New HIPAA Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

New HIPAA - Term Paper Example It is codified under Part 160 and subsections C, D and E of the Act document. Negligence and ignorance towards privacy and security standards under the HIPAA act accounts to civil penalty coming under general category and amounts to fines of up to $ 25K for all violations within a year. In case of willful negligence and wrongful misuse of patient’s healthcare information, it is considered as a criminal offense under HIPAA and both fines and imprisonment apply. The fine can reach up to the limit of $ 250 K and imprisonment of maximum 10 years or both (McGraw Hill n.d). HIPAA generates awareness amongst healthcare consumers regarding the safety of their private and confidential information and knowing about who is handling that information. With fast paced technological advancement in medical field, use of patient’s private information can be made in medical research, reproductive rights or developing any new medicine or treatment. In this regard, HIPAA mandates both the practitioners and patients of the importance of the healthcare information and its

Study plan finished version Essay Example for Free

Study plan finished version Essay I was born over 24 years ago in Guangzhou, China. After graduating from high school I then proceeded to East Los Angeles College where I got an Associate degree in Business Administration. I later moved to California State Polytechnic University Pomona where I got a B. S. degree in Finance in August 2007. After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona, I went back to my hometown Guangzhou. I’m presently working as a human resources assistant at XXX College, Guangzhou, China, where I help research and evaluated management practices, I also engaged in various training and development programs, leadership principles and employee relations. My human resource assistant job also made me responsible for recruiting procedures, screening of candidates, coordinating interviews. Reason for Pursuing a Master degree Most of my coworkers got master degree, except me and their English are great too, most passed English at sixth level exam in China. Sometimes, I receive headhunting company call about some positions which are meant for my supervisor in international companies. The headhunting calls are meant to request for information about my boss’s. I have realize that China is a place with a lot of talented people, they have higher education and also very smart. There is increase in competitions among our youth, Hence an advanced education is necessary for me to succeed in this ever dynamic world. Secondly, China’s economic growth is rapid these years. I found that Chinese Corporations have large size of accounting department, Operation Department, Technical Department and Marketing Department, but they do not have appropriate size of Human Resources Department. The status is totally different in US. When I was studying in US, I did a lot of research program about the large Corporation in US, I then discover that the director of human resources may supervise several departments, each headed by an experienced manager who most likely specializes in one human resources activity, such as employment and placement; compensation, and benefits; training and development; or labor relations. As the global marketplace and rapidly-evolving technology are creating a new and more competitive business environment, I believe that professional human resources management is an increasing vital area in China. Therefore I decided to get my master degree. Why US When I plan to further my education, there are many places I can choose. There are three places in my decision, Hong Kong, Australia and US. I made some comparison here: Advantage Disadvantage Hong Kong Nearly my family and I can meet and take care of my parents easily. HK university require high GPA, my GPA is low. Hong Kong’s mother language is Cantonese; it is not a good environment to improve English. Australia Easy to apply a University and get a visa there. Good English Environment. There is few National University in Australia. They follow British education system. And tuition is expensive. USA Most mature and advanced education. I got my bachelor degree in US; I adapt the US education system. The tuition is expensive and very hard to get a student visa. After prolonged meditation, and communication with my parents, I made a decision to go back to US get the master degree. Study Plan I plan to study Master Degree in Human resource Management at Golden Gate University which last for one and a half year. Because I understand that my low GPA in undergraduate has weaken my application. But I strongly believe that Golden Gate University has high quality graduate program for me, and reasonable tuition. They gave me the foundation and in-depth training, what I needed for the contemporary marketplace as a human resource or personnel manager. They have dynamic classes and laboratories where you discuss theory and practice from real-life situations and problems. The Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management requires completion of 33 units in the graduate program. Each course listed carries three semester units of credit. The foundation program I took in undergraduate University can be waived 6 units. I still have 27 units to finish. I plan to take 12 units each semester, therefore I think I can finish the program in one and a half year. Financial Supporter I started working a couple of months ago, I do not have enough money, but my mum will support my tuition. She is working at a famous, well paid company in China and also she is a superintendent, she has enough money to support my education. Also she believes now it is the best time to go out to further education, because she will retire in 5 years time. At that time if I need her support, she said she might not have enough money to give me. Returning After I accomplish my studies in US, I will go back to China. Personally, I am an extremely miss-home girl; I enjoy staying with my parents and family eating and drinking every week in Guangzhou. I remember when I was studying in US, I used to talk to my parents on the phone everyday. Furthermore, I believe in the developmental potentials of Human resource in China, after I graduated I think there are more opportunity waiting for me.

breaking away Essay -- essays research papers

The movie â€Å"Breaking Away† presents the story of a young man from working class origins who seeks to better himself by creating a persona through which he almost, but not quite, wins the girl. The rivalry between the townies and the college students sets the scene for the story of four friends who learn to accept themselves as they "break away" from childhood and from their underdog self-images. Dave Stoller, the main character, is a young man completely obsessed with cycling and Italy. His fantasies are so well fabricated that he drives his family crazy by behaving and speaking as if he were an Italian cyclist. Dave aspires to be one of the best cyclists yet the best racers are Italian. He feels that in order to be the best, he must be Italian. Dave carries his fantasy one step too far when he pretends to be an Italian exchange student in order to impress an attractive female college student. When he discovers that he actually likes her and confesses his charade, she ends the romance. This single act reveals to the audience that Dave is ashamed and embarrassed to tell Kat that the truth about his background; he obviously did not like who he was – a cutter. Dave felt that in order to win Kat he needed to pretend to be someone who he was not. However, his plan did not go over well causing him to lose Kat. Dave's father is a used-car salesman who disapproves of his son's Italian fantasies. Dave's father thinks his son is crazy, lazy, and that acting as if he were an ...

Food and Beverage Essay

* Food and Beverage service is the â€Å"food and beverage flow† (from the purchasing of the foods to service to the customer) mainly concerned with the delivery and presentation of the food to customer, after completion of the food production. * Sometimes, it involves transportation if there is a separation of production and service facilities. Beverage * French bevrage, from boivre (â€Å"to drink†), from Latin bibo . * It is also said to be derived from the Latin word ‘Bever’ meaning rest or repose from the work. * The term beverage refers to all kinds of potable drinks which have thirst quenching, refreshing, stimulating, and nourishing properties. * Any potable( drinkable) liquid can be termed as beverage which regulates the stomach system and balances the pH level. * Beverages are consumed mainly to quench thirst , compensate loss of body fluid due to perspiration, feel fresh and active, as rituals, during social gatherings, and during and after eating. * Broadly beverage can be classified into two ways; 1. Alcoholic Beverage 2. Non- Alcoholic Beverage What is Alcoholic Beverage? * Alcohol is a colorless, odorless and volatile liquid. * It is a potable liquid containing ethyl alcohol or ethanol(C2H5OH) of 0. 5 per cent more by volume. * The percentage of alcohol in a drink varies from 0. 5 to 95 per cent , depending upon the method of preparation. * Alcohol is obtained by fermenting a liquid containing sugar. * The word alcohol came from the Arabic word ‘ al-kohl’ which referred to any fine powder that was applied to essences obtained by distillation by the alchemists of medieval Europe. Fermentation is the process in which a liquid containing sugar is acted upon by yeast which converts the sugar into alcohol and gives off carbon dioxide. * E. g. Grape juice- Wine * Apple Juice- Cider * Pear Juice- Perry. * Distillation is the process of separating elements in a liquid by vaporization and condensation. * During the distillation process of alcoholic beverages, the alcohol which is present in the fermented liquid(alcoholic wash) is separated from water. * Spirits are the examples of distilled drinks and the plants producing the spirits are known as distilleries. * The following wash are responsible for particular spirits which are as following: * Brandy- fermented grape juice * Gin, Whisky- fermented cereals * Tequila- fermented sap of Agave Tequilana weber * Rum- fermented molasses * Vodka- fermented potatoes or cereal.

