Literature Review on Risk Management

Literature Review on Risk Management Software Project Management (CI6113) Title: Reviewing the Past Research Papers on Risk Management Abstract Risk Management is nowadays the important research topic in the many critical business areas and industrial areas. Project teams do not achieve their projects goals of reducing cost and gaining much profit without assessing risks and managing risks. This term paper analyzes research papers done by many researches in the field of the Risk Management within 2000 and 2007 and describes the results of the analysis of those research papers. Our goal of this paper is to inference and to justify the trend of the Risk management in research areas and business areas. There are many topics in the Risk Management such as Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, Risk Control and others. This paper’s analysis path is starting from the project risk identification and end with the risk control topic. This paper provides the results what the gaps between researches are. Furthermore, this paper learns briefly what the problems and trends before year 2000 are. Introduction This paper examines the results of the past research papers published from 2000 through 2007. We focus on Risk Management and their related topics. In addition, we also examine the trends of the Risk Management within this period. We analyze which topic had been researched most in a particular year and which methods were used in that year. This paper learns publications issued by year by year and group them in each year. In addition, we analyze the topics which are relating to the specified topic. We found trends of the research in a year while we were learning them. According to the past results came from publications, we can make sense of mind for future of the Risk Management. This paper examines the situation which can become in future according to the study. Background Many project managers and strategic management are concerning about risks in long term strategic basic. So, we need to learn the risks. Risk is the uncertainty in the life cycle of the project. In 2003, Webster’s New Explorer College Dictionary defines the risk as â€Å"the possibility of danger and sufferance of harm or injury†. Risk cannot be seen without any emphasize upon it. In addition, risks can also give hopes to the successful project. So, if risks which cannot be seen before could be found and assessed then the proposed project will be successful. But risks found and assessed can never be avoided. It can be reduced by using the some techniques or adjustments. Some risks can be ignored without any executing. Risk may terrify to some persons related to the project because if it could not be uncovered, the team may incompetent in managing the project. According to the problems, risk management was critical issue of the project management. Researchers were doing researches to reduce and manage the risks which can be encountered in a project. People in the business areas were also finding the ways how to ignore the encountered risks. Some are finding how to control the risks. In addition, they were finding what risks can violate the project management unless they did not control the risks encountered. A risk which encounters in a year is not the same as the problem in another year. Because of the nature of project which depends on the World’s business. As changing the nature of the business, the nature of the risks is becoming change. Furthermore, research area is also changing according to the nature of the risk. So, the research trend for a year may not same as the trend of another year. To learn the research trend turmoil, we need to learn publications issued from 2000 through 2007. The next section will explain the importance of our paper. Situation of the paper There are many researches for the project management. Past research (Timothy Warrren, 2002) had done a research for the whole project management. It covered research published in English from 1960 through 1999. This paper covered within the period of 2000 and 2007 learned the topics of the risk management. We separated the research areas according to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). These are Risk Identification and Assessment, Risk Qualification, Risk Response Development and Risk Control. Objectives of the paper The objective of this paper is to learn the trend of the Risk Management in past research publication. We restricted the period to be learned for each topic. This paper is intended to learn that how the risks emerged during the project time, is handled using which tools and methods. This paper intended to find the gaps between researches in each year and whole period of year 2000 and 2007. The paper learned only risk management out of topics of project management for the period. So, the other topics can be learned like our paper. These are Communication, Cost, Procurement, Human Resource, Outsourcing, Integration, Quality, Scope and Time Management. Literature review In this era, many companies conduct a great portion of their jobs in project form. Traditionally projects were mainly found in the construction industry and sections of the military, but the competitiveness of the markets of today with fast-changing technology encourages almost all companies to adopt project management (Burke 2003). Project management is the application of knowledge, skill, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirement. Project management is accomplished through the use of the processes such as: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing (PMBOK guide 2000). Because of global economical pressures, turbulence in the corporate environment and market forces leading to the increasing demands and tougher competition projects have to be implemented at lesser time, cost and with better functionalities. This causes growing demands on the management’s ability to forecast and react to unforeseeable events- risks. Risk is an abstract concept whose measurement is very difficult (Raftery, 1994). The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary – 5th Edition defines risk as â€Å"The possibility or chance of meeting danger, suffering loss or injury†. The British Standard BS 4778 defines risk as â€Å"A combination of the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence†. Risk may be expressed in a mathematical form as follows: Risk = (Probability of the occurrence of a defined event) x (Consequences of the occurrence of that event) Therefore, risk management is nowadays a critical factor to successful project management. Overview of Risk Management Project risk management is the art and science of identifying, analyzing, and responding to risk throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of meeting project objectives. (Schwalbe, 2006) Risk management has been practiced informally by everyone, with or without conscious of it, since the dawn of time. Modern risk management, which had become a widely accepted management function during the period from 1955-1964 (Snider, 1991) has its roots in insurance to which it has been closely aligned for more than three centuries (Ibid). The story of risk management has not all been positive and supports the argument that it is currently ineffective at managing surprise. In the 1960’s project management was under heavy criticism for project failures due to technical uncertainty, contact strategy, community opposition and project environmental impacts (Morris, 1997). A project manager may still today argue that the last two are external project factors and outside the immediate project environment under their control (Ibid) and it may be often assumed that these will be passed up the line to higher management levels (Chapman Ward, 1997). The main objectives of risk management include (Yee et al., 2001): To enable decision-making to be more systematic and less subjective. To