Structural Equation Modeling

Structural equation modeling is an advanced statistical technique that has many layers and many complex concepts. Researchers who use structural equation modeling have a good understanding of basic statistics, regression analyses, and factor analyses. Building a structural equation model requires rigorous logic as well as a deep knowledge of the field’s theory and prior empirical evidence. This article provides a very general overview of structural equation modeling without digging into the intricacies involved. Structural equation modeling is a collection of statistical techniques that allow a set of relationships between one or more independent variables and one or more dependent variables to be examined. Both independent and dependent variables can be either continuous or discrete and can be either factors or measured variables. Structural equation modeling also goes by several other names: causal modeling, causal analysis, simultaneous equation modeling, analysis of covariance structures, path analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. When exploratory factor analysis is combined with multiple regression analyses, the result is structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM allows questions to be answered that involve multiple regression analyses of factors. At the simplest level, the researcher posits a relationship between a single measured variable and other measured variables. The purpose of SEM is to attempt to explain â€Å"raw† correlations among directly observed variables. Path Diagrams Path diagrams are fundamental to SEM because they allow the researcher to diagram the hypothesized model, or set of relationships. These diagrams are helpful in clarifying the researcher’s ideas about the relationships among variables and can be directly translated into the equations needed for analysis. Path diagrams are made up of several principles: Measured variables are represented by squares or rectangles.Factors, which are made up of two or more indicators, are represented by circles or ovals.Relationships between variables are indicated by lines; lack of a line connecting the variables implies that no direct relationship is hypothesized.All lines have either one or two arrows. A line with one arrow represents a hypothesized direct relationship between two variables, and the variable with the arrow pointing toward it is the dependent variable. A line with an arrow at both ends indicates an unanalyzed relationship with no implied direction of effect. Research Questions Addressed by Structural Equation Modeling The main question asked by structural equation modeling is, â€Å"Does the model produce an estimated population covariance matrix that is consistent with the sample (observed) covariance matrix?† After this, there are several other questions that SEM can address. Adequacy of the model: Parameters are estimated to create an estimated population covariance matrix. If the model is good, the parameter estimates will produce an estimated matrix that is close to the sample covariance matrix. This is evaluated primarily with the chi-square test statistic and fit indices.Testing theory: Each theory, or model, generates its own covariance matrix. So which theory is best? Models representing competing theories in a specific research area are estimated, pitted against each other, and evaluated.Amount of variance in the variables accounted for by the factors: How much of the variance in the dependent variables is accounted for by the independent variables? This is answered through R-squared-type statistics.Reliability of the indicators: How reliable are each of the measured variables? SEM derives reliability of measured variables and internal consistency measures of reliability.Parameter estimates: SEM generates parameter estimates, or coefficients, for each path in the model, which can be used to distinguish if one path is more or less important than other paths in predicting the outcome measure.Mediation: Does an independent variable affect a specific dependent variable or does the independent variable affect the dependent variable though a mediating variable? This is called a test of indirect effects.Group differences: Do two or more groups differ in their covariance matrices, regression coefficients, or means? Multiple group modeling can be done in SEM to test this.Longitudinal differences: Differences within and across people across time can also be examined. This time interval can be years, days, or even microseconds.Multilevel modeling: Here, independent variables are collected at different nested levels of measurement (for example, students nested within classrooms nested within schools) are used to predict dependent variables at the same or other levels of measurement. Weaknesses of Structural Equation Modeling Relative to alternative statistical procedures, structural equation modeling has several weaknesses: It requires a relatively large sample size (N of 150 or greater).It requires much more formal training in statistics to be able to effectively use SEM software programs.It requires well-specified measurement and conceptual model. SEM is theory driven, so one must have well-developed a priori models. References Tabachnick, B. G. and Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using Multivariate Statistics, Fourth Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Kercher, K. (Accessed November 2011). Introduction to SEM (Structural Equation Modeling). http://www.chrp.org/pdf/HSR061705.pdf

Personal Narrative A Look Back - 1667 Words

She had a solid reputation as a crisp, vivid writer of short stories set in Louisiana, where she had lived for 14 years (A Look Back). I wrote many of my stories about experiences in my life. I always loved to read and learn new things as a child. As I grew older, there were many hard times and that helped me to be the lady I was. Some of my stories were very well known, and others not so much. My rough childhood, mother, and family friends influenced me to write; the short stories and novels I wrote were influenced by my favorite authors which caused me to write about controversial topics. I was born on the 8th of February in 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. I was born to my parents, Thomas and Eliza O Flaherty, and I was the third†¦show more content†¦My years after graduation weren t that exciting, until I got married. In 1870, I married a man named Oscar Chopin. He was a wealthy Creole cotton factor. I moved with him to New Orleans and we had 6 six children; Jean, Oscar, G eorge, Fredrick, Felix, and Leila. I pursued the schedule of a Southern Aristocrat. This was demanding both social and domestic at the time. My family was hit with financial difficulty in 1880. This caused our growing family to move in with my father-in-law. He lived in a small town in Natchitoches Parish which was located in Louisiana s Red River bayou region. While we were there, my husband supervised and inherited the plantations his father owned. My husband insisted on taking over the managerial responsibilities after his father passed in 1883. With my husband taking over the responsibilities it brought me to meet many different parts of the community. These included the French-Acadian, Creole, and Natchitoches Parish sharecroppers who were workers on the plantations. Impressions taken from these people were gathered and later influenced my fiction (Katherine Chopin). Oscar died in 1882 of swamp fever. For over a year, I took over running the general store and the plantation (W yatt). I sold everything in 1884 and went to live with my mother back in St. Louis. A year later, my mother passed away leaving me and my children. I began to write to support my family (Wyatt). I began to write short stories after family friends found the