Michelangelo buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti lived in the Renaissance period an epoch which spanned between the 15th and sixteenth century and saw the metempsychosis or resurgence of the Greek and Roman style.This manner had been generated back in the fourteenth century by the Italian poet Petrarch who had divided history into three ages: from the â€Å" the aureate age of classical antiquity, the dark age after the Roman imperium collapsed and his ain modern age when the values of antiquity were reborn † . Artists began to near pictures and sculptures with a more scientific oculus, turning their dorsums towards the traditional, mediaeval manner of picturing infinites in a religious manner.The resurgence sees its beginning in Italy, in peculiar in Florence where rich bankers and merchandisers who took pride in their part to society, began to committee plants of art from pictures, frescos and sculptures for churches, castles and even for their ain homes.The Renaissance besides saw the birth of new pictures techniques, the evolvement of oil pigment meant creative persons were no longer committed to utilizing egg poster paint and therefore free to research the layering of colorss. The find of the Torahs of position, based on mathematical computations, alternatively brought deepness and proportion to a space.Linear one point position in fact became an built-in portion of all pictures throughout the fifteenth century.Artists like Raphael relied entirely on the simple on-point position tool to expose his forms in infinite and give them a three dimensional experience a manner clearly seeable in his ‘School of Athens ‘ . During the full fifteenth century Florence was the Centre of humanistic disciplines in Italy which saw many creative persons like Massaccio for picture, Donatello in sculpture and Brunelleschi for architecture taking the alteration in style.Rome alternatively at this clip was confronting political jobs ; in fact the pontificate had been transferred to France from 1309 boulder clay 1377 and merely was it subsequently, in the sixteenth century, to reflect gloriously thanks to the attempts of Pope Julius II, known as the warrior male monarch but besides one of the most celebrated frequenters of the humanistic disciplines. Together with his designer Bramante and creative persons like Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci, he contributed to the rise of the High Renaissance Style which was to convey Rome as the taking Centre of the humanistic disciplines projecting a shadow over its rival Florence.He in fact laid the foundation rock for St. Peter ‘s Basilica, had painted the Ra phael Rooms, and had the Sistine chapel ceilings painted by Michelangelo. Towards the in-between sixteenth century, the High Renaissance period saw creative persons like Michelangelo desiring to interrupt free from the cardinal position manner, animating three dimensional infinites simply with shading and foreshortening. Rich and streamlined curtain would embroider the scene and architectural position, if any, would be represented with little hints of perspective therefore arousing a two point position without though the usage of a additive, geometric grid. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 at Caprese in Italy.Second of four kids was descendant from the Counts of Canossa, a baronial and celebrated household of Reggio.His male parent, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni was the magistrate of Caprese and Chiusi, whilst his female parent Francesca di Neri di ser Miniato del Sera is non mentioned by Condivi or Vassari, Michelangelo ‘s biographers, if non to go through up that she had died whilst Michelangelo was a immature kid. In fact Michelangelo was given to a wet nurse who non merely was the girl of a rock Carver but besides had married one.This must hold greatly influenced Michelangelo to the huge creative activities he was to gestate subsequently when merely merely a adolescent. In fact harmonizing to Vasari, Michelangelo one time quoted â€Å" I sucked in chisels and cocks with my nurse ‘s milk † . His male parent tried to take Michelangelo towards the universe of letters, directing him to the celebrated school of Francesco da Urbino in Florence, but Michelangelo ‘s artistic nature was to pull him towards painting.His friend, Franceso Granacci seeing his artistic gift, enticed him to abandon his surveies by exciting him with other artistic sights. He showed him the plants of Domenico Ghirlandaio, considered one of the leasing Masterss at the clip, whose workshops he attended.This led Michelangelo to abandon his class making mayhem in his household who were really distressed at his pick. In 1488 Michelangelo began his three twelvemonth apprenticeship in Domenico Ghirlandaio ‘s workshop.Here he learnt to pull, pigment and was introduced to the art of frescoing. For a long period he copied the plants of past celebrated creative persons. He shortly began to outshine his fellow bookmans and even his maestro who became more and more covetous of his accomplishments. After a twelvemonth, likely due to their frequent struggles and because he wished to go a sculpture, that Michelangelo left the apprenticeship and began to work for Lorenzo De Medici, frequenter of the humanistic disciplines and swayer of Florence at the clip. Here he began to develop his accomplishments as a sculpture. Unlike Ghiberti and Donatello, who sculptured their figures on really typical analogue planes, Michelangelo was able to put his figures so that they merged effortlessly into eternity making a sense of existent infinite. He was besides able to make motion, such as with â€Å" the Battle of Centaurs, where limbs â€Å" bit by bit extended themselves and no longer belonged to different planes. â€Å" His mastermind was being able to visualize within a piece of marble a finished three dimensional object, without the usage of drawings. With the â€Å" Bacchus † the musculuss lost the rigidness of ancient theoretical accounts, and became softer and more rounded†¦ ..the strength that can be detected in the muscular structure, which is suppressed in some points and relaxed in others, † He acquired an unbelievable cognition of human anatomy thanks to his visits to the Hospital of Santo Spirito where he would dissect and analyze corpses.Unlike his predecessors who created stiff and unreal word pictures of the human organic structure, he was able to reproduce accurately and harmoniously the articulation of the limbs and articulations. Both pieces reflect his mastermind in portraying the human organic structure in its fullest, stressing musculus tone, ligaments and articulations. We besides can look up to his accomplishment in making curtain that was so full of motion, like in the Pieta ‘ . It was n't though until 1508 that he was to confront his greatest challenge, one that he was n't passionate about and was practically forced to set about by the Papacy of the clip, to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. The Sistine Chapel is a rectangular shaped edifice, mensurating 41 m by 13,5 m built by Pope Sixtus VI between 1475 and 1483 and is said to reflect the dimensions of the temple of Salomon. The sides were painted in 1481 by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Rosselli and subsequently by Signorelli. The ceiling alternatively is thought to hold been painted originally by the creative person Pier Matteo D'Amelia who depicted the ceiling with a starry sky, a method used by creative persons in the thirteenth and 14th century for Gothic ceilings. In 1508 Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel.He reluctantly began to work on the ceiling with the aid of a few of his sure Florentine friends who really able in the art of frescoing.It must be remembered that Michelangelo for the last 20 old ages had been restricted to sculpturing and his lone preparation in frescoing went back to his childhood old ages in the Ghirlandaio workshop. Not merely did Michelangelo hold to larn the fresco technique but besides some really impressive position technique sing his figures had to be painted on a barrel vaulted ceiling at 60 pess from the ground.The Fresco technique consists of the creative person painting straight on freshly laid plaster, â€Å" intonaco † , so that one time the plaster is dry, the pigment becomes an built-in portion of the wall.The creative person transportations his paper drawings to the walls and pricks the surface along the lineations of the images. Such holes are so dusted with a b ag of carbon black ( spolvero ) to reproduce points on the walls ‘ surface. The creative person so joins the lines to reproduce the drawing accurately. Pope Julius expected him to picture the 12 apostles but alternatively Michelangelo was able to convert him that such an huge ceiling deserved an impressive work of art, worthy of its grandeur.Here he portrayed the narrative of human sort before the reaching of Jesus Christ. He began painting from the entryway of the chapel towards the communion table completing with the below lunettes picturing inactive figures in speculation. The cardinal portion of the domed ceiling characteristics nine squares in assorted sizes, exemplifying the journey of human sort from the creative activity of the universe to the beginning of wickedness and its effects. He focused his work wholly on the human figure and hence landscapes and architecture were practically omitted. It can be noticed how he left plentifulness of infinite around his figures, making a tract for the human oculus to inquire mediate and around his figures, making necessarily motion in the spectator. He conceived false architectonic squa res called â€Å" quadri riportati † which resemble framed easel images, inhabited by existent figures traveling about their different activities.Here Michelangelo reminds us of his sculpturing mastermind, where the figures he depicts move towards the spectator as if to jump out of the two-dimensionality of the painted surface. Michelangelo used the â€Å" cangiante † technique to make this, where he applied profoundly contrasting colorss next to each other and applied shots of white pigment, therefore pulling the visible radiation and reflecting it so as to make extraordinary pragmatism and sense of physical presence within space.These strongly contrasting colorss besides increase the volumes and underpin the strength and motion of the figures. The foreground figures have typical and clear lineations whereas the background figures are less clear or â€Å" sfumato, a technique where the image lineations are blurred into the background † as if merely the foregrou nd images were in focus.One notices that this is non evident in all the sketchs, as some show no position at all, like the creative activity of Adam, or that of the words. In fact Michelangelo turns his dorsum to the stiff Torahs of position and by the usage of coloring material and the manner he denotes human emotions though the motion of the limbs and facial look he manages to convey these figures to life and make a existent sense of infinite and activity. This is clearly seeable in the inundation, where the discharge sits in the background and is less emphatic, unlike the foreground figures that are traveling, easy and distressingly towards the shore to happen deliverance. He besides brings motion merely by picturing garments in a flowing and traveling province, sometimes as if the air current was blowing beneath them, as in â€Å" the creative activity of Adam † where the green scarf is clearly being moved by the air current. Here the usage of white is apparent, which when used in the green and ruddy scarf add excess motion to the scene. Michelangelo created motion besides through the placement of the appendages of his figures, puting pess and custodies in opposite waies. Movement is once more clearly represented in Michelangelo ‘s initial drawings of the the Lybian Sibyl where her organic structure is twisted or in â€Å" contrapposto † in the act of keeping a book. Here the muscular structure is rather overdone for a adult female, but is accountable to the fact that his original drawings were made utilizing a male theoretical account. This strong masculine figure AIDSs in making an semblance of motion as these musculuss are depic ted under tenseness, as if on the brink of set abouting a task.The usage of â€Å" chiaroscuro † , shadows is besides an built-in portion of his work adding deepness and stressing the three dimensional infinite. Michelangelo is depicted as the greatest painter of the Renaissance period but you could reason that his illustriousness was in how he applied the techniques of others. You could besides oppugn if he was the conceiver of any of the techniques he adopted as it would look that the merely radical interruption attributed to him, was the complete rejection of the Torahs of position which were normally used by others at the clip. He was n't the first to accomplish motion in art. Before him creative persons like Da Vinci and Botticelli had achieved this. In Leonardo ‘s â€Å" Last supper † dated 1447 one can detect in the word picture of the apostles how motion is suggested thanks to the carefully placed custodies indicating in assorted waies. With Botticelli ‘s â€Å" Primavera † dated 1482 the fluxing garments and the placement of the really expressive custodies clearly denote minute throughout the scene. Although his work was clearly that of a mastermind, his glare for me lies in the manner he portrayed the figures in the Sistine chapel. He managed to carve them out of the level surface, as if making a sculpture in every piece he painted. His manner though was non wholly alone as it is was really much reminiscent of other great Masterss of the clip, like Ghirlandaio and Luca Signorelli but still brilliant as unlike these Masterss he brought great look to the human figures together with great and baronial musculus tone. The Guildhall Carpet shall be given three dimensionality thorough the usage of techniques which Michelangelo himself adopted on the Sistine Chapel when he created sculptures in his picture. Michelangelo ‘s usage of coloring material, which was inspired by Leonardo ‘s â€Å" chiaroscuro † , will animate me besides to add shadows to my objects, making deepness and strength. Through Giotto ‘s usage of â€Å" cangianti † adopted greatly in the ceiling by Michelangelo, I will add motion and flow to the forms. The purpose is to make a three dimensional piece through usage of coloring material and shadows.

