Tips On Writing A Sample Duke Essay

Tips On Writing A Sample Duke EssayThere are many reasons why a college student might be seeking to write a Duke Essay sample. In fact, more students each year are starting to feel a burning desire to develop their own personal writing style and establish their own author status. Since so many people are starting to apply their writing abilities in this fashion, it's only right that the process be made easier for them, too.When writing a sample Duke Essay, there are a number of things you should take into consideration. The first and most important is that you should always stay within the bounds of the format as dictated by the writer. It is not uncommon for a student to attempt to break the rules and publish their own edition of the essay, but only cause themselves so much trouble later on.Another thing to remember when writing a sample Duke Essay is to avoid asking for a lot of information. Since the essay will be open to the public, you will need to have a simple and direct forma t for providing your information. If your essay is very long, you will find it difficult to present any information and make sense at all.This means that even though a college students' final version of the essay will eventually be published, it might not do any good if they don't have the exact information right from the start. In addition, the guidelines for formatting a sample Duke Essay can be easily and simply written out in case you find yourself in this situation.However, the biggest benefit of submitting a sample Duke Essay is the easy and accurate way to write. With the help of a computer, you will not only be able to do it faster than the average person, but you'll also have the chance to include and discuss the student's preferred reading material. These can include magazines, eBooks, newspapers, and even the Internet.However, you should also realize that when you submit a sample Duke Essay, there is also an obligation that you make it clear that the essay is to be used f or research purposes only. Doing so will protect the student from any claims that they are engaging in plagiarism.So before submitting your sample Duke Essay, there are a few guidelines you should follow. These include: always staying within the boundaries of the form and format dictated by the student, making it clear that the essay is going to be used strictly for research, and emphasizing that the essay is to be used strictly for research only.

Employment Scenario in India Essay Example

Employment Scenario in India Essay Employment has emerged as an important subject in the development agenda of most national governments and several international organisations over the past two decades. In recent years, the processes of globalisation have also resulted in certain trends in labour markets in both the developed and developing countries. in the developing countries, fears have been expressed of displacement of workers in the hither to protected sectors as a result of international competition. Current scenario of India: As a belong to India, I would like to emphasize on the current education and employment scenario in India. In India, The educational system follows 12 years of schooling and then a 3-4 years of graduation course, and 2 years of post graduation course. India  has a total  of 253 universities and 12,732 colleges right now. Growth rate of employment is 3. 29% in 2009. Highest rate of Employment is observed in agriculture , fishing and forestry- 296. 62 million. The Lowest rate of employment is in Electricity, Gas and water supply – 1. 5 million. The country is having a population of 1. 2 billion while the total employment is 529. 87 million. It indicates that major portion of the youth remain unemployed. Major employment challenges in India: 1. Population: India  is the  second most populous  country in the world, with over 1. 18 billion people (estimate for April, 2010), more than a sixth of the worlds population. More than this every year about 5 million people become eligible for securing jobs. But the employment opportunities are much lower than the job seekers. 2. Poverty: In India, Poverty often forces households to withdraw children from schools for reasons of both direct and opportunity costs. We will write a custom essay sample on Employment Scenario in India specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Employment Scenario in India specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Employment Scenario in India specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In addition, schools and the style of instruction are not always attractive for the children. In the case of girls, the familial attitude towards educating them continues to be discriminatory. As a result, Drop-out rates are high: at 40 per cent in the primary, 50 per cent in the middle and 66 per cent in the secondary stages of schooling for boys and 42 per cent, 58 per cent and 72 per cent at the three levels, for girls In rural families. 42 per  cent of children said they wanted to be graduates and just 24 per  cent wished to go in for a post-graduate  degree. Even the choice of subject changed according to the occupation of parentschildren of the salaried class were more likely to study engineering or medicine. 3. Employability: A part of the problem of employment has always been the result of a mismatch between qualitative aspects of the supply and demand of labour: demand has remained unfulfilled due to non-availability of workers with requisite skills and workers have remained unemployed or underemployed as they have no skills or their skills have no demand. This mismatch seems to have grown in recent years due to fast changes in production technologies and structures to which the skill supply mechanisms and institutions have not been quick enough to respond. 4. Rate of Literacy: 39 per cent of the Indian workforce in the 15 years and above age group is illiterate; another 23 per cent have studied only up to the primary level. Only 22 per cent have secondary and higher level of education. 5. No of colleges: India  has a total  of 253 universities and 12,732 colleges right now. If we take the total  population in the relevant age group and divide this by the number of colleges/universities, then it shows that, at the all-India level, each university will have to cater for around 250,000-300,000 studentswhile thats about the size of Delhi University, there arent too many universities of this size in the country, nor are many being planned. 6. Educational Infrastructure: The infrastructure and curriculum of the school and colleges suffer from lack of adequate technologies, Shortage of funds. The curriculum of professional colleges are not updated to met the requirements of the industry. India is having Total engineering colleges more than 3000, when Total number of  Private MBA  colleges  in India is more than 1700. Almost 90% of these  colleges  are unable to provide quality education. Only top 10% college of Engineering and managements are able to provide job to students through Campus selection. 7. Economic depression : sick industries are often close down compelling their employees to become unemployed. 8. Technological advancement : Technological advancement contributes to economic development . But unplanned and uncontrolled growth of technology is causing havoc on job opportunities. The computerization and automation has led to technological unemployment. 