Students, faculty struggle with plagiarism in Internet era

In the postmodern society we have today, Internet-access Is a natural part of the everyday life. Not only have the Internet almost taken over people's lives, but apparently also their schoolwork and education. Due to the easy access to everything on the Internet, faculty at schools have trouble find-inning a dividing line, between what is cheating and what is not. An example of this was seen in a chemistry-class at the University of Wisconsin, where 42 students were accused of plagiarism. While all the students protested, none of the students seemed to know the seriousness of the situ-tool.This leads to the question: when Is something plagiarism? And what can one do to fix the cheating? Journalist, Todd Effeminately wrote the text â€Å"U students, faculty struggle with plagiarism in In-tern era† in 2010, and it was published in â€Å"the Capital Times†- newspaper. The sender of the art-clue, want to Inform the reader of the present Issue: plagiarism. The sender simply wants to notify the reader that plagiarism Is Illegal and wrong. This leads to the unknowing students, who tempt to take the short cut and use other people's work.The scary thing is that most students don't see the series- scenes of this problem – they simply don't consider it cheating. As Donald McCabe, professor at Rutgers University and co-founder of the International Center for Academic Integrity, explains it: â€Å"You're almost to the 50-50 mark right now, where almost half the students we survey don't see this as ‘moderate' or ‘serious' cheating. And the number that's growing Is the half who don't con-slider It cheating. † This quotation-use by the writer, appeals to the readers pathos: how come so many students don't see this wrongdoing?What have society done wrong to make this happen? Not only does Effeminately appeal to pathos, but he also appeals to ethos, which strengthens his reliability. HIS ethos Increases, with both the use of statistics and experts to comment on the Issue, for an example: â€Å"Donald McCabe, has been researching academic misconduct for 20 years, and he says Logos is also a penetrating form of appeal. It is used throughout the entire text, when Effeminately tries to convince the reader that plagiarism is an increasing crime.Because, of course plagiarism is wrong, and he proves it by referring to the majorities opinion: â€Å"most me to agree with the notion that plagiarism – taking the work of others and presenting It as your own – Is wrong†. Another appeal to logos Is his use of connectives in the text. Connectives make him look sure of his case, for an example when he uses â€Å"of course† in the end his contention: â€Å"Students who cheat are nothing new on college campuses, of course†. All of the examples above are all signs of hidden argumentation.Hidden problem, and agree with him at the same time. With the use of hidden argumentation, the reader is influence d in the wanted direction, most likely without ensign any form of manipulation. The signs of hidden argumentation is seen in the text, when the writer refers to experts, the majority of people's opinions and if the writer is general-sizing, which is all seen in this text. The way of the composition makes the text very floating – there is a good balance between claim and evidence in the argumentation.At the same time there is a perfect comprehensive use of experts to support the argumentation. Because of the formal and high-flown language used in the article, it is to conclude that the target roof for the text must be most suitable for the academic educated people. At the same time it is not unthinkable that the text also is meant for college-students around the world. Because of the theme and the conclusion in the text, you must assume that the text's purr-pose is to enlighten the students about the serious matter of the problem: plagiarism.One of the scary things to think ab out is the fact that young students cheat because they have doubt in themselves. Either, they don't realism how smart they are, or maybe they are Just scared of hard work and failure? In reality, the main reason why students cheat is because they: â€Å"didn't think they could accomplish what they wanted to any other way'. But is the goal really accomplished, when it is accomplished with fraud? Plagiarism is so common that some people even write papers in ex-change for money.As it is told in the article: â€Å"Professor Donald Downs (†¦ ) met a man who â€Å"told me he felt like he had taken my courses. † A puzzled Downs asked the man what he meant. â€Å"He told me, ‘Vive written about 20 papers for your In conclusion, what can one do to fix the cheating? According to the article the main season to fix cheating is by talking about it, even though the topic is sensitive: ;legalism is a very difficult conversation to have because nobody quite wants to talk about it,† (†¦ You can't work on this issue unless you talk about it. † The important thing is to enlighten students about this issue, because if the students really speak the truth: then how can it be considered cheating, if they truly don't know what plagiarism is? Enlighten is also the main purpose of this article: enlighten the world about plagiarism. Set a stop to plagiarism and accomplish your goals by yourself.

Maniac Maggie Summary Essay

Questions 1. Page 158 = Who does Maniac bring to the party? What do you think is motivations are for doing this? A: Maniac brings Mars Bars to the party. I think that the reason he brings Mars Bars, to the party was to show the people at the McNabs party that black people are not mean. 2. Page 159 = How did Maniac convince his guest to come with him? A: Maniac convinces Mars to go to the party by showing Mars how good was the west end. 3. Page 158-159 = Where does Maniac and his guest go before going to the McNabs’ party? Why? A: Maniac and Mars Bars go to the Pickwells. The reason they go,is because Maniac wanted Mars to see all what the west end offered. —————————————————————————————————– Chapter 42 (pg. 162-166) Questions 4. Page 163 = What â€Å"game† do the McNabs decide to play at the birthday party? How does this make the guests feel? A: The game they play is rebels. Which is a game about blacks against whites. This makes Mars feel indifferent and left out. 5. Page 164 = Why does Mars Bar says â€Å"Yeah, bomb shelter?† What has he realized about the McNabs? A: Mars says that because he knows that the bunker is to stop black people. He knows that they hate the black people.. 6. Page 165 = Was Maniac’s plan successful? What do you think his plan originally was? Should he have invited who he did? A: Maniacs plan was a total disaster. I think his original plan was to make them friends. He shouldn’t have invited Mars Bars because he hates white people. ————————————————————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Chapter 43 (pg. 167-169) Questions 7. Page 168 = What does Maniac do to relieve stress? What time does he do it? A: He runs, in the morning. 8. Page 168 = What does â€Å"black and white only began when the alarm clocks rang?† mean? A: This means that the blacks and the whites have been enemies since the beginning. ————————————————————————————————- Chapter 44 (pg. 170-173) Questions 9. Page 170 = Who does Maniac realize is also out running? A: Maniac realizes that the person who was also running was Mars Bars. 10. Page 171 = Describe how the two people begin running together. Who are they, and why do they run this way? A: They ran every day and at the same time except that they ran on opposite ends. The people are Maniac and Mars Bars. They ran this way because it made them feel free and helped them relieve stress. —————————————————————————————————– Chapter 45 (pg. 174-180) Questions 11. Page 172-173 = Who comes to get Maniac? Why? What happened? A: The person who comes to get Maniac is Piper Mcnab. The reason why he calls him is because Russel was in trouble. He was trapped high in the middle of the trestle. 12. Page 173 = Is Maniac successful in his rescue? A: Maniacs rescue was not a success because he just walked away. 13. Page 174 = Who comes to get Maniac? Where is Maniac sleeping? A:Mars Bars comes to get Maniac. Maniac is sleeping in the buffalo pen. 14. Page 176 = What do we learn about the rescue? Where did the boys go after the rescue? How is this important? A:We learn that Mars bars rescued Russel. They went to the Mars Bars house. It is important because their friendship grows and the kids got cured. 15. Page 180 = What is the big invitation that Maniac gets? How does he react? A:The invitation he gets is that if he wanted to go to Mars house. He runs away. ——————————————————————————————————— Chapter 46 (pg. 181-184) Questions 16. Page 182 = Who else comes to visit Maniac? What does she want? Is she successful? A:The person who comes to visit Maniac is Amanda Beale. She wants to take Maniac home but she fails because Maniac think’s something bad will happen. 17. Page 183 = Why does Maniac say that he has â€Å"all he ever wanted?† A:He says that because he finally knows that a real home is near.

Festival and events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Festival and events - Essay Example In addition, we have also approached for additional funding from the Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd that offers sponsorship based on their internal evaluations for events that deliver community benefits that align to the direction of the company. In this note, the company agreed to donate $1000 to sponsor the night trivia. Further, the Toyota company also sponsored the event by donating $1200. Further, we were keen in controlling the costs of organizing the event by ensuring that we select a venue that is cost effective. Our choice of venue for the event is Apple cross Anglican Church where it is possible to reduce the total cost for holding the event while still making the guests to have fun. The main hall areas in the Apple cross Anglican Church can host a maximum of about 230 guests at a cost of $20 per hour after 6pm for non-profit events. In addition, the venue has other additional offers such as tables and soft drinks. Further, we have approached the Sound Guys Company where we have obtained discounted sound system at a cost of $70 for the event. All these additional resources make the cost of holding the event in the venue to be within our limited budget. In order to attract a large number of guests, we have organized some prizes and gifts that will be given to the participants of night trivia. For instance, we have approached Dymocks book shop who agreed to donate different types of books in order to support the event. In addition, we have also approached Coles Supermarkets who agreed to support the night trivia by donating food hampers that will play great part in attracting more participants. Further, we were able to get some gifts such as soaps, perfumes and lotions from Elizabeth Shop that will also constitute the prizes to be given out. In order for the participants to win the gifts, the trivia will be organized in such a way that groups in

Latino Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Latino Culture - Research Paper Example Further, Latinos have considerably different histories, cultural approaches and contemporary social problems (Suarez-Orozco & Paez, 2008). â€Å"Latinos are not a simple racial or ethnic group, but they are the product of a distinctive civil society† (Hayes-Bautista, 2005, p.5). Latinos are generally described by governmental policy models as: a racial group, a language group, a group with strong affilitation to their traditional culture, a dysfunctional minority group, or an urban underclass. However, the core element of Latinos is the continued presence of a Latino civil society, which provides Latino children with their initial experiences in the social world, teaches them right and wrong, duty, early concepts of civic responsibility, and first notions of personal identity. There is a great heterogeneity among the different groups of Latinos, their experiences depending on various factors such as â€Å"race, color, gender, socio-economic status, language, immigrant status, and mode of incorporation into the United States† (Suarez-Orozco & Paez, 2008, p.4). The social practices and cultural models of multiculturalism contribute to the experiences, perceptions and the range of behaviors of both immigrant and native-born Latinos in ways unprecedented during earlier large-scale immigration. The racial and ethnic categorization of Latinos has high stakes political and economic implications such as civil rights, equal opportunities, and affirmative action. Mainland Puerto Ricans and immigrant Dominicans indicate a high level of transnationalism, evident in the economic, political and cultural strategies adopted by diasporic people. They lead double lives with double loyalties, living alternately between their island and the mainland; remitting large sums of money to their homeland, continue to participate in political processes there, and periodically visit their homeland to maintain their social and cultural ties. Transnational behavior, and alternately

