Managing Information Technology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Information Technology - Case Study Example This approach helps reduce cases of outpatient visits while allowing health professionals to verify drug prescriptions to patients in remote areas (Ciampa & Revels, 2013). The federal government’s HITECH stimulus funds and Meaningful Use standards can only be expected to lead to better software integration solutions considering the approach taken by the program. The program requires that healthcare providers apply their electronic systems fully; more than just as tools for electronic medical charts (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2013). This will help increase quality and efficiency while enabling coordinated healthcare. By providing incentives to eligible professionals who exhibit significant application of a licensed EHR, the program will further ensure that providers embrace the need for integrated software solutions. According to Coplan & Masuda (2011), the increase in software adoptions at physician offices will not necessarily make it difficult for them to retain staff. On the contrary, these developments will lead to a shift in roles as physicians increasingly depend on their staff’s help in data collection and entry. Studies have shown that most physicians have been compelled by prevailing circumstances to reassign tasks to their front office staff. Additionally, nurses will have an added role, different from their traditional role that involved tasks such as rooming patients and taking blood tests. Under the EHR program, nurses will be expected to enquire for more information from patients that will serve to provide physicians with a clear health record of these patients in future (Dwivedi, 2009). Despite its benefits, the mobile medical clinics model faces several emerging conditions that could make it obsolete. Lack of space and medical equipment that can support high quality and timely healthcare services could make it difficult for health professionals to provide their services in remote areas. In order for these

A Description of Cultural Patterns Essay Example for Free

A Description of Cultural Patterns Essay Cultural patterns are described as the preferred set of responses to different life situations. According to Kluckhohn and Strodbeck’s description of cultural patterns there are 5 dimensions or elements that address the manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world and the passage of time. In the following reflection I will identify each one of these dimensions with the cultural patterns shown in my country. Starting with the activity orientation, which defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities, we can identify the Puerto Rican culture as a â€Å"becoming† one. A â€Å"becoming† orientation refers to people who are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means of changing the world. Although I do not fully agree on this identifying the Puerto Rican culture, I do agree on other views that the â€Å"becoming† cultures have toward work and play. For example Puerto Ricans do not have a â€Å"clear-cut† separation between work and their social lives. Often you can go into an office and find employees chatting with each other, talking with relatives over the phone or talking about their private lives in a business meeting. The Puerto Rican culture is more relaxed in terms of work compared to the Mexican, Colombian or European American culture, we specifically work for a means to an end and appreciate every second of our leisure time. The social relations dimension describes how the people in a culture organize themselves and refer to one another. In Puerto Rico the degree of importance we place on formality has changed through the years as different generations modify the way we address people. For example teenagers often refer to their elders as â€Å"you† instead of â€Å"sir† or they will say to someone who is serving them â€Å"give me† instead of â€Å"may I have†. The Puerto Rican culture generally does not give much importance to tittles, as they believe that relationships best develop when those involved can address informally to one another. Another thing that cultural patterns prescribe are the social interactions people have between them. In the Puerto Rican culture we have African heritage so it’s no surprise when both our cultures prefer indirectness in conversations with other people of our country but do not require an intermediary to do so. Generally, people in Puerto Rico will â€Å"sugar coat† demands or favors in conversations as a way to ask for something but in a indirect approach so the person won’t perceive us as rude or ill mannered. The self-orientation of cultural patterns describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds people who are valued and respected. Puerto Ricans can easily associate with each other, as our individual self-definition is very similar. On the contrary of the European American culture, Puerto Ricans make decisions for their children based on traditions, values and what they believe to be best for them. Although individuals make their own decisions as they mature and grow up when we evaluate from a group perspective it can be said that there is a heightened sense of interdependence and what happens to the group happens to the person. An example of this can be shown in cultural linguistic tendencies, as individuals modify their usual language others do so as well; also the fact that when national catastrophes occur everyone feels identified with the loss or the pain of the others. Because Puerto Rico is such a small island it is almost predictable that individuals can associate their identity with others from the same country even if there is a social status, age, town etc. aspect that differs between them. One of the most interesting dimensions is the world orientation, which tells people how to allocate themselves in relation to the spiritual world, nature and other living things. As we know Puerto Rico has different heritages because of the cultures that have influenced us trough the colonizing process, so it is not strange that our spirituality relates mostly to the European American beliefs. The general belief in our culture is that human beings can prevent, postpone or overcome natural events such as earthquakes by making buildings stronger, finding cures for illnesses and prolonging the time of death of a sick person. As technology constantly â€Å"improves† individuals believe they have the power to control nature instead of nature controlling them. Despite the fact that we are most influenced by this belief we still have the Latino influence which leads us to believe that we will be measured by our actions in the spiritual world where our souls will rest. The final approach of these cultural patterns is the time orientation, which can be defined as the way individuals conceptualize time. The cultural frame to which the Puerto Ricans relate is the Latino; even though we do not think time is endless we don’t take time as seriously. That is the reason why people are constantly late for everything, from a birthday party to work and even to Sunday mass. Time is mostly seen as ongoing and useful to maintain order, but not of the utmost importance. Analyzing these cultural patterns one can have a more accurate sense of how culture determines the identity of a country and how things like the importance of work and social time can influence so deeply the way a whole culture behaves. Also it gives you the opportunity to compare and contrast with other countries and learn how other people can have a completely different share of values and see life in such a contrasting way. Most importantly I believe that by studying these cultural patterns one can be more sensible to other people’s needs and have more respect for their culture instead of wanting to impose ours.