9. Industry lockouts: Strikes and lockouts have become inseparable aspect of the industrial world today. Since workers do not get any salary or wages during the strike period they suffer from economic hardships. They become permanently or temporarily unemployed. How to improve the education system: Education system plays a crucial role in the employment scenario. Because it delivers the students who possess the skills and knowledge to participate in the global economy. Following measures should be taken to make the students employable in Public and Private sectors: 1. Increasing No of Schools: As discussed earlier, the existing No of schools are not adequate to provide quality education to the eligible students. So the No. of universities and colleges must be increased. 2. Providing Free education: In primary level, Education in the Govt. Schools should be made free for rural families. Also No of scholarships should be increased for higher education. . Developing Infrastructure: Increase spending substantially on primary and high school education (Both qualitative and quantitative). Increase the salaries of teachers at least at per with university lecturers and put stringent quality control while recruiting the teachers and introduce accountability among them. We must increase substantially the number of primary schools and quality of those a nd improve on physical infrastructures like school buildings, a minimum standard of school laboratory and library, a decent play ground, some internet connected computers in libraries etc. In technical institutions, technical equipments should be used in instructing. 4. Pattern of evaluation: Subsequently the exam patterns should change and put more emphasis on original thinking and problem solving rather than emphasizing database-quiz type format. 5. Improving curriculum: Basic education should be in mother tongue but English also should be compulsory from class 1. Technical education should be made available to students who have completed 8 years of schooling. To cover the lack of skills, a mechanism needs to be set up at different levels — national, regional and local — to continuously assess the emerging skill requirements of the rapidly changing economic and technological scene and reorient the training infrastructure to meet them. Second, it is necessary to develop training systems to meet the skill requirements of the unorganised sector, which is likely to be the main source of new employment opportunities, in highly diverse activities with many common as well as specific skills. 6. Training for competitive exams: In higher educational institutions, students should be prepared to clear the competitive exams. It will make a large No. Of students eligible for various public sector jobs. Conclusion: The first lead in improving the educational system should be taken by the Government. Because though Education in Private Colleges are expensive, they are having a good infrastructure and placement record compared to the Govt. Colleges. Govt. Should take initiative to increase no of schools and colleges with proper facilities, and also improve the curriculum and infrastructure of present education system.

History of Uganda Essay Essay Example

History of Uganda Essay Essay Example History of Uganda Essay Essay History of Uganda Essay Essay In the twelvemonth 1890 to 1926. the British authorities forged what is today the state called Uganda although they are non the initial integrity negotiants in the state. The derivation of the name Uganda was from the land of Buganda. This land encompasses the southern part which includes Kampala. its capital metropolis. Prior to the fusion of the state by the British. the state was under the control of the dynasty of the Bachwezi. These are the same people who had an influence upon Rwanda. the authorities of Tanzania every bit good as Congo in the period 1100 to 1600 AD ( Akallo A ; Alford 38-40 ) . Background Information about Uganda The state of Uganda is an East African landlocked state which takes its name from the land of the Buganda. This has the encompassing of the part in the southern portion of the state which incorporates Kampala. its capital metropolis. This East African state boundary lines Kenya. Sudan. DRC. Rwanda and Tanzania. It is land locked and its southern side is made up of Lake Victoria where the boundary lines to Kenya and Tanzania intersect ( White 1-6 ) . About the LRA The Lords Resistance Army is a guerilla ground forces of a sectarian type whose base is in the northern portion of Uganda. The LRA emerged out of the wreckage of the Uganda National Liberation Army in 1986. and settled down by Joseph Kony in early 1987. The activities of the group include armed rebellion directed to the Ugandan authorities doing it a major struggle in Africa as one of the longest-running struggles LRA was involved in perpetrating maltreatments every bit good as atrociousnesss of high magnitude runing from abduction. maiming. raping of the female. mass violent death of the civilians and largely the kids. The motion besides played a polar function in the destabilization of the northern part of Uganda runing from Sudan. which was their base. They besides congregated in an eastern part in Congo called Bunia. They made links with Army for Liberation of Rwanda. the ( ALIR ) among other Rebel groups ( White 1-6 ) . LRA came into being in 1987 for the intent of battle in the armed rebellion directed to the authorities of Uganda. This has been a major struggle in Africa. The leader of the group. Joseph Kony was in a place for self announcement as Gods spokesman every bit good as a Holy Spirit medium. Harmonizing to the belief of the Acholi. there is a possibility for diverse signifiers of manifestation by the Holy Spirit. This group holds to syncretic blend affecting the Christianity. the mysticism every bit good as Islam. the traditional faiths in Uganda every bit good as witchery. The claims of the group are the constitution of theocratic province whose footing is the Ten Commandments in line with the tradition of the Acholi. This group has been a focal point for accusals for the misdemeanor of human rights. This include actions of slaying. forcing of the kids to take portion in the violent belligerencies. their abduction and mutilation. sexual captivity of the kids every bit good as adult females The beginning and history of the LRA The ground forces is projected to incorporate two 1000 members working in northern parts of Uganda every bit good as southern portion of Sudan. The ground forces has been propped by the state of Sudan. Majority of its operations are based in the northern parts of Uganda although there is grounds of its operations in some parts in the DRC of Congo every bit good as Sudan ( Akallo A ; Alford 38-40 ) . Ideology of the LRA The LRA reportedly is responsible for the evocation of the patriotism of Acholi people on juncture. but bulk of the perceivers have a negative feeling with respect to the earnestness of their activities. The motivations behind the operations of the group are the overthrowing of the incumbent authorities of Uganda with the attendant replacing of the government that will follow with the execution of the Christianity trade name of the group. In frequent occasions. the group is involved in the snatch every bit good as the blackwash of the local civilians for the intent of the disheartenment of any foreign investing every bit good as the precipitation of the crisis in the authorities ( Akallo A ; Alford 38-40 ) . What the LRA have done The group terrorized the locals people. larceny from small towns. flaring huts. barbarous mutilation of the villagers. Slaughters and atrociousnesss took topographic point to people in many small towns. Majority of those people were displaced from their places and were forced by the fortunes to populate in the caps where life was suffering. The entree to nutrient every bit good as medical attention among other human necessities was hard to obtain. The group abducted vulnerable kids to do foot-soldiers this made them to give up their opportunities for schooling every bit good as the development of their societal lives. The kids were forced to kill people chiefly the villagers. their household members or even friends. LRA killed over 200 people and kidnapped at least 20 kids from small towns over a three-day period in the past 20yrs. So far. The LRA has abducted over 20. 