Jim Crow Laws Free Essays

Segregation and disfranchisement laws were often supported, moreover, by brutal acts of ceremonial and ritualized mob vi olence (lynchings) against southern blacks. Indeed, from 1889 to 1930, over 3,700 men and women were reported lynched in the United States–most of whom were southern blacks. Hundreds of other lynchings and acts of mob terror aimed at brutalizing blacks occurred throughout the era but went unreported in the press. We will write a custom essay sample on Jim Crow Laws or any similar topic only for you Order Now Numerous race riots erupted in the Jim Crow era, usually in towns and cities and almost always in defense of segregation and white supremacy. These riots engulfed the nation from Wilmington, South Carolina, to Houston, Texas; from East St. Louis and Chicago to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the years from 1865 to 1955. The riots usually erupted in urban areas to which southern, rural blacks had recently migrated. In the single year of 1919, at least twenty-five incidents were recorded, with numerous deaths and hundreds of people injured. So bloody was this summer of that year that it is known as the Red Summer of 1919. The so-called Jim Crow segregation laws gained significant impetus from U. S. Supreme Court rulings in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The 1875 law stipulated: â€Å"That all persons †¦ shall be entitled to full and equal enjoyment of the ac Some historians believe that a Mr. Crow owned the slave who inspired Rice’s act–thus the reason for the Jim Crow term in the lyrics. In any case, Rice incorporated the skit into his minstrel act, and by the 1850s the â€Å"Jim Crow† character had become a standard part of the minstrel show scene in America. On the eve of the Civil War, the Jim Crow idea was one of many stereotypical images of black inferiority in the popular culture of the day–along with Sambos, Coons, and Zip Dandies. The word Jim Crow became a racial slur synonymous with black, colored, or Negro in the vocabulary of many whites; and by the end of the century acts of racial discrimination toward blacks were often referred to as Jim Crow laws and practices. How to cite Jim Crow Laws, Papers

Animal Research Essay Example For Students

Animal Research Essay Animal ResearchFor the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heateddebate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isnt, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performedto determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where thebenefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies forhumans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argumentbetween the different scientists views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will beexpressed by the supporters. A well known scientist named Neal D. Barnard said, The use ofanimals for research and testing is only one of many investigative techniques available. We believethat although animal experiments are sometimes intellectually seductive, they are poorly suited toaddressing the urgent health problems of our era, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, AIDS andbirth defects. He goes on further to say that animal experiments can not only mislead researchersbut even contribute to illnesses or deaths by failing to predict any toxic effect on drugs. The majorityof animals in laboratories are used for genetic manipulation, surgical intervention or injection offoreign substances. Researchers produce solutions from these animal models and are adaptingthem to human conditions. Unfortunately, these animal models cant always be connected with thehuman body thus creating problems. Many times, researchers induce strokes on animals in order totest certain methods for curing. The downfall of this procedure is that a healthy animal thatexperiences a sudden stroke does not undergo the slowly progressive arterial damage that usuallyplays a crucial role in human strokes. In another illustration of the inaccuracy of animal research,scientists in the 1960s deduced from many animal experiments that inhaled tobacco smoke did notcause lung cancer. For many years afterward, the tobacco industry was able to use these studies todelay government warnings and to discourage physician s from intervening in their patients smokinghabits. We all know now that this is totally untrue and that smoking is a large contributor to cancer. Itturns out that cancer research is especially sensitive to differences in physiology between humans andother animals. Many animals, particularly rats and mice, synthesize within their bodies approximately100 times the recommended daily allowance for humans of vitamin C, which is believed to help thebody ward off cancer. The stress of handling, confinement and isolation alters the animals mentalstability and introduces yet another experimental variable that makes any results from testing evenless valuable to human helping. In many cases, drugs and other substances are given to the testanimals but studies have shown considerable differences in the effects of these drugs on differentspecies. David Salsburg of Pfizer Central Research has noted that of 19 chemicals known to causecancer in humans when ingested, only seven caused cancer in mice and rats using the standards setby the National Cancer Institute. This justifies that many substances that appeared safe in animalstudies and received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in humans laterproved dangerous to people. The drug milrinone, which raises cardiac output, increased survival ofrats with artificially induced heart failure; humans with severe chronic heart failure taking this drug hada 30 percent increase in fatalities. Also, the antiviral drug fialuridine seemed safe in animal trials yetcaused liver failure in seven of 15 humans taking the drug (five of these patients died as a result of themedication, and the other two received liver transplants). Scientists and the populous that do notagree with the experimentation of animals believe in different methods. These techniques includeepidemiological studies, clinical intervention trials, astute clinical observation aided by laboratorytesting, human tissue and cell cultures, autopsy studies, endoscopic examination and biopsy, as wellas new imaging methods. In the last decade, scientists with these views have learned to respect theanimals for their own species observations and for their ability to communicate. On the reverseaspect, many scientists .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .postImageUrl , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:hover , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:visited , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:active { border:0!important; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:active , .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud972d14778e114ce40ee6a1444deef2f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Julius Caesar – Mark Antony Essay Summary

