Teetotaller - Definition and Origin

Definition: A teetotaller is someone who totally abstains from liquor. In the 19th century, the Preston Temperance Society in England and, later, the American Temperance Union encouraged a pledge of abstinence from intoxicating liquor, as part of the temperance movement. Those who had signed the pledge were asked to use a T with their signature to mean total abstinence. The T plus the total led to those whod signed the pledge being called T-totallers or teetotallers. The term was in use as early as 1836 when an explanation of it as meaning total abstainer appeared in print. From there, the term came to be used more generally, for anyone who voluntarily committed to abstinence, or simply for a nondrinker. The Pledge The pledge of temperance from the Preston Temperance Society (in Preston, England) read: We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine. Also Known As: Abstainer, dry, nondrinker, prohibitionist Other words for teetotalism:  Abstinence, temperance,  abstemiousness, on the wagon, dry, sober. Alternate Spellings: t-totaller, teetotaler Examples: First Lady Lucy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, was known as Lemonade Lucy because, as a teetotaller, she did not serve liquor in the White House. Henry Ford required a teetotaller pledge for those he hired in his new auto production industry, to promote better productivity and workplace safety. Learn more about how teetotallism fit into the more general movement to limit or ban the use of alcoholic beverages: Temperance Movement and Prohibition Timeline Image: the image included is an example of the Victorian era pledge, complete with very Victorian floral embellishment. Religious groups that require or encourage abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages: Assembly of God,  Bahai, Christian Science,  Islam, Jainism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS. also known as the Mormon Church), Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Christ, Sikhism, Salvation Army.   Also, some Hindu and Buddhist sects, and some Mennonite and Pentecostal groups. Methodists in English and American history often taught abstinence but rarely do that currently. In the Victorian era, many in both the Evangelical and Unitarian movements taught at least restraint, if not temperance and teetotalling. Most of those religions that prohibit alcohol do so on the grounds that it is harmful, that it inhibits mindfulness, or can easily lead to unethical behavior. Some famous women teetotallers: In history, women becoming teetotallers was often an expression of religious values, or was based on general social reform principles.   In the modern world, some women become teetotallers for such reasons, and others because of a past history of alcoholism or alcohol abuse. Tyra Banks: a model and actress.Susan Boyle: singer.Pearl S. Buck: writer, won Nobel Prize for Literature, 1938.Faye Dunaway: actress.Janeane Garofalo: actress.Kathy Griffin: comedian.Elisabeth Hasselbeck: television personality.Jennifer Hudson: singer.Carrie Nation: temperance activist.Kelly Osbourne: actress.Marie Osmond: singer.Natalie Portman: actress.Anna Quindlen: writer.Christina Ricci: actress.Anne Rice: writer.Linda Rondstadt: singer.Sarah Silverman: comedian, actress and writer.Jada Pinkett Smith: actress.Lucy Stone: womens rights activist.Mae West: actress.  Frances Willard: temperance reformer.

If The Political Party Development Act Of The Philippines

If the Political Party Development Act of the Philippines is adopted into a law, it could follow the footstep of the British Political Parties, Elections, and Referendums Act of 2001 that established rules on party financing to restore public confidence in the parties. Much as the proposed political party development bill in the Philippines, the British version has the goal of ensuring reasonable party financing operations, limiting donations from inappropriate sources, and contributing to equality of opportunity for the various parties to participate in the election. This new Act took 5 years in its making starting from the creation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1997. Specifically, this Act prohibits British political†¦show more content†¦They also thought it was unnecessary to submit a regular nil return donation reports even when they rarely received a large amount of denotation. Large parties, on the other hand, complain about high demands placed on th em by the accounting and auditing requirements of the Act. From the perspective of donors, they questioned that the definition of donation may be too broad given that commercial transactions are at risked to be considered as political donations. Companies warned that this wide definition of donation may be deterring them from working with political parties. The United Kingdom actually has 240 registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland in December 2000. Of these 240 parties, a number of them are parties in name only. Sometimes they may comprise only of two people registered as party officers because they simply seek to gain publicity and promote their organization or brand without really having the intention to contest elections. The Philippines should learn from this experience and must impose more stringent requirements related to registration as a political party or its ideology and reasons for contesting elections. The UK experience actually shows how the country fails to strengthen and institutionalize its political party system because anyone can register as political parties, which means it encourages the emergence of weak and unorganized parties. However, theShow MoreRelatedThe Political Party Development Act1133 Words   |  5 Pagesthree proposed political reform agenda this paper discusses. The Politic al party development act deals with providing minimal standards for party operations. It also prohibits party switching while encouraging party loyalty and discipline. By amending the Party-list system act of 1995, the definition of party-list sort out. It is for proportional representation, as what the Constitution states. Thus, this amendment ensures party-list groups to receive a state subsidy for development. The upcomingRead MoreThe United States During The Cold War1733 Words   |  7 Pageshad political interest in both Vietnam and the Philippines because of they wanted to spread democracy and defend people against communism. They also wanted to give Vietnam to France as they once had it, but Ho Chi Minh declared independence for Vietnam and himself president without the acknowledgment of the U.S.. The Philippines had gained their independence from the U.S. in 1946, and then became an ally to them going into the Cold War. The United States drastically influenced the political developmentRead MoreThe Political Environment of the Philippines1001 Words   |  5 PagesThe Political Environment of the Philippines Historical Facts: The Philippines overcame many obstacles in history that reshaped the political environment of modern times. The Philippine islands have a strong Spanish influence. Records in history date back to 1521 where Ferdinand Magellan colonized the islands in the name of Charles I of Spain. The Spanish objectives focused Philippine society toward the spread of Christianity, colonization in the name of Spain, and acquiring key positionsRead MoreThe Political Environment of the Philippines Essay975 Words   |  4 Pages;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Political Environment of the Philippines Historical Facts: The Philippines overcame many obstacles in history that reshaped the political environment of modern times. The Philippine islands have a strong Spanish influence. Records in history date back to 1521 where Ferdinand Magellan colonized the islands in the name of Charles I of Spain. The Spanish objectives focused Philippine society toward the spread of Christianity, colonizationRead MorePhilippine Nationalism1449 Words   |  6 Pagesmultidimensional social construction reflected in the communal identification with ones nation. Nationalism is further oriented towards developing and maintaining a national identity based on shared characteristics such as culture, language, race, religion, political goals or a belief in a common ancestry. Nationalism therefore seeks to preserve the nations culture. It often also involves a sense of pride in the nations achievements, and is closely linked to the concept of patriotism. On the other hand, aRead MoreRamos Administration : The Philippines Essay1550 Words   |  7 PagesAdministration, the Philippines experienced economic growth but also encountered many economic difficulties due to of the lack of foreign investors and coup attempts. In the 1992 elections, Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos, who was endorsed by Aquino, won the presidency with only 23.6 percent of the votes in a seven-way race. Even though Ramos assumed presidency, analysts still viewed the Philippines as a risky investment based off the fact that the per capita income growth in the Philippines was significantlyRead MoreThe World War I : An Era Of Social Unrest1114 Words   |  5 PagesBecause economy and politics are close linked, political parties and party platforms were inevitability affected by these changes in social patterns. A new political party, populists’ party, gained widespread acknowledgement from Americans while democrats and republicans set out to remake their platf orms to fit the ideals of the common man. Faced with growing economic and expansion problems in American society, these three major influential parties of the era had their own distinct economic visionsRead MorePolitical System of the Philippines3425 Words   |  14 PagesPolitical System of the Philippines The political system of the Philippines occurs within an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic with the president as both the head of state and the head of government within a pluriform multi-party system. The three brunches of government, the law-making body or the legislative branch, the law-enforcing body or the executive branch and the law-interpreting body or the judicial branch forms political system of the PhilippinesRead MoreIs There a Philippine Public Administration1548 Words   |  7 PagesIn Onofre Corpuzs esssay on Is there a Philippine Public Administration, he negatively stated that there is a Philippine public administration by repeatedly stating, Its all very Filipino. He even stated that ...the existing public administration is faithfully Filipino.. I must agree with his statement because indeed, a Philippine public administration exists, I believe in terms of structure. I would like to quote Alex Brillantes, Jr. and Maricel Fernandez on their statement. Yes we haveRead MorePolitical Turncoatism9214 Words   |  37 PagesIntroduction To be a party to an organization is to be identified to that organization and renunciation of the other party. However, in the Philippine case politicians freely and gracefully shift from one party to another, the other changed his mind and do the same. Party- switching had been a common scenario in the Philippine politics. Its occurrence is usually at election times or at times when there is a need to resolve a certain conflict involving a political issue or question and during times