5 Key Terms Of Dramatism Example

5 Key Terms Of Dramatism Example 5 Key Terms Of Dramatism – Coursework Example Reflection Discussion: 5 Key Terms of Dramatist In investigating the semantic dimensions of language, the five primal terms of dramatists are the best tools to use. However, from the real life experiences, there exist ambiguities in analyzing a situation using these terms. There exists a great variance in the analysis of different situations and thus the ambiguity. Besides, the interrelationships among these terms are eminent as it is revealed by encounters in the real world.When the five terms of dramatist are used to analyze a situation, the interrelationship between these terms is apparent. It is because some terms have to work together in forming a common ground or substance for a given situation (Burke XIX). For instance, dancing in a church can be considered inappropriate, whereas dancing in a wedding is granted. In this context, the scene, and the act have a strong relationship. The interrelationship is used as the ground for justifying the appropriateness of an act, given the prevailing scene.The terms also bring forth ambiguity when used in the analysis of situations. In fact, the social and political trends surrounding a given situation act as the sources of ambiguity (Burke XVII). For instance, one can consider voting as an act and the voters as the agents during an election. From a differing point of view, the votes and voters can all be seen as the agents of a politician or even part of the scene through which he or she gets into office. Also, war brings out the point of ambiguity clearly in the sense that; during a military officer regards war as scene because it inspires the nature of his training, another person views war as an agency because it is a means through which an end, victory, is achieved. Without doubt, different situations deserve different analysis when using the five key terms of the dramatist.Work CitedBurke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2000. Print.

Primes and Princes

Primes and Princes Primes and Princes Primes and Princes By Mark Nichol This post lists and defines words deriving from the adjective primus, meaning â€Å"first† or â€Å"finest.† premier: first, or earliest; as a noun, a synonym for â€Å"prime minister† premier danseur/premià ¨re danseuse: the first male and female dancer, respectively, in a ballet company premiere: most commonly, a first performance or broadcast of a performing-arts production or the first day of an exhibition (and, rarely, the leading actress in a production); as a verb, pertains to appearing for the first time in a starring role, or the first performance of a performing-arts production prim: neat and trim, or prudish or stiffly formal (and occasionally a verb pertaining to dressing modestly or making a demure expression); prim is also sometimes an abbreviation for primary or primitive prima donna: the first female singer in an opera or a concert; by extension, based on the stereotypical arrogance of such performers, a person who is difficult to work with prima facie: apparent or self-evident (or, in legal usage, legally sufficient to establish a case or a fact); on first appearance primacy: the state of being first, or the office of a high-ranking priest called a primate primal: elemental, natural, or original; less often, first in importance primary: first in order of development or time, or importance or value, or basic, direct, or firsthand; also, relating to something initial or preparatory, or pertaining to a first division, or relating to a preliminary election, as well as derived from ores or not derivable from other phenomena (such as colors); as a noun, something first, dominant, or most proximate primate: any of various species, including humans, apes, monkeys, and related animals; also, the highest-ranking priest in a given area primatologist: one who studies primates primavera: served with fresh vegetables (said of a dish, as in â€Å"pasta primavera†) prime: as a noun, the first hour of the day, the best or most active period or stage, the earliest stage, the best or leading individual or part, the first part of the day, a symbol resembling an apostrophe used for various designations (including units of length, angular measure, or time), or a truncation of â€Å"prime number† or â€Å"prime rate†; as an adjective, best or first, or original (also various mathematical senses); as a verb, apply, load, prepare, stimulate, or supply primer: a short introductory piece of writing, such as an informative article or a reading-instruction book; also, a device used to ignite explosives, a molecule necessary for formation of another molecule, or an initial coating, such as for painting a surface primeval: ancient, basic, or first created, formed, or existing primigravida: one that or who is pregnant for the first time primipara: one that has borne a first offspring or only one offspring primiparous: having a first or only one offspring primitive: original, or earliest or least evolved or in an early stage of development, elemental or natural, or naive or self-taught primo: the first or leading part in an ensemble; as an adverb, in the first place; as an adjective, slang synonym for excellent primogenitor: ancestor or forefather primogeniture: exclusive right of the eldest son to inherit all, or being the firstborn primordial: see primeval primp: dress up (perhaps an extension of prim) primrose: any of various species of plants and their flowers primus: in the Scottish Episcopal Church, the leading bishop; also, the first word of the Latin phrase primus inter pares, meaning â€Å"first among equals† prince: a male member of a ruling family (especially a son of the ruler), a king or other male ruler, a nobleman, or, by extension, one of high rank or standing princeling: a minor prince princess: a female member of a ruling family (especially a daughter of the ruler), a queen or other female ruler, a noblewoman, or, by extension, one of high rank or standing principal: as a noun, a leading person, such as the chief administrator of a school, or something that is most important, or the original amount of money owed; as an adjectival, most important principality: the territory of a prince, or the authority, office, or state of a prince; in plural form, one of various hierarchical categories of angels principle: an assumption, law, or principle considered fundamental, or an explanatory fact or law; a code or rule of conduct, the quality of devotion to principles, or a quality in general; an original source; or an ingredient with a characteristic quality Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial Expressions50 Latin Phrases You Should KnowHow to Style Legislative Terms

