Trends in Health Information Systems and Applications (slp4) Essay

Trends in Health Information Systems and Applications (slp4) - Essay Example The military’s electronic health record is the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), which provides secure online access to MHS beneficiaries records (Defense Health Information Management System [DHIMS], n.d.). This is an effective system that allows convenient global access to needed records without requiring too much time. With AHLTA, there is an assurance of continued care and enjoyment of benefits. The online enrollment easily allows beneficiaries to update personal information. This technology is efficient especially in cases new addresses or change of numbers. When the beneficiary logs on the website to update information or enroll in a certain health program, the rest of his or her records are also immediately updated. Online drug comparison permits TRICARE beneficiaries to â€Å"check for availability, costs, alternatives and details about the prescription medication all in one place,† (TRICARE, n.d.) thus they are given options on ho w health care would be provided according to their preferences and needs. Automated patient safety technology is an important innovation that looks into past and present records and treatment of the beneficiary in order to provide the optimum care and preventing complications at the same time.

Communicative ethics in the workplace Term Paper

Communicative ethics in the workplace - Term Paper Example Differing environments and diverse job classes cater to a wide variety of mental wavelengths as well as sociological and psychological characteristics each pertaining to an individual area of expertise. When postulating the idea of communicative efforts to breed desired results in any given situation, a careful analysis of the environment is key to success. Discussing the idea of communicative ethics in a precise manner is going to help us understand the underlying factors that make up human interaction in each scenario. Sticking to a very general and concise approach, each branch of communication involving diplomacy, creating credibility, and building trust will be elaborated on by examining ethical relations in varying contexts. Ethics is defined by two categories of thought relating on how to examine human actions within a specific paradigm. The first of these is called categorical ethics, whose main idea is defined primarily by Immanuel Kant as the â€Å"categorical imperativeâ € . The categorical imperative states specifically that actions can be either right or wrong, that they must be categorized in some way or fashion and thrown into a labeled dichotomy. The basis of his idea stems from the humanistic quality of desire. If a human being needs or wants something then inherently the human will seek out a path of attaining what he or she so desires. Determining factors as to the actual motivations behind the desire are what Kant zeroes in on and labels as good or bad. The deeper aspects of the categorical imperative are a syllogism to measure out the morality of the action. By developing the ability to analyze given situations in varying circumstances we gain the ability to determine what action to take will have the most beneficial outcome for us as an individual. The desire for a specific outcome will change the shape of the methodology used to acquire it (Cheney, 2004). Discursive ethics are then bound by whether or not individuals are engaged in di scourse for the basis of self motivation or a common understanding of the ethical dilemma of the other individual. This brings about the idea of subjective ethics, or whether or not when two humans engage in communicative discourse do they in fact consider or perceive each other’s subjectivity. This idea really stems away from the right and wrong dichotomy of Kantian ethics and displays the characteristics of meshing into the gray area. Subjective ethics takes the approach of rationally analyzing different situations and determining a basis of value for an action that may or may not be all good or all bad, sometimes completely being in between. In terms of corporate or social responsibility even imagine the topic of CEO compensation. How much compensation is really able to be classified as good or bad, more or less, enough or too much? Being virtuous and steadfast with decisions in the social world tends to breed positive results, overzealous attitudes and lax performance do not. Edmund Burke stated that each human in themselves carries a â€Å"lamp of experience† (Sherman, 2009). This lamp is a guiding light which illuminates all experiences which shape the subjective reality of an individual, therefore making each human interaction a subjective experience in which no one human can truly understand the subjectivity of another due to the lamps having taken each one on a different path in life. However, the closer two individuals come to understanding the subjective nature in the interactions taking place, the more value that can be placed on the discourse therein (Sherman, 2009). The idea of communication being utilized by any individual for the purpose of developing complex social relationships in the workplace will be analyzed thoroughly by examining what it is to use communicative ethics, understanding the diverse differences between workplace environments and their impact on communicative structure, and finally by grasping the total net profi ts and