000 kids. coercing male childs to contend as soldiers and misss to function as sex or labour slaves. ( United Nations ) How the LRA affected the people’s lives in Uganda Many people in Uganda lost their place and lives. Childs who were used to be child soldiers have been suffered in physical or emotional ways. LRA has been documented as holding abducted above 60 000 kids every bit good as young person in Uganda. In every three of the male stripling. one of them has been abducted. while in every 6 of the female stripling. one of them has been abducted. The immature adult females every bit good as the misss of the beginning of the Acholi every bit good as the Langi are used to execute some jobs while in imprisonment for the Rebels and their kidnappers. These include taking H2O. cookery. carrying of supplies. cleaning for the commanding officers of the ground forces. They besides played the functions of forced married womans to the group members and therefore the bulks were impregnated. Increasing HIV / AIDS rate The struggle of LRA has a great consequence on the kids due to intensifying incidences of premature sex. premature matrimonies. befoulments of great magnitudes. incidences of colza every bit good as sexual torment. In the extreme of these state of affairss the immature misss every bit good as adult females who are the victims of the abduction are made married womans to the Rebels. This has an deduction of exposure to HIV/AIDs. These immature adult females upon being rescued from the Rebels normally encounter hard life state of affairss taking to their engagement in harlotry. The same applies to those who have been displaced and fall back to populate in cantonments. This has besides contributed to intensifying instances of HIV/AIDs. This state of affairs is common ion the northern part of Uganda ( Gatwech 23-43 ) . Uganda has seen one of the most effectual national responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the African continent. Harmonizing to the Uganda Aids Commission. so far. around 130. 000 Ugandans are infected with the HIV virus every twelvemonth. Over 1. 000. 000 ( one million ) citizens in the state of Uganda is the existent estimation existing with HIV. 520. 000 of them being adult females while 110. 000 of them are kids ( Gatwech 23-43 ) . The lives of the ex-child soldiers were distorted by the effects of the engagement in the activities of the group. It was hard for the kids to travel back to schools. Majority of the were in a state of affairs that they needed some more opportunities in order to restart to normal life. This is because to the bulk abduction took topographic point at a phase that was early in life. The immature soldiers greatly fear to take engagement in retaliation every bit good as a opportunity of credence. Majority of the citizens consider these childs to be slayers but the fact is that they are normally really good people ( Gatwech 23-43 ) . Decision and solutions In decision. to work out this internal struggle. the authorities is duty edge to carry on the development every bit good as the execution of the most comprehensive scheme turn toing issue of security. human-centered action every bit good as political action. The ground forces should be reformed every bit good as re-oriented which is merely accomplishable through the proviso of a way responsible for the dialogue and let for the passage of the state to greater democracy. The life of the immature kids who took portion in the struggle is at hazard and the duty of their rehabilitation falls on the authorities. Akallo. Grace. A ; Alford. Deann. â€Å"Survived Hell† Ignite Your Faith Vol. 65 Issue 8. p38-40 2007. Gatwech. Shame. â€Å"More victims of LRA Rebels revealed in South Sudan† Sudan Tribune p23-43. 2009. White. C. Todd. â€Å"Uganda† Country Report p1-6. 6p. 2007

Research Project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project - Research Paper Example Through the course of its contents this research project highlights areas in the hotel that need improvement and based on research, proposes solutions to said problem areas. Methodology This research project provides analysis of research material pertaining to the effective, strategic and efficient management of a hotel and includes a detailed stakeholder analysis by drawing on that research. Limits of Research The methodologies and strategies mentioned in this research project are generally applicable to any enterprise in the hospitality industry; however, some limitations may arise in very specific cases where a more customized approach may be necessary. Critical Analysis and Recommendations Hospitality and tourism are two of the world’s industries that are experiencing the most dynamic and rising growth levels. Combining the two industries are entrepreneurial ventures regarding hotels which become a bridge between the hospitality and tourism industries. Slattery (2002) talk s about how in this modern day and age the element of ‘hospitality’ has been lost from the hospitality industry due a more industrialized approach towards hospitality ventures. According to this paper, this element has been impaired by the industrialized commercial vision and to restore it we need to understand hospitality as a â€Å"social phenomenon involving relationships between people† and thus incorporate the â€Å"social factor† in the provision of services in any hospitality business. This research further goes on to say that to better understand hospitality we need to understand how it works in private settings, for example that of a nuclear family. Insight from this setting will make hospitality ventures better able to provide food, accommodation and other services. However, focus shouldn’t be limited to private settings for hospitality enterprises are after all business ventures and requires a very important commercial market interaction. The venture can be successful only if adequate attention is paid to all three domains. (Slattery, 1998). Further, the nature of hospitality is of crucial importance for hotels and their effective management. However, this aspect is mostly overlooked. To be more effective, management needs to factor in aspects of human behavior to better understand how to serve their clients in a more superior manner. (Brotherton and Wood, 2007). A feasibility study is also important and may take the developers months to collect the data that provides enough favorable economic argument to build a hotel. (Rutherford and O’Fallen, 2007). This is a very important step and must not be missed because future operational success builds on it. Another major concern in the modern world of globalization, expansion and technological progress is that businesses should be more concerned about ‘going green’ and not waste the earth’s resources that are available for their consumption, bu t devise ways through which these resources can be conserved. Hotels are a business in which the energy and resource consumption levels are high because they entertain a lot of people at one time. However due to their extensive consumption patterns they also have a higher responsibility to conserve resources and energy. Hotels, like other hospitality businesses are supposed to factor in sustainability and work to reduce their environmental footprint. Hotels that are conscious of this and appropriately address issues of

