He imported manpower and ideas from the military and as a result caused culture overhaul.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Previously, Home Depot had a culture that was low profiled and collaborative but Nardelli converted it to â€Å"a culture of fear† (Hess 3). The decline in sales experienced during the 1990’s can be attributed to the form of management employed by Nardelli. Changing the decentralized strategy that paid attention to employees and more importantly to the custome rs led to the low sales. This shows that changing the internal environment of the business does affect its business’s performance in different ways. On the other hand, the external environment of Home Depot consists of factors that are beyond its control. The external environment of the business does affect its internal functioning, the strategies it employs, and its objectives as well. The operative external environment of the business consists of customers, the suppliers, competitors, market intermediaries, and the public as well. The suppliers provide the company with raw materials therefore they must be reliable to ensure success of the business. Home Depot is a multinational company operating across the globe meaning that it has multiple suppliers. Customers are constituents of the business’s external environment. Customers determine the success of the business therefore the need to tailor products that will provide maximum satisfaction. Home Depot is a large inco rporation thus its customers range from industries, wholesalers, retailers, and governmental institutions. Also, important to the external environment of the business are the market intermediaries who link the final consumers of the products to the business. Banks and other financial intermediaries, middle men, and marketing agencies fall under this category. Competitors are an important constituent of the external environment of the business as well. Each and every move which a competitor makes affects the company. Home Depot’s competitor is Lowe; with this in mind, Home Depot has to keep on adjusting according to the strategies which its competitor employs.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Home Depot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Both Lowes and Home Depot compete in the â€Å"Do It Yourself† market for home improvement products. The merchandise offered by these two include building materials, millwork, and lumber, kitchen, plumbing, electrical, wall covering, paint, and flooring (Hess 4). The Do It Yourself strategy was first adopted by Home Depot but Lowes has always been pushed by market forces to survive the stiff competition. After conducting SWOT analysis for both companies, it is clear that they possess the same strengths even though Lowe has never out performed Home Depot. In this case, Lowe is found to have been the market leader and as a result has its loyal customers. On the other hand, Home Depot employed a better strategy of price leadership. The business took the strategy of offering the same product as Lowe but at a lower price. The public which makes up the external environment of a business consists of people who have vested interest on the operations of the business. On the macro or rather general external environment of a business, the PESTLE analysis is always carried out to establish its stand on the industry. PESTLE stands for political, economic, so cial-cultural, technological, legal, and environmental factors that make the external environment of a business. The political factor determines how a change in governmental policy can affect a business. Political factors are felt in areas like labor and environmental laws, tax policies, tariffs and trade restrictions as well as the political stability of a country. The economic environment is dynamic and it reacts to changes in politics and policies. An economy can affect a business through government spending, exchange rates, and interest rates among others. Social factors analyze how the beliefs and behaviors of the consumers affect the business. Culture, attitudes, and population constitute the social factors of the external environment.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The technological environment concentrates on the speed at which product innovations and production processes can affect the business. Ethics are important for a business for they lead the management and workforce to do what is regarded as morally right. Time and again, integrity and acting in an ethical manner have been said to be the driving forces that have contributed to Home Depot’s success. Environmental factors including the aspects of climate, climatic change, and weather which are important in the external environment of a business. Legal factors include consumer laws, discrimination laws, and employment laws. All these factors are important components of Home Depot’s external environment for they affect its operations in the short and long terms. Since the 1990s, the industry of home improvement has experienced a speedy growth. With the wealth effect, many people have invested heavily on expensive and prized possessions. Change of customer needs, increased ho using expenditure, and the internet has made the industry what it is today. In its current situation, Home Depot has employed successful business strategies that can be summed into its core values. The core values include: offering excellent service to customers, caring for the people, being ethical, shareholder value, respecting all people, giving back to the society, maintaining a spirit of entrepreneurship, and building strong and lasting relationships. The vision of stores with a wide variety of assorted products at low prices and giving customer’s excellent services has contributed to the company’s success. The greatest strength exhibited by Home Depot is its ability to listen to its customers. The company’s dedication to provide customers with an excellent service contributes to its success. The only weakness the company has is that it spends more on advertising so as to lock out its competitors. After analysis of every aspect of the company, it is clear t hat the situation that needs to be addressed by Home Depot concerns the growth strategy. Robert Nardelli’s leadership and management styles did no good to Home Depot therefore the new CEO