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) for Addiction | Proposal

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) for Addiction | Proposal Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP): Can EAP help in the treatment of addiction? If one looks at the statistics for addiction, it is staggering. The annual cost to the NHS for alcohol abuse alone is  £3 billion, with an estimated population of recreational or addicted users of illicit drugs at 50 million (â€Å"Breaking the cycle,† 2006). The annual cost to Wales and England from drug abuse is greater than  £18.8 billion (â€Å"Breaking the cycle,† 2006). Goodman (1990) defines addiction to include the addict’s inability or failure to control their own behaviour and the continuation of said behaviour despite the presence of negative behavioural consequences. Addictions address many forms of deviant behaviour ranging from recreational or pharmaceutical drug use to gambling to sex to overeating. While the mechanism of addiction may vary, the profile of the addict is similar. Therefore, treatments to effectively treat addictions are critical. Although cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and/or the use of pharmaceutical agents are often prescribed to treat the addict, both of these methods are costly, can prove invasive and are time consuming than EAP, one of the newer alternative treatments for addicts (â€Å"Horse power, 2005). The origins of EAP began over 200 years ago when German physicians employed horseback riding for the treatment of hysteria related mental illness (Riede, 1988 as cited by Frewin Gardiner, 2005). While the employment of horseback riding has been shown to help the physical, psychomotor and psychological realms of the patient, EAP does not include horseback riding. Instead it incorporates exercises using the horse as a barometer. Researchers (Christensen, 2006; Schultz, Remick-Barlow Robbins, 2007; Frewin and Gardiner, 2005; Vidrine, Owen-Smith Faulkner, 2002) tell us that horses provide an immediate sense of feedback through their actions to the addict, often called mirroring that allows the addict to immediately realize what it is in their own behaviour that cause the reaction it did in the horse. â€Å"The client is encouraged to use interpretation and insight so that they can start developing new ways of being around the horse,† with themselves and in society. This allows the therapist to both see the horse as a therapeutic aid, but also a more important diagnostic tool (Thompson, 2005). Research (Thompson, 2005; â€Å"Equine assisted activities, 2006) tells us that when the patient learns how to connect with and automatically control the horse, they have the opportunity to learn how to control and better understand themselves. Mann and Williams (2002 as cited by Frewin Gardiner, 2005) cite an 82 percent improvement rate in conduct, mood and psychotic manifestations in patients who have tried conventional therapies for many years. The EAP basis for treatment of addictions believes that if you act on an addiction, you are most likely not connected to your own sense of emotions and self. Connecting with the horse requires that you do (Lavender, 2005 as cited by Thompson, 2005). EAP has been successfully used in the treatment of addiction by many famous dramatic personalities, such as Sophie Anderton, Be Affleck, Christian Slater and Robert Downey Jr. (Thompson, 2005) helping to increase their sense of â€Å"self-esteem, personal confidence, interpersonal effectiveness, trust, boundaries and limit setting† all of which are lacking in the addict, creating the weakness and dependency on detrimental substances or behaviour. Many addicted individuals do not seek treatment; however, for those that do, often the wait is 18 months or longer due to the limited funding for mental health treatment in the UK (â€Å"Addition Today,† 2007) whereas EAP is available at The Priory, a north London clinic. As alternatives to standard NHS sponsored CBT and pharmaceutical treatment are sorely needed, this dissertation proposes research into the effectivity of EAP in the treatment of addiction. Aims This dissertation asks the following research questions: Is it possible to prove the therapeutic efficacy of EAP? Is EAP an effective and quicker therapeutic substitute for the treatment of addictions than cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)? Is EAP helpful in the treatment of addictions? Based on answering these research questions this dissertation seeks to prove the following two hypotheses: Those suffering from addictions find EAP is a powerful and effective therapeutic technique for the treatment of their addictions. Those providing treatment find EAP an ethical approach to the treatment of addictions. Method Research for this dissertation will consist of a formal literature review and a dual-leg qualitative study. The literature review will be conducted using a series of academic searches for information through library systems, online academic systems and other subscription based professional research databases, such as Questia or