provide an improved understanding of the risks facing a project by identifying risks and response scenarios. To assist in deciding which risks require urgent attention and which can be addressed later. To force management to realize that there are many possible outcomes for a project, and appropriate measures should be planned for any adverse consequences. Flanagan and Norman (1993) proposed a risk management framework as shown in Fig.3.1 which depicts the elements of the risk management system – risk identification, risk classification, risk analysis, risk attitude and risk response. Risk Identification Risk Classification Risk Analysis Risk Response Risk Attitude Figure 2.1 Risk management Framework (Source: Flanagan Norman, 1993) According to (PMBOK, PMI 2000) and (Schwalbe 2006), Project Risk Management has following processes Risk Management Planning Risk Identification Qualitative Risk Analysis Quantitative Risk Analysis Risk Response Planning Risk Monitoring and Control The following Fig.3.2 depicts how risk management processes involved in each of the project management process Initiation Planning Executing Controlling Closing Risk Identification Risk Identification Risk Response Control Risk Quantification Risk Response Development Fig 2.2 Risk Management Processes in each Project Management Process (Source: Dan Brandon, 2006) Risk management will not eradicate all the risks. It will enable decision to be made explicitly which will reduce the potential effect of certain risks. It will also assist in rational, defensible decisions regarding the allocation of risk among the parties to the project. Risk analysis is not a substitute for professional judgments and experience. On the other hand, it helps professionals to make use of the full extent of their experience and knowledge by liberating them from the necessity of making simplifying assumptions in order to produce deterministic plans and forecasts. Risk analysis is supplement to, not a substitute for professional judgments. Recent Approaches to Risk Management Project risk management is a topic of major current interest. It is being actively addressed by many government agencies and most of the professional project management associations around the world, and many relevant standards are extant or being developed. Some examples from the many approaches in use include: (Cooper D., Grey S., Raymond G., Walker P., 2005) Project Management Institute (PMI), USA (2003), Project Management Body of Knowledge, Chapter 11 on risk management; Association for Project Management, UK (1997), PRAM Guide; AS/NZS 4360 (2004), Risk Management, Standards Association of Australia; IEC 62198 (2001), Project Risk Management—Application Guidelines; Office of Government Commerce (OGC), UK (2002), Management of Risk; and Treasury Board of Canada (2001), Integrated Risk Management Framework We fill the research gap in risk management field from year 2000 to 2007. Methodology We conduct a quantitative bibliographic study on pass papers published from year 2000 to 2007. We collected papers and journals from electronic databases– ACM, IEEE and ProQuest. Our objective of this paper is to find the current research trend on Risk Management by analyzing and categorizing those research papers. Project Risk Management Research It is the process of finding what current researchers are emphasizing in. It includes defining the current works on project management, particularly on Risk Management articles and papers. Then make generalized conclusion based on collected and analyzed works. This conclusion or judgment is made based on project risk management processes– risk management planning, risk identification, qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, risk response planning, risk monitoring and control (PMBOK 2000, Schwalbe 2006). Sources of data We collected articles and papers published in years 2000 to 2007 from these databases which are known to be rich information about project management. ACM Digital Library ACM digital library includes magazines, journals, transactions, publications by affiliated Organizations, SIG news letters, Conference Proceeding Series. ACM digital library provides service for individual, universities, libraries and corporations. We find that risk management is one of the research fields in many businesses and industries. ACM includes diversity of business and industrial processes which enables us to inference the future trend in different fields. IEEE Explore To support our conclusion and get strong analytical results, we also collect articles and papers from IEEE explore which has more technical articles and papers than ACM digital library. It includes 1,682,970 online documents to be referenced. ProQuest Another supporting database which we extracted articles and papers is ProQuest. That includes ABI/INFORM databases, dissertation and theses, etc. Data analysis from that database will be icy on our research cake Data selection from the databases We conduct full text search in above databases using author, title, keywords based on year. Then tasks are separated among us based on years and combined later. Papers and articles are found based on the following criteria: Keywords: Risk Management, Risk Identification, Risk Analysis, Risk Transfer, Risk Control, Risk Response Years: 2000 to 2007 Output format and research data representation Output format will be as the following: Researchers Title Database Risk Category Year Business Category Sub Category Method The papers and articles are attached in the appendix B. We classified each paper into specific risk management processes (PMBOK 2000, Schwalbe 2006). We also analyzed which business category that each paper falls into and which specific method do they use in conducting the specified risk management Process. To get the consistent taxonomy in risk management, we identified the papers and articles into the categories guided by (PMBOK 2000, Schwalbe 2006). They are: Risk Management Planning: This is how businesses and industries plan and handle for risk. Risk Identification: This is how businesses and industries emphasize on identification of risk throughout their organizational processes. Risk Analysis: This involves how organizations conduct quantitative and qualitative risk analysis based on sampling and probability/impact matrixes. Risk Response Planning: This shows how organizations develop risk response strategies like how to avoid, how to have tolerance, how to mitigate risk, how to transfer risk etc. Risk Monitoring and Control: This involves how organizations monitor the identified risks, new risks through out the execution of the projects. Business and industrial categories are identified as follow: Construction Education Finance Healthcare Insurance Information Technology Disaster E-commerce E-banking Internet Business Information Security Software development Maritime Marketing Organizational Process Pure General Research Terrorism We also found that information technology risk management plays a great role in modern businesses and industries because of wider usage of internet and web technologies. Our analyzed data will be represented in pie chart, bar chart and line chart by comparing different categories, different risk manage processes, different years etc. Data Collection and Analysis Data Collection We used digital databases web site – ACM, IEEE and ProQuest for scholar paper and articles and the existing search engines – google and yahoo. But we are not unable to get some papers from the search engines. So, we used these to get only information which papers are located in which databases. Using information returned from the search engines, we search the desired papers in the databases. The following chart, Fig 1 shows the state of the materials found in the three sources – ACM, IEEE and ProQuest. Figure 1 Distribution of papers There are 113 papers found in those databases. We summarized the papers