Reading Research Literature # 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Research Literature # 1 - Assignment Example Journal of General Internal Medicine, 28(3), 436-443. doi:10.1007/s11606-012-2234-y http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012018670&site=ehost-live The purpose of this research is to carry out an examination of hospital discharge processes such as patient education for patients with acute myocardial infarction and identify which discharge processes may be useful in performance in medical facilities for hospitals AMI care. The research used qualitative study of US hospitals based on RSMR reports by CMS. Hospitals used ranked in top and bottom 5 % in consecutive two years as reported by RSMR. The method used was deviant case sampling. Data was collected using interviews and ground theory approach through visits to the 14 sites to the hospitals. The focus of the study was on hospitals that ranked in the top 5% and bottom 5% of RSMR. The hospitals chosen could be able to perform percutaneous intervention. The hospitals sample used was based on socioeconomic status, geographical and RSMR status. The sample was adequate for the research design because results could be deduced form it. Results showed that there were distinct differences in discharge processes between high and low performers in hospitals. Such results were only finalized due to the sample used. Ancheta, I. B. (2006). A retrospective pilot study. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 25(5), 228-233. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2009297932&site=ehost-live A pilot study was conducted under authority from HIPPA. 300 clinics records of patients were used in the investigation of the study. Data collected was demographic such as age, ethnic background, and marital status. The focus of the study was on the patients records that met the criteria of diagnosis of chronic stable CHF secondary to decreased systolic left ventricular dysfunction EF of less

Males and Females in Peter Greenaways Films Essay Example for Free

Males and Females in Peter Greenaways Films Essay The following paper gives an overview of the movies of Peter Greenaway along with how he portrays women and men his films. The paper would be based on the roles of men and women in his three movies, drowning by numbers, the belly of an architect and the Draughtsman’s contract. One common aspect that would be discussed in his movies is that the men are usually thought of as victims and the women are presented as the true artistic creators. His Movies: Drowning by Numbers: In opposition to the background of the autumnal Suffolk seashore, three generations of women, each one given the name of Cissie Colpitts, assassinate their not good enough husbands by obscuring them in a bathtub, in the ocean, and in a swimming pool, correspondingly. In arrival for assurance for sexual favoritism, which the women at the end of the day refuse to give, the neighboring coroner, Henry Madgett (Hill), comes in agreement to endorse the casualties as unintentional, even though a minute but steadily-growing swarm of eyewitnesses and associations put stress on him to acquaint with the reality. His juvenile son, Smut, who is preoccupied with casualty and brings together animal and insect dead bodies, furthermore he considers his father must appear spotless. Factual to Madgetts and the movies fascination with games, he places up a tug-of-war from corner to corner of a waterway to come to a decision to the problem, where he and Smut connect to Cissie in opposition to their hecklers. Greenaway is an often-infuriating, one-of-a-kind filmmaker who repeatedly experiments the staying power of his spectators. A lot of experience it as not significant as the attempt to shape out his difficult to understand games, let unaccompanied their implication, exclusive of a quantity of kinky sex or run through to disappear the procedures. Drowning by Numbers provides up ample of this: a circumcision by clippers, a repeated repulsion for provisions and flesh, and various near-sickening views of decompose and pests. Still, as if paying no attention to the filmmakers mysterious propensities, the presentations are ironic, cynical, sardonic and over and over again blackly humorous, and each and every framework is crammed with detail and magnificence. Here was an unprincipled anecdote enlightened ethically, with a tough feminist implication—approximately all of the male characters breathe their last breath by means of the unconquerable Cissies scheme shimmering, as Greenaway himself has acknowledged that the superior do not obtain content and happiness, and the depraved are infrequently rebuked, and the above suspicion are for all time badly treated. Drowning by Numbers is typically concerning numbers and the means they are employed to systematize the games individuals take part in. Despite the fact that the greater part of the human relations of whichever significance is determined by unstructured requirements, we use up a large amount of our lives demanding to offer them shape. We look for examples and successions, and enjoyment in the psychosomatic language that comes into view to give explanation. We search for regulations and unavoidability, and identify relations as the competition in which people occupy themselves for the reason that these games have both, happiness and contention. Drowning by Numbers is crammed with games: those men engage in recreation with women, women with men, and jump rope, cricket, and some games out of Greenaways tremendous sleight of hand. For the most part continuous game is the one Greenaway plays with the spectator. The motion picture starts with a small woman hopping rope as she count from one to one hundred (Peter Greenaway, 100). The Bell of an Architect: In Belly of an Architect, Brian Dennehy plays the central character who considers the main beliefs of structural design will regulate the humankind. He struggles the backstabbing of dishonest classmates and environment’s attrition of both construction and body. Sooner than the film ends, he loses his architectural assignment and is lost to stomach cancer. The screen in Belly is beleaguered with scaffolding, drop fabrics, plaster, powder, and huge degeneration hallways and corridors seeping out with water and sludge, which Greenaway challenges to put together into well-designed symmetries much as his hero attempts to protect the architectural classicisms he stumbles on to be so comforting. Again, the ordering organization contained by the film surrounds it. An immature artiste is constricted to implement twelve illustrations of a sumptuous countryside residence in 17th century England. Drawn into an affectionate and passionate association with the two conniving ladies