Definition and Examples of Gender (Sociolinguistics)

In sociolinguistics and other social sciences, gender refers to sexual identity in relation to culture and society. The ways in which words are used can both reflect and reinforce social attitudes toward gender. In the U.S., the interdisciplinary study of language and gender was initiated by linguistics professor  Robin Lakoff in her book  Language and Womans Place (1975). Etymology From Latin, race, kind Example and Observations It is quite clear that language use and the use of language are inseparable--that over generations and centuries, peoples constant talking deposits cultural beliefs and ideas in the medium of communication. At the same time, the weight of the linguistics system constrains the kinds of things we say and the ways we say them.   (Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet, Language and Gender, 2nd ed. Columbia University Press, 2013)  Ã‚   Language Use and Social Attitudes Toward Gender [T]here is now a greater awareness in some parts of the community that subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, distinctions are made in the vocabulary choice used to describe men and women. Consequently, we can understand why there is a frequent insistence that neutral words be used as much as possible, as in describing occupations e.g., chairperson, letter carrier, salesclerk, and actor (as in Shes an actor). If language tends to reflect social structure and social structure is changing, so that judgeships, surgical appointments, nursing positions, and primary school teaching assignments are just as likely to be held by women as men (or by men as women), such changes might be expected to follow inevitably. . . . However, there is still considerable doubt that changing waitress to either waiter or waitperson or describing Nicole Kidman as an actor rather than as an actress indicates a real shift in sexist attitudes. Reviewing the evidence, Romaine (1999, pp. 312-13) concludes that attit udes toward gender equality did not match language usage. Those who had adopted gender-inclusive language did not necessarily have a more liberal view of gender inequalities in language.   (Ronald Wardhaugh, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 6th ed. Wiley, 2010) Doing Gender It is apparent that when friends talk to each other in single-sex groups, one of the things that is being done is gender. In other words, the fact that female speakers mirror each others contributions to talk, collaborate in the co-narration of stories and in general use language for mutual support needs to be considered in terms of the construction of femininity. For many men, by contrast, connection with others is accomplished in part through playful antagonisms, and this ties in with mens need to position themselves in relation to dominant models of masculinity.    (Jennifer Coates, Gender. The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics, ed. by Carmen Llamas, Louise Mullany, and Peter Stockwell. Routledge, 2007) A Highly Fluid Social Category Like language, gender as a social category has come to be seen as highly fluid, or less well defined than it once appeared. In line with gender theory more generally, researchers interested in language and gender have focused increasingly on plurality and diversity amongst female and male language users, and on gender as performative--something that is done in context, rather than a fixed attribute. The whole notion of gender, and identity in general is challenged when this is seen, rather like language itself, as fluid, contingent and context-dependent. This is mainly an alternative theoretical conception of gender, though there are also suggestions that identities are loosening so that in many contexts people now have a wider range of identity options.   (Joan Swann, Yes, But Is it Gender? Gender Identity and Discourse Analysis, ed. by Lia Litosseliti and Jane Sunderland. John Benjamins, 2002)

Annotated Bibliography On Mobile Cloud Computing - 5062 Words

A REPORT ON â€Å"AUTHENTICATION IN MOBILE CLOUD COMPUTING† By SIVA SANTOSH VARMA ALLURI K00351411 JULY 2015 CSEN 5303-002 MOBILE CLOUD COMPUTING SUMMER-I 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Authentication Levels 2.1 Cloud Computing Providers 2.2 Third Party 3.0 Existing Authentication Services 3.1 Kerberos 3.2 OpenID 3.3 OAuth 3.4 MDA: A Secure Authentication Scheme 4.0 Authentication Using Finger Print Recognition In Mobile Clouds 5.0 Authentication In GPS Directed Mobile Clouds 6.0 Product Authentication Using QR Codes 6.1 Quick Response Code 6.2 Authentication Performance 6.3 Security Mechanism 6.4 Implementation Data Flow 7.0 Cloudlets Authentication In NFC Based Mobile Computing 8.0 Authentication Using Profiling In Mobile Cloud Computing 8.1 Structure Of User Profile 9.0 Conclusion References 1.0 INTRODUCTION The blend of cloud computing and mobile computing presents mobile cloud computing, which likewise show new issues of security dangers, for example, unapproved access to resources in mobile cloud. Shielding portable distributed computing from illegitimate access turns into an imperative concern to mobile clients. Definition of Cloud computing cloud computing is a sort of on-interest registering strategy that lets clients use IT assets, for example, system, server, stockpiling, administration, application, so on through Internet when requiring them instead of owning them. Distributed computing can be considered as a whole of SaaSShow MoreRelatedEssay about Annotated Bibliography on Information Technology768 Words   |  4 PagesAnnotated Bibliography on Information Technology Mobile Security in the Future Adesina, A. O., Agbele, K. K., Februarie, R., Abidoye, A. P., amp; Nyongesa, H. O. (2011). Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems. South African Journal of Science, 107(9), 26-32. This research article examines the security concerns of using mobile technology systems in health care institution. Various methods of ensuring privacy and security of patient’sRead MoreEssay Elemica7043 Words   |  29 Pagesmight the business processes. Elemica would benefit greatly by obtaining expert advice about these markets to understand the behaviors of its clients. Due to the changes in the facilitating infrastructure (outsourcing and cloud computing) and additional services such as mobile computing, Elemica will also need to take precautions against new business and security risks associated with EC and B2B. A detailed project plan, implementation plan and financial plan are required to outline the mission. IfRead MoreAn Examination On Criteria Of Enterprise System Security3105 Words   |  13 Pagespace of consumerization. It s being driven by various relentless strengths, from in fact canny specialists and more youthful eras entering the workforce, to a scope of imaginative gadgets, for example, advanced cells and tablets, and distributed computing administrations that are open whenever, from any area. WHY BYOD: There is a broad assortment of writing accessible on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This audit speaks to a sensible and agent output of the accessible writing. It ought to be noticedRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography: Current Trends in Technology Based Learning1210 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract There are many trends in technology-based learning. These trends include mobile-based learning, app learning, open content, massive open online courses (MOOCs), virtual education, video conferencing, Web 2.0, district based e-learning, personal learning environments, blended learning, proctored exams, bundled platforms, cloud computing, object-oriented content, interactive whiteboards, documents cameras, wireless labs, and bring your own device. The first article Massive Open OnlineRead MoreEducation and Technology Integration: An Annotated Bibliography2187 Words   |  9 Pages Education and Technology Integration: An Annotated Bibliography Education is among the sectors that have benefited the most from the advent of modern technology, and especially information and communication technology (ICT). Traditional education systems faced many challenges and huge limitations at delivery, in practice, and in application. Tools of education such as chalk, blackboard, books, classrooms, laboratory items, and so on, were mostly manual and cumbersome. Even the structure of theRead MoreHbr When Your Core Business Is Dying74686 Words   |  299 Pageson a common theme. The articles include full-text Harvard Business Review articles plus a summary of key ideas and company examples to help busy managers quickly absorb and apply the concepts. Each OnPoint enhanced article also includes an annotated bibliography. ORDER BACK ISSUES TODAY www.onpointhbr.org Harvard Business Review OnPoint Executive Edition is published quarterly and available only at select newsstands and on our website. It is not available by subscription. WWW.ONPOINTHBR.ORG