found in the three sources. We categorized by the papers by using PMBOK guide. We provided the Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, Risk Control, Risk Response and Risk Identification. The following diagrams show the results. We learned that ACM database has more papers related to the risk management as in Fig 2. Other two databases have papers. But some papers are general for risk management. So, we discarded the papers and then we collected the more specified papers which are related to the above titles. We prepared the results with some charts as shown in below figures. Figure 2 Research papers found in ACM database by category Figure 3 Research papers found in IEEE database by category Figure 4 Research papers found in ProQuest database by category The above figures, Fig 2, Fig 3, Fig 4 show that the papers found in the ACM, IEEE, ProQuest database are shown by categories. Risk analysis is mostly conducted by majority of researchers. It was conducted mostly in year 2005 and 2006. Risk assessment and risk response research areas are fewer than other risk management process areas. Research for risk response is very rare, not fairly distributed and found in certain year. Data Analysis The trends of the risk analysis for the year 2000-2007 are shown in graph, Fig 5. We learned that IT project management was highest in recent 7 years. Figure 5 Trends in different business and industries within year 2000-2007 Information Technology We learned that there are varieties of IT projects. We categorized it as follow. Software Development E-Banking Disaster Information Security E-Commerce Internet Business When we categorized these topics, we found that some fields are ambiguous to group them. Some fields are software performance testing and fields emerged after the development phase. We grouped these fields were in the Software Development part. We grouped Networking security and other Internet security fields into the Information Security part. We formed a group for the Internet Banking as a E-Banking. In the Disaster group, we put the some disasters in the Disaster parts. These disasters sometime can be seen when processing some tasks in IT such as software error, hardware crash, and wrong information usages. We collected the potential security risks and group them into the Information Security group. Internet Business can be confused with E-Commerce and E-Banking. We intended the Internet Business to group the fields of the some businesses which are using Internet and make transactions via internet such as Online Registration. We found that Software Development risk analysis is most famous. In 2006, Software Development trend is the more than year 2005 and 2007. But year 2007 is not ended. So we can’t make any decision for that year. Figure 6 Risk management processes in different information technology fields Internet Business is the second thing to be learned. But Information security is down in 2006. Internet Business is coming up. Construction Construction group has the fields of which are architectural fields and construction works. We learned that in 2000 and 2001, there are some interests upon that field. In 2001, the construction field can be seen as a hottest field. Education We grouped the some fields in to Education group that fields are Education fields, learning methods in Education. The research related with the Education can be seen in the year 2004 only. Finance Finance group is wide. We formed the Finance group for some fields that are Cost Estimation, Accounting, Management Accounting and Banking. The finance is most famous in 2004. In the subsequence year, trend for the finance is running down to bottom. Healthcare We collected the data for the healthcare. But it is difficult to collect for the healthcare. We learned that in 2005, healthcare was appropriate level. But later, we cannot see it until 2007. Marketing In 2002 and 2005, marketing was in regular level. In 2003 and 2006, it was high up to 2. So, we learned that marketing was the regular level. Organization In the organization group, we combine the Oil Field, NASA, and some other organization-oriented fields. There are some researches for the organization in every year. There are some researches in the organization group within 2002 and 2006. Terrorism Terrorism was the new emerging fields after 9/11 problem. But later, we were not available for that field later years. This group is an exception for the risk management. But it is one thing to be considered later. Maritime Maritime was the individual fields. We did not combine any fields to that group. This category can be seen in only 2001. Insurance Insurance is the same as the Maritime. We learned that that group is only one field. We learned that the field was in the 2004 and 2005. But Insurance can become an interesting topic in future. General In General group, we combine other fields such as some theory approves and lecture views. Before conclusion section, we intended to present the findings as summary of data collection and analysis. Risk management is the sub-set of Project management. In academic field, risk management researches are becoming increasingly. According to our analysis, risk management researches related to Information Technology are highest topic of the research filed. But one of our exceptional cases is that we need to learn many research papers from many databases. We studied only three databases and 113 research papers. If we learned more papers, we can get more perfect result. In this paper, we categorized only 11 fields. It is general for the risk management. To get the better result, we also need to categorize the exact fields out of many fields. We can also categorize the risk management fields more according to the PMBOK guide. Conclusion and recommendation Business organization and industries suffer from lost and harm because of poor handling in risk management. They have been enduring the agonizing outcomes of failure in the form of unusual delays in project completion, with cost surpassing the budgeted cost and sometimes failed to meet quality standards and functional requirements. Competition among rivals makes the companies to deliver projects in less time and cost with better functionality. Risk management is a predefined and structured approach for identifying and analyzing potential risks associated with a project so that effective risk treatment can be done at the lowest cost. It is not impossible to eliminate all risk and costly to overdo risk management, but it is also unwise to think of eliminating risk. There will be, sometimes, positive risks those will lead to profit if properly analyzed and identified. Our term paper provides an analysis on papers and articles and conduct bibliographic study by particular risk management process and business category. Risk management researches are mostly done in mission critical environments and risky projects. As internet booms, information security and e-business issues are associated with a lot of risks. We found that majority of research papers are related to information technology in last decade. Risk in credit portfolio management, supply chain, pricing and insurance fields are also researched as they are related to financial lost and harm. Though risk management can offer significant benefits to a project in order to reduce nasty surprises and identify and act upon opportunities, it is, however, not a ‘panacea’ for the problems and surprises which befall many projects and should not be seen as the ‘silver bullet of project management’ (Pavyer, 2004) as Murphy’s Law is the governing law of project management: if something can go wrong, will go wrong. As we collected from three databases, mainly from ACM, our result can be a little affected by other finding and papers. Results will be slightly different as we go though several databases. Even thought we titled to 2007, we believe that other findings and papers