Theoretical Approaches to Perception Processes

Theoretical Approaches to Perception Processes Cognitive psychologists differ in their views on the processes involved in perception. Outline two theoretical approaches to perception and provide empirical support for each. Introduction Explanations of perception seek to explain and better understand the process that facilitates the transformation of sensory information from the environment into the experience of objects, sounds, and movement. One of the most established fields of psychological research, studies in perception range from basic recognition of shape, colour, and form, to the more complex relationship between, motion, attention and performance (Eysenck, 2005). In the early 1900’s, a group of psychologists sought to show how people organize fields of information during perception, memory, and thought (eg: Duncker, 1945; Koffka, 1935; Kohler, 1940; J. M. Mandler G. Mandler, 1964; Wertheimer, 1945/ 1982. In Barsalou, 1992). Since then, the distinctions between the work of cognitive and perception psychologists have become less obvious, with cognitive and behavioural approaches increasingly being used in the effort to understand the complex process of visual perception. As experimental approaches ha ve brought about more refined empirical techniques, a greater number of theories have developed in order to help explain the phenomenon. This essay focuses on James Gibson’s theory that perception and action are very closely related. Gibson first put forward this theory more than fifty years ago (Eysenck, 2005). The second theory under discussion is the Constructivist approach, which posits that experience formed in memory assist the observer in making informed judgements about the size, shape, form, etc of an object. Gibson (1979) first brought into discussion the term ‘direct perception’ relating to the idea that we pick up enough information from the visual environment to form a conscious version of what we see and that we do not need to use higher levels of cognitive processing in order to understand the visual world (Cardwell et al, 2004). Part of Gibson’s theory maintained that perception depends upon the existence of a number of cues which inform the brain about the size, shape, and texture of objects, and the distance away from the observer that they lie. Gibson’s work is unique as he based his findings on experiments conducted outside of laboratory conditions although still very much within a controlled environment with measurable results. Part of Gibson’s work has helped develop new technological features at airports to help pilots develop their depth perception, while the application of his flow patterns idea has been incorporated into the constructions of roundabouts to create the illusion for drivers that they are accelerating on their approach and thus making them slow down (Cardwell et al, 2004). The applicability of these theories to real-life situations increases their relevance and causes them to be an attractive explanation as to how we perceive our visual environment. Gibson (1979) expounded upon what he meant by ‘direct’: â€Å"So when I assert that perception of the environment is direct, I mean that it is not  mediated by retinal pictures, neural pictures, or mental pictures. Direct perception is the activity of getting information from the ambient array of light. I call this a process of information pickup that involves the exploratory activity of looking around, getting around, and looking at things. (1979, p.147) Gibson posited that it was in the nature of light as an optic ray that facilitated our understanding of objects and material reality. Gibson’s studies of observation he claimed were founded upon his experiences in World War II. When carrying out aviation experiments, Gibson concluded that the laboratory approach to the study of depth perception could not be suited to improving a pilots ability to land an airplane, and that it was necessary to study perception outdoors into the natural environment. According to Goldstein (1981, p.191), in Gibson‘s ‘ground theory’ visual space ‘is defined not by an object or an array of objects in the air (as occurs for depth cues such as interposition, relative size, etc.) but rather is defined by the ground, a continuous surface or array of adjoining surfaces.’ Gibson’s texture gradient suggests that there exists a rate of change in texture density. For example, a the gaps in a rail track appear to get closer together the greater the distance over which they are perceived (Eysenck, 2005). Gibson measured his findings in real life situations of perception where the observer is not stationary in a laboratory and ‘observing’ rather, Gibson believed in the importance of the observer being active, constantly moving their eyes, head and body in relation to the environment (Goldstein, 1981). Gibson’s work has been continuously investigated by other researchers who have been keen to establish its strengths and weaknesses. For example, Greenberg and Donnell (1972) found that the ‘weakness of stripes or straight contours does have some touch points in research on infant and adult perception.’ (In Pick and Gibson, 1979, p.71). While very young infants preferred to look at checks over stripes (Greenberg and Donnell, 1972), MacKay and Jeffreys (1973) recorded that adults looking at parallel lines in contrast with lines that had corners or breaks in them, showed more visually evoked potential for the checked an broken lines, but was relatively small for the parallel lines (Ibid). Whereas Mayzner and Habinek (1976) found in tachistoscopic experiments that the ‘threshold is much lower for detecting contours that change in direction than it is for detecting those that do not’ ( Mayzner Habinek, 1976. In Pick and Gibson, 1979, p.71). These forms of empirical research have dated well as they highlight basic dichotomies between shapes and forms and how they are perceived by the human eye and thus translated as information by the brain. There is not much scope for disproving Gibson’s theories rather, the challenge of his work lies in whether his explanations of perception are enough to explain the complexity of understanding the material world. Gibson also made an insightful point as to the nature of research and theory of perception that ‘the starting point of perceptual research and theory depends critically on the language used to describe the information available for perception’ (Carlson, 1997, p.76), and that psychologists are thus apt to partially self-define the objectives and results of their own experiments. In ostensible contrast to Gibson’s work, the Constructivist approach places less emphasis on the nature of the visual stimulus itself and focuses on the implications of stored memories (Cardwell et al, 2004). Past experience thus shapes and informs present experience. Gibson’s idea that perception is founded upon cues provided by the object itself is reversed in this approach to understanding perception, where perception is effectively constructed by the memory. Gregory expounded upon Gibson’s theory by experimenting with the idea that visual stimuli are basic ‘starting points’ upon which the observer makes informed guesses about their meaning (Cardwell et al, 2004). Constructivist theory has received much empirical support, beginning in the early 20th century with the work of Tichener (1914). Boring (1946) worked with, and altered these experiments, to produce the well-known 1941 Holway and Boring experiment. Here, participants observed the size of a disk, from varied distances. Holway and Boring sought to reduce the number of distance cues available to participants, and found that the more that cues â€Å"reduced†, the poorer the size perceptions recorded. Boring concluded that perception needed a cores stimulus, and a mediating context informed by cues. Size perception thus relies upon a perceived distance that allows the observer to make informed judgements. In such laboratory experiments there exists the hypothesis that certain illusions persist in our perception of the world this was a crucial element of the Constructivist theory. Gibson criticised the empirical research for these approaches, highlighting their artificiality and inapplicability to real-life. Furthermore, if perception is analogous to our making judgements and decisions this would not explain how precise perception is ie: if Constructivist theory is correct then we would make many more mistakes in how we perceive the world. To conclude, neither approach is meant to be an alternative to the other rather they are used in conjunction with each other, and the type of processing employed will depend on the type of visual stimulus present in front of the observer. In her discussion about the relevance and scope of cognitive theory, Disessa quotes Marton who has heavily criticised the efforts of cognitive science to explain human experience (Disessa, 1993). Disessa goes on to say that ‘whether for systematic or accidental reasons, cognitive science has not done particularly well at illuminating the structure of experience.’ (1993, p.261). If cognitive approaches are to ultimately succeed, then they need to focus more on explaining consciousness itself (Barsalou, 1992), rather than the mechanisms which define consciousness. Other explanations have attempted to identify the behavioural aspects of sensory experience which indirectly inform the observer as to the nature of their experience. For exam ple, Ludwig (1999) suggests that as well as being able to perceive shapes visually and through touch, we also gain information through other sensory modes. He gives the example of knowing through smelling the scent of a mango that the fruit of the smell’s origin is round; here, shape is not perceived by a visual judgement, but is inferred from ‘the character of ones sensory experience and collateral information that an object of a certain shape caused it.’ (Ludwig, 1999, p. 29). There will no doubt continue to be variations and expansions upon the work of Gibson, and of the older constructivist theories yet the fundamental precepts of each theory remain as integral to the study of perception as they did over fifty years ago. The relationship between the static or stationary observer and the material world will ultimately rely upon the distance, texture, and shape of the perceived object, while the degree to which perception relies upon past experience is yet to be fully understood. References Barsalou, L.W. (1992) Cognitive Psychology: An Overview for Cognitive Scientists. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Boring, E. G. (1946). Perception of objects. American Journal of Physics, 14, 99-107. Cardwell, M; Clark, L; and Meldrum, C. (2004) Psychology. London: Collins. Carlson, R.A. (1997) Experienced Cognition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Disessa, AA. (1993) Cognitive Responses. Cognition and Instruction, vol 10. Issue: 3, p.261. Eysenck, M.W. Keane, M.T. (2005). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook, (5th Ed) Hove: Psychology Press. Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Goldstein, E.B. (1981) The Ecology of J. J. Gibsons Perception. Leonardo, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 191-195. Holway, A. H., Boring, E. G. (1941). Determinants of apparent visual size with distance variant. American Journal of Psychology, 54, 21-37. Ludwig, K. (1996). Shape Properties and Perception. Philosophical Issues, Vol. 7, pp. 325-350. Pick, A.D, and Gibson, E.J. (1979) Perception and Its Development: A Tribute to Eleanor J. Gibson. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Titchener, E. B. (1914). A textbook of psychology. New York: Macmillan.