Childhood Prejudice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childhood Prejudice - Essay Example This will be elaborated and pointed out in the succeeding pages. According to Piaget, the stages of cognitive development, plays an important role in the learning ability of a child. Learning process involves the introduction of a stimulus for orientation and it teaches the child the manner of response in accordance with what is learned. Furthermore, cognition involves a schema that follows a chronological order that allows no interruption, otherwise will create an adverse effect. This involves the encoding of the perceived stimuli followed by the storing of the data encoding in the memory. Finally the retrieval of such memory when the need arise thus completing the entire process. This cycle follows a patter in processing information along with the other psychological and biological skills. The impact of this process is also determined by the social and environmental factors present, together with the constant reinforcement aid of education and authorities. Should there be a flaw, disruption or inadequacies to that process, learning becomes defi cient. Thus the child begins to form biases or preferences. According to Frances E. Aboud (1988), prejudice is not genetically inclined to happen, as it happens along with the development of the cognitive skills. In her book entitled Children and Prejudice, she asserted that at a very juvenile age, beginning 3 to 4 years, "children already notices racial distinctions, absorbs racially related images and assumptions, begin to learn and express racist ideologies (Aboud. 1988). Biases are formed due to the primary obvious aspect particularly noticed by the child at first glance, like the colour of the skin. The child absorbs everything that is perceived by the senses like sponges, and because they are incapable of discerning the right from wrong, therefore requires guidance from authority figures such as the parents. Thus the acquisition of preference among children is parallel with that of the parent's. The research further concluded that the meagre cognitive skills as well as the predisposition to ethnic preferences becomes gradually diminish as the child learns the distinction between virtues and mere peripheral. But this conjecture was opposed by Author Rupert Brown (1995), emphasizing that prejudice do not disappear with adulthood. In his book Prejudice: it's a social psychology, he said; "thirdly, and Aboud (1988) has noted, there had been some marked changes in measured prejudice level in adults over the past 40 years and yet recent studies of children's ethnic prejudice have shown that children below the age of 10 still continues to manifest various kinds of bias and discrimination" (p. 154). Nevertheless, he agreed to Aboud's finding about the three-stage model in which cognition is governed solely by perception and affective process occurring until the age of five. To strengthen her claim about the correlation of cognitive development to the development of prejudice in children, Aboud, together with Amato came up with a book in 2001 entitled Developmental and socialization influence of prejudice on inter-group bias, in which it claims the existence of prejudice even at the time when the child begins to form social organization. As earlier stated

Intimate Correlation of Media Art and Manufacturing Industry Dissertation - 1

Intimate Correlation of Media Art and Manufacturing Industry - Dissertation Example Manufacturers need to cater to the changing needs of their consumers in order for them to continue with their operations. They need to think of new innovations for their products for them to be globally competitive and for others not to outweigh what they have. It should not be a wonder why manufacturers with this line of thinking have owned the top positions for the best manufacturers in the world. Apple’s Legacy Apple for instance, has come a very long way in producing items that were really suitable for the different tastes of people. As their products continue to innovate, their ability to capture the hearts of the consumers also continue. With this, manufacturers within the same line of business such as Samsung are also following Apple’s steps in innovating their products and giving in to what the customers want. They always come up with ideas that would attend to the latest craze regarding the different gadgets, always leaving their consumers thirsty for more. Whi le it is enough to credit these manufacturers for their ability to innovate and think of new ways to sell their products, it cannot be denied that media art has also affected the success of these manufacturers very effectively. Anyone would be positive in saying that media art can really push consumers to purchase the products that they contain. Advertisements always make a huge impact to customers and it’s the easiest form of influence so that consumers can be attracted to the products. Apple has been in the top of Wall Street for the past years now, since its introduction of the Macintosh personal computers and the portable music players known as iPod. Nowhere in the world can you see anyone who owns any of these gadgets. The way on how these products attained success is a great illustration on how media art and innovation can really be a factor to the manufacturer’s success. Even the littlest image on a magazine, or a small advertisement in a billboards and everythi ng else, if it contains the most important feature that a product has, that would be a plus factor to the manufacturer’s ability to sell. Even as Apple continue to succeed, its owner, Steve Jobs overlooked the fact that he has competitors around. Koontz and Weihrich (2008, pp.331-333) shared what happened between Apple and Windows. Gates has offered Jobs to make the personalized software that he wants, but as soon as Gates took a hold of the Apple’s software, he took advantage of it, and thus, the birth of Microsoft Windows. This only proves that having the most efficient software and resources is not the only key to success in every company. There will always be those who will compete in order to get to the highest position. Microsoft was then successful in pirating Apple’s idea, but the success that the latter has made can still be apprehended for. According to Lussier and Achua (2010, pp.24-25), Apple’s success comes from trying to make things that wou ld be loved by everyone. There is no doubt at this point that everyone loves their products. Together with their brilliant minds, innovation and resourcefulness, media art can always be behind everything that they make. As stated earlier, the easiest way to reach people nowadays and to sell products is through advertising. Media art is a very effective tool in exposing your products in a very simple way. For as long as you know the details to include in the

Cultural Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cultural - Research Paper Example This paper considers an economic explanation and an ecological one, along with an analysis of forest symbolism and a sociological analysis of honey collecting, to form the thesis of this paper: that the impact of hunting and honey-collection subsistence activities of the Mbuti, on gender and social organization, is mediated by forest symbolism that serves as a basis for their ideology, and that Forest symbolism and consequent social organization, of this hunter-gatherer society, shapes gender practices with respect to net and archery hunting, and also to honey collection. Five distinct theories are presented in this paper. The first, by Bailey and Aunger, is basically an economic theory. They argue that net hunting is participated in by women in areas where Mbuti find it to be more economically rewarding than working in the village gardens of agriculturalist outsiders. In archery hunting areas, this is not so. The second is Abruzzi’s, ecological theory about population pressur e. Abruzzi argues that the net hunting and archery hunting division is an adaptive response to the invasion of Mbuti territory by non-Mbuti outsiders. The third theory, core to this paper, is from a fascinating descriptive analysis by Mosko. Mosko’s paper introduces a structuralist theory of forest symbolism and kinship representation, nothing overtly specific to net and archery hunting, but actually, it would appear, quite central to it. The symbolism of the forest, as conceived by the Mbuti, and described by Mosko, places men at the center, the hearth, the vaginal entry to and exit from the womb, and similarly as close as possible to the center of the forest, the sacred space where it is forbidden to disturb by hunting. It places women at the periphery, near the food baskets in huts, and similarly in labor contact with the agriculturalists, at the periphery of Mbuti territory. Having read the other two papers first, and later reading Mosko’s paper, the idea dawned (t he fourth theory being the theory stated as the thesis of this paper) that the connection between gender and subsistence and social organization, as it pertains to net and archery hunting, actually has its roots in the forest symbolism of which Mosko spoke, although he did not apply it to that consideration. It follows to ask why, then, as so many anthropologists and ethnographers have asked before; why do women participate in net hunting but seldom to never in archery hunting? How might this unique, non-materialist way of looking at Mbuti social organization, from a more emic perspective of forest symbolism contribute to answering this question? The fifth theory considered in this paper is an ecological and sociological analysis of honey collection activities and norms. Ichikawa emphasized that honey collection, among net hunting Mbuti, is an activity that strengthens social organization, and that women and children participate in honey collection activities but do not, themselves, actually collect the honey, as that is done only by men. Inputting honey-collection information into consideration of the thesis of this paper, remaining sensitive to Mosko’s explanation of emic forest symbolism, the question of â€Å"why† might be more confidently answered. The impact of hunting and honey-collection subsistence activities of the Mbuti, on gender

The Profession of Arms Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Profession of Arms - Research Paper Example This work employs the ethical processing model to examine the ethical issues facing the modern US military after a decade in persistent wars. In this regard, this paper critically evaluates some three fundamental aspects of the contemporary US military: professionalism, culture, and ethics in the US military. In the analysis, it compares military professionalism with civil professionalism, points out the differences, justify military actions, and points to the direction military professionalism should take. Military culture is also discussed in lengths in addition to being compared with military climate. In evaluating ethics, this paper illustrates possible platforms and avenues of achieving virtues behaviors among individual soldiers in the US military. Finally, this work comes up with a compelling conclusion in which dialogue in light of the discussion presented in this paper is pointed to as solution to ethical issues facing the US military. This paper builds a convincing professi on of arms in the US after a decade in war. INTRODUCTION After close to a decade in war, the performance of soldiers and leaders in the United States Army has continued to be magnificent. While some critical skills have eroded along the way, the US Army is different from what it was in 2001, and continues to be an Army in transition—learning, always seeking to meet the needs of the American People. As a profession—a profession of arms—it is appropriate for the army to examine itself particularly at these times of transition to ensure that that it appreciates and lives up to the principles that define a profession. This can be achieved by understanding three critical ethical issues; what it implies for the army to be a profession of arms; the meaning of an individual being a professional soldier; and an examination of how individual professionals and the army as a profession is working to meet these aspirations after a decade in war (Casey, 2009). THE ARMY AS A P ROFESSION After years of study and practice, the military, like any other profession, should be able to produce uniquely expert work—away from routine or a repetition. In exercise of military professionalism, the military, just like the sick need a cure from the medics, should be able to provide security to the defenseless. In so doing, effectiveness, rather than pure efficacy, should be the defining factor. In this light, one of the ethical issues that face the US military is the continuous development of expertise and the subsequent utilization of that expertise in the best interest of the society only. The security that the American society cannot provide for itself, and without which it cannot survive, the military should provide. In so doing however, the military should employ its expertise only in accordance to the values held by the Nation (Dempsey, 2010). One of the factors that underline the existence of the army is the applications of lethal force. Unlike other prof essions, the weapons and operations of a soldier are lethal, and individual soldiers must be ready to kill and die in response to the needs of a republic. However, the US Army aspect of professionalism has waned over the years, depicting itself more as an occupation than a profession (Casey, 2009). In particular, the US military has gone professional during expansion and later phases of war while it turns ‘occupational’ during contraction and after wars. A good illustration to this aspect is the post-World War 2 in Korea and post-Vietnam. The coming to being of an all-volunteer force in 1971 and the subsequent rebuilding of the Army NCO Corps Post-Vietnam did not end this trend. This was followed by more professionalism during Desert Storm and more of managerial aspects over the next decade. Today, after close to a decade in war, the US army exhibits more traits of a professional outfit as opposed to the institutional side of the army. However, in the contemporary globa l era of persistent conflict, the professional