Principles of Economics Structural

Question: 1. Explain why real GDP might not be an unreliable indicator of the standards of living. 2. Why does unemployment arise and what makes some unemployment unavoidable? 3. Consider the following statement: When the average level of prices of goods and services rise, inflation rises' Do you agree or disagree? Explain. 4.What is the aggregate demand (AD) curve and why does it slope downwards? Explain. 5. What is the long-run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve and why is it vertical? Why does the short-run aggregate supply curve slope upwards? Answer: 1. Utilizing GDP to quantify the prosperity of people in a given economy presents different impediments which make the system questionable with regards to the measuring of the ways of life. One reason why real GDP can't be utilized to gauge the nation's well-being is the way that it doesn't consider the leisure time. Relaxation time is a vital item which contributes a ton to the economic prosperity and performance of a person. Accordingly, keeping different variables consistent, the more leisure time we have, the happier we are. Another reason why the strategy is unreliable in measuring standards of living is that gross domestic product does not figure fundamental components, for example, air, and water contamination. (Coyle, 2014, p.76-119). Two economies of two different countries may have similar GDP, yet one contains contaminated water and air while the other economy doesn't have any contamination. The way of life between these economies will be distinctive, yet this won't be indicated in the real GDP. Real gross domestic product concentrates on products which pass through the markets and ignores those goods which are usually produced for subsistence purposes only. Subsistence farming is among the main economic activities which take place in under-developed and developed countries. Failure to include subsistence farming in the country's GDP implies that the well-being of that particular nation is low. 2. Seasonal unemployment is a type of unemployment which arises as a result of the changes in demand which occurs regularly in a given periods of the year. (Janoski, Luke, Oliver, 2014, p. 105-123). Examples of industries where this type of unemployment is experienced include tourism and farming. Structural unemployment happens because of the long-term reduction in the demand in a particular industry prompting to less opportunity as demand for labor reduces. The latest supplanting of robots with human labor in different assembling enterprises, for example, the car industry is a case of structural unemployment. Aside from the replacement of robots with human work, structural unemployment may likewise be accordingly of global rivalry brought by globalization and changes in relative comparative advantage. Cyclical unemployment is brought on by the absence of demand for the available products. It emerges when the economy of a given nation is below the required capacity. A good example is a point at which an economy encounters the recess period whereby the total demand will reduce leading to a reduction in the level of yield and negative economic development. Due to lack of demand for goods and services, companies usually produce a limited quantity of output. Less output means that the organization will earn less income and may prompt the company to lay off some of the employees to reduce various fixed expenses. Continuous transformation of various industries from labor to capital intensive and changes in economic phases such as boom and recession make unemployment to be unavoidable. 3. I agree with the statements that rise in the average cost of products and services prompts to increment in inflation. Inflation is defined as the rise in prices of commodities and services which leads to decrease in the purchasing power of the currency. From the definition, we can safely say that there is a positive correlation between inflation and the prices of goods and services. When the rate of inflation is high, the commodity prices also become high. Too much money in the economy means that a lot of cash is in the hands of the people. Having a lot of money means that individuals will either choose to spend the money or save. But due to low-interest income which individuals will get as a result of saving, many people will decide to spend the extra amount of money also known as discretionary income. Discretionary or disposable income is defined as the remnant of the individuals' basic salary after other deductions such as PAYE have been subtracted. (Rogers, Jalal, Boyd, 2008, p. 300). Since many consumers will choose to spend the disposable income, there will be an increase in demand for goods and services. The increase in demand will force the sellers and suppliers to increase in prices of the commodities and services as a measure to counter the inflating demand. The average prices of goods and services will increase or reduce based on the increase or decrease in the rate of inflation respectively. Therefore, we can conclude that, when the overall prices of commodities increases, inflation also increases. 4. The aggregate demand curve is defined as the sum of overall demand for final products and services in a given economy at a particular period. When the curve slopes downward, it implies that as the prices of the goods and services decrease, the level of output on the other hand increases. It also means that when the level of prices reduces, the level of national income increases. There are three main reasons why the curve slopes downwards. The reasons are Mundell-Fleming's exchange rate effect, Pigou's Wealth effect, and Keynes's interest rate effect. According to Mundell-Fleming's exchange rate effect, when the prices of products reduce, the interest rates also reduce. Reduction in interest rates may force the investors to withdraw their domestic investment and concentrate in foreign investment since domestic investment provides low-interest income. (Sparknotes, 2016, par. 4). Apart from an increase in foreign investment, there will be depreciation in the exchange rate and increas e in the net exports which will translate to increase in aggregate demand. The second reason is Pigou's Wealth effect. The nominal value of the currency is fixed, but the real value of money depends on the level of prices. Reduction in the level of prices leads to increase in the level of consumer consumption. High level of consumption leads to increase in aggregate demand. The third reason is Keynes's interest rate effect which postulates that reduction in the price level leads to a reduction in the level of interest rates and increase in investment which in turn increases the aggregate demand. 5. The long-run aggregate supply curve is defined as a graphical representation of the long-run relationship between the price and the output. It is a period which is efficient for companies to arrange various factors of production to meet the expected economic profits or losses. The LRAS curve is vertical since, in the long run, the quantity of goods and services generated relies on the technology, natural resources, labor, and capital present in an economy and not the price. Salaries and prices are highly flexible, and this means that when there's a change in the level of prices as a result of inflation, wages and other factors of production respond accordingly. For example, if the prices of commodities are doubled or reduced by half and the wages adjusted consequently, there will be no change and the economy will remain at full-employment. Short-run aggregate supply curve slopes upward because the supply curve is drawn based on a fixed nominal variable such as wage rate. In the short-run period, wages are fixed, and therefore, any rise in the prices leads to high profits due to increasing in output level. (Gans, 2011, p. 858). References Coyle, D. 2014. GDP: A brief but affectionate history. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Pres. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truescope=sitedb=nlebkdb=nlabkAN=1063822 Gans, J. (2011). Principles of economics. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning. Janoski, T., Luke, D., Oliver, C. (2014). The causes of structural unemployment: Four factors that keep people from the jobs they deserve. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truescope=sitedb=nlebkdb=nlabkAN=808923. Rogers, P. P., Jalal, K. F., Boyd, J. A. 2008. An introduction to sustainable development. London: Earthscan. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=429931. Sparknotes 2016. Agrregate Demand. [Online]. Available from: https://www.sparknotes.com/economics/macro/aggregatedemand/section2.rhtml. [Accessed 7 January 2017].

Rights of the Accused

Due process is the application of laws in an equal and fair manner to every citizen, particularly those accused of crime. It is characterized by the thinking that, the rights of the accused need to be deliberately protected in whatever investigation of the criminal justice.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rights of the Accused specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Basically, the due process requires that the accused be served in accordance with the law without violating the basic principles of individual rights. Therefore, the accused ought to be given a notice and a chance to be heard as well as defend their rights before a court of law (Roach, 1999). The Due Process can be traced back to the Magna Carta doctrines in 1215. This doctrine consisted of the rights of a person to be protected against deprivation of their belongings or rights, unless it is by the rightful judgment of their matches or the law of the land. T he Due Process was then further advanced and elaborated in the English Common Law after which it came to be included in the United States’ earlier constitutions that antedated the present day United States constitution (Tribe, 1975). The laws of the United States are found on the basis that, the suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. In protecting the rights of the accused, a criminal investigation is carried out in a procedural code. The constitution’s bill of rights protects the rights of the accused. When a person is suspected of crime, they are accorded some rights known as the Miranda rights. If these rights are not adhered to throughout the investigation and trial processes, the suspect will be granted freedom on the basis of those trivialities and not because they are innocent (Hornberger, 2005). Moreover, the legal system of the United States is that of an Adversarial System which exercises the idea that the accused ought to be considered in nocent till proven guilty. According to this system, a judge and jury will seek to find out the truth by attentively hearing opponent attorneys who with vigor, advocate in place of their respective parties through Adversarial Procedure.Advertising Looking for essay on common law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Prior to the act of arrest, a lawful investigation may be carried out as the law prohibits unwarranted searches to homes and properties. This provision is catered for under the Fourth Amendment (Hornberger, 2005). In addition, once the suspect has been taken to custody, their rights are guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment of the constitution. This amendment provides fair ways of trying the accused especially the right to remain silent. It typically disallows the government to; compel an individual to incriminate themselves, deny an individual Due Process of law, subject an individual to multiple prosecutions or punishm ents for a single crime, and prosecute in federal court before a grand jury indication. Any violation of these rights might result in vacation or reversal of a conviction upon appeal (Tribe, 1975). Further, the right to an attorney is provided in the Sixth Amendment. The accused has the right to a speedy trial by an unprejudiced judge. If a defendant requests to consult their attorney, an interrogatory must immediately cease or any statements made subsequently in the absence of the attorney will be declared inadmissible. Finally, the Eighth Amendment prohibits capital punishment. It also advocates against excessive fines and bails imposed on the accused. Additionally, it disputes the death penalty (Roach, 1999). The rights of the accused are also protected in other sections of the constitution, for instance, article one, section nine of the constitution which expects a judge to assess whether there are adequate grounds for holding one in jail. Nevertheless, the all-inclusive protect ions are found in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments. References Hornberger, J. (2005, June 22). The Bill of Rights: The Rights of the Accused. Retrieved from Freedom Daily. Roach, K. (1999). Due Process and Victims’ Rights: The New Law and Politics of Criminal Justice. University of Toronto Press.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rights of the Accused specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tribe, L. (1975). Structural Due Process. HeinOnline , 269-276. This essay on Rights of the Accused was written and submitted by user Ashlyn Douglas to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Rights of the Accused

Flannery Oconnor Essays - Flannery OConnor, , Term Papers

Flannery O'connor Flannery O'Connor and the Relationship Between Two of Her Stories Author, Flannery O'Connor was born Mary Flannery O'Connor on March 25, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia, as the only child to Edward F. O'Connor, Jr., and Regina (Cline) O'Connor. Later in 1941, Flannery O'Connor's father dies of lupus while O'Connor is in Milledgeville, Ga. After her father's death, O'Connor rarely speaks of him and continues to be active in school projects such as drawing, reading, writing, and playing instraments. Further, in the summer of 1942, O'Connor graduates and enters Georgia State College for Women as a sociology and English major. Moreover, O'Connor took on the name Flannery O'Connor, dropping Mary from her signature. When O'Connor graduates from college, she leaves for Iowa City and applies for several college teaching positions while attending the University of Iowa. Thus, she receives her Masters of Fine Arts in 1947. Although her first story, ?The Geranium? was publised in Accent, during the summer of 1946, it was only the beginning of many of her works to b e published. Like her father, O'Connor was living with lupus and her first major attack came in December, 1950. However, O'Connor did not allow the disease to keep her from writing and getting her works published. In fact, she got her nineth story , ?A Good Man Is Hard to Find? published. Also, O'Connor has won many prizes and awards with her writings over the years. For instance, she was named the Honorary Doctor of Letters by institutions, was the first prize of the O. Henry award in 1957 and 1963 and had previously won second in 1954 and 1955. Moreover, O'Connor died on August 3, 1964 I a Milledgeville hospital. Nevertheless, her stories continued to reign as award winners and are still chosen often to be read by college instructors and their students. ?A Good Man Is Hard to Find? and ?Good Country People? are two of many short stories by Flannery O'Connor. In addition, the two stories enfold a mystery ending in catastrophe. O'Connor uses plenty of irony or subtle kind of sarcasm in developing each of the stories. Coincidentally, ?A Good Man Is Hard To Find? and ?Good Country People? are both set in the South during the earlier years, when segregation was an issue and trust was not. ?A Good Man Is Hard to Find? and ?Good Country People? are two ironically twisted tales of how two different families lives are altered after trusting and being mislead by a stranger. In ?A Good Man Is Hard to Find,? O'Connor introduces a family whose lives ironically turn up side down while on a trip to Florida. For instance, before leaving on the trip, the grandmother (who wants to go to Tennessee in stead of Florida) tells her son, Bailey, about the newspaper article. Thus, the article states that a prisoner escapes to Florida and calls himself the misfit. However, her son basically ignores her and they end up taking the trip to Florida regardless of the warning. Also, the grandmother takes her cat, Pitty Sing, along on the trip in order to prevent any mishaps by leaving her behind. In addition, the grandmother wears a pin so that if she dies in an accident anyone who finds her, knows that she is a woman. Moreover, she points out several different sights on her way to Florida. Most significantly, she says, ?Look at that graveyard (O'Connor 139)!? With a twist the family decides to take a detour on a dirt road in Georgia with the intentions of visiting an old plantation. Unfortunately, this frightens Pitty Sing and she springs onto Bailey's shoulder while he is driving. As a result, this causes an accident. ? The horrible thought that she [ the grandmother] was having before the accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee? ( 145). Minutes later, the grandmother flagged down a big black hearse-like car with three men inside. ?You're The Misfit? I recognized you at once,? says the grandmother to the older man (147) .? Nevertheless, the misfit kills the entire family. In ?Good Country People,? a second story by O'Connor, another family mistakes a trusted stranger and this