will come out during this year. But based on our analysis, some inferences and emerging trends can be seen. Recommendations As people and management are aware of the importance of risk management processes, it would be more affective and appropriate to put more emphasis on formal and or informal education and training to further enhance their awareness of risk management. Formal education could be graduate studies in financial project management, software project management and construction project management etc. Informal education and training could be in the form of career development programs or workshops within organization or organized by academic institutions or professional seminars. Each organization should have own risk management plan, risk response plan, and human risk factors plan. Risk management team should be formed according to project manager’s guidelines and organizational goals. Project manager must aware of current risk management trends and technological trends for long term strategic planning. Researchers on risk management should cooperate and conduct on research areas which have been done less like autonomous agent systems, spacecraft systems, information security management. Appendix A. Reference Burke, R. (2003). â€Å"Product Management.† Biddles Ltd, Guildford. Brandon, D. (2006) â€Å"Project Management for Modern Information Systems† IRM Press Cooper D., Grey S., Raymond G., Walker P., (2005) Managing Risk in Large Projects and Complex Procurements. Chapman, R. J., and Ward, S. (1997). â€Å"Project Risk Management Processes, Techniques and Insights† John Wiley Sons, Chichester, UK. Flanagan, R., and Norman, G. (1993). Risk Management and Construction, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. Pavyer, E. (2004). â€Å"Evaluating Project Risk.† Strategic Risk Management, Auguest 2004, 24-25 Project management institute (2000). â€Å"A Gide to Project Management Body of Knowledge† Project management institute, 6 Raftery, J. (1994). Risk Analysis in Project Management, E FN SPON, London, UK. Snider, H. W. (1991). â€Å"Risk Management: A Retrospective View.† Risk Management April, 47-54 Schwalbe, K. (2006). â€Å"Information Technology Project Management.† Thomson Course Technology, 425 Yee, C. W., Chan, P., and Hu, G. (2001). Construction Insurance and Risk Management- A Practical Guide for Construction Professionals, The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd., Singapore. Appendix B. List of papers Researchers Title Database Risk Category Year Business Category Sub Category Steven L. Cornford, Martin S. Feather,John C. Kelly, Timothy W. Larson, Burton Sigal,James D. Kiper Design and Development Assessment ACM Risk Assessment 2000 IT Mary Sumner Enterprise Wide Information Man

Hamlet :: essays research papers

In Hamlet, Shakespeare follows regular convention for a large part of the play. In the beginning, Shakespeare sets up the scene, having a ghost on a dark night. Everyone is working and something strange is happening in Denmark. It is as if Shakespeare is saying that some kind of foul play has been committed. This sets up for the major theme in the play which is of course revenge. The ghost appears to talk to Hamlet. It is quite obvious that the play had a gruesome, violent death and the sexual aspect of the play was clearly introduced when Claudius married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The ghost tells Hamlet that he has been given the role of the person who will take revenge upon Claudius. Hamlet must now think of how to take revenge on Claudius, although he doesn’t know what to do about it. He ponders his thoughts for a long period of time, expecting to do the deed immediately, but instead he drags it on until the end of the play. Although what was important to note was that all tragic heroes of plays at that time delayed their actual revenge until the end of the play. In most revenge plays, the revenger was often anonymous and well disguised, stalking the enemy about to be killed, but Hamlet started a battle of wits with Claudius by acting mad and calling it his â€Å"antic disposition†, although the whole thing was a ploy to get closer to Claudius to be able to avenge his father’s death more easily. The tactic was a disadvantage in that it drew all attention upon himself. More importantly though it was an advantage that his â€Å"antic disposition†, isolated him from the rest of the court because of the people not paying attention to what he thought or did because of his craziness. One important part of all revenge plays is that after the revenge is finally decided upon, the tragic hero delays the actual revenge until the end of the play. Hamlet’s delay of killing Claudius takes on three distinct stages. Firstly he had to prove that the ghost was actually telling the truth, and he did this by staging the play â€Å"The Mousetrap† at court. When Claudius stormed out in rage, Hamlet knew that he was guilty. The second stage was when Hamlet could have killed Claudius while he was confessing to god. If Hamlet had done it here then Claudius would have gone to heaven because he confessed while Hamlet’s father was in purgatory because he did not get the opportunity to confess. So Hamlet therefore decided not to murder Claudius at this

The IMF and Emerging Markets Essay -- Investment Banking, Foreign Debt

In a staff paper published by the International Monetary Fund (Baig & Goldfajn, 1999), the vital question ‘was it [Asian Contagion] fundamentals driven, or was it a case of irrational, herd mentality displayed by panic-stricken investors?’ was posed. The answer to which concerned the correlation between the involved countries fundamental figures, such as its current deficit account, and investor’s reactions and how the relationship evolved over time after the initial causes of the crisis became apparent. Both the IMF report and Krugman indentified numerous cures and preventative measures highlighting exchange rate policy, financial regulation, hot money and investor expectations as key areas for consideration. (Baig & Goldfajn, 1999) Inter-temporal trade, current account deficit, original sin and exchange rate Krugman (2011) identifies developing countries as prime investment targets due to their high development potential. For Thailand and Brazil this presented the opportunity of inter-temporal trade advantages, where the developing countries offer high return on investment but lack the finance available to expand due to low national savings, and developed countries have the capital but lack the domestic opportunity, making it quite natural for such countries to run current account deficits and borrow from richer countries. A staff paper from the IMF stated this is what made Thailand & Brazil ‘victims of their own success’. (Aghevli, 1999) Unfortunately, due to the high risk of emerging countries currencies being devalued or inflated lenders stipulate repayment to be in their own currency shifting the risk onto the weaker economy. This presented them with the problem of original sin and made it difficult to honour repaymen... ...s: New York. Yagci, Fahettin. (2001) ‘choice of exchange rate regimes for developing countries’. [pdf] The World Bank: Working paper series No. 16. Available at: [Accessed 26/01/2012] BIBLIOGRAPHY Craig Burnside, Martin Eichenbaum, and Sergio Rebelo (2008), 'Currency crisis models', New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition. Crocket, A. (1994) â€Å"Monetary Implications of Increased Capital Flows†. In Changing Capital Markets: Implications for Policy, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Krugman, P. & Maurice O. (2004) ‘International Economics Theory and Policy’. 6th edition. Delhi, India: Pearson Education Stiglitz, J. (1996). ‘Some Lessons from the East Asian Miracle’. The World Bank Research Observer. Tiwari, R. (2003). ‘Post-crisis Exchange Rate Regimes in Southeast Asia’. Seminar Paper, University of Hamburg.