Political Considerations and Managing Political Risk in an Ever Research Paper

Political Considerations and Managing Political Risk in an Ever Evolving Global Marketplace - Research Paper Example This paper declares that the increased rate of globalization throughout the world has created a dynamic in which decision-makers within international business must consider able to factors as a means of continuing to expand the markets in which they operate and generate an even higher level of profitability. Ultimately, even a cursory level of business analysis reveals the fact that a company which does not focus itself on development and expansion will ultimately collapse and become nonviable. As a direct interpretation of this, it is necessary for firms to be international in their scope and to continually attempt to broaden the overall level of consumers that they are able to engage with. As the paper stresses recognizing how to manage political risk while conducting international business is an essential element that managers should be able to comprehend and understand. Without this understanding managers will be at a disadvantage and will place themselves at risk and even in harm’s way if they are not careful. Political landscapes shape businesses that operate overseas. These landscapes must be navigated carefully and with ethics in mind. Strong core values will be essential to their success. An effective understanding of â€Å"political risk† can be effected through an appreciation of societal organization; specifically the means by which the rules of law, or lack thereof, define the way in which a given region might be represented.

Growing effects of violence in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Growing effects of violence in Sports - Essay Example The author posses the historical context of the article by discussing how children emulate professionals in the sport, and always find a way of displaying their affection and love for the game. Research about the author indicates that he is a sport journalist; therefore, the credibility of the article is not in doubt. This is mainly due to the knowledge of the game, facts and issues surrounding the article. The author displays an air of professionalism in the way he presents the facts of violence in the game and in the National Hockey League (NHL), which indicates that the author is credible. The author comes across as knowledgeable and fair since he does not lay blame on one party, in fact, the author tries to analyze and apportion the blame for the effects that violence in hockey has on children. The author blames both the parents, who let their children be exposed to the violence, and the media, who glorify the actions of violent players. From an analysis of the article, it is evident that the main aim of the author is to convince parents that violence in sports, especially hockey, really exists, and the parents should exercise caution when exposing their children to such sports (Davidson). This aim is evident from the warnings that the author puts across for parents to counsel their children and only allow children to view age appropriate content. The article is a persuasive essay that tries to indicate that violence has a real influence on the psychological growth of children, and parents should look out for these influences. The article also seeks to inform the audience that violence in sports is increasing, and the group most affected in society is the children and teens. The author also seeks to point out the results of the violence in the sport, which is done by quoting facts from past incidents. The intended audience in the article is obviously parents of teenagers and children who allow their children to be exposed

Business Process Reengineering Essay Example for Free

Business Process Reengineering Essay Whenever we order our drinks at the coffee shops on a daily basis, we are actually triggering a business process. When the waiter at the coffee shop takes the order at our table, he will pass our orders to the kitchen by yelling our orders from one end of the coffee shop to another. Most of the time, the kitchen helper will hear the order and start to prepare. The waiter will then go around taking a few other orders. After he is done with taking orders, he will collect the drinks from the kitchen and serve it to the customers. Customers will then pay up for the drinks. In the event there isn’t enough change for big notes, the waiter will have to go back to the counter to break the notes into smaller variations in order to return the correct amount of change to the customers. In some cases, he might deliver the wrong order as he doesn’t note down the orders in pen and paper, he just passes on the order to the kitchen by shouting. Restaurant scenario Many years down the road, the coffee shop has earned enough to pay for a renovation and overhaul. The boss of the coffee shop has decided to upgrade the coffee shop to a restaurant. He realises that he need to retrain his staff to operate the restaurant as the methods of operating a restaurant differs from the methods of operating the coffee shop. He also realise that he can incorporate some equipment to help him process orders more efficiently. In summary, he needs to change the way the restaurant does things (processes) and how he does things (Method/tools used to carry out the task). The boss has to do a total revamp of the methods and processes of how he was previously used to in the coffee shop. This is what is meant by business process reengineering. In definition, business process is an organizational change in its methods used to redesign an organization to improve efficiency and effectiveness (Mehta, 2011). Reengineering is the organizational change characterized by drastic process transformation. Concepts BPR focus Objectives In order for companies to operate more efficiently, reduce waste, retain their customers and drive sales, understanding and applying BPR is essential for this change to happen. Firstly, we have to map out the organization’s goals, objectives, primary business function, the people they have and the tools they use. The second objective would be to analyse the current process and redesign/revamp them. By doing so, companies will be able to achieve better ROI and eliminate waste. This will help the company to gain competitive advantage over others in its efficiency and also profits (Muharram, 2007). Perspective of BPR BPR is a framework designed for companies to adopt. This framework helps to optimize processes by making it more streamlined. A good example to explain this point would be the difference between a vertical and cross functional organization. Horizontal organization In a horizontal organization, the customer interacts only with one party but in a vertical structure, customers might have to deal with different departments. Figure 3 shows a customer dealing with his account manager for the application of a loan. In the process, the customer does not need to deal with the different departments involved in the application of a loan. This allows the loan application to be more streamlined (Zigiaris, 2000). A vertical structure is not as efficient as customers will have to deal with several departments to process their requests. In a call centre environment, when the customer logs a call for a IT issue, the calling department will answer his call and log the case. He will then be transferred to the technical department who will assist him with 1st level troubleshooting. In the event he cannot solve the problem, the matter will be escalated to a level 2 support and also a product specialist. After his issue has been resolved, he will be transferred to the payment department where he will pay for the IT services he has used. After making payment, he will receive an email from the feedback department where they will ask the customer for feedback for the case. This slows down the entire process of resolving the problem from end to end. One of the main goal in BPR is to optimize the processes that takes place within the organization and reduce lead time. In order to do so, businesses has to look at its processes from a clean state perspective. For a company to be able to streamline their processes, they have to add value to their customers through their processes. Processes should maintain its ability to add value to customers. For those processes that do not, we can automate them and put the focus on adding value. This will result in higher customer satisfaction, better efficiency, elimination of watse and greater ROI(Park, 2008). BPR Methodologies There are several techniques to business process redesign and reengineering. We will discuss a few in this section. Hammer and Champy A major overhaul in the organization’s process and structure is one of the keys to ensuring that cost is lowered and service quality is being improved. The means of implemeting these is via the use of information technology. Besides reorganization and using IT to power the business, redesigning the work process and optimizing it, helps the organization to reduce time taken, lower costs and improve quality (Rouse, 2009). A Case study of Ford Motor Company Ford used to employ 500 accounts payable staff in the past. These 500 staff are running the tasks of tracking faults between purchase orders, receipts and invoices. After Ford decided to reengineer their process, the number of staff needed reduced from 500 to 125. Their reengineering efforts include: * Creating an online database where all purchase orders issued by the buyers are being captured * Goods are being checked when received. The shipment being sent has to match with that in the database. This allows the staff to check if the goods were actual orders being indented. This system of checking eliminates the need to check for faults between purchase orders. * Goods being received will be marked as received and the database is being updated real-time. (Hammer Champy, 2000) Perspective of process reengineering by Hammer and Champy 1. Organize around outcomes, not tasks. 2. Identify all the processes in an organization and prioritize them in order of redesign urgency. 3. Integrate information processing work into the real work that produces the information. 4. Treat geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized. 5. Link parallel activities in the workflow instead of just integrating their results. 6. Put the decision point where the work is performed, and build control into the process. 7. Capture information once and at the source. (Rouse, 2009) The methodology preached by Hammer and Champy clearly reflects what was being discussed in the BPR focus and objectives at the start of this report. Its focus is to eliminate waste and also to focus on deliverables that will add value to customers. In order to do so, IT systems can be employed in order to automate processes which do not add value. This point of automation is being reiterated in the case study of Ford Motors. This concept of rethinking and redesigning the business process radically helps us to improve many areas of the business such as lowering costs, improving customer service, ensure quality is being maintained and speed up the entire workflow.