Global economy and its impact on global south Essay Example

Global economy and its impact on global south Essay In large number of developing countries, globalization has helped poverty reduction. However aftermath of September 11, and the worldwide economic slowdown hit the poor hard.According to a study that 24 developing countries which integrated into the global economy over two decades ending in the late 1990s achieved higher growth in incomes, longer life expectancy and better schooling. These countries, home to some 3 billion people, enjoyed an average 5 percent growth rate in income per capita in the 1990s compared to 2 percent in rich countries. However, not all nations got integrated in the global economy, especially the sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the former USSR, the combined population of thesea areas is two billion people. The countries economies in these got shrunk, giving rise to poverty.Though Globalization is very powerful force for poverty reduction, too many countries and people have left behind. The reasons cited for this exclusion are poor governance and poli cies in non-integrating countries, tariffs and other constraints that poor countries and poor people face to access rich country markets and for turning down development assistance. Reversing globalization isuntenable, and curtailing globalization with nationalism and protectionism does harm well-being of people in developing countries.Globalization had a diluting effect on state powers, and illustrated how global forces can transform an individual life, and also scope for an individual to expand connections around the world. The individual lives got affected not just by their local communities, but also by economic, political, and cultural processes or forces that operate globally. Globalization has led to various developments in economic, cultural, and political spheres. In the global economy the countries are depended on global forces, increasing interdependence among developing countries.Choice and inequalityHowever, globalization has put developing countries at risk of widening the income inequalities. The choice of trade liberalization provided access for cheaper products, raw materials and goods that drastically affected local industries such as garments, manufacturing and services. Local industries and manufactures were no match to big multinationals, thus they have go out business.   However, certain technologies and technology-related manufacturing such as assembling parts, software and other mechanical parts thrived.   The existing inherent inequalities in the current global trading system is hurting developing countries at the expense of developed countries. The US and Western nations manipulate institutions of globalization such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pressurize less economically secure nations to provide access to their markets to free trade while safeguarding the weaker segments within their societies.Three differences between gender and raceGlobalization and the financial crisis had increased discrimi natory practices against women such as dehumanization of and violence against women, and the feminization of poverty. That, in turn, had facilitated the expansion of illegal industries. Trafficking of women and children. Migrant workers who are vulnerable are tricked and forced into prostitution by unscrupulous agents.Illegal immigrants and refugees do not have access to education, legal resources, or health and social services. The research has indicated that men and women are affected differently by trade policies and performance due to different locations and command over resources within the economy.   The gender-based inequalities impact differently on outcomes as they are based on economy and sector; as such, yielding unexpected results due to trade liberalization policies.ReferenceDunkin, A. (2005). Globalization: A portrait of exploitation,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   inequality, and limits. Retrieved on December 11, 2006 from http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v5.2/dunklin.ht ml

Team Dynamics and Group Formation

Team Dynamics and Group Formation Introduction Teamwork occupies a special place in the operational models of most organizations worldwide. This comes from the realization that it is the most efficient way of achieving the goals of an organization. Globalization is the major force behind the changes seen in workplaces because it is causing inevitable interaction of different cultures.