SWOT Analysis and Recommended Policies †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the SWOT Analysis and Recommended Policies. Answer: Introduction The headquarters of the organization are located in Hobart Tasmania. There are about 800 workers working in the organization. The organization provides complete life cycle and process to the salmon, by the help of which, the phase of reproduction gets completed with a fast speed and output generated are also correct in the definite manner. The best feature of the Tassal is that it assists in providing assistance for managing the best quality Salmon for the consumers as the consumers are identified as their main priority. To manage sustainability aspects and to bring specific well-being for the better tomorrow, the organization is making best possible efforts as well (World Ocean Review, 2017). The methodology and working structure of the organization is considered quite different in comparison to the other organizations. Before using Salmon, the basic requirement of the organization is to feed them and make them appropriate for the consumptions of the customers. To define the success of the organization, some of the most important achievements identified in the organization are shown below: In the year 2010, the organization is identified with the availability of the fresh canned products related to Salmon. Apart from this, the wide range of beauty products are also provided. In 2011, the community services get improved by providing services for the breast cancer (Government, 2016). In 2012, the organization is benchmarked with fish farming and other services related to it. Apart from this, various achievements are also noticeable in different years as well. As it is identified that the organization possesses a renowned structure for the development on an international as well as on local level. The organization is involved in various community services too. The cyclic process for the production of Salmon is identified on an organizational level. The organization generally focuses on the 5 Ps strategy which is mainly identified as the people, product, planet, process and profit. By focusing on these aspects, the organization is capable in managing sustainability as well as the market values of Salmon may also get raised simultaneously. The diagram for showing these aspects is also shown below with specific explanation: International market in contrast to Australia The international market for fishing is growing with a rapid speed. The market is full of opportunities and approximations. The growth ratio is continuously increasing in a well-focused and approachable manner as well. The growth aspects are very sharpened and flexible for the whole fish industry (Smith, 2016). But, if the Salmon are considered on separate basis, the industry and international growth of the business will become quite slow. Though the Tassal is offering wide range of Salmon and the strategy related to the sustainability is also well focused, but still the management on an Australian level is quite difficult (Fitzgerald, 2013). The process of cultivation and breeding of Tassal is very long and time taken too. So, for managing the aspects on the international level, the major steps should be planned in a definite manner. For providing the most suitable platform for an improvement, the platform should also be defined in a specific mode as well (Horvat, 2014). The practice of sustainability is identified as one of the most specific feature which may help in securing the environment as well as support for the development of the organization (FRDC, 2014). The practices for sustainability in the organization are highly appreciated. The organization covers the phase of sustainability in a totally different manner. For managing sustainability, the health of Salmon is considered on the highest priority. The Salmon for the organization is identified similar to other animals that possess right of surviving with a healthy life system. It is necessary to look after their surviving practices. For making the sustainability appreciable, the organization also open their farms outside the city. This will help in solving two purposes, the first purpose is the survival of the salmon in fresh water which will help in improving their existing numbers and the second purpose is preventing environment as well. These sustainable practices may be helpful in providing definite aspects related to the organization (Commonwealth of Australia , 2015). Role of planning and strategy The planning and strategy for the survival of salmon is precise and accurate. The organization possesses its specific sustainability strategy and planning. For managing the planning, various researchers and scientists have come up with their planned approach as well. The food and nutrition of the salmon is managed with specific sources and definite food habits. To provide suitable nutrition to the fishes, the food elements are assorted from different resources. Tassal also have specific Fish management plans which aids in providing the best breed of the salmon (Ryan, 2016). The strategy of the organization to breed and consume is based on 3 years plan. In three-year plan, for the first one and half year, salmon is survived in the fresh water and in second phase i.e. the second one and half year, the salmon survives in the sea. This innovative strategy adapted by the organization helps in creating the positive impact on the cultivation of salmon. The life cycle of the Salmon is defined below with help of suitable diagram. The role of planning is also considered as equally important. According to Mr. Rockliff, in the processing of planning, definite aspects for surviving of the salmon fish will be planned. There are various methods and techniques which helps in providing assistance for the breeding and cultivation (Zhao Fan, 2015). The planning may also assist in protecting the marine and install the basic amenities related to the organizational requirement as well. Human resource management The Human resource management or the developmental aspects related to the human resource is identified as one of the aspect which helps in providing specific improvement on the organizational level. The only aim of the organization is not only to make more money; apart from this, the organization is also focusing on prevention of life of salmon and maintains sustainability too. Likewise, in the country named as Tanzania, the fishing industry is expanding with a very fast rate. The human resource department provides efficient aspects related to the recruitment and management for the team. By this, specific aspects related to the organization can be managed on a large scale. The different tasks which are managed with the help of human resource development are identified below: The methods of cultivation related to the salmon are identified by the Human resource department of the organization. The department will aid in providing assistance for the new strategy and innovation associated with the organization. The hiring and recruiting of suitable team members for managing the process is also identified with the help of human resource team. This team will also help in providing specific assistance for organizing definite mentoring sessions for the new hires. The scientists and researchers are also hired for the growth and development of the organization as well. Apart from this, the human resource department also helps in managing marketing and sales ideas for the organization. By managing the marketing ideas, the sales of Salmon can also get increased easily. Apart from this, the new innovations may also be identified for the sale of salmon (Araya Krishnan, 2014). The international expansion and identification of the most developed factor will be helpful in generating more revenue for the organization. The expansion strategy for the salmon may also be identified with the help of the human resource team. Other than this, there are various marketing aspects which are identified at an initial level. The human resource team helps in providing specific assistance as well. The leadership aspects of the organization are improved and specific. Through the process of leadership, variations in leading actual concepts are identified. The leadership is considered as one of the major factor in improving the life cycle and process related to the cultivation of salmon. In fact, to manage the leadership on the international level, specific programs also get introduced in the organization. Apart from this, other aspects related to the leadership may also be identified through which the employees and team members can coordinate with each other in a specific manner. To manage the aspect related to the sustainable development and to follow the sustainable practice in the organization, it is essential to manage specific sources in an organized form. The sustainable practices and the development of new innovations is considered as the primary requirement related to the organization. To pursue all these perspectives, the proper leadership aspect is essential (Developme nt, 2010). The leaders are recruited for the specific teams and procedure. The purpose for recruiting these candidates is to maintain the process related to the salmon industry. The major changes which are observed in the leadership program are identified after the year 2010 in the organization. The organization plans for the specific approach for the leadership as well. Controlling the value chain and technology To manage the value chain and technology related to the organization, various efforts are planned. For making easier production, it is required that the organization plans definite strategy in a well approached manner. The cyclic procedure and well managed aspects are required for identifying best possible ways for controlling the value chain. According to Ryan for value chain, the simple steps are planned on a beneficial level (Ryan, 2016). Some of the aspects related to the value chain are defined below: Management of sales mix to increase the sale and optimize returns. Successful management of Dec Coste Food. The De Coste food is identified as one of the famous food for the common people in Australia. Best practices related to the sustainability which may help in providing methods of improvement and development (FRDC, 2017). The other aspects are also identified to manage the value chain procedure for the organization. The value chain will be helpful in improving the existing scenario associated to the organization. For the usage of technology, specific assistance which is provided to the organization related to the best use of the services and softwares defined for further management of the procedures. The technology for cultivation and breeding will be utilized on a large scale. In fact, the new techniques are identified for the storage of Salmon. The canned and packed food products are identified with the help of cultivation of the salmon as well. The technical contribution is identified as one of the major contribution through which the organization can improve in a definite manner. Future Strategies The planning of future strategies is identified as the major priority. To manage future strategy, the specific steps should be planned in a correct direction. The ideas can be generated from previous data and information related to the organization as well. The strategies are helpful in providing platform for the growth and development in a specific manner. The first strategy is related to the increment of sale of Salmon. Still, the Salmon is out of reach from the rural areas. The common customers from these areas are not capable to consume these products. For the expansion of the sale and to make product reachable for consumers, the strategy is required to be managed and maintained in the correct direction (Carlyon Salmon, 2017). The second strategy which should be planned is related to the expansion of the organization on international basis. This international expansion will aid in opening doors for increasing the sales of salmon on a wide level. As the organization is capable in defining the packed and canned products, so it could become possible to manage selling of the products on an international level as well. The third strategy related to the organization is the maintenance of sustainability and continuous improvement in aspects related to the sustainability. These aspects of sustainability may be helpful in providing assistance for the improvement and management as well. The strategy related to these aspects will assist in defining the suitable image related to the organization. Other than this, the contribution in community will also help in clarifying the image of the organization (Villalba, 2016). By identifying the strategies and sustainability practices from the above sources, it can be concluded that the future of Salmon industry is bright and specific. The only requirement is the explanation of the specific industry and planning should also be appropriate (Araya Krishnan, 2014). It is recommended that the ideas from various sources should be generated in a definite manner. Apart from this, it is also recommended that for international marketing and sales of products, it is essential to promote a product on the wide level too. The strategic planning is considered as the key source for an improvement. References Araya, T. Krishnan, M., 2014. SWOT analysis and recommended policies and strategies of Eritrean fisheries. Carlyon, P. Salmon, G., 2017. Salmon wars: EPA halts Tassal's dredging plan after Huon Aquaculture's objections, Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/huon-aquaculture-seeks-legal-halt-to-macquarie-harbour-dredge/8493708 Commonwealth of Australia , 2015. Australias seafood trade, Available at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/fisheries/aus-seafood-trade.pdf Development, M. o. L. a. F., 2010. Fisheries sector development programme, Available at: https://www.tanzania.go.tz/egov_uploads/documents/FSDP_sw.pdf Fitzgerald, M., 2013. Successful strategies for sustainable salmon. FRDC, 2014. How does the size of the Australian seafood industry compare to others around the world?, Available at: https://www.ruraltraininginitiatives.com.au/home/programs/seafood FRDC, 2017. National seafood industry leadership program, Available at: https://www.ruraltraininginitiatives.com.au/home/programs/seafood Government, A., 2016. Aquaculture industry in Australia, Available at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/fisheries/aquaculture/aquaculture-industry-in-australia Horvat, P., 2014. Building a seafood marketing plan, Available at: https://www.frdc.com.au/stories/Pages/16-Building-a-seafood.aspx Ryan, M., 2016. Tassal MD CEO on FY2016 results and growth outlook, Available at: https://www.tassal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Market-Briefing-Tassal-MD-on-FY16-and-outlook.pdf Smith, M., 2016. Fish on ice as Tassal farm plan reviewed, Available at: https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/fish-on-ice-as-tassal-farm-plan-reviewed/news-story/cd56cbcd1814932bae23470a17c6324d Tassal Team, 2017. Tassal official website. [Online] Available at: https://www.tassal.com.au/about-us/ Villalba, L., 2016. Corporate Partnerships: the new (and right) path to sustainability, Available at: https://cbey.yale.edu/our-stories/corporate-partnerships-the-new-and-right-path-to-sustainability World Ocean Review, 2017. Toward more sustainable fisheries. [Online] Available at: https://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-1/fisheries/sustainable-fishing-industry/ Zhao, C. Fan, X., 2015. Tassel Removal Positively Affects Biomass Production Coupled with Significantly Increasing Stem Digestibility in Switchgrass, Available at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120845