How Are SAT Subject Tests Scored

How Are SAT Subject Tests Scored SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Picture this: you sit down to take an SAT Subject Test. You answer somewhere from 50 to 95 questions in an hour. A few weeks later, you log on to your College Board account and see a score for your test on a scale of 200-800.Somehow, the results from your multiple-choice test got turned into this final scaled score. But how did this happen? How are SAT Subject Tests scored? In this article, I’ll discuss how your raw score for the exam is calculated, how this is converted into your final score, and what SAT Subject Test scoringmeans for youin terms of setting- and meeting- a target score. How Is Your Raw SAT Subject Score Calculated? Your raw score is your point total on the SAT Subject Test before it’s been converted to your final score on the 200-800 point scale. So if there are 60 questions, the highest raw score you could get would be 60. However, unlike with the regular SAT, your raw score isn’t based only on how many questions you get right but also onhow many questions you get wrong.This so-called "guessing penalty," which was designed to discourage random guessing, means that for every question you get wrong, a fraction of a point will be deducted from your raw point total for questions you’ve answered correctly. The point deduction for answering a given question incorrectlyis based on the number of answer choices for the question: -1/4 pointper incorrect five-choice question -1/3 pointper incorrect four-choice question -1/2 pointper incorrect three-choice question 0 points per question left unanswered Most questions on SAT Subject Tests are five-choice questions, so the guessing penalty is usually just a quarter-point. Subject Test raw scores are rounded to the nearest whole point. In other words, half-points and above round up, while anything below a half-point rounds down. So a 33.25 would round down to 33, whereas a 33.5 would round up to 34. Your raw score, then, can be expressed as follows: # of answers right − (# of answers wrong x guessing penalty) = raw score (rounded to nearest whole number) If, on a 60-question Subject Test such as Literature, you get 45 questions right, get five wrong, and leave 10 blank, your raw score would be as follows: 45 answered correctly− (5 answered incorrectly x 0.25 guessing penalty) = 45− 1.25 = 43.75 43.75 rounded to the nearest whole number = 44 Raw score = 44 points To recap: SAT Subject Test scoring is based on both how many questions you get right and how many you get wrong. Once that number is established, though, how does the College Board come up with your 200-800 point score? Read on to find out! The College Board: a pictorial representation. How Your Final SAT Subject Test Score Is Calculated If you've been taking practice tests usingThe Official Study Guide to ALL SAT Subject Tests,you might have noticed that there is a chart for converting your raw score on a practice test to a scaled score after each practice exam. These charts can give you a loose ballpark as to how a certain raw score on one test might convert to a scaled score from 200 to 800, but they're not exact. There is no consistent formula you can use to convert a raw SAT Subject Test score to a scaled score. This is because the College Board equates scaled scores to make it so thatscores are comparable between different administrations of the test.Equating accounts for small difficulty variations and minor differences in the skill levels of test takers on different test dates. Basically, your individual score won’t suffer if the people who took the Subject Test with you were unusually strong in that subject. (On the flip side, your score won't be better, either, if the people who sat with you were unusually weak in the subject.) In other words, a 650 from the Math II test you took in November willreflect the same level of masteryas Anya’s 650 score on the Math II test next May. Even if your test administration was full of state math-team champions and hers had mostly people who failed geometry, neither of these factors will influence your final scaled scores! Equating works to your advantage- you don’t want to have to worry about who else is taking the test the same day as you, or whether your edition of the test will be a little harder than usual. I do not, unfortunately, know the witchcraft (and by witchcraft, I mean statistics) through which the equating process occurs. Nor could I learn, unless I had access to lots of secret College Board test data. What I do have is some advice on how to approach the relationship between raw scores and scaled scores. The Magic Castle where equating takes place. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Setting a Target Scaled Score for an SAT Subject Test To reiterate what we've gone over so far, each SAT Subject Test is equated to give you a final scaled score on a scale of 200-800. The SAT Subject Test score you should aim for ultimately depends on what scores the schools you're applying to are looking for. To figure out what your goal score should be, look up the average or recommended SAT Subject Test scores of admitted applicants for each of your schools. For example, if you're applying to the Ivy League,this guide goes over the scores you should aim for on each Subject Test (depending on your major). You can also look up SAT score info on schools' official websites or contact schools' admissions offices and ask them what you should aim for. Note that more and more schools merely recommend SAT Subject Test scores and don't require them. That said, if you're applying to a highly selective school, you should still try to submit Subject Test scores since a high score can greatly boost your chances of admission. If you can't find exact score data for a school, estimate what score you'll need to get based on how selective the institution is.Competitive schools generally want to see SAT Subject Test scores in at least the 700s- sometimes 750+. Once you've filled out your chart, look for the highest score on it. This will be your goal (scaled) score for that SAT Subject Test.Get this score, and you'll have an excellent shot at getting into all the schools you're applying to. In the example above, a perfect 800 would give you your best shot at getting into these top-tier schools. But what raw score should you aim for on your SAT Subject Test? How to Set a Target Raw Score for an SAT Subject Test You might be wondering what raw score you should be targeting based on your target scaled score. Due to the equating process and variations among tests, there’s no way to determine exactly what raw score you'll need in order to get your target scaled score. That said, there are ways to give you a rough idea. Option 1: Consult Raw Score Conversion Charts in the Official Guide For starters, if you have The Official Study Guide to ALL SAT Subject Tests(which I highly recommend if you're taking any Subject Tests!), you can flip to the raw score-scaled score conversion chart at the back of the practice test for your subject to geta decent approximation of what raw score you should be aiming for to get a certain scaled score. For example, on the Literature test, you can see that a raw score of 55 out of 61 possible points converts to 770. Meanwhile, on Math Level II, 46 (out of a possible 50 raw points) converts to 800. And so on. Here's an abbreviated conversion chart we've put together for those who don't have access to the official SAT Subject Tests guide. Though this chart will not work perfectly for every Subject Test, it should still be able to give you an estimated raw score to aim for: Raw Score Lit US Hist W Hist 95 - - 800 90 - 800 800 85 - 800 800 80 - 800 800 75 - 770 780 70 - 730 750 65 - 700 720 60 800 670 690 55 770 650 670 50 730 620 640 45 690 600 610 40 650 570 580 35 610 540 560 30 570 520 530 25 530 490 500 20 490 460 470 15 450 440 440 10 410 410 410 5 370 390 380 0 below 200-330 230-360 220-360 Raw Score Math I Math II 50 800 800 45 760 800 40 720 760 35 670 700 30 620 650 25 580 610 20 510 580 15 470 540 10 430 500 5 390 460 0 below 250-350 300-410 Raw Score BioE BioM Chem Phy 85 - - 800 - 80 800 800 790 - 75 780 790 760 800 70 750 760 740 800 65 720 730 710 800 60 690 700 690 800 55 670 670 670 770 50 640 640 640 730 45 610 620 620 700 40 580 590 590 670 35 550 560 570 630 30 520 530 540 600 25 480 490 520 560 20 450 460 490 530 15 410 420 460 490 10 370 390 430 460 5 340 350 400 420 0 below 220-320 240-330 270-370 270-390 Languages- Listening Raw Score Chinese French German 85 800 800 770 80 800 800 750 75 770 800 730 70 740 760 700 65 720 730 680 60 690 690 650 55 670 660 620 50 640 630 590 45 620 600 570 40 590 570 540 35 560 540 520 30 540 520 500 25 510 490 470 20 490 460 450 15 460 430 420 10 430 400 390 5 410 370 360 0 below 220-380 200-330 270-330 Languages- Listening Raw Score Japanese Korean Spanish 85 - - 800 80 800 800 780 75 770 780 740 70 730 750 700 65 690 720 650 60 640 690 620 55 600 660 590 50 560 630 550 45 530 600 530 40 490 570 500 35 460 540 470 30 430 510 440 25 400 480 410 20 370 450 390 15 340 410 360 10 300 380 340 5 270 350 310 0 below 200-240 200-320 200-280 Languages - Reading Raw Score French German Modern Hebrew 85 800 800 800 80 800 780 770 75 800 750 700 70 770 720 640 65 730 680 600 60 700 640 560 55 670 610 530 50 640 570 500 45 610 540 480 40 590 510 460 35 560 480 440 30 530 450 420 25 510 430 400 20 480 400 390 15 450 380 370 10 430 360 350 5 400 330 320 0 below 230-380 200-310 200-290 Languages - Reading Raw Score Italian Latin Spanish 85 - - 800 80 800 - 780 75 770 - 750 70 740 800 720 65 710 790 680 60 680 750 640 55 660 720 600 50 630 680 560 45 600 650 530 40 570 610 500 35 540 580 470 30 500 540 450 25 460 510 420 20 430 480 400 15 400 460 380 10 370 430 360 5 330 410 340 0 below 200-300 270-390 200-310 Raw veggies are just like raw scores- only greener. Option 2: Use SAT Subject Test Percentiles You can also check out the percentiles for all SAT Subject Tests.These tell you what percentile rank each scaled score corresponds to. They won’t tell you the corresponding raw score, but you can still get a solid idea of how many questions you can afford to get wrong for a top score. Here's a brief overview of the current percentiles for all SAT Subject Tests: Score Lit US Hist W Hist Math I Math II 800 99 97 96 99 79 750 91 83 85 92 60 700 75 64 71 74 45 650 56 46 55 57 31 600 40 30 40 42 17 550 28 19 24 29 9 500 19 12 14 19 4 450 12 7 6 10 2 400 5 3 3 5 1- 350 1 1 1- 1 1- 300 1- 1- 1- 1- - 250 1- - 1- - - Score BioE BioM Chem Phy 800 97 94 90 87 750 88 79 72 70 700 74 61 54 53 650 55 42 38 38 600 37 27 24 25 550 23 16 15 15 500 13 10 8 9 450 8 6 4 4 400 5 3 1 1 350 2 1 1- 1- 300 1- 1- - - 250 1- 1- - - Language - Listening Score CH FR GE JA KO SP 800 62 80 96 88 62 94 750 22 66 83 50 21 74 700 12 53 66 33 55 650 7 38 52 24 6 38 600 4 27 42 16 4 24 550 3 17 28 2 15 500 1 10 17 6 1 9 450 1- 4 10 3 1 4 400 1- 1 5 2 1- 2 350 - 1- 2 1 1- 1 300 - - 1- 1- - 1- 250 - - - 1- - 1- Languages - Reading Score FR GE MH IT LA SP 800 87 93 85 88 94 92 750 77 76 71 64 82 77 700 65 63 63 49 67 60 650 53 51 55 36 54 44 600 41 41 46 24 41 30 550 28 31 38 16 27 19 500 17 22 29 14 450 9 13 16 7 5 6 400 3 6 8 5 1 2 350 1- 2 2 3 - 1 300 - 1- 1- 1 - 1- 250 - - - 1- - 1- So how can you use these percentiles to determine how many questions you can get wrong? Let's take a look. If an 800 is a 99th percentile score, as it is for Literature and Math Level I, the curve is going to be much steeper than it is for a test like Math Level II (in which an 800 is only a 79th percentile score). That means that to get an 800 on Math II, you have to score better than only 80% of test takers, while to get an 800 on Math I, you have to score better than 99% of test takers! Basically, the higher the percentile number is for an 800 score, the fewer questions you can afford to get wrong for a score at the top of the range. This also means that a top score for these exams really stands out. Option 3: Look at Average SAT Subject Test Scores A final option is to look atthe average scores for each SAT Subject Test.Here's an overview of the current averages for each test: SAT Subject Test Average Score Literature 607 US History 640 World History 622 Math Level I 605 Math Level II 693 Ecological Biology 618 Molecular Biology 650 Chemistry 666 Physics 667 Chinese with Listening 760 French with Listening 668 German with Listening 618 Japanese with Listening 703 Korean with Listening 761 Spanish with Listening 662 French 628 German 620 Modern Hebrew 612 Italian 666 Latin 626 Spanish 647 Source: The College Board A high average score doesn’t necessarily mean the test is easy, though- it could also mean that the students who take it tend to have a high skill level in the subject. Moreover,on tests with high averages, it can be hard to differentiate yourself from the pack, so that’s something else to keep in mind. Overall, there’s no secret way to know what raw score will correspond to a given scaled score when you sit down to take an SAT Subject Test. However, you can get a ballpark idea of how to meet your target scaled score by using official SAT conversion charts and recentpercentile rankings. Stand out like the ballerina in the front. Wait, Elsa, is that you? Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Meeting a Target Raw Score on an SAT Subject Test Due to the guessing penalty, meeting a raw target score isn’t as simple as answering a certain number of questions correctly. You also need to think about the points you’ll lose from incorrect answers. The guessing penalty doesn’t mean that you should never guess if you aren’t completely sure of the answer. The more answer choices you can eliminate, the better your chances are of getting the right answer and avoiding the penalty. Let’s go over the math. Most SAT Subject Test questions have five answer choices. Ifguessing randomly, you'll have a 20% chance of getting the question right. Thus, you would most likely get onein fivequestions correct if randomly guessing. But if for every correct answer you get 1 point and for every four questions wrong you lose 0.25 points, this comes out to a penalty of 1 point per question.This means you'll net zero points! More importantly, though, it means you’ve wasted time. Clearly, random guessing is not a great strategy. But what if you could eliminate one answer choice per question? Assuming you’ve eliminated the answer correctly, this gives you a slightly higher 25% chance of getting the question right, or an average of one in four questions right. In this case, you'll get 1 point for every correct answer and lose 0.25 points for every three questions, resulting in a penalty of 0.75 points per question. That’s a net of 0.25 points! Is this really worth it, though? Remember that raw scores round to the nearest whole number, so if you're guessing on four questions, your 0.25 points won’t help you go up a point- they’ll just round back down. Unless you guess on eight questions with one answer choice eliminated per question, you are not likely to net any gains to your raw score this way. It’s a different story if you can eliminate two answer choices per question. If you guess on three five-choice questions and can eliminate two answers each for those questions, you'll have a 33% chance of getting each question right. Chances are, you’ll get one of those three questions right. That’s 1 point. You’ll get penalized for your two wrong answers by 0.25 points each. That’s -0.5 points. One point gained - 0.5 point penalty = a net of 0.5 points. Since raw scores are rounded to the nearest point, that adds a point to your raw score! Awesome. And your chances only go up the more answer choices you can eliminate. Keep in mind that this is just probability. Depending on whether you’re lucky or unlucky, you could get better or worse results. But the math is definitely on your side for guessing if you can eliminate two or more answers. This will boost your raw score and help you meet your target score. Key Takeaways: SAT Subject Tests Scoring SAT Subject Test scoring is a little unusual because your score doesn’t just account for how many questions you answered correctly- it also includes deductions for questions you answered incorrectly. Your raw score is calculated by subtracting the penalty for each question you got wrong from the points ofquestions you answered correctly, rounded to the nearest whole number. The College Board then converts your raw score to a scaled score via a process called equating so that scores from different administrations of the test are comparable with each other. Because of this, it’s hard to say with total certainty what raw score you'll need in order to hit a particular scaled score. That said, you can get a general idea using the conversion charts in The Official Guide to ALL SAT Subject Tests and the most recent Subject Test percentile rankings. When you're trying to hit your target raw score, remember that on questions you aren't totally sure of, the more answer choices you can eliminate, the better your chances are of guessing the correct answer and avoiding a penalty. You can do it, you beautiful SAT butterfly! The rarely seen SAT butterfly. What's Next? How many SAT Subject Tests should you take, anyway? Read our guide to get expert advice on what the best number of tests is for you.In addition, seewhich SAT Subject Tests will be easiest for you. Wondering which colleges require you to send SAT Subject Test scores? See our complete list. Taking the regular SAT, too? Be sure to review our in-depth guide to the SAT format. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Kurt Vonnegut Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kurt Vonnegut - Essay Example And unusually for this form, Vonnegut's science fiction is frequently comic, not just in the "black humor" mode with which he has been tagged so often, but in being simply funny" (Reed). Therefore, he gave a new prospective on comic and science fiction, which was refreshing to most readers. From there, some of the imagery in his books and artwork clarify what some people go through in order to survive life which encourages the reader to take an interest in it because it is something that some Americans are going through at the moment. "Vonnegut's vision of the fantastic in daily life surely must have been influenced by some of the extraordinary events that occurred while he was still a young man, such as the suicide of his mother on Mother's Day 1944 while he was home on leave; his surviving as a prisoner of war the Allied firebombing that destroyed Dresden; the death of his sister Alice from cancer within hours of her husband's death in a train crash. His fiction struggles to cope with a world of tragi-comic disparities, a universe that defies causality, whose absurdity lends the fantastic equal plausibility with the mundane. Much the same outlook pervades the graphic artworks that have increasingly occupied Vonnegut in recent years" (Reed). As it can be seen from his work, it shows a lot of imagery where people's experience when they are wounded and about to face painful consequences of life.However, some critics of his work do not think it gives true imagery of life because it seems more dramatic than that. Just as Vonnegut's prose style has often been characterized as honed-down, so too there is a spareness to his graphics. That is the chief distinction between the vigorously colored felt-tip calligraphy of the early 1980s and the later silk screened art. And in both, the relative simplicity of expression counterpoints the generosity of imagination and vision, making the work more compelling. Vonnegut's concise verbal pronouncements often deflate those myths habitually proffered as giving meaning to daily existence. Yet at the same time his ranging imagination captures the fantastic that permeates the mundane, the fact stranger than fiction that makes daily life forever beyond rationalization. That sense of the fantastic, of the chaotic that fills life with surprises both painful and comic, finds expression in his graphic art as it does in his fiction (Reed)". From there, he could accomplish his goals and successes because he had family support. Socially supportive arrangements as the attributes of socially legitimate roles which provide for the meeting dependency needs without loss of esteem, they are less likely to show aggression while suppressing destructive behavior. From there, socially supportive environments were presented as pattern interpersonal relationships mediated through shared values and sentiments as well as facilitate the performance of social roles through which needs are met. In summation, social support has been defined as an intervening factor tied directly to the coping process 1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North Americ