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Team Dynamics and Group Formation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This realization has been the motivation for learning institutions to adopt the use of group based models of learning to enrich the learning process. This paper relates to the experiences derived from a team-based approach to learning. It focuses on the formative stages and the operational dynamics of the team. The goal of the team is to analyze the operations of Qantas in order to identify sustainable business practices and the change management process at the airline. In itial Functioning of the Group There are two reasons behind the formation of the group. The first reason is that the course under study calls for the analysis of an organization in order to determine elements such as its operations and its change management strategy. This group is working on Qantas Airlines as the case study. The second goal for the team’s formation is to develop an appreciation of how teams function. In addition to the primary objective of analyzing the operations of Qantas, using a team model to do it promises to provide all the members with an idea of how team function and the dynamics controlling the development process. Teams tend to develop through certain stages that follow a logical progression. Different scholars refer to these stages using various terms. According to Phillips and McConnell (2005), teams go through five stages in their development process. These stages are, â€Å"formation, disequilibrium, role definition, maturity and maintenanceâ € . They take on a logical progression that follows the dynamic processes at work in the life of the team. However, the more popular way of looking at the team development process is by the model developed by Bruce Tuckman that labeled the stages of team development as Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since then different scholars have developed variations to it to accommodate new research and to increase awareness to some of the core issues covered under each of the stages. One of those variations presented by Williams (2006, p. 323) adds three stages to the process titled, â€Å"de-norming, de-storming, and deforming† after the performing stage in Tuckman’s model. The goal for these additions is to show that teams are not permanent but must disintegrate after the attainment of the objectives. Another exa mple of variations to Tuckman’s model presented by Heldman and Mangano (2009, p. 187) is the addition of a stage called â€Å"adjourning†, after Tuckman’s performing stage. These examples show that there is agreement among scholars to the fact that teams go through a logical development cycle. In order to discuss the development process of the team under discussion, Tuckman’s model will provide the framework. This is because it is simple enough and covers all the key stages of relevance to this discussion. The first stage that the team went through was â€Å"forming†, which covered the circumstances that led to its creation. The members did not have a choice of whether or not to be part of a team because it was a course requirement. The members decided to be part of a team of their choice but they did not have a say as to whether they wanted to be in a team or not. This brought about a sense of common destiny because the performance of the members in the course depended on their performance as a team. This situation is not unique but is common especially in the disciplined forces. Soldiers do not have a choice regarding the company they will be in. However, once together, they must put their differences aside and work around their differences to win the war at hand because they all have a common destiny.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Team Dynamics and Group Formation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The second stage in the team development process is â€Å"storming†. This is the stage where the actual work in the team begins. It is characterized by infighting and jostling for positions because the member are not yet clear what their roles in the team are. In some cases, some members opt out because they find the jostling unbearable. In the case of the team under review, there was a bit of tension originally as members sought to clarify how the team w ould operate. Most of the member had other jobs, which made the issue of finding a common time outside of class work very difficult to find. In addition, there was the challenge of deciding on who would be the team leader. Since the interaction of the members was limited to classroom encounters, member did not have a good appreciation of who had the best skills to lead the team. A vote to decide on the team leader settled the issue. The next stage that the team passed through was â€Å"norming†. After settling down and appointing a leader, the team found it easier to talk and to raise issues related to the project. Some of the issues had a direct impact on the progress of the work while others had to do with the needs of the members. The team did its best to accommodate the schedules of all the members, especially those who had other jobs. Meeting regularly proved to be a bigger challenge than originally anticipated but the team has worked very hard to settle and get down to business. The team is currently in the fourth stage of â€Å"performing†. There are clear rules guiding the team’s operations and its outcomes. It is clear to all team members that failure to deliver on targets will affect the whole team. The team is working very hard to keep up with the schedule for completion of the work. There are fewer personality related conflicts compared to the initial stages of the teams work. One of the issues that warrant mention in the whole development process is the goal setting process that the team adopted. In the first meeting, the only thing that was clear was that the team was going to analyze the operation of Qantas. However, the process of doing it remained in the hands of the team. It was up to the team to make up its mind regarding how the project was to proceed.