Emergency Management Plan: Financial Management

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question
 In this discussion, explain and describe the Emergency Management Plan: Financial Management. How does financial management play a significant role in planning for tactical and operational endeavors? 
Answer
1. Introduction
Financial management is one of the key elements of every management plan. It provides the systematic approach in which the organization could allocate the financial resources to operational and capital requirements. This is defined by Pride et al. (2006), in which financial management is the operational activity whereby the funds of an organization are allocated and controlled to attain the organizational objectives. The principal objective of financial management in emergency management planning is to provide the most effective and efficient approach in which the organization could utilize the financial resources to prepare for, respond to, and recover from any potential emergencies or disasters. This also includes disaster risk reduction activities in which the organization could minimize the probability of a disaster occurring.
As this research paper is a management plan on financial management, the definition of an “Emergency Management Plan” stated by the Emergency Management Australia (2004) is “a plan that identifies measures which can be taken to eliminate hazards, reduce risk, and prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster.”
The research-based emergency management essay should be a tutorial and a management tool in which the emergency management plan would be developed effectively and efficiently. For emergency management plans to be effectively developed for the city or the municipality, the emergency management needs to understand what an emergency management plan is and its importance.
1.1. Definition of Emergency Management Plan
The emergency management planning process should take an “all hazards” approach given that the impacts of many hazards can be mitigated in similar ways and that it is hard to predict the type of disaster that will befall a particular place or community. An all hazards approach ensures that the strategy is relevant and useful to a broad range of scenarios. The emergency management plan will then identify and prioritize the most significant risks to be addressed. Note that in the context of a household emergency management plan, a “risk” may be any unplanned event that has the potential to disrupt the normal routine of the household.
An emergency management plan is simply the application of managerial process to the creation of a strategy that will allow the best chance of preserving the safety of a defined group at a point in time in the future.
An emergency management plan serves as a “road map” of sorts for how to keep your family safe and respond in an emergency. An emergency management plan is a dynamic guide for changing circumstances to minimize damage and ensure the safety and security of you and your family. This plan should be assembled by the head of the household and disseminated to each family member. It should identify the specific roles and responsibilities of family members in the context of the risk scenarios identified and the preparation and response strategies that will follow.
1.2. Importance of Financial Management in Emergency Management Planning
Effective financial management is an integral part of the overall emergency management plan. In every stage of emergency management, it is crucial to mobilize resources and spend funds wisely. Recurring natural disasters in various countries have encouraged emergency management authorities to consider providing funding for recovery and preparedness activities, in addition to response efforts. But despite the consensus that sound financial management is essential in emergency management, there has been little empirical research on the topic, and there is no clear understanding of what comprises good financial management in the emergency management context. This paper, based on a recently completed Ph.D. thesis, begins by defining financial management in the context of emergency management and establishing the significance of the topic. The subsequent section discusses various types of resources that are available to finance emergency management activities, and identifies the trends and imbalances regarding the allocation of resources between mitigation and preparedness activities, and response and recovery activities. The paper then presents a delineation of the key components of emergency management finance, and explains how accounting and accountability fit into the wider financial management framework.
2. Fund Allocation
2.1. Determining Financial Needs
2.2. Budgeting for Emergency Response Efforts
2.3. Allocating Funds to Different Operational Areas
3. Resource Acquisition
3.1. Identifying Funding Sources
3.2. Applying for Grants and Financial Assistance
3.3. Establishing Partnerships with Organizations for Financial Support
4. Financial Risk Assessment
4.1. Evaluating Potential Financial Risks
4.2. Developing Contingency Plans for Financial Emergencies
4.3. Mitigating Financial Risks through Insurance and Contracts
5. Financial Reporting
5.1. Establishing Financial Reporting Mechanisms
5.2. Monitoring and Tracking Financial Expenditures
5.3. Generating Financial Reports for Transparency and Accountability
6. Financial Auditing
6.1. Conducting Regular Financial Audits
6.2. Ensuring Compliance with Financial Regulations and Policies
6.3. Identifying Areas for Improvement in Financial Management
7. Cost-Benefit Analysis
7.1. Assessing the Cost Effectiveness of Emergency Management Strategies
7.2. Analyzing the Benefits and Returns on Financial Investments
8. Financial Training and Education
8.1. Providing Financial Management Training for Emergency Management Personnel
8.2. Enhancing Financial Literacy within the Emergency Management Team
8.3. Promoting Financial Awareness among Stakeholders
9. Financial Planning for Recovery
9.1. Developing Financial Strategies for Post-Emergency Recovery
9.2. Allocating Funds for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Efforts
9.3. Implementing Long-Term Financial Plans for Sustainable Recovery
10. Conclusion

Employment-at-will and its Protections

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Question
Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
Over the years, there has been much debate over the classification of employment-at-will employees. Employment-at-will is a term that refers to the protection that is applied to the employment relationship, such that the employer or the employee has the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time. There are different modifications to employment-at-will that vary at the state level. With your classmates, please discuss the following:
Does employment-at-will have better protections for employees or employers? Why or why not?
Choose a state and describe its modifications to employment-at-will. Do you agree with these modifications? Why or why not?

Answer
1. Introduction
This doctrine of discharge has been the most controversial of all employment-at-will issues. Its principal contribution has been to narrowly limit lawsuits for wrongful termination. Discharging an employee for a particularly bad reason does not make it wrongful discharge. According to one author, the reason might be “so bad, so hypocritical, or so small minded, that only the judge or the jury can be trusted to a fair decision.” This is not in today’s legal system. While the judge or jury might have the authority to decide the issue, there must first be an establishing a valid claim or cause of action. Employment-at-will supporters believe that the rule adequately balances the rights of employers and employees, without legislative limits on discharges.
The rule in employment-at-will states that if an employee has no specific term of employment, the employer can fire the employee for good cause, no cause, and even cause morally wrong, without being liable for wrongful discharge. The employee is granted the same legal right; he can quit on the spot, for good cause, no cause, and cause morally wrong. In general, the employment-at-will doctrine should not affect the employee’s unemployment compensation rights.
The doctrine of employment-at-will is a legal rule that was established in the nineteenth century. It has been adopted by all fifty states. According to this doctrine, either the employer or the employee may end the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, giving rise to a claim for damages. Typically, courts have said that the employment relationship can be treated as “at-will” unless the employee can show the existence of an employment contract to the contrary.
1.1 Definition of employment-at-will
The term “employment-at-will” derives from American common law and it means that an employee can be dismissed by an employer for any reason or without having to establish a wrongful cause and without notice, as long as the reason is not illegal (e.g. firing a worker because of their race, religion, or gender) and the employer does not have a contract with the employee which specifies how and under what circumstances termination can occur. The doctrine is compatible with the idea of an unfettered labor market, where firms and workers transact at arm’s length. This is undoubtedly the US labor market in many areas, particularly those involving unskilled workers. At-will employment still exists to a large extent in most American states and is important in promoting economic growth in the nation. This will be elaborated on in section 1.2, which discusses the importance of employment-at-will. The other forms of employment are “for cause” and “for term”. In a “for cause” employment, the employee can only be terminated for a specific reason. This usually only occurs when there is a collective bargaining agreement between a firm and a union. This is due to the fact that unions require employment security for their members, and in return for conceding flexibility in the labor market have negotiated contracts which make it difficult for firms to lay off or terminate employees. The most extreme example of “for term” employment is that of a tenured professor at a university, who has essentially a lifetime employment agreement and can only be dismissed for gross misconduct or financial exigency on behalf of the employer.
1.2 Importance of employment-at-will protections
Courts have often spoken of the doctrine of employment-at-will in terms of a “default rule”. That is, in the absence of an express agreement to the contrary, it will be presumed that the employer and employee intended the employment relationship to be a short-term one, terminable at any time by either party. In this respect, employment-at-will can be contrasted with a contract for a fixed term of employment, where, because of the agreement of the parties, it can be a breach of contract to terminate the employment before the expiration of the term. If it is to be analyzed as a default rule, then the starting point is to examine the respective rights of the employer and employee that will be gained, lost, or compromised by moving away from (or contracting out of) that rule. This naturally leads to the question of just what employment-at-will protections are. An alternative approach to understanding the meaning of employment in terms of default rules is to say that the choice of at-will term or fixed term of employment is itself an exercise of freedom of contract. This approach would require showing that there was some impediment or background factor which made it difficult for employers and employees to contract for short-term revocable employment, and that a change to less restrictive rules was the result of a conscious policy decision. An example of doing this type of analysis in another area of labor and employment law is the work in the US on right-to-work legislation. This showed that the implementation of laws protecting union security employment terms was the result of state action, so that a change to a less union-restrictive regime of employment terms required a repealing or invalidation of the laws. We can barely adopt the approach, but the previous study of default rules still serves as a useful foundation for understanding what employment-at-will protections are, even if the intention was not to move more towards such employment terms.
2. Protections for Employees
2.1 Right to terminate employment
2.2 Protection against wrongful termination
2.3 Legal remedies for employees
3. Protections for Employers
3.1 Right to terminate employment
3.2 Protection against employee misconduct
3.3 Flexibility in managing workforce
4. State Modifications to Employment-at-will
4.1 State X’s modifications
4.1.1 Overview of State X’s modifications
4.1.2 Specific changes to employment-at-will
4.2 Evaluation of State X’s modifications
4.2.1 Agreement with State X’s modifications
4.2.2 Disagreement with State X’s modifications
5. Conclusion