Swot Analysis on the Apparel Industry Essay Example

Swot Analysis on the Apparel Industry Paper Strengths Demand Driven Industry (more than 4000 units for textiles alone) Strong presence in local market Availability of cheaper labor Geographically situated at ideal location (near end users) Most setups are self employed and have simpler management structure Weaknesses Obsolete technology machinery and equipment used for manufacturing Availability of raw material and inconsistent raw material prices Unskilled labor (only 1% workers have certificate / diploma from technical training institutions) Absence of research and development culture Lack of synergies between Govt. support institutions and practical market. Lack of standardization and quality control Non-sophisticated marketing sense. (branding grading) Unorganized vendor base Limited access to information (availability of finance, technological know how Govt. regulations) Energy costs Opportunities Import substitution. Pakistan imports machinery worth approximately US $ 600 million annually for textiles only. Free trade agreements like SAFTA and Pakistan’s recent attempt to get included in ASEAN. Lesser sophisticated African markets. Research and development and reverse engineering Threats Competition from countries like India China, which have more advanced engineering technology base. Lagging in technology, hence producing substandard goods that hamper consumer perception about local engineering products. Non-organized manufacturing and vendor base and unhealthy competition. Uncertainty in inputs costs Allowance of duty free textile machinery. Increasing duties on import of machinery / tools used in manufacturing of textile machinery and parts High dependence on single supplier of raw material i. e. Pakistan steel Non-existence of research and development culture lily to widen technology gap more and more with the passage of time. We will write a custom essay sample on Swot Analysis on the Apparel Industry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Swot Analysis on the Apparel Industry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Swot Analysis on the Apparel Industry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer SWOT ANALYSIS- MAS holding chairman GARMENT INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES Q: Could you provide a SWOT analysis of the garment industry today? A: STRENGTHS: The ‘Sri Lanka’ brand†¦ People understand international business, and adopt ethical and reliable business practices. Manufacturing good-quality products, not providing a sample which is great and the bulk quantity of a different standard. Compliance with health and safety standards. English-language skills in comparison to China, where just a few people may speak English in the entire factory – and if they are not available, you can’t get anything out of them. Well-disciplined, literate and skilled workforce. WEAKNESSES: Being slightly behind other countries in Not having a supply chain and proper textile infrastructure. Not having dedicated zones that provide utilities, such as electricity, at competitive rates. Not having a base for other supply-chain services. No technical and design skills. No proper merchandising skills. OPPORTUNITIES: With pressure on China, lots of buyers, retailers and brands are looking for alternatives to China. Sri Lanka has a tremendous opportunity to position itself as an outstanding alternative in active wear, children’s wear, casual wear and intimate apparel. THREATS: We have to be careful about being competitive internationally – not only in comparison to countries such as India, Vietnam and Indonesia. I believe there is another way of looking at this: we can’t view ourselves in isolation. We have to look at ourselves in relation to the rest of South Asia and see how we can leverage on each other’s strengths to perform well as a region. If we attempt to play in the huge global arena by ourselves, it will be a daunting challenge. Janaka Boteju – Sri Lanka Apparel exporters association Sri Lanka Apparel Industry Strengths Reputation of being a quality apparel manufacturer for the mass market. Compliance with International Labour regulations. Relatively disciplined and skilled labour and a trainable work force. Reputed International Customer base. On-time delivery of standard â€Å"all- season† products. Weaknesses Isolation from trade partners and heavy dependence on local buying agencies. Lack of geographical diversification in terms of its overseas markets. In-sufficient international and bi-lateral trade agreements to support the industry. Increasing cost of labour compared with other countries in the south Asian region Inadequate focus on developing backward integration linkages to support the industry. Non-existence of product design and new product developments. Non-existence of a Sri Lankan brand identity. Low productivity of labour, inefficient use of machinery and manufacturing processes. The relatively high cost of utilities. Opportunities Sri Lanka to become a total service provider for the global apparel industry. Promote Sri Lanka as a socially responsible manufacturer of apparels. Transition to products that require a high labour content. The positive impact of the government’s peace initiative Threats Rapidly changing trends in the retailing industry. The former socialist countries and the East European nation are potential to become major suppliers for the EU Market. Global formation of bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade blocks. New entrants to the industry. Emergence of efficient international shipping hubs in the Asian region.

Monet Vs. Van Gough essays

Monet Vs. Van Gough essays Between 1858 and 1882 Monet painted 49 still lifes, and 21of them were of flowers. In his Chrysanthemums, the subject combined his interest in gardening and painting. A relation that was displayed even more after he moved to Giverny in 1883. Like his Bouquet of Sunflowers of 1881, this still life was probably painted when bad weather had driven the artist indoors. This still life display colors, rhythm, surface and touch to the fullest extent. In Van Goughs Oleanders, he believed that these flowers were joyous, and that they bloomed riotously were continually renewing themselves. In the painting the flowers are placed in a jug, which is symbolically adjacent to a book titled, La Joie de Vivre by Emile Zols. The flowers seem to be leaning towards the book, like how they would lean towards sunlight. Although they are opposites being Monet more classic and Van Gough, I like to call him, stylish, they both did their painting beautifully, the way the subject is brought to life with color. But what I truly loved was their totally different style and painting techniques. Monets style of painting where the subject appears to be blurry and being able to notice his delicate brush strokes in the petals of the flowers, along with his choice of colors give the painting a classic feel to it. You can see somewhat of a reflection of the vase and flowers on the table; again Monet uses his blurry technique. The light blue background giv es it a calming, peaceful effect. ...

Author, Sociologist, and Activist W.E.B. Du Bois

Author, Sociologist, and Activist W.E.B. Du Bois W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. At the time, Du Bois’s family was one of the few black families living in the predominantly Anglo-American town. While in high school, Du Bois showed a big concern for the development of his race. At fifteen years of age, he became the local correspondent for the New York Globe and gave lectures and wrote editorials spreading his ideas that black people needed to politicize themselves. Fast Facts: W.E.B. Du Bois Full Name: William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B. for short) Du BoisBorn: February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, MADied: August 27, 1963Education: Bachelors from Fisk University and Harvard University, Masters from Harvard. First Black to earn a doctorate degree at Harvard.Known For: Editor, writer, and political activist. As the first person to use a scientific approach to study social phenomenon, Du Bois is often called the Father of Social Science.Key Accomplishments: Played a leading role in the struggle for black civil rights in the United States. Founded and led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.Publications: The Philadelphia Negro (1896), Souls of Black Folks (1903), The Negro (1915), The Gift of Black Folk (1924), Black Reconstruction (1935), The Color of Democracy (1945) Education In 1888, Du Bois earned a degree from Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee. During his three years there, Du Bois’ knowledge of the race problem became more definite and he became determined to help expedite the emancipation of black people. After graduating from Fisk, he entered Harvard on scholarships. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1890 and immediately began working towards his master’s and doctorate degree. In 1895, Du Bois became the first African-American to earn a doctorate degree at Harvard University. Career and Later Life After graduating from Harvard, Du Bois took a teaching job at Wilberforce University in Ohio. Two years later he accepted a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania to conduct a research project in Philadelphia’s seventh ward slums, which allowed him to study blacks as a social system. He was determined to learn as much as he could in an attempt to find the â€Å"cure† for prejudice and discrimination. His investigation, statistical measurements, and sociological interpretation of this endeavor was published as The Philadelphia Negro. This was the first time such a scientific approach to studying social phenomenon was undertaken, which is why Du Bois is often called the Father of Social Science. Du Bois then accepted a teaching position at Atlanta University. He was there for thirteen years during which he studied and wrote about morality, urbanization, business and education, the church, and crime as it affected Black society. His main goal was to encourage and help social reform. Du Bois became a very prominent intellectual leader and civil rights activist, earning the label â€Å"The Father of Pan-Africanism.† In 1909, Du Bois and other like-minded supporters founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1910, he left Atlanta University to work full-time as the Publications Director at the NAACP. For 25 years, Du Bois served as the editor-in-chief of the NAACP publication The Crisis. By the 1930s, the NAACP had become increasingly institutionalized while Du Bois had become more radical, which led to disagreements between Du Bois and some of the other leaders. In 1934 he left the magazine and returned to teaching at Atlanta University. Du Bois was one of a number of African-American leaders investigated by the FBI, which claimed that in 1942 his writings indicated him to be a socialist. At the time Du Bois was chairman of the Peace Information Center and was one of the signers of the Stockholm Peace Pledge, which opposed the use of nuclear weapons. In 1961, Du Bois moved to Ghana as an expatriate from the United States and joined the Communist Party. In the final months of his life, he renounced his American citizenship and become a citizen of Ghana.