Zora Neale Hurston Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Zora Neale Hurston - Article Example However, much of her work encountered criticism, as what endeavored to be ethnographic authenticity was construed as a perpetuation of black stereotypes made pliant for her white audiences. This combined with her controversial political affiliations in the 1940's led to a rejection of her work for some time. Rather than focus on a chronological review of her literary achievements, this paper will thematically consider portions of her corpus in terms of the various academic realms of analysis to which her work is now subject. Initially, some consideration will be given to the problematics of her presentation of "folk culture and folk language" and the degree those issues have traction in attempting to categorize the work of Hurston. Secondly, a de rigueur explication of how the issues of race and race relations were framed in her work will be given. Finally, the tropes of religion, religious imagery, and spirituality explicitly and implicitly play a significant role in her fiction and as such must be included in any literary analysis of her work. Though it is beyond the scope of this paper, one thematic element which operates consistently in her work is the role of women and her sensitivity to feminist concerns and issues of women's rights. Suffice it to say that many women in her novels and short stories play strong, consistent and even heroic roles and are often concern with other things than finding a husband or having children.

The implementation of electronic health record

The implementation of electronic health record Only 4 percent of U.S. doctors are using an electronic medical record system (EHR) because of a diverse range of barriers and perceptions involved with implementing an EHR system. The health care portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) called Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health or HITECH promotes the Meaningful Use of information technology in the form of EHR systems for every American by 2014 (Hoffman, 2009). Just having an EHR system is not enough; meaningful use means the system must improve the quality, efficiency, security, access, and communication in the delivery of health care among other functions. The United States government has provided $17 billion in available incentives to assist physicians and health care facilities implement certified EHR systems that meet Federal qualifications by the year 2014 (Blumenthal, 2009). This important health care issue affects everyone in this country because of the nature of private health i nformation. The U.S. government mandate for the implementation of electronic health records presents a wide variety of issues for and responses by physicians who want to retain their diversity relating to the way they practice medicine, while meeting the Meaningful Use requirements that will positively affect their investment and efficiency. Meaningful use depends on interoperability, which means that physicians systems will be able to communicate with each other for information exchange. Currently some physicians may have systems that are interoperable, but some may have invested in software that does not provide that function. Numerous vendors often market more than one type of system. Currently, estimates of physicians using a complete, fully functional EHR system are only at four percent (DesRoches, et al., 2008). This leaves the majority in need of researching software systems, purchasing, and implementing an EHR system to meet the Meaningful Use requirements. The practice of medicine is a highly individualized field where every physician has their own ways to provide for their patients. A general practitioner will have different software needs than a surgeon or obstetrician. An issue the physicians have to address is that they have to choose a certified EHR system that will provide the functions they need for their particular practice of medicine. Many physicians are starting with a basic system and customizing it to fit their practice needs (Baron, et al, 2005). HITECH will need to certify systems that provide functions that the physicians require with enough flexibility to meet the diverse needs of every type of practice. Some EHR systems are designed for primary care practices or large hospitals and may not meet the needs of a specialist. Physicians will have to choose a certified system that will have the required functions as well as those his practice will require. Whichever system a physician chooses will require training in order to benefit from the functions the software can provide. A basic knowledge of computer use is a skill many physicians do not even have. In fact, some physicians have technophobia when it comes to computers in their practice (Hayes, 2009). Statistics have shown that younger physicians are more apt to have a positive outlook on the EHR systems. Younger physicians also appear to have earlier adoption of an EHR system because of their prior exposure to computers. In-depth training to learn the functions and processes of the system are necessary to prevent severe disruptions in the workflow of the office. Many offices will train a few employees to be Super Users to be a resource for others in the office who have had less training. Super Users will be able to adjust the work processes when needed. Some physicians offices close for a period of days to bring the system online and prepare the office for going live. The diversi ty in computer abilities and comfort levels will affect the complexity, price, and amount of training required for each physician and his office staff for the chosen system. Cost is the biggest issue in the adoption of EHR systems. Cost estimates are between $12,000 and $24,000 to implement a fully functional EHR system (Baron, 2005). The equipment, software, training and one year of support can cost $140,000 or more (Baron, 2005). The HITECH incentives will cover some, but not all the cost of the conversion from paper to electronic records. Incentive payments can total $18,000 in the first year, for physicians implementing in 2011 and 2012 and will continue for 5 years at reducing amounts. The available incentive amounts will decline each year and end completely in 2016. In other words, physicians who adopt in 2011 could collect $44,000 over the five-year period while physicians who adopt in 2013 would receive $27,000 in incentive payments over 3 years (Blumenthal, 2009). The incentives will provide more funding for physicians that implement early. Surveys indicate that the incentives are a facilitator for approximately 55 percent of physicians who see the incentives as a reason to make the transition now, and receive maximum financial benefit (Blumenthal, 2009). The diversity in size of practices will affect how the physicians perceive capital costs. Due to the diversity in the types and ways physicians practice, issues that need to be considered and addressed, and the many solutions available, physicians attitudes and opinions on EHRs and Meaningful Use vary from very enthusiastic to resentful and