of the residence he outlines and fabricates illustrated indications of the assassination. He almost immediately discovers himself trapped in the rumble ferociousness of the over sophisticated spirits of the landed upper classes. As all the times, Peter Greenaway provides beautiful and stunning masterpieces that contemplate on the artists infatuation for order and the oppression of organizations—whether communal or artistic. This untimely Greenaway effort observes unfaithfulness and substantial weakening, all in the perspective of a demanding occupational existence. The cuckold is a renowned American designer, Stourley Kracklite, who goes to Rome to place on a demonstration in reminiscence of his male protagonist, the 18th century farsighted draftsman, Etiene Louis Boullee. Kracklite fails to remember the current to respect the ancient times, but at what cost? He pays no attention to his pregnant wife who searches for soothe in the arms of Kracklites opponent. He furthermore takes no notice of his physical condition and is influenced that his stomach’s throbbing are the consequences of his wifes efforts to exterminate him. The punishment for such fascination is the failure of his presentation— the extraordinarily obsession he gave up all other elements of his life to accomplish (Peter Greenaway, 105). The Belly of an Architect is a visual extravagance, approximately deference to the techniques and fashions of Romes structural designs, judged with skill, ability, proficiency and crammed with impenetrable and mysterious shades. The Draughtsman’s Contract: Greenaways foremost profit-making element, The Draughtsmans Contract, is the chronicle of a draughtsman who in 1694 is specially made by the woman of an enormous residence to do twelve depictions of her property. At the opening it gives the impression that hes to a certain extent in command of his lady and background, receiving them together down anywhere he desires them, till his meticulousness does him in. By painstakingly drafting the manor house and foundation, he unintentionally duplicates indications to an assassination. As expected, its perpetrators dont desire him in the region. The methodical little draughtsman fall’s a victim not to environment’s impulse but to mans ravenousness and violent behavior (Peter Greenaway, 45). The twelve drawings are at one time the evidences to the massacres and the arrangements of the motion picture. From then on, all noteworthy objects in the motion picture are revolving around the paintings that hold the clues and all the films action—the drawings and the assassinations—must be accomplished by the time movies reaches to its end. This is systematic Greenaway. Human games and their dependence on ritualistic traditions are both the area under discussion of the draughtsman’s contract and its form. As the characters get involve within the findings of the clues and murderer with each other, it brings in the the chaos of passion. Greenaway assembles his schemes and positions according to the murder and clues. The Draughtsmans Contract is thrice regarding commanding order on disorder, on mans unreasonable desires and natures predictable decompose: first, surrounded by the sequence of events; second in its structural association; and third, in the glance of the screen. Greenaway is an order-and-chaos fanatic (Amy Lawrence, 175). Conclusion: In all the movies of Peter Greenaway discussed above, one thing is very common, that the men are always shown as a powerless creature and the women are always dominating. All the films bring the women as murderers of men. In the majority of his films, Peter Greenaway has at least a suggestion of proposal that the most important rationale of women is to damage mens lives, typically with the aid of the men in query. More than any of his others, with the probable exclusion of the outstanding Drowning By Numbers, conveys a suggestion to the front, by using it as a primary message, rather than as an indication of the disentanglement of the plot. Unluckily, perhaps due to this approach, there are not a lot of subplots there, and therefore, the movie needs somewhat in difficulty, in contrast with some of his previous work. The Draughts men’s Contract came into view like a touching work of art with bright color and dazzling imagery. Though all are great movies, their schemes can be puzzling with the need of familiar dialogue and character progress. Greenaway movies are compactly and tightly weighed down with figure of speech and satisfied with metaphors, and are required to be moved towards accordingly, not with the similar state of mind that one would come close to a distinctive Hollywood motion picture, for an instance. Possibly furthermore supportive is a quotation from Greenaway himself: If you want to tell stories, be a writer, not a filmmaker.(IMDB, Pp1) References: Greenaway, Peter. 2001. The Draughtsmans Contract: The Draughtsmans Contract. Published by Distributed Art Pub, Pp 45 Greenaway, Peter. 1998. Drowning by Numbers. Published by Dis Voir, Pp 100 Greenaway, Peter. 1988. The Belly of an Architect. Published by Faber, Pp 105 Lawrence, Amy. 1997. The films of Peter Greenaway. Published by CUP Archive, Pp 175 The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Biography for Peter Greenaway. (2008)Retrieved on 24th March ’09 from http://www. imdb. com/name/nm0000425/bio

Single-port Complete Thoracoscopic Lobectomy Feasibility

Single-port Complete Thoracoscopic Lobectomy Feasibility Clinical comparisons of single-port versus three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer patients Abstract Objective: To compare the feasibility and safety of single-port versus three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 60 lung cancer patients from June 2014 to August 2014 in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University. There were 30 patients in single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy group (single-port group) and other 30 in three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy group (three-port group). Total lymph node harvest, mediastinal lymph node harvest, dissection of mediastinal lymph node groups, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, extubation time, postoperative hospital stay, visual analogue scale (VAS) one day after operation, and the complication rate were thoroughly compared between the two groups. Results: There were no significant differences in total lymph node harvest, mediastinal lymph node harvest, dissection of mediastinal lymph node groups, intraoperative blood loss, extubation time, postoperative hospital stay, and complication rate between the two groups (p> 0.05). However, the operation time of single-port group (209.0 ±45.5 min) was significantly longer than that of