Enhancing Medication Adherence Through Technology-Assisted Therapy Drug Monitoring

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1. Introduction
Now there are so many emerging technologies that can help therapy, and one of them is a mobile app. A mobile app has very broad access and is suitable for use in reminder and monitoring systems. It can be an alternative to the reminder systems that have been tried using short message service. This mobile app can provide added value in a reminder system because it can have a direct connection to monitoring. Furthermore, this app might facilitate more patients with a variety of features, for example, a simple reminder with a calendar display, education using video, and a chat with medical personnel.
Enhancing adherence to medication can be done in many ways. The previous meta-analysis showed that adherence could improve significantly using reminding systems. The reminder systems themselves can be tailored to the patient’s problem, for example, reminders for patients who are forgetful or education for patients who do not take the meds due to their beliefs. Although reminding systems have proved to be effective at improving adherence, there was not one patient who did not go back to non-adherence. Patients stop taking their meds because they feel no benefit or the meds cause adverse effects. To detect this, a monitoring system is needed. The monitoring can detect whether a patient is still taking their meds and what the outcome of the meds is. This information can be used as feedback to the patient because the patient is still not aware that what they are feeling now is the result of discontinuation of meds. Detection of the outcome of meds is used as a consideration for doctors whether to adjust or change the therapy that has been done. Taking it a step further, the result of monitoring can also be used as evidence for research on the meds. Although so promising, there was not one study that reported using monitoring systems for meds. This drug monitoring can be a bridge to the continuation of the use of reminding systems.
Adherence to medication is so essential that without it, it can cause serious health problems, even death. There are so many clinical studies that have observed the problem of low adherence to medication and have tried to explain it. One of the studies showed that non-adherence to meds reaches 4% – 23% in developed countries, 2% – 59% in developing countries, and 1% – 50% in developed countries. Another study reviewed adherence to meds in long-term therapy in more detail and concluded that most of the patients stopped taking their meds when the meds showed no benefit for them or when the meds caused adverse effects. Low adherence to medication happens not only in developing countries but also in developed countries with different kinds of health problems and meds. This leads to the necessity of finding any method to improve adherence to medication.
1.1. Background
Improved adherence to medication could save many lives and reduce health care costs. Reasons given for poor adherence are varied. They include patient beliefs about their illness and medication (e.g. what it is, its cause, expected duration and perceived severity), characteristics of the treatment regimen (e.g. complexity, duration and side effects) and also importantly, characteristics of the patient. This is a substantial task for the healthcare professional to identify and try to change in order to improve adherence. High rates of poor adherence led to recommendations to assess patient adherence on each visit. However, patients have been shown to overestimate their adherence and many physicians do not accurately assess their patient’s adherence [4]. A study of orthopaedic outpatients found a 40% discrepancy between physician and patient reports of recommended treatment regimens [5]. A more accurate and convenient method of monitoring patient adherence is needed.
The World Health Organisation recognises that improving adherence to medication is crucial to improving health outcomes. Patients with chronic conditions often do not adhere to their medication regimens. A review of 569 studies examining adherence to long-term medication regimens found that on average 24% of doses were not taken; adherence was 75%; and half of the patients stopped their medication within a year [2]. Poor adherence is a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality as well as a reduced quality of life. A study of 96,000 hypertensive patients found that a 20% decrease in adherence was associated with a 14% increase in the risk of death or MI [3]. It is estimated that increasing adherence to medication regimens would have a greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments.
1.2. Purpose
The purpose of this essay is to examine the effect of enhanced therapy and drug monitoring on medication adherence. It will also discuss the use of technology in aiding medication adherence. The focus is on the improvements in adherence resulting from the use of a combined intervention of a modified directly observed therapy (MDOT) monitoring system in conjunction with home-based video in asthmatic children and their caregivers. This intervention has not been discussed in prior studies and the early evidence of its efficacy is encouraging. Asthma is chosen as the model disease because of its prevalence, high rate of hospitalization, and necessity for preventative therapy. With the high usage of inhaled corticosteroids and their known side effects, adherence must make adherence a primary concern in the care of pediatric asthma. This essay will use this ongoing study as a reference in the relationship between adherence and clinical outcome. The evidence from other studies on the effects of adherence on clinical outcome will be cited to show the importance of adherence in the care of chronic illness. Technology has been widely used to monitor adherence, and this essay will examine its effect in comparison to traditional methods of adherence monitoring. This essay will also explore possible future advances in medical adherence and how they may affect clinical outcomes in chronic illness.
1.3. Scope
The scope of this essay is to determine if medication adherence among adults 18-64 years of age with a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be increased through the use of technology-assisted therapy drug monitoring and to identify barriers to use of the technology. Medications to treat chronic conditions have often proven to be effective; however, only if taken as prescribed. Among individuals with schizophrenia, nonadherence to antipsychotic medications can range from 40-89% and tends to be highest during the first few months after initial prescription. Nonadherence with antipsychotic regimens can result in a higher risk of relapse, rehospitalization, and suicide-related events and is also associated with higher total costs of care. Types of adherence measurement in the research included: pill count, self-report, clinician rating, monitoring of appointments, and biochemical measures. The most often used approach to measure medication adherence is a patient self report which tends to overestimate adherence levels. Due to limitations of research designs and cultural differences in validity of adherence measures, it is suggested that multiple measures should be used in adherence research. An interactive Voice Response System was found to be effective in specifically identifying nonadherent individuals and inquiring about their reasons for nonadherence. However, this method does not assess actual medication taking, relies on a landline telephone, and is no longer commonly used. Currently the most effective way to monitor medication adherence is using electronic methods. Assessment of electronic monitoring adherence interventions found a significant but small effect in improving adherence when compared to control groups (OR=1.50, 95% CI 1.19-1.90). Due to the findings of this meta-analysis, our research question, was there a change in adherence to antipsychotic medications among adults with schizophrenia after the use of technology-assisted therapy drug monitoring, is relevant in the determination of more effective methods for improving medication adherence.
2. Importance of Medication Adherence
2.1. Impact on Patient Outcomes
2.2. Economic Implications
2.3. Challenges in Medication Adherence
3. Technology-Assisted Therapy
3.1. Definition and Overview
3.2. Types of Technology-Assisted Therapy
3.2.1. Mobile Applications
3.2.2. Smart Pill Dispensers
3.2.3. Electronic Monitoring Devices
4. Drug Monitoring in Medication Adherence
4.1. Role of Drug Monitoring
4.2. Methods of Drug Monitoring
4.2.1. Urine Drug Testing
4.2.2. Blood Testing
4.2.3. Saliva Testing
5. Benefits of Technology-Assisted Drug Monitoring
5.1. Real-Time Data Collection
5.2. Improved Accuracy and Compliance
5.3. Enhanced Patient Engagement
6. Challenges and Limitations
6.1. Privacy and Security Concerns
6.2. Technological Barriers
6.3. Patient Acceptance and Adoption
7. Case Studies
7.1. Case Study 1: Implementation of Mobile Applications
7.2. Case Study 2: Smart Pill Dispenser Pilot Program
7.3. Case Study 3: Electronic Monitoring Device in Clinical Trials
8. Future Directions and Innovations
8.1. Artificial Intelligence in Medication Adherence
8.2. Wearable Technology for Drug Monitoring
8.3. Integration with Electronic Health Records