The History of Black Muslims in America

The History of Black Muslims in America The long history of Black Muslims in America  goes far beyond the legacy of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. Understanding the  complete history  gives valuable insight into black American religious traditions and the development of Islamophobia. Enslaved Muslims in America Historians estimate that between 15 and 30 percent (as many as 600,000 to 1.2 million) of enslaved Africans brought to North America were Muslim. Many of these Muslims were literate, able to read and write in Arabic. In order to preserve the new development of race in which â€Å"Negroes† were classified as barbaric and uncivilized, some African Muslims (primarily those with lighter skin, slimmer features or looser hair textures) were categorized as â€Å"Moors,† creating a level of stratification amongst enslaved populations. White slaveholders often forced Christianity onto slave populations through forced assimilation, and Muslim slaves reacted to this in a variety of ways. Some became pseudo-converts to Christianity, utilizing what is known as taqiyah: the practice of denying one’s religion when faced with persecution. Within Islam, taqiyah is permissible when used to protect religious beliefs. Others, like Muhammad Bilali, author of the Bilali Document/The Ben Ali Diary, attempted to hold onto their Islamic roots without converting. In the early 1800s, Bilali started a community of African Muslims in Georgia called Sapelo Square. Others were not able to successfully circumnavigate forced conversion and instead brought aspects of Islam into their new religion. The Gullah-Geechee people, for example, developed a tradition known as a â€Å"Ring Shout,† which mimics the ritual counter-clockwise circling (tawaf) of the Kaaba in Mecca. Others continued practicing forms of sadaqah (charity), which is one of the five pillars of Islam. Descendants from Sapelo Square like Katie Brown, great grand-daughter of Salih Bilali, recall that some would make flat rice cakes called â€Å"saraka†. These rice cakes would be blessed using â€Å"Amiin,† the Arabic word for â€Å"Amen.† Other congregations took to praying in the east, with their backs facing the west because that was the way the devil sat. And, further still, they took to offering part of their prayers on rugs while on their knees. The Moorish Science Temple and Nation of Islam While the horrors of slavery and forced conversion were largely successful in silencing enslaved African Muslims, Islam continued to exist within the conscience of a people. Most notably, this historical memory led to the development of proto-Islamic institutions, which borrowed from and re-imagined Islamic tradition to answer specifically to the reality of black Americans. The first of these institutions was the Moorish Science Temple, founded in 1913. The second, and most well known, was the Nation of Islam (NOI), founded in 1930. There were Black Muslims practicing outside these institutions, like the Black American Ahmadiyya Muslims in the 1920s and the Dar al-Islam movement. However, proto-Islamic institutions, namely the NOI, gave way to the development of â€Å"Muslim† as a political identity rooted in black politics. Black Muslim Culture During the 1960s, Black Muslims were perceived as radical, as the NOI and figures such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali grew in prominence. The media focused on developing a narrative of fear, characterizing Black Muslims as dangerous outsiders in a country built on white, Christian ethics. Muhammad Ali captured the fear of the greater public perfectly when he said, â€Å"I am America. I am the part you wont recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.† Black Muslim identity also developed outside of the political sphere. Black American Muslims have contributed to a variety of musical genres, including the blues and jazz. Songs such as â€Å"Levee Camp Holler† utilized singing styles reminiscent of the adhan, or the call to prayer. In â€Å"A Love Supreme†, jazz musician John Coltrane uses a prayer format which mimics the semantics of the opening chapter of the Quran. Black Muslim artistry has also played a role in hip-hop and rap. Groups like The Five-Percent Nation, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, the Wu-Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest all had multiple Muslim members. Islamophobia Historically, the FBI has claimed that Islam is the greatest enabler of black radicalism and it continues to follow that line of thought today. In August 2017, an FBI report cited a new terroristic threat, â€Å"Black Identity Extremists†, in which Islam was singled out as a radicalizing factor. Programs such as Countering Violent Extremism couple with xenophobia to promote entrapment and cultures of surveillance, following past FBI programs such as the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPro). These programs target Black Muslims through the very specific nature of America’s anti-black Islamophobia.

District Attorneys office Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

District Attorneys office - Research Paper Example A good attorney spends most of their time researching, has a great memory and writes convincingly, so any degree that prepares on for this is probably a good choice. Depending on what particular field in law one wants to go into, there are other options. It is not unheard of for individuals with an established career to attend law school in mid-life in order to become a litigator in their chosen field. Many colleges offer some sort of pre-law coursework and this is not a bad idea if it can be worked into the schedule. Any course of study at the undergraduate level that familiarizes the student with the course of study in law school will be of benefit and help the student achieve higher comprehension and higher grades in law school. Asking the prospective law school what kind of coursework would be beneficial will result in solid information as to what the admissions board would like to see. Wise students will try to provide the admissions board with a high GPA along with the course o f study and life experience the board is looking for if they want to be admitted. If law school is the goal, then the undergraduate degree is just the final step on the path prior to law school. With undergraduate degree in hand, the next step is to get accepted into law school. An appropriate degree from a good school, a high grade point average and an excellent LCAT score should provide the applicant with many options as to which school to consider. There are three types of law schools and each provides the student with a different experience and benefits package for a variable price. : Ivy League schools such as Harvard or Yale are the top tier, where the coursework is rigorous but the real value is the rolodex one could walk away with after graduation. Ivy League schools are expensive and should be considered an investment in who one gets to know as much as what one learns. The value of relationships and â€Å"connections† cannot be understated, and this is the true value of attending the prestige schools. There are plenty of solid Universities that have excellent law schools, all provide a solid education and possibly some good connections but the value of this choice is the quality of the education in terms of cost. It is possible to shop around and find a well-regarded law school that offers the degree for a much lower price than a comparable school. Keep in mind that the admission process will be tougher because more people will be applying. (Sedberry) The bottom tier schools simply provide one with a degree and hopefully the preparation necessary to pass the bar exams. Cost and time are usually the major issues here, as it is possible to go to school part time and complete a law degree in four to six years. Several schools offer online law degrees (adultlearn.com). A prosecutor works for the State, so any law school will work as long as it results in passing the bar exam. The better the school the better-off the individual is when trying to get hired, but passing the bar exams makes the attorney a member in good standing with the union. The course of study in law school is normally three years and results in the award of the Juris Doctorate degree. In general, the first two years of law school consists of the basic curriculum and all the students are in competition with one another. The class standing is based on the performance in these classes. One way to

Setting plays a crucial role in both of these stories. Discuss the Essay

Setting plays a crucial role in both of these stories. Discuss the importance of setting and how it contributes to the stories plots and resolutions - Essay Example the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence†(Poe, 251). This is a significant contrast of events occurring simultaneously, a deadly disease and a magnificent ball. The story essentially follows Prince Prospero from his seclusion to the time of his marvelous masquerade at his abbey. It is within his abbey that Prince Prospero desperately tries to hide himself from the horrible â€Å"red death†, but is eventually victim to death at his very own masquerade within his abbey. This is ultimately a setting of hiding and a contrast between reality and human disillusionment. Despite his efforts to avoid the â€Å"red death†, Prince Prospero succumbs to inevitable fate within the very bungalow that he used as a hiding place from a would be death. Ultimately, the setting of this piece is a grand disillusionment on the part of the Prince. In the piece written by Susan Glaspell, Trifles, the reader finds a more elemental setting. This piece introduces itself within the kitchen of a now abandoned farmhouse. This is of course the farmhouse kitchen of the Wright’s, and a very unkempt kitchen at that. This is a clue to the chaos of the situation that plays out within the piece, â€Å"The kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, a gloomy kitchen, and left without having been put in order - the walls covered with a faded wallpaper†(Glaspell, 1290). The setting that the reader finds in Trifles is more realistic and conducive to the plot than that of the setting of The Masque of the Red Death. Trifles is an illustration of a woman pushed entirely too far and too long by her husband. Finally, she murders her husband and naturally, the kitchen is a mess. The entirety of the piece takes place within the home of the Wrights, a simple farmhouse showing signs of a tremulous marriage at best. The clichà ©