three-port group (154.5 ±30.9 min) (p Conclusion: For lung cancer patients, the feasibility and safety of single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy is similar to three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy. Compared with three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy, the operation time of single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy is longer, but its postoperative pain is gentler. As the experience accumulating, single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy should be popularized with its merits of minimal invasiveness. Keywords: single-port, three-port, lobectomy, lung cancer. Introduction: Currently, lobectomy is the prior intervention to treat early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [1]. As a minimally invasive technique, thoracoscopic lobectomy has been widely used in current thoracic department [2]. Although single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy has been introduced to treat NSCLC, no literature was available to compare its feasibility and safety with three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective comparison study in lung cancer patients enrolled from June 2014 to August 2014 to investigate the feasibility and safety of single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy. 1. Methods and materials 1.1 General information A total of 60 lung cancer patients from June 2014 to August 2014 in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital were included in this retrospective study. There were 30 patients in single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy group (single-port group) and other 30 in three-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy group (three-port group). All patients underwent associated examination such as thoracic computed tomography (CT), cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), skeletal emission computed tomography (ECT), and abdominal and cervical color Doppler ultrasound (CDU). Positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) might also need to be conducted to exclude metastasis if necessary. Electrocardiogram, cardiac CDU, and pulmonary function test were conducted to assess cardiopulmonary function. The inclusion criteria include: 1) patients with stage I-II (cTNM classification) peripheral lung cancer; 2) no thoracic surgery history; 3) lobectomy can be tolerated by card iopulmonary function; 4) preoperative complications have been stably controlled. 1.2 Anesthesia and surgical procedure Double-lumen endobronchial tubes (DLT) were used for intubation for the two groups, and the healthy lung received ventilation. All patients underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy under general anesthesia. For single-port group, a 3.5-4.5cm incision was made from the 4th intercostal space to the 5th intercostal space along the anterior axillary line. The patients underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy with video assistance. For three-port group, a 1.5cm observation port was made on the cross point of midaxillary line and the 7th intercostal space, and a 2-4cm operation port was made on the cross point of anterior axillary line and the 4th/5th intercostal space. A 1.5-2.5cm operation-aided port was made on the cross point of the 7th intercostal space and infrascapular line. For peripheral lung cancer, pulmonary wedge resection was conducted to remove the focus. Once the resection samples were confirmed as malignant tumor by fast frozen pathology, the following standard lobectomy and mediastinal lymphadenectomy would be employed. For central lung cancer, standard lobectomy was conducted. Once the resection samples were confirmed as malignant tumor by fast frozen pathology, the following mediastinal lymphadenectomy would be employed. Electrocautery and ultrasonic scalpel were used to distract the vessels and bronchus. Suture clamps were used to fix great vessels such as pulmonary veins, pulmonary artery and so on. Hemolock, titanium clip, electrocautery, ultrasonic scalpel and silk ligation were used to handle small vessels. No definite order was made to conduct the lobectomy, which mostly depended on the development of interlobar fissure. Specimen bag was used to extract the removals preventing from contaminating the cuts, and analgesia pumps were used for the two groups. Indications for removing the drain included: 24h drainage flow was less than 100mL; postoperative lung recruitment was favorable without pleural effusion. 1.3 Observation parameters The observation parameters included: 1) parameters during perioperative period: operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage flow, postoperative thoracic cavity drainage time, visual analogue scale (VAS) one day after operation, postoperative hospital stay, death rate during perioperative period, complications during perioperative period. 2) parameters related to tumor resection: total lymph node harvest, node-positive number, node-positive rate, N1 lymph nodes, N2 lymph nodes, N2 lymph node rate, and N2 lymph node groups. 1.4 Statistical methods Statistical software SPSS 16.0 was conducted to analyze the data. Quantitative data was showed as x ±s, and independent t-test was used to test the group comparisons. Enumeration data was presented as rate, and χà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ test was used to test group comparisons. Statistical significance was set as P 2. Results 2.1 Clinical characteristics There were no significant differences in sex, age, tumor location, postoperative pathological type, tumor invasion, visceral pleura invasion, and tumor classification, respectively (P> 0.05) (Table 1). In addition, there were no significant differences in total lymph node harvest, positive lymph node number, total mediastinal lymph node harvest, and dissection of mediastinal lymph node groups (P> 0.05) (Table 2). Table 1. Comparisons of pathological information between single-port group and three-port group. Single-port group (n=30) Three-port group (n=30) P value Gender 0.183 Male 9 11 Female 21 19 Age (year)* 25-77(61) 45-70(58) 0.583 Tumor location 0.096 Left upper lobe 8 4 Left inferior lobe 5 3 Right upper lobe 8 9 Right middle lobe 3 4 Right inferior lobe 6 10 Tumor type 0.341 Adenocarcinoma 25 22 Squamous carcinoma 2 6 Others 3 2 Tumor invasion 0.583 Carcinoma in situ 2 0 Micro invasion 5 6 Invasion 23 24 Visceral pleura invasion 0.799 No 22 21 Yes 8 9 TNM classification 0.989 Stage 0 1 1 Stage Ia 14 10 Stage Ib 6 10 Stage IIa 2 3 Stage IIb 3 2 Stage IIIa 4 4 *age:extreme value (median). Table 2. Comparisons of lymph node harvest between single-port and three-port group. Single-port group (n=30) Three-port group (n=30) P value Total lymph node harvest 23.6 ±11.2 