Discussion Boards Hsa 520

Has 505 The major online computer services such as Health Grades, America Online Inc. , and WebMD provide health news and medical and health forums where users can access medical libraries, exchange messages, and discuss health problems. In what ways might the growing use of these services by consumers affect future strategies for: Family practitioners? HMOs? Technology refers to the innovations or inventions from applied science and research. According to the book, adult use of the Internet as a health information source has increased dramatically. A lot of people use the Internet to find out different diseases and illness. From a family practitioner perspective use of the Internet could be a god thing. Most people find their health care providers from the Internet and also find out about health care issues. The Internet sites allow patients to gain knowledge about what is going on with their health and help solve questions they might have. Health care coverage through the use of an HMO costs less than comparable traditional health insurance, with a trade-off of limitations on the range of treatments available. HMO might view the internet site as an advantage because that’s where majority of people to research information and this could better help HMO reach out to the general population. They can get information from potential health care seekers based off the information they are providing on the sites, it could also help them use advertise strategies to put information out there to people. Internet sites have their advantages and their disadvantages but it seems there are more advantages than not. A primary care medical group has a list of patients who had once used the group on a regular basis as their primary source of care. However, in scanning their records, these patients had not been in for an appointment in the past two (2) years. The senior partner wants to send them an informational flyer about the practice and a refrigerator magnet that has the group’s telephone number and after-hours service number. As the marketing director for the practice, evaluate this approach in light of the HIPAA regulations. Is it acceptable to implement this marketing plan under the current regulations? Explain your answer. HIPPA is used to facilitate health insurance portability, protect patient security and privacy of information, and further reduce health care fraud and abuse. HIPPA requires all health care providers to have patient consent for access to their medical records or information. According to the book, data will need to be aggregated so that medical information cannot be attached to names and addresses of individual patients. Patient identifiable information cannot be use of marketing items. Under the current regulations there are some marketing strategies that can take place but it cannot have any patient information if it is not related to treatment or payment of their care. If the organization does not have the consent of the individuals to use their information that I don’t think that it would be acceptable. Has 520 Discuss the factors that should be considered when developing a consistent IM / IT strategy. Explain your rationale. Information systems should support the strategic goals, and objectives, and priorities of the organization they serve. The factors that should be considered when developing a consistent IM/IT strategy are: 1. Aligning IM/IT with organizational strategy: This is important because there is a need for interrelationships among IM/IT, the rest of the organization and the external environment. 2. Developing IM/IT infrastructure, architecture, and policies: This plan should identify the major types of information required to support strategic objectives and establish priorities for installation for computer applications. 3. Setting IM/IT project priorities, and overseeing investments: The organization needs to be aware of the investments and where their money is going and for what projects it is going to. They have to set boundaries and have set priorities. 4. Using IM/IT benefits assessment to enhance accountability: Accountability is very important to any organization. Knowing what they have and what they are missing is very vital. Analyze the various approaches to reviewing software and hardware standards and make at least three recommendations for improvement. Provide specific examples to support your response. Three recommendations for the various approaches to reviewing software and hardware standards are: 1. Data compatibility-use of common codes and data definitions for electronic information exchange across an organization. Its important that any organization make sure the soft ware and hardware is compatible to the systems they are trying to use. 2. Central review ensures that hardware and software will ne of a type that can receive technical support and maintenance from the information system staff. . Central review can help prevent illegal use of unlicensed software within the organization. Integration discusses the advantages and disadvantages of end-user computing and determines if this is an application that should be progressively pursued. Explain your rationale. End-user computing offers the potential to expand the base of IM/IT development and overcome issues that arise when a low priority is assigned to certain applications that are nevertheless viewed as important to units within the organization. Some of the advantages of end user computing are overcoming shortages of professionals, establishment of user friendly and responsive systems, and overcoming implementation problems. Some other advantages are the systems tailored to users, enables creative use of IS, generates competitive advantage, overcomes backlog by providing systems that IS could not get round to doing, puts users nearer the information, allows for variety, Increases user awareness of IS, and Relieves work load of IT professional. The disadvantages are that they produce inappropriate systems, causes duplication, takes users away from their real job, ignores long range and technical issues, courts disaster due to lack of attention to procedures, and causes integration problems. From the e-Activity, discuss what additional challenges exist with systems integration between / among health care organizations and possible solutions to those challenges.