Procter & Gamble Paper Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Procter & Gamble Paper - Case Study Example This became rather beneficial for the P&G to improve its brand image and position in the market among others. In the year 1890, Procter & Gamble integrated extra funds so as to enhance the business process of the P&G. Moreover, innovative machines and analytical labs were also introduced so as to improve the soap making procedure of P&G. It was the first research labs in the American industry which augmented the status and the corporate image of P&G in the market among others and marked the company as a market leader (Eugene, 2005). After that the company continued to expand and develop for the next 120 years with the help of extensive research and development, modernization and global expansions. Apart from this, P&G also developed new products such as Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste, which became quite famous in the market. This ultimately facilitated P&G to become a global market leader by 1993 resulting in the enhancement of the sales by US$30 billion. At this time, P&G was n ot only a market leader but also an innovator of new product lines which were highly appreciable among the other competitors. This helped to improve the market share and the brand identity of the company in the international market. This as a result improved the turnover of the company to a wide extent. Still, P&G continued its pace of movements and in the year 1999, it purchased a pet food producing company Iams. At that time, Iams was also one of the reputed brands in the sector of pet food manufacturing in the US. Hence, this helped P&G’s endeavor to become a multinational corporation working worldwide. Iams was a company developed by an animal nutritionist with the vision to improve the welfare of the dogs and cats by offering them with eminent quality of foods and care. As P&G deals with animal well-being which is one of the significant responsibilities of ‘PETA’, so its role is mandatory. PETA refers to ‘people for the ethical treatment of animalsâ₠¬â„¢ which was established in 1980 so as to defend the rights of the animals and maintain the interests of the animals. However, unfortunately certain unethical conducts of P&G on the animals hampered its brand image and marked the beginning of the investigation by PETA (Eugene, 2005). Question 1 Due to unethical treatment of animals, Procter & Gamble had faced risk of reputation damage (Eugene, 2005). Therefore, damage in reputation can impact upon the communication of stakeholders with the company. It is uncertain that how the stakeholders will react in the reputation crisis of Procter and Gamble. The stakeholders can be any group which can impact or can be impacted by the performance of Procter & Gamble, such as advertisement agencies, financiers, wholesalers, traders, community groups, competitors, customers, clients, employees, franchises, global managers, investors, law administration officers, licensers, media, politicians, suppliers and salespersons. Among them the most sign ificant stakeholders that will be affected most are customers, clients, suppliers, financiers, law administration officers, licensers and investors. Protecting reputation is vital for any organization in order to retain a position in the market and to avoid poor status in the industry. Managing the reputation is the way about how an organization is satisfying the expectations of stakeholders on the basis of past performances. Reputation is extensively acknowledged as a worthy intangible resource which helps to entice more customers and investors,

Alzheimer’s Disease Case Study

Alzheimer’s Disease Case Study B. Trimble Case Study M. T. an 86-year-old Asian male is brought into the geriatric clinic by his daughter because he is becoming more forgetful. The daughter explains that the patient often does not even recognize his own grandson. When asked, however, the patient denies memory impairment. The daughter states that her father has been having trouble for almost four years now. She said she did not realize how much her father had changed until she watched a home video of her father with his grandson from six years ago. â€Å"His personality has even seemed to have changed, said the daughter. M.T. is no longer able to take care of his house and household chores and is sometimes slow to respond to questions. Past Medical History Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) with the last occurrence three years ago. Social History Retired sanitation worker times fifteen years. Lives with his daughter since his wife died five years ago. Previous cigarette smoker quit fifteen years ago. Denies ethyl alcohol (ETOH), and intravenous drug abuse. Family History Father died in combat in Korea Mother died at age 92, unknown cause Medications and allergies NKDA Prevacid 30 mg orally once daily Mylanta 30 ml orally as needed for stomach upset Aspirin EC 81 mg orally once daily Tylenol 325 mg orally as needed for headache Physical Examination General – patient is a thin, pleasant man, with working memory in no acute distress. Vital signs – BP 145/78 , pulse 80 RR 17 , WT 70 kg , Ht 6’2† BMI 19.8 HEENT- Pupils PERLA Ears with cerumen Neck no bruit no JVD Cardiovascular – Normal sinus rhythm, S1 S2, negative for S3/S4, resp RRR Neuro – Aox1 (Oriented to person only), CN – XII – XII intact, reflex normal Abdomen – positive bowel sounds, non-tender, non-distended External – WNL, no clubbing, cyanosis, or edema Laboratory Tests Albumin – (3.6-5 g/dL) 3.6g/dL total protein – (6.3-8.2g/dL) 6.8g/dL Alk Phos – (38-126U/L) 41U/L ALT – (7-58 U/L) 21 U/L AST – (7-58 U/L) 21 U/L bilirubin – (0.2-1.3ug/dL) 0.3ug/dL BUN – (8-25mg/dL) 11mg/dL HgB – (13.2-15.2 g/dL) 13.5g/dL SCr- (0.5-1.4mg/dL) 0.7mg/dL Hct (40-52%) 39% Na+ (134- 146 mEq/dL) 136 mEq/dL Plts – (140-450 mm3) 300,000/mm2 Cl-(98-107mEq/dL) 103 mEq/dL WBC – (4.1-10.9mm3) 8700/mm2 Bicarb – (22-26 mEq/dL) 24 mEq/dL ESR – ( Glucose – (65-110mg/dL) 101mg/dL B12 – (223-1132 pg. /ml) 452pg/ml Ca- (8.9-10.4 mEq/dL) 8.5 mEq/dL folate – (3.6-20ng/dL) 6.4ng/dL Mag – (1.6-2.4mEq/dL)1.9 mEq/dLFTI – (4-11) 6.3 Phos (2.5-4.5 mg/dL) 3.3 mg/dLT3 – (75-220ng/dL) 101ng/dL Cholesterol- (T4 – (4-11mEq/dL) 6.1 mEq/dL TSH – (0.35-6.2 microU/uL) 2.0 micro Unit/uLRPR – non-reactive Radiology Testing CT scan impression mild cortical atrophy Diagnosis Dementia (senile dementia) is a syndrome rather than a distinct disease entity. It is usually progressive and irreversible. It is characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that may include losses of memory, abstract reasoning, judgment, and impulse control, as well as changes in personality. It is usually subtle in onset and often progresses slowly until symptoms are very obvious and profoundly devastating. The three most common dementias are Alzheimer’s disease, multi-infarct dementia, and a mixed Alzheimer’s disease and multi-infarct dementia (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). Alzheimer’s disease is sometimes called primary degenerative dementia or senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. It accounts for at least 80 percent of all the dementias suffered by the elderly (Whalley, Lawrence, Breitner, 2009). It is a progressive, irreversible, degenerative neurologic disease of unknown origin that begins insidiously. The highest incidence is among persons 65 years and older with increasing incidence after age 70. The life expectancy following the diagnosis varies from six to twenty years (Whalley, Lawrence, Breitner, 2009). The etiology of the disease is unknown, but there are specific neuropathologic and biochemical changes. These include neurofibrillary tangles and senile or neuritic plaques. This neuronal damage occurs primarily in the cerebral cortex and results in decreased brain size. These changes are found to a lesser extent in normal brain tissue of older adults. Cells principally affected by this disease are the ones that use the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Biochemically, the enzyme active in producing acetylcholine is decreased. Acetylcholine is specifically involved in memory processing (Whalley, Lawrence, Breitner, 2009). Clinical manifestation Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are highly variable. Early in the disease, forgetfulness and subtle memory loss occur, but the victim has adequate cognitive function to hide the loss. Social skills and behavior patterns remain intact; problems are difficult to detect on casual observation (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). With further progression of the disease there is an inability to conceal the deficits. Forgetfulness is manifested in many daily actions. The victim may lose his way in a familiar environment. He may repeat the same stories because he forgets that he told them. Reasoning and reality orientation by caregivers increase the patient’s anxiety without increasing function, because this is also forgotten (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). Conversations become difficult because the victim forgets what he was about to say or may not be able to remember words. Ability to formulate concepts and think abstractly disappears (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). The person can interpret a proverb only in concrete terms. The victim is often unable to appreciate the consequences of his actions and will therefore exhibit impulsive behavior. He will have difficulty with everyday activities such as working simple appliances and handling money (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). Personality changes are usually negative. The patient may become depressed, suspicious, paranoid, hostile, and even combative (Whalley, Lawrence, Breitner, 2009). Progression of the disease intensifies the symptoms. Speaking skills deteriorate to nonsense syllables; agitation and physical activity increase. A voracious appetite often develops because of the high activity level. The patient may wander at night for hours. Eventually he will need help in all areas of personal care including toileting and eating; dysphagia occurs and incontinence develops. The terminal stage may last for months (Cayton, Graham, Warner, 2004). Treatment Treatment for dementia of the Alzheimer’s type will be Aricept 5 mg once daily at bedtime. After four weeks symptoms will be reviewed, and titration to ten mg once daily may be initiated, depending upon results. Maximum dosage of 23 mg daily if needed after three months of 10-mg treatments (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2012). Follow up in office in four weeks. Discontinued use of Prevacid, as the medication is implicated in low platelet, WBC, HgB and Hct, calcium, and B12 levels (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). Follow-up blood work in four weeks, should include CBC with differential, CMP, liver panel, weight, and blood pressure. Patient is borderline hypertensive and increase in fluid volume may correct this issue. Patient should be encouraged to change diet to a high-protein diet with adequate hydration. If platelet count and WBC count continue to be below normal a hematology consult will be discussed. Referral to Alzheimer’s support group will be given to the daughter. References Brunton, L., Chabner, B., Knollman, B. (2011). Goodman Gilmans: The pharmacological basis of therapeutics (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. Cayton, H., Graham, N., Warner, J. (2004). Dementia: Alzheimers and other dementias: At your fingertips guide (2 ed.). London: Class. Katzung, B., Mastes, S., Trevor, A. (2012). Basic clinical pharmacology (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. Whalley, L., Lawrence, J., Breitner, J. (2009). Dementia (2 ed.). Health Press.