Ways To Prevent Tb Health And Social Care Essay Free Essays

Michael does non cognize precisely when he contracted TB, but he figures it must hold been sometime during August 2007 in Bangkok. Before the beginning of his symptoms, he did non go to any topographic points that seemed particularly prone to TB. He could hold caught it anyplace, in a crowded disco, a saloon, or even merely sitting in a cab with an septic driver. We will write a custom essay sample on Ways To Prevent Tb Health And Social Care Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tuberculosis is transmitted through the air when person infected with TB coughs, sneezings, tongues, laughs, or negotiations. By making these things, they spread the Terbium sources in the air, and person can catch them from take a breathing in the sources and exposing it to their lungs or mucose membrane. The incubation period of TB is anyplace mediate two to twelve hebdomads. Therefore, the visual aspect of symptoms may non happen until months after the first exposure to the bacterium. There are many symptoms associated with TB, but they are non ever a revealing mark of a disease every bit serious as this and are frequently mistaken for something much less terrible. Some common symptoms of TB are a changeless cough with mucous secretion, coughing up blood, inordinate dark workout suits, weariness, febrility, and unwilled weight loss. Some extra symptoms include trouble external respiration, thorax strivings, and wheezing. Michael ‘s first mark that something was incorrect was a instance of the icinesss on a normal vesiculation hot twenty-four hours in the centre of Bangkok. A few hebdomads subsequently, he began to cough and experience a hurting which he, at that clip, thought was in his dorsum. His status quickly became worse and worse, and two hebdomads after his cough foremo st appeared, he went to see a physician at the taking international infirmary in Bangkok. The physician concluded it was merely an infection and gave him some antibiotics. Of class, the antibiotics had no consequence, and so he went back to see a lung specializer. The specializer concluded the same as the first physician, but this clip Michael insisted on an X ray. The X ray showed big clouded countries at the underside of the lungs. Fluid around the lung, along with swollen or stamp lymph nodes in the cervix or other countries, and unusual breath sounds, are a few marks of TB. She told him that it was either lung malignant neoplastic disease or TB, and she asked him to cough up some phlegm, mucous secretion like stuff from the lungs, so it could be analyzed. She besides recommended him to acquire an HIV trial because many people in Thailand have HIV before TB. Fortunately, the HIV trial came back negative, but that same twenty-four hours he was called back to the physician ‘s and officially told he had TB. A specialised infirmary was to make a more in-depth analysis, but Michael was prescribed his intervention right off. As mentioned before, TB is extremely infective because of its ability to be transmitted through the air. The infective period of this disease is difficult to find as a set sum of yearss or hebdomads or months. In theory, TB can be spread every bit long as the bacteriums are actively being released from the septic individual ‘s phlegm. However, the greatest opportunity of conveying the infection is during the period before diagnosing. The hazard of conveying the infection is greatly reduced within yearss to two hebdomads after get downing intervention. This is why it is vitally of import to acquire a speedy diagnosing of TB and get down taking medicine every bit shortly as possible. There are ways to forestall TB. The Bacille Calmette-Gu A ; eacute ; rin ( BCG ) inoculation is effectual for cut downing TB meningitis and decease in kids, but it is merely used in states with high hazard for TB for it is merely effectual for a short period of clip. In fact, Michael had received this inoculation when he was born in Denmark, but he was told after he was diagnosed it was no longer effectual. PPD tegument trials are available in high hazard populations and for people exposed to TB, such as physicians and nurses. A positive tegument trial shows contact with the bacteriums, and prompt intervention is critical to forestall the spread of the bacteriums from people with active Terbium to those ne’er infected. All states are required to describe information about TB surveillance to the World Health Organization. This information is used to organize processs to command the planetary spread of the disease. A individual infected with TB should be isolated at place or a infirmary for 2-4 hebdomads till they are non contagious any longer. TB is normally treated by a standard six month class of the four drugs isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol. It is imperative that these medicines be taken every bit prescribed to forestall the bacterium from going resistant to the medicines doing it harder to handle. If the medicines are non being taken right, patients may be sent to straight observed therapy where they are observed taking their medical specialty two to three times a hebdomad. Michael ‘s coughing quickly decreased after being put on the medicines, and his back/lung hurting vanished after holding the liquid in his lungs removed. Remembering to take his medical specialties several times throughout the twenty-four hours, without of all time jumping, was a challenge, but he was determined. He was good informed by his physicians about side effects and different things he could non make. He experienced holding about ruddy piss and remembered no intoxicant was allowed during the six month intervention. Even though he knew nil about TB before his diagnosing, he listened to his physicians and was smart plenty non to halt taking his medical specialty after the first few hebdomads when his symptoms went off. He knew how of import it was to remain on them on a regular basis, and the six month intervention was a success. Terbium has the greatest opportunity of returning in the two old ages after a successful intervention, and so today, he is taking better attenti on of himself, doing certain to maintain his immune system strong. He stays strong mentally and physically, and he is convinced he ‘s all in TB one time and for all. Tuberculosis is a treatable disease, but certain fortunes can do intervention a more drawn-out, expensive, and hazardous venture. Suren Arakelyan is a 40 four twelvemonth old adult male presently shacking in an Abovyan infirmary on the outskirts of Yerevan the capital of Armenia, his native place. He has been combating TB for 15 old ages since undertaking it after a short stay in a Russian prison for a bash in St. Petersburg. Patchy antibiotics defeated the disease one time, but it returned in 2008 in the signifier XDR-TB, extensively drug-resistant TB. XDR-TB is one signifier of drug-resistant TB. Drug-resistant TB is when the bacterium become immune to the drugs normally used to handle TB. This can go on when prescribed the incorrect intervention, dosage, and/or length of clip, when the drugs are unavailable or of bad quality, when people do non take all of their Terbium medicines or take them on a regular basis, when they develop TB for a 2nd clip, or when they are infected by per son with drug-resistant TB. Multi-drug immune TB ( MDR-TB ) is when the bacterium is unaffected by a lower limit of INH and Rifadin, the most frequently used and effectual TB medicines. Extensively drug-resistant TB is a uncommon type of MDR-TB that is unaffected by INH and Rifadin, fluoroquinolone, and a lower limit of one of the three injectable second-line drugs ( such as amikacin, Kantrex, or capreomycin ) . XDR-TB is immune to the strongest first-line and second-line TB drugs, and hence intervention of this strain is less effectual, more expensive, and prone to more side effects. Drug-resistant TB may necessitate up to two old ages of chemotherapy depending on how many drugs the bacteriums are immune to. Arakelyan is emaciated and despondent, and he has lost half his lung tissue from the disease and much of his hearing due to the toxic drugs. He is lonely and separated from his household, a married woman and immature kids, who live in distant Belarus. Hopeless, he skips and refuses some of his prescribed medicines, the side effects on his organic structure excessively hard to bear, but this lone worsens his state of affairs and strengthens the bacterium ‘s opposition. Taking all of the medicines precisely as they were prescribed and ne’er losing or halting intervention early are the best ways to forestall drug-resistant TB. Bing rapidly diagnosed and get downing intervention instantly and restricting exposure to those infected with drug-resistant TB will besides assist forestall MDR-TB or XDR-TB. Scientists continually conduct research to happen better interventions for TB. Scientists at Yeshiva University in Bronx, NY are researching how TB infects/causes disease in worlds, how the human immune system responds, and placing the factors that allow the endurance and reproduction of the bacteriums in the host. They are besides analyzing the mechanisms of drug opposition and how M. TB is able to last long-run drug interventions to find more effectual drugs and methods of intervention against TB. They work towards making new powerful vaccinums to break prevent and protect against all strains of TB. Scientists at the University of Illinois in Chicago work to optimise anti-TB drugs to kill the bacteriums while being less toxic/non-toxic to human cells. They are besides analyzing the usage of natural merchandises against TB and developing tools to assist break the find of new drugs. Tuberculosis was n’t one time called ingestion and the cachexia disease for nil. Without proper intervention, TB can be life endangering and if non can still do life hard and suffering. Precautions should ever be taken in high hazard countries until the twenty-four hours when scientists discover a definite remedy. How to cite Ways To Prevent Tb Health And Social Care Essay, Essay examples

ABM will free essay sample

ABM will be able to take control of the market compared to our competitors and stay on top. Some of the ways we will embark on such will include the followings; Quick response: ABM will provide same day and after hours service. Turn around will be 24 hours. A flat rate policy: This undermines the competition, who charges by the hour. The pricing has been set to reflect the average amount of time it takes to perform the task. With this strategy we can undercut most competitors and gain local market power. On-site and pick-up/drop-off services: This will minimize the time nd effort a customer needs to put into dealing with his computer problem. Surprisingly, our small size Is an advantage: customers will recognize us (and future employees), and will know they will get the same great service every time they call. 4. 1 Implementation Because we are the one-stop solutions center for your entire computer needs. We will write a custom essay sample on ABM will or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Not only can we support your software and hardware, but Computer Repair Center can repair your computers, networks. hardware, software, data back up, and much more. Well streamline your technology investment, cut costs, increase up time and productivity and positively affect your bottom line by lowering your total cost of ownership. If youre Interested In cutting costs and getting the service you deserve then Computer Repair Center is the logical choice. ABM Computer will be source for complete computer, iphones and Tablet repair. Whether your hard drive needs to be replaced or your power supply has failed, ABM computer can do It all. With service available In shop and at your home or business, ABM Computer has the tools to get the Job done right. And with our quick turn- round, you wont have to wait weeks to get your computer back. Offering services for both computers and mobile devices, ABM will be your one-stop shop. If your iPhone needs the screen replaced or has a failed hard drive. ABM computer repair will be dedicated to providing Chicago Rogers Park neighborhood great and sound advice, professional computer repair, network installations, upgrade, backup, optimization services and quality training when you need it at a reasonable price. This company Is built on the concept at assuring that computer owners and potential computer winers deserve to have a partner that they can trust. Our years of experience in business, educational and home technology will create efficient solutions for you to achieve an effective and rewarding computing experience. All services and training are custom tailored toyer individual needs and goals and if you are not 100% satisfied, well make It right guaranteed! 4. 2 Marketing Organization The organization will include three personnel, Abraham will be in charge of Management, Bright will be In charge of the technical and Margaret will be In charge of sales and finance. Contingency Planning We intend to watch our results very carefully. We may need to concentrate less on certain products and services than others, if we intend to get the margin up or clients major IT companies by focusing more on our prime services. Another possibility is the introduction of a company or several companies in our niche.

Causes and Effects of a Happy Life Essay Example

Causes and Effects of a Happy Life Essay How many people with truly happy life do you know? Are you even sure of these? All people dream about happy life. When we think of happy life, we imagine that happiness is an inevitable side effect. We may envision ourselves with the perfect job, the perfect children, the perfect mate, the perfect level of income, big house, expensive car and other things. Moreover, we believe that all of that stuff will make us happy. However, that view is skewed. Material objects cannot make us happy. These are three common causes that can effect on your happy life: good health, love and have enough money for a living. First of all, the most important part of a happy life is health. If you are healthy you are able to work and make money, and have the things you want. On the other hand, when you are not healthy, you can’t fulfill your dreams. Also, when your health does not permit to work anymore, you lost the earning potential and to make it worst, you became a liability to your family and to the society too. It becomes a suffering in your life. Moreover, our health is our everything. We will write a custom essay sample on Causes and Effects of a Happy Life specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Causes and Effects of a Happy Life specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Causes and Effects of a Happy Life specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Whether you are a toddler, a child, a teenager or an adult; good health enables you to perform the daily functions of life. For example, for students normal health allows them to able to go to school, to obtain knowledge and the building of character. For adults, good health means you can go to work everyday, to earn a living, to be able to achieve your goals in life. Good health enables you to enjoy a happy life. The second valuable factor of a happy life is love. When family members have a love to each other, their life can be easier and happier. For example, when family has a love to each other, they can have open communication. Also, they can share feelings, emotions, work place problem and ideas with each other. It is only if both the spouses are aware of the ideals and thoughts of each other are there a probability of having a happy life. Moreover, sometime trivial matters like household responsibilities and financial communication play a large part in a happy life. Children, when see parents love they, also can have open communication with them. People without a love can’t have a happy life because it’s impossible. Love it a gifts from God to us. Furthermore, you cannot buy love with money. Third important factor of a happy life is having enough money for a living. When people have enough money for living their life is happier. Moreover, people can’t have a happy life without money. Having money allows us to function more easily in the world, it buys food, clothes, provides comfort in our lives and in the lives of others. However, people who want have a happy life can’t think that money is everything. So, it cannot be said that money is essential for happiness. But, most people recognize that money is important in the 21st Century because it can give people comfort and freedoms. In conclusion, all people can build a happy life. Also, all humans have one thing in common. Every one wants to be happy. Furthermore, happy people live longer. They are healthier, more successful, enjoy more fulfilling relationships and respond more. I think when people have good health, love to other people and have enough money for living these people can have a happy life.

Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Example

Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Example Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Releasing Protected Health Information By Tracy 11/28/2010 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 also known as HIPAA is a federal law that was put in place to protect private health care information. The HIPAA law also regulates how private health care information can be released and who it can be released too. Any violation of HIPAA can result in termination, fines and even jail time, this is why it is important for health care providers to understand and follow these regulations. In some cases protected health care information can be released to parties other than the patient, in this essay I will cover when patients consent is and is not required to release information to government agencies, legal agencies or representatives and research groups. Providers must obtain the patients authorization to disclose private health care information to government agencies, except when it is required according to HIPAA guidelines. Government agencies like the Department of Social Services and the Bureau of Disability Determinations must provide patients authorization to release their private health care information. In some cases information can be released without the patients consent if it is ordered by court, is required by law for public health officials and to insurers as necessary to pay for health care cost. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the patient must consent to release information unless it is required by law or is needed for payment of the patients health care cost. Providers are able to release private health care information for research purposes as long as the information contains no identification such as name, address, numbers, and relatives and so on. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the medical information can be used for research purposes but the patient can not be identified. Law enforcement purposes also do not require the patients consent to disclose private health care information. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the information is only released on an as needed bases for law enforcement purposes, this can help law enforcement agencies catch criminals and solve cases. Protecting patient’s information is important to prevent health care fraud and abuse and to protect not only the patient but the provider. Releasing private health care information is punishable by law so it is important for health care providers to understand when it is acceptable to release information and when it is not.

Project management db5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Project management db5 - Essay Example The engineering team deals with product development and production processes and not product launch and this identifies poor audience visualization (Guffey and Almonte, 2009). Poor audience visualization is also evident from the fact that the audience lacked interest in the presentation and this led to conflict at the initial stages of the presentation. Terry could have better prepared for the presentation through audience profiling and through adequate response to the profiling (Guffey and Loewy, 2010). He could have identified appropriate message to the engineering team such as the team’s previous success in products’ development and possible need for improvement, and specific features that may be successful in the market. He should have also anticipated the team’s possible negative response and used communication skills to captivate the audience. Terry could have handled the questions by moderating them to respond to a question at a time, or by convincing the audience to wait until the end of the presentation (Krizan, Merrier and Logan, 2010). After Terry left the room, the project manager should assume the responsibility of bridging the created gap between the marketing team and the engineering team in order to foster future collectivity. In order to get the engineering group’s buy in, I would be sensitive to possible difference between the group and my marketing group and understand strategies for overcoming challenges from the differences (Karmakar, 2012). This would ensure an understanding and increase chances of getting the buy

Sustainable guidelines for Road , Education and Health infrastructure Research Paper

Sustainable guidelines for Road , Education and Health infrastructure developments in Mozambique on behalf of a foreign private - Research Paper Example Sustainable Development Guidelines In order to ensure sustainability for any project geared towards the development of above regions; it is of great importance to formulate and implement appropriate guidelines that would act as a direction for the project developers. The appropriate guidelines are inclusive of: (A) Development of Synergies For any successful and sustainable development project, the aspect of working in synergies plays a crucial role. Synergies can be conducted in various ways depending on the suitability or the type of development project to be conducted; this includes collaborations with different stakeholders as well as encouraging the participation of different stakeholder. The importance and of these forms of synergies are discussed below: (i) Encouraging Stakeholder Participation Development partners need to determine the roles played by local communities when undertaking massive development projects that will impact on their lives. ... Reduction of future conflicts that may affect sustainability of the development projects can also be achieved through promoting the participation of the local communities is such projects. During the planning process, the communities may assist in identification and elimination of any activity that may lead to future conflicts hence promoting the sustainability of the project. Cases of public participation have proved successful for most non-governmental organizations in Africa such as in: Tanzania and Kenya where the African Medical and Research Foundation has undertaken myriad community development projects through encouraging public participation hence leading to project sustainability. (ii) Application of a Collaborative Approach This is also another method of operating in synergy that has been used by most successful development organizations. There are various organs that may play important roles as collaborators this includes but is not limited to: The Mozambican Government, o ther organizations, donors and the local communities. The importance of such collaborations which each development partner encompasses: Access of adequate funds to undertake sustainable development processes; such funds may be provided by the Mozambican government, donors like the World Bank and in some case the development of some projects i.e. water resources, the local communities may act as collaborators by providing locally available construction materials. This is pertinent for the success and sustainability of the projects. An example of a successful collaboration occurred in the year 2011 between the World Bank and the Mozambican government through donation of funds geared towards promoting development of Water Resources. A

Organisational Behaviour case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisational Behaviour case study - Essay Example Chain of command includes authority and unity of command. Span of control in the number of subordinates a manager can efficiently and effectively directs. Centralization is the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. Consistent with the recent management efforts to make organization more flexible and responsive, there has been a marked trend towards decentralizing decision making. In a decentralized organization, action can be taken more quickly to solve problems, more people provide input into decisions, and employees are less likely to feel alienated from those who make the decisions that affect their work lives. Finally formalization refers to the degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized. If a job is highly formalized, then the job incumbent has a minimum amount of discretion. . When formalization is low job behaviors are relatively non-programmed and employees have to freedom to exercise discretion in their work. In the County general hospital, reorganization of the structure of the administration teams within each department has to take place. To date, administrative staff within each department had reported solely to an administrative manager. ... Its major disadvantage is the difficulty to coordinating the task of diverse functional specialists so that their activities are completed on time and within budget. Service departmentalization on the other hand exactly the opposite benefits and advantages. It facilitates coordination among specialties to achieve on time completion and meet the budget targets. Furthermore, it provides clear responsibility for all activities related to a service, but with duplication of activities and costs. The matrix structure attempts to gain the strengths of each, while avoiding their weaknesses (Anderson, 1994). The strength of the matrix lies in its ability to facilitate coordination when the organization has a multiplicity of complex and interdependent activities. The direct and frequent contacts between the different specialists in the matrix can make for better communication and more flexibility. Information permeates the organization and more quickly reaches the people who need to take accou nt of it. It facilitates the efficient allocation of specialists. When individuals with highly specialized skills are lodged in one functional department or service group, their talents are monopolized and under used. The matrix achieves the advantages of economies of scale by providing the organization with both the best resources and the effective way of ensuring their efficient deployment. The major disadvantage of the matrix lies in the dual command chain. This results in confusion and ambiguity, role conflict and more stress to workers. But over the past decade, senior managers are working with new structural options that can better help their organizations to

Television Addicted Children

Television Addicted Children Television Addiction Children Children’s Television Addiction A lot of people do not realize the seriousness of television addiction. According to â€Å"Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor† written by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2002), each person all over the world spends three hours a day watching television for half of their own leisure time. That means the total amount of the time for watching television is the same as 9 years to spend their time to watch TV if one lives up to 75. A more scary research is 40% of adult respondents and 70% of teenagers think that they watch television too much. Moreover, 10 percent of adults think themselves as TV addicts. Is this fact not surprising? Have you ever thought, â€Å"I think I am addicted to television?† When I was young, I did not consider myself as a television addict. If I did not have anything to do, I would have seen television for 6 through 7 hours in a day. At that time, I already knew I spent too much time watching television, but I did not care about it. However, as time went by, I entered high school, and I needed to study to pass the College Entrance Exam in Korea. Unfortunately, whenever I was studying, I could not take care of my desire to watch television. I tried to get away from the television and set time for viewing the TV. However, it was not that easy. The habit from the young age made me stick to this bad habit. That is why I am interested in television addiction, and why I want to know much about the television addiction. Like this, the impact from viewing television too much would affect not only children’s development in a variety of ways but also until they become adults. Above all, before getting started, we should make sure about the definition of addiction. Although there are a variety of definitions for â€Å"addiction,† all the meanings are the same. Of all, I chose the definition which is proposed by Lamai, â€Å"Addiction is a habitual repetition of excessive behavior that a person is unable or unwilling to stop, despite its harmful consequences† (2006). People can be addicted to drugs physically while people can be addicted to gambling psychologically. However, because the term â€Å"television addiction† is not precise and can be different in various situations, there are a variety of perspectives on television addiction. Nevertheless, the criteria of substance dependence, which are defined by psychologists and psychiatrists formally, decide as an addiction if someone spends their time using the substance too much, tries to use more than one’s intended amount, gives up to do social, family or occupational activities, more important thing than using it, and shows withdrawal symptoms when one stops using it (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). These phenomena are shown on television addicts as well. Because of the desire to watch TV, people who call themselves an addict appear to have all of these phenomena. Therefore, desire to watch television continuously can tell that it is obviously an â€Å"addiction.† Media has warned the impact of television, especially the impact of television to children. It is very unhealthy to children because children are in the progress of developing their brain and body. According to Dr. Young’s assertion, â€Å"All of the most crucial brain development of a child occurs before age 4.†(Morello, 2002, p.44). Hence, the effect from television addiction can lead children to become passive and try not to think creatively. Like this, it would affect in a variety of ways not only in childhood but also in the child’s entire life. First of all, the impact from television addiction is directly related to children’s attention span. A surprising fact is â€Å"Only 14 percent of teens who watch six or more hours of TV daily achieve reading proficiency by grade 12† (Daines, 2007). Somewhere you might hear that television is a strong stimulus clog. This is because television contains a great deal of â€Å"rapid-fire stimulation.† (Morello, 2002, p.44). Therefore, their brain would be trained by this level of stimulation. If they do not see enough of this level of stimulation, they are unable to be affected by the stimulation and they try to find more extreme stimulation for them. Finally, children cannot concentrate on something longer. In contrast, if children are interested in playing sports, games and crayons, they can improve cognitive abilities and develop crucial thinking (Daines, 2007). Secondly, the time for being with family and interacting with friends will be shortened. As society becomes modernized, all of family members become busy, so they can be together in only dinner time. However, television even makes this time shortened. When the TV is turned on, the family’s eyes would glue to the TV without expression, so that they will not chat with their story. Furthermore, studies show that the more TV preschoolers watch, the less well socialized they are in the first grade (Daines, 2007). This is because they spend their time watching instead of playing with friends. Thirdly, the biggest problem is the obesity. Children obesity is getting a bigger issue. Television addiction is a lot involved in this issue as well. Have you ever heard of â€Å"couch potatoes?† This word came from the expression of the person who always lies in the couch and watches TV. Likewise, think about the situation when you are watching television. What are you doing? You might be eating a snack. That is the key point of becoming obesity. There is the statistics related to this fact in TV and the Internet: Fattening for Teens? Dr, Susanna Kautiainen and colleagues at the University of Tampere, Finland surveyed a nationally representative sample of 721 teens 14 to 18 years of age to see if the time they spent on the Internet was tied to obesity or overweight. The result was that those who spent more time watching TV were more often overweight and obese than those who spent less time watching TV. The time without moving makes people obesity and overweight (2004). Fourthly, watching TV without caution can become children’s guideline how to grow. That means TV can ruin the childhood as a certain period in human development. If children constantly are exposed by TV’s harmful situations such as sex and violence, they take it granted that it is not a problem to live a fast life in youth and to kill people for justice. This is because children are not satisfying their knowledge to distinguish from this destructive aspect of television (Video Age International, 2001, pp. 2-3). If you unguardedly let children watch TV, it could lead children to fail in childhood. Then, why are we addicted to television? The origin of the addiction arises from â€Å"boredom,† and television can supply your demand. As soon as you turn on the TV, you can directly feel relaxed and cozy. However, according to electroencephalograph (EEG) studies which are laboratory experiments to monitor the brain waves, skin resistance or heart rate of people watching television, the result is astonishing. When participants turn off the TV, their feeling of relaxation and coziness suddenly disappears while the feeling of passiveness and lowered alertness continue. After participants turn off the TV, they somehow feel television makes their energy dry up and they are hard to concentrate compared to before. In contrast, participants can feel happy and improvement in mood after playing sport (Kubey and Csikszentimihalyi, 2002). Moreover, in â€Å"Television Anonymous† (2001), â€Å"Noise† and â€Å"Companionship† can be the reason why people are addicted as well. Then, what kinds of solution to get over television addiction? There are a lot of alternatives. However, above all, recognizing your habit and accepting is a top priority. After this, firstly set time limits. It should not watch more than two hours on qualified TV program. Also, under three year children should not be in front of TV because â€Å"the first two to three years of life are critical periods for the development of young children’s brains.†(Christakis, 2004) Secondly, this is the most important thing. Television should not be placed in children’s bedroom. Thirdly, put the TV and remote control which could not come into sight. Fourthly, do not use the TV to look after baby. Instead, do household chores with children and give them an opportunity to help. Fifthly, listen to favorite music or the radio as background noise. Lastly, set a good example. Because parents and guardians are usually a child’s most important role model, limiting your own TV viewing and choosing programs carefully through the lives of TV characters (Daines, 2007). In conclusion, the desire which wants to watch TV definitely should be seen as addiction. Nowadays, television addiction is becoming a big issue. The amount of time people viewing TV on average cannot say it is not the astonishing fact. I am sure that the number of television addicts is gradually increasing. Therefore, people should make an effort to diffuse the fact that the amount of television addict is increasing and it is really bad for children because television addiction have an opportunity to shorten children’s attention span, to narrow time with family and friends, to result in obesity, and to be a guideline during development. Therefore, keeping watching television incautiously should be reconsidered.