Psychotherapy as a Treatment for Schizophrenia :: Schizophrenia, mental illness, psychology,

Schizophrenia is a deep-rooted and mutilating mental illness. This disease can cause you to withdraw from the people and activities in the world around you. Which causes a person to retreat into a world of delusions and fantasies. Since no one knows the cause of this disease its hard to know what type of treatment is right. As of now there are two types of known treatments medication, and Psychotherapy. Only one of these two treatments is more endorsed by Doctors who treat this illness. Medication is the more favored of the two but Psychotherapy has a higher commitment rate. Which means that even when patients start taking prescription medication to treat their illness. In most cases they never stick to medication alone because of the side effects. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center even though drug treatments are the primary treatments, studies have shown that the psychological approach has a higher chance of preventing relapses. Some of these approaches are motivational interviews to encourage patients to commit to change, Community based rehab centers, that also help to train the patients social skills, Family Psychotherapy, and last but not least a cognitive-behavioral therapy that reduces the delusions and hallucinations that patients have. This disease mainly affects a persons ability to do everyday things. For example go into big crowds, shop, eat, cook, clean, do laundry. Basic things that one needs to do to live a normal independent life. So if these are the main things a schizophrenic person needs to learn. It can be accomplished with psychotherapy, or rehab. Instead of pumping a person full of generic prescription medication that isn’t going to do much but hurt them because of unbearable side effects, why not just organize groups or classes that is going to a help a person learn to do small but necessary things that they need for everyday life. Especially if the disease is in the early stages this can be accomplished even quicker.