Should We Have A Citizenship Test?

The citizenship test was introduced by the Australian Government fairly recently. As a western country, Australia is currently the most recent developed western country to have a citizenship test. However, there is a current debate being held on why is the citizenship test held for and what is the government really testing? According to the SBS news site, the Australian Government has now changed some of the content that is to be tested in the citizenship test and states that â€Å"would-be new Australian citizens will be quizzed on their understanding of their civic duty and responsibilities of citizenship rather than facing questions about Australia's sporting heroes † as it had previously asked questions about a Australian cricket player, Sir Donald Bradman and other irrelevant information. However, when questioned to why was the citizenship test was even introduced, a minister who appeared on an SBS program called ‘Insight' argued that this test was made to test English proficiency of the ‘new' Australians. The test was also made to give the new-comers a view on what is it mean to be Australian and what Australian values are? ,while stating all this information in a book that the participants would need to read. In my opinion, I do not think that this is a worthwhile test as a test can't possibly test whether the people sitting for it actually believe and practice these values but will only test their ability to memorize and learn facts and information out of a book. The test also doesn't use complex English but simple and easy-to-understand words. Therefore if the main point of having the test was to test English proficiency, it would be better to hold an English exam and to be able to apply for citizenship, the person applying would need to have been a permanent resident and would have needed to sit for an English proficiency test then anyway. This test is also a waste of time as the people sitting the test could use the time that was spent on taking the test and preparing for it on work and practicing ‘Australian values' to help Australia's community and economy. We have seen both sides of the argument here and to some others who may feel strongly for or against this issue, we can see that the Australian Government is trying its best to please the masses and that it looks like the citizenship test is here to stay for the long run.

Us Iran Relations

US-Iran Relations Acknowledgements I would like to thank my teacher, Ms. Mashal Shabbir. The supervision and support that she gave truly helped me in this project. Her cooperation is thus appreciated. Abstract This report explains the US-Iran relationships, how they changed over the period of time and what the main reasons for that change were. I tried to analyze these reasons according to the International Relations theories as well as my own opinion. The report includes the information mainly from 1940 to date. Discussion In the last days before the culmination of Iranian revolution the electricity workers in Tehran would turn off the lights each evening and then from the rooftops came the chant â€Å"God is Great† with another chant, â€Å"death to America† however with a much contradicting tone† (Cottom, 1988). These words themselves explain the intensity which lies in the US- Iran relationships since the Iranian revolution. European intrusion in Iran has been a prolonged one with immense prominence. Trade was one of the most significant reasons.Iran’s geographical position made it the central attention for the European traders, as the land route which joined the western and eastern worlds crossed Iran. Moreover, as Cottom explains in his book that the only presence of the Europeans in Iran was â€Å"a matter of national prestige†. That is this prestige not only advanced Europeans economically but politically too. US initially was viewed as a caring western country, who was not only sincere but also advocated human rights of freedom, moreover encouraged courage, independence as well as dignity for the people of Iran.Before 1940’s it had no economic interest in Iran plus only a minute aid was granted to Iran during the event of Soviet invasion in Iran, however this minute interest which US had in Iran was not long lived. Iran, blessed with one of the most precious reserves of oil attracted the western world immensely. With increasing industrialization especially in Britain as well as America oil was becoming one of the main ingredients of their success. The British government purchased a large amount of Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s (APOC) stock during the First World War.This oil company was a predecessor of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). By the time of Iranian oil crisis almost half of APOC’s stock was in the hands of Britain. Iranians on the other hand were kept away from the high ranking positions in the oil company. Moreover neither did the royalty payments satisfied the Iranian government nor did the high levels of confidentiality which prevailed in the major decision making contended them, giving birth to a situation which benefited neither of the two parties. Thus during 1951-1953 Iran strived to gain power over its oil industry which gave hype to the sense of nationalism in Iranians.The leaders in Iran provided the stance that out of the ? 250 million of profits which AIOC made in the late 1940’s their royalty payments only counted for one third of the total amount that is ? 90 million (Mary Ann Heiss). On the part of British Empire â€Å"oil† had become an evil necessity not only economically but also to sustain its political position as â€Å"a great power† in the World. Thus this nationalization not only threatened its position in the Middle East but also could have blown its largest investment abroad. Iranians on the contrary were keen to achieve independence nationally and politically.Although they were well aware of the fact that this may lead to serious economic adversity in Iran, they wanted the British dominance abolished to be treated as a sovereign nation. Therefore Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq stressed upon full control over Iran’s internal and financial affairs. The increasing tension between Britain and Iran and the wavering issues led the United States (US) jump in the situation. For US however the main goal was not the interests of either party that is Iran or Britain but it had its own underlying concern.Thus this can be said that this was the first time that US was seriously involved in the internal affairs of Iran, marking the beginning of their relationship. The nationalism which the Iranian governments were emphasizing upon was very closely related to communism, in a sense that it could have given rise to autocracy, which at that time was not at all acceptable to US. As this movement by the Iranians could have led to open paths for the Soviet Union to the oil fields of Middle East, America did not want to jeopardize its position along with its power. Moreover this oss of oil industry would have led to serious economic setbacks in US. In her paper, â€Å"The United States and Great Britain Navigate the Anglo-Iranian Oil crisis† the author Mary Ann Hiess explains the US-Iran relations in three phases during the