is faced by a challenging task concerning a growth strategy. Alternative actions to address the situation There is need to change the GE style, human resource policies, accountability, technology, and operating efficiencies that were existent during Nardelli’s tenure. Nardelli significantly changed the entire culture of Home Depot through changes in merchandising, the executive, centralization, and purchasing and inventory. The founders Blank and Marcus adopted an entrepreneurial and decentralized culture that gave first priority to employees and customers. Now that Blake is facing a huge challenge of bringing back Home Depot’s credibility, he can do so by using alternative business strategies. The alternative business strategies should work on improving the current stores, div ersifying services, finding new channels, and expanding the business to the global front. The change should come from the top management then to the retailers such that they can schedule and optimize their work time. The company should put into consideration ways in which shoppers can be more efficient. This can be done through the provision of self-checkouts. The best action which Frank Blake can take is to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit so as to settle problems regarding shareholders and employees. Rethinking the current strategies will also be a good alternative. Bringing one of the co-founders of Home Depot to the management level could work well in reorganizing the business. Redirecting, reorganizing, and dis-positioning of the existing business strategies and some of its operations will be the best alternative. Redirecting the management from its current centralized nature to a decentralized one will enable the business to reach all the customers. A decentralized managemen t will allow the business time to be close to the customers and through research and development it will capture firsthand information on the needs and wants of the customers. The information provided by the store managers will aid in decision making. Again, reorganizing the business to adopt the previously used inverted pyramid will help in overcoming the challenge. The pyramid structure recognizes the people working in the stores as very important since they are the ones in close contact with the customers. Home Depot can employ the â€Å"best cost provider† competitive strategy to draw a line between the enterprise and its competitors. It is a fact that Home Depot’s competitors do offer installation services but the enterprise supposedly offers the services at affordable prices. Nardelli opted for acquisitions and mergers and through them; Home Depot has been able to outdo its competitors. This trend can be used to increase the business’s market share through the opening of more retail stores across the globe. The Do It Yourself approach coupled with differentiation and price leadership will be great alternatives which the business can take. All these alternatives will aid in satisfying the customers thus the growth of the business (Hess 6). Recommendation The best solution for this situation at Home Depot is reorganizing and redirecting the management style. Decentralizing the business like before will enable the business to reach and keep contact with all classes of its customers. Investing in technology will enable customers to order products online. The advancing technology also allows product innovation and production processes. A decentralized management system, excellent customer service, and competitive prices will keep Home Depot on top. Wide range of assorted products and excellent distribution channels will be a part of the decentralization. Ensuring that the mission and vision statements are observed will keep Home Depot on top. The core values which include: offering excellent service to customers, caring for the people, being ethical, shareholder value, respecting all people, giving back to the society, maintaining a spirit of entrepreneurship, and building strong and lasting relationships will work well in improving the situation. The vision of stores with a wide variety of assorted products at low prices and giving customer’s excellent services will aid in the decentralization. The competitive strategies to use will include differentiation and price leadership (Hess 8). The financial objectives of Home Depot include growing its revenue by a certain percentage, growing the company’s market share through acquisitions and mergers, growing the return on sales and return on investment, and a strong cash flow. Just like any other multinational company, Home Depot has an objective to be stable in the market, and having a solid balance sheet as well as a good ability to invest. The implementa tion plan for Home Depot will aid in measuring the success of the business strategies employed. The implementation plan breaks down each strategy to steps that the management can identify with. These steps are then assigned to people to suggest when each can be completed. For the implementation to be successful, the objectives should be clear, each task should be assigned with a deadline, and then progress monitored so as to achieve the intended goals and milestones (Hess 10). In summary, the implementation plan should have: objectives, the tasks to be carried out, time allocation, and then the progress. Conclusion The Home Depot incorporation was founded by Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus in Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1978. The company has been successful since its inception due to its good management and business strategies. With over 2,000 stores across the globe, Home Depot is a booming enterprise with Lowe as its main competitor. Even though Nardelli changed the management sty le and culture of the business, Home Depot has always remained unmatched. In this case analysis, the key issue identified is poor growth strategy. With decentralization of the management, this situation can be done away with since the company will be able to keep in contact with its customers. This way, products can be tailored to give the customers maximum satisfaction hence brand loyalty. An implementation plan is important for it aids in the achievement of financial objectives as well. Hess, Edward. The Home Depot Inc. Virginia: Darden Business Publishing, 2007. Print.