Nature vs Nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nature vs Nurture - Essay Example Some researchers support the argument that nature is responsible for the makeup of an individual’s behavioral patterns which can be modified through interaction with society. They suggest that human beings are not happy or sad because of their environment but individuals are different from each other because of their genetic makeup granted to them by their parents. Opponents of this approach argue that the behavioral patterns have nothing to do with genes because a human being can be modified into whatever kind of a person the nurturer wants him to grow into. Part 2 My friend’s parents were both doctors and they wanted their daughter to become one too. The girl herself had very much willingness and interest toward becoming a doctor and everybody knew that she had an inborn talent and ability to excel in the field of medicine. However, when she passed her high school, she had not enough marks to get into a medical school. She took admission in a computer science universi ty and made up her mind to study hard and show to the world that she can do it. And unbelievingly, she kept on passing with good grades in a field which was just opposite to her inborn talent and abilities.

A business process method for virtualized enterprises Research Paper

A business process method for virtualized enterprises - Research Paper Example Though the future is commonly tagged as unpredictable, business management gives room to forecasting especially when it is based on principles and empirical theories. Expecting business process improvement to remain competitive or to be even improved is therefore nothing much to ask from businesses in today’s fast changing business environment. Several definitions have been given to the term ‘business process’. According to the Business Process Incubator (2011), business process is â€Å"a co-ordinated set of actions that produce a business result, either within a single organization or across several.† Search CIO (2011) also has it that â€Å"A business process is an activity or set of activities that will accomplish a specific organizational goal.† To implement these set of activities that lead to the realization of organizational goals however, there are a number of methods and supporting frameworks to follow. In this paper, we discuss a business process method and supporting framework, including concepts for business-to-business interaction and human resources: to obtain business process environment with rapid, flexible, straightforward, efficient, and precise operations. Undoubtedly, a similar framework will be widely implemented in the near future, and methods such as this one will be widely used. This future implementation will be directed towards achieving a more advanced system and form of business and organizational structure. As the world progresses and advances by the day, business process methods and frameworks that are instituted must meet the growing needs of businesses and society as a whole. Future implementation would therefore be a huge step for the humanity, similar to transition from postal mail to email, utilization of computer-aided design, and use of professional and general purpose social networks. Just as in a swift of human imagination these innovations came to take over the norm that previously exist ed, it is expected that future implementations would solve more complex problems of humanity and businesses. Virtual profiles system and electronic contract negotiation and formation To allow for a more comprehensive discussion of this session, the session shall begin with the definition and explanation of some the salient terms to be used. Virtual profiles system is more related to virtual systems management that is used in most corporations, organizations and businesses. Virtual systems management basically has to do with the allocation and distribution of resources. Expanding the explanation further, Tech Target (2007) explain that â€Å"virtual systems management (VSM), is the process of remotely managing the allocation and use of resources in conventional networks as well as in virtual area networks (VANs), virtual private networks (VPNs), virtual network computing (VNC) and virtual servers.† Virtual prolife systems therefore work best with all kinds of organizations and businesses as far as they have technological facilities for implementation. Electronic contract has greater linkage with virtual profile systems in the sense that electronic contracts helps in the achievement of the management and allocation of resources; especially data on the institution in question. To this effect, Morciniec et al (2002) explain that â€Å"an electronic contract is its reification in software that can be instantiated as a set of obligations that are fulfilled between parties, refused or waived as future events occur.† This explanation was given in relation to the meaning of an ordinary contract, which was explained by the writers to be â€Å"a statement of intent that regulates behavior among organizations and individuals†

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET KIDS INVOLVED IN SPORTS Essay

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET KIDS INVOLVED IN SPORTS - Essay Example However, as Ripken, Ripken B, and Scott (4) remind, a kid’s basic interest in sport has to be cultivated and maintained carefully because his/her interest levels might vary from time to time. Therefore, parents and academic reformers should heed genuine attention to integrate sports into school curriculum. To illustrate, the hustle and bustle of modern life have heavy impact on the lives of children today. They have been given little chance to understand the importance of their health. Since higher emphasis is given to academic training, sport often becomes the least important aspect of curriculum. However, sport is the most important aspect of a child’s various stages of development. Evidently, sports help children to practice self discipline that will have a long term positive effect on their future life. Children who practice self discipline are less likely to fall in bad habits mainly for two reasons. Firstly, they will have the moral courage to overcome such situat ions; and secondly, they deliberately avoid such chances as they are well aware of the importance of health. Moreover, kids who involve in sports, learn the basic lessons of social life and cooperation. Since every sport is played between two or more individuals, children will naturally learn how to interact with other persons in a healthy manner for their common goal.