oil crisis. The first phase named â€Å"benevolent neu trality† lasted almost from 1950 till the mid of 1951. The US officials acted as responsible negotiators and reconciled with the idea of nationalization as well as also recognized the rights of the contract of AIOC. Escorting to the second phase which is known as’ â€Å"Era of Anglo-American Partnership†.This phase propagated accelerating ideological and policy empathy mainly between Washington and London. The third phase however was that of US interest, that is US was somewhat getting successful in its goals, termed as the era of US domination this phase highlights Eisenhower ‘s (president of US 1953) negotiations which led to the formation of international association that replaced AIOC with the nation’s own oil industry in 1954. Now that the US domination prevailed in Iran, the American officials along with the British bureaucrats decided to overthrow Mossadeq for harming Iran’s stability.Therefore mainly Britain decided to pursue an operat ion commonly known as the Coup. However the Coup ultimately turned to operation AJAX which was organized and financed by US. According to International relations theories America in this particular situation acted quite like the classical realists. As it is obvious that the development of US interest in the whole situation is due to the fact that it was being flawed, selfish, competitive and ambitious due to its own goals, rather to solve the dispute for the betterment of Iran and Britain.The coup which occurred in august 19th 1953, basically aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq to remove the dictatorship from Iran and pursue democracy. Mark J. Gasiorowski in his article, â€Å"The 1953 Coup D’etat in Iran† gives the account of the takeover. While US and the British officials were already considering overthrowing mossadeq from power, the situation in Iran was not a favourable as well. Many opponents of mossadeq had already started to take actions against him. Anti-mossadeq mobs were arranged to kill him.Iran already was facing huge economic turmoil now had to face political unrest as well. Looking at the situation the new American government of Eisenhower also began to consider the operation and finally decided to organise and aid the coup along with Britain. Mossadeq already was facing hostility from the citizens of Iran therefore it made even easier for US to propagate masses against him. With the help of BEDAMN-a political action- uprising was arranged along with continued disputes. Government offices, buildings of pro-mossadeq newspapers were attacked.Air force general along with the forces attacked mossadeq’s house killing around three hundred people. The very next day mossadeq surrendered to Zahedi, marking the end of the coup. This revolution undoubtedly had a long and deep affect on the US-Iran relationships. The question which arises here is that, was America’s interest in Iran’s i nternal affairs genuine? Well America as I discussed above is a realist approach led country which ranks its own personal interest on the top. Then being sincere towards Iran itself becomes a futile question.Most of the studies highlight that the main aim US had out of this coup was to get significant share in the oil industry. Moreover this can be proven accurate to some extent by if we notice the fact that immediately after coming into power Zahedi government granted almost 40% of the total oil industry’s share to American oil companies (Gasiorowski, 1987). However a contradicting fact that most of the American oil producing countries were not interested in the share basically due to nimiety of oil in the world market- mainly in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait- proves that this might not be the sole or the most imperative reason.Another perspective of the situation is the American fear of communist takeover. At the time of coup Cold war between Soviet Union and US was at its peak a nd of course America being governing in nature would not allow soviet’s expansion to become a threat to US dominance, power and sovereignty. Although this coup proved beneficial for Iran, as it gave birth to democracy but the fact that this triumph was not experienced solely on the basis of internal struggle. In reality Iran was made a subject of constant US intervention, thus somewhat abusing its decision making ability.After the coup Mohammad Raza Pahlavi was reinstated as the Shah of Iran. Many authors state Pahlavi was long supported by the US government, although they were aware of the malpractices and the corruption which prevailed in his regime. The shah was forced to flee out of Iran when widespread unrest originated on the part of civilians and a new, more religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was granted the power. However this offense motivated the Iranian students to take revenge from the US. On November 4th 979, the Iranian students drizzled into the US e mbassy situated in Tehran and took almost 52 American officials as hostages on the demand that the shah who fled away should come back to Iran for trial of the crimes he committed against Iranians. The situation lasted for about 444 days as the US administration driven by Jimmy Carter was doomed by the failed attempts in 1980. However the hostages were released on the day Ronald Reagan was sworn as the new US president on January 20th 1981. This incident however changed the diplomatic, economic and political landscape between Iran and US for the years to come.By capturing hostages Iranians proved their anger against American’s negligence over Iranians as well as the power which they could use against US to advance their welfare. Another episode of varying US-Iran relations begun in 1986,when Iran secretly asked US for help while it was at war with Iraq. Iran requested US to sell weapons, however Reagan wanted Iran to release seven of the US hostages which Iranian terrorists h eld. This however did not remain confidential for long, instead soon people discovered this Iran-Contra.US emphasized that this was an arms for hostages deal as well as tried to stress upon the fact that it will improve US-Iran relations. This improvement in the relationships of the two countries was not long lived as in 1988 the tragic incident of Iran’s airplane shot down shrunken the trust between US and Iran. On the morning of July 3rd 1988, commercial flight operated by Iran Air took off for Tehran-Bandar Abbas-Dubai route however it was its bad luck that it never reached Dubai. At the same time another plane or more generally a Missile cruiser of US navy known as the US Vincennes would pass over this commercial flight.The US Vincennes was at the Persian Gulf during the Iraq-Iran war. Vincennes saw another airplane flying towards the Persian Gulf however it thought that it identified it as a possible Iranian F-16 issuing various warnings and civil distress frequencies wh ich of course never reaches the Iran Air. Thus after waiting for a bit the commander of Vincennes Captain Rogers ordered to fire two missiles at it. The Airbus was hit and soon it tumbled into flames killing around 290 innocent people in the flight. After the tragic incident the deterioration of the relations deepened as no severe action was taken against Captain Roger’s folly decision.Moreover it was just named a â€Å"mistake† by Pentagon. George W. Bush, vice president of US at that time declared a bold remark in Newsweek, â€Å"I will never apologize for the United States of America, ever. I don’t care what the facts are. † Thus this boldness highlights the rigidity that prevailed in American’s attitude. 