In this assignment, you will select a program, quality improvement initiative, or other project from your place of employment. Assume you are presenting this program to the board for approval of funding. Write an executive summary (850-1,000 words) to present to the board, from which they will make their decision to fund your program or project. The summary should include:

1. The purpose of the program or project.
2. The target population or audience.
3. The benefits of the program or project
4. The cost or budget justification.
5. The basis upon which the program or project will be evaluated.

Share your written proposal with your manager, supervisor or other colleague in a formal leadership position within a health care organization. Request their feedback using the following questions as prompts:

1. Do you believe the proposal would be approved if formally proposed?
2. What are some strengths and weaknesses of the proposal?

Submit the written proposal along with the “Executive Summary Feedback Form.”

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.

Quality health care is defined as “the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” (Lohr and Schroeder, 1990) and a quality improvement strategy is defined as “any intervention aimed at reducing the quality gap for a group of patients representative of those encountered in routine practice” (Shojania, 2004). The purpose of this paper is to design a project regarding the quality improvement initiative that includes the purpose, target population, benefits and cost of the project; also the basis for project evaluation.

Night Time Noise Reduction Project

The author of this paper wants to present the proposal of a Night Time Noise Reduction Project

in the hospital for the funding to the board. Sleep is the essential part of human life and it is related to the normal functioning of the body. According to Ulrich and Joseph, “Hospitals are extremely noisy, and noise levels in most hospitals far exceed recommended guidelines” (Joseph and Ulrich, 2007). The noise of the hospitals includes the noise from machine and equipments, staffs conversation, roommates, alarms, intercoms and pagers. This author is a registered nurse who wants to propose the night time noise reduction project for the improvement of the quality and patient outcome. She is well aware of the various issues worsened by the noise-induced stress affecting not only the patients but also the family members.  Therefore, I hope this kind of project will help to reduce noise during night time promoting the quality care to patients and great hospital environment.

Purpose

There is plenty of evidence that sleep is a biological necessity, and disturbed sleep is associated with a number of health problems. Noise heightens the anxiety and stress and lead to physiological responses such as facial grimacing, muscular flexion, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and vasoconstriction; also slows the healing process. Moreover, nurses’ performance is highly affected by the hospital environment; nurse working in noisy environment complaints of exhaustion, burnout, irritability and depression (Mazer S.E., 2012). Night noise has various effects such as increase in heart rate, arousals, increase in medicine use and insomnia (WHO, 2009). The main purpose of this project is to access the noise level of the hospital units and contribute to the maintenance of sound environment using Yacker Tracker device. This project also aims to generate awareness about the consequences of noise in the health of patients and staffs.

Target Population

A large number of groups are at risk due to hospital noise especially at night. Elderly people and pregnant women at higher risk, besides them children and patients with ill health are also considered as risk groups. To add up, registered nurses and shift workers are also at risk as their sleep structure is under stress (WHO, 2009).

Benefits

A number of aspects of health and quality of life are associated with the sleep and these aspects are impaired with disturbance in sleep. Therefore, sound sleep is essential for the patients and various measures should be applied to maintain the peaceful and quiet environment in the hospital especially at night time as a component of patient care. Many studies has shown that various pilot projects were initiated for the reduction of noise in the hospital and they all have positive outcome leading to the sound hospital environment and sound sleep of patients at night. This project aims to promote the patients health and create great environment for the workers by reducing the noise at night. Sleep deprivation results in unsatisfied patients and that ultimately causes the declination of the overall rating of hospitals. This may also affect the hospital revenue in the long term. Therefore, the Night Time Noise Reduction project helps to cope with such consequences in the long run. 

Cost Justification

The most common cause of disruptive noise in the hospital is staff conversations (Wallis, 2012). Educating staff and planning can help for the reduction of noise; however this cost the minimal amount. Furthermore, this projects aims in reduction of the noise by using Yacker Tracker; a noise alerting device. A Yacker Tracker costs approximately $100 (based on amazon.com) and each unit requires two devices each for nurse station and for hallways.

Project Evaluation

Project evaluation is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the project and for the continuation of the project in the future. Prior to the implementation of the project, sound environment assessment is carried out for the determination of noise-level in each unit of the hospital. Same method is applied to determine the noise-level after the implementation of the project, and differences between them are measured statistically (Kol et al, 2015). An evaluation for the project can be developed by using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey data before and after the implementation of the project (Murphy et al, 2013).

In conclusion, the Night Time Noise Reduction project will be very effective to reduce the noise in a cost friendly way. This project will not only improve the environment of the hospitals but will also have beneficial effect on the health of patients and staffs. This project will be helpful in answering one of the reasons behind the declining quality of hospital environment and will help in improving the overall rating of the hospital. 

prevention of pressure ulcer

;Pressure ulcer prevention is a prevalent topic in health care setting today. It can have a devastating effect on a person`s health and quality of life. During the time of admission, it is important to identify the high-risk patient prone for getting pressure ulcer and implement the preventive measures immediately. “Each year, more than 2.5 million people in the United States develop pressure ulcers. These skin lesions bring pain, associated risk for serious infection, and quality of life. These measures allow for the reduction of expenditures and re-allocation of funds into other important increased health care utilization (ARHO, 2013)”. Most pressure ulcers can be prevented by the health care team.