Romance - Fear Of Death Gives An Aphrodisic Like Effect :: essays research papers

There are many ideals related to romance, including such things as love, excitement, violence, fear and commonly war. This is presented in such texts such as the ‘Trojan war’ where men are fighting for the love of a woman. In Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is excited by fear of the Capulets, or in ‘My Sweet old Etcetera’ where the soldier is thinking of his lady rather than of the ensuing battle. Thus it is evident that romance is commonly related to violence, danger, and fear of death (particularly in the young) often giving the effect of a potent aphrodisiac. Love has existed in many forms throughout time. There is no better example than in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this tale, when love is most apparent, the most crucial events occur to develop this "tragedy." Juliet needed Romeo to get away from her overprotective parents who were planning her future. If Juliet were going to disobey her parents, they would have disowned her. Ironically, at the party that Lord Capulet held so that Juliet could meet her projected husband, Paris, she met her future husband, Romeo. They met by chance, looking into each other’s eyes and instantly being attracted. In the balcony scene Juliet warns Romeo of the danger to his life if her kinsmen find him there, "If they do see thee, they shall murder thee". This warning on Romeo’s life has an impression on him. However it does not make him take caution, it gives an influence making him even more excited, wanting to be with Juliet. Giving a similar effect to an a phrodisiac. The fear of death that has an effect of exhilarating Romeo is strongly reiterated in cummings "my sweet old etcetera". Where the young soldier is at war, writing to his lady. He is telling the story of how people at home had acted towards his enlistment, for instance his mother hoping he would die, and how they were hypocritical. Such as his father stating it was an honour to die for your country and that he would "if only†¦.". The soldier then shows us in his writing that with the excitement and violence of war along with the fear of his imminent death he is somewhat stimulated. To an extent that he is "dreaming" more of his woman and her body, predominantly her sexual organs, instead of the battle and fate that is soon to be upon him.