Nauru: The Gap Between Perception and Reality Essay -- Country Analysi

It would be easy to overlook the third smallest country in the world as a frivolous waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth in regards to the island of Nauru. It is a multifarious nation described as almost a topographical micro slice of paradise. The Nauruan people have formed a democratic republic with a constitution safeguarding liberties and ensuring prosperity. At least this is according to the Nauru websites available to the public. Countries often present themselves as a glossy postcard picture on the outside. This picture does not always match the reality of what is on the inside. Looking at what the Nauruan Government and Tourist Organization have to say can serve as a baseline for comparison to the realities that Nauru is facing and the gap between the two. Nauru is a small island located only 26 miles south of the equator with a land mass of just over eight square miles. The government describes the island purely in topographical terms as â€Å"surrounded by a coral reef, exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. The reef is bound seaward by deep water, and inside by a sandy beach. The presence of the reef has prevented the establishment of a seaport †¦a 150–300 meter wide fertile coastal strip lies landward from the beach. Coral cliffs surround the central plateau. The only fertile areas are the narrow coastal belt† (Republic of Nauru [RON], 2012, p.1). The Nauru government is also very proud of their parliamentary democracy and much of their website explains not only the freedom but also compulsory voting at age twenty and above. Their constitution also touts the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms such as â€Å"life, liberty, security of the person, the enjoyment of property and th... ...all, D. (2009). Doomed Island: Nauru's short-sightedness and resulting decline are an urgent warning to the rest of the planet. Alternatives Journal, 35(1), 34-37. Nauru Tourism, Department of Economic Development.(2012). Unique Nauru. Retrieved on 27 May 2012 from: http://www.discovernauru.com/ Singh, S. (2007, Mar 28). South pacific: Island nations struggle with obesity epidemic. Global Information Network, pp. 1. http://search.proquest.com/docview/457564219?Accountid =38569 The Republic of Nauru.(2011). Republic of Nauru. Retrieved on 27 May 2012 from: http://www.naurugov.nr/index.html The Republic of Nauru.(2011). The constitution of Nauru. Retrieved on 27 May 2012 from: http://www.naurugov.nr/parliament/constitution.html U.S, Department of State Website(2012) Background Note: Nauru. Retrieved on 27 May 2012 from: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/16447.htm

Chinese Business Culture Essay

In accordance with our theories, it is necessary for Western exporters to learn about the Chinese business culture in order to be successful in marketing in China. There is an old Chinese proverb, â€Å"Enter village, follow customs†. The Chinese civilization has a long history and evidence shows that the way to get things done in China is to do it in the Chinese way. Chinese business culture is the key to the Chinese way of doing business and their style of negotiating (Fang 1998, p. 71). In this chapter, we aim to provide a framework to help those Western exporters get a better understanding of Chinese people’s business culture. 1. 0 Influence of Confucianism The Chinese culture encompasses diverse and competing philosophies, of which, Confucianism has been identified as the foundation of China’s great cultural tradition. Confucian values emphasis on interpersonal relationship and has provided Chinese business people with a relationship-based business approach (Bond & Wang 1983). An ordinary Chinese person would also agree that business and marketing in China is about relationships to a great extent. The principle of harmony and trust in Confucianism reflects an aspiration toward a conflict-free and group-based system of social relations, and also means that communication in a business negotiation should be harmonious. Further, the principle of hierarchy emphasizes that each individual should be conscious of her or his position in the society, which is also evident in a business negotiation in China, especially in a decision-making process. (Bond & Wang 1983) 2. 0 Guan Xi The Chinese term guan xi, rooted from Confucianism and translated into relationships or connections, is one of the most important traits of Chinese business culture, referring to the concept of drawing on connections or networks in order to secure favours in personal or business relations (Davies et al. 1995). It is a set of concentric circles of contacts, typically stretching from close family, to distant, to more distant relatives, to classmates, to friends, to friends’ friends, and so forth. In the Chinese business world, networking of guan xi is a peculiar advantage which can contribute a variety of commercial privileges and a great deal of business potentials for the marketer. This approach contrasts sharply with the deal-focused, task-oriented business cultures of North America and northern Europe (Gesteland & Seyk 2002). Therefore, to establish a great guan xi with the Chinese counterpart, partners, customers, even the Chinese authorities and government should be an extremely important marketing strategy of Western exporter that wants to be successful on the Chinese market. 3. 0 Establishing a relationship Being relationship-focused, Chinese prefer to deal with family, friends, and persons who they know well and who they can trust. They are uncomfortable talking business with strangers, especially strangers who also are foreigners (Gesteland & Seyk 2002). For this reason, the first step of business negotiation in China takes a lot of time outside of the office for socializing. The Chinese invite foreign guests for dinners, sightseeing, and other activities in order to facilitate the process of getting to know each other. The Chinese will want to know about this foreign company, its reputation and its management, and will be especially interested in the background, rank and personality of the individual foreign executives making the visit. A Western executive may become impatient with this step, both out of pressure to reach a deal quickly and out of the desire to separate business from the private aspect. However, what the Chinese are really doing at this stage is to test the sincerity, intelligence and deference of their prospective business partner before considering doing business with him or her. (Fang 1998) 4. 0 Attitudes to contracts Confucianism’s principles of interpersonal relationship and trust can even make many Chinese business people put relationships before contract (Alston & He 1996). Many Chinese believe that risk in the business can be minimized by developing a quality relationship of guan xi with their business partners. They are more likely to see a contract as a basis of relationship rather than a legal document. Most of the Chinese executives involved in international business realize that Western executives require formal documents in which delivery dates, responsibilities and procedures are explicitly stated and will respect the clauses which they have agreed to. While the Chinese tend to think that, once a relationship has been established, future problems can be solved without legal recourse. And the Chinese are inclined to prefer agreements that are less detailed than the Westerner. Because, for them, changes are anticipated and those detailed contracts can become relatively useless. (Alston & He 1996) Therefore, for a Western exporter, it would be wise to follow the Chinese model and only enter into business relationships with partners one knows and trusts. 5. 0 Face Another important Chinese cultural trait is the Chinese concept of face. In China, face is one’s good reputation in others’ eyes, one’s self-respect, dignity and prestige. If a Chinese is insulted, embarrassed, shamed or criticized in public, he or she will lose face. People can also give their counterpart face by making compliments and doing small favours. Giving face is an effective way to build a solid relationship (Gesteland & Seyk 2002). Face issue is also evident in a Chinese business negotiation context. In the business world, negotiations should be conducted to assure that the Chinese counterparts keep face. Because of face consciousness, a Chinese negotiator would refuse to make any concession. Some of the many delays that Western business negotiators encounter are caused by the Chinese counterpart’s unwillingness to risk losing face. A lot of evidence has shown that a great deal will be gained by helping the Chinese to win face and a great deal will be lost by any slight action which may cause the Chinese losing face. As a result, cognition of the Chinese concept of face plays a critical role in successfully doing business with the Chinese. (Fang 1998) 6. 0 Holistic thinking In general, the Chinese have a deductive cognition, which means reasoning based on theory and logic (Brake et al. 1995). The Chinese are highly deductive in their assessment of opportunities and problems. They usually want to be introduced to a new product, service or other business opportunity by way of a theory. This theory should provide them with a straightforward overview of the opportunity. The meaning and application of the principles of this theory should then be demonstrated with data and facts, although quantitative justification and analysis play a less important role in China than in many inductive Western business environments. Chinese people are likely to be resistant to business proposals which are not presented first in a logical form. (Brake et al. 1995) 7. 0 Speech acts As China has a high-context culture, hinting is an exceedingly common way of communication for the Chinese. Sometimes, Chinese speakers feel that they have been very frank with a clear hint, while the Western listeners still can’t catch the point at all. Elements of â€Å"atmosphere† surrounding the conversation, such as previous experience, hierarchy and many other cultural factors modify the literal meaning of a Chinese speaker’s sentences. For example, â€Å"I agree† might mean â€Å"I agree with 15 percent of what you say†. And â€Å"We might be able to† could mean â€Å"Not a chance†. What is said is often not what the listener is expected to understand. This is one of the biggest culture shocks in many business negotiations between the Westerner and the Chinese (Johnston 1991, p. 209).

Word Choice Comprise vs. Compose

Word Choice Comprise vs. Compose Word Choice: Comprise vs. Compose At this rate, it won’t be long before even pedants  give up on the difference between â€Å"comprise† and â€Å"compose.† After all, â€Å"comprise† is frequently misused, particularly by people writing â€Å"comprised of† when they mean â€Å"composed of.† But it’s our job as Guardians of Language (it sounds snazzier than â€Å"proofreaders†) to defend against grammatical abuses. So, in this post, we explain  how â€Å"comprise† and â€Å"compose† should be used. Comprise (To Contain or Include) The verb â€Å"comprise† means â€Å"contain† or â€Å"consist of,† so it is used when describing a whole that includes multiple parts or components: The United States comprises fifty states. Here, â€Å"comprises† shows that the United States (as a whole) includes fifty individual states. Typically, when using â€Å"comprise,† the whole should come before the parts in the sentence. Compose (To Make Up or Constitute) While also a verb, â€Å"compose† means â€Å"make up† or â€Å"constitute.† As such, we could invert the example above to say: Together, fifty states compose the United States as a republic. In this sentence, the focus is on how the fifty individual states combine to form the United States as a country. Those stars arent just there to look pretty. [Photo: Jnn13]We also see why â€Å"composed of† is acceptable while â€Å"comprised of† isn’t, since â€Å"compose† focuses on the parts that constitute the whole. We can therefore rewrite the example sentence again as: The United States is composed of fifty states. More generally, â€Å"compose† can also mean â€Å"create an artistic work† (particularly music or a painting), or even â€Å"calm oneself† (where its a variation of â€Å"composure,† meaning tranquility). Comprise or Compose? The problem with â€Å"comprised of† is that â€Å"comprise† is the opposite of â€Å"compose,† not a synonym. In short, they can’t be used interchangeably. One good way to remember this is the following: The whole comprises the parts; the parts compose the whole. Here we see how both terms refer to how something is constituted, but from opposite directions; while â€Å"comprise† describes the components as belonging to a whole, â€Å"compose† describes the whole as constituted by its parts.