Ethical and Legal Challenges in the Collection, Management, and Use of Information and Technologies

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Questions
1)  From your perspective what are the major ethical and legal challenges and risks for abuse that we must keep top of mind in the collection, management, and use of information and technologies overall—and in the public arena specifically? 
2)  Suggest guidelines to help prevent unethical uses of data in general and especially in the public sector.

Answer
1. Ethical Challenges
The rapid development of information technology has led to situations of increased uncertainty and the definition on how existing rights apply to new technologies. This has led to a consideration of an information society framework for the protection of the individual in regards to privacy, data security, accountability, and the right to access on the occasion of the widespread collection and identification of personal information.
Privacy is a right that individuals and groups can have control over the extent, timing and circumstances of sharing themselves with others. The freedom from unreasonable and unwarranted intrusion into our private lives is now recognized as a fundamental human right. Data security is the right of individuals and organizations to be assured that their data and the systems processing it are secure and not accessible to third parties. Measures used to ensure data security include confidentiality (limiting access to information), integrity (maintenance of accuracy and consistency of data over its life), authenticity, and privacy.
Concerns about ethical implications of information and technology are spread out within this field, but the main concerns are concentrated around issues regarding individual rights, fairness, accountability, and the impact on society. What information should a person or an organization have the right to keep to themselves? What data about others should they be required to share? What is an equitable distribution of resources and access? How can the rights and interests of various individuals and stakeholder groups be safeguarded? And just who is being well served by information technology?
1.1. Privacy concerns
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal information selectively. The essay’s focus on privacy centers on the increasing move by governments and business organizations to use computers to store data about individuals. The computer has led to a growing move towards the use of personal data as computers are very effective record keepers. Using the Internet, vast amounts of personal data can be retrieved and even more personal data can be gleaned, often without the knowledge of the person concerned. This often results in the inference of information about an individual who would prefer to remain anonymous. The storing and accessing of personal data can result in damaging disclosures about an individual. There are numerous ways in which privacy stands to be eroded in the information age. For instance, electronic surveillance using powerful surveillance technologies has great potential for invasions of privacy. Data matching is a technique used to compare two sets of data, such as the list of names on a payroll and the list of names receiving welfare benefits, in order to determine if there is any correlation between the two. If data is stored on an individual in both these sets of data, it is highly likely that there will be a disclosure of personal information in such a scenario. Though data matching can be a useful tool, it can threaten privacy and in some cases can lead to discrimination. National ID cards can also have a dramatic impact on privacy with centralized databases to store personal information. An ID card often becomes a requirement to access services and without it, an individual may be denied access to services to prevent the use of someone else’s card. This may create a situation of ID apartheid for the disadvantaged who are less likely to retain possession of a card. With technology constantly advancing, there are now ID cards being developed with biometric information such as facial details and fingerprints. These details, which are unique to each individual, bring about new privacy issues. High-quality photographic and digital imaging technologies allow for the covert and high-quality capture of someone else’s biometric details, and if this information is ever captured and stored about a person who is unaware, there has been a serious privacy violation.
1.2. Data security risks
Data is a representation of the world. In some cases it is used to model complex systems or to assist in decision making. For example, climate data is used to model future climate states. Market trends are used to make financial predictions. In these cases it is often difficult to verify the data thoroughly and in general, there are many different possible uses of data. Often individual interpretations of data may vary from the actual context or intent of the data. In the case of climate models, it may be impossible to foresee whether or not an interpretation of model output is correct given that climate states are inherently unpredictable and the model itself could contain errors. High impact decisions can be made on uncertain data that can lead to the perpetuation of errors and biases. This is known as methodological bias. In other cases, the data itself may carry biases or other undesirable assumptions. An example would be the use of race as an identifier in medical decision making. Failing to account for social constructs of race and genetic variation can lead to incorrect inferences from the data and ultimately, race may become a deciding factor in choices of treatment. These cases show a variety of ways in which data and its use can lead to biased outcomes. Often the bias is unintended and is usually a result of the neglect of ethical considerations in the early stages of information system design. Owing to this, bias is an issue that overlaps with many other ethical challenges of information and technology.
Another ethical challenge involves data security. In a digital society, the collection, flow, and processing of information is done electronically. This may result in theft, unauthorized access, loss of information, and the like [23]. The security and integrity of data is essential to any information system. For example, electronic health records are becoming a standard feature of medical practices; the information in these records must remain confidential and available only to those with authorized access. Despite this, electronic health records are subject to hacking and other forms of information loss. Data breaches can result in severe consequences for affected individuals and organizations. Loss of personal information can result in identity theft or in severe cases, it may pose as a threat to personal and public safety. The loss of financial information can have harmful effects on an organization’s clients and result in an organization’s loss of revenue. Steps must be taken to ensure that the privacy and integrity of data is maintained. This means that information systems must be resistant to various forms of threat, quick to recover from data loss, and must provide fail-safes for information in transit. Making systems “highly secure” in this context is easier said than done and is not always cost effective or convenient. This is a risk-benefit issue that will be a recurring theme in dealing with ethical challenges of information and technology.
1.3. Unintended bias in algorithms
Mentions about solving the problem of bias in algorithms through ethical behavior might seem naive in the light of quick movements in the nature of production and use of algorithms. Efforts to increase ethical behavior in algorithm design may not solve the more fundamental problem of how to specify what we want, to a system, without having undesirable effects in the real world. This is a problem that is only going to get more acute. As the parts of our lives that we hand over to data analysis increase, the systems being used are going to come to be seen as controlling the opportunities open to people. A famous example, from the early days of web advertising, is that of an optician who discovered that his ads were not being shown to people in high income neighborhoods, because the analysis of who would be willing to spend money on glasses had incorrectly identified the target group. At the time all this meant was that the optician got low rates for ad space, but in general such behavior can have damaging effects and can be hard to identify, especially as it might not be clear to human decision makers what the system is doing. An improperly specified algorithm for sorting CVs according to quality destroyed prospects for minority job applicants in the US by generalizing from the fact that some of the worst CVs were from minority graduates. In other cases, a system can potentiate existing social biases by affecting decisions that are based on its predictions, as is feared in criminal sentencing if judges start to use the output of risk assessment algorithms.
1.4. Potential for discrimination
The development of data science technology for the supporting of decision making, automatically conducted by sophisticated learning software called algorithm, should bring benefits to individuals. In addition, with the employment of data science in numerous fields now will give assessment and decision for individual’s better than hiring explicit human that may involve personal feeling of the assessor. Despite that, algorithm may yield certain decisions that are merely based on sensitive attributes, not because of the relevance with a person’s ability, skill, or other legitimate reasons. Machine learning algorithm is designed to learn from data and optimize an objective function to find a correct answer, thus the relation between an input (data regarding an individual) into an output (assessment or decision) sometimes it’s difficult to be detected and it’s called as indirect discrimination. This is a new problem in comparison to the pre-data science discrimination such as in employment opportunity, housing, provision of goods or services, and education, thus far legislation in United States, Canada and European Union do not directly proscribe indirect discrimination. Simulation study by Mitchell and Brynjolfsson (2019) reveals that altering the vocabulary in job ad postings can influence the click rates of majority group and minority group of race, where the part of minority group can be less interested in the job advertisement. This is an utilization of artificial intelligence to assess potential employees, with machine learning algorithm learning from the ad postings to the behavioral data of potential employees, it’s very likely the algorithm will replicate the ad employer’s message to the assessment result on minority group in hope to find individuals possessed the attributes shown in active ad respondents, which in reality it’s a mind conditioning in order to get job at a disadvantages price. This may eventually cause litigation to the employer if the ad respondents succeed to prove the causation of an adverse action. Another example is a case of race and ethnicity prediction using facial recognition. Although this research aims to help minority group in preventing discrimination and improving health care and social services quality, a tool that simply based on prediction without prevention to avoid creating biased results still has controversial ethical issues. High rate of predictive error can cause classification into the wrong group, and it’s not impossible the researcher release this tool first to the small number of people without noticing the tool’s effectiveness to the actual benefit. Nevertheless, it’s a decline proposal from a vendor who develops a data science system to equalize the prediction error rate with a prevailing rate. This means the system only works to a case with a crime prevalence at certain race, but this raises the question does minority group will forever have a burden for crime prevalence indication and is it true that it will benefit them.
1.5. Lack of transparency in data practices
Whether the data is being shared or analyzed, there is often a lack of clarity or oversight of the data handling and processing chain. Ultimately, many organizations want to keep their data practices undisclosed to gain a competitive advantage, or in some cases, to prevent the implementation of effective public scrutiny or consumer resistance. But often the practice is ambiguous even to those directly involved. Data is a valuable asset and its value is increased when it is shared, however data sharing practices can result in a loss of control over data once it has been released. For example, in the NHS IT outsourcing deals of the early 2000s, it was identified that the contract specifics had been unclear and this had allowed for widespread data sharing and commingling between companies and healthcare organizations, showing that even in a highly regulated industry, lack of clarity in data practices can result in a concession of data control. This loss of control can compromise the individual’s privacy and rights regarding the data in question. Often it is unclear what the data will be used for and whether there is potential for a change of data ownership that might result in future usage that is unrelated to the initial instance of data collection. In contrast to this, some instances of lack of transparency are less a result of unclear intentions and more to do with insufficient technological development in methods for data tracking and monitoring. With the increase in complexity of data storage structures and the rise of distributed systems, it is not always easy for an organization to map the journey of its own data and ensure that it does not lose oversight of its location and usage. While this benefits the data in question as it essentially becomes ‘lost’, this can be a disadvantage for the organization or individual who owns the data, as they may be unaware of any breaches of data protection legislations and their data rights.
2. Legal Challenges
2.1. Compliance with data protection laws
2.2. Intellectual property rights
2.3. Jurisdictional issues
2.4. Liability for data breaches
2.5. Legal implications of data misuse
3. Risks for Abuse in the Public Arena
3.1. Manipulation of public opinion
3.2. Surveillance and invasion of privacy
3.3. Targeted advertising and marketing
3.4. Exploitation of personal information
3.5. Cyberbullying and online harassment
4. Guidelines for Preventing Unethical Uses of Data
4.1. Clear data governance policies
4.2. Informed consent and opt-out options
4.3. Regular data audits and risk assessments
4.4. Ethical training and awareness programs
4.5. Collaboration with regulatory bodies
5. Guidelines for Preventing Unethical Uses of Data in the Public Sector
5.1. Transparent data collection and use practices
5.2. Strict adherence to data protection laws
5.3. Independent oversight and accountability mechanisms
5.4. Safeguards against data breaches and leaks
5.5. Public engagement and participation in decision-making processes