Mesotherapy Strategies and Techniques

Mesotherapy Strategies and Techniques MESOTHERAPY INTRODUCTION Mesotherapy is an art of injecting small quantities of various medicinal preparations such as vitamins, minerals and other conventional drugs directly into the mesoderm to treat pathological conditions locally. It involves the administration of intradermal or subcutaneous injections of compounds to treat a variety of medical conditions and avoiding systemic adverse effects due to drugs. It appears to be a novel technique to administer medicines local to the pathology while the skin serves as a natural time- release system. BACKGROUND OF MESOTHERAPY The term mesotherapy (derived from Greek mesos. â€Å"Middle† and therapeia to treat medically) denotes injection of substances into middle layer of skin ( mesoderm) for medical purposes. Historical aspects[1] Mesotherapy was originally used to treat painful conditions using local procaine injections. Michael Pistor who coined the term mesotherapy is considered the father of mesotherapy. In his original article,he described treating deafness, tinnitus, vertigo and headaches using local injections of procaine. Earlier to this in 1884, Koller an ophthalmologist used local cocaine to relieve pain. In 1925 Lerich used intradermal injections in the intercostal spaces. In 1937 Aron studied the use of intradermal injections to have an analgesic effect. Albert Lemaire, a Belgian physician used procaine injections to treat trigeminal neuralgia. In 1952, Michel Pistor a French physician popularized mesotherapy to treat various conditions in dermatology,sports,traumatology and vascular disease chiefly as a pain-relieving therapy. He defined mesotherapyas a techniquethat was used to treat mesoderm,(primary germ layer that develops into connective tissue, muscle and the circulatory system). In 1953, Dr .Mario Lebel invented a 3mm length needle that could be used precisely for injection of substances into the dermis. In 1964, the French society of Mesotherapy was founded by Michel Pistor and use of mesotherapy was extended to treat cosmetic conditions. The American influence was evident after Dr. Lionel Bissoon popularized the technique in North America. Despite the fact that mesotherapy is gaining popularity in aesthetic medicine especially for localized cellulite reduction, it continues to be a controversial topic and therefore requires cautious approach. The safety and efficacy of these mesotherapy remain ambiguous to patients and physicians alike. [2] Applied basic science [1, 3] The concept that led to discovery of mesotherapy is quite interesting. Pistor saw recovery of chronic hearing loss while treating a patient with procaineinjections for an asthma attack. Subsequent intradermal injections of this product into the mastoid region proved this effect to be true. However the depth of injection was considered important. This led the researchers to the fact that at a depth of 1.5 to 2mm the local activity of the product would last longer due to a persistent reservoir with weak local diffusion in the dermis whereas products injected into dermis would dissipate to greater distances.A product when injected intradermally acts in two ways. Firstly, by stimulating dermal receptors in situ and secondly, over long distances by reaching other organs via circulation. A concept of meso-interface exists which is the surface of contact established between the injected products and the tissue injected. The more the multiple punctures are made and the more fragmented produc ts are delivered in small quantities, the greater the meso-interface and proportionately greater numbers of dermal receptors get activated.Pistor has always described this technique as follows. â€Å"A little volume, a few times and in the right place†. The idea was that by placing these products in the dermis, the skin acts as a reservoir for drugs to diffuse slowly via microcirculation to activate dermal receptors. A general mechanism of action (based on the target site, dermis) and a specific mechanism of action (based on the ingredients used) has been proposed to explain the concept of mesotherapy. The dermis is considered to be common denominator for circulatory, neurological and immunological functions; and the general mode of action is believed to occur by correction of these altered functions. Individual drugs or agents target the specific indication of mesotherapy. EQUIPMENTS The various equipments used in mesotherapy are Mesogun (Fig 1) Mircromesotherapy device Needleless Mesotherapy Mesogun Mesogun is a syringe infusion pump that is capable of injecting the desired substance at a required amount, speed and depth using the injector and needle. Syringes varying from 2cc-10cc and needle lengthsvarying in size from 4mm to 13mm can be used based on the indication, and desired depth of injection. A device known as guide is used to keep the needle at a constant depth. Once the parameters are chosen, the product can be injected by one of the following modes. Continuous – Min 3cc/min Max 10cc/min. Mircrodose – Max0.1cc/trigger. Standard dose – Max 0.3cc/trigger. Mesoperfusion – Max 0.3cc/trigger. Nappage – 0.1cc/trigger. Advantages of Mesogun Good comfort level for patient and physician Procedure is faster and relatively painless Accurate delivery system Versatality – Ability to perform various modes such as nappage, continuous, mesoperfusion in dosimetry. Syringes used in Mesogun: Generally 1ml, 5ml, 10ml and 20ml syringes with luer lock system is used based on the indication. MesoNeedles (Fig2 a): Mesoneedles or â€Å"Lebel needles† are commonly used in mesotherapy.The John Screw needles have an adjustable length.The recommended parameters for needles are based on the site of injection: Face and neck – 4mm 30G mesoneedles Fat and cellulite – 6mm 30G mesoneedles,  ½ inch 30G needles. Multi-injectors and plates (Fig2 b): These accessories help to cover larger areas in a short time facilitating faster and easier procedure for the injector. There are sterile circular and linear multi-injectors with needles ready to be used for any body part. Micromesotherapy Device Micromesotherapy is an evolution of conventional mesotherapy. Usually mesotherapy uses needles to deliver drugs in deep dermal layer. Here a reverse cone shaped device has ultrafine needle 32Gx2mm by which drugs are injected into the superficial layer of dermis therebyminimizing incidence of bruising, pain and scarring. Needle-Less Mesotherapy or No Needle Mesotherapy This is a needle free device that pushes mesotherapy products painlessly through the skin using electrical waves known as isophoresis. The main features of needle less mesotherapy are: Less painful and less traumatic Uses ultrasound/electroporation technology. Probably around 20% efficiency compared to traditional mesotherapy as there is no neocollagenesis or neo angiogenesis reactions that occur with needle micro injury. This may be an option if mesotherapy is not allowed in the country. It has been discussed in details in Chapter 12. MESO SOLUTIONS (Fig6[VG1] The basic requirements of meso products is that it should be approved and skin-compatible.Systemic administration (intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous or intradermal) should be safe and known pharmacological actions to be effective. The ingredients used in mesotherapy products should be water soluble, isotonic and non-allergenic. The mesoproducts vary with the indications chosen for treatment. [4] [ Figure 3]Products used for mesotherapy involves combination of products some of which are main ingredients known as principals as they have high grade of evidence in the treatment of each indications and complementary agents that have been approved for treatment of each indications. For a mixture to be effective it should contain 2 – 3 principals for any given indication. Therefore the ingredients in mesosolutions are broadly classified into main categories: Principal (P) / Major Complementary (C) / Minor. The main targets for mesotherapy are skin, hair, fat and cellulite. (Table 11.1). Table 11.1 Principal and Complementary ingredients in meso solutions in various indications INDICATION PRINCIPAL/MAJOR COMPLEMENTARY/MINOR SKIN REJUVENATION Mesolift Hyaluronic Acid5 DMAE Organic silicum Fibronectin + Vegetal Proteins Vitamin C Glycolic Acid Xadenal Vitamin A Growth Factors Stem Cells Mesoglow Hyaluronic Acid Siloag Vitamin C Xadenal Taurine Meso lightening Kojic Acid Azalaic Acid Vitamin C Glutathione Tretinoin Glycolic Acid Striae or stretch marks Stretch Marks Organic silicum Centella Asiatica Vegetal Proteins + Fibronectin DMAE Vitamin C Idebenone Hair Loss Androgenetic Alopecia Minoxidil Finasteride Dutasteride Dexenol Biotin Amino acids Peptides Zinc Azelaic Acid Stem Cells Telogen effluvium Biotin Dexapanthenol Pyridoxine Multi Vitamins Trace Elements Cellulite and Fat Meso Cellulite Caffeine Carnitine Aminophylline DMAE Rutin Artichoke Yohimbine Procaine Vitamin C Fat deposits Body Sculpting, localized fat, Cellulite PPC Deoxy cholate L – Carnitine Aminophylline Pentoxifylline DMAE -Dimethylaminoethanol ; PPC Phosphatidylcholine TECHNIQUES FOR MESOTHERAPY INJECTIONS The mesoproducts can be injected into the skin by various injection techniques to reach desired depth.The commonly used techniques and the desired depth reached are summarized in Table 11.2and Illustration 11.1 Table 11.2: Techniques and depth in mesotherapy injections Technique Depth Intraepidermal 1mm Papular 2mm Nappage 2-4mm Point by point 4mm Mesoperfusion > 4mm The salient features of various techniques are outlined below: Intra-epidermal This is one of the most superficial of the techniques described by Perrin. Depth: 1mm within the epidermis Painless, no bleeding Simple and large surface covered Ideal for patients with low pain threshold Ideal for facial rejuvenation, mesoglow Papular Depth:2mm dermoepidermal junction Painful Useful in mesobotox Ideal treatment of wrinkles Nappage(French for ‘covering’) Also known as picotage is the classic injection technique in mesotherapy. (Illustration 11.2) It is the most widely used technique in aesthetic dermatology. The syringe is held obliquely and the physician applies constant pressure on the plunger flicks the wrist to infuse a drop of the solutioninto the dermis(Fig 4). The injections are 2-2.5mm deep and 1cm apart. This technique can also be used for injections using a mesogun. (Fig 5) Depth 2-4mm Less pain and less bleeding Ideal for rejuvenation and scalp treatments Point by Point(Fig 6) Depth 4mm Perpendicular injection Ideal for fat reduction Mesoperfusion Depth > 4 mm Mesosolution is injected slowly over a priod of 10 minutes Not commonly used in dermatology PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MESOTHERAPY Indications and contraindications for mesotherapy are listed in box 11.1 and box11.2. Box 11.1 Indications for mesotherapy Box 11.2 : Contraindications for mesotherapy Related to patient Unrealistic expectations Body mass index greater than 30 Pregnancy / Lactation H/O strokes, recent cancer. H/o multiple meds for heart disease H/o allergy to ingredients e.g. Soy proteins, lignocaine. Autoimmune disorders Epilepsy Insulin dependent diabetes Related to product Aminophylline – Known hypersensitivity to drug, active peptic ulcer, Pentoxiphylline, aminophylline- recent cerebral retinal bleed L. carnitine – history of seizure disorder Phosphatidyl choline relative contraindications with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome Caffeine – arrhythmias, anxiety, insomnia hypotension Mannitol – pulmonary edema, renal disease. Patient selection Selecting the patient with a valid indication for mesotherapy is the key to success. Care should be taken to avoid patients with active skin diseases, too elderly and patients with history of sensitive skin. For androgenetic alopecia better results are seen in patient with Grades 1 – 3. Counseling and preparing the patient A proper counseling is essential before starting mesotherapy. Patients with body dysmorphic disorders and those with unrealistic expectations should not be treated. Alternate procedures should be discussed sufficiently as mesotherapy is still in the controversial stage. A written informed consentis mandatory in the present medical scenario. A good before and after clinical photograph is needed to evaluate results following the procedure. Procedural aspects The area to be treated is marked and thoroughly cleaned with an antiseptic solution. For anesthesia, a local anesthetic cream may be applied or ice-anesthesia can be used to numb the treatment area. Patients are preferably injected in a lying down position. The required quantity of ingredients is drawn into the syringe using an 18Gx11/2needle. The injection is given either manually or using a device to deliver by the papular, nappage or point by point technique. A gentle massage is given after the treatments. Fresh normal saline and a mositurising cream can be applied to the treated area and massaged gently. [9]. The procedure takes about 20 – 30 minutes depending on the indication and area to be treated. There is no downtime after the procedure and the patient will be able to return to normal activities immediately. Good results are seen with mesotherapy done for skin rejuvenation, cellulite and double chin. [Fig 7, 8, 9] Post procedure care and counseling for follow up There may be mild pain, pinpoint bleeding, itching, burning or erythema after the injection which will subside spontaneously. Bruising and hematoma can appear occasionally and can be managed symptomatically. Mild swelling at site of injection may require anti-inflammatory agents for few days. The patients need to be counseled on the following aspects: Avoid sun exposure and smoking for next 48 hours Loose fitting clothes to be worn especially after lipolytic injections. The area to be treated is generally massaged after 72 hours and continued daily till disappearance of nodules if any. Follow up: Generally treatments are given once every 1-2weeks for 6 sessions, then once a month for 5months. Maintenance sessions are to be done once or twice a year. This protocol may be altered depending on the indication, patient’s lifestyle, financial position and response to previous treatments. Complications Though there are few evidence based studies on the efficacy of mesotherapy, there are documented reports on various complications. [10-17] The complications can be classified as local and systemic complications. (Box 11. 3) Box 11.3: Complications Local Bruising Burning or itching Pain, Tenderness, swelling Urticaria [10] Skin necrosis, Ulcers [11] Abscess [12] Hyper pigmentation Atypical mycobacterial infection [13] Rare – granulomatous panniculitis [14,15], koebnerisation, granuloma annulare, Oleoma [16] Systemic Anaphylaxis Nausea Vasovagal shock Hepatic toxicity Nerve demyelination Allergy to specific ingredients Thyrotoxicosis Ischaemic colitis [17] Management of Complications: Bruising:  It is a common but preventable complication. Always advice patient to stop aspirin or NSAIDs at least 2 weeks prior to the day of procedure. While injecting be slow and gentle. It is advisable to avoid mesotherapy during menstruation. Burning/Itching:  Burning can be overcome by adding lignocaine to the products if compatible. A mesomask applied immediately following procedure can also minimize burning and itching as it has a soothing effect. Pain/Tenderness: Procedural pain can be minimized by using adequate topical anaesthesia. Immediate post treatment pain can be alleviated by cold compresses with ice. Other methods that help to minimize pain are by pinching the skin for point by point injections or by stretching it when giving a nappage. Change needles after every few pricks to reduce the pain caused by blunt injecting needles Urticaria:  Urticaria can be avoided by a careful history to avoid products that would provoke an allergic reaction. E.g. phosphatidyl choline in individuals with history of allergy to soy proteins. Skin necrosis:  Skin necrosis occurs usually with phosphatidyl choline when the injections are given superficially Ulcers:  Ulcers can due to infection or irritant nature of the drugs. Irritant induced ulcers can be prevented by minimizing the number of drugs used in the cocktail to 4 or 5. Infective ulcers can be avoided by disinfecting the treatment area thoroughly and by wearing sterile gloves and using sterile equipment and materials. Hyper pigmentation:  This can be avoided by advising the patient photo protection for 48 hours after the procedure and by addition of topical skin lightening agents in patients with a history of post inflammatory hyper pigmentation. COMBINING MESOTHERAPY WITH OTHER TECHNIQUES Mesotherapy can be combined with other techniques to enhance results.Soon after injection of mesotherapy products, ultrasound, radiofrequency or electroporation may be applied to help in better diffusion of the injected products. The techniques are discussed in chapter 12. Mesomasks can be applied immediately after the injections to minimize bleeding points and to overcome the discomfort that follows injections.It is a 150 g of powder to be mixed with water to form a paste which is applied for 15minutes as a mask over gauze. This allows all products to penetrate deeper in the skin to give a better effect. These masks contain a mixture of calcium sulfate, talc and orange oil. Other procedures such as chemical peels, fillers and neurotoxins can be carried out between the mesotherapy sessions. In countries where mesotherapy is not practiced, mesotherapy products can be used following cosmetic skin needling. By using a dermaroller in the area to be treated, it is possible to create micro perforations that will be used as channels to deliver a product deeply into the skin. CLINICAL STUDIES Mesotherapy has been in history for a long time and there are proponents who have been successfully using it in practice for the benefits of their patients. However there are few indexed studies about the safety and efficacy of mesotherapy but many about its complications, hence it only natural to distrust proponents in relation to this technique Hence adequate controlled studies are needed to establish the value of mesotherapy in aesthetic dermatology. [18] Mesotherapy for skin rejuvenation, treatment of local fat deposits, body sculpting have been assigned Evidence Level C, whereas cellulite treatment has been assigned Evidence Level D [18]. Few recent studies have shown promising results for mesotherapy in various aesthetic indications. A study by Larruba et al showed good results with hyaluronic acid mesotherapy on photoaging and assessed by ultrasound techniques. [5] A study by Savoia etal showed promising [VG1] An excellent compilation with evidence for few of them are given in these two articles from IJDVL Sarkar R, Garg VK, Mysore V. Position paper on mesotherapy. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2011;77:232-7 Konda D, Thappa DM. Mesotherapy: What is new?. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2013;79:127-34 Another review of various indication s of mesotherapy is in this article by Dr. premlatha 3.Latha P. and Vandana K.R. / International Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutics / 1 (1), 2011, 19-29 ( full text available of all three) The meso solutions can be tabulated in the format below Indication Product Mechanism of action ( should include original intention versus intention in mesotherapy e.g. aminophylline was originally used for brochodilation. In mesotherapy it is used for vasodilatation etc Evidence grade ( wherever available)