How Do You Address Your Professional Background in a Job Search

How Do You Address Your Professional Background in a Job Search You might see the phrase â€Å"professional background† popping up now and then in your job search, but what does it mean? The quickest summary is that they’re asking for your  work history. But you shouldn’t stop there–no one really wants a dry list of previous employers. When a hiring manager wants to hear about your  Ã¢â‚¬Å"professional background,† they are looking to learn about your performance and history in your current and past professions.Where Should You Put It?The best place to share this information is perhaps at the top of your resume, in a summary of your qualifications or a career profile- both much more effective than the outmoded â€Å"Objective† section. With each job you apply for, make sure you’ve made a convincing map of your skills and experience as matching the requirements for the job.On a resume, the best way to format your work history and professional accomplishments is probably chronological. But you can also try formatting it in a way that emphasizes jobs you’ve had that are particularly relevant- by type.What Should You Say?Be as honest as possible about what you’ve done and where you’ve worked, but, with that in mind, emphasize your particular skills and expertise as strongly as possible.If you don’t have a white-collar background with fancy managerial positions, that shouldn’t matter. What matters most is your professionalism, how you conducted yourself on the job, and how much you have grown. Showing your record of acting  responsibly and accountably, with excellence and integrity, will do you a world of good.  It’s still a â€Å"professional† background even if you feel your job is not fancy.Go Beyond Just Paid JobsRemember to include training and education- which are more than just academic credentials. Any certifications or skills training or onboarding you’ve acquired in the course of your career are relevant and quite important.Remember, how you look on paper is only the first step. Your resume is a partial summary of your professional background. Use it to get in front of a hiring manager or recruiter, and then expand upon the bullet points while you have the face time.And keep in mind: when an interviewer asks you to tell them about your professional background, remember that they want more than just a chronological list of jobs that they could read straight off your resume. Present yourself professionally, and your background can provide the extra boost you need.

Assessment Plan on College Algebra Research Paper

Assessment Plan on College Algebra - Research Paper Example Three categories of learning outcomes are applied in an algebra course. The outcomes are skills, attitude, and knowledge. Knowledge outcome illustrates discipline methods and processes. The students are expected to understand algebraic formulas and expressions, and then apply them to solve mathematical and scientific questions and problems. Students have adequate knowledge through the correct and effective application of the formulas and expressions. The skills outcome illustrates the approaches needed to effectively understand the algebra discipline. An effective algebra course equips the learners with adequate knowledge of skills such as; critical thinking, research, and communication (Boyer, 2011). Critical thinking enables students to analyze mathematical problems, and then illustrate the most appropriate solution for the problem. Research skills enable the student to adequately collect, analyze and present statistical information, during research projects. The communication skil ls of the students are enhanced because the ability to present and share information on statistical issues is enhanced. Attitude outcome addresses the appreciation of the algebra concepts by the students. The students must understand the importance, and the application, of algebra in the society. The algebra concepts are applicable in many work environments, for instance, engineering, and finance. The algebra is also greatly applied in research; for example, quantitative research in projects, and also in marketing research.

Stage #1 of Final Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stage #1 of Final Paper - Essay Example s, specifically those in male-dominated industries, are feeling the pressure of â€Å"acting like men,† so that they can gain respect and establish and protect their authority. Being too nice to employees, for instance, is seen as a weakness, of being â€Å"too soft or too womanly,† a negative trait ascribed to female managers. As a result, I became a tough manager, in other words, a â€Å"male manager† that fit gender expectations about management. An example of the need for being acting like a male manager was when a male employee, Sergio, got a complaint from a male customer, Jason. Jason accused Sergio of being a racist, when he said that Sergio sounded â€Å"so nice† when talking with Hispanics, but unruly and arrogant with â€Å"white male customers.† Sergio admitted that he had a different tone when he spoke with Jason, but this was because he claimed that Jason made a racist remark first. When Jason entered the bus, he looked at Sergio and said, â€Å"These Mexicans are taking our jobs dude,† referring to his male companion, who nodded. I understood the racial tension between the two but because we have a company policy against discrimination, I suspended Sergio for a month, which he got angry with saying I was â€Å"too harsh, like I didn’t know what it means to be a minority.† Because of his comments, I often thought about why I needed to toughen up as a manager, which shows n percep tions and what I think as social perceptions about the role of gender in creating and enforcing management attitudinal and behavioral

How Nurses are affected by Stress in Psychiatric Unit of Somers Ward Research Paper

How Nurses are affected by Stress in Psychiatric Unit of Somers Ward - Research Paper Example The paper tells that nurses are currently facing great challenges and dilemma in their field of practice to date. This is foreseen to affect significantly the delivery of patient’s care and health of the nurses in the future when left unresolved. Nurses are â€Å"short-handed, understaffed, and overworked† and to some extent, burnout. The emotional stress they carry watching their patients die and see grieving families oftentimes add up the physical stress of overstretching themselves to work on double shifts to cater understaffed hospitals. As a result, new nurses are recruited from different parts of the world, and are placed on probationary period. This period can be very stressful also to both nurses, old and new, taking into consideration the culture shock, the expectations, and language barriers that adds up to being stressed from the hospital work. Looking back, severe shortages of nursing staff working at bedside is not a new dilemma in the health care arena sin ce this problem had already started even during the time of Florence Nightingale in the barracks of Scutari amidst the Crimean War. During that time, significant shortages of trained personnel to take care of the dying young men from the battles and diseases were already noted. But despite of the existing problems, nursing profession continued to thrive until this date. However, Milleken, et al cited that the stressful circumstances and repeated challenges that face the nursing staff contribute to organizational problem in the future that may endanger the health care system. The Rationale of Doing this Research: The continuous shortage of nursing staff all over the world has not exempted the facility where I worked in. Somers ward is an 18-bed unit, and is the only acute psychiatric facility in the Bermuda Island. Being the only specialized facility in the island, it is expected that the nursing staff will be outnumbered by the number of patients who are coming for admission. To dat e, the nurse to patient ratio is 1:8, where only one nurse is assigned to take charge to 8 patients per shift. Every day, I’ve experience this event happening in the ward, and as a nurse, I’ve seen how overloaded we are with our respective responsibilities, and sometimes, we are required to extend the number of hours at work because we are short-staffed. I felt the frustrations, anxiousness, and together with my co – workers, we have a cry to put a stop on this scenario. Otherwise, all of us

IGO and NGO Essay Example for Free

IGO and NGO Essay â€Å"Moraine is a small developing country. Like all nations in the developing world, Moraine needs to develop its economy. The country has a government department which is responsible for developing grassroots entrepreneurs – the Business Assistance Department (BAD). It also has access to funding from The European Union (EU) an IGO and has been offered assistance by the One Business at a Time (OBT), an NGO that focuses on helping local populations start and develop simple, local businesses. A)What are the priorities for the leaders of: (a) BAD, (b) the EU and (c) OBT for their respective operations in Moraine? Why? The priorities for the leaders are the EU, BAD, and OBT. At first, it depends on whether the EU cooperates with developing Moraine or not because the EU is the largest organization in the European Area; therefore, the organization has a large amount of funds to support developing nations. So, if the government were able to convince the EU, it would be a big chance to develop the economy. If the EU supported, BAD needs to play a big role of managing funds from the EU because the funds from the EU must be limited. So, BAD has to assign funds for entrepreneurs. Also, BAD has to decide the standard value and rule to judge entrepreneurs. Finally, OBT has to see through them whether they contribute a developing economy in Moraine or not with the standard value and rules from BAD. 2. List two ways the New Public Management (NPM) could help the Business Assistance Department (BAD) achieve its objectives developing grassroots entrepreneurs and support your ideas.† New Public Management is a public management method to save waste expenditure and offer more convenient service. NPM has basic policies; the introduction of results-oriented approach and customer market focus. Results-oriented approach is based on the clear standard and evaluates the policy of governmental and administrative department. So, this policy makes them motivate to achieve its objectives developing grassroots entrepreneurs. Also, customer market focus is a policy that NPM pursues the customer satisfaction by regarding companies and citizens as the clients of administrative service. Therefore, NPM greatly support BAD by governmental and administrative approaches. Reference: NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: ORIGINS, DIMENSIONS, AND CRITICAL IMPLICATIONS (2013/07/08) Retrieved from http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C14/E1-34-04-01.pdf

Experimentation in Music Essay -- Musicians Songs Art Essays

Experimentation in Music For thousands of years, music has been a part of people’s lives and has evolved through many different forms over time. Music is the art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre (American Heritage). One important component of analyzing music is whether it has musical value. In other words, music does not have to be organized sound or produced by instruments. This is what composers and artists of experimental music discover. Experimental music is an art form, makes use of instruments or other items that can produce sound, and can alter or expand the basic foundations of music and musicality. These are the key elements that define experimental music. The genre that is experimental music essentially consists of music and sound that is different than any conventional music written before it. Though nearly all new types of music begin with experimentation of some kind, experimental music has become a specific category of its own in music. In this type of music, sounds and music are redefined and organized in a new way. There is sometimes a visual aspect to experimental music as well. The audience and performance are vital parts of the musical experience to these composers. Methods of sound production, time, and notation are also important aspects of experimental music. These are some of the essential qualities of this type of music as many musical ideas and theories are changed and altered. Experimental music is an art form. Because music is an art form, it can be open to interpretation and creativity. Composers write the music that they want to write because of the way they perceive mus... ...and changes or alters the concepts and perceptions of music. This genre seeks to experiment with sounds in a completely different way than conventional music does. Everything from the audience to musical notation is reconsidered and presented in a new, original manner. It is an important part of the perception and development of music. As musical concepts and technology change, experimental music will continue to modify and broaden the definition of music. Works Cited â€Å"Music.† American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth ed. 2000. Davies, John Booth. The Psychology of Music. Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press, 1978. Ewen, David. Composers of Tomorrow’s Music. Cornwall , NY : The Cornwall Press, Inc., 1971. Nyman, Michael. Experimental Music: Cage and beyond. Hampshire , Great Britain : BAS Printers Limited, 1974. Experimentation in Music Essay -- Musicians Songs Art Essays Experimentation in Music For thousands of years, music has been a part of people’s lives and has evolved through many different forms over time. Music is the art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre (American Heritage). One important component of analyzing music is whether it has musical value. In other words, music does not have to be organized sound or produced by instruments. This is what composers and artists of experimental music discover. Experimental music is an art form, makes use of instruments or other items that can produce sound, and can alter or expand the basic foundations of music and musicality. These are the key elements that define experimental music. The genre that is experimental music essentially consists of music and sound that is different than any conventional music written before it. Though nearly all new types of music begin with experimentation of some kind, experimental music has become a specific category of its own in music. In this type of music, sounds and music are redefined and organized in a new way. There is sometimes a visual aspect to experimental music as well. The audience and performance are vital parts of the musical experience to these composers. Methods of sound production, time, and notation are also important aspects of experimental music. These are some of the essential qualities of this type of music as many musical ideas and theories are changed and altered. Experimental music is an art form. Because music is an art form, it can be open to interpretation and creativity. Composers write the music that they want to write because of the way they perceive mus... ...and changes or alters the concepts and perceptions of music. This genre seeks to experiment with sounds in a completely different way than conventional music does. Everything from the audience to musical notation is reconsidered and presented in a new, original manner. It is an important part of the perception and development of music. As musical concepts and technology change, experimental music will continue to modify and broaden the definition of music. Works Cited â€Å"Music.† American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth ed. 2000. Davies, John Booth. The Psychology of Music. Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press, 1978. Ewen, David. Composers of Tomorrow’s Music. Cornwall , NY : The Cornwall Press, Inc., 1971. Nyman, Michael. Experimental Music: Cage and beyond. Hampshire , Great Britain : BAS Printers Limited, 1974.