Hofstede Analysis ( Mexico) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hofstede Analysis ( Mexico) - Essay Example It is, therefore important to make a comparison between one culture and another. This paper describes the culture of Mexico by using Hofstede’s five primary dimensions that include power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, career success/quality of life, and long term/short term dimensions. Power distance refers to the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations or institutions within a given nation anticipate and accept that power is unequally distributed (Harorimana 28). This dimension focuses on the fact that all people in all societies are not equal. It, therefore, analyses the attitude of culture with reference to these inequalities amongst us. Using this dimension, Mexico score is 81 while US score is 40, and this means that it is a hierarchical society (Hofstede & Hofstede 142). With hierarchical structure, it means that Mexicans accept hierarchical order where everyone has a place, which also requires no further justification. Hierarchy within an organization or an institution is perceived to reflect that centralization is popular, inherent qualities exist, and the subordinates are expected to receive orders from their employers, which they should not defy at all costs (Lee Y et. al. 106). Any foreign investor planning to venture into Mexican mar kets should expect that various interferences will characterize daily running of their businesses from the Mexican authorities. This dimension majorly focuses on addressing the extent to which interdependence a society maintains among its people (Harorimana 28). It deals with issues such as whether individual’s self-image is defined in terms of â€Å"We† or â€Å"I†. People living in individualist societies are expected to look after themselves and their families only (Harorimana 28). On the contrary, people living in collectivist societies are supposed to depend on groups, which take care of them in exchange for commitment

Karl Marx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Karl Marx - Essay Example Karl Marx would consider the advent of the internet to be significant because it provides a mechanism through which communities would establish relationships, learn means of production, and create communist systems that would replace capitalism and end its exploitative nature. Karl Marx suggests that capitalists pay their workers subsistence pay rather than paying them an amount that reflects their value of the business. The internet would overcome this problem by giving workers a platform to share experiences and learn how to create value on their own rather than relying on the businesses of capitalists. The subsistence payment of workers gives them enough amounts to survive in order to continue working for the capitalists. Capitalism does not allow them to earn enough money because they would become empowered and start their own businesses, leaving the capitalists without workers. In this case, the advent of the internet is important because it empowers workers who earn low income by allowing them to access information and markets cheaply. Therefore, they can break away from the hands of capitalism and enjoy equal opportunities as the capitalists through internet marketing and communication that create value for them.An example of the significance of the internet is that it may allow a designer to earn a full value of his efforts. For example if a designer works for a capitalist and creates a value of $100 for every piece of cloth, the designer may get $40 and the capitalist takes $60, half of which she uses to pay fixed costs.

Hofstede Analysis ( Mexico) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hofstede Analysis ( Mexico) - Essay Example It is, therefore important to make a comparison between one culture and another. This paper describes the culture of Mexico by using Hofstede’s five primary dimensions that include power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, career success/quality of life, and long term/short term dimensions. Power distance refers to the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations or institutions within a given nation anticipate and accept that power is unequally distributed (Harorimana 28). This dimension focuses on the fact that all people in all societies are not equal. It, therefore, analyses the attitude of culture with reference to these inequalities amongst us. Using this dimension, Mexico score is 81 while US score is 40, and this means that it is a hierarchical society (Hofstede & Hofstede 142). With hierarchical structure, it means that Mexicans accept hierarchical order where everyone has a place, which also requires no further justification. Hierarchy within an organization or an institution is perceived to reflect that centralization is popular, inherent qualities exist, and the subordinates are expected to receive orders from their employers, which they should not defy at all costs (Lee Y et. al. 106). Any foreign investor planning to venture into Mexican mar kets should expect that various interferences will characterize daily running of their businesses from the Mexican authorities. This dimension majorly focuses on addressing the extent to which interdependence a society maintains among its people (Harorimana 28). It deals with issues such as whether individual’s self-image is defined in terms of â€Å"We† or â€Å"I†. People living in individualist societies are expected to look after themselves and their families only (Harorimana 28). On the contrary, people living in collectivist societies are supposed to depend on groups, which take care of them in exchange for commitment

Report on the company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Report on the company - Essay Example Coca-Cola is a 128 year old multinational company that has its presence in over 200 countries, and produces over 3500 products (Lim and Wong, 2014). It does not take a single hand to accomplish that amount of success within those numbers of years in all these countries that include USA, Britain, Kenya and many others. Its success depends on the several suppliers that it depends on to provide raw materials and valuable resources. . These provide the system with materials such as ingredients, packaging and machinery, as well as goods and services (The Coca-Cola Company 2014). Coca-Cola products range from soft drinks to drinking water, such as coke, Fanta, sprite, Dasani, Aquapure among others. This diversity in production calls for a long list of supply products to manufacture these include syrups and concentrates, sweeteners; juices; mineral waters; finished product; carbon dioxide; fuel; PET (plastic) preforms; glass, aluminum, and plastic bottles; aluminum and steel cans; pouches; closures; post-mix (fountain syrup) packaging; and other packaging materials (Wikinvest 2014). The supply chain of Coca-Cola Company involves all the companies that come into contact with the company’s products. This includes every company involved in making parts for the product, putting it together, delivering and finally selling. In other words it involves the suppliers, Manufacturers and retailers (Investopedia 2014). Due to the fact that the whole process begins with the supplier, the whole process cannot stand without the suppliers. This makes them a very key element. To understand the impact of suppliers to the Coca-Cola Company, their roles must be laid out clearly. One of the roles of the suppliers is acquisition. They provide the company with equipment, spare parts and raw materials. This enables the company to service and repair machinery, and produce end products. During the process of acquisition, they keep in contact with clients to make