Media System and Press Regulation of Philippines

Media System and Press Regulation of Philippines According to Raul Pertierra (2012), Philippine media is one of the oldest and having the most freedom in Asia. The â€Å"freest in Asia†, this is what Philippine called itself as and it means the media system are full with protection of press freedom which result Philippine as libertarian in media system. (Bisikleta productions, 2009) The aggressive character and lack of respects of its leading journalists is one of the things that known characteristics of Philippines press. For example, the prominent newspaper of Philippine which is Philippine Daily Inquirer often writes on the political affair and even the oppositional opinion. Besides that, The Daily Tribune also features in writing to attack the current government of Noynoy Aquino. (Raul Pertierra, 2012) According to Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2011), Philippines features one of the freest and most boisterous media in Asia and is partially because of the strong protection of the freedom of media and expression from the Malolos Constitution of 1899 until the current Constitution. Under the Bill of Rights the Constitution, it assurances the freedom of expression and press freedom even encourages the right of every Filipinos to access to any information and documents in the possession of Philippines government agencies . The government seldom censors the media even though it was known during President Estrada to remove advertising provision for newspapers critical of its policies. However, there is still a comparatively strict libel laws that restrain reporters from covering provocative issues. (Raul Pertierra, 2012) The meaning of libel under libel law in Philippines is not defined by the writer itself. The jurisprudence which has conduct the test to determine the meaning has conclude it as â€Å"words calculated to induce suspicion are sometimes more effective to destroy reputation than false charges directly made. Ironical and metaphorical language is a favored vehicle for slander. A charge is sufficient if the words are calculated to induce the hearers to suppose and understand that the person or persons against whom they were uttered were guilty of certain offenses, or are sufficient to impeach their honesty, virtue, or reputation, or to hold the person or persons up to public ridicule.†( Abogadomo.com, 2011) The Philippine media has a multi-layered which harmonies existent of government and also private owned media. However, few large privately owned groups have dominated media ownership of Philippines. There is a network of state owned radio stations, many private radio and television stations and inevitably a large number of internet providers. For the printed media, the tabloids which published in Filipino language have accommodated a larger audience population. On the other hands, there is still broadsheets that are generally published in English and mainly read in Metro-Manila and some secondary cities. The national newspapers for Philippines are published in English and owned by prominent families with powerful connections to broad sectors of society. They are generally conservative. Regional newspapers are published in English or in the vernacular and mostly restrict themselves to local events and personalities. There are several popular tabloids written in Filipino and therefore more accessible to the ordinary citizen but they rarely comment on serious national matters. There are no major Left wing publications apart from partisan pamphlets. Generally, the print media, while highly regarded, is limited to middle class urban readers. Due to the variety of media owned by government or private sector, there is hard for either Private Public Relations Practitioners or Government Public Relations Practitioners who responsible to communicate with public to have a 2-ways communication. Tools that used to communicate with target audience is very important, however Philippines has a complex system that consists of two different ownerships. Although the Philippines media is free but it is also highly committed to a political party. Politicians with interests to get public support make sure that they have contact to media reportage even using the tactics such as direct ownership or through political or economic means. For public, reading diverse newspapers always giving the feel of referring to different realities. The government would not contribute any effort to help increase the regional distribution of newspapers which means they are not agree with the aim of supporting a diverse media landscape. Moreover, there is low level of government investment and subsidy for public sector broadcasters and they are prohibited of publishing advertising as the sources of their revenue. In Philippines, radio is the most dependable channel for disseminate news, information and entertainment especially in rural area. However, television has a large popularity in the prosperous place such as towns and cities. The satellite function increases the coverage of the television in rural areas and signals are less affected by the mountainous topography. But, the government owned radio station and television relatively low audiences even though private broadcasting and radio station showing growing in the Philippines. For newspaper, there is no authoritative and regularly published newspaper circulation figure and the most popular national dailies, such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer claim to sell more than 250,000 copies each. â€Å"Many newspapers were founded by journalists with a political and nationalist agenda. However, most have been taken over by powerful families linked to strong commercial interests.† ( Infoasaid, 2014, pg 18) Clearly the battle for a truly free press continues in the Philippines, although with dozens of publications, radio stations, broadcast entities and their staffs in operation, the Philippines appears to have one of the better media climates in Southeast Asia. Although the Philippines Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, that ideal has been subject to various forms of censorship throughout the history of the nation. Perhaps the most obvious example of censorship which took place during the United States time in the Philippines which is through the use of libel laws. The result of that case was the closing of a newspaper some considered legendary. The press freedom gives the pros and cons for the Public Relations Practices. The pros include Public Relations Practitioners are not restraint for the works they want to disseminate to their public. However, the quality of media has destroyed because too many ownership. In addition, government status affected because the free to discuss political matters. It directly affects the status of government public relations practitioner. In conclusion, there are clearly media characteristics of Philippines which are libertarian but under some control by laws and regulations implemented by government and multi-layered which harmonies existent of government and also private owned media. These two characteristics have shown a big influence toward the practice of Public Relations in Philippines. References Pertierra, R. (2012). The New Media, Society Politics in the Philippines. Retrieved  from http://www.fesmedia-asia.org/uploads/media/PHILIPPINES_2012.pdf Abogadomo.com. (2011). Libel Laws of the Philippines. Retrieved from  http://www.abogadomo.com/law-professor/law-professor-archives/libel-laws-of-the-philippines Mikeeesportuno. (2013). Libel in the Philippines. Retrieved from  http://www.studymode.com/essays/Libel-In-The-Philippines-1489264.html BBC News. (2013). Philippines profile. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15527446 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. (2011). Asian Media Barometer. Retrived from  http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/08746.pdf Infoasaid. (2012) Philippines Media and Telecoms Landscape Guide. Retrieved from  file:///C:/Users/Swen/Downloads/Media%20%20Telecoms%20Landscape%20Guide%20-%20Philippines%20(1).pdf Bisikleta productions. (2009) Dissecting The Philippine Mass Media Today. Retrieved  from http://bisikletaproductions.blogspot.com/2009/09/dissecting-philippine-mass-media-today.html