Race Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Race - Essay Example Beliefs surrounding this concept maintained that this chain was created by God and was very close to God in terms of perfection. This paper will seek to bring out issues regarding race which range from its history to current views. It will also give an insight as to whether there is need to replace the term â€Å"race† with something else like â€Å"ethnicity†. The etymology of the word â€Å"race† indicates that the term means common descent. Intellectual analysis on the book opines that the Europeans sought to define the term race at the Age of Enlightenment as a biological concept. However, as time went by, scholars tried to define and classify race into types, origins, and correlations (Spiller 45). Concerted efforts by Ember, Peregrine, and Ember show that biomedical researchers, as well as forensic anthropologists, collected and analyzed information on populations and individuals and established that race denotes distinctions which are scientifically practi cal (Ember, Ember, & Peregrine 97). In view of Hippocrates and many other thinkers, factors like climate and geography held a very significant place in shaping the physical appearance of different people. Ideally, the 19th century naturalists made attempts that changed race from taxonomy into a biological concept using anthropometrics. ... time, social conservatives exacerbated their belief and maintained that certain races portrayed innate inferiority after examining their shortcomings. A number of scientists claimed that they could determine the race of certain population or an individual by evaluating the subject’s DNA or genes. On the other end, the largest number of scientists understood that race was a social construct. These scientists believed that certain phonotypical expressions of individuals were useful in determining their race (Napolitano 128). Language, culture, and environment also played a primary role in shaping the behavioral characteristics of an individual and they were of great importance in determining the race of that individual (Ember, Ember, & Peregrine 112). The current views expressed by different people regarding race are different and overwhelming. The authors of this book mention that publications based on race as the subject receive uncomfortable facts, especially with reference t o race differences and intelligence. Academic research point out that, as of today, many people including intellectuals and mainstream journalists become highly emotional when they come across race related debates (Todorova 26). This means that many historic events revolving around race are always rather disappointing. Other archival resources reveal that different authors, co-authors, and liberals, as well as conservatives, admit that the subject of intelligence and race should hedge out, disqualified, and rendered meaningless. Black multiculturalists describe white people as mean and cold by ascertaining that they like manipulating things. On the other side, the same multiculturalists paint black people as empathetic because they entertain love. This difference in IQ colors the existing views

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Media - Essay Example They target almost everyone. In the recent past, advertisers have tremendously shifted their focus to children. Eric Schlosser’s through his article tries to bring to our attention how today child advertising is in high note through the various tactics marketers and advertisers are using to get today children to always want and thus in that context demand for their products (Schlosser 356). Eric brings to our attention that advertisers know that if the children saw their advertisement and which are appealing to them, they will with no doubt nag their parent to get the products for them. Again, through the article, we find how advertisers have begun using catching songs and cartoon characters to attract children. Today’s young generation have changed tremendously through media especially through advertisements, as observed by Eric Schlosser’s essay, today even products that young children at their tender age, who are not allowed to access some products such as cig arettes, companies are still coming with ways of developing unique advertisements that are aimed at targeting the children. These companies intelligently achieve this by changing the packaging around these products and go a step further to ensure that they develop iconic symbols on these products so that the children will recognize them even in future. This, they do putting in mind that even though the children will not necessarily access this at young age they will with no doubt remember them from the same advertisements they saw years ago when they were still young. Clearly it is with no doubt that that media has more negatives than positives effects on today’s young people. As a matter of fact, it is in my opinion that media has a tremendously negatives effects on our young children (Johnson 2011). From the article â€Å"Television: The Plug-In Drug† by Marie Winn, we find that today, the television has invaded most family both in known and unknown territories. This is characterized with wake up, go to school, watch television and thereafter retire to bed and this is the pattern in many families today. Almost every family today has a television set on their household and this has led many families dynamic to suffer. Watching television has clearly become the norm in almost every family today and this is leading to loss of touch such the quality of sharing a meal together, going out on holiday and vacations (Winn 457). Television has unknowingly eliminated most of the individuality enjoyed aspect of families and has in turn managed to create a boring uniformity, which is experienced with all families that watches the television. Television also affects how today’s children communicate with other people in the society, it’s evident that a child who spend his/her all day indoors watching television will have difficulties in maintaining eye conducts, and even of great concern failure to maintain conversations and even trust the same people in the society. I strongly believe that in today’s world the media is changing our young people, the family as a whole and even culture and more so education. As observed from Marie Winn’s article, television is invading many families; it is interfering with our today’s culture and eroding most of the family’s rituals in a faster way. Today television denies the families an opportunity to share their daily experiences and in return build their