Evaluation Plan for HIT System Implementations

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question
To prepare:
Review the case study you chose for your evaluation plan. Consider what viewpoint and research goal you would use to guide your evaluation plan. Although many potential research goals or viewpoints could be selected for your case study, you are only required to choose one goal and one viewpoint.
Research three published evaluations that have been conducted on HIT system implementations similar to the case study you selected.
Answer
1. Introduction
This evaluation plan provides all the details that will show the need and importance of health information technology system in the health industry. This plan will guide the implementation process and support the information system to provide a good service in managing the patient records. This plan will guide the user through the system step by step to achieve the maximum potential of managing patient records by using health information technology. This plan will evaluate the user and system interaction. This exam is going to make sure the health information technology system would be capable of supporting the target users, which are physicians. This exam will also evaluate the data that he wants input and output. This method is related to a before and after study using the same user applying cross-over implementation. Data for system evaluation is subjective and objective to evaluate the ease of use, usefulness, user intention, productivity, and quality of work life expectancy influences on the technology, task, and external variables, perceived mismatches, and completion success. This evaluation would determine the efficiency and effectiveness of managing patient records using health information technology system (Hammill, Ning, Scott; 2000).
1.1 Purpose of the Evaluation Plan
The findings from this evaluation will be used to improve the new EHR system and to prevent any potentially harmful effects with future system changes at this institution or at other healthcare organizations.
The overall goal of the evaluation process is to identify any positive or negative effects associated with the new EHR system and to make recommendations that will enhance its effects on quality and safety. More specifically, we will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to: – Assess the effects of the new system on various measures of healthcare quality and safety – Identify important or unintended changes in work processes by those who use the system – Pinpoint system design and implementation issues that are associated with either positive or negative outcomes – Enhance the understanding of how and why the new system was effective in certain areas and detrimental in others.
The purpose of the evaluation plan is intended to outline the rationale for evaluating the HIT system implementation at a large academic medical center on the east coast. The primary goal of this project is to implement a comprehensive inpatient electronic health record system to replace existing paper and electronic documentation. As with the implementation of any new system, it is important to carefully evaluate the process to ensure that the goals of the organization are being met and to identify any unexpected consequences associated with the new system. This project will use a comprehensive evaluation strategy to assess the impact of the new system on healthcare quality and patient safety. This plan is intended to guide the evaluation process and to ensure that the findings are effectively translated into practice. Given that this is a 5-7 year project with a system that is continually evolving, this evaluation plan will focus primarily on the initial implementation of the inpatient EHR system and has flexibility to adjust the evaluation focus in subsequent years.
1.2 Scope of the Evaluation Plan
Using the AHRQ framework for the National Resource Center of Health Information Technology as a guide, this plan will detail the impact of health information technology (HIT) on a microsystem level. Each process that is being implemented or evaluated will be given an overall assessment to determine a qualitative and quantitative result. This will give an overall assessment to determine if the process is an improvement compared to the previous method. The various permutations can be seen in a fishbone diagram built around the central idea that HIT will improve patient safety and quality at the facility. A time series analysis of specific indicators such as mortality rates, medication errors, turnaround time, and nursing sensitive indicators will be used to provide an overall impact in the microsystem.
The scope of this evaluation plan is to detail various processes that are being implemented in patient information management and assess the utilization of the health information exchange. This evaluation plan will take an in-depth look at the before and after results of a new medication administration system, specifically bar coding. The plan will then shift its focus to assessing the overall impact on the healthcare facility.
1.3 Background of the Case Study
Baylor’s implementation of the Epic Systems HIT took place in several stages from 2003 to 2008. EHR was first activated at pilot sites, then installed at all of the primary care clinics and associated ambulatory practices. These ambulatory systems were integrated with the in-patient EHR at two hospital sites. During this time period, several natural experiments occurred that provide an ideal environment for empirical evaluations of HIT: 1) a new EHR system was installed at one of the two hospital affiliates that had previously been sharing the same system as the other hospital (non-randomized comparative system); 2) within the same hospital, there was a temporary and non-randomized cessation of electronic lab ordering and results retrieval due to catastrophic IT failure; 3) electronic prescribing (e-prescribe) was federally mandated to be phased in between 2007 and 2009 which provided additional bonus payments and penalties for Medicare and Medicaid services.
2. Research Goal and Viewpoint Selection
2.1 Selection of a Research Goal
2.2 Selection of a Viewpoint
3. Published Evaluations on HIT System Implementations
3.1 Evaluation 1: [Title]
3.2 Evaluation 2: [Title]
3.3 Evaluation 3: [Title]
4. Comparison of Published Evaluations with the Case Study
4.1 Similarities in Evaluation Approaches
4.2 Differences in Evaluation Methodologies
5. Development of Evaluation Plan
5.1 Defining Evaluation Objectives
5.2 Identifying Evaluation Metrics
5.3 Determining Data Collection Methods
5.4 Establishing Evaluation Timeline
6. Implementation of Evaluation Plan
6.1 Recruitment of Participants
6.2 Data Collection Procedures
6.3 Data Analysis Techniques
7. Results and Findings
7.1 Presentation of Evaluation Results
7.2 Interpretation of Findings
8. Recommendations and Action Plan
8.1 Proposed Recommendations
8.2 Action Plan for Implementation
9. Conclusion
10. References