Highbeam. Similarly, professional psychological and medical sites and associations will be reviewed for current literature as well as those professional sites developed for specialized research into alcohol addiction and related topics. Governmental, national and world health associations will also be reviewed for current literature as well as research and development efforts and governmental initiatives. All articles chosen must be written in English, be published in the last 15 years, be published in professional journals and be authored by credible and qualified professionals in their respective fields. Following the literature review, this researcher will conduct a dual leg qualitative study composed of both interpersonal interviews and a survey instrument. Addicts who have participated in both standard treatment and EAP will be utilized for interviews and will be recruited through notices posted at EAP treatment centres, 12 step recovery meeting. After signing appropriate waivers for both taping the interviews and potentially using quotations as appropriate from interviews, interviewees will be asked a series of questions designed to elicit open-ended responses. All care will be taken to prevent researcher bias by asking each participant the same questions in the same manner and order. Survey participants will be comprised of therapists specialising in addiction and will be recruited through direct mailings to therapists and therapy centres specialising in addiction with questions on the instrument focusing on treatment for addiction, efficacy of CBT, efficacy of pharmaceutical ag ents, efficacy of EAP and the ethical considerations of each treatment modality. Although a phenomenological approach has limitations due to potential researcher bias in theme identification and in participants self-reporting what they believe the research wants to hear, Gorgio (2002, p. 136) believes effective researchers can identify and obtain â€Å"a clarification of the conditions from human subjects the descriptive phenomenological method implements this strategy. Indeed, it is an extension of the very spirit of science.† Ashworth (2003, p. 145) tells us that phenomenological psychology in the UK focuses on the interrogation of real world experiences, such that both participant and researcher can focusing on the problems or situation and apply meaning based on context and content. Analysis Consistent with a phenomenological approach, the analysis will be performed through the use of theme identification when reviewing group interview transcripts from which to prove or disprove the dissertation hypothesis. Questionnaires will be statistically analysed using frequency distributions based on the Likert-scale responses. Workplan *May vary slightly due to holiday schedules References The Addiction Recovery Foundation. (2007). Addiction Today. Retrieved 14 August 2007, from The Addiction Recovery Foundation website: http://www.addictiontoday.org Ashworth, P. (2003). An approach to phenomenological psychology: The contingencies of lifeworld. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 34(2), 145 – 156. Breaking the Cycle of Addiction. (2006). The Living Room. Retrieved 14 August 2007, from The Living Room website: http://thelivingroom.me.uk/stats.htm Christensen, M. (2006, 25 April). The healing power of horses: Equine therapy helps emotionally distressed. Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho). Retrieved 14 August 2007, from the Highbeam professional database website: http Equine assisted activities. (2006). Palaestra, 22(3), 48. Frewin, K. Gardiner, B. (2005). New age or old sage? A review of equine assisted psychotherapy. Australian Journal of Counselling and Psychology, 6, 13 – 17. Goodman, A. (1990). Addiction: Definition and implications. British Journal of Addiction, 85(11), 1403 – 1408. Gorgio, A. (2002). The question of validity in qualitative research. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 33(4), 135-147. Horse power; Olivia Stewart-Liberty was at the end of her tether until she tried a new therapy thats already a hit in Hollywood. Meet the four-legged therapist who got her back in the saddle. (2005, 18 November). The Evening Standard (London, England). Retrieved 14 August 2007, from the Highbeam professional database website: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2581505.html Schultz, P. N., Remick-Barlow, G. A. Robbins, L. (2007). Equine assisted psychotherapy: A mental health promotion/intervention modality for children who have experienced intra-family violence. Health and Social Care in the Community 15(3), 265 – 271. Thompson, J. (2005, 23 October). The Priory enlists horses to treat the anxious, the angry and the † The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 14 August 2007, from The Findarticles database website: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20051023/ai_n15720133 Vidrine, M. I., Owen-Smith, P. Faulkner, P. (2002). Equine-facilitated group psychotherapy: Applications for therapeutic vaulting. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 23(6), 587 – 603.