Purpose

There are several wound care products in health market that have dramatically improved, protected and supported skin from pressure ulcer. The main purpose of this project is to practice foam dressing called Mepilex border Flex proven to prevent pressure ulcer, alone with performing the Braden scale skin assessment. The use of Mepilex bordered dressing reduces friction and redistribute pressure as well as provided an optimal microclimate. Mepilex foam bordered dressing have antimicrobial actions of ionic silver with soft silicone adhesive reduced pain and provide healing. The frequency of occurrence and increased cost for treating pressure ulcer has promoted health care industry to implement new interventions in order to prevent hospital acquired pressure ulcers. In the past nurses were responsible for pressure ulcer care prevention but the current research has proven that a multidisciplinary approach is needed for management of pressure prevention. Effective pressure ulcer prevention needs educating health care providers and patients in prevention technique. Pressure ulcer prevention and management are the most direct and very cost effective measures hospital can utilize to improve patient safety areas in the facility. Hospitals need to become more rapacious in creating wound care protocols that will assist in the treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers (Ackerman, 2011).

The target population

According to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality “90% of all pressure ulcer related hospitalizations are due to secondary pressure ulcer diagnosis, 72% of patients are 65years or older and about 60,000 patients die each year as a result of a pressure ulcer” (ARHO, 2013). Poor nutrition, dementia, age, mobility, medical condition is the primary reason for hospital admitted patient to get pressure ulcers. Here the targeted patient population is over age 18 and older who are admitted with debility, and who should be assessed closely for pressure ulcer.

The benefits of the program or project

This report is presented through coordination of multidisciplinary approaches. The team includes unit supervisors, managers, material management, quality improvement team and physicians. The main purpose of this project is to implement the use of Mepilex dressing into the hospital in order to prevent pressure ulcers. This project target to prevent complication and cost associated with hospital acquired pressure ulcer. If the patient has an existing pressure ulcer or occurrence of new users, Mepilex foam dressing will be initiated for skin prevention. According to the research conducted by International Journal of Tissue Repair and Regeneration, Mepilex bland dressing aids in ulcer healing by 67% compared to other brands and reduces pain. Mepilex dressing, is a “multiple layered foam dressing which is designed to absorb wound discharge and protect the wound from infiltration of microorganisms and has its own absorbent properties”(Just Home Medical). It is also very easy to remove without affecting the skin around the wound. This program is proposed to provide a safe environment by developing new practice using evidence based practices. Out of “371 critically ill patients who received customary care with the bordered sacral foam dressing in situ had PU rates of 0–3.1%, compared with 3.8–13.1% for the control groups. A variety of less well-controlled studies involving more than 1000 patients provides supporting data (Berlowitz, D. , 2014, October 02)”.

The Cost or Budget Justification

Hospital acquired pressure ulcer increases the health cost, length of hospital stay and can delay the recovery time.“Pressure ulcers cost $9.1 billion to $11.6 billion per year in the United States. Cost of individual patient care ranges from $20,900 to $151,700 per pressure ulcer. Medicare estimated in 2007 that each pressure ulcer added $43,180 in costs to a hospital stay” (Berlowitz, D. , 2014, October 02). Another cost related to pressure ulcers involves daily dressing change. Mepilex dressing does not have to be changed daily. According to the study conducted at North York General Hospital (NYGH), “at least 48 patients had dressings changed daily. This amounted to 56 hours of nursing time per week or 1.4 full-time nurses per week. Reducing this to three times weekly saves 33 hours of nursing time per week, equal to 0.9 full-time nurses. Only 100 patient wounds treated with non-advanced dressings (gauze) can be treated in the same time as 230 patient wounds with advanced dressings” (Popovich, K., &Tohm, P. (2010, September).

Evaluation of the project:

The principle of quality focuses on improvement of quality and performance. The interdisciplinary team will be responsible for initiating and preventing pressure ulcer project into each unit, making decisions about the design and monitoring progress. A comprehensive skin assessment, standardized pressure ulcer risk assessment, care planning and implementation to address areas of risk should be done every shift and documented per protocol. A data collection survey will be conducted for the effectiveness after the intervention. The survey will include number of pressure ulcer in hospital, clinical indication, clear accountabilities, product availability, staff awareness, education and expectations for performance documentation of actual patient care. The recommendation and patient care impact as well as cost effective of the Mepilex foam dressing will be reevaluated within a year.

Summary

Pressure ulcer has been one of the topics of concern today in the health care industry because it brings serious risk to patients and the quality of their life. The evidence has found that the use of Mepilex dressing along with standard skin assessment, to decrease the cost of health and hospital stay of an individual. After the investigation, discussion and some research done at this hospital about hospital acquired pressure ulcer, the team has concluded to implement new practice of Mepilex use for further prevention of pressure ulcer.

Choose ONE of the following questions to answer in the Discussion Board. Your initial post needs to be at least 150 words long

1. Review the results listed in Figure 13.7, “Voter Turnout Around the World.” Why do you believe the U.S. has such a low voter turnout, compared to the other countries listed? Do you believe the U.S. should implement any changes to its system of voting in order to expand turnout?