Individual Report on Econometric Models

Context This report pertains to the selection of an academic paper (Caporale et al., 2009) which is examined based on its aims and results, citing new insights offered by its analysis. It also involves another paper (Oshio et al., 2011) that cited that of Caporale et al. (2009), explaining the kind of data being used for the analysis. The report also includes a description of the economic model adopted by the authors to analyse the issues, as well as a critical reflection of the issues that are likely to arise with the use of these specific econometric models. a.Summary of the selected paper The selected paper in this report is that of Caporale et al. (2009), which was centred on income and happiness across Western and Eastern Europe. The authors utilised data from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 19 European countries, whereby they examined the association between income and subjective well-being. The aim of their study was to find out whether income can buy happiness. Happiness and life satisfaction served as the dependent variables in the study, which were likewise contained in the ESS data. These variables were tested for whether social comparisons and reference groups wielded a relevant influence on the subjective well-being of individuals in the countries involved, which likewise served as the sample. The findings revealed that for all these countries – despite the positive correlation between income on one hand and happiness and life satisfaction on the other – a negative effect was being exerted by reference income on individual well-being, a result that harmonised with the relative utility hypothesis. A separate analysis was conducted by the authors for some countries in Eastern Europe in which they were able to discover some evidence that supported a so-called ‘tunnel effect’, which was suggestive of a positive impact caused by reference income on subjective well-being. The findings maintained that situations characterising stable income and employment have income serving as the basis for social comparisons. In social comparisons, the authors posited that reference income served as the informant for future status expectations. Further, empirical findings revealed a tendency for males to report lower satisfaction than their female counterparts. The authors also cited that the literature holds robust pattern that mirrors the life-cycle areas of people’s social, economic, and family situations. The findings also suggested that happiness perception was positively related to being married, whilst a negative relationship was suggested for divorce. Moreover, the presence of children had a negative effect on happiness perception whilst good health fostered a significant positive association. There was shaky evidence on the likelihood of university qualifications to cause a negative impact on happiness. In addition, a positive effect was indicated by previous employment occurrence on the perception of happiness, which was more deep-seated for more recent unemployment occurrence. The distress accompanying a recent unemployment occurrence may diminish the aspiration value of the presently employed individua l. As the study’s sample was dominated by countries with liberal social welfarism, the influence of the welfare systems on individual’s happiness may also be indicated by the positive impact of unemployment on life satisfaction during the time of joblessness. The new insights offered by the analysis include an apparent wedge between countries in Western Europe and Eastern Europe, which clearly showed that the pursuit of life satisfaction has become embodied in countries’ political framework, serving as a source of valuable insights in policy development concerning welfare reforms. b. A paper citing the selected paper A paper that cites the selected paper here is that of Oshio et al. (2011) whose aim was to examine the effects of relative income on well-being in China, Japan, and Korea based on nationwide surveys in these countries and comparing them with that of the United States. The various factors for which control was undertaken at the individual level were age, gender, and marital status, to name a few. The results were parallel to past researches the same topic involving Western countries. The study exhibited a significant relationship between a person’s income and that of the reference group on one hand, and perceived life satisfaction on the other. In China, individual income showed stronger relationships between relative income and life satisfaction compared to family income, whilst the opposite was demonstrated for Japan and Korea. The comparisons of income within the reference group were necessary for evaluating life satisfaction, particularly when family income was used. Additi onally, Yitzhaki index was used to determine the relative deficiency within the reference group, which was found to have a negative relationship with life satisfaction. Oshio et al. (2011) used Caporale et al. (2009) as a cited paper in their study in that the former utilised it in its claim that apart from the absolute income levels, the happiness of a person is reliant to comparisons with those of others, particularly those with similar socio-economic distinctiveness. Oshio and colleagues also used Caporale and colleagues’ findings on relative income proposition, whereby both found a positive effect fostered by absolute income on both happiness and life satisfaction. Further, both Caporale et al. (2009) and Oshio et al. (2011) used regression analysis to analyse the findings on income and perceived happiness. The apparent difference that could be cited in their studies was the nature of the countries on which their studies were emphasised – Western and Eastern European countries for Caporale et al. (2009), and Asian countries and the United States for Oshio et al. (2011). The former was also more extensive as it used 19 countries f or a generalisation of income-happiness hypothesis, whilst the latter involved only four. The comparison in Caporale and colleagues’ study was between Western European and Eastern European countries, whilst that of Oshio and colleagues was between three Asian countries and the United States. If the cross-country findings in Caporale and colleagues demonstrated a political agenda (i.e. social welfarism), those of Oshio and colleagues were focused on the level of the individual, such as people’s precautious outlook on individual income than family income in China and the United States, leading to the influence of culture for income perception (e.g. individual-orientedness vs. family-orientedness).Whilst Caporale et al. (2009) asserted a positive relationship between income and happiness, Oshio et al. (2011) declared stronger correlations between individual income (rather than family income) and life satisfaction in China, which was not true in Japan and Korea. c.Data used, structure of the data set, and manner of data collection The ESS data in Caporale and colleagues’ (2009) study contained information about a set of demographic and employment characteristics, which the authors utilised as controls in their regressions. Some of these controls were education, income, and position in the labour force, to name a few. The data set also involved information on previous unemployment encounter, which was used in assessing whether a person’s perception of present economic situation was influenced by previous income shocks, commonly due to unemployment. The structure of the data set included all individuals possessing similar levels of education, age brackets, and current countries of residence. The sample was also limited to employees earning full-time salaries. Alternatively, in Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) study, the data were collected from the countries’ (Japan, China, Korea) General Social Survey (GSS), from which data were downloaded. The GSS of these countries were originally gathered by a research office at the University of Chicago. The basis of their empirical analysis was the GSS of these countries which were recorded in 2006, with widely similar survey questionnaires. The results were compared with those of the United States. All income data were converted into logarithms to enable comparing the results across models and countries. In addition, the authors used sampling weights from GSS and made a computation of standard errors to provide correction for any possibility of heteroscedasticity. It may be inferred that even though both studies aimed at determining happiness and life satisfaction vis-a-vis income, their methodologies and approaches were however different but were appropriate to the nature of their hypoth eses. d. Econometric models used by the authors In this section, the econometric models used by the authors are described to analyse the issue. Caporale et al. (2009) used ordered probit model, which they deemed appropriate for their study, given the ordinal nature of the happiness variables. This model enabled a close correlation between happiness and life satisfaction, in which the authors were able to indicate a high level of happiness or satisfaction amongst the research participants. A clear skewness towards the high end was exhibited by the distribution on happiness. Some variations began emerging with the investigation of the level of happiness across the countries involved, with Denmark achieving the highest score, and Portugal, amongst others, recording the lowest scores. Reference income was used as an explanatory variable in the regressions. The estimated coefficients also showed a general consistency with those of previous studies. On the other hand, Oshio et al. (2011) used the ordered logit model to explain perceived happiness across the three countries involved in their study. The model contained an assumption of care amongst individuals in relation to their individual (or family) income when making a comparison of their income with those of others. Family income was included in both specifications, with an assumption that it represents material living standards. It was expected that the coefficient ? was significantly positive in each specification, given the relative income hypothesis. e. Critical reflection of the issues relating to the econometric models The econometric models used in each of the study of Caporale et al. (2009) and Oshio et al. (2011) were appropriately justified and carried out to suit the aim and expected results of each. The use of the ordered probit model in Caporale and colleagues’ study was suitable as this model was able to deal with the variables in ordered categories, which were present in the dataset. According to Jones (2007) and Gailmard (2014), ordered probit model is utilised in the modelling of a discrete dependent variable with ordered multinomial results. Similarly, Caporale and colleagues also noted fixing some of the threshold values, which Jones also pointed out as a characteristic of the model. The study was able to generate the specific results with the utilisation of this model, which is likewise used in a range of the social and behavioural sciences, as emphasised by Aldrich et al. (2007) and Gill (2008). Using other econometric model for the study of Caporale et al. (2009) might not ge nerate similar results, since the study involved an analysis of more than two outcomes of an ordinal dependent variable (i.e. happiness and life satisfaction). In the same manner, Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) use of the ordered logit model was suitable as the study involved a survey that aimed to find out how well responses to questions can predict a response to one question, to which the model was appropriate. In the study, the model was used for dichotomous dependent variables (happiness and life satisfaction), in which more than two response categories were enabled.Apparently, the study adopted proportional odds assumption, to which the model was applicable, as Sadler (2008) and Allegrezza and Dubrocard (2012) also pointed out. Moreover, the model clearly pursued an estimate for multiple equations in the study, whereby the number of these equations were tantamount to the number of categories minus 1. The study also showed that each equation modelled the odds of being in a category, which is consistent with the ordered logit model (Sadler, 2008; Allegrezza and Dubrocard, 2012). It is important to note that the use of the aforementioned models for the two studies was consistent with their intention to quantify or measure variables in order to come up with objective and systematic results for the relationship between income and happiness. Both studies opted to use data from established data sets (ESS and GSS) to apparently facilitate generalisation of findings, with which they were successful. It may be pointed out that Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) results were congruent with Caporale and colleagues’ (2009), reflecting the validity of the latter’s findings. References Aldrich, J. H.m Alt, J. E., and Lupia, A. (2007) Positive Changes in Political Science: The Legacy of Richard D. McKelvey’s Most Influential Writings. Michigan: University of Michigan. Allegrezza and Dubrocard (2012) Internet Econometrics. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan. Caporale, G. M., Georgellis, Y., Tsitsianis, N., & Yin, Y. P. (2009) Income and happiness across Europe: Do reference values matterJournal of Economic Psychology, 30(1), 42-51. Gailmard, S. (2014) Statistical Modeling and Inference for Social Science. NY: Cambridge University Press. Gill (2008) Bayesian Methods: A Social and Behavioral Sciences Approach, Second Edition. NW: Chapman & Hall/CRC. Jones, A. (2007) Applied Econometrics for Health Economists: A Practical Guide. Second Edition. Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. Oshio, T., Nozak, K., and Kobayashi, M. (2011) Relative income and happiness in Asia: Evidence from nationwide surveys in China, Japan, and Korea. Social Indicators Research, 104 (3), 351-367. Sadler, A. M. (2008) Determinants of Entrepreneurial Behavior among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant University Scientists in the US: The Impact of Cultural Predispositions and Learning. MI: ProQuest LLC.

buy custom The Healthcare Reform essay

buy custom The Healthcare Reform essay While the debate on health care reform ranges on, Democrats and Republicans are taking opposing sides. Democrats want a government-run health care while Republicans are for state-moderated health care policies. In between these two stances, we have one overdue reform that must be addressed if at all the founding American spirit is still alive. This singular reform requires no sides, no political will or economic back up. It only needs us to be human. Americans with pre-existing conditions, especially of terminal diseases like cancer, diabetes, Aids, heart complications etc, have been bared from accessing medical coverage in the last three decades (George, 2007). The few insurance covers available for them are so expensive that, when coupled with their ever-rising and perpetual medical bills accrued when managing the conditions, the covers are impractical and exploitative. The very citizens, whose love for the nation endures, the ones we walk alongside on the streets, are being denied medical cover just because they were unlucky enough to get terminal diseases. This are our fathers, mothers, brother, sisters, sons and daughters. It is time thatCongress revoked the spirit of individualism, the spirit of the dead burying their dead, and revives the very spirit of unity that was the foundation on which our nation took shape. America is defined by unity, by nationalism and by virtues of equality. Congress should, as urgently as yesterday, concur in ending the barriers that deny coverage to terminally sick Americans who are in need of medical assistance. This is not about costs of healthcare, it is not even about state control of a vibrant industry, it is not about doctors and health plans security, it is not about jobs and investments, it is about being human. A window surviving on a cent-worth salary to bring up her four children may never access medical coverage in her youthful life. However, when the children grow up, they may decide to reward her love and devotion with a medical cover, only that by that time she has already been diagnosed with cancer. Today, such a woman, a hero to the American economy, one who shares in the responsibility of building the nation, paying taxes and modeling the lives of American youths, is left by the sidelines because she was foolish enough not to get medical cover before developing cancerous cells. Is that Ameericanism? She represents a million and one patriots of this nation who cannot access medical cover because of preexisting conditions at the time when they can afford such a cover (George, 2007). Congress can formulate genius policies to correct this injustice and inhuman situation. For instance one such policy can be formulated as, The law shall deem any denial of medical cover to an interested party as discrimination. To cater for additional risks in covering persons with preexisting conditions, the premiums must not also be increased beyond those of persons without pre-existing conditions. It shall however be legal to reduce the amounts payable to claims made by persons with preexisting conditions. Teddy Roosevelt called for reforms because there was something innate in being American. Something brotherly, something borne of consciousness to do good, something that makes us the single greatest nation on earth. Almost all facets of US health care reform cannot wait, but this one must not wait. Abolishing the barriers that discriminate our sick loved ones from medical coverage is something American, irrespective of our Democrat or Republican orientation. Buy custom The Healthcare Reform essay