Integrated Marketing Communications Essay Example for Free

Integrated Marketing Communications Essay Answer1: The Vocalpoint program launched by PG was a well sought out mean to market the products by using the word of mouth marketing strategy. Inclusion of the mothers from around the country was a cunning decision made by the managers at PG the reason for this being was that mothers are the ones who usually purchase the products for the household or domestic use so convincing them and then make them work in marketing the new offering so an immaculate move by the management of PG. Another benefit which PG gained by devising this Vocalpoint program was that, housewives are hard to target as they do not use technology that often, rather they spend a big part of their leisure time in gossiping with their friends hence the best possible way to market the offerings to them was by this word of mouth publicity. PG earned pretty much short term and long term benefits by applying this strategy; the most outstanding one was that launching this program helped the firm in increasing the sales by a considerable extent which obviously is the sole aim of launching any marketing campaign. In addition to this external clients of PG also earned huge profits by using this program and so as a result PG got its share in the profits, this amount was as higher as 1 million USD. The job of the RD department got less hectic as it was able to get the desired feedback on the latest products; this was helpful for it in making changes to the existing products and also to the ones which are undergoing the process of development. One of the long term benefits which came to PG’s way as a result of this program was that it got a solid loyal customer base on which it can capitalize in the forthcoming years. The ‘connect and develop† program of PG also got immense support as a result of this program and the marketing intelligence of the company overall increased. Better customer relationship management is also one aspect of the Vocalpoint program which was advantageous for the firm because it helped the managers in comprehending the consumer’s mindset and thus forecasting the consumers’ behavior became easily. The customers on the other hand became increasingly brand loyal to the company as they were getting tailor made products for themselves because PG was able to understand their latent and covert needs in an adept manner like no one else was doing. The overall impact of this project on the position of the firm was immaculate as it was a win-win situation for the company; the managers were getting the ins and outs of the target market in no time whatsoever so the overall time consumed in the processes of product development got reduced. This decrease in the overall product development time acted as a competitive advantage for the managers as they were able to deliver the market with the products it wanted in much lesser time than the competitors. Another addition was that the managers at the firm were getting customer generated feedback on the latest products and that too in negligible time so this enabled them to alter their strategies if needed be; the consumer on the other hand were liking this as they were getting tailor-made products for their usage (Sirgy 1998). Answer2: Analyzing from the business perspective one has to say that the programs such as Vocalpoint and Tremor must go on as they are beneficial for the businesses in the longer run and same is the case with PG. Having said that one has to admit that these projects and programs are certainly not the ones, which are based on the ethical principles and norms laid by the society. In my opinion there are various ethical issues which are present in such kind of WoM programs. The first and the foremost being is that the person to whom the offering is being marketed is unaware of the reality he is perceiving the interaction as a social one but in general the other person is acting as a sales person for a specific firm. My objection regarding this is that if a person is being marketed something then he must have prior knowledge of this. For me there is a thin line between marketing and deceiving and this difference has to be understood by the firms and the marketing managers; if there are ample ethical ways of marketing then what is the point in using the deceptive means? Another issue in my opinion is that by hiring or deploying WoM marketers the managers are making the society increasingly materialistic even the sacred relationships like friendship etc are being used just as an asset and even that without the other person being aware of this all. Objectifying the society is one thing which to me is intolerable and as this eventually ruins the whole basic structure of the civilization which really is denting in terms of the future perspectives. Considering the Tremor program I can firmly state that this was one project on which I have serious reservations; the reason for this being is that PG was using minors (children under 18 years ) to market its products; this is one ridiculous way of marketing. The reason for this is that this is the age where the person learns the most, from its society and surroundings and if the society is indulged in inducing the materialistic thoughts in kids then this will be injurious for the entire social setup; this is the stage at which the children must be taught how to honor and value the relationships but such deceptive marketing projects destroys the whole brought up of a child. One legal issue which too arises as a result of the inclusion of minors in the marketing programs is that these kids are underage legally so they cannot be made a part of any marketing project without the prior consent of their guardians (Malachowski 2001); this is one thing which was completely neglected by the managers at PG and hence they violated the rules and regulations laid by the government. In the Tremor programs the minors were not allowed to tell the reality to the person to which they are interacting this is something which is immoral and to me for this the firm has to be penalized; can we teach our younger generations to indulge into immoral activities just for the sake of money? This is a million dollar question which has to be answered by the managers at PG. The Tremor program targeted the minors too which is also an unethical way of making business the reason for this is that the underage people are immature hence they cannot make decisions for themselves (Malachowski 2001); influencing a buyer’s decision by using rational marketing ploys is a justifiable act but making the kids addict by using deceptive means and backdoor channels has to be abandoned as this certainly is not favorable for the social composition. In sum commercialization of human relationships is one thing which must be stopped by the marketing managers if someone is indulging in WoM marketing of a firm then he should disclose his affiliation as this is beneficial for the society; involving money in the activities of daily life will hurt the society in the longer run. In the Vocalpoint program the managers at PG were looking to select the mothers which are more social; the main reason behind this move was that, as mother is the most sacred and trustworthy relationship in this universe so mothers enjoy a unique position in the society; using their social stature for the marketing purposes was an unreasonable attempt. Answer 3:  The value of WoM is immense in the present global marketing scenario, the primary reason for this is that due to the increase in the globalization the nature of the competition has increased exponentially and so to do business and earn profits a firm has to market it’s offering to the target buyers. With the increase in the intensity of competition and technology the media of marketing have too increased and thus in such an overall marketing environment WoM publicity is something which is of great significance (Bothma 2003). Direct marketing and interactive marketing have always been profitable ways of interacting and influencing the consumers the reason behind this is that first of all these means are less expensive than the other marketing tactics (Tuckwell 2004). In addition to this the marketers get to know more about the ins and outs of the buyer’s black box; as known that these are the two methods which are an integral part of the IMC mix hence applying them together makes it easier for the marketers to timely comprehend the latent and covert needs of the buyers and thus they can make the necessary changes to the offerings and strategies. WoM advocacy is beneficial in the present scenario because it enables the marketers to interact with the customers and hence they can obtain the customer generated feedback regarding their products in addition to this, as there is no such middle channel involved in between the marketer and the buyer (as the WoM marketer is a part of the company) so it becomes easier to get the message of the consumer. The firms once get the timely feedback can make suitable adjustments and alterations in the product designs, strategies etc and in this way eventually WoM publicity acts as a source of competitive advantage for the company in this era of fierce competition. After understanding the consumer psyche if need be, then suitable sales promotions can be launched which are an essential component of the overall IMC mix (Blakeman 2009) The holistic marketing concept has to be applied as per the book because consumer centricity is something plays a vital role in the overall growth of the firm. Establishing long term business relations with the buyers is only possible if the market is provided with what is demanded by it. The nature of the relationship between the firm and its related publics should be exceptional, as this affects the performance of the company in the longer run WoM publicity is one thing which helps in building stronger relationships between the publics and the company (Baker 2001).

Conflicts During The 1920s :: essays research papers

Conflicts During the 1920s The contrast between the new and changing attitudes and traditional values was unmistakably present during the 1920's. This clash between the old and the new had many roots and was inevitable. A new sense of awareness washed over minorities in our nation, especially blacks who began to realize that they were entitled to their own subculture, pursuit of success, and share of the American dream. This ideal was expressed by Langston Hughes in "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." They were supported by the growing number of young, financially well-to-do liberals who formed the new intelligencia. Each group sought the use of logic and rational reasoning in their rethinking of reevaluation of society's current status. Still, they constituted a minority and their reformist views were not well-taken by the greater part of the population who had become accustomed to a certain way of thinking were not willing to budge, thus keeping the radicals silent. Individualism was also partially suppresse d by the succession of three traditionalist Republican presidents whose partiality to the strong was displayed by their strong backing of big business while discouraging the Labor Union movement. Literature was one medium by which the new intelligencia could express their views on impracticality and injustice of the social system and government in the 1920's. Sinclair Lewis was one such author who used his writing to condemn the stale and outdated ways of thinking that were so widely popular in our nation during the 1920's. In addition to exposing the poor working conditions of most factory labor, particularly the meat-packing industry, he criticized the common man who could not think or act individually in his novel, Babbit, which was published in 1922. His description from the novel of the common man portrayed a person who acted in a manner that was socially acceptable who also strived for success based on society's definition of purchasing material goods. In essence he was a man defined by the society that he lived in. Religion was also a topic of controversy during the twenties. Traditionalists who were usually older and less intelligent than the rising young class of liberal intellectuals were primarily Christian and would only accept literal interpretations of the Bible. The liberals were not so quick to take the Bible at face value and came up their own interpretations. The tension between the old and the new regarding religion was perhaps most obviously prevalent at the Tennessee Evolution Court Case of 1925. In this time of where individual thinking was a rarity, public misconception and ignorance ran abound. People looked to scapegoats to account

The Right to Privacy Essay examples -- Bill of Rights

Individuals are born with certain liberty and freedom. Some freedom are being protected by the Bill of Rights, like freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and some are not. Privacy is one of the rights that was not mention in the Constitution. The definition of the right to privacy is the right to be left alone without government’s intrusion. Throughout history the Supreme Court has been ruling in favor of the right to privacy like in the cases of Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas. People who believe that the Constitution should be taken literally protest that this is an act of judicial activism, or judiciary misuse of political power to implement their own opinion on federal laws. Then there are those who believe that the judiciary pursuit justice when protecting individual’s the right to privacy. In this paper I will argue that the right to privacy is an example of the judicial authority in pursuit of justice because it is inferre d in the Constitution, it’s a just liberty, and it’s in the state of nature. The judiciary authority is responsible for individual’s right to privacy because it exists in the state of nature. Does the Constitution protects privacy? Justice Douglas answered yes. In the court case of Griswold v. Connecticut, Griswold offered informations about birth control to married couples. His action violate with the state law of Connecticut which prohibited any use of device that will prevent contraception (261). This court case raise a question of the right to privacy that protect individual from government intrusion. There were difficulties in addressing the question because unlike other liberties and freedoms, the right to privacy was not stated directly in the Constitution.... ... 225-229. Douglas, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 261-262. Hamilton, Alexander. â€Å"The Federalist No. 78† (1788). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 75-78. Hartouni, Valerie. Horwitz, Robert. Skrentny, John. Dimension of Culture 2 Justice. San Diego, CA: University Readers, 2011. Locke, John. â€Å"Chapter II: Of the State of Nature.† â€Å"Chapter V: Of Property.† â€Å"Chapter IX: Of the Ends of Political Society and Government.† The Second Treatise of Government (1690). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 21-36. Peckham, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 231-237. Taney, Roger, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 151-156. The Right to Privacy Essay examples -- Bill of Rights Individuals are born with certain liberty and freedom. Some freedom are being protected by the Bill of Rights, like freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and some are not. Privacy is one of the rights that was not mention in the Constitution. The definition of the right to privacy is the right to be left alone without government’s intrusion. Throughout history the Supreme Court has been ruling in favor of the right to privacy like in the cases of Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas. People who believe that the Constitution should be taken literally protest that this is an act of judicial activism, or judiciary misuse of political power to implement their own opinion on federal laws. Then there are those who believe that the judiciary pursuit justice when protecting individual’s the right to privacy. In this paper I will argue that the right to privacy is an example of the judicial authority in pursuit of justice because it is inferre d in the Constitution, it’s a just liberty, and it’s in the state of nature. The judiciary authority is responsible for individual’s right to privacy because it exists in the state of nature. Does the Constitution protects privacy? Justice Douglas answered yes. In the court case of Griswold v. Connecticut, Griswold offered informations about birth control to married couples. His action violate with the state law of Connecticut which prohibited any use of device that will prevent contraception (261). This court case raise a question of the right to privacy that protect individual from government intrusion. There were difficulties in addressing the question because unlike other liberties and freedoms, the right to privacy was not stated directly in the Constitution.... ... 225-229. Douglas, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 261-262. Hamilton, Alexander. â€Å"The Federalist No. 78† (1788). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 75-78. Hartouni, Valerie. Horwitz, Robert. Skrentny, John. Dimension of Culture 2 Justice. San Diego, CA: University Readers, 2011. Locke, John. â€Å"Chapter II: Of the State of Nature.† â€Å"Chapter V: Of Property.† â€Å"Chapter IX: Of the Ends of Political Society and Government.† The Second Treatise of Government (1690). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 21-36. Peckham, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 231-237. Taney, Roger, J. â€Å"Opinion of the Court.† Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857). Ed. D. Hartouni. D. Horwitz. D. Skrentny. 151-156.