1990’s a new decade, was begun with another policy implementation by the US. â€Å"dual containment† as it was known was a policy set up by Americans to isolate Iran and Iraq both economically and militarily mainly to achieve its own regional ambitions.US did not want any other countries to be in power and with the increasing influence of both Iran and Iraq; it saw its own position jeopardizing. US banned all trade, financial loans and services with Iran as it thought that the regime in Iran promoted terrorism and assassinations throughout the world. The beginning of a new millennium also marked a beginning of new tensions between the countries. US alleged Iran for expanding its nuclear activities and developing missile-related technology. It was threatening to the survival of US. Thus Iran was termed as the â€Å"axis of evil† by George W.Bush who by then was the president of US as according to them it enhanced terrorism. Ambitious in developing its nuclear base Iran continued to seek help from Russia and China despite US discontent. Throughout early 2000’s UN inspected Iran’s nuclear facilities. The reports said that there was no evidence of Iran producing atomic bomb but US considered it, â€Å"impossible to believe†. US kept on forcing Iran to suspend any of its nuclear progressions however Iran acted very firmly as proved by president Katami’s statement that its country will never give up its nuclear project and stressed its peaceful usage.The relations kept on becoming hostile, although America provided Iran with a humanitarian aid in 2003 because of the earthquake, it emphasized that this does not mark any thaw in their relationships. Throughout 2005 Iran’s nuclear program and uranium dispute remained a problem for US. For Americans it was of immense importance that Iran withdraws it activities as US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice explained , â€Å"US faces no greater challenge than Iran’s nuclear program†( BBC NEWS).However the new, more conservative president of Iran Ahmadinejad clearly stated that Iran has the right for peaceful progression of the nuclear project along with its announcement of successful enrichment of uranium. This prompted US to take strong steps against Iran. As for analysis purposes this can be considered that US and Iran were on a kind of cold war from the beginning of 2000. US major discontent was Iran’s nuclear program after all it was the prime threat to US continued existence. And for this reason US several times along with UN tried to impose sanctions over it. When nothing helped, President Bush accused Iran with Al-Qaeda.Thus stating that extremism prevailing in Iran could lead to adverse effects if nuclear program is continued. This brought huge military confrontation from Iran. Tensions prevailed as both countries accused one another either for spying or encouraging terrorism. To date the most destructive problem which prevails between the two countries is the Iran’s nuclear program. Several discussions have been held between the new presidents that is Barrack Obama and Ahmadinejad but no intelligent conclusion has been reached. This can be concluded that US interests had been objective in terms of truly helping Iran.US initially got interested in Iran due to the fact that it did not want Soviet Union to get advantage over the Iranian Oil industries. It wanted to achieve its own regional advantages over the most fertile country in the Middle East. However when Iran began to retaliate against US it posed great threat to their survival. The most significant example of this is the current tensions because of nuclear progression in Iran. Thus it can be concluded that US who undoubtedly follow the realists’ paradigm proved to be quite selfish when it came to their sovereignty.They made use of the dominance principal on several occasions as it did not want any other country to become a greater power. Iran on the other hand acted differently. It was basically on the leaders of Iran which determined its behavior towards America. Those who were pro American acted exactly as America wanted them too for example Zahedi, Pahlavi. Othe rs contradicted its policies and behaviour. They acted the way they thought was better for Iran, moreover stood strong in front of America for their rights such as Khomeini, Ahmadinejad.Thus the relations varied and contoured during different phases of US-Iran history. References about. com. (n. d. ). The Iran-Contra Affair. Retrieved from http://usforeignpolicy. about. com: http://usforeignpolicy. about. com/gi/o. htm? zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=usforeignpolicy&cdn=newsissues&tm=7117&f=11&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www. pbs. org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande08. html Anthony Cordesman, S. F. (n. d. ). DUAL CONTAINMENT: SLOGAN OR POLICY? Bernard Gwertzman, C. E. (2012, March 6). Crisis-Managing

Gonorrhea Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gonorrhea - Assignment Example The patient’s HIV and Hepatitis risk are also discussed McCutcha (2013)indicates that doctors and nurses should establish the modes of giving results and child protection issues in cases where the patient is below sixteen years.The history of drug use, commercial sex work, new or multiple partners and recent sexual activities outside a patient’s area of residence also need to be assed carefully.Sexual abuseis also known to put people at risk of getting sexuallytransmittedinfections; hence, it should also be included in the medical history assessment by the doctor. After the infection, the key symptoms of gonorrhea take about two to five days to appear. In some cases,however, it may take up to a month for the signs to appear in men. Somepeople do not show the signs and when this is the case, they are not aware that they have contracted the infection and will not, therefore, seek medical treatment. Suchcases multiply the risk of complications and chances of passing the STI to other people without knowing. In men, the symptoms include pain when urinating, need to urinate frequently, yellow, white or green discharge from the penis,swollen urethra,sore throat and tender testicles. In women, virginaldischarge, burning pain when urinating, fever, pains in the lower abdomen and whenhaving sexual intercourse and overall body weakness are the major indicators of the infection. Manda (2012) says that in caseswhere the disease has spread to the blood stream of a patient, rashes, fever and other arthritis like symptoms are also likely to be noted.All the signs may not be present in every person. Those having the disease display varying pointers to the condition as a result of the difference in body immunity capabilities. The diagnosis of the infection can be carried out in two ways, which include the gram staining and culture and nucleic acid based test. The diagnosis takes place when gonococci is seen through a microscopic examination