Diffraction and Interference Essay Example for Free

Diffraction and Interference Essay Purpose: The aim of doing this experiment was to examine diffraction and interference effects of light passing through various apertures, and use the diffraction patterns obtained by single and double slit apertures to find the wavelength of the light source used. Theory: We know that light can be described by two theories, namely the particle theory and the wave theory of light, each having its own experimental proofs. In this experiment, we examine the interference and diffraction phenomena of light, both of which can be described by the wave theory of light. While interference is just the superposition of waves, diffraction is also any deviation from geometrical optics that results from the obstruction of a wavefront of light. In other words, diffraction is considering the double-slit experiment by taking into account the width of the slit openings, too. Another way of distinguishing between interference and diffraction is to consider the interfering beams in diffraction phenomena as originating from a continuous distribution of sources, whereas the interfering beams in interference phenomena as originating from a discrete number of sources. This way of treatment of interference and diffraction is a result of Huygens’ principle which states that every point of a given wavefront of light can be considered a source of secondary spherical wavelets. Hence, superposition occurs between these secondary waves emitted from different parts of the wavefront, taking into account both their amplitudes and phases. Diffraction effects can also be classified according to the mathematical approximations used in calculations. In the case of the light source and the observation screen being very far from the slit, relative to the slit width, the incident and diffracted waves are assumed to be plane and the diffraction type is called Fraunhofer, or far-field diffraction. In this case, as the viewing screen is moved relative to the aperture, the size of the diffraction pattern changes, but not the shape. We are going to use this kind of approximation in this experiment. We should keep in mind that the Huygens’ principle used to find the diffraction relations is itself an approximation. When calculating the single-slit Fraunhofer diffraction a rectangular aperture with a length much larger than its width is considered. In this case the intensity of the light reaching the screen at point P, at an angle ÃŽ ¸ is given by: Is=I0(sin2ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ±2) where ÃŽ ±=12kasinÃŽ ¸=Ï€asinÃŽ ¸ÃŽ » In the above relations I0 is the intensity at the middle of the central maxima and a is the slit width. Hence, by taking the limit as ï„Æ'→0, we observe that this pattern attains its maximum at ÃŽ ¸=0. Similarly, equating ï„Æ'=mÏ€, we obtain the minima of the pattern and we get the following relation for this case: nÃŽ »=asinÃŽ ¸ where n=1,2,3,†¦ For small angles we can make the sinÃŽ ¸=tanÃŽ ¸ approximation and, calling L the distance between the slit and the screen, we can get y=LsinÃŽ ¸, where y is the distance from the central maximum to the observation point. For this case, we conclude that on the screen, the irradiance is a maximum at ÃŽ ¸=0, hence y=0, and it drops to zero at values of y such that y=ÃŽ »La . Therefore, we can find ÃŽ » using this relation. (Here, y is the average distance between adjacent minima). When we regard the double-slit diffraction we see that we have to do with two different terms, one of which belongs to the interference pattern, and the other to the diffraction pattern. If we ignore the effect of the slit widths, we get the intensity of the pattern given by only the interference term as I=4I0cos2ÃŽ ², where ÃŽ ²=(Ï€bÃŽ »)sinÃŽ ¸. Here, ÃŽ ¸ is the angle of observation and b is the slit separation. Nevertheless, since the intensity from a single slit depends on the angle ÃŽ ¸ through diffraction, we should take into account the diffraction pattern, too. Now, the intensity is given by: I=4I0(sin2ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ±2)cos2ÃŽ ² In this case ï„Æ' is again ÃŽ ±=12kasinÃŽ ¸=Ï€asinÃŽ ¸ÃŽ ». Hence, we conclude that in double slit diffraction the intensity is the product of the interference and diffraction patterns. By analyzing the intensity relation, we observe that an interference minimum occurs whenever ÃŽ ²=(n+1/2)Ï€ for n=0,1,2,3,†¦, and an interference maxima occurs whenever ÃŽ ²=nÏ€, again for n=0,1,2,†¦ Using the approximation sinÃŽ ¸=tanÃŽ ¸, we obtain y=LsinÃŽ ¸, and y=ÃŽ »Lb, where y is the average distance between either adjacent maxima or minima. Data and Results: Part A: Single Slit Pattern| A| B| C| Width of the slit, a| 410-5m| 810-5m| 1610-5m| Distance slit-screen, L| 1m| 1m| 1m| Average dist btw minima, y| 1.67 cm| 0.75 cm| 0.45 cm| ÃŽ »=ay/L| 668 nm| 600 nm| 720 nm| Error ∆y on y| 0.08173 cm| 0.138 cm| 0.0548 cm| Error ∆Î » on ÃŽ »=a∆y/L| 32.7 nm| 110 nm| 87.7 nm| ÃŽ »=ÃŽ »Ã‚ ±Ã¢Ë†â€ ÃŽ »| 635.5 nm| 710 nm| 632.3 nm| | y1| y2| y3| y4| y5| y6| A| 1.8| 1.6| 1.7| 1.7| 1.6| 1.6| B| 0.5| 0.8| 0.8| 0.8| 0.9| 0.7| C| 0.5| 0.5| 0.5| 0.4| 0.4| 0.4| The error on y is found using the relation below: ∆y=i=1N(yi-y)N-1 Part B: Double Slit Pattern| D| E| F| Width of the slit, a| 810-5m| 810-5m| 410-5m| Slit separation, b| 510-4m| 2.510-4m| 2.510-4m| Distance slit-screen, L| 1m| 1m| 1m| Average dist btw minima, y| 0.00160 m| 0.00300 m| 0.00155 m| ÃŽ »=by/L| 800 nm| 750 nm| 387.5 nm| Error ∆y on y| 0.000342m| 0.000524m| 0.000342m| Error ∆Î » on ÃŽ »=b∆y/L| 171 nm| 131 nm| 85.5 nm| ÃŽ »=ÃŽ »Ã‚ ±Ã¢Ë†â€ ÃŽ »| 629 nm| 619 nm| 473 nm| y| D| E| F| 1| 0.138| 0.110| 0.053| 2| 0.141| 0.106| 0.051| 3| 0.143| 0.101| 0.048| 4| 0.146| 0.095| 0.045| 5| 0.148| 0.090| 0.043| 6| 0.151| 0.086| 0.040| 7| 0.154| | 0.038| 8| 0.156| | 0.035| 9| | | 0.033| We calculated the difference between each successive data to obtain the displacement. Then, we multiplied each displacement value with a factor of (21.5/34.5) because the scale of the linear translator and the interface were not equal. Having done this we calculated the average distance. The error on y is found again by using the relation ∆y=i=1N(yi-y)N-1 Discussion and Conclusion: In part A we considered interference and diffraction pattern of a single slit opening for three different slits. We measured the distance between the source and the slit to be 1m and we used the relations found in the theory part in order to find the wavelength of the light source used. We found the average distance between minima to be 1.67 cm for slit A, 0.75 cm for slit B and 0.45 cm for slit C. Hence, we found the wavelength of the light source to have values of 668 nm for slit A, 600nm for slit B and 720nm for slit C. However, after calculating the error in the average distance and using this error, the wavelengths turned out to be 635.5nm for slit A, 710nm for slit B and 632.3nm for slit C. We know that theoretically the wavelength is expected to be 650 ±10nm. Our experimental values, despite the fact they are close to, do not fit totally to the expected theoretical ones. Hence, we argue that any discrepancy in the values found is a result of the imprecise equipment used, especially the light sensor. Furthermore, we claim that these discrepancies are also a result of the fact that we had to move the linear translator with our hand slowly enough so that the detector could detect the intensity peak and the other maxima. Hence, it is very much likely that we could not carry this process out precisely enough as it is required in order to have correct data, since we are human beings and it is impossible for us to achieve such a thing. We also think that the light coming from the surrounding might have had a negative effect on our results since the room where the experiment was carried out was not evacuated well enough. Moreover, we point out that the relations between wavelength, distance between minima and slit width used to find the wavelength and the Huygens’ principle itself are all approximations, since as it was stated in the theory part, we u sed far field mathematical approximations in order to obtain these relations. In part B, we used a double slit opening in order to observe the interference and diffraction pattern. In this case both the slit width and the slit separation have an effect when finding the intensity at a certain point. However, in the relations used to find the wavelength we considered only the slit separation b. In this part, after calculating the error in displacement and using this in ÃŽ », we found the wavelength values to be of 629nm for slit D, 619nm for slit E and 473nm for slit F. We observe that, except for slit F, these values of ÃŽ » agree with the values found in part A. We claim that the discrepancies in this part are a result of the same reasons causing the discrepancies in part A. As for the case of slit F where ÃŽ » turned out to be 473nm (much smaller than the theoretical value) we think that the main reason for such a result is the change in width of the slit, which in this case, unlike the other two cases, is 0.04mm. This leads us to conclude that, as expected t heoretically, the width of the slit also affects the intensity pattern, and in these cases more precise relations should be used in order to obtain correct data. Applications: Interference and diffraction phenomena of light have found a quite large application in science and technology. Understanding these phenomena has led to understanding the world around us and being able to use it in a better way in order to fulfill our needs. Among the most important applications of diffraction for example, is the fact that it is used to obtain accurate information about the atomic scale structure of the matter around us. Since the number of atoms or molecules inside a crystal is arranged in such a way that it resembles a grating with very thin spacing, diffraction phenomena leads to understanding the insights of each crystal structure. Diffraction phenomena was also used to learn that the sodium and chloride ions are bonded in a lattice fashion and not molecules, to distinguish between different cubic lattice, to analyze all kinds of materials, even biological samples, etc. Using diffraction interesting things such as hair thickness can also be measured .The interference phenomenon, on the other hand, is used to make highly-wavelength specific mirrors for lasers. Furthermore, interference is the reason why soap bubbles appear colorful. Many other optical coatings owe their optical properties to the interference phenomena. An example of this is the antireflection coatings on lenses that we use everyday. Another application of interference is holography, which is a way of reconstructing three dimensional images with laser light. Perhaps the most fascinating application of interference is to create holograms. This is done by reflecting a coherent light source, such as a laser, off of an object onto a special film. The interference patterns created by the reflected light are what result in the holographic image, which can be viewed when it is again placed in the right sort of lighting. Moreover, diffraction and interference can be observed when an atom passes through a standard light wave and its position is localized. In this case, the localization can be thought of as the creation of virtual slits leading to the above mentioned phenomena. Diffraction is also used to understand the insights of the ionosphere. All in all, by doing this experiment we learned the importance of the phenomenon of interference and diffraction in our lives. References: http://online.physics.uiuc.edu/courses/phys214/spring09/Lectures/Lect04.pdf http://bigbro.biophys.cornell.edu/~toombes/Science_Education/Laser_Diffraction/Diffraction_Lesson.pdf http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080509124425AAyW8bl http://physics.about.com/od/mathematicsofwaves/a/interference.htm URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.472

Human Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cell Line Essay -- Chemistry, Cell

Introduction There are many different cell lines that have been used in order to examine genotoxicity exposure of agents such as human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line - TMK1, human colon cancer - COL2, particularly human B lymphoblastoid cell line - TK6 is more often used. TK6 is a cell line heterozygous at the thymidine kinase locus from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in T cell lineage blast crisis which included Philadelphia chromosome t(9;22)(q34;q11), an abnormality in chromosome 6 (a deletion of the long arm), and chromosome 7, for example, del(6)(q21); ins(1;-)(q21;-); del(1)(q21;q32); dic(7)(:p13ïÆ'   cenïÆ'   q32:11.2ïÆ'   cenïÆ'   pter) (Watanabe et al., 1995; Tomita et al., 1998). These cells are relatively stable p53-normal immortal, have low mutation frequencies in gene and chromosome, and are proficient in mismatch repair (Tomita-Mitchel et al., 2000), from these properties TK6 cell line is applied in this study for assessing toxicity of anti-cancer agents. Polyynes containing triple bonds which are presented in many natural sources, have been considered in medicine with a variety of biological activities such as antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiHIV, and anticancer (Dembitsky et al., 2006). Previously, there were many researches about the diyne-structure-related-capability of polyyne, especially ene-diyne, these investigations suggested that enediyne compounds include two triple bonds (diyne) seperated by a double bond (ene) can cleavage DNA via cross linking to several positions, interacting with minor groove or abstracting hydrogen atoms as well as arrest cell cycle, inhibit proteins required for initiation replication stage (Chin et al., 1988; Sugiura et al., 1989; Walker et a... ... nuclei, and should be separated with clear nuclear boundary. Timescale involved Along with the proposal, the RAGS system will be completed and approved in week 18. After that, the first step is synthesis of two chemicals in 4 weeks from 16th January to 13th February 2012. Once the chemicals are produced, TK6 cells will be treated in control medium and in medium containing these compounds, separately, and measure LD50 ¬ of TK6 cell line, statistic analysis LOEC, NOEC and thereby comparing cytotoxicity of these compounds. This process will take around 6 weeks from 13th February to 23rd March 2012. Later on, micronucleus assay will be applied to study genotoxicity on TK6 cells via clastogenic behaviour for 7 weeks and finish laboratory practical on 1st June 2012. Finally, writing up and project draft will be completed within 4 weeks.