2. Should voting be restricted to those with a college education? Why or why not?

3. Do you think college students’ participation (the youth vote) made a difference in the election outcome in 2012? Do you believe this segment of the population will/can be influential in future elections? Explain.

Discussion 8

Choose ONE of the following questions to answer in the Discussion Board. Your initial post needs to be at least 150 words long

1. Do you believe progressive taxes, regressive taxes, or flat taxes (or a combination of all three) are most “fair.” Explain you answer.

2. Looking at the budget pie charts in Figure 15.3, what areas would you identify for increasing revenue and decreasing spending? Explain your answer.

3. Figure 16.1 shows “Failing to Win Over the Public in Afghanistan.” How important do you believe it is for public opinion to support foreign policy decisions? Explain.

The first time a Western power got soaked in the politics of oil in the Middle East was toward the end of 1914, when British soldiers landed at Basra, in southern Iraq, to protect oil supplies from neighboring Persia. At the time the United States had little interest in Middle East oil or in imperial designs on the region. Its overseas ambitions were focused south toward Latin America and the Caribbean (remember the Maine?), and westtoward east Asia and the Pacific.

When Britain offered to share the spoils of the defunct Ottoman Empire after World War I in the Middle East, President Woodrow Wilson declined. It was·only a temporary reprieve from creeping involvement that began during the Truman administration. It’s not been a happy history. But it’s necessary to understand that past, even if only in its general outlines, to better make sense of the present — especially regarding current Arab attitudes toward the West.

Truman Administration: 1945-1952

American troops were stationed in Iran during World War II to help transfer military supplies to the Soviet Union and protect Iranian oil. British and Soviet troops were also on Iranian soil. After the war, Stalin withdrew his troops only when Harry Truman protested their continued presence through the United Nations, and possibly threatened to use force to boot them

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American duplicity in the Middle East was born: While opposing Soviet influence in Iran, Truman solidified America’s relationship with Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, in power since 1941, and brought Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), making it clear to the Soviet Union that the Middle East would be a Cold War hot zone.

Truman accepted the 1947 United Nations partition plan of Palestine, granting 57% of the land to Israel and 43% to Palestine, and personally lobbied for its success. The plan lost support from U.N. member nations, especially as hostilities between Jews and Palestinians multiplied in 1948 and Arabs lost more land or fled. Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its creation, on May 14, 1948.

Eisenhower Administration: 1953-1960

Three major events marked Dwight Eisenhower’s Middle East policy. In 1953, Eisenhower ordered the CIA to depose Mohammed Mossadegh, the popular, elected leader of the Iranian parliament and an ardent nationalist who opposed British and American influence in Iran. The coup severely tarnished America’s reputation among Iranians, who lost trust in American claims of protecting democracy.

In 1956, when Israel, Britain, and France attacked Egypt when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, a furious Eisenhower not only refused to join the hostilities, he ended the war.

Two years later, as nationalist forces roiled the Middle East and threatened to topple Lebanon’s Christian-led government, Eisenhower ordered the first landing of U.S. troops in Beirut to protect the regime. The deployment, lasting just three months, ended a brief civil war in Lebanon.

Kennedy Administration: 1961-1963

John Kennedy was supposedly uninvolved in the Middle East. But as Warren Bass argued in “Support Any Friend: Kennedy’s Middle East and the Making of the U.S.-lsrael Alliance,” John Kennedy tried to develop a special relationship with Israel while diffusing the effects of his predecessors’ Cold War policies regarding Arab regimes.

Kennedy increased economic aid toward the region and worked to reduce its polarization between Soviet and American

spheres. While the friendship with Israel was solidified during his tenure, Kennedy’s abbreviated administration, while briefly inspiring the Arab public, largely failed to mollify Arab leaders.

Johnson Administration: 1963-1968

Lyndon Johnson was absorbed by his Great Society programs at home and the Vietnam War abroad. The Middle East burst back onto the American foreign policy radar with the Six Day War of 1967, when Israel, after rising tension and threats from all sides, preempted what it characterized as an impending attack from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and Syria’s Golan Heights. Israel threatened to go further. The Soviet Union threatened an armed attack if it did. Johnson put the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean Sixth Fleet on alert, but also compelled Israel to agree to a cease-fire on June 10, 1967.

Nixon-Ford Administrations: 1969-1976

Humiliated by the Six Day War, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan tried to regain lost territory when they attacked Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yorn Kippur in 1973. Egypt regained some ground, but its Third Army was then surrounded by an Israeli army led by Ariel Sharon (who would later become prime minister).

The Soviets proposed a ceasefire, failing which they threatened to act “unilaterally.” For the second time in six years, the United States faced its second major and potentially nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union over the Middle East. After what journalist Elizabeth Drew described as “Strangelove Day,” when the Nixon administration put American forces on the highest alert, the administration persuaded Israel to accept a cease-fire.

Americans felt the effects of that war through the 1973 Arab oil embargo, rocketing oil prices upward and contributing to a recession a year later.

In 1974 and 1975, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger negotiated so-called disengagement agreements, first between Israel and Syria, then between Israel and Egypt, formally ending the hostilities begun in 1973 and returning some land Israel had seized from the two countries. Those were not peace agreements, however, and they left the Palestinian situation untouched. Meanwhile, a military strongman called Saddam Hussein was rising through the ranks in Iraq.