Emergency department patient satisfaction Essay

Customer service initiatives in healthcare have become a popular way of attempting to improve patient satisfaction. The effect of clinically focused customer service training on patient satisfaction in the setting of a 62,000-visit emergency department and level 1 trauma center is investigated. The most dramatic improvement in the patient satisfaction survey came in ratings of skill of the emergency physician, likelihood of returning, skill of the emergency department nurse and overall satisfaction. These results suggest that such training may offer a substantial competitive market advantage, as well as improve the patients’ perception of quality and outcome. A practitioner’s response to the case study is also included. Customer service initiatives in healthcare have become a popular way of attempting to improve patient satisfaction. The effect of clinically focused customer service training on patient satisfaction in the setting of a 62,000-visit emergency department a nd level 1 trauma center is investigated. The most dramatic improvement in the patient satisfaction survey came in ratings of skill of the emergency physician, likelihood of returning, skill of the emergency department nurse and overall satisfaction. These results suggest that such training may offer a substantial competitive market advantage, as well as improve the patients’ perception of quality and outcome. A practitioner’s repsonse to the case study is also included. You  have requested â€Å"on-the-fly† machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated â€Å"AS IS† and â€Å"AS AVAILABLE† and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of th e translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimerTranslations powered by LEC. Translations powered by LEC. Headnote visit emergency department and level I trauma center. Analysis of patient complaints, patient compliments, and a statistically verified patient-satisfaction survey indicate that (1) all 14 key quality characteristics identified in the survey increased dramatically in the study period; (2) patient complaints decreased by over 70 percent from 2.6 per 1,000 emergency department (ED) visits to 0.6 per 1,000 ED visits following customer service training; and (3) patient compliments increased more than 100 percent from 1.1 per 1,000 ED visits to 2.3 per 1,000 ED visits. The most dramatic improvement in the patient satisfaction survey came in ratings of skill of the emergency physician, likelihood of returning, skill of the emergency department nurse, and overall satisfaction. These results show that clinically focused customer service training improves patient satisfaction and ratings of physician and nurse skill. They also suggest that such training may offer a substantial competitive mar ket advantage, as well as improve the patients’ perception of quality and outcome. INTRODUCTION Recent changes in healthcare have led to increasing competition and the perceived commercialization of the healthcare provided to patients. At the same time, a need for reaffirmation of the importance of the patient-physician relationship has been expressed in the midst of such powerful forces (Laine and Davidoff 1996; Glass 1996; Pellegrino and Thomasma 1989). One aspect of the patient-physician relationship deserving further study is the role of customer service training in healthcare. While numerous customer service training tools exist in business and industry, no studies have clearly delineated the efficacy of customer service training for patients in a clinical setting. This study examines the effect of a required customer service training program taught by healthcare professionals on patient and family complaints, compliments, and satisfaction in a high-volume high-acuity emergency department. METHODS Patient Base All patients presenting to the Emergency Department at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, between May 1, 1994 and April 30, 1995 formed the control group, representing the period prior to emergency department customer service training. Patients presenting to the emergency department between May 1, 1995 and April 30, 1996 formed the study group, representing the period following customer service training intervention. The mechanism of patient complaint/compliment analysis and the survey criteria were identical in the control and study periods. Patient acuity was assessed by three measures: the number and percentage of patients admitted to the hospital; the number and percentage of patients with Current Procedural Terminology 1996 (CPT) evaluation and management (E/M) codes 99281-99285, (Kirschner et al. 1996); and a nursing acuity rating scale (EMERGE, Medicus Systems, Evanston, Illinois). Inova Fairfax Hospital is a 656-bed not-for-profit institution that is a teaching h ospital, regional referral center, and level I trauma center. Customer Service Training All emergency department staff involved in patient contact (physicians,  nurses, ED technicians, registration personnel, core secretaries, social workers, ED radiology, and ED respiratory therapy) were required to attend an eight-hour customer service training program. The numbers and types of staff involved in training are listed in Table 1. Because of logistic limitations, emergency medicine residents attended a focused fourhour required training course. The eight-hour program consisted of the following modules: basic customer service principles, recognition of patients and customers (Are they patients or customers?), service industry benchmarking leaders, stress recognition and management, communication skills, negotiation skills, empowerment, customer service proactivity, service transitions, service fail-safes, change management, and specific customer service core competencies. (More detailed information on the content of these modules is listed in Appendix 1.) These core comp etencies follow: making the customer service diagnosis (in addition to the clinical diagnosis) and providing the right treatment; negotiating agreement resolution of patient expectations; and building moments of truth into the clinical encounter. Following the initial required training, new physicians or ED employees were required to attend identical customer service training within four months of their initial employment. Additional mandatory customer service training updates were offered three times per year and included modules of conflict resolution, customer service skill updates, advanced communication skills, and assertiveness training. Patient Satisfaction Data Patient satisfaction data in both the control and study groups consisted of patient complaints, patient compliments, and a telephone patientsatisfaction survey conducted by an independent research firm (Shugoll Associates, Rockville, Maryland) that was blinded to the study hypothesis and course content. Patient complaints and/or compliments were systematically identified from all available means, including verbal, written, telephone, or electronic mail sources. Sources of patient complaints, data analysis, and categorization of complaints were identical in the control and study groups, which was coordinated by hospital quality improvement analysts. ED  staff were instructed to report all potential complaints and concerns, regardless of how minor, to appropriate physician or nurse managers in both the control and study periods. Complaints were logged into a central office and were investigated initially by three authors (TM, RC, DR). In cases where classification of type of complaint differed, additional information and/or clarification was sought from staff, patients, and family. Any discrepancies were resolved by group-consensus techniques. All complaints and the classification thereof were independently reviewed and verified by quality-improvement analysts. Patient complaint and compliment letters were referred for comment or clarification to appropriate ED staff in both the control and study periods. Outpatient satisfaction surveys were conducted by an independent research firm (completely blinded to the study and its hypothesis) utilizing a 50-item questionnaire to identify key factors in customer satisfaction. This survey instrument was validated on a sample of more than 3,000 patients prior to implementation in either the control or study group. The study used a telephone survey on a randomized number table basis to 100 ED outpatients per quarter (Appendix 2). Logistic regression analysis performed on these data identified 14 areas of more important/key attributes in the ED (see Table 2). Patient compliment and complaint data, as well as acuity data, were subjected to a two-tailed ttest and the Fisher Exact test. Patient satisfaction surveys were subjected to a two-tailed t-test with a 95 percent confidence level. Patient Turnaround Times Patient turnaround times (TAT) were calculated from time of initial arrival in the ED to either discharge or transfer to an inpatient unit. Turnaround times were routinely calculated on each patient and on an aggregate basis by day, month, quarter, and year. RESULTS ED Volume/Acuity Neither ED volume nor acuity changed to a statistically significant degree between the control and study periods, based on both admission percentage and nursing acuity (see Table 3). Analysis of CPT 96 Evaluation and Management Codes showed a statistically significant increase in codes 99283 and 99285, with a similar decrease in codes 99281 and 99284. The number of pediatric patients did not change in a statistically significant fashion during the study period. The only payor mix category to rise in a statistically significant fashion was managed care (p < .01), with a nearly identical decrease in commercial insurance. Neither compliments nor complaints correlated with payor category. Patient Turnaround Time Mean patient turnaround time dropped from three hours and 24 minutes (204 minutes) to three hours and seven minutes (187 minutes), but this difference was not statistically significant, nor did the percent of patients at one and two standard deviations from the mean change in a statistically significant fashion. Patient Compliments The total number of patient compliments rose from 69 in the control period to 141 in the study period, an increase of more than 100 percent (p < .00001) (see Table 3). Patient compliment letters consistently mentioned warmth, compassion, and skill of the emergency care provider as the reason for contacting management to praise the ED staff. There was no statistical difference between males and females among patient compliments. Patient Complaints Patient complaints dropped from 153 in the control period (2.5 complaints per 1,000 ED visits) to 36 in the study period (0.6 complaints per 1,000 ED visits), (p < .00001) (see Table 3). Complaints about perceived rudeness, insensitivity, or lack of compassion on the part of ED staff dropped most dramatically. Two-thirds of complaints in the study period were a result of waiting times, billing, or delays in obtaining an inpatient bed, compared to 30 percent in the control period. Nevertheless, complaints regarding waiting times, billing, and wait time for an inpatient bed still decreased 50 percent in the study period (p < .001). There were no significant differences in patient complaints based on age or sex, confirming results of the study by Hall and Press (1996). Patient Satisfaction Survey Data Baseline survey data were subjected to logistical regression analysis that indicated that 14 surveyed areas formed a core group of key satisfaction attributes. All of these 14 attributes showed increases in the study period (p < .001, see Table 2). The largest increases were in the following areas: skill of the emergency physician, skill of the nurse, likelihood of returning, overall quality of medical care, doctor’s ability to explain condition, diagnosis, and treatment options, and triage nurse’s sensitivity to pain. DISCUSSION The patient-physician and patient-nurse relationships are arguably the oldest in the history of medicine. These relationships have recently been described as being under siege because of an increase in the tension between the art and science of medicine, as well as the strains attendant to changes in the economic structure of healthcare (Glass 1996). To this list may be added a third causative factor: the lack of rigorous, formal training for healthcare professionals in the customer service fundamentals of the patient-provider relationship. The fundamentals of such training are closely tied to what has traditionally been described as the art of medicine or the concept of beneficence (Pellegrino and Thomasma 1989). Physicians have for the most part learned appropriate patient interaction skills through observing their mentors and peers during the course of graduate medical education. However, there has only recently been substantial study of this important subject (Buller and Buller 1987; Aharony and Strasser 1993). While customer service has been emphasized in American business and industry in recent years (Zeithamal, Parasuraman, and Berry 1990; Jones and Sasser 1995; Reichheld 1996; Berry and Parasuraman 