How does CSR affect competitive advantage Essay Example

How does CSR affect competitive advantage Essay Example How does CSR affect competitive advantage Essay How does CSR affect competitive advantage Essay Introduction For many decades, corporate social responsibility (CARS) has been viewed as a waste of resources money, labor, time, etc. which conflicts with the firms responsibility to make profits in order to compensate its shareholders (Friedman, 1970; Henderson, 2001 ; Jensen, 2002; Levity, 1 958; Summary Ninepin, 2004). On the contrary, especially during the last years, many supporters of CARS came up with the argument that CARS provides a company with a series of specific benefits that very often will outweigh the expenditures. Some are even of the opinion that CARS is necessary for equines, both from an economic and a social point of view (Brown Fraser, 2006; Trucker, 1984; Kettle Lee, 2005; Meltzer, 1983; Porter Kramer, 2006). Screech (201 1 ) concludes by writing that the following two related conflicts could be solved by proving that CARS and profit-maximizing interests can go hand in hand: On the one hand, the argument that CARS is Just a waste of resources would be invalidated and on the other hand, CARS expenses could be Justified to the shareholders as compatible with the firms obligations and, thus, legitimate and economically beneficial. Although great amount of literature is being published about the connection of CARS and the financial performance of firms, it still lacks empirical support and is therefore vulnerable to the criticism that this relation is not a grounded fact, but rather wishful thinking by Its proponents (Rollover, Schmidt Runes, 2003; Screech, 2011). Therefore, this article aims at throwing light on the link between CARS and firm performance by assessing how CARS might influence a firms competitive advantage. Specifically, as many companies realize how important it is to attract highly skilled employees as a main component of their competitive advantage (Prefer, 1994; Tech, 1998; Turban Greening, 1997), the focus will be on the link between CARS and human resources. This article will start with a review of previous studies and research in this area, followed by an in depth analysis of relevant and underlying theories that describe how CARS affects competitive advantage via a firms human resources. Ultimately, this article will give Implications for Important future research and the mall findings will be concluded. Previous Research and Studies Although CARS has emerged as an Inescapable priority for business leaders in every entry (Porter Kramer. 2006), there Is no general agreement about whether CARS does contribute to the financial performance of firms or not. A lot of research has been conducted in order to prove the positive relationship between corporate financial performance (COP) and corporate social performance (SSP). Wood (1991 : 693) defines SSP as a business organizations configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firms societal relationships. However, the exults of these studies have been inconclusive at best (Donaldson, 1999; Jones Wicks, 1999; McMillan Siegel, 2001; Roman, Hybrid Eagle, 1999). Other studies tried to find conceptual explanations for the lack or the existence of a relationship between SSP and COP, but could not provide answers (McMillan Siegel, 2001 ; society and business need each other now more than ever before. Companies depend on a healthy society, including health care, education, and equal opportunity, but also good government and property rights. These requirements are essential for productive workforce and will furthermore create an expanding demand for business. Simultaneously, this healthy society is also in the need of successful firms. Apart from creating Jobs and wealth, they are the main innovators that improve the standards and quality of living (Porter Kramer, 2006). Hence, it should be in the interest of every firm to conduct CARS, regardless of the possible relationship between SSP and COP. Firms behaving in a socially responsible manner benefit through the subsequent reputation, another topic with a huge body of literature. The reputation f a firm that is built on its social consciousness will not Just temper criticism by the public in case of a crisis (Porter Kramer, 2006), but will also help building a positive relationship to stakeholders, such as investors, suppliers, bankers, and customers (Bombers Channel, 1990). Again, from a financial perspective, reputation plays an extremely important role. Not only will it facilitate access to capital through the emanating positive relationship to investors, but with respect to SSP, reputation also has a higher correlation with COP than any other variable even corporate environmental performance (Brown Perry, 1994; Rollicks et al. , 2003). The return from reputation is, thus, the key to reaping benefits from SSP (Roberts Dowling, 2002). One way of reaping benefits from corporate reputation is by attracting a high quality workforce (Greening Turban, 2000; Turban Greening, 1997). However, the attraction of good employees is not the only channel through which good reputation through CARS affects a firms human resources, possibly leading to a competitive advantage. Research suggests that it also increases the goodwill of current employees towards their employer, which in turn can improve the companys financial outcomes (Davis, 1973; McGuire, Sundered Schneider, 1988; Haddock Graves, 1997). Furthermore, firms can turn instruments such as sponsoring of sports or cultural events into a competitive advantage by improving the morale of their employees and boosting productivity (Porter Kramer, 2002). Supplementary, it has been proved that scandals in regards to CARS will negatively influence employee morale and, thus, the firms performance (Screech, 2011). During the last decades, undress and thousands of articles about CARS have been published, many of them with a strong focus on financial aspects such as the relationship of SSP and COP. Surprisingly few dealt with the influence of CARS on human resources. Greening Turban (2000: 276) analyzed and confirmed that Job applicants will attempt to interview with firms, and will have a higher probability of accepting a Job offer from firms with positive SSP reputation. However, their study is based on a survey of only 39 students and did not focus on what exactly attracts employees and how these causes can be used to create a competitive advantage. Furthermore, a lot has changed during the last years, not only the importance of but also the ways companies pursue CARS. Therefore, these will be the main aspects in the remainder of this article. Theory and Implications for Future Research This section will introduce the most important theories that are relevant for an analysis of the relationship between CARS and competitive advantage. As this article section will start with an explanation of the importance of a quality workforce. Afterwards, theories will be presented which focus on how CARS can influence prospective (via firms attractiveness) or current employees. Quality Employees as a Source of Competitive Advantage There is a reason why statements like our employees are our strength can be found on the homepages and on promoting materials of many companies nowadays. The attraction of superior human resources and retaining them in the firm can provide firms with a sustained competitive advantage (Load Wilson, 1994; Prefer, 1994; Wright, Ferris, Hillier Karol, 1995). Additionally, especially in fields with labor shortage, such as IT or engineering, the attraction of quality applicants is becoming more and more important for the success of companies Jackson Schuler, 1990; Freeman Gowning, 1990). Those organizations that are able to attract the greater applicant pool of top-quality applicants can better utilize their selection system which results in a potential competitive advantage (Load Wilson, 1994; Turban Greening, 1997). As research suggests that employee attraction to a large extent is based on perceptions of the corporate image, which in turn is influenced by the firms SSP (Bombers Channel, 1990), the explanation is given of why many firms promote e. G. Their environmental or philanthropic programs in brochures for prospective applicants (Poe Courier, 1995). They want to demonstrate how socially responsible they act. That this can be successful is confirmed by the finding of Bauer and Amman- Smith (1996) that firms with a stance towards the natural environment are seen as more attractive firms than those without such a stance. The reason why companies should focus more on their employees is that researchers agree that a quality workforce has become more important than other sources of competitive advantage (Greening Turban, 2000). Previously, the success of firms was often attributed to their access to financial markets, product and process technology, patents, the placement of learning curves and economies of scale, etc. However, scholars have noted that the importance of those sources of success has decreased over time, while the selection and management of high quality employees has become a critical factor to success (Prefer, 1994; Snell, Wounds Wright, 1996). Knowledge-Based Theory Similarly, another body of literature suggests that a firms ability to create, manage and transfer knowledge is the key to its success (Feline Westerly, 2007; Grant, 1996), which also points out the importance of a quality workforce as one key to a nominative advantage. Authors suggest that intelligence, motivation, vision, experience, creativity, analytical abilities and commitment are some of the characteristics of quality employees (Tech, 1998). A firms success in the future depends largely on how well it can capture value from those knowledge assets (Tech, 1998). Hence, in order to succeed, a firm must take advantage of its workforce and be able to manage its knowledge. Although high quality employees can be viewed as a necessary condition for success in a modern knowledge economy, it is not a sufficient one (Greening Turban, 2000). The firm has to be able to develop the knowledge and talent into skills and competencies which are valuable, rare, inimitable by competitors, and unsustainable in order to develop a competitive The role of human resources in developing a firms competitive advantage is consistent with the resource-based theory of the firm. This theory suggests that every organization is simply a collection of unique capabilities and resources providing the foundation for the strategy of the organization and being the primary source of its competitive advantage and profitability (Barney, 1991/ 2011; Grant, 1991; Meyer, 1991). It assumes that firms acquire and develop these unique resources and capabilities over time and emphasizes that resources may not be mobile across companies, or easily imitable by other companies (Grant, 1991). As mentioned above, apart from physical resources, also human resources, such as talented managers or high quality employees, are highly important resources for firms (Barney, 1991; Meyer, 1991) and in a global economy, the skills of an organizations workforce are increasingly critical to the development of sustained competitive advantages (Throw, 1992). Additionally, SSP can be viewed as an organizational resource. Investments in SSP may assist firms in developing new capabilities, resources and competencies that are manifested in a firms structure, culture, technology and human resources (Barney, 1991; Russo Bouts, 1997; Heartfelt, 1984). For instance, SSP can help management to develop better processes, scanning skills, or information systems which will better prepare an organization for turbulences, external changes, or crises (Russo Bouts, 1997). The channels through which a companies SSP can affect these resources, especially the human resources, will be subject of discussion later in this article. Signaling Theory Another theory that may be relevant for understanding how a firms SSP may influence human resources, especially the attraction of quality employees, is the signaling theory. There exists a classical information asymmetry between the applicants and the employer. The applicant does not really know how working conditions, corporate culture, etc. Look like in the companies he or she is applying for. Signaling theory suggests that, due to the incomplete information about the company, applicants interpret all the information they receive as signals about e. G. The working conditions in the organization (Greening Turban, 2000). Organizational attributes, for example, provide prospective employees with information about how it would be like to be part of this organization. For instance, a firms formal social programs or policies towards stakeholders or developing political and social issues may attract applicants by serving as signals of the firms goals and commitment. Likewise, the policy to provide day care facilities or to manage diversity has an influence on organizational attractiveness as an employer, because it signals willingness to attract women and minorities and to treat them in a fair manner Greening Turban, 2000; Williams Bauer, 1994). Potential employees might interpret a companys SSP as a signal about its organizational values and norms. These values and norms affect the applicants perceptions of the working conditions and therefore also the companys attractiveness as an employer. Additionally, according to the person-organization fit theory (Kristin, 1996), it is expected that the prospective Job applicants specific values will influence the extent to which a firms SSP influences that attraction (Greening Turban, 2000: 259). Social Identity Theory influences human resources as well. This theory emphasizes that people classify themselves into specific social categories on the basis of different factors, as for example the organization they work for, and that the fact of being a member in those social categories influences peoples individual self-concept (Dutton, Dickered Hairball, 1994; Turban Greening, 1997). Hence, the self-image of employees is influenced by the reputation and the image of the employer. As mentioned earlier, a firms reputation is affected to a large extent by its corporate social performance. Consequently, social identity theory suggests that employees working for a firm with strong SSP will experience positive outcomes, such as an enhanced self-concept, just by being employed in this socially responsible firm (Greening Turban, 2000). Furthermore, as potential employees might expect to experience this enhanced self- concept, the attractiveness of firms that put a strong focus on acting socially responsible is positively affected as well. Definition of Research Gaps After having presented theories that suggest that the right employees can lead to a sustained competitive advantage and that there is relationship between CARS activities of an organization and its human resources, this article will now focus on issues where more research is needed in order to fully understand these relationships. Generally, there exists an almost inexhaustible amount of literature that analyzes the relationship of a firms SSP and its COP. A far smaller body of literature focuses on the link between SSP and human resources. Most of these articles build up theories and make suggestions, but not that much empirical research has been conducted yet to actually prove these theories or to contradict them. Research suggests that potential applicants are very aware of a companys SSP and that companies with a good CARS rating have a competitive advantage, because hey attract a larger amount of applicants and applicants that are of high quality. However, these studies by Greening and Turban (2000) and Turban and Greening (1997) are based on a survey of 39 students or even Just 34, respectively. Also, it can be assumed that those students were aware of the purpose of the study and, thus, were biased in regards to their answers. A study on a large scale needs to be conducted in order to get valuable results. Additionally, it needs to be conducted in different geographical regions of the world, as CARS plays completely different roles in the various societies. While it, for instance, is of great importance in most Western European or the Nordic countries, this is not necessarily the case in many South American or Asian countries. Furthermore, the ways how organizations pursue CARS has changed or at least become broader during the last years. Partnerships of business firms with non-governmental organizations (Nags) had been unthinkable a few decades ago, but have become an important issue nowadays. Many firms grant their employees a certain amount of days off, so that they can engage in Nags they support. Microsoft, for example, allows its employees to take three days off for this repose every year (Thomson, 2012). How do those CARS activities affect the attractiveness of firms? Which CARS activities affect a firms attractiveness the most? Since scholars argue that a quality workforce is becoming an increasingly important source for competitive advantage, these questions need to be addressed by future research. However, CARS does not Just affect a firms human resources via the employers SSP as well. In the framework of Mitchell, Eagle and Wood (1997), employees are seen as a crucial component to success and as a scarce resource. Therefore, they have power, legitimacy and some urgency, and are thus salient takeovers of the firm. It is a logical consequence that they are affected as well, when a firm aims at multiple stakeholders by pursuing CARS. According to Screech (201 1), the idea is that employees will be much more satisfied, if they feel that the beneficiaries of SSP are they, rather than some other external recipients of charitable contributions. Employee satisfaction, in turn, will help retain the employees and reduce turnover (Labeling Freeman, 2000), or positively influence the organizations operational efficiency (Branch Rodriguez, 2006), which can be the source of a competitive advantage. Future research might analyze how and which SSP strategies affect employee satisfaction or investigate if there are moderators that influence this relationship. Conclusion This article suggests that CARS and a firms human resources are interlinked with each other in many different ways. The analysis indicates that a quality workforce is becoming a crucial factor for gaining a competitive advantage and that quality employees can be attracted by a firms SSP. Furthermore, SSP positively influences the employee satisfaction which in turn might lead to a competitive advantage by boosting productivity and efficiency. However, this article aims at showing up areas in which more research has to be conducted in order to fully grasp the influence of corporate social responsibility on the human resources of firms. Especially, empirical research is needed to confirm the theories that have been proposed until now. But also in regards to the constantly changing ways of how companies pursue CARS, it is important to investigate which of them have the greatest impact on employees and their morale. Only then will it be possible for firms to capture the largest benefit of their CARS activities: the creation of a sustained competitive advantage.