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One definition of a goal is â€Å"an end towards which you direct specific effort†. One of the first goals the team had to set and execute was choosing a team leader. The team realized that a team leader would help coordinate the work of the team better than if each member went to work without some form of central control. After choosing a leader, the team looked at the assignment in detail and developed options for meeting the objectives. At this point, the team identified specific objectives relating to the desired outcome of the process. One of the decisions taken included giving each member a particular department in Qantas as their individual area of focus. The idea was to develop a comprehensive picture of the company before going on to analyze the trends that showed up based on individual reports. The outcome of the analysis is what will form the core discussion in the final submission of the teams work. Developed specific goals included the analysis of the operation o f specific departments in Qantas, the development of an overall picture of how the airline operates, and the analysis of the change management strategies employed by the airline. Midstream Changes in Team Dynamics The critical events that characterized the development of the team related closely to the stage that the team was in. During the forming stage, the critical issue was choosing team members. As noted earlier, the task for the team was not open for debate hence it was not possible to opt out. After the class to the class to form teams, people grouped themselves based on what they felt was the best arrangement based on the limited interaction with each other in class. During storming, the team went through a period of distrust and jostling. The members were not sure of whom to trust the responsibilities. Some attempted to take more work to ensure that completion of the assignment, while others took only limited work because of their tight schedules. Eventually, under the guid ance of the team leader, the team rationalized the workload by asking each member to pick a specific aspect of the overall assignment. There was a bit of jostling too because members did not have a good idea of what their role in the team was. Forming stage gave the team a chance to reconsider its goals, processes, and achievements. The members relaxed and became less formal during meetings. It was in this stage that it became necessary to enforce rules developed earlier because members became relaxed. Without direction from the chair, the team would have lost time to socialization and to other irrelevancies. However, these activities also helped to build trust. After the norming stage, the team sorted out many of the issues that came up during storming. The key strengths of different members became apparent during the performing stage. This enabled the team to work better. Some member proved to be more adept at research while others had better analytical skills. Members collaborate d in and out of team meeting to leverage on the strengths available within the team. The key characteristics of the team in this stage were collaboration and high productivity. The team is currently in this stage. Output is satisfactory but there are still problems with meeting the team’s deadlines mainly because of the tight schedules that some team members operate under. Change Management Process The characteristics of strong teams include a clear vision, objectives and goals, synergy, flexibility and adaptability, and a strong review mechanism. The team in this report had a very clear objective, which was the analysis of the operations of Qantas. The setting of this objective partly came from the clarity of the course requirements. In addition to this objective, the team set a number of operational objectives including the number of meetings it needed to have in order to achieve the goals, the targets for each individual member and the quality of work the team wanted to pr esent at the end of the exercise. In as far as strong objectives characterize strong teams, this team met the requirement. The second characteristic of a strong team is synergy. In other words, it is the working together of the team members by leveraging on the strengths of individual members to create a strong result. This aspect came into play when the team used its strongest members to validate research and analysis done by the other members. The team members passed on their work to members who were strong in research and analysis for criticism and comment. This improved the quality of the output that each individual provided and by extension it improved the overall quality of the work the team produced at each stage. The third aspect of strong teams that this team displayed was flexibility and adaptability. Flexibility showed when team members constantly put effort into adjusting and synchronizing personal schedules to create time for team meetings. As mentioned earlier, some of the team members have demanding jobs and getting time off apart from class time to attend meetings is a major issue for them. Nonetheless, a lot of effort went into finding a workable time to ensure the meeting of the team’s objectives. On the issue of adaptability, the team worked hard to find ways of remaining in touch outside the meetings and classes. In this sense, the use of email and text messaging made it possible for the team members to keep in touch and to continue with work despite the severe time constraints. This option was not immediately obvious to the team because the model that the members originally had in mind included meeting together for discussions and compiling parts of the work. The reality however is that it is difficult to meet as often as earlier envisaged. This called for innovation and a flexible attitude to see how to employ electronic means of communication. The final characteristic of strong teams is that they review progress regularly as a sou rce of learning. On this count the team still has a lot to do. The time constrains associated with this team’s work means that most of the meeting time went into the actual development of the work with very little time left for meaningful review. However, in principle, the team fully appreciates the need for regular review. Conclusion The experiences of the team with this project illustrate the practical hurdles teams face in the process of executing their mandate. There are always forces acting to make it difficult for the team to execute its mandate. It also shows that each team must go through the formative processes. The stages of team development occur concurrently with the team’s efforts to achieve the primary goals. There is always need to balance the needs of the team as a growing unit with the achievement of the objectives set for the team. Reference List Burns, J. M. (1979) Leadership. Harper Row, New York, NY. Gaist, P. A. (2009) Igniting the Power of Commu nity. Springer, New York, NY. Heldman, K., Mangano, V. (2009) PMP Project management Professional Exam Review Guide. Illustrated edn, John WIley and Sons, Indianapolis, IN. Hopkins, D. H. (1999) Using History for Strategic Problem-Solving: The Harley-Davidson Effect. Business Horizons, pp. 52-60. Kanter, R. M. (1997) World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy. Simon Schuster, New York, NY. Murthy, C. S. V. (2007) Change Management. Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai. Ohmae, K. (1995) The End of the Nation State. University of Minnesota Press, Minnesota. Paliwal, M. (2006) Business Ethics. New Age International, New Delhi. Phillips, R. L., McConnell, C. R. (2005) The Effective Corrections Manager: Correctional Supervision for the Future, 2nd edn. Jones Bartlett Learning, Sadbury MA. Rosenthal, S. B., Buchholz, R. A. (1999) Rethinking Business Ethics. Oxford University Press, Cary NC. Roulliard, L. (2002) Goals and Goal Setting: Achieving Measured Objectives, 3rd ed. Ceng age Learning, United States of America. Thakur, M., Srivastava, B. N. (1997) International Management. Tata Mcgraw-Hill Education, New Delhi. Vakola, M Nikolaou, L 2005, Attitudes Towards Organizational Change: What is the Role of Employees Stress and Commitment?, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol 18, no. 1, pp. 163-176. Williams, C 2006, Management, 4th edn, Cengage Learning.

Stress Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Stress Management - Assignment Example The responses to the stressor depict the developmental stages of these family members (Gradus et al., 2014). In perspective, the son is in early childhood development stage while the husband is in the old age stage. On the other hand, the daughter is middle-aged and the patient is in the adulthood stage of development. The RN determines whether the defense mechanism is harmful or helpful through the analyzing the symptoms of the client. For instance, in the denial stage, the client might start to act negatively like withdrawal from the public. Nursing diagnosis The mother is facing a risk for the post-trauma syndrome and it is emanating from the loss of her felinity coupled with social discrimination. The symptoms are grieving over her femininity loss. The husband is having a difficult time to cope with the family stress (Gradus et al., 2014). The ineffective coping comes from the family image due to the loss of femininity of the wife and symptoms are engaging in religious activities to cover up the family’s image. Further, the daughter is suffering from the readiness to enhance the family coping strategies. The situation comes up from the mother’s state and she wants to help her cope with the mastectomy stress. The case has characteristics of overindulging in her mother’s activities as a mechanism to help her cope. Moreover, the son has ineffective denial whereby he fails to agree to the mother’s situation and gets characterized by total refusal to concede to his mother’s situation.

Psy 200 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Psy 200 - Essay Example In this experiment, a majority of the participants would conform to a social norm or any norm such as in the control experiment. Participants were so irritated especially in the second condition in which they faced a violation of a social norm. they felt like their privacy was being violated when the social was violated with someone standing too close, especially people of the same gender. They emotionally felt so angry and disgusted when asked to violate the norm-standing too close when talking to someone. It is worth noting that, it was especially different for people who somehow knew each other, they tend to enjoy the violation. In the case of condition 1, there were emotional reactions displayed when participants were asked to conform. Not all the participants were comfortable doing norm violation especially for the second condition; but in condition one, the participants asked to violate the norm had no problems. As far as condition one is concerned, on thing was very clear, the participants willingness to go along with social pressures was much stronger than their beliefs to stand up for what their individually know or believe as true. On the other hand, participants in the second condition believed in going along with social norms and were not prepared to go against it. For the first condition, it is apparent that people were willing not willing to violate the social norm because they did not want to feel different from the rest; they were more concerned with what the others might think, and believed that, majority rules. However, in the second condition, people did not want to violate the social norm because they felt it was not the right thing to since it was violating on people’s privacy or making the conversion difficult. It was very easy to approach males than it was to approach ladies who felt enthusiastic to participate. Most men

Examining Google Electronic Medical Records Information Technology Essay

Examining Google Electronic Medical Records Information Technology Essay A1) Google electronic medical records are a concept based on how the patients can store their medical records electronically (Plunkett, 2008). All over the world, there are many patients who visit to hospitals when they are ill. It is necessary for them to maintain their medical records. So, if we count each patients visit to the hospital for a year, it would be a big number. In such case, is difficult for the patient to maintain all medical records. So, Google has come up with a new task with all new features that help the patients to maintain their medical records. Google has given a name to this task as Google Health. This Google Health means current medical record storage system. Googles medical record system provides a feature where the patients can enter their medical records. These medical records are stored in a very secure place known as repository. The repository is provided with the best security, where it can be accessed only by the health care providers. Doctors are invi ted to give their advices and send relevant information to the medical records entered by the patients. This system is developed with many features. The features include health profiles for medication, reminder messages for prescription refills, reminder messages for the doctor visits, directories for doctors. The features also include the services for patients to enter their medical records, get advices from the doctors and personal health advices. The main purpose for developing this medical system is to make patients records easily accessible, more complete to streamline recordkeeping (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008). 