1991; Berry 1995), few training modules are specifically targeted toward physicians and healthcare professionals. For this reason, the authors created an eight-hour customer  service training course for their ED providers, based on principles of adult education, benchmarks from the customer service industry (Sanders 1995; Spectre and McCarthy 1995; Carlzon 1987; Connelan 1997), experience in the clinical setting, and the existing literature on patient satisfaction (Pelligrino and Thomasma 1989; Thompson and Yarnold 1995; Thompson et al. 1996; Bursh, Beezy, and Shaw 1993; Rhee and Bird 1996; Dansk and Miles 1997; Hall and Press 1996; Eisenberg 1997). This literature emphasizes the importance of communication skills, managing information flow, actual versus perceived waiting times, and the ex pressive quality of physicians and nurses. All of these concepts were built into the training modules, including practical clinical examples of behaviors reflecting these and other concepts. Our philosophy in designing this course was simple. Customer service is a skill for which we hold our staff accountable but in which they had never formally been trained. We believed that this dilemma required, at a minimum, two sentinel events to occur. First, the department needed to have a clearly articulated and easily understood cultural transformation to a solid commitment to customer service. Second, staff members needed education in a practical, pragmatic fashion regarding precisely how such customer service principles could be applied in the clinical setting. Just as advanced cardiac life support, advanced trauma life support, and pediatric advanced life support courses can be used to improve cardiac, trauma, and pediatric resuscitation, respectively, we believed customer service outcomes could be improved by well-designed, mandatory, rigorous application of customer service training. The training was provided by active clinicians involved in day-to-day patient care activities (TAM, RJC). We believe this clinical credibility may have played an important part in the customer service transformation, inasmuch as the staff knew the trainers were well aware of the inherent problems of applying pragmatic customer service skills in a busy emergency department. The data from this study strongly support the hypothesis that clinically based, formal customer service training grounded on these principles can  dramatically decrease patient complaints, increase patient compliments, and improve patient satisfaction, at least in a high-volume, high-acuity ED. Patient complaints dropped by over 70 percent and compliments more than doubled during the study period, such that patient compliments actually exceed complaints in our 62,000 patient visit emergency department and level I trauma center. National data indicate that ED complaints average between three to five per 1,000 emergency department patients, although no data are available regarding rates of patient compliments (Culhane and Harding 1994). Our emergency department was slightly below that national standard level even during the control period. Analysis of the patient satisfaction survey data revealed an extremely important trend. Specifically, patients rated skill of the emergency physician, overall quality of medical care, and skill of the ED nurse as three of the most improved areas during the study period compared to the control period, despite the fact that there were no changes in the ED physician staff during the study and there was very little turnover among ED nurses. This strongly implies that patients rate the quality of care and the skill of the physician and nurse based on elements of the customer service interaction. These data suggest an important causal relationship between the technical component of care and the patient caregiver interaction, which has not been previously demonstrated. It is important to recognize that both customer service and technical skills are competencies to which hospitals and healthcare systems should hold their staff accountable on a daily basis. Hospitals spend substantial dollars to ensure that their staffs are technically competent to deliver quality medical care (Herzlinger 1997). However, to ensure that customer service is effective, clinically based customer service training is essential to give staff the appropriate skills in the clinical setting to deliver service competently. This concept is indirectly supported by data from Mack and colleagues (1995), who found that satisfaction with interactive aspects of emergency medical care produced higher correlations with measures of future intention to use the service than did satisfaction with medical outcomes themselves. Their study, however, did not undertake interventions to improve the interactive,  communicative aspect of healthcare in that setting. Similarly, Smith and colleagues (1995) evaluated the effect of a four-week training program, focusing on patient interviewing, somatization, patient education, and self-awareness, that was taught to first year internal medicine and family practice residents. Their data were not conclusive, but suggested that some but not all aspects of patient satisfaction could be improved by such training. This study tends to confirm the work of Thompson and colleagues (1996) that demonstrated in a much smaller sample size that expressive quality and management of informatio n flow to the patient had an effect on patient satisfaction. However, their study did not assess the impact of strategies and techniques for ED staff to improve patient satisfaction by improving expressive quality. While several studies (Thompson et al. 1996; Thompson and Yarnold 1996; Dansk and Miles 1997; Hall and Press 1996) have emphasized the importance of waiting time and exceeding patient expectations regarding length of waiting time, our study demonstrates a dramatic improvement in patient satisfaction without a statistically significant reduction in patient turnaround time. This supports the work of Bursch and colleagues (1993), who found in a study of 258 patients that the five most important variables for patient satisfaction were the amount of time it took before being cared for in the ED, patient ratings of how caring the nurses were, how organized the ED staff was, how caring the physicians were, and the amount of information provided to the patient and family. However, the study did not assess strategies to improve satisfaction based on this knowledge. All of this information was built into the training modules to assist staff with practical strategies to manage waiting time effe ctively using information flow, queuing theory, and verbal skill training. The implications of the higher ratings of the skill of the emergency physicians and nurses are intriguing and could have a far-reaching impact on healthcare. Perhaps the strongest implication is that perceived skill stands as a marker for quality and/or outcome in the mind of patients and their families. It has been shown repeatedly that patient compliance increases with confidence in the physician (Frances, Korsch, and Morris 1969;  Sharfield et al. 1981; Waggoner, Jackson, and Kern 1981; Schmittdiel et al. 1997). While our study did not directly assess improvements in outcome, quality of care, or appropriateness of care, it certainly appears that patients rated the skill of the healthcare providers as a key quality characteristic in this survey. Furthermore, the fact that ratings of quality of medical care and likelihood of returning also increased dramatically speaks to the importance that effective customer service training may have in offering a competitive market advantage to hospitals and healthcare institutions. This is particularly important as the concept of customer loyalty is closely tied to the likelihood of a patient or their family returning to that healthcare institution. As the focus on outcomes management and evidence-based medicine increases, it is important to take into account the effect that customer service skills have on patients’ perceptions of quality and outcome. This study may be subject to several criticisms. First, while statistical data on patient compliments and complaints obtained substantial statistical significance, the number of patients contacted for the outpatient satisfaction telephone survey may have resulted in sampling bias. While a larger sampling is planned in the future, the patient satisfaction survey data trends were consistent throughout all quarters and appear to be a valid statistical tool, despite the number of patients sampled. Second, it was not possible to blind those responsible for investigating and classifying complaints and compliments. However, we did attempt to reduce or eliminate possible reporting or observer bias by identifying complaints from all sources and ensuring that all complaints and their classification were reviewed and approved by an author who was not involved in ED operations and by quality improvement analysts. Third, information is not available on national or regional trends of patient compl aints and/or satisfaction during the study period. It is possible that the data in this study may reflect local, regional, or national trends toward decreased complaints and increased satisfaction, either globally throughout healthcare or in ED patients specifically. However, this is highly unlikely as no such trends have been previously reported, nor would such trends fully explain the data from this study, even if they were present. The data on patient acuity  indicated an increase in CPT codes 99283 and 99285, suggesting a slight trend toward higher patient acuity. This could mean that patients with higher levels of acuity are more satisfied and less likely to complain. No data are available to either prove or disprove this possibility, but the trend toward higher acuity would not appear to completely explain the dramatic improvement seen in this study. Furthermore, the patient-satisfaction telephone survey excluded inpatients, who comprise a larger percentage of patients in the 99285 service code. Further study is needed to delineate the relationship of ED patient acuity to satisfaction. Despite these potential limitations, this study demonstrates that clinically based customer training for ED staff can decrease patient complaints and increase patient satisfaction in a large volume, high-acuity ED, and that satisfaction is independent of patient turnaround times. Furthermore, the data support the concept that patients rate the skill of the emergency physician, overall quality of medical care, and skill of the ED nurse significantly higher after such training is provided to the ED staff. Additional studies in ED with different volumes, acuities, and geographic locations are needed to demonstrate whether these results can be duplicated. Studies of the impact of customer service training in other healthcare settings would also be of benefit. Nonetheless, clinically focused customer service training has been shown in this study to improve patient satisfaction and ratings of the skill of physicians and nurses. If verified by other studies, customer service training should be considered an important part of graduate and undergraduate medical education to improve both the art and science of the patient-physician relationship. The clinically based customer service training described in this study is now a required part of competency based orientation for all physicians, nurses, residents, and support staff in the emergency department. All professional and non-professional staff interviewed for positions in the emergency department are advised of the institution’s strong commitment to customer service training and the necessity of attending the required training course. As healthcare increasingly emphasizes accountability for customer service in its staff, it is increasingly important that practical and effective customer service training is provided. While not directly addressed in this study, the data on ratings of quality of medical care, skill of the physician and nurses, and likelihood of returning strongly suggest that effectively completing the customer service transition offers a competitive market advantage to hospitals and healthcare systems. References Aharony, L., and S. Strasser. 1993. â€Å"Patient Satisfaction: What We Know About and What We Still Need to Explore.† Medical Care Review 50 (1): 49-79. Berry, L. L. 1995. On Great Service: A Framework for Action. New York: Free Press. Berry, L. L., and A. Parasuraman. 1991. Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality. New York: Free Press. Butler, M. K., and D. B. Buller. 1987. â€Å"Physician’s Communication Style and Patient Satisfaction.† Journal of Health and Social Behavior 28 (4): 375-88. Bursh, B., J. Beezy, and R. Shaw. 1993. â€Å"Emergency Department Satisfaction: What Matters Most?† Annals of Emergency Medicine 22: 586-91. Carlzon, J. 1987. Moments of Truth: New Strategies for Today’s Customer-Driven Economy. New York: Ballinger Publishing. Connelan, T. 1997. Inside the Magic Kingdom. Austin, TX: Bard Press. Culhane, D. E., and P. J. 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