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Globalization - Essay Example We can share our ideas not in one region or to people of one region but to different people of different regions. The internet has enhanced communication networking due to which, Morris and Ogan (2002) regard internet as a new communication technology and a new media in terms of globalization. Internet plays a crucial role in our day to day lives. Nobody can negate the effectiveness of internet in our lives. Internet is employed in business sectors, educational sectors, commercial sectors, governmental sectors, scientific discovery sectors and many others. The concept of globalization is also attached with the concept of internet. It is only because of internet that people are able to communicate through long distances. It will not be incorrect to say that internet has converted the world into a global village (Steger 34). The future of internet is quite bright because of its so much effectuality in our lives. It appears that in the future the role of internet will be increased. The old media or traditional media or mainstream media includes radio broadcasting, newspapers, magazine press, film industry and television broadcasting (Gorman 230). According to Gorman (2009), the transition started in 1970 with the development of technologies after which, a concept with the name of new media came to the forefront. With internet and telecommunication, people started looking towards internet as a new media as it offered many new ways to communicate in a much faster and timely manner. The internet mode of communication is much faster as compared to other traditional media. The internet technology boost was not felt with its development as media persons regarded it something related to academics and freebies (Morris and Ogan 1). However, with the passage of time, the efficacy of internet as new media is accepted all over the world. The concept of globalization also gained ground with the expansion of internet as a global media.

Anti competitive behaviour amongst oligopoly firms and government Essay

Anti competitive behaviour amongst oligopoly firms and government regulations - Essay Example For this study, a brief concept of competition law will be provided followed by discussing some economic factors that enables oligopolistic firms to violate the competition law in the markets. Upon discussing the negative economic consequences of forming oligopoly firms, the role of government regulations on how to control and minimize the negative impact of collusion within the oligopolistic market will be thoroughly discussed. Competition law promotes free trade and healthy competition among the local and international businesses in order to protect the economic welfare of the consumers from businesses that will abuse its market power within a particular industry. (Vedder, 2004; Opi, 2001) As part of promoting free trade in the market, competition law is very much focused on eliminating and reducing the cases of monopolistic competition. Basically, the promotion of a free trade competition enables the consumers to enjoy the privilege of With the purpose of dominating the market, product characteristics dictate the ability of oligopoly firms to enter into collusion. Using the Nash benchmark, the study conducted by Engel (2007) reveals that there is a higher possibility for companies that sell heterogeneous products with few substitutes to collude as compared to businesses that sell homogenous products. It means that businesses that offer heterogeneous products have more competitive advantage or niche as compared to other businesses. The size of the market and the number of manufacturers that produces the same product also affects the ability of oligopolistic firms to enter into collusion. Basically, the bigger the market size in terms of the total number of people within a population would mean that there is a bigger demand for the product. On the other hand, the lesser the number of manufacturers that produces the same type of goods would mean that the supply for the product would be lesser as compared a situation

Potassium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Potassium - Essay Example Hyperkalemia is the increased serum levels of potassium in excess of 5mg/100 ml. Potassium is critical for the functionality of the heart, muscles and nerves, thus an increased level of potassium would result in muscle weakness, oliguria, respiratory distress, decreased contractility of the heart and hyperreflexia or flaccidity of the skeletal muscles. Hyperkalemia is caused by dysfunction of the kidney, adrenal gland disease or cell shift of potassium, from cells to blood circulation. Hypokalemia is the low concentration of potassium in the blood; less than 3.5mg/100ml. Hypokalemia is caused by insufficient dietary consumption of potassium, gastrointestinal fluid loss and urinary loss especially when one is on diuretics. Hypokalemia presents with signs and symptoms of muscle weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, tremor, flaccid paralysis hyporeflexia and constipation (Jung et al., 2009). A nurse must be very vigilant in monitoring for signs of hyperkalemia and hypokalemia to enhance early management of the condition. This would include the action of the nurse to periodically monitor vital signs, heart rhythm, cardiovascular status and the abdomen for signs of distention, bowel sounds and pain. The nurse would then notify the physician of the abnormal findings that are an indication of either hyperkalemia or hypokalemia. The physician would the order appropriate medication for the treatment of the condition. During the course of management, the nurse would engage the patient and the family on health education in relation to the condition as a means of preventing reoccurrence of the condition (Porth, 2011). Alderman, M. H., Piller, L. B., Ford, C. E., Probstfield, J. L., Oparil, S., Cushman, W. C., †¦ Davis, B. R. (2012). Clinical significance of incident hypokalemia and hyperkalemia in treated hypertensive patients in the antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trial. Hypertension, 59,

In Arthur Millers play the crucibl Essay Example for Free

In Arthur Millers play the crucibl Essay In Arthur Millers play the Crucible, Reverend Hale changes as the plot unfolds. When Reverend first arrives in Salem he is certain he will use scientific methods to find witches. As the court hearing begins to unfold, Reverend Hale opposes the actions being taken, thus begins using his own judgments. Hale attempts to save the guiltless when he realizes they were convicting innocent people. The plot takes place in 1619, in a small town named Salem. The town was young; being only 40 years old was very religiously strict. A group of teen girls were caught dancing naked in the woods. They started making accusations of witchcraft across the town. Reverend Hale, who was a witch expert, was called from a near by town to put a stop to the matter. One reason Reverend hale changed as the plot unfolds is because he at first believes that he will be using scientific methods to find witches. Hale firmly follows the law to sustain order. By keeping to his books he prepares himself to pay no heed to conclusions. He trusts his books to keep control over the problems arising in Salem. all the invisible world, caught defined, and calculated. In these no fear now-we shall find him out if he has come among us, and mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face. (Miller, 39) One reason Reverend Hale changed as the plot unfolds is because he at first believes that he will be using scientific methods to find witches. Subsequently Reverend starts to evolve his thinking during the trail and starts going by his own judgment. He pleads with the judge to let Proctor return, only to be rejected by him. Hale fought against the judges verdict realizing it was unjust. Hale then decided to leave the court. I denounce these preceding. I quit the court. (Miller, 115) Subsequently Reverend starts to evolve his thinking during the court hearing and starts going by his own judgment. Then at the end, Reverend changes even more when he realizes they were accusing every one of witchcraft and tries to save the innocent. Reverend declares he will not take a life of an innocent person I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscious may doubt it. (Miller, 99) He realizes that it is not the convicted people, but that of a hunt to find a cause for there problems. He encourages Mr. proctor to confess to witchery. Also pleading with Procters wife, he protests the foolishness of admitting to something you did not do. Finally Reverend Changes for the better realizing that not everyone is a witch and attempts to save the innocent Hale changes from being in favor of the witch trails to opposing it due to the amount of unnecessary convictions with sentences of death. He finds that, when you stop accusing people every for every incident and mishaps, many of the folks are innocent. It is hard to believe that many innocent people were killed during the Salem witch trials. Certainly nothing like that will ever happen today. Reverend Hale changes as the scheme unfolds in Arthur millers play, the crucible. Work Cited Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York Penguin, 1952 Jonathan Schneider Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Reimbursement Issues For Nurse Practitioner Health And Social Care Essay