Factors to Consider When Starting up a Domestic Aviation Operation

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Question
factors to consider when starting up a domestic aviation operation
answer
1. Introduction
When starting up a domestic aviation operation/public transportation service, it is essential to consider all the factors that will affect the operation, whether large or small. This document focuses on the factors the typical air carrier should consider. It is common for one to only think about the certification process and rules and regulations that must be followed to start an air carrier, but these are not the only factors that need to be well understood. Factors concerning the markets to be served, the need for the service, the competitive environment, the economics of the new operation, and the type of operation to be conducted must all be considered. This document is designed to help the new operator understand all these factors and how they will affect the certification process and the operation in general. This document is not a standalone guide to certification or Part 135 operations. It’s simply a detailed explanation for what must be considered along the way. Because the certification process is so involved, many times the operator will lose sight of the operation in an effort to meet FAA requirements. This explains why the author chose to write this document with regards to factors an operator must consider in lieu of the certification process itself. Factors concerning the FAA requirements will sometimes be invoked to better understand how they will affect the given factor, but a detailed explanation on the FAA rules and regulations concerning a specific subject is outside the scope of this document.
1.1. Purpose of the Document
This document is intended for people contemplating starting up an aviation concern. This is a wide ranging audience and the document will not cover every eventuality. A person starting up an operation in a single building at a non-towered airport flying one aircraft needs a far less complex operation than a regional operator flying into a dozen cities. However, this document should provide a framework from which a project plan tailored to the specific operation can be constructed.
This document has been assembled in order to illustrate at a high level the process of starting up a new aviation concern. It is aimed at individuals who want to know what is involved in aviation operations but who do not necessarily have a background in aviation. This document addresses not only the aviation specific issues but also will touch on general business and project management principles.
1.2. Scope of the Document
The document is quite detailed and some aspects may not be relevant to all readers. It is structured in a manner that it can be readily determined what information is relevant and what can be overlooked. The document is broken down into specific aircraft operation phases, being pre-start up, start-up, setting up the initial operation, expansion of operation, and winding down an operation. Each phase identifies key objectives and possible issues that can occur. Readers can determine if the information is relevant to them based on the phases of their operation and how far they plan to take the aircraft operation. This is particularly relevant to operators working for AOCs where various job position changes can mean involvement in different phases of aircraft operation. Although it is recommended that all information is read at least once!
While it is obvious that an aviation operation needs an aircraft to fly, the first stage of planning could be the deciding factor as to why an operation is successful or not. Ambitious aviation operations have failed to get off the ground because of poor planning, a lack of clear objectives, no identified target market, insufficient resource analysis, and so it continues. Though it is preferable to enter the aviation industry with a business already established, these decisions are no less important for an individual purchasing an aircraft for private use. This document aims to cater for aviation operations looking to move into the aviation industry through to the established small aviation enterprise. The intention is to provide guidance on all the various phases of aircraft operation, identifying possible pitfalls and providing solutions.
1.3. Background Information
With an understanding of the costs, commitment, and competition involved, and armed with the right resources and information, starting an airline can be a viable and rewarding venture.
An SIA study has shown that it is very difficult to change a customer’s existing loyalty to an established carrier. This illustrates the high level of competition and threat of substitute products in the industry. Failing to consider some of these aspects can lead to a new airline’s quick demise. New airlines tend to do best where they can meet a demand that is not being fully satisfied by existing services. A market analysis will help to reveal this and will allow a new airline to evaluate where and how it can be competitive.
The aviation industry is known for having a few dominant players. This is due to the effectiveness of mergers and acquisitions. Even some of the smaller airlines are actually subsidiaries of the larger ones. This suggests that competition in the industry is fierce and likely to be directed towards a new entrant. New airlines often fail to fully understand direct and indirect competition. It is also important for these new airlines to understand the needs and limitations of their prospective customers. These are varied and are usually based upon cost, frequency, journey time, comfort, and access.
An aviation company operates aircraft to transport passengers and/or goods. This is the primary source of income for the airline. As one of the most complex and costly industries, it is to be expected that the number of airlines that start up and fail is relatively high. It is necessary to consider the idea of establishing an airline very carefully and to be aware of the numerous costs and potential pitfalls that may be encountered.
2. Legal and Regulatory Factors
2.1. Compliance with Aviation Regulations
2.2. Licensing and Permits
2.3. Insurance Requirements
3. Financial Considerations
3.1. Startup Costs
3.2. Funding Sources
3.3. Revenue Generation
4. Market Analysis
4.1. Target Market Identification
4.2. Competitor Analysis
4.3. Demand Forecasting
5. Operational Factors
5.1. Fleet Selection and Acquisition
5.2. Staffing and Training Requirements
5.3. Maintenance and Safety Procedures
6. Infrastructure and Facilities
6.1. Airport Selection and Negotiations
6.2. Hangar or Terminal Facilities
6.3. Ground Support Equipment
7. Marketing and Branding
7.1. Brand Identity Development
7.2. Advertising and Promotional Strategies
7.3. Customer Relationship Management
8. Technology and Systems
8.1. Aviation Management Software
8.2. Reservation and Ticketing Systems
8.3. Communication and Navigation Equipment
9. Risk Management
9.1. Safety and Security Measures
9.2. Emergency Response Planning
9.3. Contingency Plans
10. Conclusion
10.1. Summary of Key Considerations
10.2. Next Steps

Cognitive Theorists’ Approach to Depression and Suicidal Ideation

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Question
Discuss how cognitive theorists (Kelly, Beck, and Ellis) might address a client with depression and suicidal ideation. After reviewing cognitive therapies in your textbook, what interventions might you suggest. Explain and justify your response.
2. In what ways can spirituality or religious beliefs, or lack of, influence an individual’s personal decision-making process, and how might this impact the choices they make in various areas of their life, such as relationships, career, and personal goals?