The Script Writing of Ancient China

The Script Writing of Ancient China Ancient China is one of the places where writing appears to have developed independently, along with Mesopotamia, which developed cuneiform, and Egypt and the civilization of the Maya, where hieroglyphs developed. The earliest examples of ancient Chinese writing come from oracle bones at Anyang, a Shang Dynasty capital, and contemporary bronze inscriptions. There may have been writing on bamboo or other perishable surfaces, but they have, inevitably, disappeared. Although Christopher I. Beckwith thinks the Chinese may have been exposed to the idea of writing from Steppe nomads, the prevalent belief is that China developed writing on its own. Since the oracle bones belonging to the Shang dynasty were discovered, it is no longer doubted by sinologists that Chinese writing is an autochthonous and very ancient invention of the Chinese....The Use of Writing in Ancient China, by Edward Erkes. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3 (Sep., 1941), pp. 127-130 Origins of Chinese Writing The Cambridge History of Ancient China, by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy, says the likely date for the earliest oracle bones is about 1200 B.C., corresponding with the reign of King Wu Ding. This speculation is based on the earliest reference to the origins of writing, which dates to the 3rd century B.C. The legend developed that a scribe of the Yellow Emperor invented writing after noticing bird tracks. [Source: Francoise Bottero, French National Center for Scientific Research Chinese Writing: Ancient Indigenous Perspective.] Scholars in the Han Dynasty thought the earliest Chinese writing was pictographic, meaning the characters are stylized representations, while the Qing thought the first writing was of numbers. Today, the earliest Chinese writing is described as pictographic (picture) or zodiographic (graph of the name of the thing), words that for non-linguists mean similar things. As the writing of the ancient Chinese evolved, a phonetic component was added to the pi ctographic, as is true of the paired writing system of the Maya. Names of the Chinese Writing Systems Ancient Chinese writing on oracle bones is called Jiaguwen, according to AncientScripts, which describes the characters as pictographic. Dazhuan is the name of the script on Bronze. It may be the same as the Jiaguwen. By 500 B.C. the angular script that characterizes modern Chinese writing had developed in the form called Xiaozhuan. Bureaucrats of the Qin Dynasty used Lishu, a script still sometimes used. Pictographs and the Rebus During the Shang Dynasty, the writing, which was pictographic, could use the same graphic to represent homophones (words with different meanings that sound the same). Writing could be in the form of what is called a rebus. The rebus example AncientSites lists is two pictures together, one of a bee, and one of a leaf, to represent the word belief. Over time, signs known as determinative symbols were added to clarify the homophones, phonetic symbols were standardized, and symbols were put together to form new words. Chinese and the Sino-Tibetan Language Family Writing and spoken language are different. Period. The cuneiform of Mesopotamia was used to write a variety of languages, including languages from the Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic families. As the Chinese conquered their neighbors, their writing was exported to neighboring countries where it was applied to the indigenous languages. This is how the Japanese came to use Kanji. The spoken language of Chinese is thought to be a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family. This connection between Chinese and Tibetan languages is made on the basis of lexical items, rather than morphology or syntax. However, the similar words are only reconstructions of Old and Middle Chinese. Ancient Chinese Writing Implements According to Erkes (above), the usual objects used in writing were a wooden stylus, to write on wood with lacquer, and the brush and ink (or some other liquid) used to write on oracle bones and other surfaces. Inscriptions also produced Chinese scripts by means of tools that removed rather than wrote on surface material. Suggested Appreciation Activities for Chinese Writing Ancient writings seem so much more artistic than modern computer-generated script or the scrawls most of us now use when we need to leave a handwritten note. To appreciate the elegance of the ancient Chinese writing system, observe and try to emulate it: Try writing letters with a brush and ink.Compare the characters in a column of Chinese writing with Japanese Kanji preferably for the same text (possibly something connected with their shared religion of Buddhism)Look at old Chinese characters and rewrite them, then copy them without the determinatives. (The AncientScripts site has samples to work from.)