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Carter Administration: 1977-1981

Jimmy Carter’s presidency was marked by American Mid-East policy’s greatest victory and greatest loss since World War

II. On the victorious side, Carter’s mediation led to the 1978 Camp David Accord and the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which included a huge increase in U.S. aid to Israel and Egypt. The treaty led Israel to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. The accord took place, remarkably, months after Israel invaded Lebanon forthe first time, ostensibly to repel chronic attacks from the Palestine Liberation Organization in south Lebanon.

On the losing side, the Iranian Islamic Revolution culminated in 1978 with demonstrations against the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and culminating with the establishment of an Islamic Republic, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on April 1, 1979.

On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian students backed by the new regime took 63 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran hostage. They’d hold on to 52 of them for 444 days, releasing them the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president.

The hostage crisis, which included one failed military rescue attempt that cost the lives of eight American servicemen, undid the Carter presidency and set back American policy in the region for years: The rise of Shiite power in the Middle East had begun.

To top things off for Carter, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, eliciting little response from the president other than an American boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Reagan Administration: 1981-1989

Whatever progress the Carter administration achieved on the Israeli-Palestinian front stalled over the next decade. As the Lebanese civil war raged, Israel invaded Lebanon for the second time, in June 1982, advancing as far as Beirut, the Lebanese capital city, before Reagan, who had condoned the invasion, intervene to demand a cease-fire.

American, Italian and French troops landed in Beirut that summer to mediate the exit of 6,000 PLO militants. The troops then withdrew, only to precipitately return following the assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemeyel and the retaliatory massacre, by Israeli-backed Christian militias, of up to 3,000 Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, south of Beirut.

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In April 1983, a truck bomb demolished the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. On Oct.23, 1983, simultaneous bombings killed 241 American soldiers and 57 French paratroopers in their Beirut barracks. American forces withdrew shortly after. The Reagan administration then faced several crises as the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite organization that became known as Hezbollah took several Americans hostage in Lebanon.

The 1986 Iran-Contra Affair revealed that the Reagan administration had secretly negotiated arms-for-hostages deals with Iran, discrediting Reagan’s claim that he would not negotiate with terrorists. It would be December 1991 before the last hostage, former Associated Press reporter Terry Anderson, would be released.

Throughout the 1980s, the Reagan administration supported Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied territories. The administration also supported Saddam Hussein in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. The administration provided logistical and intelligence support, believing wrongly that Saddam could destabilize the Iranian regime and defeat the Islamic Revolution.

George H.W. Bush Administration: 1989-1993

After benefiting from a decade of support from the United States and receiving conflicting signals immediately before the invasion of Kuwait, Saddam Hussein invaded the small country to his southeast on August 2, 1990. President

Bush launched Operation Desert Shield, immediately deploying U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia to defend against a possible invasion by Iraq.

Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm when Bush shifted strategy — from defending Saudi Arabia to repelling Iraq from Kuwait, ostensibly because Saddam might, Bush claimed, be developing nuclear weapons. A coalition of 30 nations joined American forces in a military operation that numbered more than half a million troops. An additional 18 countries supplied economic and humanitarian aid.

After a 38-day air campaign and a 100-hour ground war, Kuwait was liberated. Bush stopped the assault short of an invasion of Iraq, fearing what Dick Cheney, his defense secretary, would call a “quagmire.” Bush established instead “no-fly zones” in the south and north of the country, but those didn’t keep Hussein from massacring Shiites following an attempted revolt in the south — which Bush had encouraged — and Kurds in the north.

In Israel and the Palestinian territories, Bush was largely ineffective and uninvolved as the first Palestinian intifada roiled on

for four years.

. In the last year of his presidency, Bush launched a military operation in Somalia in conjunction with a humanitarian operation by the United Nations. Operation Restore Hope, involving 25,000 U.S. troops, was designed to help stem the spread of famine caused by the Somali civil war.

The operation had limited success. A 1993 attempt to catch Mohamed Farah Aidid, leader of a brutal Somali militia, ended in disaster, with 18 American soldiers and up to 1,500 Somali militias and civilians killed. Aidid wasn’t caught.

Among the architects of the attacks on Americans in Somalia was a Saudi exile then living in Sudan and largely unknown in the United States: Osama bin Laden.

Clinton Administration: 1993-2001

Besides mediating the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, Bill Clinton’s involvement in the Middle East was bracketed by the short-lived success of the Oslo Accord in August 1993 and the collapse of the Camp David summit in December 2000.

The accord ended the first intifada, established Palestinians’ right to self-determination in Gaza and the West Bank, and established the Palestinian Authority. The accord also called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.

But Oslo left unsettled such fundamental questions as the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, the fate of East Jerusalem — which is claimed by Palestinians — and continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the territories.

Those issues, still unresolved by 2000, led Clinton to convene a summit with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli leader Ehud Barak at Camp David in December 2000, the waning days of his presidency. The summit failed, and the second intifada exploded.

Throughout the Clinton administration, terrorist attacks orchestrated by the increasingly public bin Laden punctured the 1990s’ post-Cold War air of quietude, from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to the bombing of the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer, in Yemen in 2000.