Answer
1. Introduction
The introduction provided by David Lester is brief but straight to the point and covers all necessary areas. Lester starts by discussing the severity of the healthcare issue that is depression and quotes a Spanish saying “There is no greater pain than being blind in Granada” which he changes to “There is no greater pain than depression.” A short account of the symptoms and severity of depression is discussed, and then Lester moves onto the topic of suicide. Suicide is a sensitive topic but a necessary one in the field of psychology and healthcare. People relate great sadness and negativity to suicide as something people feel is “the easy way out,” but as Lester points out, “The act of suicide is one of shooting oneself in the head while one in dead aim at one’s foot,” essentially stating that people are self-destructive rather than simply destructive of life, and suicide is the ultimate reflection of this. This puts the severity of depression into an easily understandable perspective. Lester concludes his introduction with an outline of the theoretical development of cognitive theory and finishes with a statement of what he will discuss in this book. This introduction is suitable with no major flaws.
Cognitive Theory of Depression and Suicidal Behaviour by David Lester opens up with a clear and to the point introduction that states the implications of cognitive theories and their strategic development. Tony Beck’s Cognitive Theory and Therapy of Anxiety and Depression also opens with an explicit introduction about the extent of the problem of depression and its link with suicide. In this essay, I will give an overview of these introductions and compare them to my own introduction to the topic of cognitive theories and depression, specifically outlining what I have done differently and the reasons for this.
1.1. Overview of cognitive theorists
As cognitive theory offers an explanation of the onset and maintenance of depression, theories are best researched using causally related treatment studies. i.e. the most convincing tests of a theory come from studies where the cause of a particular disorder or disorder symptoms is manipulated and a change in the dependent variable is observed. Beck has described depression as a disorder of negative thinking, and there is much empirical evidence showing that when depressed people make inferences about self, world, and future they characteristically do so in a negative way, and the same is true for their interpretations of ongoing experience. Following on from this, there is now a large body of research showing that depression is associated with memory biases for mood congruent material and the use of cognitive avoidance strategies. This is only a very general overview of the research within depression, suffice to say Beck’s model has enjoyed a great deal of empirical support and as such it has been adapted and extended so that it can offer a cognitive theory of depression in all its richness and diversity. This is important as according to Beck, a good theory of depression should be able to explain how a single etiological mechanism can cause a disorder with such a wide range of different symptoms.
Research within the field of cognitive psychopathology has now been extended to the field of clinical psychology and there have been a large number of studies of depression and more recently studies of other psychological disorders. Major Depressive Disorder, hereafter referred to as depression, is diagnosed according to the standards provided in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders edited by the American Psychiatric Association. Symptoms of depression include loss of interest or pleasure, significant change in weight or appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation or retardation, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, and impaired concentration or indecisiveness. In its severe form, depression is a highly debilitating, long-lasting, and pervasive condition.
Cognitive theory is a theoretical model of mental disorder that postulates that a relatively small number of recurrent cognitive processes are implicated in the various forms of psychopathology. Of these, cognitions that negatively bias the interpretation of ongoing experience or otherwise inferred meaning of an event or stimulus are seen as particularly important. Beck’s (1967) influential model is exemplary. This model holds that depressive symptoms are caused by the latent cognitive structures within the mind. When these cognitive structures take on a negative schema, they can activate a negative self-referent cognitive process when the person is faced with a situation that resembles a particular schema. This can lead to the production of a series of negatively biased automatic thoughts. It is these thoughts that cause the overt psychological and behavioral symptoms of depression. Following on from this, negative automatic thoughts are thought to arise from underlying cognitive errors.
1.2. Importance of addressing depression and suicidal ideation
Depression is a serious and debilitating illness, which affects mental, emotional, and physical health of an individual. It is often reflected in low mood, feeling of sadness, and aversion to activity. Depression increases cognitive vulnerability to negative schema about self, world, and future. A recent research (NIMH, 1999) shows that depression is the top contributor for the suicide and suicide rate is higher in the elderly person, who have medical illnesses, college educated and who live alone, suicide risk is always higher in presence of the symptoms of hopelessness. About 60-70% of people who committed suicide suffer with major depression or bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder and people in this group are the most treatable great proportion of suicide can be averted by the effective treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses. Suicidal persons directly express their negative self-schema and hopelessness in a way they talk about their selves and future, and their feeling towards leaving and escaping from an intolerable situation reflect the state of cognitive deconstruction which increasingly becomes activated when hopelessness and negative schema intensifies and diversifies. As Brown and others have suggested, suicidal act is the final common pathway of a broad range of biological and psychiatric states said to increase the risk of such behavior, it can be the consequence of impulsive, aggressive act or carefully planned and executed by the individual who would otherwise make considered rational decision. Cognitive theory of suicide states that suicidal intent is correlated with strong feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, and absence of alternative way of solving the problems, when the hopelessness and helplessness is too severe then the individual will become focused on taking his own life.
2. Cognitive Theories and Depression
2.1. Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
2.1.1. Challenging irrational beliefs
2.1.2. Identifying and disputing negative thoughts
2.1.3. Developing rational alternatives
2.2. Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy (CT)
2.2.1. Recognizing and restructuring negative automatic thoughts
2.2.2. Examining cognitive distortions
2.2.3. Behavioral activation techniques
2.3. George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory
2.3.1. Identifying and modifying negative constructs
2.3.2. Constructive alternativism
2.3.3. Role of core beliefs in depression
3. Interventions for Depression and Suicidal Ideation
3.1. Psychoeducation on cognitive distortions
3.1.1. Teaching clients about common cognitive distortions
3.1.2. Providing examples and exercises for recognition
3.2. Cognitive restructuring techniques
3.2.1. Guided thought records
3.2.2. Socratic questioning
3.2.3. Cognitive reframing
3.3. Behavioral activation strategies
3.3.1. Setting achievable goals
3.3.2. Encouraging pleasurable activities
3.3.3. Monitoring and challenging negative behaviors
4. Conclusion
4.1. Summary of cognitive theorists’ approach
4.2. Importance of addressing depression and suicidal ideation
5. References