Joseph Bediers The Romance of Tristan and Iseult and Jean Cocteau’s Et

The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, by Joseph Bà ©dier, and Jean Cocteau’s 1943 cinematic adaptation of the epic love story Eternal Return, both portray the love between Tristan and Iseult, and Patrice and Natalie as an agonizing cancer that overpowers the lovers after they consume the love potion. But the differences of how and when the love potion is administered, and the lovers’ feelings for each other before the potion is drunk, reveal different depictions of the love potion between the novel and the film. The first difference between the film and the novel is when the two lovers drink the love potion. In the book, they drink the love potion when they are still on the boat and have â€Å"dropped anchor by an island† (Bà ©dier, 42). Here Iseult has not met King Mark. But in the film, Natalie and Patrice drink the love potion after Natalie has been introduced to Uncle Mark. In the first instance, they both have a chance to elope, and no one would be the wiser. They can easily live a life of comfort and full of love with each other, but Tristan chooses to hand over the woman he loves to his Uncle, and suffer for his love. In the film, Natalie and Patrice are not given this option, and therefore do not have a chance to escape their faith. Also in the book, an unknowing maid gives the love potion to the lovers. She believes that she is just giving them wine. This signifies the fact that no one intentionally wished for them to suffer, but faith led them to it. But i n the film, Achille puts the love potion in their drinks on the pretext of murdering them with poison. In the film the fact that the love potion is labeled poison, foreshadows the pain and sorrow the two lovers will face, because poison leads to a slo... ...g this news for the first time and is astounded and angry. Aunt Gertrude, though shrewd and unlikable, also realizes the attraction between Patrice and Natalie, and tells Patrice that he is marrying the girl he loves to his Uncle. Her awareness on this subject may be rooted in her hate for Patrice and her desire to destroy him because her son can never be as loved as Patrice, but that does not alter the fact that she feels and notices the love between Patrice and Natalie. The difference in the film and the novel alter the depiction of the love affair between Tristan and Iseult and Patrice and Natalie. While the novel portrays Tristan and Iseult as causing the suffering they endure because of their love, the film makes Patrice and Natalie the victims of faith and love. Works Cited Bedier, Joseph. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult. New York, 1994

The Impact of Negro Spirituals on Todays Music Essay -- Exploratory E

The Impact of Negro Spirituals on Today's Music I believe that it would be difficult for someone to make the argument that Negro spirituals have not been influential in the field of music, much less the realm of gospel music today. However, church members often do not make the time to reflect on the heritage of a hymn or song to realize the meaning that the particular piece has carried with it through the decades, even centuries. With this in mind, I am going to look at the history of the Negro spiritual and then at specific hymns in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, published by Convention Press, to see just what impact the Negro spiritual has had on today's church music. I believe that we will find that these songs have had a significant affect on our music, and that without it, we would not have many of the hymns that are now considered standard church music. An important observation regarding African music comes from Richard Jobson in The Golden Trade or a Discovery of the River Gambra [Gambia] and the Golden Trade of the Aethiopians. Although published in 1623, we learn a lot about the nature of African music when we read: "There is without a doubt, no people on the earth more naturally affected to the sound of musicke than these people; which the principal persons [that is, the kings and chiefs] do hold as an ornament of their state, so as when wee come to see them their musicke will seldome be wanting" (qtd. in Southern 4). By understanding that music was of utmost importance to the original slaves, we understand how the reverence of music was handed down through the many generations of slaves on the plantations. It is apparent that music was the highest form of expression for Africans, as well as... ...ital Schomburg African American Women Writers in the 19th Century Works Consulted Fisher, Miles Mark. Negro Songs in the United States. New York: Russell & Russell, 1968. Forbis, Wesley L. The Baptist Hymnal. Nashville: Convention Press, 1991. "God's gonna trouble the water: The essence of African American spirituality." U.S. Catholic. Nov. 1995. ProQuest. Online. 3 Aug. 1998. Maultsby, Portia K. Afro-American Religious Music: A Study in Musical Diversity. The Papers of the Hymn Society of America. 35. Springfield: The Hymn Society of America, n.d. Southern, Eileen. Readings In Black American Music. New York: WW Norton, 1971. ---. The Music of Black Americans: A History. New York: WW Norton, 1971. Thurman, Howard. Deep River and the Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death. Richmond: Friends United Press, 1975.

Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman Essay examples -- Chinese Society

Maxine Hong Kingston's No Name Woman "A highly fictive text [whose non-fiction label gives] the appearance of being an actual representation of Asian American experience in the broader public sphere." (Gloria Chun, "The High Note") Such a disparaging remark about the misleading nature of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior has been readily refuted, notably by Leilani Nishime, who proposes in her essay "Engendering Genre..." that it is a text that transcends genre confines; it challenges traditional definitions of genre and demands redefinitions. Whatever the case, "No Name Woman" (NNW) is remarkable in the way the reader is given a candid social commentary in the guise of an intriguing tale of scandal and oppression. In a vivid representation of traditional Chinese society, Kingston artfully manipulates perspective, or more aptly character filter (Chatman, Reading Narrative Fiction 130), to reflect the culture of an entire society in the vicissitudes of one family's life. The opening scene itself suggests the structure of the entire story: we are immediately presented with a tragic story-in-a-story, or framed-narrative (Chatman, 97), of the narrator's adulterous aunt. Somehow, the events viewed in retrospect through the eyes of the narrator's traditional, conservative mother seem skewed and moralistic, rendered with an objective, instructive voice which complements the primary narrator's didactic tones as she takes over the discussion from her mother following the opening tale. A little later on, the filter switches almost seamlessly over to that of the aunt, in a radically different retelling of her tale by the (primary) narrator (14). Such smooth filter-character transitions occur frequently throughout the text... ...le viewpoints, overlapping timelines and a dominating, though largely implied narrator's (possibly author's) slant work together to present Kingston's unique view of gender roles and their assimilation into Chinese-American culture; a far-reaching yet intimate projection of her history, society and self. Bibliography: Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1980. Reading Narrative Fiction. Ed. Seymour Chatman. New York: Macmillan, 1993. Chun, Gloria. "The High Note of the Barbarian Reed Pipe: Maxine Hong Kingston." Journal of Ethnic Studies 19.3 (Fall 1991): 85-95. Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs Of A Girlhood Among Ghosts. London: Picador, 1981. Nishime, LeiLani. "Engendering genre: gender and nationalism in China Men and The Woman Warrior." MELUS20.1 (Spring 95): 67-85.