George W. Bush Administration: 2001-2008

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After deriding operations involving the U.S. military in what he called “nation-building,” President Bush turned, after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, into the most ambitious nation-builder since the days of Secretary of State George Marshall and the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II. Bush’s efforts, focused on the Middle East, were not as successful.

Bush had the world’s backing when he led an attack on Afghanistan in October 2001 to topple the Taliban regime there, which had given sanctuary to al-Qaeda. Bush’s expansion of the “war on terror” to Iraq in March 2003, however, had less backing. Bush saw the toppling of Saddam Hussein as the first step in a domino-like birth of democracy in the Middle East.

Bush set in motion his controversial doctrine of preemptive strikes, unilateralism, democratic regime change and attacking countries that harbored terrorists — or, as Bush wrote in his 2010 memoir, “Decision Points”: “Make no distinction between terrorists and the nations that harbor them — and hold both to account … take the fight to the enemy overseas before they can attack us again here at home … confront threats before they fully materialize … and advance liberty and hope as.an alternative to the enemy’s ideology of repression and fear.”

But while Bush talked democracy regarding Iraq and Afghanistan, he continued to support repressive , undemocratic regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and in several countries in North Africa. The credibility of his democracy campaign was short-lived. By 2006 , with Iraq plunging into civil war, Hamas winning elections in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah winning immense popularity following its summer war with Israel, Bush’s democracy campaign was dead. The US military surged troops into Iraq in 2007, but by then the majority of the American people and many government officials were widely skeptical that going to war in Iraq was the right thing to do in the first place.

In an interview with The New York Times magazine in 2008 — toward the end of his presidency — Bush touched upon what he hoped his Middle East legacy would be, saying, “I think history will say George Bush clearly saw the threats thatkeep the Middle East in turmoil and was. willing to do something about it, wa. s willing to lead and had this great faith in the capacity of democracies and great faith in the capacity of people to decide the fate of their countries and that the

democracy movement gained impetus and gained movement in the Middle East.”

Case Study 2: I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

Due Week 9 and worth 200 points

Religion and Politics have traditionally been highly debated topics in our society. Recently, the Pledge of Allegiance has added to this debate.

American citizens have generally recited the Pledge of Allegiance at important ceremonies ranging from presidential inaugurations to the beginning of the school day. The pledge has a great deal of sentimental value to many Americans, but also creates a great deal of controversy for others.

Review the Supreme Court case Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, which highlights the debate.

Write a five to eight (5-8) page paper in which you:

1. Summarize the salient points of the Supreme Court case Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow.
2. Discuss the levels of the court through which the case evolved before it reached the Supreme Court.
3. Explain the decision of the Supreme Court in this case in brief.
4. Explain the fundamental impact that the court decision in question has had on American society in general and on ethics in American society in particular. Provide a rationale for the response.
5. Discuss whether you believe that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance is a religious issue or a sign of respect for the United States.
6. Discuss whether or not you think public schools should be allowed to recite the pledge.
7. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• This course requires use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Examine the current ethical issues inherent throughout the criminal and civil justice systems.
• Describe the dispensation of justice through the criminal and civil justice systems.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in the criminal court and the judicial process in America.
• Write clearly and concisely about the American court system using proper writing mechanics and SWS style conventions.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Discussion 1: Policy Analysis and Application

According to the NASW Code of Ethics section 6.04 (NASW, 2008), social workers are ethically bound to work for policies that support the healthy development of individuals,  guarantee equal access to services, and promote social and economic justice.

For this Discussion, review this week’s resources, including Working with Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita. Consider what change you might make to the policies that affect the client in your case. Finally, think about how you might evaluate the success of the policy changes.

·      Post  an explanation of one change you might make to the policies that affect the client in the case. Be sure to reference the case you selected in your post.
 

·      Finally, explain how you might evaluate the success of the policy changes.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

References:

            Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

                                            “Working With Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita” (pp. 81–83)

            
Rome, S., Harris, S., & Hoechstetter, S. (2010). Social work and civic engagement: The political participation of professional social workers. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 37(3), 107–129.

Working With Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita

Rita is a 22-year-old, heterosexual, Latina female working in the hospitality industry at a resort. She is the youngest of five children and lives at home with her parents. Rita has dated in the past but never developed a serious relationship. She is close to her immediate and extended family as well as to her female friends in the Latino community. Although her parents and three of her siblings were born in the Dominican Republic, Rita was born in the United States.

A year ago, Rita was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance of a male coworker. Rita and a female coworker met Juan and Bob after work at a local bar for a light meal and a few drinks. Because Rita had to get up early to work her shift the next day, Bob offered to drive her home. Instead of taking Rita directly home, however, he drove to a desolate spot nearby and assaulted her. Afterward, Bob threatened to harm her family if she did not remain silent and proceeded to drive her home. Although Rita did not tell her family what happened, she did call our agency hotline the next day to discuss her options. Because Rita’s assault occurred within the 5-day window for forensic evidence collection of this kind, Rita consented to activation of the county’s sexual assault response team (SART). Although she agreed to have an advocate and the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) meet her at the hospital, Rita tearfully stated that she did not want to file a police report at that time because she did not want to upset her family. The nurse examiner interviewed Rita, collected evidence, recorded any injuries, administered antibiotics for possible sexually transmitted infections, and gave Rita emergency contraception in case of pregnancy. The advocate stayed with Rita during the procedure, supporting her and validating her experience, and gave her a referral for individual crisis counseling at our agency.