2. What are the problems with Americas current medical recordkeeping system? How would electronic medical records alleviate these problems? A2) American current medical recordkeeping system has following problems It is difficult to maintain paper based medical record by patients, as they frequently visit to the hospital. The current record system is difficult to access. The process of accessing the records is time consuming for both patients and doctors. In certain medical emergencies, time is the most critical factor. In such situations, access to the records becomes difficult. There are security issues related to storage and retrieval of the medical records. As the medical records are highly confidential, any theft or unauthorized access to it can create ethical and legal issues. The medical records entered by the patients should be provided with the appropriate security or else the information can be tracked by the internet thefts. So, it is always important to provide security to the data or the medical record of the patients being stored online. Other problem, with the current system is that the medical records are not accessed from multiple locations. If the patient needs to get transfe rred to a hospital across cities, then he needs to carry his medical records. The solution to this problem, as explained in next paragraph, is to switch to electronic. Following features of Electronic medical records will alleviate these problems Google has developed a system called Google Health, which is designed with a purpose of storing the medical records. The main purpose for developing this system is to make patients medical records easily accessible. The system is developed with the best features that enable the patients to easily enter their medical records. This system is developed to benefit patients in storing their medical records. Google is one of the best companies with a dedicated mission to bring up online innovations. The mission is to organise the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. This means, the information that is being collected from all over the world should be made accessible and useful. The best way is to switch to electronic health records, which means storing all patients medical records electronically (Carter, 2008). This conversion to electronic health records stands to provide much needed organization and efficiency to the healthcare industry, which is the single l argest segment of Americas Gross Domestic Product. After the discussions between the individuals and the privacy advocates, they made this electronic medical health records to be stored in such a way that decreases the likelihood of privacy invasion (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008). 3. What management, organization, and technology factors are most critical to the creation and development of electronic medical records? A3) Developing the electronic medical records is not necessary but the most important thing is to maintain the medical records. The health care system is developed with the best features where in patients can enter his or hers medical information (Willis, 2008). There are some factors to which the management is responsible. The management is purely responsible for maintaining each medical record entered by each patient. The management looks after the security provided for the information. The managements work is to look how the records are being handled by the servers. Also, the privacy along with the security, the electronic records stored online is referred by many users in many different fields according to their requirement. Apart from this, the management must also manage their employees payments. The employees are the people who work to accomplish companys tasks. There are some factors to which the organization is responsible. The medical records entered by patients are stored in the databases which are managed by different organizations. These organizations must organise the databases in such a way that the medical records should be stored safely and permanently. These medical records are used by the patients for future retrievals. The organization is also responsible for updating the medical records of the patients and makes them accessible to the users without any trouble. They should also be able to manage, the operations performed by the users. Also, there are some more factors in which the technology can play a major role. The technology that is used and implemented should enhance security of the medical records rather than making the patients worried about their information. The technology that is used should be able to store the data or information to the database without missing any data and also retrieve the required data where and when required (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008). 4. What are the pros and cons of electronic patient records? Do you think the concerns over digitizing our medical records are valid? Why or why not? A4). Following are the few pros to the electronic patient records: It is easier to create, store and retrieve the information. As all records are stored in single database managed by a single service provider, the expertise can develop at the providers end. The information on electronic patient records can be accessed from anywhere across the world. When storing the medical records of the patients online, concerned databases allow some users to view the records and find solution to their medical problems. Even the doctors can view the advices given by other specialist doctors and can learn more about the medication. As all the medical records are stored electronically, the users can make changes to their records and retrieve the required records from any system just by making use of the