Capital Budgeting Case Essay

With an initial investment of $250,000, we could purchase one of two corporations. By analyzing each corporation we can make an educated decision on which corporation holds the highest return. A five year projected income statement, five year projected cash flow, and the NVP and IRR of both corporations have been created to aid in analysis. After reviewing the information, Corporation A is projected to have a higher return value than Corporation B. Corporation A, would cost us $250,000. In the first year the revenue would be $100,000 and increase 10 % each year. First year expenses would be $20,000; increasing 15 % per year. Depreciation expense each year would be $5,000. The tax rate is 25 % with a discount rate of 10 %. Corporation B, would also cost us $250,000. The revenue in the first year would be $150,000 increasing 8 % each year. Expenses would be $60,000 year one; increasing 10 % each year. The depreciation expense each year would remain at $10,000. The tax rate is 25 % with a discount rate of 11 %. The information from each corporation was applied to create a five year projected income statement. It would take Corporation B 4 years to produce the net income Corporation A would produce in its first year. Based on the projected income statement alone, Corporation A would give higher return than Corporation B. See attached excel spreadsheet to view the projected income statements for both corporations. A projected cash flow spreadsheet is also attached. The cash flow statements allows us to see how much cash is available one hand. Comparing the cash flow of both corporations help measure the health of cash flow. An important thing to remember is that cash flow does not indicate the overall financial health of the corporations. This does not account for the liabilities and assets, accounts receivable and payable. With this being sad, it is important to look at the numbers on the cash flow spreadsheet. Corporation B has a higher cash flow than Corporation A, but not by a lot. The net present value (NPV) and the internal rate of return (IRR) were both predicted for both corporation s. The NPV helps determine the profitability of the investment. It is done by estimating initial costs, future cash inflows and outflows. NPV is the reflected amount of â€Å"wealth† expected to be added as a result of the investment or project. The NPV for Corporation A is $2,520.25 and for Corporation B is $2,532.25. Based on those numbers alone Corporation B adds  more profits based on the initial investment. IRR is how to make the NPV = 0. It is typically better to use the NPV to make capital decisions than the IRR. While the some facts favor Corporation B we cannot forget about the projected income statements. The variances between the cash flow and NPV between Corporation A and B are small, yet the difference between the projected net incomes is greater. With all the information collected Corporation A still has the ability to create a higher return.