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Theme, structure and social characteristics as the literary elements, highlighting the spiritual growth of the main characters in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev†, â€Å"Emma† and â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† The present paper is designed to discuss three novels about moral maturation and the growth of self-awareness, â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† by Mark Twain, whose protagonist is Huckleberry Finn, Jane Austen’s â€Å"Emma†, named after the protagonist and â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† by Chaim Potok, whose main character is Asher Lev. Notably, the authors necessarily indicate the protagonists’ names in the titles, underlining their moral and psychological development as a central plotline. The literary elements of theme, structure and protagonist’s social characteristics actually strengthen the reader’s understanding of the character’s spiritual growth: Lev’s novel demonstrates’ the protagonist’s liberation from the community bonds through the lens of the theme of social pressure, Twain’s writing – the progress of Huck’s humanistic views underlining the theme of slavery, Austen’s work – Emma’s psychological maturation, through prioritizing the theme of marriage, moreover, all works by their structure provide the mistakes made by the protagonists on their path and thus make clear to the reader that development is not a smooth and gradual process, whereas the change or stability of sociological characteristics pay reader’s attention either to the connection between self-awareness and social position or to the purely inner revolution. The characters actually perfect very distinct aspects of self awareness: Emma, for instance, overgrows the selfish and infantile girl, whose main interest is manipulating the others’ fates (as she appears at the beginning), Asher Lev realizes that he is actually an independent personality rather than the subject of the Hassidic community after being judged for depicting the his mother’s anguish, whereas Huckleberry Finn, who has never considered carefully the issue of racial equality, begins to realize his humanistic views and oppose the oppression of slaves and the split of their families. Due to the fact that the major theme in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† is community bonds and the conflict itself develops in terms of the weakening of the commitment to the groups of Hassids (Walden, 1985), the protagonist, who is a bright and unordinary individuality, should ascend over the blind observance of community tradition and learn to distinguish himself from the group. Therefore, his development is associated with individuation and learning of his ego and the religious conflict results in the development of Asher’s ability to assert his self: â€Å"So it is time for the defense, for a long session in demythology. But I will not apologize. It is absurd to apologize for a mystery†(Potok, 1998, at http://search. barnesandnoble. com). The theme of marriage as the leading one in â€Å"Emma† is also related to the main character’s development: whereas at first, Emma views marriage as a game, popular in her environment, she is still not infantile to understand that this specific type of partnership is based necessarily on strong affection after developing the feelings for her brother-in-law; whereas at the beginning she has fear for the responsibility associated with marriage. The theme of slavery also supports the reader’s understanding of the young protagonist’s moral growth in â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†: â€Å"I’m low down; and I’m a-going to steal him† (Twain, 1999, Ch. 33); as one can understand, Huck no longer views Jim as property, but in order to persuade Tom, he recognizes his own inclination to wrongdoing and takes entire responsibility for the stealing the slave. The structure of the stories is generally similar: the greatest part of the plot is dedicated to depicting the behavioral imperfections of the protagonist, so that the reader can feel the protagonist is an ordinary person, whose growth is based upon his/her own mistakes. For instance, â€Å"Emma† at first depicts an arrogant and class-conscious girl saying â€Å"The yeomanry are precisely the order of people with whom I feel I can have nothing to do† (Austen, 2001, Vol. 1 Ch. 4) and throughout the first two parts she acts as a quarrelsome person, whereas her later reasoning can be characterized as wiser: â€Å"I think Harriet is doing extremely well â€Å"(Austen, 2001, Vol. 3, Ch. 28), i. e. she approves of her best friend’ marriage to the farmer, having got the idea of love and letting it in. Beyond mistakes, Potok’s and Twain’s protagonists also encounter difficulties and adversities, which shape their outlooks; for instance, Lev’s story can be divided into three parts (Walden, 1985): period of the teenage conflict with the environment, movement toward the goal in Kahn’s studio and the resolution of the conflict and individuation (Potok, 1972). Huck’s moral development is less gradual and actually consists of several insights: 1) first encounter with Jim as a fugitive slave and the initial desire to help him; 2) The loss of the companion after meeting the â€Å"aristocrats† and Jim’s imprisonment in Phelpses’ house. Finally, social characteristics of the protagonists are quite expressive themselves and point actually to the qualities to be changed. For instance, Emma is introduced as a girl with a degree of self-importance and class-based prejudice because of her upper class identity, but later she begins to understand her friend Harriet in her love for Martin and thus grows more open-minded; furthermore, her maturation is accompanied by the change of social characteristics, as Emma accepts Knightley’s proposition Huck Finn’s social characteristics remain practically the same, as the author seeks to maintain the reader’s focus on the advancement of his moral qualities, so that the adolescent still remains to some extent uncommitted to social norms (â€Å"Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it† (Twain 1999, Ch. 43), in spite of having developed his distinct attitude towards slavery. Asher Lev, in turn, drastically changes his social identity: the growth of his self-awareness and self-identity result in his alienation and separation from the community. To sum up, the reader’s understanding of the protagonist’s path toward self-awareness is to great extent manipulated by the authors: Jane Austen, Chaim Potok and Mark Twain design the plot structure, which underlines the failures and subsequent insights of the protagonist, embed the central theme into the main character’s spiritual growth and substantially change the protagonist’s social features, except Huck’s case, in which the focus on morality shift is broadened through remaining social characteristics stable. Reference list Austen, J. (2001). Emma. At http://ebooks. adelaide. edu. au/a/austen/jane/a93e/. Twain, M. (1999). Huckleberry Finn. At Potok, C. (1972). My Name is Asher Lev. Alfred A. Knopf. Potok, C. (1998). My Name is Asher Lev. At http://search. barnesandnoble. com/booksearch/isbninquiry. asp? ean=9781400031047&displayonly=EXC&z=y#EXC http://etext. virginia. edu/toc/modeng/public/Twa2Huc. html Walden, D. (1985). The World of Chaim Pot ok. State University of New York Press, 1985.

Should the Government Regulate Our Health

Should The Government Regulate Our Health? Posted: 01/29/10 10:58 AM ET Get Healthy Living Alerts Sign Up Submit this story I was in my late 20's when I walked into a dialysis clinic for the first time. The interior of the waiting area was worn, with beige paint peeling off of the walls. As I waited awkwardly to find out where my patient was my attention was drawn to a sign that read, â€Å"Did you know that [a popular fast food sandwich] contains 1020 milligrams of sodium? † Salt can be bad. But it sure tastes good.Ask the millions of Americans who consume large amounts of salt in their diet, much of it from processed foods. Sodium consumption in excess is linked with a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, kidney disease and various forms of heart disease. New Yorkers have recently learned about the detriments of salt. Mayor Bloomberg has launched an initiative to reduce the amount of sodium that people get from restaurant chains and food producers by ask ing them to voluntarily cut the amount of this now ill-thought of mineral.When in New York City a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I could tell that restaurateurs are listening to Bloomberg. When eating out, we noticed that our food was, well, less tasty. But maybe it is worth it. A recent New York Times article, which summarized findings from The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that if Americans reduced salt intake by a half a teaspoon a day the nation would save 24 billion in health care costs. In the current political climate, many of us are acutely aware of issues related to the rising costs of health care.But is government intervention the best way to proceed? Although a government middleman might be a good option, I wonder why we aren't putting more pressure on physicians to counsel their patients on dietary strategies to reduce sodium intake. Research suggests that American physicians are less likely than their European counterparts to discuss behavioral interve ntions with patients and are more likely to rely on the prescribing of medications. Regarding diet and hypertension, a recent study suggests that physicians offer little counseling on how to lower blood pressure numbers through lifestyle changes.Not only do discussions regarding health behaviors result in patient satisfaction, such discussions comprise the inherent values of doctor-patient relationships. We seek medical care not only for lab results and prescription refills; we look to our doctors for advice and support. However, in a day and age in which technology and insurance mandates are interlopers in the patient-physician dyad, we have lost the personal connections and source of wisdom that people often crave.In fact, the relationship between many of us and our physicians is dysfunctional. Doctors are overwhelmed and receive less respect than ever before in the history of modern medicine. As patients, we have submitted ourselves to the less personal nature of medical encounte rs. Maybe if we demand additional support from physicians (and advocate for additional backing of our doctors regarding the freedom to make medical decisions and limiting intrusion by managed care companies) we can get what we need in order to change our behaviors.Of course, we are all ultimately responsible in how we choose to care for our bodies. But maybe if we can learn to trust our physicians again (and they work to earn that trust), we don't have to reduce healthcare issues and healthcare costs in this country to something like eating salt. Greenburg, T. (2010, Jan 29). www. huffingtonpost. com. Retrieved from http:// www. huffingtonpost. com/tamara-mcclintock-greenberg/should-the-government-reg_b_441493. html (Greenburg, 2010)