Inspirational Leaders Essay

In 1994, the internet was fresh in the market, and it did not incorporate commerce in its operations. As a result, he saw an opportunity for a new business network, and after doing research, he made a decision of creating a space in the internet where books could be viewed by the public. This led to the creation of Amazon in 1995. Today, Amazon is widely successful and has had a great impact on the organizational culture of internet business. Jeff Bezos is considered to be the founder of e-commerce, remains a pioneer in the industry (Inc, 2009). This paper will discuss how the culture of Amazon has changed as a result of Jeff Bezos presence; today, among many things, the public can view full book lists on Amazon, a mission that was impossible before the early 1990s. Organizational Culture Organizational culture can be related to how an organization organizes itself based on its rules and beliefs; therefore, culture gives an organization an identity. The behavioral patterns of an organization are represented in their norms; according to Kratschmer (2011, p. 2), organizational culture includes values that are shared among the members of an organization. Needless to say, organizational culture can be changed. Kratschmer (2011, p. 3) adds that, organizational culture can be changed and lead to success, only if well managed. In addition, resistance to change is expected in any organization mainly because the employees are already attached to the existing culture; hence, they may resist change for fear of the unknown. Needless to say, changes in organizational culture can be of great benefit, for instance, it may contribute to new knowledge and skills for the employees, and productivity is achieved through motivating employees. Finally, as employees adapt to change, flexibility is achieved, which leads to improvement. However, for organizational culture to be successful, effective leaders must be in place. Culture is very important, as it promotes healthy competition at the place of work, hence motivating employees to perform. A healthy culture promotes employees’ interaction at the place of work, therefore uniting them despite their different backgrounds. Providing employees with a favorable working place increases their productivity. Schein (2010, p. 80) adds that, the shared values and beliefs in an organization are important, as they determine how goals are met. Moreover, a strong culture retains talents, engages employees, creates energy, changes how work is viewed, and contributes towards cooperation at the place of work. Jeff Bezos is one of the few inspirational leaders who have contributed to change of culture in Amazon, leading to the success of the business. Amazon and change in organizational culture When Jeff Bezos discovered the potential of the internet in 1994, nothing held him back from introducing commerce in the system; he abandoned a well-paying job and concentrated on Amazon. Today, amazon. com is one of the internet giants, fostering online retail and an e-reader. Indeed, he is among the founders of e-commerce (Inc, 2009). Within 30 days, he had sold books in all the American states and in 45 countries, with sales worth $20,000 weekly. Since then, the growth of Amazon continuously accelerated, but it 1997, he announced that the company would be unprofitable for some time. However, in 2003, Amazon made its first annual profit, contributing to revenue of $4billion by 2008 (Inc, 2009). The company has embraced e-commerce, and Bezos’ will to start an online bookstore has yielded to a diverse selection of books. Today, he is the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon. com. According to Katzenbach (2008, p. 6), Jeff Bezos insists on fostering positive motivation, which does not involve money. Employees are likely to be motivated to performing their tasks if they are committed and disciplined. Ensuring that respect is fostered among employees will help in maintaining a positive working environment. Amazon. com recognizes employees’ effort by giving a specific employee an award on monthly basis for the capability of making significant savings. Amazon’s culture includes an informal, but effective environment, one that involves fun; this company is obsessed with customers. Therefore, it continuously improves its website and its systems with an aim of serving customers quickly and reliably. It also strives to maintain its culture, which includes talented personnel, who are creative and innovative in finding solutions to challenges (Lussier, 2011, p. 56). Therefore, it is evident that a strong culture is influenced by effective leadership. According to Dubrin (2011, p. 291), the strong organizational culture fosters quality, productivity and morale; such a culture values human dignity, and therefore, it fosters job satisfaction and increases employee motivation. Jeff Bezos has noted that a culture that involves experimentation is crucial in the continuously changing world. Invention may lead one to paths that are considered weird by the world (Dubrin, 2011, p. 291). Before the existence of Amazon, click shopping did not exist; these are some of the changes brought about by Amazon. The company also deals with online shopping for electronics, computers movies, games, music, as well as books. Amazon, being one of the web giants, implies that an effective leader must be diverse, being behind such a company that started very small and transformed into a giant. Bezos is regarded as visionary, but he is keen that his employees meet the demanding schedules; weekly management meetings are set with his managers. In addition, he encourages his employees to be innovative, and a reward program has been implemented that rewards innovative employees (Zakomurnaya, 2007). Moreover, the company hires intelligent and innovative personnel; indeed, Bezos would rather not hire anyone rather than hire the wrong person. Bezos is also approachable and easy -going, which makes him an effective leader. In 2007, Amazon introduced a hand-held electronic book reader, which uses E-ink to bring out a print-like appearance and has no strain on the eyes. In addition, the introduction of I-pad to the world was seen as direct competition for Amazon, therefore, Jeff introduced Kindle Fire, which shares many of the same features as I-pad, but is much cheaper. The Amazon kindle fire is an e-book reader, which is a small hand-held device; this is as a result of technological advances. Nevertheless, these e-book devices are expensive, but advantageous compared to paper copy; indeed, technology has changed in the digital reading world. Another advantage is that these e-readers can be borrowed from libraries. According to Mc Graw Hill (N. d, p. 3), kindle fire is competitive compared to other e-book readers. In 2007, Amazon. com created a successful e-bookstore that allowed client access from any computer or from e-book reader model. Amazon has therefore made book reading easier, and the kindle e-book can be referred to as published. Amazon. com offers a collection of above two million free e-books with titles; therefore, Amazon has succeeded in improving the digital world by providing e-book readers, which assist online clients in accessing digital e-books. For instance, the kindle e-Book reader has a rechargeable battery, which is built in and has a wide internal storage that can fit 1000 full-length books (Mc Graw Hill, N. d, p. 5). Another advantage of owning kindle fire e-book reader is that, the kindler-formatted e-books are easily accessed. In addition, kindle fire can be used as a form of an entertainment device, which allows one to surf the web, send, and receive emails, among other functions. Therefore, Amazon’s Kindle fire is a device of many functions, which is a competition for I-pad among other devices. Amazon prime is a membership program, which enables individuals to receive unlimited fast shipping. Members enjoy a variety of services, which include unlimited and instant streaming of above 10,000 movies and television shows. Amazon prime offers a wide variety of kindle books through the kindle lending library; members who own kindle devices benefit more from reading and borrowing books for free. In addition, members of Amazon prime enjoy free shipping for orders that are above $25, a relatively good deal for customers. Moreover, Amazon prime enables one to try free shipping for one month, and ensures that customers save by spending less, and save time by guaranteeing two day shipping. It also provides unlimited deliveries, hence guaranteeing convenience. Big online shoppers benefit the most, and this is because of the unlimited deliveries that guarantee quality of members’ money. With a range of affordable entertainment, free movies, free kindle e- books, and a two-day shipping for only $75, Amazon prime is a friendly program. Therefore, Jeff Bezos’ intervention has led to a variety of services and products that blow the clients’ minds away. It is this transformation from a small enterprise to an internet giant that has led to a change in culture at Amazon. Conclusion Jeff Bezos, the founder and the chief executive officer of Amazon. com is a visionary, and has contributed to the success of this company through motivating employees with rewards, as well as ensuring that customers’ demands are met. He is an inspiring leader, and despite the fact that he does not value communication, he believes in the â€Å"just-do-it† aspect that motivates employees to perform. Jeff is not limited to only e-books, he has also engages in online retailing of music, movies, clothes, and streaming television shows. The unveiling of kindle fire in 2007 is among his achievements; Amazon prime has also been a competitive advantage for the company and has attracted many members. A strong organization culture requires an effective leader; Amazon is one successful company that has been influenced by an inspirational leader. Indeed, Jeff has contributed to various changes in the organization, which have contributed to successful culture in the organization.

Send a Welcome Basket!

Putting the ‘person’ in personnel Shalini Shukla 18 Oct 2012 With a history of more than 80 years in Singapore, OCBC is a bank centred on people. The Bank has come a long way from its first days of helping rice merchants continue to trade times of war. This is evident in its sterling performance in recent years. In May this year, Bloomberg Markets magazine announced OCBC as the world’s strongest bank. Also, one in two businesses currently operating in Singapore has an account with the Bank. The success of the bank is built on the back of sound business policies and active talent management and development.For instance, within the first three days of a company being incorporated, OCBC will contact them about opening a corporate account with the bank. â€Å"The Bank practises the same proactivity when it comes to managing and developing its people,† says Eric Ong, Head of Emerging Business, Global Enterprise Banking, OCBC Bank. Career framework OCBC takes tra ining and development seriously as human capital is the Bank’s key differentiator. Investment in this area helps to build the capabilities of employees to deliver superior performance. Learning is part of the Bank’s ongoing business strategy and helps to create a win-win situation for us and our staff,† says Ong. â€Å"By aligning employees’ learning objectives with business goals, we help employees succeed in building a career and not just a job with OCBC. † OCBC encourages its employees to take charge of their own careers through the Bank’s ‘Career Best’ programme, launched in 2002. This programme involves helping employees evaluate their strengths and career orientation, and finding the best fit between their talents and OCBC’s needs.The Bank also introduced the ‘OCBC Learning-3’ programme in 2007. A structured three-year development programme for employees, OCBC Learning-3 clearly delineates learning roadm aps for individual employees during their first three years of service with the Bank. â€Å"Underscoring our commitment to training, we have created the OCBC Learning Academy and also dedicated an entire floor at the OCBC Centre, called The Learning Space @ OCBC, for the sole purpose of learning and development,† says Ong.In addition to the typical classroom training, the Bank has also tapped on learning technologies like eLearning and virtual classrooms. Through the use of Web 2. 0 and video conferencing technology the training programmes are now able to reach out to employees in different geographies. Employees are given the first opportunity to learn of and apply for job-openings within the OCBC group through the Internal Job-Application Programme, in which after 18 to 24 months, an employee has the open to move into another role. We want to encourage employees to continually acquire new experiences, knowledge, skills and competencies, and allow individuals to fulfil their career aspirations at different stages of their careers,† Ong explains. This is especially so for Gen Y staff who constantly seek change and want progression – something to look forward to. They need to feel challenged and recognised for the work they do. If they are ‘stuck in a rut’, performance dips. â€Å"In banking, employees need foundation,† says Ong. â€Å"I was once a bank teller. I then moved on to typing bank drafts and the like. Leaders walk the talk too. â€Å"In my business review, one part is financial numbers and business initiatives, while a large part (50%-60%) is based on the human resources,† says Ong. Hi-po attention A mentor to even people who’ve left the business, Ong believes in developing his people’s potential to the fullest. â€Å"I meet with business heads and see if there are vacancies in which we can slot the high potential candidate in,† he says. â€Å"This makes sure these people are given opportunities within the bank before they start looking elsewhere for them. It’s a proactive measure of staff retention. Senior management constantly works to push high-potential talent out of their current roles or comfort zones. This exists at all levels, be it ground sales people to middle and senior management level staff. â€Å"We don’t want staff to be ‘too comfortable’ in their roles. They are not stretching their potential,† says Ong. â€Å"We assign them to other departments for three to six months. My sales folks, for instance, might be posted to risk management or operations. † While there is risk of losing talent to another department due to this job rotation, the advantages outweigh those risks. After coming back from their short job rotation stint, they come back with fresh insights and they can come up with new business ideas leading to increased productivity and business success,† says Ong. Ong cited an example of an em ployee who moved to the operations unit two years ago. When he came back to the Emerging Business department, he gave a new idea which was piloted and resulted in business growth of five times. Hi-potential staff are also given opportunities to travel and explore new markets. Young staff are accompanied by their senior leaders on these trips. ————————————————- There has to be a little risk-taking, be it with the business or with our people,† says Ong. â€Å"Being senior in management, we can give that gentle push, allowing our staff to soar. † ————————————————- You are required to : 1. Find out the strengths of OCBC Bank. Marks:- 2. 5 2. ——————————————â €”—- What do you learn from this case? Marks:-2. 5 ————————————————- Mail me back to abdullah. [email  protected] com By 4:00pm of 17. 04. 13 Write â€Å"Case study – HRM† on the subject line of your mail. All the best