Outsourcing Trends: Health Services Professionals

[pic] MGT 6220 – Health Care Human Resource Management Outsourcing Trends – Health Services Professionals Fall 2012 Research Paper Anthony Edens Thomas Grumley Outsourcing Trends – Health Services Professionals In today’s healthcare environment, hospitals are facing increasing pressure to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve the quality of patient care. Although some of the details of the impending changes may not be perfectly defined, the industry is certain that changes are inevitable.Going forward, there will be an increased focus on quality; penalties for re-admissions, medical errors and hospital acquired infections (Buser, 2010). Several factors, such as aging populations, new treatments, low patient financial responsibility and misalignment of incentives have forced the Government to reconsider current Medicare reimbursement arrangements (Kaplan, Porter, 2011). For example, fee for service, which reimburses providers and hospitals based on the procedure performed, are not based on the desired outcome which should be good patient health.Therefore, the incentive for the provider could be to perform more of the higher reimbursement procedures and not to focus on decreasing the costs of business. Unfortunately, this has lead to a cycle of increasing costs for the government and payers, who are now looking for ways to decrease reimbursement and align incentives with quality while reducing re-admissions. Decreasing reimbursement will force hospitals that are not currently focused on cost control to rethink the existing strategies. In light of this, hospitals will need to concentrate on expense control, staffing productivity and service line efficiency.Crucially, hospitals will need to focus on effective alignment with physician practices and hospitalists. One consideration that continues to arise is whether to outsource certain functions from an employment model to one involving outsourcing, and one which will be discussed at length in the following pages. The current climate is signaling a clear increase in the trend to outsource a multitude of functions, for both large and small hospitals. In Modern Healthcare’s 33rd Annual Outsourcing Survey, 42 firms reported a 14% increase in the number of healthcare clients from 2009 to 2010.The following year’s survey, reported that among the top 20 outsourcing firms there was a reported 13. 1% growth from 2010 to 2011. The top 5 services which are currently outsourced are laundry, housekeeping, clinical/diagnostic equipment maintenance, hospital based emergency departments and food services (Kutscher, 2012). Additionally, the outsourcing of back office functions continues to increase. For example, firms providing accounts receivable functions reported a 21% increase in 2010 and firms providing medical record services reported a 6% increase in 2010 and an 8% increase in 2011 (Kutscher, 2012; Daly, 2011).Also related to the back office functions is effective revenue cycle management. When considering the tightening of the current and future reimbursement environment, the ability for a hospital to successfully collect monies owed and to reduce bad debt will be crucial. For example, in May of 2011, Conifer, a subsidiary of for-profit hospital chain Tenet Healthcare Corp. , Dallas announced that it closed on a deal to provide revenue management services to 56 hospitals (Kutscher, 2012). Another area of explosive growth is in the IT sector.Part of the reason is that there is a federal mandate which requires hospitals and physician practices to show â€Å"meaningful use† of electronic records. Not only are there financial incentives for implementing electronic health records early, there are financial penalties for those that have not implemented a system over the next few years. Robust growth can also be seen among the firms that provide diagnostic equipment maintenance. In Modern Healthcare’s 33rd Annual Outsourcin g Survey, these firms saw 12. 6% growth from 2009 to 2010 and the following year’s survey showed a 16. % increase. This is due to the fact the medical equipment is growing increasingly more complex and that specialized firms are able to adhere to strict maintenance schedules, provide detailed documentation and track repair costs. One of the largest areas of growth is in the outsourcing of anesthesia services. From 2009 to 2010, the growth among survey respondents was 147% to a total of 222 contracts. One of the reasons for this is that anesthesia services can operate as a self contained unit within a hospital.This works more efficiently than if each physician would bring in their own team by providing both consistency and cost effectiveness. However, there are concerns regarding outsourcing hospital services. Reasons for hesitation among hospital executives can be corporate culture, patient privacy and regulatory compliance. There are definite security and compliance concerns related to the outsourcing of electronic medical records. For instance, while Indian insurance and pharmaceutical companies have had success, gaining market share from U. S hospitals may prove to be difficult. As soon as it leaves the confines of the U. S. , it's not subject to the same rigorous laws as we are,† says George Conklin, chief information officer of Christus Health (Sharma, 2010). Here, we are going to focus on outsourcing the hospitalist and revenue cycle functions and show some of the advantages and limitations of each. The number of hospitals that have hospitalist programs continues to grow, and today 2/3rd of all hospitals use a hospitalist program. Additionally, the demand for these providers currently outweighs the supply with a total of 31,000 covering the country’s demand of 40,000 (Buser, 2010).One of the reasons for this increasing demand is it allows those physicians with busy outpatient practices to concentrate on those practices and for the pro viders in the hospitalists programs to concentrate on the inpatients. Additionally, hospitalists can focus their attention to the details of inpatient management due to their more consistent practice patterns and expertise which all helps to reduce average length of stay and increase patient health and satisfaction. Hospitals can choose from either employing and managing the group of hospitalists directly or using a 3rd party vendor such as TeamHealth or EmCare to outsource the service.For instance, a hospital may choose to employ a group of hospitalists directly if it’s looking to ensure quality and bring the programs under local control to align the program with their own mission and values. However, crucial to the success of this is effective leadership and expertise. In some instances, employing hospitalists directly may require abundant investment in IT systems and other tools which will require large amounts of capital dollars that some smaller hospitals may not have ac cess to.In these instances a hospital may choose to outsource this function to take advantage of the large economies of scale and expertise a large vendor may be able to offer. For instance, in the article â€Å"Hospital Medicine’s Management Shuffle† by Bonnie Darves, Martin Buser, MPH, who is the co-founder of the hospitalist consulting firm Hospitalist Management Resources LLC, attributes the decisions to outsource to rapid growth of programs in which the hospital did not have the proper infrastructure and financial support to carry on with the program.Additionally, by outsourcing the practice the hospital reduces its regulatory risks as well as administrative and recruiting burdens. For example, in 2007 Hospital Specialists of Georgia, turned over management services to Cogent, a prominent and large vendor of hospitalist programs. At the time the group was handling a third of the medical center’s admissions and could not increase that without support.Without available capital, the company was not able to meet the growing demands of IT, especially as quality and performance measurement started to become more prevalent. (Darves, 2007). Using a 3rd party vendor whose expertise lies in focus and efficiency, and especially when combined with firms who bundle ED and hospitalist services, hospitals can reduce patient wait times and reduce the number of patients who leave the ER prior to triage or treatment. Ultimately this acts to increase the overall volumes of the hospital.Additionally, for 2012, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) created two new critical measurements which measure, in minutes, the time from ED arrival to ED departure for patients admitted from the ED to the facility and from the admit decision time to the time of departure from the ED for patients admitted to inpatient status. Improving these times has a multitude of positive effects on the facility. For example, this can reduce the ED length of stay, increas e the ED capacity, improve the admission process and ultimately improve the patient outcome.Conversely, some may argue that quality and alignment with the hospital are better achieved when providers are employed directly. For example, Kadlec Medical Center of Richland Washington decided that in 2006 it would discontinue its arrangement with a large vendor and bring its program in-house. The hospital wanted more control over the number of hospitalists as well as the scope and quality of services (Darves, 2007). However, the data suggests that quality does not suffer when outsourcing a hospitalist program. This is why we recommend outsourcing in the case of a hospitalist program.In a 2009 survey released by the Medical Group Management Association, the data shows that a hospitalist from a large vendor sees, on average, more than 19% more patients per day than a hospitalist employed by the hospital. Patrick Hays FACHE and C. Thomas Smith explain in their article â€Å"Why the Independ ent Hospitalist Practice is here to Stay,† that this does not imply an adverse effect on the quality of the healthcare, and is instead the result of a focused effort where other hospital assignments are not competing for attention.An increase in focus and expertise can lead to early detection and better diagnosis of disease which ultimately leads to less expensive and less complex treatments, and importantly, to fewer re-admissions. Outsourcing the hospitalist practice is also cost effective. A 3rd party hospitalist vendor can usually integrate its existing software with the hospitals and reduce training and orientation costs that could come with having to learn a new EMR system. In addition to IT and recruiting costs, there can also be costs associated with billing, accounting, legal, regulatory, marketing and quality control.Should a hospital choose to employ the physicians and experience rapid growth without the proper infrastructure, these costs can quickly deteriorate the earnings of the group. Regulatory and legal costs can be especially problematic. For instance, Stark and Anti-Kickback Laws limit what a hospital can pay to an employed physician and require that each contract be put under scrutiny to ensure fair market value scrutiny to guarantee there are no conflicts of interest between the physician, hospital and patient.To make certain a hospital is not violating these serious and complex laws, it would need to employ and increase its legal department’s infrastructure to include a department specifically designated to physician contracts, a cost many small hospitals may not be able to afford. With so many reasons for a hospital to use a 3rd party vendor, hospitals may become increasingly interested in avoiding the employment model. John Donahue, CEO of Cogent HMG expects a â€Å"dramatic ramp up of hospitalist consolidation† in the coming years because of the new quality requirements the government is demanding the hospitals meet .The large hospitalist companies already have effective ways to measure this as well as reduce length of stay and complications resulting from hospital stays (Robeznieks, 2012). Another step firms are taking to convince hospital executives that outsourcing is the right choice is using local contractors and simultaneously offering a national support model. For example, Radisphere, an Ohio based radiology outsourcing firm, uses local radiologists who work with a network of offsite subspecialists offering continuous access to consultations.In summary, outsourcing hospitalist services can provide hospitals, large and small, a cost effective and efficient means to provide quality patient care. With an ever increasing focus on quality, using a group focused physicians with hospital expertise who do not have competing private practices can increase patient satisfaction, increase hospital capacity and volumes all while helping the hospital achieve its goals while creating and maintaining a good quality reputation in the community. Let us not forget, however, that the presence of Human Resources should be critical in this decision.The head of Human Resources needs to understand the dynamics of the business and the challenges that lay ahead should the company choose to outsource an existing function or in-source a function currently delegated to a 3rd party firm. For instance, if a decision is made to outsource an existing department there will need to be a roadmap for the existing employees. Ask questions such as, â€Å"Will there be a severance package or can these employees be transitioned or transferred to open positions in other areas of the company? Furthermore, there needs to be discussions regarding the reliability of the outsourcing firm and a contingency plan should the firm go out of business or discontinue the relationship. Are there alternative companies that could provide similar services if this situation were to arise? Will the chosen firm be able to me et the projected volume needs to the hospital? Additionally, even if the hospitalist function is outsourced, communication from management and HR will remain important so that those in these new positions still feel supported and motivated.HR needs to work closely with the firm providing the services so that boundaries, objectives and targets are clear. In a situation where an outsourced function is brought in-house, HR needs to ensure that the current management infrastructure can accommodate the new positions. Especially in the case of employing hospitalists, contracts as well as compensation and benefit packages need to be created. Another example of where opportunities lie for outsourcing departments is in office functions such as revenue cycle management.In recent years, hospitals have steadily warmed to the idea of outsourcing functions which were previously kept in-house, such as business processes and information technology. However, a host of factors–including the pa ssage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the faltering economy and the increasing emphasis on quality and performance improvement–have pushed that