Thursday, November 28, 2019

C.R.E.A.M - Content Rules Everything Around Me

by Chris Reid With the average person spending over 50% of their time on the Internet consuming content, it’s indisputable that content rules everything around us and organizations require an innovative content strategy to Triumph online. However, key elements of an effective strategy are often missed as marketers aim to publish as much content as possible, attempting to increase visibility. If you find yourself in this position you may want to take a content marketing lesson from the legendary hip-hop collective who nearly perfected targeting buyer personas and content distribution. This blog post will highlight crucial elements that should be integrated into your content strategy, featuring our favorite East Coast rappers. Protect Ya Neck – Resonate with Your Target Audience If you have not segmented your customers and defined your target audience, there’s a good chance your content has minimal reach. Upon the birth of their collective, each East Coast rapper in the Wu-Tang Clan branded themself to resonate with different buyer personas – GZA for the college crowd, Raekwon and Ghost for the gangstas, Method Man targeted the single ladies and RZA attracted the rock ‘n’ roll consumers. To help develop a contextual understanding of your consumers you too will need to create buyer personas then, subsequently, publish content to connect with them. Information you’ll need to keep in mind when determining your buyer personas include: – Behavioural information about your customers – What stage of the buying journey your audience is in – What information your customers need to drive them into the next stage of the sales cycle. Bring da Ruckus – Create Conversion Goals In addition to branding yourself as an industry influencer who ain’t nothing to **** with, you’ll also want conversion goals when creating original, high-quality content. Each tweet, blog post, ebook and white paper should serve a purpose, even if the intent is a micro conversion that supports the overall goal (such as a new twitter follower who has now entered the awareness stage of the buyer cycle). Conversion goals should correlate with each stage of the buying cycle. Smaller goals associated with the beginning of the buyer’s journey may be blog post page views, retweets/favorited tweets or comments on articles posted. As your customers move through the conversion funnel your goals will escalate alongside the depth of content you produce – with content such as white papers and product videos generating warmer leads. Get the Money – Maximize Your Reach For the ultimate brand exposure you can rip a page out of Wu-Tang’s handbook– divide your company into five individual ventures, each targeting different personas and conquer your industry through unique, influential, content. If that distribution strategy isn’t feasible, not to worry, you can still create hype for your product or service through leveraging multiple communication channels, similar to the Killa Beez. By content marketing, 77% of marketers say they have increased their site’s traffic and 71% say it has improved their site’s search ranking in organic searches. However, these are not results of a blog post that has been published and then left to collect dust. Keep Watch as to where your target audience can be found online and bring da ruckus accordingly. Include social buttons on your blog and share your unique content on multiple social channels to gain exposure. Incorporate keywords targeting the appropriate buyer personas to boost your Google search ranking and bring Tearz to your competition. Content marketing is too often confused with pushing keywords and links out the door with hopes it will attract the right type of consumers. An effective strategy should begin with identifying your target audience, building buyer personas then shaping your unique content into the informational resources your audience desires. Combined with utilizing online distribution channels effectively, these techniques will turn you into the Ghostface Content Killah marketers strive to be.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Marketing mix of a beer company

Marketing mix of a beer company Content PageIntroduction 2Task11.0 The marketing mix on the Black Sheep Brewery 21.1 Product 21.2 Promotion 4s are common law and Islamic law. These legal systems concern the pricing of products, import/ export limitations, types of advertising and product safety. For an example, In United States, every state has its own laws. The Black Sheep Brewery should be aware of the laws where they are marketing.3c EconomicPaliwoda suggests that "Macro-environment is created when trade and transactions take place across, rather than within, national frontiers; but it is important to note that there may well be greater economic environmental differences between different parts of the same country than between countries belonging to the same geographical region." in his book, "International Marketing". This means a single country may have different economic level. For an example, in some rural part of China is suffering from poverty, whereas in some parts of China, such as Hong Kong is to be con sidered as one of the richest cities in East Asia. Other factors to be aware of are, currencies used, where some countries may have weak currencies due to inflation or recession, also the kind if payment, some countries such as Columbia may pay by coffee beans. Secondly, the general economy, which can be determine by the average income of the public.3d PoliticalPolitics is a very important factor, it can either bring trading partners together or tear them apart. Government policies and attitudes towards imports are different around the globe. Some may set up trade barriers such as high tariffs, high import tax, in order to protect their own brands/ economy, or due to some tensions between countries. On the other hand, some may lower the import restrictions by setting up trade agreements between countries to minimise trade tariffs in bilateral trade exchanges, or to create job opportunities for their public. The Black Sheep Brewery should also be aware of the stability of the host co untry's regimes, also the level of government control of company assets.3e TechnologicalThis factor concerns the technological level of a country, such as the existing facilities and infrastructure; some countries may be more "high tech" than the others. Also the labour skills and training, some countries may have highly skilled labours, some may not. There may be a huge cost of new technology; also some government policies such as green issues may limit the use of some technologies.3f CompetitorsSince The Black Sheep Brewery is not the only company around the globe that supply beer there are various alternatives for consumers to choose from. Competitors such as Budweiser and Stella may have taken at least 90% of the consumers in some countries. Marketers should consider whether it is worthwhile to enter such countries.In marketing audit, SWOT analysis suggests that companies should minimise their weaknesses/ threats, and turn them into companies' strengths/ opportunities. When ente ring new country markets, there are weaknesses/ threats exist within and outside the company. These are the lacking of time, lacking of internal/ external knowledge and risks of competitors. By using methods of entry such as acquisition or merger can often minimise the weaknesses/ threats and turn them into possible strengths/ opportunities within and outside the company.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Gender Equality and Social Institutions in USA and United Arab Essay

Gender Equality and Social Institutions in USA and United Arab Emirates - Essay Example It is clear from the discussion that in both USA and United Arab Emirates the education system followed in English, even though Arabic is taught in UAE. USA is famous as superpower and UAE is famous for its oil wealth. Both the countries are well known as the tourist destination. Both America and UAE has a large population of expatriates and is haven for migrant workers who look for better prospects in life and career. Just like America, UAE also consists of different states which are called â€Å"emirate† unitedly known as UAE. The currency of UAE is closely as valuable as American Dollar. Both American and UAE have a high living expense and high standard of living. The citizens of UAE like Americans lead a comfortable and quality life. Both these countries have a strict law system and criminals are punished severely once convicted. UAE like America has a population of an indigenous tribe who were early descendants of the country. In general USA and UAE, both allow freedom of religion to its citizens. The population of UAE is also similar to Americans in food habit as they love junk food. They too like Americans mainly follow a meat-based diet along with vegetables. Since UAE like the USA is a very modern, free-market country, people enjoy indulging in new products and different varieties of fast foods. For the very same reason, both countries have high obesity rates among citizens. The primary and prominent difference between both the countries is the religion they follow. UAE is an Islamic country and USA is predominantly a country which follows Christianity.UAE has Islamic laws governing the country whereas the USA is a secular nation. American is a highly liberal nation and gives complete freedom to its citizens whereas, UAE nationals are bound by Islamic laws. The USA has a government system whereas UAE is ruled by royal family of the nation. The national language of USA is English whereas UAE follows Arabic as their national language. The USA is a country with regions of varied geographical nature and climate, but UAE is a desert region and most part of the year is hot and humid. The geographical area of both these countries also varies drastically. USA is a huge country whereas UAE is a tiny country.UAE nationals unlike Americans are family oriented and are closely connected with family members. Among UAE nationals, the private functions are attended by men and women separately. The marriage ceremonies and other functions are truly Islamic law based. When it comes to the costume of UAE nationals they follow traditional outfit whereas American is casual and trendy in their dress sense. One will only find UAE men in white robe and women in a Black hijab with a veil on their face. America is famous for its pop culture and fast life but UAE follows Bedouin culture and lives a life which is medium paced.UAE imposes a restriction on dressing code, alcohol, and vulgarity in public while America is pretty much liberal.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The war between US an Iraq 2003 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The war between US an Iraq 2003 - Research Paper Example Other reports have also revealed that as a result of the war, debt reliefs have been offered to the country and the country has been released from the control of their dictator Saddam Hussein. This paper shall be a quantitative research paper with respondents from the Iraqi nation chosen randomly across various territories in the region. Major potential research findings for this paper include the fact that the Iraqi War has brought about economic hardships for the people, decreasing their employment rates, and worsening their poverty status. The war has also caused much political chaos through political infighting and major corrupt activities by government officials. Finally, it has also brought about difficulties in the delivery of health, educational, and social services to the people. On March 20, 2003, the world was witness to the second gulf war with the invasion of American troops in Iraq. War was launched against Iraq because of the latter’s alleged possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) which were in apparent violation of its terms of surrender in the wake of its Kuwaiti invasion in the early 1990s. Although inspections by the UN on Iraqi weapons depots and military institutions yielded no WMDs, US intelligence reports insisted that Iraq was in possession of such weapons. After a series of failed negotiations and after Iraq refused UN inspections in the early months leading up to the March invasion, the US troops were deployed into Iraq. In the days following the attack, the hunt for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was also launched and in December, 2003, he was finally apprehended and charged with the execution of 148 Shi-ites in 1982. He was executed in December 2006 by hanging. In the meantime, US troops continued to occupy Iraq with the so le purpose of assisting the interim government in the management of insurgent activities in the country. A semblance of a US-initiated transition

Monday, November 18, 2019

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example But many economists have proved that the usefulness of the term is not just limited to â€Å"starting of one’s business† (Sobel, 2008), it is more than that. From then the meaning has become more prominent and understandable to everyone. Entrepreneurs are the individuals who start business and operate their business and are fully accountable for the profit or loss in their business. For example if a person who intends to be a successful entrepreneur has to possess few important qualities. Success in business is ascertained by the innovation and the types of actions that are taken in the course of the business. To be a successful entrepreneur a person has to think about innovation. Innovation is needed because the market is becoming competitive and there exist a number of competitors. In order to stay one step ahead of the competitors entrepreneurs have to be innovative and have to take the right business concepts to deal with the business (Sobel, 2008). Entrepreneurship - Definition Stevenson has defined â€Å"Entrepreneurship† as the search for new opportunities with the resource constraint. Whenever an entrepreneur recognizes that there is a small window of opportunities they grab it and try to exploit the opportunity as far as possible. According to Peter Drucker, entrepreneur is defined as someone who searches for change, adopt that change and exploit those changes as an opportunity (Grebel, 2001). After introducing a business an entrepreneur should show progress in order to attract more resources so as to bring the business to a stable condition from where he/she can think of making the best business. The opportunities that the entrepreneurs seek may entail: embracing an innovative product constructing a new business model which can bring in success to the business creation of a more improved version of the existing product Target new set of customers with the existing products (Eisenmann, 2013). Example of entrepreneurship The example of entrepreneurship can be given through the basic steps that are followed to start a new venture. They are as follows: Creating a business plan: This is a very critical part of the process where an overview of the business should be made along with the industry background. It also includes the type of product/services the business is looking forward to launch and the business model they are going to use. The main focus is on the market segment they are going to address their products to. The trend of the market is also analysed in order to get the whole picture of the market. This is basically done to make sure that whether the trend will make profit for the business or will hurt the business. The start-up cost is also estimated in the business plan so that they do not face financial uncertainties and face loss. Choosing the Business approach: This is the testing stage for the previous step. The step tests whether the customers will buy what they have planned to sell. The best way to do so is to communicate with the potential customers and see their reaction about the product. The reactions in this initial stage indicate whether the company will be successful or not. Raising the capital for the business: This stage is a very critical stage for the entrepreneurs as they have to face the problems of raising capital for the business. Investors are reluctant to invest in the venture at first without checking whether the business is viable or not. Choosing the legal structure: If the investment is made by the

Friday, November 15, 2019

Functions and brain mechanisms of sleep

Functions and brain mechanisms of sleep Sleep, it is the state in which we spend much of our lives yet so little is known about it. It has long fascinated psychologists and many have sought to unravel its mysteries. Yet like all other behaviours sleep can be examined using the same biological, psychological and environmental methods that are so effective in other areas. Defined, sleep is a naturally recurring state which is characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. However this explains what is visible, over the years theorists tried to explain what is happening biologically during sleep. Up until the 1950s researchers believed that sleep occurred due to an overtaxing of the brain, that the constant sensory stimulation that bombards the brain during the day renders it unable to maintain a waking level of brain activity. They also believed that achieving this state was helped by the occurrence of the darkness and silence of night. Sleep at this time was also viewed as a homogeneous state and as a result of this many researchers viewed it as relatively uninteresting. This may be a reason why very little scientific attention was put on the topic for so long. In fact dream interpretation garnered far more attention at this time (Dement, 1998). This passive process theory was only dropped when experimenters recorded eye movement and muscle tension during sleep. This led to the groundbreaking discovery that there were in fact two different classes of sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement sleep(NREM) (Watson, Breedlove Rosenweig, 2010). In this essay sleep, both rapid-eye movement and slow-wave, will be explored. Also set out will be the main functions of sleep and what can happen when a person is deprived of sleep. Finally the sleep disorder narcolepsy will be discussed as it is an often misunderstood disorder which shows the mal effects when control over when to sleep is lost. Sleep can be divided into 5 stages, 4 of these stages are during NREM with the final stage being REM sleep. These stages are measurable by the patterns of electrical activity in the brain. When awake the brain shows patterns of beta waves. These have a high frequency and low amplitude. When in a state of relaxation the brain shows waves with lower frequencies, these are called alpha waves (Passer Smith, 2009) Stage 1 of NREM occurs just as the body drifts into sleep. At this stage the brain begins to demonstrate theta waves. These waves are slower again than those measured during a drowsy state and have irregular frequencies, the heart rate also slows and muscle tension is reduced. This stage normally lasts several minutes, giving way to stage 2. Here the brain shows short (1-2 seconds) periodic bursts of brain activity. These bursts are called sleep spindles. Interesting to note is that often people deny that they were even asleep if they are awakened during either the first or second stage. As the body drifts even deeper into slumber stage 3 is reached, here delta waves are the most dominant. These are of an extremely low frequency and have large amplitude. Stage 4 is very similar to stage 3 and shows further lowering of frequency and expansion of amplitude. Stages 3 and 4 are also sometimes referred to as slow-wave sleep (SWS) by some researchers. After reaching this stage the body the n cycles through the previous stages and generally after 60-70 minutes of falling asleep the body has gone through a cycle of stages 1-2-3-4-3-2. It is at this point that brain activity changes alarmingly and a brand new and unique stage of sleep emerges. This new stage is called rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep (Watson et al, 2010). This stage of sleep was discovered by Aserinky and Klietman in 1952 and is characterised by high brain arousal, rapid eye movement and frequent vivid dreaming. These researchers found that during this phase the sleeper showed bursts of muscular action which resulted in the persons eyes moving rapidly underneath the eye lid, this happened around every minute during REM sleep. People that were awakened during this stage frequently report having a dream, this is even true of people who before claimed to have never dreamed (Passer Smith, 2009). Brain activity increases to daytime levels and the body also becomes physiologically aroused, with more rapid breathing and a swifter heartbeat. Another characteristic of this stage of sleep is that the bodies of both men and women become aroused, regardless of dream content, with penile erections in men and vaginal lubrication in women. The brain also can send signals to the muscles of the arms legs and torso which make them become very relaxed, they occasionally twitch but movement is not possible at this time. This is sometimes referred to as sleep paralysis. After an average of 90 minutes the body begins the cycle of stages anew, however with each recurrence REM sleep lasts longer, eating into the time previously spent in stage 3 (Passer Smith, 2009). The brain controls the passage of the body through sleep however no single part of it is solely responsible for it. Various mechanisms in the brain control the different aspects of the sleeping body, areas on the base of the forebrain are connected with the act of falling asleep. Other sections in the brain active during sleep are certain areas in the brain stem which regulates REM sleep. Here neurons are contained which activate the other brain systems which are needed during REM such as those for the rapid-eye movement and muscular paralysis. Memories are accessed during REM sleep and this is also governed by these areas in the brain stem. This affects what is experienced during dreams(Watson et al, 2010). Having explored the biology behind sleep it is now worth looking at the benefits of sleep, both physiological and psychological. There are two major branches of thinking which explore the question of why do we sleep? These are the restoration models and the evolutionary/circadian models (Passer Smith, 2009). According to the evolutionary models sleep recharges run-down bodies, it allows us to recover from physical and mental fatigue. This is largely supported by research in sleep deprivation. A good example of one of these studies is the world record attempt by Randy Gardener in 1964. He stayed awake for 11 days as part of a school science fair project and he allowed sleep researchers to study him during this period. Over the first few days he was irritable, forgetful and nauseous, by the fifth day he began to experience periods of disorientation and had mild hallucinations and by the end he experienced slurred speech and finger tremors (Gulevich, Dement Johnson, 1966). This research clearly shows physiological and psychological problems that arise from sleep deprivation. However it has been proven that less sleep is needed as you age with older adults living healthy lives on only 5 or 6 hours sleep. In fact there is one example of a 70 year old woman who could survive on 1 hour of slee p a night. Many researchers also believe that a cellular waste chemical called adenosine has a role in the restorative functions of sleep. Adenosine is produced as cells produce energy. At high levels adenosine inhibits brain functionality and levels of it decrease during deep sleep (Passer Smith, 2009). Evolutionary/Circadian models state that the main function of sleep is prolonging a species survival relative to its environmental demands. It backs up its evidence based on the fact that prehistorically our ancestors had very little to gain by being active at night as food gathering etc was much more easily accomplished in the day. The model puts forward the idea that over the course of the evolution of a species a circadian sleep is developed. This is a wake pattern that becomes heredity due to certain factors such as its status in the predator prey relationship and its food requirements. Also researchers backing this model believe that sleep also evolved as a way of conserving energy, putting forward the fact that we use up to 25% less energy when asleep (Watson et al, 2010). A controversial theory on a benefit of sleep is one that links it to memory consolidation. The purpose of REM sleep remains unknown and some have put forward the idea that it is a tool that the brain uses to consolidate memories, a process in which the brain transfers information to the long term memory. This consolidation hypothesis is however contradicted by the fact that studies show that even when a person has little or no REM sleep due to a side effect of anti-depressant drugs they show no impairment of long term memory capacity. This has led some to state that REM sleep is necessary on a purely biological level. These theorists believe that the body uses REM sleep primarily to keep the brain from long periods of low arousal as they believe this could have damaging effects. The true purpose of REM sleep is still debated (Watson et al, 2010). An interesting study by Paller and Voss provided evidence that suggests that when memories are accessed during dreaming they can be subtly altered by the dream. This has is to do with memory consolidation. There study showed that the brain does use dreams, at least on a small scale, to aid in memory consolidation as has been previously known. However that the brain can alter these dreams is intriguing to say the least (Paller Voss, 2004). Whereas it has been discussed how too little sleep can impair the body, here, the sleep disorder narcolepsy will be explored, showing how a inability to stay awake can also cause problems to an individuals lifestyle. About 1 out of every 2000 people suffer from narcolepsy, those living with the disorder have to deal with daily bouts of sleepiness and uncontrollable sleep attacks where they can go into sudden sleep for less than a minute to a whole hour. Often these sleep attacks are accompanied by sleep paralysis or hypnagoic hallucinations. Some researchers believe that narcolepsy is a disorder involving an intrusion by REM sleep into waking life. It is believed that narcolepsy is cause because of a chemical imbalance in the hypothalamus. There is no cure but some ant-depressant drugs appear to be effective in reducing episodes, this could be due to their suppression of REM sleep. In conclusion, research around sleep has come a long way since its humble beginnings. We now know far more about the biology behind sleep and yet much of it, including REM sleep still confounds many researchers. This essay has also outlined the many benefits that sleep has, both physiological and psychological and has shown the difficulties that arise from a lack of it and has shed some light on the obscure and misunderstood sleep disorder narcolepsy. It is hoped that research will continue on in the future and hopefully the mysteries surrounding the state which we spend almost a third of our life in will be unravelled.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Physics of Projectile Motion in Computer Games :: physics video game computer

Introduction Physics define the rules by which we live our physical existence. Many of us go about our day to day lives without any true understanding of the Laws which govern how we interact with our surroundings. Physics is our way of making sense of the forces which act upon us and shape the way we accomplish even the most menial of tasks. From walking to driving to playing a game of catch, anyone can see physics in action. A computer game programmer must take a special look at the forces at work around us. The programmers who code flight simulators, first person shooters, and similar games, often need to model their virtual world as closely as possible to our own. In this project we will look at the first person combat simulator called "Tribesâ„ ¢", by Dynamix. We will focus mainly on projectile motion, but we will also discuss the challenges the programmers had in computing ranges for projectiles, friction, and momentum. Also touched on, will be how they succeeded and failed in their efforts. Challenges In Tribesâ„ ¢, the programmers had to create an environment for the players. The challenge is to model our real life Laws of physics as accurately as possible. However, programmers are not physicists and it would take a super computer to accurately model all physics in a real world environment. This environment includes a variable gravity. This was important to game play in that the programmers could now make different worlds for the players to fight in. A planet of different mass will obviously have a different gravity. The following equation shows the horizontal range of a projectile, R = (VÂ ²o / g) * sin(2Ø) (Halliday, et al 60-64). Where R is the range, Vo is the initial velocity, g is gravity, and Ø is the angle the projectile is fired at. It is easy to see from the equation that a change in gravity will affect the total horizontal range achievable by a projectile. An interesting note is that a 45 degree angle will provide the maximum horizontal range for the projecti le, no matter what the force of gravity is. (Assuming gravity does not equal zero). We are neglecting air resistance in our calculations, as did the makers of Tribesâ„ ¢. When the programmers did this however, they got some unexpected, yet fun results. While projectile motion was not affected greatly, a person flying in the game could reach insane speeds, as there was no terminal velocity.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 14

Maggie woke up slowly and almost luxuriously. She wasn't freezing. She wasn't aching or weakwith hunger. And she had an unreasonable feeling of safety. Then she sat up and the safe feeling disappeared. She was in Laundress's hut of earth bricks.Jeanne and P.J. were there, but Cady had been taken to another hut to be treated. Laundress hadstayed all night with her, and Maggie had no ideaif she was getting better or not. The frightened girl called Soaker brought them breakfast, but couldonly say that Cady was still asleep. Breakfast was the same as dinner last night hadbeen: a sort of thick oatmeal sweetened with huckle berries. Maggie ate it gratefully. It was good-atleast to somebodyas hungry as she was. â€Å"We're lucky to have it,† Jeanne said, stretching.She and P.J. were sitting opposite Maggie on thebare earth of the floor, eating with their fingers. They all were wearing the coarse, scratchy tunicsand loose leggings of slaves, and Maggie kept goinginto spasms of twitching when the material made her itch somewhere she couldn't reach. Maggie'sclothes, including her precious socks, were hiddenat the back of the hut. â€Å"They don't grow much grain or vegetable stuff,† Jeanne was saying. â€Å"And of course slaves don't getto eat any meat. Only the vampires and the shapeshifters get to eat blood or flesh.† P.J. shivered, hunching up her thin shoulders. â€Å"When you say it like that, it makes me not wantto eat it.† Jeanne gave a sharp-toothed grin. â€Å"They're afraidit would make the slaves too strong. Everythinghere's designed for that. Maybe you noticed, there'snot much in the slave quarters made of wood.† Maggie blinked. She hadnoticed that vaguely, atthe back of her mind. The huts were made of bricks, with hard-packeddirtfloors. And there wereno wooden tools like rakes or brooms lying around. â€Å"But what do they burn?† she asked, looking atthe small stone hearth built right on the floor ofthe hut. There was a hole in the roof above to letsmoke out. â€Å"Charcoaled wood, cut in little pieces. They makeit out in the forest in charcoal pits, and it's strictly regulated. Everybody only gets so much. If they find a slave with extra wood, they execute 'em.† â€Å"Because wood kills vampires,† Maggie said. Jeanne nodded. â€Å"And silverkills shapeshifters.Slaves are forbidden to have silver, too-not thatany of them are likely to get hold of any.† P.J. was looking out the small window of the hut.There was no glass in it, and last night it had been stuffed with sacking against the cold air. â€Å"If slaves can't eat meat, what are those?† she asked. Maggie leaned to look. Outside two big calves were tethered to iron pickets. There were also a dozen trussed-up chickens and a pig in a pen madeof rope. â€Å"Those are for Night People,† Jeanne said. â€Å"The shapeshifters and witches eat regular food – and sodo the vampires, when they want to. It looks likethey're going to have a feast they don t bring theanimals here until they're ready to slaughter.† P.J.'s face was troubled. â€Å"I feel sorry for them,† she said softly. â€Å"Yeah, well, there are worse things than beinghit over the head,† Jeanne said. â€Å"See those cagesjust beyond the pig? That's where the exotics are ?tigers and things they bring in to hunt. That's a bad way to die.† Maggie felt ice down her spine. â€Å"Let's hope wenever have to find out – 2†² she was beginning, whena flash of movement outside caught her eye. â€Å"Get down!† she said sharply, and ducked out of ?line of sight of the window. Then, very carefully, with her body tense, she edged up to the opensquare again and peered out. â€Å"What is it?† Jeanne hissed. P.J. just cowered on thefloor, breathing quickly. Maggie whispered, â€Å"Sylvia.† Twofigures had appeared, walking through the back courtyard and talkingasthey went. Sylvia and Gavin. Sylvia's gown today was misty leaf green,and her hair rippled in shimmering waves over her shoulders. She looked beautiful and graceful andfragile. â€Å"Are they coming here?† Jeanne breathed. Maggie shook a hand-held low to the groundtoward her to be quiet. She was afraid of the samething. If the Night People began a systematic search of the huts, they were lost. But instead, Sylvia turned toward the cages thatheld the exotics. She seemed to be looking at the animals, occasionally turning to make a remarkto Gavin. â€Å"Now, what's she up to?† a voice murmured by Maggie's ear. Jeanne had crept up beside her. â€Å"I don't know. Nothing good,† Maggie whispered. â€Å"They must be planning a hunt,† Jeanne saidgrimly. â€Å"That's bad. I heard they were going to doa big one when Delos came to an agreement withHunter Redfern.† Maggie drew in her breath. Had things gone thatfar already? It meant she didn't have much timeleft. Outside, she could see Sylvia shaking her head,then moving on to the pens and tethers holding the domestic animals. â€Å"Get back,† Maggie whispered, ducking down.But Sylvia never looked at the hut. She made some remark while looking at the calves and smiling.Then she and Gavin turned and strolled backthrough the kitchen garden. Maggie watched until they were out of sight, chewing her lip. Then she looked at Jeanne. â€Å"I think we'd better go see Laundress.† The hut Jeanne led her to was a little bigger thanthe others and had what Maggie knew by now was an amazing luxury: two rooms. Cady was in thetiny room-hardly bigger than an alcove-in back. And she was looking better. Maggie saw it immediately. The clammy, feverish look was gone and so were the blue-black shadows under her eyes. Herbreathing was deep and regular and her lashes lay heavy and still on her smooth cheeks. â€Å"Is she going to be all right?† Maggie asked Laundress eagerly. The gaunt woman was sponging Cady's cheekswith a cloth. Maggie was Surprised at how tenderthe big red-knuckled hands could be. â€Å"She'll liveaslongasany of us,† Laundress said grimly, and Jeanne gave a wry snort. Even Maggie felt her lip twitch. She was beginning to like this woman. In fact, if Jeanne and Laundress were examples, the slaves here had a courage and a blackhumor that she couldn't help but admire. â€Å"I had a daughter,† Laundress said. â€Å"She wasabout this one's age, but she had that one's coloring.† She nodded slightly atP.J.,who clutched atthe baseball cap stashed inside her tunic and smiled. Maggie hesitated, then asked. â€Å"What happenedto her?† â€Å"One of the nobles saw her and liked her,† Laundress said. She wrung out the cloth and put itdown, then stood briskly. When she saw Maggiestill looking at her, she added,asif she were talkingabout the weather, â€Å"He was a shapeshifter, a wolfnamed Autolykos. He bit her and passed his curse on to her, but then he got tired of her. One nighthe made her run and hunted her down.† Maggie's knees felt weak. She couldn't think ofanything to say that wouldn't be colossally stupid,so she didn't say anything. P.J. did. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said in a husky little voice, and she put her small hand in Laundress'srough one. Laundress touched the top of the shaggy blondheadasif she were touching an angel. â€Å"Urn, can I talk to her? Cady?† Maggie asked,blinking fast and clearing her throat. Laundress looked at her sharply. â€Å"No. You won'tbe able to wake her up. I had to give her strong medicine to fight off what they'd given her. Youknow how the potion works.† Maggie shook her head. â€Å"What potion?† â€Å"They gave her calamus and bloodwort-andother things. It was a truth potion.† â€Å"You mean they wanted to get information outof her?† Laundress only dignified that with a bare nod foran answer. â€Å"But I wonder why?† Maggie looked at Jeanne,who shrugged. â€Å"She's a witch from Outside. Maybe they thoughtshe knew something.† Maggie considered another minute, then gave itup. She would just have to ask Cady when Cadywas awake. â€Å"There was another reason I wanted to see you,†she said to Laundress, who was now briskly cleaning up the room. â€Å"Actually, a couple of reasons. Iwanted to ask you about this.† She reached inside her slave tunic and pulled outthe photo of Miles that she'd taken from her jacketlast night. â€Å"Have you seen him?† Laundress took the picture between a callusedthumb and forefinger and looked at it warily.†Wonderfully small painting,† she said. â€Å"It's called a photograph. It's not exactlypainted.† Maggie was watching the woman's face,afraid to hope. There was no sign of recognition. â€Å"He's related toyou,† Laundress said, holding the photo to Maggie. â€Å"He's my brother. From Outside, you know? Andhis girlfriend was Sylvia Weald. He disappeared last week.† â€Å"Witch Sylvia!† a cracked, shaky voice said. Maggie looked up fast. There was an old womanin the doorway, a tiny, wizened creature with thin white hair and a face exactly like one of the driedapple dolls Maggie had seen at fairs. â€Å"This is Old Mender,† Jeanne said. â€Å"She sews uptorn clothes, you know? And she's the other healing woman.† â€Å"So this is the Deliverer,† the cracked voice said, and the woman shuffled closer, peering at Maggie.†She looks like an ordinary girl, until youseethe eyes.† Maggie blinked.-Oh-thanks,-she said. Secretlyshe thought that Old Mender herself looked morelike a witch than anyone she'd ever seen in her life. But there was bright intelligence in the old wom-. an's birdlike gaze and her little smile was sweet. â€Å"Witch Sylvia came to the castle a week ago,† shetold Maggie, her head on one side. â€Å"She didn't have any boy with her, but she was talking about a boy.My grand-nephew Currier heard her. She was telling Prince Delos how she'd chosen a human for aplaything, and she'd tried to bring him to the castlefor Samhain. But the boy did something-turnedon her somehow. And so she had to punish him,and that had delayed her.† Maggie's heart was beating in her ears. â€Å"Punishhim,† she began, and then she said, â€Å"What'sSamhain?† â€Å"Halloween,† Jeanne said. â€Å"The witches here normally have a big celebration at midnight.† Halloween. All right. Maggie's mind was whirringdesperately, ticking over this new information. Sonow she knew for certain that Sylvia hadgone Ink ing on Halloween with Miles, just as she'd told thesheriffs and rangers. Or maybe they'd been driving, if Jeanne's story about a mysterious pass that onlyNight People could see was true. But anyway they'dbeen coming here, to the Dark Kingdom. Andsomething had delayed them. Miles had done something that made Sylvia terribly angry and changed her mind about taking him to the castle. And made her†¦punish him. In some way thatMaggie wasn't supposed to be able to guess. Maybe she just killed him after all, Maggiethought, with an awful sinking in her stomach. Shecould have shoved him off a cliff easily. Whatevershe did, he never made it here-right? â€Å"So there isn't any human boy in the dungeon oranything?† she asked, looking at Laundress andthen Mender. But she knew the answer before theyshook their heads. Nobody recognizes him. He can't be here. Maggie felt her shoulders slump. But althoughshe was discouraged and heartsick, she wasn't defeated. What she felt instead was a hard little burning like a coal in her chest. She wanted more than ever to grab Sylvia and shake the truth out of her. At the very least, if nothing else, I'm going to findout how he died. Because that's important. Funny how it didn't seem impossible anymorethat Miles was dead. Maggie had learned a lot since coming to this valley. People got hurt and died andhad other awful things happen to them, and thatwas that. The ones left alive had to find some wayof going on. But not of forgetting. â€Å"You said you had two reasons for coming to seeme,† Laundress prompted. She was standing with her big hands on her hips, her gaunt body erectand looking just slightly impatient. â€Å"Have you comeup with a plan, Deliverer?† â€Å"Well-sort of. Not exactly a planso much as well, I guess it's a plan.† Maggie floundered, tryingto explain herself. The truth was that she'd come up with the most basic plan of all. To go see Delos. That was it. The simplest, most direct solution.She was going to get him alone and talk to him.Use the weird connection between them if she hadto. Pound some sort of understanding into histhick head. And put her life on the line to back up her words. Jeanne thought the slaves were going to be killedwhen Hunter Redfern and Delos made their deal. Maggie was a slave now. If the other slaves werekilled, Maggie would be with them. And you're betting that he'll care,a nasty littlevoice in her brain whispered. But you don't reallyknow that. He keeps threatening to kill you himself. He specifically warned you not to come to thecastle. Well, anyway, we're going to find out, Maggie told the little voice. And if I can't convince him, I'llhave to do something more violent. â€Å"I need to get into the castle,† she said to Laundress. â€Å"Not just into the kitchen, you know, but theother rooms-wherever I might be able to findPrince Delos alone.† â€Å"Alone? You won't find him alone anywhere buthis bedchamber.† â€Å"Well, then, I have to go there.† Laundress was watching her narrowly. â€Å"Is it assassination you've got in mind? Because I knowsomeone who has a piece of wood.† â€Å"It†¦ .† Maggie stopped and took a breath. â€Å"I really hope it isn't going to come to that. Butmaybe I'd better take the wood, just in case.† And you'd better hope for a miracle, the nastyvoice in her mind said. Because how else are yougoing to overpower him? Jeanne was rubbing her forehead. When shespoke, Maggie knew she'd been thinking along thesame lines. â€Å"Look, dummy, are you sure this is agood idea? I mean, he's-â€Å" â€Å"A Night Person,† Maggie supplied.†And you're=' â€Å"Just an ordinary human.† â€Å"She's the Deliverer,† P.J. said stoutly, and Maggie paused to smile at her. Then she turned back to Jeanne. â€Å"I don't knowif it's a good idea, but it's my only idea. And I knowit's dangerous, but I have to do it.† She looked awkwardly at Laundress and Old Mender. â€Å"The truthis that it's not just about you people here. If whatJeanne told you about Hunter Redfern is right,then the whole human world is in trouble.† â€Å"Oh, the prophecies,† Old Mender said, and cackled. â€Å"You know them, too?† â€Å"We slaves hear everything.† Old Mender smiled and nodded. â€Å"Especially when it concerns our own prince. I remember when he was little-I was theQueen's seamstress then, before she died. Hismother knew the prophecies, and she said, ‘In blue fire, the final darkness is banished.In blood, the final price is paid.† Blood, Maggie thought. She knew that blood hadto run before Delos could use the blue fire, butthis sounded as if it were talking about something darker. Whose blood? she wondered. â€Å"And the final darkness is the end of the world,right?† she said. â€Å"So you can see how important itis for me to change Delos's mind. Not just for theslaves, but for all humans.† She looked at Jeanne asshe spoke. Laundress and Old Mender didn't knowanything about the world Outside, but Jeanne did. Jeanne gave a sort of grudging nod, to say that, yeah, putting off the end of the world was important. â€Å"Okay, so we have to try it. We'd better findout which slaves are allowed in his room, and thenwe can go up and hide. The big chambers havewardrobes, right?† She was looking at Old Mender,who nodded. â€Å"We can stay in one of those-â€Å" â€Å"That's a good idea,† Maggie interrupted. â€Å"Everything but the we. You can't go with me this time.This is something I have to do alone.† Jeanne gave an indignant wriggle of her shoulders. Her red hair seemed to stand up in protest and her eyes were sparking. â€Å"That's ridiculous. Ican help. There's noreason† â€Å"There is, too, a reason,† Maggie said. â€Å"It's too dangerous. Whoever goes there might get killedtoday. If you stay here, you may at least have afew more days.† When Jeanne opened her mouthto protest, she went on, â€Å"Days to try and figure outa new plan, okay? Which will probably be just as dangerous. And, besides, I'd like somebody towatch over P.J. and Cady for as longaspossible.† She gave P.J. a smile, and P.J. lifted her head resolutely, obviously trying to stop her chin fromquivering.,., Ido need to do it alone,† Maggie said gently, turning back to Jeanne. Somewhere in herown mind, she was standing back, astonished. Whowould have ever thought, when she first met Jeannein the cart, that she would end up having to talkher out of trying to get killed with Maggie? Jeanne blew air out pursed lips, her eyes narrowed. Finally she nodded. â€Å"Fine, fine. You go conquer the vampire and Illstay and arrange the revolution.† â€Å"I bet you will,† Maggie said dryly. For a momenttheir eyes met, and it was like that first time, whenan unspoken bond had formed between them. â€Å"Try to take care of yourself. You're not exactlythe smartest, you know,† Jeanne said. Her voice was a little rough and her eyes were oddly shiny. â€Å"I know,† Maggie said. The next moment Jeanne sniffed and cheered up.†I just thought of who's allowed up into the bedrooms in the morning,† she said. â€Å"You can helpher, and shell lead you to Delos's room.† Maggie looked at her suspiciously. â€Å"Why are youso happy about it? Who is it?† â€Å"Oh, you'll like her. She's called Chamber-potEmptier.†

Friday, November 8, 2019

Tips for Writing a Winning College Application Essay

Tips for Writing a Winning College Application Essay Nearly all colleges rate application essays as either important or very important in their admissions process. A poorly executed essay can cause a stellar student to get rejected. On the flip side, exceptional application essays can help students with marginal scores get into the schools of their dreams. The tips below will help you win big with your essay. Also be sure to check out these tips for the 7 personal essay options on the Common Application, this ​​advice for improving your essays style, and the sample essays. Avoid the List on Your Application Essay Many college applicants make the mistake of trying to include all of their accomplishments and activities in their application essays. Such essays read like what they are: tedious lists. Other parts of the application provide plenty of space for you to list extracurricular activities, so save your lists for the places where they belong. The most engaging and compelling essays tell a story and have a clear focus. Through carefully chosen detail, your writing should reveal your passions and expose your personality. A thoughtful and detailed narration of a difficult time in your life tells far more about you than a list of competitions won and honors achieved. Your grades and scores show that you’re smart. Use your essay to show that you’re thoughtful and mature, that your personality has depth. Add a Touch of Humor   While its important to be thoughtful and mature, you dont want your college application essay to be too heavy. Try to lighten up the essay with a clever metaphor, a well-placed witticism, or a little self-deprecating humor. But dont overdo it. The essay that is filled with bad puns or off-color jokes will often end up in the rejection pile. Also, humor isnt a substitute for substance. Your primary task is to answer the essay prompt thoughtfully; the smile you bring to your readers lips is just a bonus (and a tear can sometimes be effective too). Many students have been rejected for failing to take the prompt seriously and writing essays that end up being more foolish than clever. Focus on Tone Not just humor, but the overall tone of your application essay is remarkably important. Its also difficult to get right. When you are asked to write about your accomplishments, those 750 words on how great you are can make you sound like a braggart. Be careful to balance your pride in your achievements with humility and generosity towards others. You also want to avoid sounding like a whiner use your essay to show off your skills, not to explain the injustices that lead to your low math score or failure to graduate #1 in your class. Reveal Your Character Along with the essay, most colleges rate character and personal qualities as extremely important in their admissions decisions. Your character shows up in three places on the application: the interview (if you have one), your involvement in extracurricular activities, and your essay. Of the three, the essay is the most immediate and illuminating to the admissions folks as they read through thousands of applications. Remember, colleges aren’t looking solely for straight As and high SAT scores. They are looking for good citizens for their campus communities. Mechanics Matter Grammatical problems, punctuation errors, and spelling mistakes can hurt your chance of being accepted. When excessive, these errors are distracting and make your application essay difficult to understand. Even a few errors, however, can be a strike against you. They show a lack of care and quality control in your written work, and your success in college partly depends upon strong writing skills. If English isnt your greatest strength, seek help. Ask a favorite teacher to go over the essay with you, or find a friend with strong editorial skills. If you cant find expert help, there are many online essay services that can provide a careful critique of your writing.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Information Security Privacy in Healthcare Discussing the HIPAA Standards Requirements