Corrective Essay: Military Bearing and Respect

According to Field Manual 6-22, â€Å"Military Bearing is defined as having or projecting a commanding presence and a professional image of authority†. The United States Army is structured on several values and principles that it upholds, among these are military bearing, discipline and respect. Leaders should be able to make these big decisions with all his confidence projecting out with his military bearing. A leader should look like a leader, disciplined, confident, and has the skills and abilities to persuade and provide their subordinates with the motivation, direction and purpose so as to accomplish a mission without being easily rattled by problems that arises. The Three General Orders of a Soldier, The articles of UCMJ, as well as our own Soldiers Creed illustrates how a military service member should conduct himself or herself on a daily basis, on and off duty. Honor is to live up to all the Army values. Integrity is to do what is right, legally and morally. Be willing to do what is right even when no one is looking. It is our â€Å"moral compass† an inner voice. Army regulations and The Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice show us how a military service member should conduct themselves on a daily basis. Military bearing has many components that are involved such as self-discipline, discipline of others, taking appropriate actions for events or taskings, addressing superiors appropriately and dependability. Not just one thing can prove you have military bearing its takes being a professional and and a leader in all aspects of life to prove that you have military bearing. Self-discipline means that you have the ability to control yourself. If you do not have self-discipline you may be viewed as hot headed and unreliable. If you cant help maintain discipline of others it shows poor leader ship therefore making the unit from the lowest level to the highest level. Taking appropriate actions for events or taskings means that in the event that something bad happens contact the chain of command and the appropriate authorities so the situation can get handled. Dependability is a major aspect of military bearing. Without dependability, one can neither perform properly in the workspace nor be depended upon by their coworkers, or chain of command to carry out their military duties adequately. A military member is required to be punctual, and reliable. Duty requires a willingness to accept full responsibility for your actions and for your subordinate's performance. It also requires a leader to take the initiative and anticipate requirements based on the situation. Duty means accomplishing all assigned tasks to the best of your ability. The proper and faithful performance of duty is the standard. The value and efficiency of the soldier is measured, and the measure of his efficiency and value is not determined by the prominence of the duty which he performs. Military bearing is to conduct yourself with dignity and in such a manner to reflect credit upon the armed services. Military bearing exists when this individual is proud of their military service. When you exhibit military bearing you are showing lower enlisted soldiers how to act and giving them an example to follow. Knowing how to properly march, stand at attention, parade rest, as well as all other facing movements establishes one’s ability to follow orders precisely. A lot of self-discipline comes with having good military bearing, which explains and reinforces the necessity to have it. Not everyone has good military bearing. Military bearing and respect are something that you have to work on and maintain control of, you can earn it but if you do not work on a maintain control of it then you will lose the respect or bearing you may have earned. Having good military bearing means you are tactful and polite while also being neat in appearance and can carry out the highest level of professionalism. It's very important to follow directions, or else the world would be in chaos. Respect, especially in the Army is a very important value to live by. It is much more than just talking kindly and listening to someone. It is the process of taking into consideration someone’s emotions, feelings and needs. It is showing someone that you value their time; that you care what they have to say. Behavior and attitude will allow the person demanding respect to feel that respect. When we respect each other, there are fewer conflicts. Respect is not only shown verbally, but also by one’s behaviors and actions. If someone you respect asks you to do something, you should do it immediately and without hesitation. You should do it quickly. Earned respect builds a stronger relationship between people, can be more specific then demanded respect, and is more stable than demanded respect. Also, true respect must be built on experience, and therefor it is illogical to instantly demand it. Earned respect builds a stronger respect and a stronger relationship between people. So you should always be respectful to others so they will treat you the way you want to be treated.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

There are people all over the United States who are required to share their personal information with physicians and other medical professionals. Fortunately the health care environment guarantees patient confidentiality for all of their sensitive and health-related information. There are several acts that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed in order to ensure all patients are given the proper medical confidentially that they deserve. One specific act is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).This act required HHS to develop regulations that would protect the privacy and security of certain health information. In the end two separate rules were published: Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information and The Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information. HIPAA is an important aspect of health care especially-when it comes to the safety of all patients (Andrews, 2010). Due to the strict privacy and security acts of this program, the consequences are extremely severe.One of the more important rules of HIPAA is the privacy rule, which â€Å"establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information† (Summary of The HIPAA Privacy Rule 2003). This aspect also applies to several health plans, health care clearinghouses, and other health care providers that perform electronic health care transactions. Due to the privacy rule, without proper patient authorization there are serious limits and safeguards that prevent anyone from sharing a patient’s medical information.Another crucial part of this rule is the fact that patients have the legal right to review and examine their health records, as well the authority to request any corrections they see necessary to repair. This becomes important when a patient finds incorrect information on their file that any of the medica l staff failed to recognize such as birthdate or a blood type. Having a patient review their file is a common way that mistakes are corrected. In order to protect and enforce the privacy of patient medical records, there are several comprehensive programs that are required through clinical information systems.There are three main clinical systems that were created to protect a patient’s privacy of their medical records. The first system-called patient care systems-â€Å"stores information about a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, and treatment plans† (Glandon & Smaltz, 2008). The organizations that choose to provide this care are also responsible for making sure that each patient’s medical information is available only to those who are authorized to view it. Another clinical system is called Public health information systems.These systems are in charge of supporting disease prevention and surveillance programs. Protecting public health is not a simple task; it requires knowing how to properly add and store health-related information about each individual. Without this system, any sort of leakage of sensitive information could lead to discrimination in employment or insurance eligibility. The final clinical information system, which is referred to as the medical research information system, is responsible for studying patterns of certain diseases in specific populations by using patient records.This act of studying common patterns is a way to prevent the reoccurrence of any fatal diseases and protect the health of others. Due to the fact that most of a patients’ data is accessible to many investigators, it is important that information security measures are taken to provide the necessary privacy. In order to establish this aspect of HIPAA, it is important for health care companies to appoint the responsibilities of enforcing the guidelines of HIPAA to the proper unit of the health care department. Some companies rely on co mpliance or specific privacy offices to ensure these obligations (Glandon & Smaltz, 2008).The fear of having no privacy can lead to individuals avoiding treatments or clinical tests because they feel their medical records are not protected properly. This fear puts the health of others in danger and can lead to bigger and more dangerous issues in the future. The other important aspect of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is the security rule, which â€Å"focuses on administrative, technical and physical safeguards specifically as they relate to electronic protected health information† (Yale University, 2013).With such critical information being stored electronically the security rule is also responsible for protecting the system against any sort of failure, including external tragic events that could take place randomly such as a fire or a power outage. These crucial files are usually copied to a removable disk to ensure that all files will not be lost. T his type of information can be stored in computer hard drives, memory cards, any kind of removable digital memory media or all transmission media that can be used to exchange information such as the internet (HIPAA, 2013).Preventing unauthorized viewing of electronic protected health information (ePHI) can become difficult due to the variety of ways information is stored. Overall the major goal of the Security rule is allow the development of new technologies that will help to improve the quality of care as well as protect all the sensitive health information that is shared and documented (Summary of The HIPAA Security Rule 2003). There are several measures that must be taken in order to secure all the different types of medical information.A proper security policy should include the three following elements: physical security, technical controls over access, and management policies (Glandon & Smaltz, 2008). These elements should be known by all staff and enforced by management. Whe n it comes to the proper amount of physical security there is no such thing as having too little or too much. The most common forms of physical security include hardware and data file security. Hardware securities defend computers from unauthorized access or viruses entering private files (Das, Kant, & Zhang, 2012).These are usually the first step of security that is taken in order to enforce the security portion of HIPAA throughout the medical records. Another element that helps secure private files is technical safeguards. Theses safeguards include ideas that are as simple as having a password that only authorized individuals are aware of or even creating a specific encryption that only the employees of a health care company are able to translate. Creating audit logs is great way to view who is logged into specific patients’ information and when they did so. This enables any supervisor to have superior knowledge of who accesses what information.The final element that a secu rity policy should provide is the enforcement of all management policies. These could include having written company security polices that are available for employees to review at any time. Making sure that all employees are aware of all security polices is important in order to ensure the safety of all medical records. These policies can be addressed in employee training, which is another important part of any management position. Employee training is where all questions should be answered and all policies should be understood.Employees also need to be informed of the disciplinary actions that will follow if any sort of the management policy is broken or disobeyed. There are always repercussions when it comes to breaking the rules; HIPAA has several consequences due to the disobedience of the people. There is a general penalty â€Å"for failure to comply with requirements and standards† (Penalties Under HIPAA, 2013). This is the more common penalty that occurs; it requires t he person who violated the rules to pay one hundred dollars for each violation and may not exceed $25,000 throughout a one year time frame.The other offense that includes any â€Å"wrongful disclosure of individual identifiable health information† (Penalties Under HIPAA, 2013) has a more in-depth punishment rate. This includes situations where an individual shares another individual’s health information to an unofficial person. Also, the obtainment of another individual’s medical information when it is not needed or asked for any specific medical reason is also included in this offense. The first penalty that is sentenced in this situation is that the violator will not be fined more than $50,000 and/or imprisoned up to one year.If the offense is committed under false pretenses the violator will not be fined any more than $100,000 and/or imprisoned for up to five years. The biggest penalty occurs if the offense is committed with the intention of selling an indivi dual’s medical record for certain advantages. In this case the violator will be fined no more than $250,000 and/or imprisoned for no more than ten years. Because the information protected under HIPAA laws is invaluable and incredibly sensitive, legislators made sure to implement punishments that will hopefully deter potential wrong doers from breaking the law.Unfortunately, the severe consequences that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act endorses, does not intimidate everyone. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is still the most effective act and it helps to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information, as well as secure the electronic protected health information. When the proper elements to both the privacy and security rules are followed, the more successful HIPAA will be.