Reimbursement Issues For Nurse Practitioner Health And Social Care Essay The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 was unquestionably a frontward step for advanced practice nurses (APNs).   Payment is remarkably allowed for all settings as long as no other provider fee or other facility fee was being paid in relationship to the assistance supplied by the APN.   The various constraints on settings for services provided by the advanced practice nurse were totally removed from the guidelines (Bardach, 2006). The regulations for reimbursement of APN services typically changes based on the category of setting. Within the office setting, the permissible reimbursement to nurse practitioners is only 85% of that of a physician. This same reimbursement is acceptable only if billed straight under the nurses name and provider number (Fishman, 2002). The decrease in conversion factor for Medicare for reimbursement has affected rural clinics. This paper will discuss some pressing issues regarding reimbursement for nurse practitioners. I. Crucial Areas for Reimbursement that Nursing Practitioners Should Know 1. An advance practice nurse (APN) should be responsible and aware of the reimbursement process. APN must have read the participation contracts involved. They must determine the following: Does the plan credentials the APN and assigned a provider number. What are the claim submission requirements?   It could be direct billing or billing which is conducted by a supervising physician. And what are the time frames for submission. Can appeal mechanisms for claims denial be conducted? What are the covered services? Is it reimbursement methodology capitation or fee for service, etc? 2. An APN must familiarize documentation requirements in order to support the Certified Performance Technologist or CPT. Last 2001, the Office of Inspector General had conducted reviews on nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist and assistants of physicians. This is to comply with the Health Care Financing Administration or HCFA rules and regulations. (Cooper, 2000) II. Understanding the Reimbursement Procedure In order to better understand the underlying reimbursement issues in nursing practitioner, we must first have a clear grasp on the reimbursement process itself. In 1965, two methods, the Medicare and Medicaid of Social Security Act were amended by the Congress. These two will be discussed thoroughly in the next sections of the paper. With the first method, Medicaid, 100% of the physician rate is reimbursed. This will only apply if the incident to criteria are met. The phrase incident to refers to the services provided by nursing practitioners where a physician is actually present, or available for consultation. In order to verify the presence of the attending physician, the patients contact, appointment schedule or a documentation of the medical records can be used. The local Medicare will give the nursing practitioner a unique identification number (UPIN) for his or her bills. For a direct reimbursement, a practitioner must undergo an application process conducted by the payer. With the second method, Medicare, the nursing practitioner receives 80% of the fee that is set by the practice. Or they also have the chance to receive 85% of the Medicare physician fee schedule. One disadvantage of this method is that it reimburses the lowest charge possible. Citing an example, a practitioners bill for his or her services is $120 and Medicare only allows $100, the practitioner will only reimburse $85, which is 85% of the Medicare allowable. (Rapsilver, 2000) II. General Issues There are various notable issues connected to the reimbursement for services provided by the APNs. They are expected to take possession and responsibility of the procedure on the reimbursement. The APNs should first begin with comprehending their involvement contracts with health care plans to ascertain the following items (Fishman, 2002): if the said health care plan will give credit to the nurse practitioner involved and will consequently assign a provider number, if there are any appeals procedures for denials of claims, if it is possible to review the comparison of fee for service versus the plans reimbursement methodology capitation, etc., if claims such as billing under the administering physicians name or direct billing ask for requirements to be submitted within a specific timeframe; and, if all specific services are covered On the secondary topic, nurse practitioners should become familiar with various requirements when it comes to documentation to sustain appropriate CPT coding. APNs should refer themselves to the HCFA rules and the Federal register for guidelines (Bardach, 2006).   The nurse practitioner should actively participate on internal audit of documentation to find out if their documentations support the CPT code billed. APNs should responsibly scrutinize an illustration of their assortments against their monthly charges. This guarantees that reimbursements are properly made according to contract and that no charges are being denied. (Kansas Nurse, 2008). III. Medicaid Reimbursement Process Issue The lack of consistent progress in the Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes has left the nurse practitioners confused and disappointed over the past few years. Progress towards simplifying the Medicaid reimbursement process has been slowed by the absence of relevant policies in hospital reimbursement, memberships, and the level of access for the members (Fishman, 2002). The lack of priority and actions from the leaders of healthcare to implement the policies for the Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes resulted to the decline in the productivity of the program and posed major setbacks for nurses. With the necessary improvements not being achieved, the government is left with nothing to use in integrating the needed reforms in the Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes. Suspended reforms for Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes reveal incoordination among various health departments which significantly affected Medicaid members. The adverse effects of the current economic crisis put local governments in a state of uncertainty whether to pursue plans of implementing the new Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes to handle the health needs of their residents (Farley, 2000). Over the past few years, the local governments have been limited with their actions to completely adopt the new Medicaid hospital reimbursement processes. In New York alone, residents that are not yet affiliated with Medicaid have reached a number of almost 4 million. New York, however, is still way ahead in terms of progress as compared to other states in America. Still, according to Bardach (2006), the majority of New York residents are completely dependent to the Medicaid program because: (1) Medicaid assists them in the access of health benefits; (2) Medicaid assists them by means of health insurance. Yet these Medicaid policies also led to New Yorks health issues due to the lack of coordination by the leaders. IV. Medicare Reimbursement Process Issue Many advanced practice nurses inaccurately presuppose that receiving an APN license eliminates all obstructions to getting reimbursements for all their services by the insurance companies.   The primary goal obviously is to achieve direct reimbursement, which basically means being able to bill in the APNs exact name and not that of the or under the physician.   This is because being billed under a doctors name austerely propagates the invisibility of the nurse practitioners (Fishman, 2002).    To accomplish this goal of straightforward reimbursement, advanced practice nurses have to be empanelled by a reimburse-er or have to get a provider status.   The methodology for Medicare had primarily implicated achieving a PIN or a Provider Identification Number, which has now transformed into the new NPI or the National Provider Identifier (NPI).   Ã‚   In reality, as an example, Medicare already was issuing PINs to advanced practice nurses in Illinois two years before the APN regulations for practice were written.   Comparatively, Medicaid in Illinois was also agreeable to directly reimburse advanced practice nurses even before Medicare (Bardach, 2006). The frequent misconception of many advanced practice nurses about Medicare is that if a contributor gets a Medicare number, he or she will be reimbursed mechanically by every other insurance corporation, including PPOs and HMOs.   That is very wrong since insurance companies create or develop their own precise policies.   It can then be said that what one company permits, another one might not (Fishman, 2002).    V. Private Insurance In the United States, there are many private insurance plans that exists. Due to this, the guidelines for advance practice nurses are highly variable. There are times that the plans include the nurse provider in the preferred provider network. But there are also times that the nurse provider is considered outside the preferred provider network. So in general, less coverage is then afforded for the services rendered by nurses. These phenomenal places burden on those who have minimal resources. The number of networks that seeks to include practitioners among their credential providers is increasing. When discussing about the reimbursement issues, the fact that advance practice nurses always receives less payment that physicians arises. Advance practice nurses have been taught how to provide high quality care which is equal to the care provided by physicians. Because of this, they should be paid an equitable fee for the services they have rendered. Efforts are now exerted in order to fix these inequities. (Lundy) VI. Why APNs Do Not Receive Equal Reimbursement The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission or MedPAC examined the payments differencials between the clinicians and physicians. Why does this two groups do not get equal reimbursements? The MedPAC conjured that there is actually no analytical foundation that can support this. So in order to answer this question, the Commission investigated if these two groups, physicians and non-physician providers produces the same products or different products. According to the Commission, the Medicare must set the service payment equal to the cost incurred in efficiently rendering the service. Whenever the physicians and clinicians have provided the same service, then the payment for the low cost provider must be applied for all service providers. In many cases, there are many distinguishable differences between the services rendered by physicians and clinicians. Citing an example, according to reimbursement data, clinicians who are not physicians demonstrates a less complex evaluation and management services than physicians. Other specializations and surgical services are not included in the scope of practice of certain clinicians. Adjustments and changes for these types of billing codes include differences in resource costs. Since the nature of billing codes is imprecise, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services were not able to distinguish the different categories of clinician who provide similar services. They have this assumption that physicians are much prepared to diagnose and treat patients that have severe illnesses. But, contrary to this, anecdotal reports stated that other clinician sometimes spend more times in checking and treating patients with severe illnesses or who are in critical conditions, which made the physicians to care for a greater number of patients with lower acuity. Whenever a physician and other clinician bill for the same service, it is very difficult to tell of the physician saw a more complex patient. Due to these uncertainties in comparing their services, the Commission is reluctant in altering the payment differential. And certain policies even on the same company might be allowed in one state but not in another state.   As point of the matter, if one company has three product lines such as HMO, fee-for-service or indemnity, and PPO, then it may also have three dissimilar guiding principles for nurse practitioners (Bardach, 2006).    Consecutively, to ultimately become a credentialed contributor for each insurance plan that patients are secured with, a nurse practitioner must then submit an application for provider category with each and every insurance company, including Medicare and Medicaid. From that discussion, every provider must be familiar with some fundamentals about Medicare. First and foremost, there is Medicare Part A, which actually covers skilled nursing home, hospital, and home health charges; and then there is Medicare Part B, which then envelops most outpatient services, the care patients in particular obtain from doctors offices (Fishman, 2002). When it comes to the incident to billing, the Commission decided to consider that services rendered by clinicians who are not physicians but billed as incident to must be paid 100% of the physician fee schedule. The Commission have stated that the incident care fee is predicated upon the care or service provided by the team, with the non-physician giving the direct patient care services and the physician taking responsibility to the over-all welfare of the patient. They concluded that the team approach to care provides value which warrants payment at the full rate. (Edmunds, 2002) V. Conclusion Reimbursement issues have become challenge to nursing practitioners. Among the critical areas that NP should know are the following: the reimbursement process, contracts and the documents required. They are expected to take possession and responsibility of the procedure on the reimbursement. The APNs should first begin with comprehending their involvement contracts with health care plans. Secondly, nurse practitioners should become familiar with various requirements when it comes to documentation to sustain appropriate CPT coding. APNs should responsibly scrutinize an illustration of their assortments against their monthly charges. VI. Preparing for Future APN Reimbursement Being part of the healthcare system, Advance Practice Nurses (APNs) continue to search for greater quality, effectiveness and effeciency in delivering care. Many organizations and institutions like Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are taking the lead in identifying and validating indicators of high quality health care aiming to streamline delivery of care and to reduce convulated health care costs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Composite Measures a reimbursement coding category that is currently being validated to deliver quality measures which can lead to desired patient results for chosen chronic diseases or conditions. (Kennerly, 2007) Establishing these new standards are based on the assumptions that by using them will cause a consistent high quality of outcome for the majority of patients and there will a great decrease in health care cost. The CMS is currently focusing on reforming quality reimbursement sytems which can save money while rewarding those care providers for their quality performance. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pay-for-Performance led to determining the importance of implementing a common set of clinical standards for medical care. This means a providers performance and reimbursement is now and in the future will depend on and be judge against a national standard for care rather that past provider;s performances. (Kennerly, 2007)