wary. Studies have shown that physicians who have already adopted an EHR system are generally satisfied with their system and the benefits it provides. However, although the physicians will be the ones assuming approximately 89 percent of the cost of the system, they will not receive much of a return on their investment (Hoffman, 2009). The insurance companies will save money on reduced testing, streamlined billing, and overall efficiency. The government will save money on the same things as well as have a medium for monitoring fraud. Physicians will save some money on record storage, employee salaries previously paid for filing and transcribing records, and paper office supplies, but in comparison to the cost of the system, savings ar e minimal. Physician concern over return on investment is 50 percent for physicians who do not have an electronic system but only 33 percent for physicians who are already using an electronic system (DesRoches, 2008). The results may reflect Medicare and Medicaid patient numbers, size of the physician practice or perhaps the diverse perceptions physicians have over the dollar value versus the benefits to their actual income. Seemingly, the biggest numbers of implementers are the larger practices who are often better able to absorb the large investment than a small practice or single physician office. Statistics show that large primary care practices are more apt to implement EHR systems than other types of practices. These large group practices of fifty or more physicians were four times more likely to have a fully functional system than with physicians in practices of three or less physicians (DesRoches, 2008). The increased cash flow from a large practice makes the large capital expense less detrimental to the practice. This diversity in the size of physician practices is a significant basis for EHR implementation. EHR implementation itself will not provide for full Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. In order for a physician to receive full reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, an EHR system must meet the Meaningful Use requirements. Physicians who do not have an EHR system that meets the meaningful use requirements will see penalties in the form of reduced Medicare payments. The reduction of payments will start at one percent in 2015, increase to two percent in 2016, and increase again to three percent in 2017 (Blumenthal, 2009). Physicians with large amounts of Medicare and Medicaid patients will have a significant reason to implement a system that meets the Meaningful Use guidelines. This issue will not affect all physician practices and some physicians do not feel it is a significant impediment to their practice income to warrant the large expense involved with implementing an EHR system. The diversity in the types of patients a physician or practice routinely cares for will have an e ffect on their financial return and willingness to implement an EHR system. For those who may not see a financial return there are many other benefits to adopting an EHR system for patients, insurance companies, and the government, and to some degree physicians. One benefit for physicians is a more efficient and streamlined insurance claims process, which will aid in cash flow. Physicians will also be better able to provide for their patients because the patient record will be able to go where the patient goes, including to hospitals and specialists, resulting in better coordination of the patients care. The EHR will provide a reduction in clinical errors because of the ability of the EHR to provide clinical decision support and monitor medication dosing and contraindications, and allergies. However, a group of physicians feel that this is questioning their judgment and do not want the interference in the way they practice medicine. Of physicians who are using a fully functional EHR system 86 percent appreciate the avoidance of medication error function that their system provides. The diversity in the physicians response to clinical decision support may be due to age of the physician, the number of years he or she has been in practice or any number of reasons including the personality of the physician. Along with those benefits, there is disruption of the office workflow. This is a significant cause for physician concern (DesRoches, 2009). The learning curve for an EHR system slows down all the processes in the office. Some physicians are better able to deal with the chaos that ensues while converting to an electronic system. Everyone within the practice has to relearn his or her job processes. All the office procedures of the practice have to be redesigned to work with the EHR system and the practice requirements. There is a period even after implementation of changes and adjustments that must be made to customize the system to the practice. Physician practices have reduced their patient load as much as fifty percent during implementation to try to reduce the waiting time for patients (Braon, et al., 2005). This essentially means a reduction in revenues until everyone can perform their jobs smoothly and handle the normal patient load again. Estimates are anywhere from four to six months before normal patient load is fully resumed. Physicians have reported losing patients because the wait time to see the physician was too long during the early stages of implementation (Baron, 2005). This is a major barrier for 41 percent of physicians in making the switch to electronic records (DesRoches, 2008). Physicians are very busy by nature and a slowdown in the office creates a diverse level of frustration that has caused some physicians to put off implementation or even to reverse the work already done in adopting an EHR system and return to their paper system. Those who do make the switch from paper to electronic records will have to consider HIPAA requirements for security of an EHR system. EHR systems require the secure storage of EHRs, which contain patients private health information and interoperability requires secure access to patient EHRs. Some physicians will choose to be on an encrypted network to share information with their local hospital, laboratories, and other health care providers. A verification process will be required to allow authorized physicians access to patients private health information and to deny access to unauthorized persons. Security of patient records is a concern for many physicians. Some physicians feel this is something that needs more regulation before they will expose their patients to the risk of a breach. The diversity in the EHR systems in operation now creates issues for secured patient PHI with system interoperability. With all the diversity involved in implementing an EHR system, physicians perceive the challenges of the U.S. government mandate for the implementation of electronic health records in different ways. Some feel there are too many barriers to address before implementation of an EHR and others feel the benefits outweigh the barriers. There are as many opinions on the issues of switching to an EHR system as there are physicians themselves. Addressing issues such as cost, security, training without a major loss in cash flow, which stems from disruption to the workflow of the office, will all stress the doctor patient relationship at least for a time. This is important because it will effect how and when the physicians adopt and use the nationwide system. The diversity in the way physicians practice medicine is individualized and the approved EHR systems will have to be flexible enough to allow for that individuality. The one thing all physicians want is to practice medicine they way they always have and meet the required mandate for Meaningful Use so they may recoup some of their investment. References Baron, R. J., Fabens, E. L., Schiffman, M., Wolf, E. (2005, August 2). Electronic health records: Just around the corner? Or over the cliff? Annals of Internal Medicine, 143(3), 222-226. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=truedb=a9hAN=17875478site= ehost-live This article is written by physicians in a 4-internist practice describing the processes involved with converting from traditional paper medical records to electronic medical records. Baron and colleagues address the problems and issues involved, and how they worked through them. Some topics of interest include both planned and unexpected finances, training, workflow and accommodations and the overall office environment. The article describes the realized benefits and lacking areas of standardization and interoperability. I chose this source for its overall description of actual process of implementing an electronic records system. This article also addresses computer skills and requirements. Blumenthal, D. (2009, April 9). Stimulating the adoption of health information technology. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(15), 1477-1479. doi:10.1056/ This article describes the portions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that pertains to health information technology. The article addresses barriers physicians have for implementing the mandated electronic medical record. Financial issues including incentives, costs and financial penalties are of adopting the mandate are covered. Other areas to promote and ease the transition, such as support systems, state and regional medical information exchanges, education initiatives, and extended HIPAA guidelines with regard to electronic records and transmissions are included in this article. This article explains the incentives for implementing the electronic records system. I chose this article to explain the diversity involved in the governments promotion for adopting an electronic health record system. DesRoches, C. M., Campbell, E. G., Rao, S. R., Karen, D., Timothy, F. G., Jha, A., . . . Blumenthal, D. (2008, July 3). Electronic records in ambulatory care: A national survey of physicians. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(1), 50-60. doi:10.1056/ This article is a summary of statistics and results compiled from a survey of physicians in the US regarding the adoption of electronic health records. Documented in the survey are physician statistics and opinions in areas of usage, implementation, and satisfaction with the electronic health record systems. Issues addressed are quality of care, age groups of physicians who have adopted an electronic system and size of practices more apt to adopt electronic health records. The positive effects on practice processes, barriers that hinder adoption of electronic health records, incentives for and reservations with switching to electronic health records are included in the survey. I chose this source because it provides actual statistics of the usage of electronic health record systems as well as the diversity in physicians perceptions of the process, the systems, the benefits, and problems associated with compliance. Hayes, F. (2009, February 2). No Rx for ROI. Computer World, 43(5), 40. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=truedb=a9hAN=36487540site=ehost-live In this article, the senior news columnist addresses the issue of return on investment (ROI) for the adoption of electronic health records. The definition of ROI is given and how it applies to aspects of electronic health record adoption for physicians and hospitals is examined. Risks to, benefits of, and improvements needed regarding electronic health records are noted. The author confirms that those assuming the expenses for electronic health records will not be the ones reaping the benefits. I chose this article because it covers reflects my opinion one of the most important reasons for physician resistance to implementing the government mandated electronic health record system. Hoffmann, L. (2009, November). Implementing electronic medical records. Communications of the ACM, 52(11), 18-20. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=truedb=a9hAN=45021143site=ehost-live In this article, a basic history of George W. Bushs goals for every American to have an electronic health record is presented along with the progress of the government in making those goals real. Usage of electronic records is briefly mentioned. The article focuses on some major barriers and concerns of physicians for implementation and usage. The article also addresses some of the positive aspects for electronic health records. I chose this article because it provides concise overall answers to who, what, when, where, and why answers to the implementation of the electronic health record and health information technology.

Feminism and Social Cognitive Theories Essay

The goal in this individual assignment is to apply the social cognitive theory and feminist theories to contemporary media content and to compare and contrast different theoretical perspectives. Attached to this paper there will be a print advertisement specifically chosen to analyze how and whom these theories reflect on in new media today. After analyzing the two perspectives, the theories will be compared and contrasted, showing the similarities and differences between them and their approach to the advertisement. Throughout the paper the usage of examples from the specific advert chosen will conclude to the appliance and defined terms to support the arguments that will be debated. The social learning theory furnishes a framework that allows usto analyze the human’s psychological functions that produce certain behaviors (A. Bandura, 1986). The concept describes the mental processes at work whenever a person learns (Bandura, 1944). The theory of socialization explains humans thought and the personal factors that make learning a cognitive process to all agents such as, social groups, parents and siblings, teachers, schools and religious leaders, neighborhoods and media.(Eyal, 2012)According to Bandura, the theoryproves that belief and behavior are determined by three different factors that interact and impact each other, known as the triadic reciprocal causation, examining behavior, personal determinants and characteristics such as cognitive and biological qualities like age, race, sex or height, and environmental factors or events (Bandura, 1944). Bandura’s social cognitive theory of mass communication and the broader social learning theory serve as the foundation for volumes of research in all areas of media effects study today (A. Bandura, 1986). A study of this theory presenting the process of modeling has been conducted by Albert Bandura during the study of the bobo dolls by including the four compon ent processes: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. Later to be discussed in relevancy to the advertisement chosen.Proving that a person that observes other peoples actions and the consequences of those actions can learn from what they have observed, called observational learning, which then can be reenacted by the observer, known as modeling (A. Bandura, 1986). According to the research done in the bobo doll studies, Bandura’s method was to create a lab experiment with kindergarten children, by exposing them to different versions of movies with aggressions toward