25.4 ±7.3 0.737 Positive lymph nodes 1.5 ±3.1 1.9 ±4.9 0.971 Total mediastinal lymph node harvest 16.2 ±9.2 17.2 ±6.5 0.731 Dissection of mediastinal lymph node groups 4.4 ±1.0 4.4 ±0.8 0.637 2.2 Perioperative information All operations were under the video-assistance of total thoracoscopic lobectomy without other assisted endoscope incision. There were no deaths during preoperative period. However, there were a total of five cases with complications, two cases (1 case of arrhythmia; 1 case of systemic infections) in single-port group (6.7%), and another three cases (1 case of arrhythmia; 1 case of air leakage; 1 case of chylothorax) in three-port group (10.0%). There was no significant difference in complications between the two groups (P>0.05). Additionally, no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, postoperative extubation time and postoperative hospital stay were observed (P>0.05). However, operation time in single-port group (209.0 ±45.5 min) was longer than that in three-port group (154.5 ±30.9min) (P Table 3. Comparisons of perioperative outcomes between single-port and three-port group Single-port group (n=30) Three-port group (n=30) P value Operation time (min) 209.0 ±45.5 154.5 ±30.9 0.000 Intraoperative blood loss (ml) 90.6 ±49.3 79.5 ±45.2 0.840 Postoperative extubation time (d) 4.0 ±1.5 5.4 ±3.7 0.256 Postoperative VAS 3.6 ±0.7 5.5 ±1.0 0.000 Postoperative hospital stay (d) 6.9 ±4.0 8.5 ±11.8 0.441 Postoperative complications 2 3 0.799 Arrhythmia 1 1 Systemic complications 1 0 Air leakage 0 1 Chylothorax 0 1 3. Discussions Single-port thoracoscopic technique was first reported to diagnose and treat non-complicated pleura-related disease in 2003[7]. In 2004, it was used in pulmonary wedge resection by Rocco et al.[8]. Seven years later, single-port thoracoscopic technique was reported to conduct lobectomy and lymphadenectomy by Gonzalez et al[9]. Since then, it was applied gradually in segment resection of lung [10], total pneumonectomy [11], bronchial sleeve resection [12] and angioplasty of pulmonary arteries [13]. However, most available literature focused on the feasibility and safety of single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy, and no studies compared it with three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy. The presented study retrospectively investigated the differences of clinical outcomes between single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy and three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer. Jiang et al. [14] compared 160 cases of thoracoscopic lobectomy and 247 cases of conventional open surgery and found no signific ant differences in perioperative death (0.6% vs. 2.8%) and complication rate (9.4% vs. 11.7%) (P>0.05). It is indicated that thoracoscopic lobectomy was technically safe to treat NSCLC. Similarly in our study, the complication rates were 6.7% and 10.0% for single-port group and three-port group, respectively. However, there were no deaths during perioperative period in our study. Therefore, our study indicated that single-port lobectomy was at least technically safe compared with three-port group. The vital factor for radical resection of lung cancer by single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy was the dissection of lymph nodes. Jiang et al. [14] found no significant differences in dissection of lymph node groups (2.4 ±1.5 vs. 2.6 ±1.6) and lymph node harvest (9.8 ±6.2 vs. 9.9 ±5.9) between thoracoscopic lobectomy group and conventional open surgery group (P> 0.05). Similarly, Zhang et al.[15] found no significant differences in lymph node harvests (14.6 ±7.5 vs. 15.2 ±4.5) between video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery group and video-assisted micro thoracoscopy group. That was to say, the lymph node dissection by thoracoscopic lobectomy was at least equivalent to that by open surgery. In the presented study, there were no significant differences in total lymph node harvest (23.6 ±11.2 vs.25.4 ±7.3), mediastinal lymph node harvest (16.2 ±9.2 vs. 17.2 ±6.5), dissection of mediastinal lymph node groups (4.4 ±1.0 vs. 4.4 ±0.8) between the single-port group and th ree-port group. These results suggested that the lymph node harvest was at least equivalent to the previous studies. In other words, the dissection of lymph nodes by single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy was feasible in respect of radical removal of tumors. However, the long-term outcomes need further follow-up to confirm in the future. The incision of single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy was located at the cross point of anterior axillary line and the 4th/5th intercostal spaces, which, unlike conventional three-port thoracoscopy, did not have observation port or assisted-operation port. The 4th/5th intercostal spaces were wider with less muscle and less bleeding, which might have little impact on the postoperative recover with less pain. After comparing 20 cases of three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy and 10 cases of single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy in treating interstitial lung disease, Chen et al.[16] found that postoperative one-day VAS in single-port group (4.95 ±0.39) was significantly lower than that in three-port group (4.5 ±0.7) (P=0.03). Similarly in our study, postoperative one-day VAS in single-port group (3.6 ±0.7) was significantly lower than that in three-port group (5.5 ±1.0) (P In the presented study, the operation time (209.0 ±45.5 min) in single-port group was significantly lower than that in three-port group (154.5 ±30.9 min). The reasons included 1) all the operating instruments and thoracoscopy went through the single port, which might interfere each other, especially when the focus was near the dorsal cavity and diaphragm. 2) single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy had a strict skill requirement of qualified camera assistant. The camera assistant was supposed to know how to cooperate with the operator, how to allocate the location within the incision, and how to keep the camera stable. Our operation team launched the single-port-thoracoscopic lobectomy since May 2014, and we believed that the operation time would be shortened as we optimized our technique gradually. In summary, the feasibility and safety of single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy were similar to three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer patients. With the development of instruments, the optimization of surgical procedure, and the accumulation of surgical experience, the operation time would likely be shortened gradually. Therefore, single-port complete thoracoscopic lobectomy was supposed to be popularized with its merits of minimal invasiveness.