College Teacher Burn-out and Strategies for Alleviation

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Questions
Required: This PowerPoint must include the meaning of College Teacher burn-out and the causes? What are some fun things College teachers can do to alleviate teacher burn out?  
Submission: 5 PowerPoint slides, APA format, must include colorful pictures, laughter, and 1-2 fun activities for teachers. 
Answer
1. Introduction
At a time when American higher education is under increased scrutiny from the general public, governing boards, and government officials, there is a documented increase in job-related stress for faculty and administrators. This stress, if not managed effectively, can lead to burnout and a variety of negative consequences for individuals and their institutions. It affects the quality of teaching, student-teacher interaction, and the climate of learning and leadership in postsecondary institutions. Although faculty at all types of institutions are experiencing increased levels of stress, research suggests that those at two-year colleges and regional comprehensive universities are especially prone to burnout (Bryson, 2013). This may be related to the fact that postsecondary professionals at institutions that serve as the primary entry point to higher education for underprepared and disadvantaged students face an environment that is inherently stressful. The same can be said for teaching and student affairs faculty at institutions that serve minority and underrepresented groups.
This essay is designed to explore and clarify the new phenomenon of faculty syndrome and its effects; identify the factors that contribute to college teacher burnout; heighten awareness about the importance of addressing this problem and suggest strategies for individuals and institutions to cope with and alleviate burnout. This section provides an overview of the nature and extent of faculty burnout and the consequences for the individuals affected, students and institutions. Subsequent sections identify the causes of burnout; discuss the various ways in which individuals respond to and cope with stressful work situations, and suggest strategies for individuals and colleges to reduce job-related stress and prevent burnout. Later sections will address the role of academic leaders and administrators in dealing with faculty burnout. The essay closes with an annotated bibliography of books and articles that will provide readers with additional resources to help them understand, recognize and cope with faculty burnout.
1.1 Definition of College Teacher Burn-out
In order to consider college teachers’ burnout and strategies for alleviation, it is firstly necessary to understand the phenomena being addressed. ‘Burnout’ is a state of chronic physical and emotional depletion comprising lowered vitality, depression, and a cynical, negative attitude towards oneself and others. There are three key words here – ‘state’, ‘chronic’ and ‘depletion’. It is a psychological concept referring to a person’s reaction to chronic interpersonal stress, and this reaction is defined by the three descriptors above. It is a gradual process, building up over time, with the person not realizing what is happening until they reach complete exhaustion. It is this chronic and gradual process of depletion which marks it different from other stress conditions. The depletion represents a state of having lost all resources, and the person can see no end to their feelings and has nothing left to give. The consequences of this are negative changes in the person’s attitude and behavior, and this may be noticed by others around them. Burnout is not a mental illness, as the symptoms can be seen as the body’s adaptive response to a stressful work situation. However, it can have serious effects on a person’s mental and physical health, and it is not something that will go away of its own accord.
1.2 Importance of Addressing Teacher Burn-out
From a teacher’s perspective, prevention and early intervention are the key to promoting teacher well-being and effective practice. The nine symptoms of burnout are fairly predictable and have been shown to unfold in a consistent sequence. The sequence begins with the teacher’s characteristic enthusiasm for the job. When this enthusiasm is channeled into an impossibly high set of expectations for self and students, the teacher may become frustrated that students do not appreciate all the effort put into class preparations. This frustration leads to disillusionment regarding teaching and a very strong desire to be doing anything other than teaching. As the teacher begins to distance him/herself from the students emotionally, a sense of impending failure can lead to guilt and anxiety. This negative self-perception and sense of failure is inevitably confided to close others who may try to reduce the teacher’s feeling of failure by giving advice on how to teach better. This advice is usually interpreted by the teacher as one more indication that others are not satisfied with his/her performance. This can lead to alienation from colleagues and further withdrawal from the job. Any intervention in this downward spiral must be multifaceted and aimed at increasing teacher skills and self-efficacy while decreasing the classroom demands that incited the initial enthusiasm to unrealistic levels.
Addressing college teacher burnout is important in making all the stakeholders aware of the disease that has been eating up the teachers from inside and reflects on all their actions. This disease has a severe impact on the life of the teacher, students, and the college management. It has been said that teaching is the noblest of all professions, but the disease has made it one of the most abusive and tiring work. The disease starts eating into the teacher very slowly and affects all areas of his/her life, be it personal or professional. It is also said that the teacher is vital for students’ learning. It is not only the method, material, and students’ interest that matter, but the motivation from the teacher plays a large role in student learning.
2. Causes of College Teacher Burn-out
2.1 Workload and Time Management
2.2 Lack of Support and Resources
2.3 Emotional and Mental Exhaustion
3. Strategies for Alleviating Teacher Burn-out
3.1 Prioritizing Self-Care
3.2 Establishing Work-Life Balance
3.3 Seeking Professional Development Opportunities
3.4 Building Supportive Relationships
3.5 Incorporating Mindfulness and Stress-Relief Techniques
4. Fun Activities for College Teachers
4.1 Engaging in Hobbies and Interests
4.2 Participating in Social Events and Gatherings
4.3 Exploring Nature and Outdoor Recreation
4.4 Traveling and Exploring New Places
4.5 Trying New Sports or Fitness Activities
5. Conclusion

Comparing Walmart Financial Statements under IFRS and GAAP

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Question
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Topic 6 International Accounting Standards in Appendix A in the course textbook, Using Financial Accounting. Next, review the Walmart Case Study.
Compare and contrast the differences in the Walmart financial statements if the company were to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rather than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Be sure to discuss specific accounting differences between the two.
Debate the pros and cons this would create for Walmart. Be sure to be specific and support any opinions.
Describe any legal or ethical challenges this convergence may create using the country you selected in prior courses.

Answer
1. Introduction
Globalisation is happening in the world, and the movement toward IFRS might seem like a natural evolution of U.S. accounting standards. However, IFRS is more principle-based while U.S. GAAP and has developed rules over time. IFRS is also more detailed and precise than IAS. The movement of IFRS might sound good for the global economy, but people do not like changes. It is evident that the U.S. will resist IFRS convergence until it has seen that the development of IFRS is successful and will benefit the U.S. economy. Until full convergence, there will be a long period where both standards are used domestically and internationally (Mala, 2010). This issue is important because Walmart operates globally, and will also affect accounting students, since most accounting students study U.S. GAAP and IFRS is not a main course yet.
Walmart is a US public multinational corporation, which operates a chain of discount department stores and warehouse stores. Walmart was incorporated in 1969 and trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange. Walmart is the second largest public corporation according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2013, the world’s largest give store retailer with over 2 million employees worldwide, and is the biggest private employer in the world. Walmart is a family-owned business and is the biggest grocery retailer in the United States. It has stores in more than 50 countries under 69 different banner names (Farfan, 2012).
1.1. Background information
After the accounting scandals in the early 2000s, the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board have attempted to work towards a unified set of accounting standards between the IAS/IFRS and the US GAAP. It is believed that one set of accounting standards will provide a greater degree of transparency of a company’s position. Throughout this paper, the accounting policies of Walmart are reviewed and the effects of the IFRS convergence on these are highlighted. I’ll also take a look at their financial statements taking note of any defined effects through changes in accounting policy or errors with relation to the Restatements provided. Walmart has faced continual issues over the years in regards to producing reliable financial statements. Between misrepresented amounts to errors in classes of inventory, Walmart has undergone several restatements of their financial statements communicated the need for a change in accounting policies to better represent them accurately. It has taken Walmart several restatements to understand the effect of changes in inventory levels. With the mistakes made it is clear that another guideline and/or standard would have helped Walmart in understanding and representing the effects of changes in inventory with relation to LIFO liquidations. This can be clearly seen with the changes in inventory levels from 2009 to 2010. By moving their operation towards Canada from the US, Walmart showed a drastic reduction in levels of inventory by over $1 billion. This had no effect on cost of sales when represented, when in actuality it must have been assumed that all inventory under previous acquisition cost was sold in Canada.
1.2. Purpose of the comparison
The purpose of this comparison is to assess the financial statements under IFRS and U.S. GAAP to determine whether there are economic consequences from reporting to investors, creditors, or other stakeholders. A high quality financial reporting system can build a basis for a capital market in a country and attract international capital to flow into that country, which in turn has a significant impact on the economic growth in that country. A major development in the world of financial reporting is the convergence of IFRS and U.S. GAAP. In 2001, the IASB and FASB agreed to work together, in mutual respect and in the best interest of investors and others, as a way to bring the two sets of standards closer. In February 2006, the IASB and FASB set forth a plan for convergence where projects would be undertaken but a revised standard in order for IFRS and U.S. GAAP to align, and potentially result in elimination of difference between the two standards for particular issues. This plan included many phases and continual assessment and monitoring from both boards. Although this was the case, in 2012, the SEC made an announcement that it would no longer provide a statement that indicates whether or not IFRS would be incorporated into U.S. capital markets. This was due to a number of reasons that include separate discussions on future reporting standards for US domestic issuers and the oversight and infrastructure funding of IFRS. A decision has yet to be made, however, the standard setting environment continues to evolve along with potential global acceptance of IFRS. For these reasons, Walmart was chosen as a company to compare financial statements. With many countries still having their own, in some cases unique set of accounting standards, companies engaging in international business or investments are faced with having to convert their financial statements into various standards. This can be an extremely complex process, inhibiting comparison of financial statements and in some cases misinterpretation due to language barriers and lack of understanding of a particular standard. As of the company’s 2011 annual report, Walmart has retail outlets in 15 different countries, each faced with a separate local standard and the potential for varying global acceptance of IFRS. It would be in these companies’ best interests to follow the developments in the standards environment and prepare for the potential adoption of IFRS. For this reason, these comparisons may, in fact, provide an understanding of what future changes may affect the way in which Walmart reports its financial position and performance.
2. Overview of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
2.1. Explanation of IFRS
2.2. Key principles of IFRS
3. Overview of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
3.1. Explanation of GAAP
3.2. Key principles of GAAP
4. Comparison of Walmart Financial Statements under IFRS and GAAP
4.1. Income statement differences
4.1.1. Revenue recognition
4.1.2. Expense recognition
4.2. Balance sheet differences
4.2.1. Valuation of assets and liabilities
4.2.2. Treatment of intangible assets
4.3. Cash flow statement differences
4.3.1. Classification of cash flows
4.3.2. Treatment of interest and dividends
5. Pros of Walmart adopting IFRS
5.1. Enhanced comparability with global companies
5.2. Simplified financial reporting for multinational operations
5.3. Access to international capital markets
6. Cons of Walmart adopting IFRS
6.1. Costs of transitioning to IFRS
6.2. Potential loss of industry-specific guidance
6.3. Increased complexity in financial reporting
7. Legal challenges of convergence in the selected country
7.1. Impact on local laws and regulations
7.2. Compliance with international standards
7.3. Potential conflicts between IFRS and local laws