a bobo doll. Focusing on the children in the experimental groups, these children were aware of what they have watched and this is where the modeling process originates. Attention has been elevated. The experimental group children sat and thought through the film alsopossessing the necessary components and skill, while perhaps thinking of their capabilities and self-efficacy perceptions,known as motor reproduction in terms of the process. In order to later imitate the aggressive acts, training what they’ve cognitivelylearnt and seen, known as retention, rehearsing of the act in order to properly mock the material exposed. In conclusion to the observational theory, children seemed motivated to model the behaviors they learnt in the film. Children who had watched the violent film were less inhibited about performing other violent acts they had learnt in the past, and not portrayed through the given film. The film therefore, had a disinhibitory effect upon the children who saw it (Bandura, 1963). â€Å"Disinhibitory effects disinhibit or lift previously learned internal restraints on certain behaviors (Bandura, 1963 p.73) as explained in the study Bandura conduced on the school kids and the fact they used the violence seen in the film, and not violence that has been shown to them throughout their lives. In addition, the theory also serves as a common denominator among many media effects and hypothesis today. It provides a framework explaining pro-social effects from mass media, social encouragement or persuasion, and transmission of an idea, message, or belief by way of figurative modeling (A. Bandura, 1986, p.70). The second theory that will be discussed, analyzed, compared and contrasted to my chosen advert throughout this paper will be the feminist theory. Focusing on, outlining the influences of a variety of critical feminist studies on the representation of women in popular media forms. The feminism study is part of a theoretical approach; it’s an actual theory equal to all other theories (Hay, 2012). A few theories that will be analyzed are â€Å"The beauty myth† by Naomi Wolf, â€Å"The Women Myth† by Roland Barthes, and â€Å"Women in films† by Laura Mulvey. Wolf claims that the quality called â€Å"beauty† objectively and universally exists. The most effective way to combat this epidemic, Wolf argues, is to show how what we call â€Å"beautifu l† is a cultural myth that has been framed for certain economic and political purposes. â€Å"In assigning value to women in a vertical hierarchy according to a culturally imposed physical standard, it is an expression of power relations in which women must unnaturally compete for resources that men have appropriated for themselves†(Wolf, N. The Beauty Myth, p.1). Barthes discusses â€Å"The women myth† as being everywhere, relating to culture, time, and change. It’s not something were born with,it’s something society socially constructs (Hay, 2012). He tells us that the image of beauty-â€Å"The rhetoric of the image† (Roland Barthes) changes according to where you are, who you’re with, and what environment your currently in, that can all reflect on the image. Last, Mulvey writes about the male gaze, â€Å"women in films†.The women’s appearance was created to serve male defense mechanisms against castration, and portrays women as visual objects through the media (Hay, 2012) Mulvey argues that cinema displays the i mage of women as a certain look, that feminist find humiliating; due to the element it displays the passivity of women, and the activeness of men complying the fact women will never have lead roles or be distinguished as greater than men (Hay, 2012). After explaining,defining and giving examples of both theories, the advertisement chosen will be analyzed and evaluated through these theoretical perspectives. In terms of feminism, the advertchosen will constructively reassure the myths and there theoretical approaches. The advertisement I chose represents, the alcoholic drink, SKYY vodka. Thereis a tan, thin women, in a bathing suit, with a big chest, lying on the sand at the beach trying to get some sun. The close up shot of her â€Å"dreamy† chest is likely to attract attention of men, possibly the aimed audience for this advertisement. Mulvey argues about â€Å"the look† or â€Å"the image† the media portrays a woman’s hypothetical appearance should be, usually categorized as young and skinny (Hay, 2012) which the advertisement assesses. The power through genders are used to catch the man’s eye, making the man see the women as a visual object, also known as the male gaze, leading the male to be come aroused, and in conclusionan intended effect of convincing the specified audience, men, to buy the product advertised. As Naomi Wolf mentions in â€Å"the beauty myth† the purpose of using the women as an object is for political and economic reasons. This doesn’t mean that everyone will be impacted in the same way due to sub-cultures, politics, and media, but society’s understanding of the add will hopefully conclude to more or less, the same objective and conscious feeling. In addition to the women’s bareness and attraction, the advertisement shows the man in a suit standing on top of the women, most likelyrepresenting ownership and power, a demanding authoritywhile glazing down on her from above. According to Mulvey, feminists see men as active and the women as passive, clearly shown in the advert. The man is not only trapping the women between his legs while she lays on the floor, but heis also blocking her from the sun, the reason she most likely came to the beach to begin with. Feminist argue that women are usually presented in a submissive way. According to feminists, the media has an important role and defines the women and how women should look, act and represents the power struggle between men and wo men today (Hay, 2012). The theory of Laura Mulvey shows that commercial wise, advertising women is usually conducted in a sexual manner relating them to sex items, and ignoring internal characteristics by focusing on just looks(Hay, 2012). In addition to how women were portrayed in programs, feminist critics charged media owners and managers with sexism (Cantor, 1988). They supported this claim with reports showing widespread discrimination against women in broadcast industry employment practices, as seen in the advertisement presented, as the women lays beneath the man and is gazed upon from above with feeling of power. Women in advertising are usually gently touching to looking at something, making it seem that they are not in control of that object, that they aren’t the true owner and masters of it, just participant(Cantor, 1988). In one hand the man is holding a bottle of SKYY alcohol, and in the other hand he is firmly holding 2 cups as to which the alcohol would be put inside to drink. The differences between the positioning of the genders in the advert really prove the feminist theories can be related to this, the masculine side of the man and his strong fists, and feminine side of the women is shown through the relaxation of her hands holding her sunglasses up, lying on the floor with her pure beauty and fertility.In the past, a lot of time advertisers used women to present women were they needed rescue. Alcohol can be considered a type of escapism, and by the man showing her what he has, once again, the women comes out to be the weak one that wants to be nurtured, and in feel of need, comfort and care by the man. Just like gender role portrayals in Disney princesses and there need of being taken care of by heroes, or prince charming. This advertisement focuses