relationships in pride and prejudice :: essays research papers

Relationship in Pride and Prejudice In the novel Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, several, if not all of her characters, can confirm the belief that in order to achieve happiness one must discard their pride and in turn, replace it with self-respect accompanied by some humility. In addition, acceptance and mutual respect must replace one’s prejudice. The novel reveals four couples that live through social inconviences. The setting, although the novel does take place in many different places, is mainly broadcasted from Longbourn, somewhere in England. It is set around the Bennet family, which consists of seven members. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and their five daughters which of whom none are yet married. At this period in time, marriage was based a great deal upon money and reputation, not so much love and trust. When a single man entered town, he was called upon only if his financial situation was above normal. Marriage was based around land, family connections, and wealth. In many minor characters of the novel, pride is a common characteristic. Mrs. Bennet, for instance, is extremely proud when it comes to her daughter’s marriages of mercenary benefits. She is so concerned that her neighbors have a high opinion of her that her own vanity will not Proposal Scenes The first proposal scene deals with Mr. Collins's proposal to Elizabeth, this is a very odd occurrence as Mr. Collins is Elizabeth's cousin and he sort of appears from nowhere and expects Elizabeth to marry him. This is what is funny about this proposal because Mr. Collins expects Elizabeth to marry him because he is a clergy man and it would be right and proper for him to marry a lady like miss Bennett.When Mr. Collins, a tall, swarthy young man of twenty-five,arrives, he heaps indiscriminate praise on everything. He compliments Mrs. Bennett on her cooking and speaks highly of everything about the girls. In every way, he appears to be a peculiar figure. Mr. Collins asks Mrs. Bennett "May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?"Mrs. Bennett agrees and tries to leave the room taking Kitty with her but Elizabeth stops her and says "Dear madam, do not go. I beg you will not go. Mr. Collins must excuse me.

Golden Ratio :: essays research papers

What is the Golden Ratio The golden ration can occur anywhere. The golden proportion is the ratio of the shorter length to the longer length which equals the ratio of the longer length to the sum of both lengths. The golden ratio is a term used to describe proportioning in a piece. In a work of art or architecture, if one maintained a ratio of small elements to larger elements that was the same as the ratio of larger elements to the whole, the end result was pleasing to the eye. The ratio for length to width of rectangles is 1.61803398874989484820. The numeric value is called â€Å"phi†. The Golden Ratio is also known as the golden rectangle. The Golden Rectangle has the property that when a square is removed a smaller rectangle of the same shape remains, a smaller square can be removed and so on, resulting in a spiral pattern. The Golden Rectangle is a unique and important shape in mathematics. The Golden Rectangle appears in nature, music, and is often used in art and architecture. Some thing special about the golden rectangle is that the length to the width equals approximately 1.618†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Golden Ration = Length = 1.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Width The golden rectangle has been discovered and used since ancient times. Our human eye perceives the golden rectangle as a beautiful geometric form. The symbol for the Golden Ratio is the Greek letter Phi. The Fibonacci Series was discovered around 1200 A.D. Leonardo Fibonacci discovered the unusual properties of the numeric series, that’s how it was named. It is not proven that Fibonacci even noticed the connection between the Golden Ratio meaning and Phi. The Renaissance used the Golden Mean and Phi in their sculptures and paintings to achieve vast amounts balance and beauty. The Golden Ratio in Architecture and Art Throughout the centuries, artists have used the golden ratio in their own creations. An example is â€Å"post† by Picasso. When using a golden mean gauge you can see that the lines are spaced to the Golden Proportion. The Golden Ratio also appears in the Parthenon in Athens. It was built about 440 B.C.; it forms a perfect Golden Rectangle. The exterior dimensions form Golden Rectangle. The Golden Ratio also appears in the front face, which is found to be Phi times as wide as it is tall, so therefore it is a Golden Rectangle. The height of the roof is Phi times the space between the tops of the columns and the bottom of the roof.