My treatment goals for Rita included alleviation of rape trauma syndrome symptoms that included shame and self-blame, validation of self-worth and empowerment, and processing how it would feel to disclose to others when the time felt right. In addition, Rita would receive important information regarding state policy and procedure for victims of sexual assault that would assist her in deciding when and how to report the crime if she chose to do so.

My treatment involved crisis intervention and stabilization along with emotional support and validation surrounding her experience. Managing her trauma and acute stress symptoms were key to her recovery. Those symptoms included guilt, shame, emotional shock, powerlessness, anxiety, fear, anger, and doubting her judgment. We processed Rita’s emotional dysregulation and sense of outrage over what happened. Over the weeks that followed, we also explored Rita’s relationship to her immediate and extended family and how they had high expectations for her and her future. Rita’s shame over the assault prevented her from telling her family for fear they would also be shamed and judge her for accepting a ride from someone she did not know well. We discussed the policy for reporting a sexual assault to the police in our state and how Rita only had a 90-day window to report the crime after her forensic evidence was obtained. After 90 days, the forensic kit would be destroyed.

The problem with the current 90-day hold policy in our state for victims like Rita is that a person in crisis experiences strong and conflicting emotions and is faced with an acute sense of disequilibrium and disorientation. This, in turn, affects her or his ability to retain information and make decisions. The person, therefore, has barely enough time to make sense of what happened to her or him, let alone decide what to do about it. The 90-day hold policy may not afford a traumatized victim of sexual assault enough time to make a decision to report to law enforcement.

I utilized a strengths-based model in my treatment with Rita to help her address the decision to report the crime. A strengths-based framework is client-led with a focus on future outcomes and strengths that the client brings to a problem or crisis. It is an effective helping strategy that builds on a person’s resiliency and ego strength. An integrative strengths-based intervention can contribute to the development of a positive outcome for clients in crisis.

I counseled Rita for 6 months. After 5 months, Rita felt strong enough to disclose to her family and file a report with the police. However, because the 90-day window had closed by the time she was stabilized and emotionally ready to file, her forensic evidence was unavailable.

Discussion 2: Evaluating Policy Implications

When developing, implementing, or revising organizational policies, it is important that all potential consequences be considered. Social workers must be particularly sensitive to any negative consequences or unintentional harm the policies might cause for any individual or group.

For this Discussion, review this week’s resources, including the Johnson Family video. Consider the campus’ policies on how sexual assault accusations are addressed. How might the current procedures and policies negatively affect survivors of sexual assault? What changes might you suggest to the campus policies to better protect survivors? Finally, describe how you might evaluate the success of these policy changes.

·      Post an identification of how the current campus policies on sexual assault might negatively affect survivors and an explanation of the changes you might make to these policies that would protect sexual assault survivors.
 
·      Be sure to reference the Talia Johnson case in your post.
 

·      Finally, explain how you might evaluate the success of these policy changes.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Sessions: Johnson family (Episode 4 of 42) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu             

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.

Johnson Family Episode 4

Program Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MALE SPEAKER: There are two things I want you to think about as we go forward, process and possible outcomes.

As I explained on the phone to each of you, the university’s policy in cases like this is for me to give each of you the opportunity to tell your side of the story. This is a university procedure. It does not involve the police. Once I’ve heard both

sides it will be up to me to decide what action to take. Do you understand?

BOTH: Yes.

MALE SPEAKER: Now, possible outcomes. Talia’s claims could be dismissed. However, if her claims are accepted as true Eric could be suspended for a semester, or an entire year, or he could be expelled. This all depends on how the university rules. Am I clear? Are there any questions before we get started?

ERIC: What if you decide she’s lying? What happens to her then?

MALE SPEAKER: I’ve already described the potential outcomes. That’s it.

TALIA: You’re the one who’s lying. You told people we had sex when you raped me.

ERIC: Slut.

BOTH: Liar! Rapist!

MALE SPEAKER: End of conversation. I’ll schedule a meeting next week. Use that time to prepare. Do I make myself clear?

Create a 7 pages page paper that discusses obesity as a sin of gluttony. The medical sciences have their own definitions and causes for identifying a person with unhealthy fat. however, the cultural and psychological reasons are the leading contributors to this problem. Logically speaking, the more one eats, the fatter one gets. therefore, the proportionate chances of obesity is more among the individuals with lust for new tastes and sumptuousness with every meal than those follow a normal diet for meeting the everyday requirement of nutrients. The greed for food and uncontrolled appetite of some individuals lands them in this biggest trouble, just to emphasize the truth that obesity is a sin of gluttony. This paper will critically examine the relationship between gluttony and obesity from the psychological, physical, medical and cultural perspectives in order to establish that obesity is the sin of gluttony.