Thermodynamic Cycle Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thermodynamic Cycle Analysis - Coursework Example 2. You should set the initial conditions (green boxes) to reasonable values, explaining your choices. You should also explain the effects that increasing or decreasing these values have on the model. The initial conditions for density of air, ambient pressure, and ambient temperature for the engine have been input in the relevant green boxes in the excel file. The air pressure at sea level is 1.225 kg/m3, rounded off to 1.2 kg/m3 (Ahrens et al. 2012). This is at a temperature of 15Â °C (The Engineering Toolbox 2013). This air density is chosen because it is the density of air present at sea level. The ambient temperature is set at 300 K because this is generally taken as the average room temperature. The ambient pressure is chosen as 1.000 bar because the standard atmospheric pressure is generally indicated as 1 bar, which is equated to 100,000 Pa (Ahrens et al. 2012). Air density affects the pressure in the cylinder, ambient pressure affects the power generation and ambient tempera ture affects the efficiency of the engine. The effect of increasing the given value of air density would be that the pressure in the cylinder will increase for the compression ratio mentioned in the table. There will be more air to mix with fuel if the air density is high and therefore, there will be more power. Increase in the pressure at the same temperature will result in increase in power generation. Increasing the given value of ambient pressure will cause an increase in the maximum pressure in the cylinder. This will in turn increase the power and torque of the engine and vice versa. At low pressure, the air per cubic meter is lesser due to lesser pressure. This will lead to a reduction in performance of the engine. This effect is dependent on the speeds, as shown by Shannak and Alhasan (2002). At a low speed of up to 2500 rpm, volumetric efficiency and fuel consumption of the engine are found to decrease at with decrease in ambient pressure. On the other hand, at a higher spe ed of 3000 rpm, engine performance is found to decrease with increase in atmosphere pressure. Furthermore, while it can be assumed that at higher pressure the power and torque of the engine increases, there are more structural loads on the car and the fuel consumption is also increased (Ayers 1997). If the ambient temperature is reduced, the efficiency of the engine will increase. Increase in the ambient temperature results in a reduction in the engine efficiency as well as output (Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. 2008). All engines are known to have a better performance at lower temperatures (Ayers 1997). This will happen because reduction in ambient temperature will cause a higher energy transfer to the crankshaft. Thus, the energy loss will be reduced and the engine will have higher efficiency. 3. You now need to select suitable values for the polytropic index for compression and expansion (pink boxes) explaining your choices with reference to adiabatic, isothermal and pol ytropic processes and the differences between them. The suitable values for the polytropic index for compression and expansion have been input into the relevant pink boxes in the excel file. The values are given as 1.3 and 1.2 respectively for polytropic index of compression and polytropic index of expansion. The polytropic index of compression for petrol engines is generally reported as 1.3 (Huleihil and Mazor 2012). A polytropic index of 1 is considered isothermal while that of 1.4 is considered adiabatic (The Engineering Toolbox 2013). In our engine, the