Cloud Computing and the Computer Scare Essay -- Information Technology

Once you login to your computer you are bound to use an application that is related to the cloud computing infrastructure. For example, when any service needs an internet connection it immediately uses what is known as a â€Å"cloud† network, which is a broad term for the use of a device or application that is not physically present. The computer user is then accessing a network in the cloud, which stores personal information and allows for multiple tasks to be completed in an efficient manner rather than just using a single personal computer. Computer Scientists do find an importance for expanding the cloud network since it not only helps them create projects using multiple computers linked on the cloud but it also helps deliver applications to any computer user. Unfortunately, there are some deficiencies that computer science majors should be aware of; the biggest default the risk of cloud security issues constantly. These issues include vulnerability to data loss and hacke rs overtaking the system; computer scientists should be aware of the structure’s defaults and be able to use cloud services efficiently. Cloud computing is a highly useful and quickly growing aspect of technology, and although the security issues are a risk, it is a useful service that should be used with the proper prior knowledge. Before delving into the exact security issues, it is important to understand the basic structure of the cloud system. To begin, the cloud computing structure has three major branches: 1) Infrastructure as a Service, 2) Platform as a Service, and 3) Software as a Service (Dorey 6). The most common service to general computer users is the Software as a Service branch because it provides the structure of the system and is notably appr... ...e. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Fox, Armando. "Cloud Computing-What's in It for Me as a Scientist?" ScienceMagazine.org. AAAS.org, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 May 2012. . Jamil, Danish, and Hassan Zaki. "Cloud Computing Security." International Journal of Computer Science and Engineering 3.4 (2011): 3478-482. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Jamil, Danish, and Hassan Zaki. "Security Issues in Cloud Computing and Countermeasures." International Journal of Computer Science and Engineering 3.4 (2011): 2672-676. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Segal, Naresh K., Sohum Sohoni, Ying Xiong, David Fritz, Wira Mulia, and John M. Acken. "A Cross Section of the Issues and Research Activities Related to Both Information Security and Cloud Computing." Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

Exploring the Affect Society has on the Shaping of Human Behavior Essay

There are numerous aspects of social interaction used in the shaping of social relationships. For the purpose of this paper, I thoroughly examined the theories of â€Å"Self-perception† and â€Å"Social perception â€Å"I decided to focus on the views given by Sociologist’s Erving Goffman and Charles Darwin throughout chapter four. According to sociologist Erving Goffman, social interaction should be compared to a theatrical performance, with the members of society playing the roles of actors or actresses. Performers often worry and stress prior to going on stage. They worry about what the spectators will think? Will they ever get another role? How will they know if the spectators like their performance, and if they don’t what will happen to their career? Goffman believes â€Å"self-presenters sometimes worry about being judged incompetent; they often rehearse prior to their performance†. However, performers are not the only individuals who are self -presenters. Society is full of norms and rules that are socially acceptable or unacceptable. These societal norms shape and mold the behavior of human behavior throughout society. Individuals, who try to fit into those norms and rules, often find themselves rehearsing their roles and behavior. For example, applicants going for job interviews often rehearse what they will, and will not say in the interview. An applicant also observes the interviewers body language and responses, in order to figure out if they are being accepted or rejected. Goffma...

Benefits of School Uniforms

There are many sides to the debate about school uniforms, but the debate against mandatory school uniforms comes more from the libertarians and groups from the old school guard. The problem with the old school group and civil libertarians reflect an age when school violence and bullying were not as prevalent in the school system as they are today. School age children are consistently being accosted and bullied for designer clothing and gang violence is at an all-time high in many school districts, but, the addition of a mandatory school policy can decrease national and state figures relative to school violence.It is time for children and young adults to be able to attend school and learn without fear of intimidation. By implementing a policy of mandatory school uniforms, less time is spent on social awkwardness where many students who simply cannot afford to wear the latest fashion design and can stop worrying about the gangs around the school who look at what colors of what a studen t wears to initiate bullying practices.First, there is a need to actually define why school administrators and educators are looking to enforcing mandatory school uniforms and the reason why President Clinton, in 1996, during his State of the Union address endorsed uniforms in American schools. In order to do accomplish this, it is important to look at what issues school administrators and educators feel are the impeders of learning and scholarly advancement. Oftentimes students who are continually focused on fashion and attaining the latest â€Å"look† tend to spend far less time in a positive learning situation.â€Å"Distraction leads to poor learning environments† (PSParents) Many advocates of a mandatory school uniform policy point to the increasing instances of violence within the school system and much of that is tied into the student’s appearance itself. There are instances where children are â€Å"inflicting bodily harm on one another because of the nam e brand on a jacket or a pair of jeans; and, in larger cities where gang involvement is prevalent, children are killed because they chose the wrong color to wear to school.The issue is not about civil liberties or freedom of expression but about improving the deteriorating state of the educational environment within our public school system nationwide† (PSParents). Many experts are of the opinion that students that attend schools wearing uniforms actually have higher academic scores. It is also believed that school uniforms can look to improving student attendance and focus intently on studies without worrying about whether they can or their parents can purchase for them the same â€Å"new† style of clothing.The old phrase of â€Å"keeping up with the Jones’† can attest to what many young students where they simply want what their friends are wearing. Many school administrators are of the opinion that students who wear school uniforms behave in a far more appropriate manner within the school atmosphere as uniforms lend to engaging students in appropriate behavior by reducing violence within the system.The most plausible reason for this is that with standardized dress there is less places to hide weapons in where in the fashion standard of students, especially in high school, weapons can be hidden in pockets in waist bands of pants that have shirts laid overtop and in baseball caps. It is this author’s opinion that with less opportunity to hide weapons in clothing and headgear of what student’s are currently wearing can hide weapons that are carried into the school and, if there are no metal detectors present, leaves an undeniable avenue for violent propensities.What has been considered one of the more conscionable reasons for the policy to implemented within the school system is the social preying that occur with many indigent students. Many students come from impoverished family units and if they are unable to afford t he latest trends and this is one of the ways that students look to in an attempt at self-expression and definition. This is a huge factor in a child’s psychological development and if there is a removal of this one barrier that students continually come up against, there is a marked improvement in both academic and social situations.This is really tied into the social outcome factor as when there is only one type of dress needed for school, i. e. uniform, there is a higher instance of affordability amongst families that are simply unable to afford expensive, trendy clothing. The government has also taken an independent and unbiased approach to addressing this issue and it is compelling their overall interpretation of the current school system and it’s tie-in to student safety.The government believes that the â€Å"adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school un iforms include: †¢ decreasing violence and theft — even life-threatening situations — among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers; †¢ helping prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school; †¢ instilling students with discipline; †¢ helping parents and students resist peer pressure;†¢ helping students concentrate on their school work; and †¢ helping school officials recognize intruders who come to the school (Government) There are currently many communities that have decided to adopt school uniform policies, which include: California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia; and, many large school systems include: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St.Louis have school in either a voluntary or mandatory uniform policy in effect. There are many school boards in larg e and small cities that have adopted school uniform policies which include: Long Beach, California Uniforms are mandatory in all elementary and middle schools. Each school in the district determines the uniform its students will wear. There is an opt-out of the program with parental consent. Currently the size of the program, implemented in 1994, includes 58,500 elementary and middle school students.Support for disadvantaged students: Each school must develop an assistance plan for families that cannot afford to buy uniforms. In most cases, graduating students either donate or sell used uniforms to needy families. Results: District officials found that in the year following implementation of the school uniform policy, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent.Less than one percent of the students have elected to opt out of the uniform policy. Dick Van Der Laan of the Long Beach Unified School District explained, â€Å"We can't attribute the improvement exclusively to school uniforms, but we think it's more than coincidental. † According to Long Beach Police Chief William Ellis, â€Å"Schools have fewer reasons to call the police. There's less conflict among students. Students concentrate more on education, not on whose wearing $100 shoes or gang attire. † Richmond, VirginiaThis voluntary uniform policy at Maymont Elementary School for the Arts and Humanities was implemented in 1994 with approximately 262 elementary school students enrolled. Support for disadvantaged students: Responding to parent concerns about the cost of uniforms, the school sought community financial support for the uniform program. Largely as a result of financial donations from businesses and other community leaders, the percentage of students wearing uniforms rose from 30 percent in 1994 -95, the first year of the program, to 85 percent during the current year.Results: Maymont principal Sylvia Richardson identifies many benefits of the uniform program, including improved behavior, an increase in attendance rates and higher student achievement. In the examples shown above, both mandatory and voluntary uniform policies have proven there is a correlation between violent behavior and school uniform policies and there are many variations of the mandatory school uniform policy which can be initiated between the school, the parent and the student. Carl A.Cohn writes that within the Long Beach school system, upon instituting a mandatory school uniform policy over two years prior, â€Å"much of the public school educational establishment reacted skeptically. The school board was told by permissive parents, civil liberties interest groups, timid legislators, and a biased news media that they would not let it happen. The school board initiated this program over 1 ? years ago with a 99 percent compliance rate in the program and a substantial decrease in school crime† (Cohn). ConclusionEither being in favor or not in favor of mandatory school uniforms is a moot point as it is generally those who simply don’t like to have their children conform to a mandatory policy or not, and, not for concrete and convincing reasons that wearing a school uniform decreases their children’s aptitude for learning, decreases their social status, or, even decreases their child’s freedom of expression. Albeit some students, especially those in the higher grade levels often rebel by girls pulling their skirts up above the regulated skirt length, this, is in no way a reflection on safety in school.One piece of evidence that is hard to refute is that studies have found â€Å"that due to increased prevalence of school violence, one in five public school students feels less eager to go to school every day, one in seven feels less inclined to pay attentio n to learning in school, and one in 10 stays home from school or cuts class. In unsafe school environments, teachers cannot teach to their maximum potential, and students cannot learn to their full capability† (Everett and Price).Paliokas and Rist note that â€Å"for many individuals, the appeal of mandatory school uniforms is based on conventional wisdom and an intuitive belief that increased structure results in improved child behavior. Nevertheless, there is not much empirical data to support a cause-and-effect relationship between school uniforms and violence†. Simply put, there are other variables which may, in fact, be a direct or indirect contributor to declines in levels of violence with or without school uniform policies.Paliokas and Rist â€Å"posed several questions that must first be answered before declines in school violence can be specifically attributed to the implementation of school uniform programs: a) was the implementation of the uniform policy onl y one aspect of a comprehensive safety plan that included heightened security and stricter rules? b) were local community-policing programs implemented at the same time? c) was the trend of violence in the school at its peak and ready to decline? d) was there an analysis of the trends of violence within that specific school or school district?e) were the decreases in school violence attributed to the Hawthorne Effect in which short-term attention to and visibility of a problem caused the decline? and, finally f) was parental involvement a crucial factor in the reduction of violence? † (Paliokis and Rist). A large problem with the debate over school uniform policies and putting the emphasis on if implementing said policy was, in fact, in direct relation to curbing school violence is that although many school districts were privy to reduction in violence related to students, could there in fact be mitigating factors relative to the reduction.There is a need to look to finding em pirical evidence in support of a mandatory uniform policy through the gathering of a variety of independent studies including: 1) Investigate parent, teacher, and student perceptions regarding school uniforms and violence prevention. 2) Trend analyses to determine whether any decline in violence represents true change or predictable change in trend within the school and/or school district. 3) Must be statistically control for possible intervening variables associated with violence reduction to determine cause-and-effect relationships between school uniforms and violence reduction.4) Compare the prevalence of violence in schools mandating uniforms with schools mandating dress codes. 5) Obtain data from both experimental groups (those required to wear uniforms) and control groups (those not required to wear uniforms). 6) Examination of how schools mandating uniforms address the issue of providing school uniforms to low-income families. 7) Focus on identifying the means to adequately e valuate the effect of mandatory uniform programs on the prevalence of school violence (Paliokas and Rist)Works Cited Paliokas KL, Rist RC. Do They Reduce Violence — Or Just Make Us Feel Better? Online. http://www. edweek. org/we/vol-15/28rist. h15. April 3, 1996. Cohn CA. Mandatory school uniforms: Long Beach's pioneering experience finds safety and economic benefits. School Admin. 1996; 53(2):22-25. King, K. A. Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary school? 1998. Online http://danenet. wicip. org/ncs/forumuniformseval. htm PSParents. net. Pros of Mandatory School Uniforms.Online at http://psparents. net/ in_support. htm United States Government. School Uniforms: Where They Are and Why They Work? Online http://www. ed. gov/updates/uniforms. html American Psychological Association. Violence and Youth: Psychology's Response, Volume 1: Summary Report of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Assoc iation; 1993:42. Callahan CM, Rivara FP. Urban high school youth and handguns. JAMA. 1992;267:3038-3032.