In order to make a study of the complex tie between obesity and gluttony, it is essential to identify the scientific features of both of these excess components of human anatomy. Firstly, obesity can be simply referred to a health condition caused by excess accumulation of body fat and it eventually leads to a significant impairment of health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that “a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity” (WHO, 2015). BMI or Body Mass Index is a measure used to recognize whether a person’s body fat is excess. According to BMI standards, a person’s health status is recognized to be overweight if his BMI ranges between 25 and 29.9. the individual becomes obese once his BMI crosses 30. Researchers have clinically proven that the relationship between energy consumption and expenditure in the human body is one of the major determinants of body fat mass. To explain, researchers indicate that an individual can fall victim to obesity when he consumes more calories of food than he actually needed. It is important to note that humans need calories not only to supply energy for metabolic activities but also to maintain a healthy body mass.&nbsp.&nbsp.

For this paper, you will be randomly assigned a topic related to the material that is covered in the BIOL-112 course. You will use the library databases to find three (3) or more peer reviewed research articles related to the topic and you will read them. Then, you will address your topic by integrating the information from the articles into a single paper. One objective of this assignment is to improve your skills at reading scientific articles and learning from them. People will often learn or remember different parts of the same article. The point is not that you memorize or even understand the entire article, but rather that you can integrate what you did learn from the articles into your own work and properly cite the source where you learned it. Another objective of this assignment is to improve your scientific writing skills in general. To do this you will write a short paper on your subject. The paper will consist of three parts:

Title The title should be descriptive of what you actually wrote about, not just the general topic that you were assigned.

Body This is the main part of your paper. Do not just summarize the three articles that you read. You need to integrate the information from the articles into your own “story” or explanation. In scientific papers, nearly every sentence is followed by a citation (or multiple citations) to support the statement. Since you are just starting out and not reading very many articles, you may get by with three or four sentences per citation. You need to use in-text citations that use the author and year format to refer to the articles listed in the literature cited section. They look like the one following this sentence (Dertien et al. 2018). The body of your paper doesn’t have to be very long. Some people are verbose, while others write concisely. Write in your natural style and shoot for about a page. After you write the body, go through it and look to see that you’ve adhered to all of the lessons in scientific writing from the previous weeks. Fix what needs to be fixed to make your work more appropriate for scientific writing. Your natural style is probably not a scientific style, but it will be easier to edit the writing that is in your own style than to try to write unnaturally at first. In time and with practice you’ll be able to write more naturally in a scientific manner. And don’t worry, you won’t lose your “voice”. You’ll still be able to write your poetry or Harry Potter fan fiction even after you learn how to also write like a scientist.

Literature Cited This section lists the references that you used in your article. There are a lot of different citation formats or “styles”. The most common are probably APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Languages Association), but there are many others like Chicago manual of style and CSE (Council of Science Editors). The main difference is that some are author year (e.g. APA) and others are number systems (e.g. MLA). Regardless, they are just different formatting rules for reporting the same information about the source. The most important thing is that you use one style consistently and that you are including all the relevant information so somebody could find the same resource. This includes the following:

Author(s), Date, Article Title, Journal Title, Volume and Issue, Pages, Digital Object Identifier (DOI) if applicable

Choose a style that uses the Author Year citation format and lists the references in alphabetical order by first author. If you don’t have a preference, APA is generally the most universal for scientific papers.

Final Paper Assignment

Description: Now that you have produced a research proposal and an annotated bibliography, it’s time to compose your final research paper on your selected event, which you will argue advanced a sociopolitical goal of feminism or contributed to a more multicultural American society. For purposes of this assignment, we will define multiculturalism as a willingness to be transformed by the multiple distinct but varied subjectivities informed by identity markers such as gender, race, sexual orientation, and socio-economic class, which overlap and intersect in complex and fluid arrangements. In a multicultural world, these distinct but varied voices are authorized to speak and empowered to shift our ontological formations such that we may move past dualistic thinking and, as Gloria Anzaldúa writes “stretch the psyche horizontally and vertically” toward “a more whole perspective, one that includes rather than excludes” (Freedman 388). Each of you has selected an event that you believe has contributed to these goals as articulated by the thinkers we’ve engaged this term. Now is your chance to explain your event’s meaning and argue for its importance.

Your final research paper should include the following parts in no particular order:

· a thesis statement that makes a specific claim about the impact your event had on our goals for a more just, more multicultural America; your thesis should help you fulfill your paper’s rhetorical exigence or primary purpose;

· background information that situates the event in its sociohistorical moment and scales the information given to the audience of readers you have in mind;

· a sustained, audience-aware argument that interprets the meaning of your event from a feminist perspective by relying on relevant scholarship;

· analysis of the rhetoric surrounding your event both from public/popular sources and academic sources;

· where applicable, description and analysis of normalizing/regulatory responses or backlashes to your event by institutions, ideological beliefs, or groups of citizens who push back against any advancements triggered by your event;

· optional: you may include a section that describes the need for additional work in the area advanced by your event.

Form: Papers should be approximately 2,250 words not including your works cited page. In addition to formatting your works cited page per MLA formatting, please also use that same format throughout your paper. Using MLA rules to guide you, be sure that all quoted material is fluidly integrated into the text, preceded by introduction and followed with parenthetical citations. While you will need to include other voices in your paper, do not subordinate your voice to those quoted in your paper. Use a confident, direct, and specific voice throughout your paper—avoid vague and wordy constructions—and remember to keep a specific audience in mind as you write.