on a specific audience, in particular, perhaps SKYY vodka calls for people who enjoy drinking, probably youngsters that want to let loose try new things, students, and because of the main focus of the clos e up of the women’s breast, an educated guess would assume that the men population are most likely well off to be the best consumers. The social cognitive theory portrays many different theoretical approaches to the specific add chosen.Banduras social cognitive theory provides a framework to explain what the media’s effects are towards, violence, sexually explicit material, diffusion of an idea, message, belief by way of symbolic modeling, persuasion and so forth (Bandura, 1986). Human communication is built upon a system of shared meanings known as language that is shaped by various symbols, such as letters of the alphabet,† used to construct words which serve as a symbol to represent specific objects, thought or ideas† (Bandura, 1986 p.68).The word â€Å"SKYY† printed on the alcohol bottle doesn’t just cause the brain to think of the company SKYY vodka. When speaking about the sky in a metaphoric way, people relate the word to an unlimited effect, just like the quote many people use these days, â€Å"the sky is the limit†. The thought the drink may have towards specific audience mentioned earlier, triggers their brain to consider the non-boundary border. As seen in media today, a number of people like to go against the ordinary, and fight the status quo. Possibly now, when people see the word â€Å"sky†, the capacity of understanding and using this symbol allows them to store, process, and transform this observed experience into a cognitive model, which may guide them to the long term effect of buying the alcohol while thinking about the positive effects it may have and motivating them to buy this product. Advertisement in media today can be learnt from and modeled leading to positive or negative outcomes. Just like Banduras study with the bobo dolls, the major findings were disinhibitory effects, which concluded to children learning aggression. A disinhibitory technique, as mentioned earlier, â€Å"causes a transgressor to shift the responsibility for wrong doing to another.†(Brock & Bus s, 1962, p. 75) With diffusion of responsibility, a transgressor acts within a group and therefor doesn’t feel personally responsible for the subsequent act (Bandura, 1986). As seen in the ad, the bottle of alcohol is being advertised. As most people know, one of the most well-known laws in the U.S. states that the drinking age is 21+. In this case the add is relevant due to the fact a transgressor may influence an adolescent to consume the alcohol in this add showing him it’s the cool thing to do, leading him to another device, disregard of the consequences of action, in which the under 21 person,illegally performs what he is told, not thinking about the harm it might cause and only thinking of the thrill of the moment. Bandura identified four different self-reflective â€Å"modes† used in thought verification: the self-reflective capacity, meaning that a person has the ability to perform a self-check to make sure his or her thinking is correct (Bandura, 1986). One being the enactive mode: this means that a person calculates the agreement between thoughts and the result of actions (Bandura, 1986). For example, this add may influence people to buy SKYY vodka, especially men, since the advertisement shows that the man is over powering the sexy woman, an act in which most men usual want to achieve. After trying the alcohol, the effect it had on the man wasn’t what he thought would conclude to, assuming he would be able to mimic the character holding the alcohol bottle in the advert and is disappointed, having a destructive effect, and in this case his actions do not verify his thoughts and he must reassess his thinking. If, however the man had had the positive effects he was expecting after drinking SKYY brand alcohol, the man’s actions corroborate his thoughts and provide verification. The second â€Å"mode† used in the thought verification isvicarious mode: this means that the observation of another person’s experience and the outcomes of those experiences aid to confirm the accuracy of thoughts (Bandura, 1986). For example, a 17 year old boy that never tried alcohol might look at this advertisement and see that the man has total control over the women, the boy never thought about trying the beverage the man in the ad is holding, but due to positive assumptions, realizes he should. His thoughts about underage drinking could shock him into some kind of reassessment. The third â€Å"mode†, serving as the best demonstration of an effective advertisement is persuasion (Bandura, 1986): the act in which a person is influenced or encouraged in some way to change their thought. For example a man sees the SKYY vodka advertisement and it comes off to be eye catching and convincing. Even though he might already have a specific vodka brand he uses, the astonishment of the print add influences him to try new things in an alteration effect of buying the alcohol, maybe leading to a long term outcome of the continuity of buying the specific vodka, and the intended effect the company tried to portray. At last, the advertisement will be compared and contrasted according to the two theoretical perspectives. The media teaches society how to socially learn, whether it’s through observational and modeling, or how women should be, including all the individual differences (Hay, 2012). Whether the effect is direct or indirect, constructive or destructive, people observe others and their surroundings.One of the arguments the theories can express thesimilarities and differences in, is the effect manipulation or influence can have towards and depending on audience types. The social cognitive theory, the process of modeling shows that the advertisement can be portrayed and looked at as motivating for male audiences, catching there attention while seeing the amount of control and command the man has above the women, leading to arousal and motor reproduction of the customer, influencing them to similar actions. On the other hand, feminists look at the advertisement and find it discriminating how the media socially constructed the women to fit the image that Mulvey speaks about.The female audiences will see the degradation of the trapped women, looking up at a man, and specifically go against the consumption of that certain alcohol. Women don’t see the need to advertise the alcohol in such a provocative manner and want to fight the status quo of using women in the media for political and economic reasons, as Naomi Wolf’s theory applies. In conclusion, the social cognitive theory and feminist theories play a big role in media today. Providing a framework to academically understand where media came from in history, and how it has currently changes. Media serves as a theoretical basis that was learnt from in the past, and continues to be learnt from throughout years to come. References: Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Fundamentals of media effects(Chapter 4). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Hodkinson, P. (2011). Media, culture, and society: An introduction(Chapter 11, pp.219-242). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Wolf, N.The Beauty Myth. Cantor, M. G. (1988). Feminism and the media.Society, 25(5), 76-81. Social Cognitive Theory and Feminist Theories LiatSlomowits Raphael Recanti International School, Interdisciplinary Center Hertzliya T.A. – Yael Hay Introduction to communications liatipoo@aol.com