Economic Value Added

EVA is a way of measuring a firm's profitability. EVA is NOPAT minus a charge for all capital invested in the business (Byrne 1). A more intuitive way to think of EVA is as the difference between a firms NOPAT and its total cost of capital (Kramer & Pushner 40). Stern Staurt's numerical definition of EVA is calculated for any year by multiplying a firm's economic book value of capital  © at the beginning of the year by the spread between its return on capital  ® and its cost of capital (K): EVA=(Rt-Kt)*Ct-1 (Kramer &Pushner 41). EVA is a notion of residual income (Ehrbar Xi). Investors demand a rate of return proportional to the amount of risk incurred. Operating profits determine residual income by plotting them against the required rate of return, a product of both debt and equity. EVA takes into account all capital invested. Peter Druker says in his Harvard Business Review article, â€Å"EVA is based on something we have known for a long time: What we call profits, the money left to service equity, is not profit at all. Until a business returns a profit that is greater than its cost of capital, it operates at a loss. Never mind that it pays taxes if it had a genuine profit. The enterprise still returns less to the economy than it devours in resources†¦. Until then it does not create wealth but destroys it† (Ehrbar 2). EVA is a measure of wealth creation or destruction after all costs are capitalized. Companies use EVA as a measure of corporate performance, as an incentive system and as a link between shareholder and management/employee goals. Stock price indicates investor's certainty concerning current and future earnings potential. EVA is a static measure of corporate performance; MVA is a dynamic, forward looking market performance measure. MVA is a market generated number calculated by subtracting the Capital invested in a firm  © from the sum (V) of the total market value of the firm's equity and book value of debt: MVA=Vt-Ct† (Kramer & Pushner 42). Al Ehrbar describes MVA as exactly equivalent to the stock market's estimate of the NPV of a company. In 1998 CSX Corperation introduced EVA criteria to the fast growing but low margin CSX Intermodal business, where trains deliver freight to waiting trucks or cargo ships. Large amounts of capital are required to power a mammoth fleet of locomotive, containers and railcars. Figuring in capital costs, CSX Intermodal lost $70 million in 1988. â€Å"The CEO issued an ultimatum, et EVA up or be sold† (Fortune, 39). CSX Intermodal freight volume increased by 25%, yet they dramatically reduced their capital cost by reducing the number of container and trailers by 22%, reducing their locomotive fleet by 33%, and reducing fuel costs. EVA in 1992 was $10 million dollars, and was expected to triple the following year. Wall Street responded: CSX stock price rose from $28 before EVA to a 1993 price of $75. CSX concluded that investors care more about their net cash return on capital than accounting figures such as EPS, ROE and ROA. Companies that adopt EVA as a performance measure found tie-in compensation plans very useful in aligning management behavior and shareholder needs. Typical plans consist of two familiar parts, a bonus and stock incentives, applied in new ways (Fortune 50). Bonus targets are established by a percent increase in EVA and recalculated each year by averaging the prior year's goal and the prior year's result. Bonus have no limits, but the manager incurs operating risk because some of the bonus is put in a â€Å"bank,† say, for five years. If over the next five years management performs poorly, and EVA drops, the â€Å"bank† account is depleted. Management incurs the risks and benefits just as owners do. Joel Stern notes that in cases without an EVA incentive plan, employees suffer from a common problem. On average their fixed pay, salaries and pension, are too high, and their variable pay, profit sharing and share options, are to low (Ehbar XIX). Stern adds that size, not value, drives employees in typical incentive programs because size is positively correlated with increases in fixed pay and closely thereafter, variable pay, even if it destroys shareholder wealth. EVA protects shareholder interests by depositing variable pay into a deferred account that can be lost if value is eroded. EVA, as a corporate measure and a predictive tool, generates mixed reviews in the business and academic worlds. AT&T's Jim Meen says, â€Å"The correlation between MVA and EVA is very high. So when your driving your business toward EVA, your really driving the correlation with market value† (Kramer & Pushner, 43). Stern Stewart finds an R squared value of 60% based on 20 groupings of firms (Kramer & Pushner, 41). Contenders site statistical evidence to the contrary. BCG-Holt calculates an R square, after removing 21 outliers, of 27%. Dodd and Chen report that EVA accounts for only 20. 2% of the variation in stock returns for a sample of 500 companies, while ROA explains 24. 5% of market returns (Kramer & Pushner, 43). In their paper â€Å"An Empirical Analysis of Economic Value Added as a Proxy for Market Value Added,† Kramer and Pushner test the hypothesis that EVA is highly correlated with MVA. Simple regression analysis is used to test this hypothesis and other market determinants of market value such as NOPAT. First Kramer and Pushner test the relationship between the level of MVA and the level of EVA using the SS1000. In all cases the level of MVA positively relates to both NOPAT and EVA in the same and prior periods. However, in all cases, NOPAT explains more of the total variation in MVA than EVA† (O'Byrne & Stewart 44). This suggests that the level of NOPAT is not only a better proxy but also a better predictor of corporate performance than the level of EVA. Results for weighted least squares, change in MVA and variations are described graphically in appendix 1. Kramer and Pushner conclude that there is no clear evidence that EVA is the best measure of corporate success in adding value to shareholder investments (Kramer and Pushner, 47). Stephen F. O'Byrne and Stern Stewart and Co. tested a similar hypothesis. Their objective is to