• Type of paperCase Study
• SubjectOther
• Number of pages6
• Format of citationAPA
• Number of cited resources3
• Type of serviceWriting

1. A complete citation on the case (chapter and case number) 2. A short paragraph introduction that presents the main issues raised in the case 3. Then list each question, and after the question, the student′s supported response to the question. 4. It is expected that the student will at a minimum, support his/her position with material found in the chapter. To get a higher grade, it is expected that in addition to supporting his/her position with material found in the chapter, that his/her position will be supported from outside readings. book: employment law – new challenges in the business environment by john jude moran

BIOL 1010

Class Participation Grade

Introduction. You will note that the grading scheme posted in the BIOL 1010 syllabus documents a Class Participation grade that is to be determined by the instructor. I have been debating with myself on what I could possibly assign that would (1) connect with biology content, (2) connect biology content with real world news and events, and (3)result in a legitimate boost to a student’s grade. I believe that a current event project (a series of 10 submissions) will do the trick.

Procedure. The student will complete 5 current events reports (see Details below) and hand them on the due date identified as CLASS PARTICIPATION SUBMISSION A (in the course syllabus). The student will complete another 5 current events reports and hand them in on the due date identified as CLASS PARTICIPATION SUBMISSION B (in the course syllabus).

Details. The student will search for a CURRENT NEWS ITEM RELEVANT TO BIOLOGY. These events can be from on-line or paper sources, but the CURRENT NEWS ITEM MUST BE DOCUMENTED AS TO ITS TITLE, AUTHOR(S), AND SOURCE so that the instructor can easily track down the resource. Each current news report MUST DOCUMENT THE CONTENT of the article IN THE STUDENT’S OWN WORDS. The student should include ONE RELEVANT QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE that alludes to the content of the article. Finally, the student should COMMENT ON THE RELEVANCY OR IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTICLE. You must attach a hardcopy of the article.

Grading Rubric.

CURRENT NEWS ITEM RELEVANT TO BIOLOGY 1 pt

CURRENT NEWS ITEM MUST BE DOCUMENTED AS TO ITS TITLE 1 pt

CURRENT NEWS ITEM MUST BE DOCUMENTED AS TO ITS AUTHOR(S) 1 pt

CURRENT NEWS ITEM MUST BE DOCUMENTED AS TO ITS SOURCE 1 pt

MUST DOCUMENT THE CONTENT… 2 pts

…IN THE STUDENT’S OWN WORDS 1 pt

ONE RELEVANT QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE 1 pt

COMMENT ON THE RELEVANCY OR IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTICLE 1 pt

HARDCOPY ATTACHED 1 pt

TOTAL POINTS PER REPORT: 10 pts

DB #7

 Discuss the role of cross-cultural workers in empowering and supporting local churches or church planting movements. Focus your answer on contexts outside of the United States.  

• Winter & Hawthorne:
  • Article 98 by T. Keller, pp. 615–619
  • Article 102 by G. Patterson, pp. 633–642
  • Article 103 by N. Cole, pp. 643–645
  • Article 104 by D. Garrison, pp. 646–648
  • Article 105 by A. Jones, pp. 649–652
  • Article 107 by G. Schwartz, pp. 657–659
  • Article 109 by P. Parshall, pp. 663–667
  • “The C-Spectrum” by J. Travis (within Article 109), p. 664–665
  • Article 111 by R. Lewis, pp. 673–676
  • “Three Types of Christward Movements” by Brown & Hawthorne (within Article 111), p. 676
  • “Church Planting in Urban Slums” by G.P. Hubbard (Micah Network)

DB #8

 How does what you have learned about God’s global purpose change your perspective on current events and on what it means to follow Christ in our current global context? Describe what steps you will take to become a “world Christian” based on the practices identified in the “Life on Purpose” article. 

• Winter & Hawthorne:
  • Article 125 by D. Bryant, pp. 718–721
  • Article 126 by R. Winter, pp. 722–724
  • Article 127 by Hickman, Hawthorne & Ahrend, pp. 725–730
  • Article 128 by R. Winter, pp. 731–737
  • Article 129 by Bower & Ellis, pp. 737–739
  • Article 131 by Hoke & Taylor, pp. 742–746
  • Article 135 by S. Rundle, pp. 757–763
  • “Blessing Berabistan” by N. Forcier (within Article 135) pp. 758–759
  • “Tentmakers” by R. Siemens (within Article 135) pp. 760–761
  • Article 136 “The Lausanne Covenant,” pp. 764–768
  •  Each thread must contain at least 2 citations (1 from the Bible), and each reply must contain at least 1 citation.
     
  •   Each thread must be at least 250 words (maximum 450 words) and demonstrate course-related knowledge.

1.  What is meaningful use of HIT as it relates to the healthcare stakeholders and better clinical care?  

2.  Discuss the challenges and shortcomings of health information technology (HIT). What solution(s) do you propose that would help health care move forward? 

3.  Summarize how ethics and health information technology (HIT) will influence the organization of healthcare providers. 

All questions 200 word minimum each w/cited references.