trend into overdrive (McKinney, 2010). In order to remain competitive and stay afloat, hospitals and other healthcare organizations are desperately looking deeper into business functions to determine the areas that may be better off outside the walls. Faced with a potential flood of new patients and lean budgets, hospitals are carefully considering each department to determine which functions can be turned over to contractors, and more areas are fair game than ever before†, says Reggie Hill, a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, Nashville (McKinney, 2010). Although housekeeping, food services, and diagnostic equipment maintenance are among the most common outsourced services, revenue cycle management is becoming increasingly popular. Because of the perception that there will continue to be cuts in reimbu rsement and new reimbursement models, hospitals are looking for ways to cut expenses and maximize revenue,† Hill says. â€Å"If an outsourcing agreement looks like it will accomplish those goals, it's going to be something a hospital will want to take advantage of. † In particular, there has been continued growth in the number of organizations that are seeking out revenue-cycle management services, Hill says. â€Å"There are vendors that have shown they can add value, and more hospitals are giving it a try† (McKinney, 2010).Although more organizations are looking into the use of a vendor, it is important to consider all variables before determining the best option. Outsourcing the revenue cycle function does not fit all business models. Factors such as practice size, legal compliance, training ability, cost savings, quality, and efficiency should be studied carefully in order to realize the maximum return on investment. Companies that fit the outsourcing model an d execute the transition properly can realize the greatest rewards.Conversely, outsourcing may be the downfall of an organization if these factors are not considered. When a company commits to outsourcing, cost savings tend to dominate and labor rates are a large contributing factor. In search of satisfaction, many companies are looking to offshore vendors. Offshore outsourcing companies might save hospitals even more money in labor costs because employees in countries such as India often work for much less money than U. S. staffers (Mantone, 2003). Managing a department outside of the organization’s walls has its other cost saving advantages.Having fewer internal employees reduces the need for back office space which will generate savings in rent. With a billing service, billing and collection activities occur off-site and therefore it may be possible for a hospital to reduce its current overhead costs or convert existing office space to a revenue generation, patient service s area (Schechter, 2000). Furthermore, cost savings with outsourcing may also be realized in more subtle ways such as an adaptation of superior processes. The demand for standardization in revenue cycle management is on the rise. Despite growth in the industry, the floundering economy has made some providers skittish about first-time outsourcing deals†, Zambuto says. Another motivating factor that is convincing many to take the plunge is the need for standardization, he says. Outsourcing to a vendor can help ensure processes are done the same way each time at every location, which reduces the probability of errors, he says (McKinney, 2010). With this standardization comes an increased revenue flow. Many companies are careless with collections and spend unnecessary time, money, and resources on correcting mistakes.Re-billing and managing overpayments can become costly due to the increased hours of operation and additional wages paid to employees working these claims. If the bil ling can be done quickly and accurately the first time, these costs will not have to be wasted in order to generate the same amount of revenue. For example, Marshall McHenry, MD, a Cincinnati internist, chose to outsource billing when he started his own private practice. â€Å"He pays an outside billing service 6% of collections or about $20,000 to $22,000 annually, he said.In contrast, an in-house biller would have cost $30,000, including benefits, and a billing system would have cost several thousand, if not tens of thousands of dollars, Dr. McHenry estimates. Also, had he hired a biller, he would have had to factor in training and vacation time, and figure out how to avoid down time that could have seriously hurt his practice† (Chin, 2003). Additionally, this higher level of quality requires ongoing employee training which may become not only time consuming, but expensive. The billing service is responsible for hiring, training and supervising staff.They also are responsib le for coverage when any of their employees are out of the office. And they are responsible for acquiring and maintaining all necessary computer software and hardware as well as addressing other technology-related issues (Schechter, 2000). The relief of these burdens will allow management to focus more on its core competencies. Typically, a revenue-cycle outsourcing firm takes over some or all of a hospital's business office functions, which can include everything from patient registration, accounts receivable, billing and coding.They consolidate those functions into larger offices that serve many providers. The end result, outsourcing companies say, is a more efficient model that leaves more operating revenue for hospitals. Those types of business arrangements will likely continue as cash-strapped hospitals see the potential for big savings, says Dean William Harvey, a partner at the law firm Vinson & Elkins in Dallas (McKinney, 2010). Richard Garnick, chairman and CEO of Anthelio Healthcare Solutions, credits the â€Å"incredible† cost pressures on hospitals for the growth in his company's revenue-cycle management services.In the case of federal healthcare programs, Garnick has seen his client hospitals grow increasingly concerned that possible across-the-board cuts to Medicare and Medicaid could push them into the red. Those concerns have led some of Garnick's core clients at community hospitals to replace their in-house back office staff with his employees to reduce the cost of those functions by 30% to 35%. â€Å"That gap will potentially allow that hospital to survive,† he says about one recent client (Daly, 2011). Success with outsourcing has also been achieved by Marc D.Grobman, DO, a solo internist at Internal Medicine and Primary Care in Wilmington, DE when he chose to use Health Care Practice Management Inc. as a billing service. He says he is getting 98% of money due compared with 75% when he was part of the hospital network. â€Å"A t first using a billing service was a virtual necessity. Now I see no reason to bring it in-house because it's working out so well,† Dr. Grobman says. He also thinks he gets more expert billers through outsourcing, which in turn means he leaves less money on the table. Dr.McHenry contends that he gets about 10% more — $35,000 to $40,000 a year — than he would have had he hired someone to handle billing. Because it's a specialized skill, it can be hard to find good billers in the local labor pool, he added (Stevens, 2007). On the contrary, outsourcing does have its drawbacks, and most notably, a reduced sense of control is inevitable. Outsourcing firms are responsible for these functions which prevents the hospital from easily maintaining close management of operations. â€Å"The downside is you can lose control,† said Louis Korman, MD, one of Dr. Weinstein's partners. â€Å"You can be taken.There are a lot of people who think that doctors' practices are j ust money mills they can take advantage of† (Chin, 2003). Additionally, an absence of direct management may result in poor customer service. Third party billing firms may be required to deal with patients directly and it is difficult for the hospital or physician practice to monitor this interaction closely. Many physicians believe that they are able to maintain better relationships with patients when billing functions are kept in-house. Without this strong patient – provider relationship, a healthcare organization may not be able to survive.Moreover, a third party revenue cycle management firm may not hold the same work ethics as the healthcare entity which may result in subpar performance. A vital piece to the success of any billing department is legal compliance and these performance standards must be met. But revenue management outsourcing has its share of pitfalls, most notably legal compliance, he adds. Providers need to be confident in a contractor's ability to m anage the billing requirements of Medicare and other programs, while successfully complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (McKinney, 2010).Dissatisfaction with an outsourcer's performance led Detroit Medical Center in February to sue to dissolve a 10-year, $300 million contract with Provider HealthNet Services, Dallas. Detroit Medical said the outsourced operation failed to achieve timely completion of medical records and had not delivered on a plan to train employees and organize the department for computerized records. Provider HealthNet said uncooperative and obstructive action by Detroit Medical officials caused the performance problems (Morrissey, 2003).A company’s decision whether or not to outsource a department will inevitably require the presence of Human Resources. One advantage of outsourcing the revenue cycle management team is the distance that it creates between management and the frontline employees. In some cases, this di sconnect is desired by the hospital because it relieves the duty of having to deal with employee issues. If an employee of a hospital is not performing, the management team will have to carefully follow HR policies and document progression of failing performance before termination may occur.This can not only be time consuming, but it can hinder productivity until the change may be made. Utilizing a vendor will allow the hospital to simply request that a replacement be made for a certain employee without having to follow any HR policies. â€Å"While the net cost of farming out billing is unknowable, Dr. Schwartz does believe that whatever it is, it's worth the peace of mind it gives him. † An outsource service insulates us from the kinds of problems that could get us into financial trouble,† he says. There are some advantages† to not having him on staff, Dr. Weinstein said. â€Å"The biggest one is that if he's not doing a good job, I don't have to worry about fir ing him. I just have to say to the company, ‘Hey, this guy is not doing a good job. I want somebody else. ‘ They have to worry about firing him, and firing high-level people is not easy to do† (Stevens, 2007). Although some hospitals may find this ‘peace of mind’ to be worth a potential added cost, there are some disadvantages that an HR department may face with outsourcing a business function.Whenever a hospital chooses to outsource a department or other function, it will unavoidably have to endure a layoff of some magnitude. A layoff or employee termination will most certainly involve a strong HR presence. No matter the level of expertise of the HR department, this process is never easy to manage. In some cases, a layoff may be necessary involving employees who have been part of an organization for years. Relationships have developed between the employees and management team which can make this event even more difficult.However, if the business decis ion to outsource is made, many times a layoff is most likely unavoidable. Additionally, this will create a loss of jobs in the community. â€Å"Also it can be a â€Å"hard sell† because outsourcing hospitals are â€Å"taking jobs from the local community and putting them elsewhere,† Johnston says. â€Å"It's not that big of a deal when the office has 10 people,† he says. â€Å"But when there are 100, 200 people in the office it becomes a big deal† (Mantone, 2003). This event can also create a negative image for the hospital which may not be beneficial for its reputation.This challenge must be closely managed by the HR department. In conclusion, outsourcing can be an effective way to increase the efficiency and lower the costs of an organization. In the case of using a 3rd party hospitalist firm, it uses a focused group of physicians who not only help to decrease costs but improve patient care and decrease re-admissions. Also, with improved patient care t here comes a decrease in the average length of stay which is obviously great for the patient but also enables the hospital to increase its capacity for additional patient services.It can be advantageous to a hospital to use a 3rd party outsourcing firm so long as the goals and expectations are clearly outlined and defined within the contract terms with the firm providing these services. Another example of an opportunity to take advantage of the focus of a 3rd party firm is in the realm of the revenue cycle function. Advantages such as decreased overhead costs, increased expertise and augmented standardization are ways in which a hospital can improve its overall collections, decrease its net accounts receivable days and lower the amount of money spent to do so.Outsourcing does not necessarily imply going overseas, as mentioned in the hospitalist example above, patient care mostly depends on human interaction in most services and so the local community economy remains intact. In the e nd, HR needs to be well versed in the goals of the company and be able to contribute to the decision by offering perspective on future labor needs, compensation and benefit costs or savings and strategic alignment with the hospital’s strategies and mission. â€Å"References† Buser, M. , (2010, December). Hospitalist Programs in the Age of Healthcare Reform.Journal of Healthcare Management, 55:6, 378-380. Chin, T. , (2003, August 11). The Doctor is Outsourcing: To Hire or Not to Hire. American Medical News, Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://www. ama-assn. org/amednews/2003/08/11/bisa0811. htm Daly, R. , (2011, September 5). Under Pressure. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 41 Issue 36, S1-S4. Darves, B. , (2007, May). Hospital Medicine’s Management Shuffle. Today’s Hospitalist. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from http://www. todayshospitalist. com/index. php? b=articles_read&cnt=64. html Hays, P. , Smith, C. Thomas. , (2010, October).Why the Independent Hospitali st Practice is here to Stay. Physician Future. Retrieved November 18, 2012 from http://www. physicianfuture. com/news/physician-news/why-the-independent-hospitalist-practice-is-here-to-stay. html Kaplan, R. , Porter, M. , (2011, September). How to Solve the Cost Crisis in Health Care. Harvard Business Review, 48-49. Kutscher, B. , (2012, September 3). Expertise on Call. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 42 Issue 36, 20-27. