Chasing Zero Essay -- Health, Preventable Medical Error

Chasing Zero is a documentary which was meant to both educate the viewer on the prevalence of medical harm as well as to enlighten both the public and health care providers on the preventability of these events (Discovery, 2010). The documentary expounded on the fact each year more people die each year from a preventable medical error than die due to breast cancer, motor vehicle accidents or AIDS (Institute of Medicine, 1999). Medical harm can result from adverse drug events, surgical injuries, wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries, falls, burns, pressure ulcers and mistaken patient identities (Institute of Medicine, 1999). Incidences of medical error have been reported in the media for many years. The most startling revelation in the documentary is how common medical errors are and how preventable they are. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported in 1999 that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year in the United States due to a preventable medical error. A report written by the National Quality Forum (NQF) found that over a decade after the IOM report the prevalence of medical errors remains very high (2010). In fact a study done by the Hearst Corporation found that the number of deaths due to medical error and post surgical infections has increased since the IOM first highlighted the problem and recommended actions to reduce the number of events (Dyess, 2009). The premise of â€Å"Chasing Zero† is to reduce the number of deaths due to healthcare harm to zero. Leading authorities on healthcare quality, such as Charles Denham, believe that all of these deaths are preventable and can be eliminated (Discovery, 2010). Dr. Denham along with the Texas Medical Institute of Technology (TMIT) are dedicat... ...vers, clinical and non-clinical leaders of hospitals and international subject matter experts. The Texas Medical Institute of Technology, through programs such as Chasing Zero, is bringing a public voice to the issue of healthcare harm. The documentary is a stirring example of the quality issues facing the healthcare system. In 2003, the NQF first introduced the 30 Safe Practices for Better Healthcare, which it hoped all hospitals would adopt (National Quality Forum, 2010). Today the list has grown to 34, yet the number of preventable healthcare harm events continues to rise. The lack of standardization and mandates which require the reporting of events contributes to the absence of meaningful improvement. Perhaps through initiatives such as those developed by TMIT and the vivid and arresting patient stories such as Chasing Zero, change will soon be at hand.

White Light/Black Rain Opr

White Light/Black Rain OPR August 6-9, 1945: The first atomic bombs are dropped over the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in the greatest nuclear catastrophe ever in terms of human casualties. As time fades these horrific events into obscure moments in history, many people become ignorant of the damage caused by the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Steven Okazaki in White Light/Black Rain utilizes the rhetoric strategies ethos, pathos and logos to reveal the full destructive power of nuclear weapons and to convince future generations that nuclear weapons should never again be employed in war.By peppering quantitative data and statistics throughout the film, Okazaki effectively appeals to logos and displays the measurable damage caused from the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Okazaki states that 140,000 people were killed instantly from the explosions and 160,000 died later as a result of radiation poisoning or burns. Hundreds of thousands of innoce nt people were wiped off the face of the earth from the cataclysmic eruptions of heat and radiation from these man made weapons of mass destruction.Even more were forever cursed with the chronic complications from heat and radiation exposure such as third-degree burns, hair loss, and later cancer. Okazaki also declares that in the twenty-first century, there are enough nuclear weapons to cause as much damage as 40,000 Hiroshimas. This amount of nuclear firepower has the potential to kill millions of people and alter global climate. Nuclear warfare can only end in destruction.By providing the measurable damage of nuclear weapons used in in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Okazaki reveals their alarming destructive potential and reminds younger generations of its horrible consequences. Okazaki establishes ethos in his film by including interviews of many survivors from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and by rolling footage of the aftermath of the bombings. During the interviews, the bomb s urvivors recount their awful story and show the horrific injuries sustained from the atomic bombs.Their recount of the deaths, destruction, disease, and poverty suffered calls in to question the morality of killing and maiming so many innocent people. During the interviews, the bomb survivors recall having family member killed, homes destroyed, or body parts scorched beyond repair. Black and white footage of the cities after their bombings exposes their utter decimation. Although the Japanese could rebuild their cities, they were unaware of the radiation that would linger in the land for ages.The effects of chronic radiation exposure caused mutations and tumors in many who lived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings. It is unjustifiable to intentionally cause mass destruction in any scenario, and Okazaki clearly questions the authority and ethic of the atomic bombs through the first-hand accounts of their repercussions. Dissonant background music and disturbing images of dead and severely burned and sick children establish the strong pathos against nuclear weapons in Okazaki’s film.During scenes of the tragic death and destruction brought by nuclear weapons, Okazaki plays quiet, echoing, and dissonant instrumental music. These audible elements combine to create a harsh and somber tone. The sorrowful, minor key music augments the woeful scenes of wreckage and induces pity and empathy. Scenes including mutilated and burned children appeal especially to emotions. The innocence of the children juxtaposed with their atrocious injuries induces a sense of anger against the atomic bombings.Viewing emotionally and physically scarred children strikes a discord in the hearts of the compassionate and emotional viewers. Okazaki successfully connects the emotions in the music and disturbing images to deter anyone from justifying the need for nuclear weapons. Clearly, by combining ethical, emotional, and logical consequences of the of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Steven Okazaki in White Light/Black Rain, educates future generations about the consequences of using nuclear weapons and persuades them away from the idea of nuclear warfare.

Benefit of information system for business Essay

After several years of turbulence of internet stocks and the resulting failure of many companies, it is easy to understand the impact of information system in daily life. Yet, everyday we read article about IT technology helping the growth of the business. They are many advantages that most people agreed: they create value largely or exclusively through the gathering, synthesizing and distribution of information, they formulate strategy in ways that make management of enterprise and they use technology-mediated channels which are subject to measurement and tracking in unprecedented and granular ways. With those advantages, the company can gain a better position in the furious competition. Among the main advantages of the information system been used in the business are its ability to facilitate business activities with huge amount of information and organized resource and the ease of transaction in terms of speed and cost. In this report which is presented to Mr. Oracle, the manager of Basket Company, I am going to exam the three vital roles that information system can benefit for the business: Support of its business processes and operation, Support of decision making by its employees and manager Support of its strategies for competitive advantage In the traditional business environment, business operating is a manual, time-consuming and labor-intensive process involving requests for quotation, purchase order submissions, order approval and confirmation, shipping, invoicing and payment. But with the help of information systems, business can gather information more quickly at a relatively low cost. For example, 1800-flower Company provides a broad range of give products. The company’s information system collects and stores data on birthday and invitations, as well as a record of gifts send to specific recipients. It maintains a customer information file holding all such data which alerts them of  forthcoming events. At the appropriate times the company sends customized message to the customers with suggestion for flowers and presents. The company gains a world-wide reputation. Therefore, good management information systems fast the business operation and use resource more effective. Basket Company also involves similar business actives we discussed above, by equipping the management information system, will greatly support business operation. Now the competition of basket market is very furious, it is not enough to improve only the product, we should impress the customers as a person who cares them more than their selves. To achieve the goal, we have to identify the trend of customer needs. Like large office goods supplier—Staples. The company system maintains lists of previously ordered items. Over time, Staples learned a great deal about its customers’ preferences and use that information to offer new items. We value our employees as they play an important role in company success, but only with the helps of those tools, our employees and managers can easily make the decision on buy from supplier and predicate the profits. Thus, the good management information system plays a more important role in the competition. One of the outcomes of information system is the strategies for competitive advantages. The three basic strategies for competitive advantages are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Management information system can have a considerable part to play in a competitive strategy, cutting the labor and administration cost during business operation, the business can sell goods or provide services at a price that is lower than the competitors. Surveys and feedback sessions will be conducted from detailed transaction records and various data to access the ongoing project. To sum up, management information system is necessary to meet the extensive and diverse market competition. It supports business operation, support decision making and gain strategies for competitive advantage. If we use information system in our business, the company will have higher chances to success. Leppert, P. A., 1996. Doing Business with new technology. Fremont, California: Jain Publishing. David whiteley 2000 introduction to e-business McGraw-hill international UK

The Effects of the Industrial Revolution Essays

The Effects of the Industrial Revolution Essays The Effects of the Industrial Revolution Essay The Effects of the Industrial Revolution Essay T The Industrial Revolution began in the eighteenth century marking the transformation of economic power and productivity. Not only was there concentration on agriculture, as their main source of an economy, and started to concern themselves with commerce, trade, and exploration of new technologies. Working toward great financial success to make a profit. Even though the machinery was new the main power source was human labor. Production took place in homes and small workshops. The primary labor force was drawn specifically to the young, as the industrial revolution began in semi-normal locations. The effects of the Industrial revolution were harsh on children, and it made people feel like all they were good for was work, during this economic crisis the economic conditions were harsh. During urban domesticity conditions children were less of an economic benefit and more of an economic burden. The families and the children that had to live threw this period did not see any economic or personal gain. Many children lost their families due to an insufficient economy poverty rates in. Families were forced to make irrational decision, giving up their children to go out and work at an early childhood. Children were used as cheap labor to earn their keep and received little to no pay. Children that were orphans were often used and treated worse than other children. With long and tough workdays that consisted of twelve to fourteen hours. Before labor laws were put into place countless accidents occurred. Many companies thought that using children were the best source of workers. Children were used as cheap labor to earn their keep. With their small bodies they were able to move around the chimneys and clean them well. The machines burned lots of fuel to operate which caused an increase of pollution. The soot was constantly in their clothes and hair and it was a way of living for them. Not knowing that they were breathing this soot would cause short and long term health problems in the future. Some short-term effects consist of irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Other symptoms can include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Long-term health effects can contain chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. They worked and slept in poor conditions. The children paid their way through work. Education at this time was secondary and working was traditional and customary. Some of the children’s’ parents were concerned about them growing up without getting a decent education. The Authors facts tell how the children were treated during the industrial revolution. Blake states that at a young age children were being sold out of their families and used as very cheap labor services. It was during a time of industrial management. All the kids had were their dreams of a better economy, so they could go play freely, like children should. All they had were their dreams of a better tomorrow as long as they keep the faith and believe. He also stated in the poem that they were kept shaved and was continuously covered in soot from head to toe. For the owners of these companies and others investing in the industry hiring children was a plus and helped them save money. By hiring children to work these machines cut production times in half with the newer technology. Some thought this was teaching children the importance of work. The Industrial Revolution also ushered in a golden age for America. This would be considered the golden age until to government became involved and put labor laws for children into place. These laws limited the amount of hours children of certain ages could work. Children ranging from ages nine- thirteen were only allowed to work eight hours a day. Fourteen threw eighteen could work no more than twelve hours a day. Children under nine were not allowed to work at all. Education started to become more important than working and regulations were also placed on it. Children were required to attend school for no less than two hours during the day. Not just the employers thought that hiring children were a good idea. Parents would also have their children working to help contribute to the well-being of the family. Many people did not see a difference in children working in these factories verses for many years children worked on family farms and in family cottage industries. Many people don’t see having their children working on family farms or doing chores around the house as child labor, but as in lesions that will last you for the rest of you life. Others also think that it will teach the child to value and appreciate working. Stew stated â€Å"Now that I have my own children, I realize that assigning household tasks to their children and enforcing completion was actually pretty hard for my parents. We often gave them grief about doing our chores, argued, complained quit early and tried all manner of ways to avoid our duties. I am certain that in most cases, it would have been easier for my parents to just do the job for us. Now, I am so thankful that my parents taught us to work. The ability to work is the  first step to financial freedom and independence. When I get together with my brothers and sisters we often compare notes about how kind our employers have been to us most of the time. Over the years, there have been few complaints about our work in terms of effort, faithfulness, diligence and perseverance. In today’s society child labor and laws still exist. Child labor is not mostly conducted in other countries instead of the United States unlike in the industrial revolution. The term commonly used is called sweat shops. Sweatshops are a working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous - especially by developed countries with high standard s of living. In many third world countries child labor is an own going problem. Countries such as Africa, China, Philippines, India, and Pakistan still condone the use of child labor. Just like in the industrial revolution theses sweatshops were put into place to lower their costs and increase profits. The environments in these sweatshops are very harmful and dangerous. Major corporations such as Nike, Sean John, Tommy Hilfiger, Walt Disney Company, and The Gap have had allegations or charges brought against them for having sweatshops. Articles appear in The New York Times with title such as The Factories of Lost Children, No Winners in Child Labor, and Technology; Technology’s Toxic Trash Is Sent to poor Nations. With headlines like these shows that child labor is exist and is a problem. The child labor laws in the United States have countless statutes and rules regulating the employment of a minor. Any child that is under the age of 18 in a variety of occupations is affected by the law. In many states that average age that a child can enter the work field is sixteen. Anyone under the age of sixteen has to obtain a work permit. Anyone who is under the age of eighteen on school nights can not work after eleven o’clock. Some see it as entering your child in talent shows, beauty pageants, and even having them on reality T. V. as a form of child labor. To create a synopsis of the views of child labor is a difference in teaching your child or others children skills that may last them for a life verses using them for your personal gain or profit. The United States may say that after the industrial revolution child labor has decreased or doesn’t exist in our country. Furthermore, they are right. It has been disguised into other forms, and placed somewhere else were these laws are not present, and the economic gain is enormous for the company and the country. They and we have to look at the bigger picture it is morally wrong, the environment is unhealthy and dangerous, and we are robbing the child of its innocents and being able to enjoy childhood in general. References 1854, By. Industrial Revolution - History. com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. History. com - History Made Every Day - American World History. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . Bell, By The. Jon Kate Plus 8-Child Labor Laws? | Discussion Debate | Parents Connect. Parents Connect | Parenting Tips, Parent Advice Kids Recipes. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. Industrial Revolution. Welcome to Nettlesworth Primary School. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . Stew, By. Sometimes a Little Child Labor Is Good for Kids. Gather Little by Little Personal Finance with a Christian Perspective. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . Tonelson, By Alan. Sweatshop. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . nytimes. com/2006/03/25/opinion/25weber. html? _r=2ref=third_world_and_developing_countries nytimes. com/2004/04/08/opinion/l-no-winners-in-child-labor-121240. html? ref=third_world_and_developing_countries

How To Get Started Designing Games for Mobile

How To Get Started Designing Games for Mobile Its a Whole New Mindset Mobile gaming is a booming market right now, and it seems everyone wants to dive in and grab a chunk of the market. However, getting started in mobile gaming isnt just about porting your Windows or Xbox title over to iOS. Design for Your Current Platform, Not Your Previous One This seems like common sense, but a lot of games out there will attempt to shoehorn the design of a console onto a multi-touch gaming device. While, yes, this can work, frequently the player is reminded that theyd rather be playing the game on a console gamepad than on an iPhone. When it comes to artwork, remember that tiny fonts may be readable on a Retina display (and allow you to fit a lot of text on the screen), but they are not very enjoyable to read. The same goes for highly detailed textures. You dont need a massive, high-resolution texture for all your assets. The detail can actually make the game more visually noisy, detracting from the artistic feel and causing eyestrain. While sound can make or break a game on a desktop computer or console, on mobile, its an entirely more complex matter. Most gamers would love to have sound in every game they play, either for the aesthetic or gameplay value. However, there is a matter of practicality to mobile gaming, in that many people cannot play the game with sound due to being in public spaces. By all means, include sound if youre able; many mobile users have headphones, or arent limited by environment. Optimized code. Yes. The power of current desktop computers allows a lot of un-optimized code to slip by, hogging extra system resources without anyone taking notice. Mobile is far more unforgiving than even a game console. Mobile OSes have a variety of techniques for handling background processes, battery management, resource allocation, etc. If your game bludgeons the systems battery to death in an hour, your game is going to get bad reviews, and you wont make any money. Slow performance is one of the first reasons people will choose to shelf a game forever. Optimizing Tips Weve covered what not to do. Now, lets look at a few places to improve. Interface Are you using a single multi-touch screen? If so, is it a tablet or a phone-sized screen? Are you using something more exotic like the PS Vitas front and back touchscreens and physical controls? How about camera-based augmented reality? Touch is very intuitive. Do not fight that. As I mentioned above, many games simply superimpose gamepad controls on a touch screen. This works in some cases, but frequently is problematic. One of the most important things you can do in this area is play other games and see what works and what doesnt. Specifically, what works without you having to think about it. The more instant immersion for the player, the more chance you have of them staying with the game, and either recommending it to others, or purchasing in-game items through microtransactions. If you cant find an existing scheme that works for your game, think about how you would manipulate your avatar in the real world, and find some way to translate that to the screen. Art As stated above, massive textures on mobile arent a great idea from the design point of view. They are also horrible about growing the size of your game in the devices storage or sucking up available RAM. You need to do everything you can to shrink your textures to the smallest size that will look good on the device. (Always keep high-res originals though, for when next-generation devices are released with higher-resolution screens.) Learn how to create a texture atlas, or find a good tool for the engine youre using/creating to build them automatically. Sound Audio is brutal, and pains many a good sound designer at the requirements placed on them. High-quality audio can cause an apps size to balloon incredibly. Be sure to listen to your final audio on every compatible device. Mobile phone speakers demolish audio, so dont just judge on how it sounds through headphones. Code Use an engine or framework that lets you go as close to bare metal as your programming skills allow. High-level managed code is frequently all you can do, but depending on the engine/framework you use, it may go through several layers of interpretation which can really slow down well-written high-level code. Final Words First impressions on an app store are critical! While you may have the urge to just get it out there and be done, then update it later, dont. With the way app stores work, you may only get one shot at that front page where people pick you up out of the crowd. Marketing and PR only go so far; if the first hundred people who checked out your game give it a 1-3 star review, odds are you wont get another chance. Take your time, do it right, and ship it when its done.

Outline the basic principles of archaeological excavation Essay

Outline the basic principles of archaeological excavation - Essay Example It is at this stage also that the permits to excavate a certain place have to be acquired. The process cannot just happen without the consent of the in charge bodies (Balme & Paterson, 2006 p98). This particular stage involves figuring out what procedures to be used in the excavation progression. There is a wide range of processes ranging from the simple to complex methods. The equipment to be used to excavate should also decide at this juncture and ensure that it will get the work done (Balme & Paterson, 2006 p9106) These should be set up to provide proper working areas to examine the discovered artifacts. This ensures that the transport of discoveries that might damage them or lead to loss of important information is totally avoided. This phase involves putting together all the content of the whole process and sorting it out. This stage finally makes sense of the entire excavation process by organizing and placing all the information in a manner that is easily comprehensible (Balme & Paterson, 2006 p113). This is the final stage in the excavation process. After all the data has been analyzed and put in order, the final verdict can be given about what was discovered. In conclusion, in order to achieve the desired results, the excavation process must follow a series of steps and ensure everything is done

Experimental work on the mechanical properties of concrete using Dissertation

Experimental work on the mechanical properties of concrete using recycled aggregates - Dissertation Example This paper illustrates that the main environmental problem in the world today is the disposal of waste material. In order to protect the environment, the consumption of natural energy is reduced while the consumption of waste energy is increased. This minimizes the amount of natural resources that is used which in turn helps in the conservation of natural resources. Every construction activity needs a lot of materials. Some of these materials include; sand, bricks, timber and mud. However amongst these materials, concrete remains the most important of them all. With respect to the environment and adaptability, the concrete that is used in any construction must satisfy all the environmental and economical needs of any given area. When we use recycled aggregate for construction then we are able to construct the environment while at the same time minimize the cost used in the construction process. The waste and by products of cement contain almost 75% of natural aggregates and so it is of greater importance as natural aggregates. When we talk about recycled aggregates here we mean; slag, waste from power plants, used concrete, quarrying and mining wastes, waste glass and many more. There are lots of demolished concrete that is left without use in demolished sites as well as construction sites. These concrete wastes provide are the main source of recycled waste that we will look at their strength. Cement (Portland cement) History Portland cement is the main type of cement that is used in making concrete in construction site. Its fine powder is produced by grinding clinker and some limited amount of calcium sulfate. It was developed in the early 19th century in Britain from natural cement. The name is derived from Portland stone, a building stone that was used during the same time. The origin of Portland cement is believed to be from Aspdin Joseph. He was a brick layer from Britain Leeds. One of his employees Johnson developed a production technique which resulted i n hard and fast drying cement. The cement also had high compressive strength as compared to other concrete. As days passed, people started to prefer the Portland cement to the roman cement which had been in use for many years. In 1843 Aspin’s son William made a version of this cement which was improved. He named it patent Portland cement though it did not have patent in it. He later moved to Germany to improve cement making and came up with Portland cement. In 1878 the German government gave a standard for Portland cement. Hydration When Portland is mixed with water and it reacts with it, a process called hydration, this mixed with sand and some gravel produces a synthetic rock, which we call concrete. This concrete is very essential in today’s world as electricity and water. During the hydration process, four main types of minerals are always present. They include belite, alite, aluminate, and ferrite. The addition of water causes an exothermic reaction to occur, afte r this reaction, (C3A) reacts with water forming aluminum gel. This gel in turn reacts with any sulphates in the mixture to form ettringite. The