Essay --

Most developing countries face tough challenges to grow in consequences of the poverty trap: counting limited access to credit and capital markets, inefficient and corrupted governance, and fundamentally a lack of opportunities for them to escape from the poverty thread wheel. And Peru located in South America had not been an exception in this scenario up till the informal housing emerged. In the book named the other path, the author demonstrates an interesting study in Peru’s case of the informal housing that ultimately advanced the urban development. And his assertion implies to be very convincing; however, some may argue that outcomes of urban development through informal housing may be highly complicated and risky. Thus, it would be appropriate for the Peruvian government to find ways to prevent any additional informal housing complications in Peru and combine its policies to upgrade its citizens’ quality of life; focusing on human development and economic developm ent simultaneously. The author, Hernando de Soto, describes how the urban development has highly evolved in Peru, essentially through informal housing; informal meaning as basically against the law. According to the author, informal housing did not accidentally happened in the Peruvian society; despite everything planned in advance since the poor desperately sought for their own opportunities and property rights that the Peruvian government was not able to administer. Informality arose as a result of Peruvian citizens’ responses to the state’s incapacity to satisfy the basic needs of the impoverished masses. Hence the Peruvian citizens had to violate the law in order to build shelters and develop their own neighborhoods, building infrastructure in their own after il... ...ional steps to advance the quality of its people’s lives in consideration of the human development, providing enhanced public services or social welfares for an example. Hernando de Soto’s argument assures the unavoidable informal progress in urban areas in Peru because of inefficient governmental policies on informal housing. As the author argues, perhaps the informal housing did successfully contributed to give chances to the poor; however, in order to minimize the loss and disadvantages, the government absolutely needs to prevent further informal housing along with policies focusing on the human development meanwhile. His emphasis also leaves big questions, such as how much positive impacts do the poor really get from the credit market, along with how Peru’s informal development case can be replicated in other developing countries without negative ramifications.

Aman Resorts Essay

Aman Resorts operates at 26 unique locations all over the world, portraying â€Å"peace, uniqueness and family†. It targets high net worth individuals who like to be out of their normal lifestyle and enjoy their family time relaxed and differently, away from the pressures of work. Aman Resorts are located in select tranquil locations and provide a very unique and localized experience. Such uniqueness is the key competitive advantage against other resorts, which helps it to retain a lot of its loyal repeat customers. In addition to the above uniqueness, Aman Resorts does an excellent job at creating value just by listening to its clients. Customers like to be treated as individuals and enjoy how they are looked after, whether it’s the driver taking them to locations that would most interest them or to stocking the fridge with the customers preferred drinks. While this seems like common sense, customers will prefer to go to Aman Resorts, and pay the premium for going there, even though their rooms are simpler and more expensive than other resorts such as the Four Seasons. The personalized service further reinforces the leading position in its competition against other resorts. Aman doesn’t have more than 40 rooms on average at each location and no two resorts are alike, even if they are in the same country, which helps Aman command a premium price and helps position itself as a premium brand. Meanwhile, Aman Resorts sustains its brand power and relies heavily on word of mouth and online marketing to its loyal clientele, aversive to traditional means of advertising and providing discounts. However, learning more about the customer could theoretically be done by any hotel based on what data is being gathered. If a hotel chain notices that you always drink Diet Coke out of the mini fridge, for example, they can make sure that when you stay the fridge is stocked. While this would be impractical for motels and low to middle end hotels, this would certainly be beneficial for hotels and resorts in the same category as Aman such as the Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton, which could provide personalized service in addition to modern amenities. We have listed two possible challenges to the Aman model. The first challenge is from potential customers in emerging markets. China is a huge market for Aman. In China, people used to live in a very simple and natural life.  However, as the economy has exponentially grown in the last thirty years, many people have acquired an increasing amount of disposable income and are in greater need of special places for their vacation and leisure. Aman is undoubtedly a great place for them. However, the idea of simplified lifestyle may not be attractive to customers from emerging markets like China and others in the rest of Asia. That’s why some customers even complained that there wasn’t even a TV in the room or wireless internet at some Aman locations, when all the other luxury hotels in the area offer those as standard amenities for much lower room rates. We suggest that Aman provide luxury amenities, fine dining, and technological equipment and services to Chinese customers. Currently, Aman has only one resort in Beijing, China. Aman can find more great places in the west of China, where there are great and unique views. Generally speaking, Aman can improve on some of the spartan offerings in some of its locations by providing television, internet services and other modern amenities to customers who prefer having them while staying at their resorts. It could also standardize some of the essential offerings that a majority of its customers have requested across all its resorts, to maximize loyalty and appreciation among them. The second challenge Aman faces is from competing resorts in the area. An independant company or an existing resort can always create a new resort chain that offers similar services to Aman with regards to beautiful locations and attention to customer service and undercut Aman on price. While it may take them a while to catch up to Aman’s status, they could theoretically offer the same services in different locations.