Information Security Privacy in Healthcare Discussing the HIPAA Standards Requirements Introduction Today, more than ever before, it has become increasingly apparent that the daily functioning of a healthcare institution fundamentally depends on the integrity, availability and dependability of its information systems. Patient health information, research, operations, and finance all depend on highly accessible, reliable, and robust software applications, data, and information technology infrastructure (Glaser Aske, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Security Privacy in Healthcare: Discussing the HIPAA Standards Requirements specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, healthcare providers are required by law to strictly observe a complexity of standards as outlined in the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This paper reviews some underlying issues related to organizational policies, procedures and documentation requirements govern ing health entities for HIPAA compliance. Issues in Information Technology Reporting Data One of the underlying issues covered in the document is the need for covered entities to tighten internal and external compliance procedures by ensuring that their business associates subscribes to a set of standards and requirements aimed at ensuring the integrity and reliability of the electronic protected health information (EPHI). This objective is achieved by ensuring that the covered entity obtains signed privacy agreements with the business associates, particularly on the use and disclosure of EPHI (HIPAA, 2007). The second issue concerns the need for the covered entity and its associates to conduct regular audits on EPHI not only to ensure compliance with the requirements and standards outlined in the Act, but also to guarantee that EPHI is used for the intended purposes. Business associates, such as software developers, must therefore develop and implement record-level security aimed at restricting access to EPHI sorely to those who are allowed by the Act (Sarrico Hauenstein, 2011). The variables of EPHI that requires safeguarding as outlined in rules and regulations of HIPAA also comes out strongly in this document. Indeed, the Act requires all stakeholders – covered entities, sponsors, business associates, and subcontractors – to always ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of EPHI (HIPAA, 2007). For example, a sub-agent contracted by a business associate of a covered entity to create a component of the electronic health register (EHR) must not only ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of EPHI under its possession, but must agree to sign compliance agreements that appropriate the task of implementing reasonable and appropriate safeguards to the subcontractor (HIPAA, 2007; Cannoy Salam, 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Fourth, the article has comprehensively discussed how breaches to the security of patient health information should be addressed either by the covered entity or by the business associates, sponsors, or subcontractors. Lastly, the document has outlined how policies and procedures required by the Security Rule should be incorporated with the organization’s mission and culture to enable effective implementation. Here, the covered entities are given a leeway to modify the rules and procedures of the Security Rule to fit their current business practices for policy development and implementation, as long as the modifications are documented and implemented in accordance with the requirements of the Act (HIPAA, 2007). Security Breaches The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) defines a breach as the â€Å"†¦acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of protected health information in a manner not permitted under [th e HIPAA privacy rule] which compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information† (Brown, 2009, p. 27). As such, any use, disclosure of, or access to, electronic patient health information that is not expressly permitted by the HIPAA privacy rule constitutes a security breach. For example, improperly disclosing patient health information that contains the name of the patient and dates of his/her appointments to a third party who is not allowed by the HIPAA security rule to have access to such information constitutes a violation of the privacy rule but not a substantial risk; however, the improper use or disclosure of sensitive patient information, such as the type of services received by the patient, constitutes a breach since such disclosure could result in harm to the patient (Brown, 2009) Technologists working in the covered entity should report the breaches to the individuals who could be harmed as a direct consequence of the breach. Serious breaches, su ch as those involving more than 500 patients in a given state or jurisdiction, must be reported to the media and the Secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For breaches involving less than 500 patients, however, the technologists need to report to the administration of the covered entity, who then maintain a log of the reported breaches with the aim to notify the HHS not late than 60 days after the expiry of the calendar year (Brown, 2009).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Security Privacy in Healthcare: Discussing the HIPAA Standards Requirements specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Requirements The requirements noted in the document include: organizational requirements; requirements for group health plans, and; policies, procedures and documentation requirements. Under the organizational requirements, the covered entity is required to enter into binding contracts or other arrangem ents with business associates who will have direct access to the covered entity’s EPHI with a view to ensure the effective implementation of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that realistically and correctly protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of EPHI. This requirement also outlines ways through which the business associates should report breaches to the security and privacy of patient data, and the consequences for non-compliance (HIPAA, 2007). The standard on the requirements for group health plans obliges the â€Å"†¦group health plan to ensure that its plan documents require the plan sponsor to reasonably and appropriately safeguard EPHI that it creates, receives, maintains or transmits on behalf of the group health plan† (HIPAA, 2007, p. 5). This implies that the plan sponsor of the group health plan who has access to sensitive electronic patient health data is required by the Security Rule to plan documents using a langu age which is similar to that already required by the Privacy Rule. Consequently, the sponsor must not only ensure reasonable and appropriate safeguards to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of EPHI under its disposal, but must also ensure that any agent, including a subcontractor, to whom it avails this data is obliged to implement rational and appropriate security directives to safeguard the information (HIPAA, 2007). Lastly, the requirements deal with issues of how a covered entity may modify its policies and procedures to fit its mission and organizational culture, provided that the modifications are documented and implemented in accordance with the Security Rule (HIPAA, 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Withrow (2010), these requirements provide the covered entities with the flexibility they need to implement the policies and procedures of the Security Rule according to their standard business practices, but they must take caution not to circumvent the requirements as enshrined in the Security Rule. In documentation standard, covered entities are not only required to retain documentation for a specified number of years (6 years) from the date of its creation or up to the date when the document was last in effect, but they are also supposed to make the documentation available to the individuals responsible for implementing the procedures to which the documentation pertains (HIPAA, 2007). Reviewing and updating the documentation as needed is also a requirement. IT Workers To ensure adherence to the requirements discussed above, the covered entities must embrace extensive and regular training of all employees, but with particular emphasis to employees in their information technology departments (Sarrico Hauenstein, 2011). The rules, standards, and requirements contained in the HIPAA are complex, thus the need for IT workers to undertake comprehensive training aimed at enlightening them on scenarios that may compromise the security and privacy of EPHI to a level that may make the entities non-compliant. Indeed, the extensive training and education should be extended to the employees of the business associates. Non-Compliance of the Requirements Organizations are often found to be non-compliant to the standards and requirements discussed in this paper due to a number of reasons, with the major one being the lack of proper understanding of what may be considered as a breach to the security and privacy of EPHI (Withrow, 2010). For example, healthcare organizations may not know that some simple acts such as a nurse giving a hospital discharge sheet to the wrong patient may constitute a breach if the health information (e.g., treatment for drug abuse) of the rightful owner is included in the discharge sheet. Varied interpretations of the standards have also been cited as a major cause of non-compliance (Sarrico Hauenstein, 2011). Lastly, failure on the part of the covered entity to implement policies and strategies that lead to reasonable and appropriate protection of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of EPHI occasions non-compliance. Conclusion The legal liability for non-compliance of HIPAA may be a turning point for any healthcare organization – from a profit-making entity to sudden demise (Sarrico Hauenstein, 2011). Equally, EPHI is sensitive in nature and all efforts should be made to protect and safeguard this information with a wider scope of safeguarding the character and reputation of individuals. It is therefore imperative for health institutions to follow the standards and requirements contained in HIPAA to the latter if they are to kill the two birds with one stone. Reference List Brown, B. (2009 ). Notification requirements for breaches of protected health information. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 11(6), 27-30. Cannoy, S.D., Salam, A.F. (2010). A framework for healthcare information assurance policy and compliance. Communications of the ACM, 53(3), 126-131. Glaser, J., Ake, J. (2010). Healthcare IT trends raise bar for information security. Healthcare Financial Management, 64(7), 40-44. HIPAA. (2007). Security standards: Organizational, policies and procedures and documentation requirements. Web. Sarrico, C., Hauenstein, J. (2011). Can EHRs and HIEs get along with HIPAA security requirements? Healthcare Financial Management, 65(2), 86-90. Withrow, S.C. (2010). How to avoid a HIPAA horror story. Healthcare Financial Management, 64(8), 82-88.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 - Essay Example   The condition has been found to affect approximately 50 million people in the United States. It has also been discovered that antibodies against the virus exist in 20 percent of the adult population which shows previous exposure. It can lead to miscarriages in pregnant mothers if the fetus becomes infected before the fifth month of pregnancy. Females have greater risk of suffering from this condition. There has been not much variation in the rate of occurrence of the disease in United States. The incubation period for the virus is 2 weeks. The first infection is the most severe which resolves in around a month. The following infections cannot have a definitive pattern. Herpes simplex virus leads to genital sores and is responsible for the infection in the neonates due to its spread from the mother to the baby during delivery. The disease is contagious and is sexually transmitted and from the mother to the baby. The disease mainly affects the genitals where it leads to the develop ment of sores. Contact of genitals with the mouth can also result in sores on the mouth. It is responsible for the development of vesicular lesions in the sexual organs in both sexes which can spread to the cervical canal in the case of females and to the prostate gland in males. The newborn baby may also get infected and present with infections on the skin, oral cavity and the eyes. It can also result in inflammation of the brain. Inflammation of the meninges can also be caused by this disease. After the initial infection, the virus can become stored in the sensory ganglia particularly the lumbar and sacral regions where it remains inactive. It reactivates if provided with a stimulus which includes sunlight, high body temperature and disturbances in the hormonal levels. In this case the virus travels again to the skin and produces lesions.   

Friday, November 1, 2019

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 20

Research - Essay Example To this end, the United States has adopted a global mindset in its relation with other countries. The distinct features of a global mindset involve showing understanding, care and concern for the global citizens. Evidently, the United States exhibits this attribute by advocating for human rights doctrines among the countries citizenry, as well as free and fair democratic systems in governance. Another key communication style employed by the United States with other countries is a diplomatic process that respects the democratic systems. To this end, the United States does not interfere in the free and fair democratic processes of countries such as elections, or administration. However, it is critical to note that the United States only recognizes democratic governments that uphold the human rights of citizenry, and have achieved a consensus mandate from the general populace. Cooperation and collaboration is another communication strategy employed by the United States (Prewitt, Weil, & McClure, 2011). Evidently, effective leadership employs collaboration rather than competition. This is in recognition that competition fosters suspicion, jealousy and mistrust that can eventually lead to breakdown of relations. To this end, the United States fosters mutual cooperation with other countries in critical areas such as the trade, industry, environment and security. In the same respect of collaboration and cooperation, the United States fosters mutual partnership with democratic governments. Effective global leadership equally needs to be appreciative of the multiethnic, multiracial, multi cultural and diverse religions of the Earth. To this end, the United States employs a communication style that is empathetic and culturally sensitive. This involves the mutual respect and impartiality towards the multicultural communities. Moreover, the United States employs empathy to the global citizens in terms of crisis such as droughts, environmental