show that EVA provides a theoretical and practical measure of operating performance. O'Byrne and Stewart substantiate the explanatory power of EVA relative to earnings because, unlike previous studies, they recognize two important characteristics: Multiples of positive EVA are significantly higher than multiples of negative EVA, which implies that companies with negative EVAs have values that are higher than what would be expected if the market valued EVA at the same multiple. Multiples of capital tend to decline with company size, which suggest that the market assigns higher multiples to a given level of EVA for smaller companies. Stewart, 117). O'Byrne and Stewart suggest at first glance that earnings and EVA have about the same level of success in explaining market value. The variance explained ranges around 32%. Taking into account the two characteristics listed above, the explanatory power of their model increases to 42%. Five-year changes in EVA explain 55% of the variation in market value, and ten-year changes in EVA explain 74% of the variation in ten-year changes. The NOPAT model has 15%-20% less explanatory power. The results of O'Byrne and Stewart research appear in appendix 2. They conclude that because EVA is systematically linked to market value, it proves to be a better predictor of market value than other performance measures. Proponents of EVA also argue that GAAP standards distort true economic reality, produce unreliable corporate standards and serve as an unproductive compensation system. Harvard business school professor Baruch Lev states that; â€Å"Overall, the fragile association between accounting data and capital market's values suggest that usefulness of financial reports is rather limited† (Ehrbar, 161). Some differences in GAAP and economic reality stem from a bias toward conservative estimates, compounded by SEC requirements driving conservative financial policies. The principal divergence is GAAP's treatment of equity. The cost of equity should be capitalized. The cost of borrowed capital shows up in a companies interest expense. â€Å"But the cost of equity capital, which the shareholders have contributed, typically appears nowhere in any financial statement-and equity is extraordinarily expensive† (Fortune, 38). Ehrbar contends that GAAP distorts economic reality in areas such as R&D, strategic management, expense recognition, depreciation, restructuring charges, taxes and balance sheet adjustments (64). R&D under GAAP standards require Corporations to immediately expense R&D in the period in which they occur, where as managers and investors see R&D as an investment. GAAP's treatment of R&D reduces book value by writing down the asset to $0; EVA would capitalize R&D and amortize it over a period of time. Lastly, GAAP incentives can be ineffective motivators. For example, a retiring officer's pension plan is linked to earnings. During their last year they might skimp on R&D to boost earnings because their pension plan is tied to performance. Operating earnings often serve as the benchmark for management compensation. Management has the incentive to negotiate a target that is easy to beat. Managers aim low, insuring their bonus. Trade loading is a second example of how GAAP can affect management decisions concerning bonuses and owner interests. EVA as a measure of financial performance is positively related MVA, but depending on the methodology, the result vary. Kramer and Pushner used simple univariate regressions to compare EVA with other measures explaining EVA. Their results were mixed, NOPAT's explanatory power in Ordinary Least Squares Regressions outperformed EVA by 9%, however when weighted, EVA's explanatory power was higher overall and surpassed NOPAT by 6%. Kramer and Pushner note that the market focuses on profits rather than EVA. Investors rely on earnings estimates that are consistently calculated within the industry. This is not the case for FCF or EVA. Lastly, Kramer and Pushner observe, â€Å"investors certainly need to be aware of capital structure, they should already by familiar with the opportunity cost of their investment and may not need to incorporate this into the measure of performance† (Kramer and Pushner 47). Investors may be familiar with the opportunity cost of their investments, although EVA analysis can illuminate problems, such as those created by GAAP accounting, that may not be recognized otherwise. Stephen O'Byrne and Stern Stewarts calculation required the recognition of two important characteristics that drastically changed the explanatory power of EVA. They note that simple a simple regression model, similar to the one used by Kramer and Pushner, depresses the predictive power of EVA and inflates the predictive power of earnings (Stewart 120). EVA with industry coefficients explains and impressive â€Å"56% of the variation in actual market/capital ratios† (Stewart 121). It also produces notable results for changes in EVA and market value over time. Far better results than NOPAT. My results using a simple linear regression model parallels Kramer and Pushner's results. EVA in 1997 has the highest R square factor, at 33%, but is far from the results calculated by Stewart. EVA's R squared increased dramatically since 1992. This is consistent with the economic trend of the 90's, so the increase may not necessarily reflect an increase in EVA due to internal factors, but an external factor, such as the greatest economic expansion in recorded history. All four factors consistently increase from 1992 to 1997. EVA could be a valuable tool if it is tailored to the company and industry. This requires an understanding and adjustment for different EVA multiples for positive and negative EVA and different capital multiples for different size companies. This requires complex calculations, a regularly cited problem. However, in this context EVA lives up to its reputation as a great measure of corporate performance. Other functions, such as aligning employee and shareholder goals, the basis for an incentive system and a more realistic picture of economic reality, makes EVA more attractive. I would recommend using Stern Stewart model to calculate EVA.