Concert Report: Instrument Era Genre Artists Composers and Personal Reflections

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Question
Write a 15 to 20-sentence report for the concert, focusing on the instrument, era, genre, artists, composers, and personal reflections.
Classic Rock:

Concert Details:
   – Instrument: Identify the primary instrument(s) featured in the concert.
   – Era: Determine the historical era or period the music represents.
   – Genre: Categorize the music into a specific genre (e.g., baroque, classical, jazz, pop, rock).
   – Artists: Note the names of performers, bands, or orchestras involved.
   – Composers: Identify the composers of the pieces performed.
Personal Reflections (20 sentences):
   – Initial Impressions: Describe your expectations before attending the concert.
   – Instrumental Mastery: Reflect on the technical skill of the performers and their mastery of the chosen instruments.
   – Emotional Impact: Discuss how the music made you feel emotionally. Did it evoke specific emotions or memories?
   – Historical Context: Explore any historical or cultural context relevant to the era or genre of the concert.
   – Favorite Moments: Highlight specific moments or pieces that stood out to you.

Answer
1. Instrument
The bassoon is one of the most unique and amusing looking instruments because of its long and thin shape. It may be played multiple ways, either being held horizontally or vertically, but there is no difference in sound or technique. It is a two-part instrument and is made of heavy wood. It’s probably the heaviest of all woodwind instruments. The bassoon is played with a double reed, so it is similar to the oboe but much more difficult to control. The double reed refers to two reeds tied together to form the instrument. This is supposedly a reference to a time when the bassoon was crafted from a single piece of wood and the player had to use their own double reed to make music. It has a wide range of sound and is used to play many different kinds of styles of music. Due to its complexity and difficulty, it has a very low chance of being played by a non-professional or a beginner musician. The instrument’s cost is average for an instrument, but it is still very expensive due to the maintenance of replacing and ordering reeds or any other replacement parts.
1.1. Key features of the instrument
The marimba is played with wooden, rubber, or yarn-wrapped mallets. The performer strikes the wooden keys, creating a bright, metallic sound that fades quickly. Other keyboard instruments (piano, celesta, harpsichord) share some similarities with the marimba, but none of these instruments’ mechanisms and materials produces the characteristically warm and percussive attack and sustain of the marimba. Keyboard percussion instruments are now more isolated in this category of sound generation. This idea is important to understand because it links the marimba to other keyboard percussion instruments, providing a future basis for marimba concerti and ensemble pieces. The marimba would not evolve into the exciting solo and ensemble instrument that it now is had its design and sound production not kept it largely isolated from the family of keyboard instruments.
1.2. Historical significance of the instrument
The historical significance of the harpsichord is mainly due to it being the main keyboard instrument in the Baroque period. It has been said that the sound of the harpsichord is the sound of the Baroque era. It evolved over a period of 150 years in response to changes in musical style and to the musical needs of composers. By the end of the Renaissance, the harpsichord had attained the shape in which it was to persist for about 200 years. Both France and Italy have played a large role in the history of the harpsichord. It is widely accepted that in the 15th century, the harpsichord had spread to many countries in Europe. Reaching a peak during the 17th century, especially in France, the harpsichord developed in terms of visual design, mechanical action, and sound quality. In France, two schools of construction exist: the Ruckers school and the Blanchet school. The Ruckers school produced intricate instruments featuring paintings or intricate inlay materials. However, such instruments may not play well from a musical perspective. Despite this intricacy, many Ruckers harpsichords were later converted into the plainer Blanchet design, demonstrating a musical emphasis during the later part of this period. In Italy, the harpsichord underwent mainly mechanical improvements. The most significant of the Italian builders were the Grimaldis, who developed an action which made it quick to play in contrast with the heavier sound of the French instrument. The harpsichord did not develop with the same success in England and Germany, both countries preferring the Clavichord and the Virginals. The harpsichord eventually became outdated in the late 18th century, being succeeded by the piano, although it has had a modern revival with interest in historically informed performance.
1.3. Notable performers of the instrument
Notable performers of the piano: It is far too difficult to encapsulate all of the world’s most famous pianists within one small list, given the monumental influence of the instrument. Many of the greatest composers themselves were pianists, so we have excluded them based on principal instrument to the composer’s title, i.e. F. Liszt would not be included as a pianist. We are left with no shortage of names no less. The Russian School of pianists has long been heralded as one of the most influential in history. From the incomparable audiences in artistry such as Sofronitsky and Richter, to the legendary teaching lineage from Goldenweiser to Neuhaus and Zak, pianists of Russian pedigree have wielded formidable prominence for close to a century. It is difficult to speak of great pianists without venerating Claudio Arrau, whose concert career spanned over eighty years. His recording of Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata is still considered one of the most distinguished ever captured. Other notable pianists relevant to particular aspects of Beethoven interpretation include D’Albert, notable for his role in the Austro-German tradition and Schnabel whose recordings are seen as essential in appreciating the composer.
2. Era
2.1. Overview of the era
2.2. Key characteristics of the era’s music
2.3. Influential composers of the era
3. Genre
3.1. Definition and characteristics of the genre
3.2. Evolution of the genre over time
3.3. Notable works within the genre
4. Artists
4.1. Biographies of the performing artists
4.2. Previous notable performances by the artists
4.3. Awards and recognition received by the artists
5. Composers
5.1. Background information on the composers
5.2. Major works composed by the composers
5.3. Influence of the composers on the music industry
6. Personal Reflections
6.1. Overall impression of the concert
6.2. Emotional impact of the music performed
6.3. Memorable moments or performances during the concert