internet. Following are the few Cons to the electronic patient records: The primary issue with electronic medical records is the data theft or ensuring that the security of the records is not compromised. The medical record can be either paper based or maintained electronically. In both the cases, the medical records need security. The security to printed records is a traditional and proven process while the security process for the electronic records has not been established so far. The security is provided to the medical records stored electronically by using some best technologies. At some point, these technologies provide limited security to the medical records. There have been many cases in the recent past when the personal data of the user was compromised with. As there is only one single service provider of online medical records, it can also mean a single point of failure. If such a system has to be established, it needs to be done with multiple players. Are concerns over digitizing medical records valid? Why or why not? Digitizing means storing or safeguarding the medical records online electronically by using some types of electronic gadgets. The concept of digitizing is to make the medical records accessible anywhere from the world any time. This concept is beneficial for the users as they can view their records where and when necessary. Sometimes, it may not be good to use this concept, if the security for the medical records is not good as this may lead to the track the medical records of many patients (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008). If any kind of emergency medical problem arises during the access to the medical records then it can become a critical issue as it means that someones life is at stake (Baren, 2007). 5. Should people entrust Google with their electronic medical records? Why or why not? A5) Google has developed amazing task where it organises all the medical information of the people and make them available to the users when it is necessary. The Google has named the task as Google Healthcare. By the name itself anyone can guess what the concept is all about. We can entrust Google with their electronic medical records as it benefits the users or the patients in many different ways. With this system the patients can enter their medical records, make changes to the records, and retrieve the medical records when necessary. The patients can retrieve and access the medical record from anywhere in the world. This is because of digitizing. Digitizing means the medical records that are entered by the patients are stored electronically. The medical records stored in this way need a very high security as they are chances for the medical records to be viewed by any other users. So, for this sake it is always necessary to provide high and best security for the medical records be ing stored electronically. Google has provided this security facility. Sometimes we may not entrust on Google with its electronic medical records. This is because the security reason. As the medical records entered online are stored in databases these require high security. These databases are managed by different organizations. The databases used should be enough reliable to store the entered medical records, make changes to the medical records and retrieve the medical records when required by the patients. If the database is unable to update the medical records entered by the patients, it may cause a problem when the patient tries to retrieve that medical record (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008). The concept of digitizing medical records are valid only when the security provided for the medical records is at the highest range when compared to other security features and must be checked by the organizations at times (Tanner, 2007). 6. If you were in charge of designing an electronic medical recordkeeping system, what are some features you would include? What are features you would avoid? A6) Concept of maintain medical records is useful to the users. It is a concept developed by the one of the greatest and biggest companies Google. This concept of Google is mainly about helping users in storing their medical records safely and provides access to their medical records when required by them. It provides the users to enter their medical records which can be accessed by the doctors and give relevant advices to the patients. There are some problems with this concept that were faced by the users. So, as a solution to these problems was to switch to electronic. This means that all the records are maintained electronically where each user is provided with unique username and passwords. If, I am required to design an electronic medical record keeping system, I would include all the required necessary features that will benefit the users of this system. I would also like used technologies which provide the best and high security for the medical records entered by the patients (Grady, 2007). I would provide different features like providing access to the medical records for the patients, organise each health department separately. I would maintain each patients records separately in a well organised manner, provide access to the information when required by different departments. Provide with best database that can store, change and retrieve the medical records entered by the patients. Organise all diseases and allergies according to the type which helps the patients to find the required information for which they are looking for. Provide with a search text for finding the exact solution, provide with lists of doctors of different department their timings of availability. And also provide a text box named as queries where the patients can query and seek for the advices, immediate response and advices to the patients. The things which I would like to avoid are less access speed which consumes patients time, bad or very poor security. Also, would avoid acce ss to medical records by unauthorised users, would avoid databases which are not reliable. Also, avoid limited access to the medical records, would avoid late responses to the queries or advices put by the patients (Laudon, Laudon, C., 2008).