Mtn Nigeria Roll Out Strategy

MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED Prior to 1999, which heralded the return of democracy to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 30 companies had the Digital Mobile License (DML). None of these companies were fully operational as the lacked the technical and financial capability to operate the DML. Aside from the digital mobile licensee, the only active player who was more or less a monopoly was Nitel.The advent of democracy resulted in the appointment of a new regulator for the telecommunications industry. One of the mandates given to the regulator was to deregulate the telecommunications sector and to drive it to become an enabler of the Nigerian economy. The regulator’s first move was to revoke all DML licenses, free up the spectrums associated with the licenses and then open up the licenses to all that is interested.After a due diligence, going thru technical and financial bids, six players were invited to bid for three of the four spectrums put up for sale (the fourth was res erved for Nitel, the government owned company). After a very competitive, free and fair bidding process, MTN Nigeria Limited emerged as one of the winning bids, paying $285m for the license. As part of the terms to retaining the license, each operator of the DML license was to use the GSM technology. They were all given roll out targets, and targets on subscriber base. ROLL OUT STRATEGYAt a strategy management meeting, MTN identified that aside from ensuring that the roll out and subscriber base targets are met, they also have to ensure what ever strategy that is implemented will ensure that investment in the cost of the license and building of the network is recoverable and sustainable. Two roll out strategies were identified: Width strategy and Depth strategy or a combination of both. Whichever strategy was chosen, the marketing team were to ensure that the necessary marketing strategy, slogan and drive support it

Energy and Life Essays - Photosynthesis, Chloroplast, Thylakoid

Energy and Life Essays - Photosynthesis, Chloroplast, Thylakoid Energy and Life Plants and some other type of organisms are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food. Organisms such as plants, which make their own food, are called autotrophs. Other organisms, such as animals, cannot use the suns energy directly, these are known as heterotrophs. They obtain energy from the foods they consume. One of the principal chemical compounds that living things use to store energy is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The energy released when ATP is released when ATP is converted into ADP and a phosphate group. The characteristics of ATP make it an exceptionally useful molecule that is used by all types of cells as their basic energy source. ATP also powers movement within the cell. Cell organelles are moved long microtubules by motor proteins that use the energy of ATP to generate force. A single molecule if the sugar glucose stores more than 90 times the chemical energy of a molecule of ATP. In the process of photosynthesis, plants use the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates sugars and starches. In the 1600s, the Belgian physician Jan van Helmont devised an experiment to find out if plants grew by taking material out of the soil. Many scientists have contributed to understanding how plants carry out photosynthesis. Early research focused on the overall process. Later researchers investigated the detailed chemical pathways. The experiments performed by van Helmont, Priestley, Ingenhouz, and other scientists reveal that in the presence of light, plants transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and release oxygen. Photosynthesis is a series of reactions that uses energy from the sun to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen. Photosynthesis takes place in a plant organelle called the chloroplast. Photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy sugars. Plants then use the sugars to produce complex carbohydrates such as starches. Plants obtain carbon dioxide from the air or water in which they grow. In addition to water and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis requires light and chlorophyll, a molecule in charge of chloroplasts. Plants gather the suns energy with light absorbing molecules called pigments. The plants principal pigment is chlorophyll. In plants and other photosynthetic eukaryotes, photosynthesis takes place inside chloroplasts. The chloroplasts contain saclike photosynthetic membranes called thylakoids. Thylakoids are arranged in stacks known as grana. Thylakoids contain clusters of chlorophyll and other pigments and protein known as photosystems that are able to capture the energy of sunlight. The stroma is the region outside the thylakoid membranes. Light Dependent Reactions: Take place in the thylakoids, and takes water, and uses the suns energy to make ATP and NADPH. Also gives off oxygen. NADPH: Carries high energy electrons. NADP^+ + H NADPH. Light Independent Uses ATP and NADPH to turn carbon dioxide into glucose.