Eddie Mabo is not only a hero of the film Mabo? Essay

In the film , the director Rachel Perkin demonstrate us that Eddie Mabo is a hero . He commit himself fully to fight tirelessly for aboriginal rights of land. In the process , Eddie Mabo get much support by his wife, his lawyers, his friends. These people sacrifice something and bear pressure for supporting Eddie Mabo. So these people also are heroes. Meanwhile , Australia government also is anti-hero, the government admit the mistake and reconcile with aboriginals and apology. Nera . Eddie Mabo’s wife. As a wife she bring up their family with Eddie often absent, ans in the early days has to work at night in a prawn-packing factory to help when she heavily pregnant with their fourth child. Nera’s support for Eddie does not only involve bringing up their family for Eddie,she also develops deep faith in his cause, her attitude changed completely. In the early,she says to Eddie†if you do not stop mixing with those commos I am leaving you and take children away from you.After she hears about The Aboriginal Advancement League from Eddie,she becomes a committed worker for aboriginal right She teaches aboriginal children skill in the Aboriginal school Eddie establishes . When the family receive death threats, Eddie wants to send Nera and children away, but Nera says she is not going anywhere. In fact , she is aware of the danger,but she still stay with Eddie Mabo , not going to run away from Eddie Mabo. Those situation show us Nera is strong, loyal , hard-working . So Nera is a hero. Bryan Keon-Cohen is Eddie Mabo’s lawyer. After Eddie Mabo lose his land-right case in supreme court, Eddie decide to take the case to the High Court ,he meet Bryan Melbourne,this is their first meet.As a lawyer he tirelessly fight for Eddie’s cause. He know there is no money in the case for him and his action is also likely to lose him many other big briefs such as with mining companies or with government. Bryan’s friend says to him:† you’re gonna have to think very carefully, Bryan. It’ll pretty much shape the rest of your career.† .However, in this situation , Bryan still decide to help Eddie Mabo. Finally, he helps Eddie win the case Those example tell us that Bryan is justicial, so he also is a hero. Dave passi is Mer Islander who with Eddie fight , in the supreme court, Killoran intimidates David Passi and his two brothers withraw as plaintiffs. But when the case take to the High Court , Dave Passi returns as a plaintiff, the return of Dave Passi provides new hope for case. We can see Dave Passi bear much pressure. But he still decide to give Mabo support. This action show us  Dave Passi is full of justicial energy as well as Bryan. So , Dave Passi also is a hero. In the film , we can fell the white society is full of racism. In north western Australia , Eddie Mabo going for a drink after work with his fellow white co-workers, he is denied service by the publican , who says, â€Å" you! Out the back!† Later in Townsville he finds this attitude is actually entrenched in white law. Again refused a drink at a bar. Eddie Mabo is told â€Å" It’s not me, mate. It’s the law†. On 26 January , British invade New South Wales.They entrench European culture and customs in the life of the aborigines.they enforce aborigines learn European culture and do not respect the aboriginal culture. However, At the beginning of the film , we can see the Australia government reconcile with Aboriginals. The first screen , Paul kneating says â€Å" Mabo establishes a fundamental truth and lays the basis for.† In fact, The action tell us the government admit these action that they didi are injustice and wrong. The Australia government be brave in admit mistakes and apology .So to an extent the action of the Australia government is a anti-hero. As we have seen, in the film,Eddie Mabo is a hero of the film, but his wife ,his lawyer and his friends bear much pressure and sacrifice something to support Eddie Mabo , so they also are heroes. Even though the Australia government carry out some false measure for aborigines ,but in the end , the government admit the mistakes and apology. so the government is a anti-hero.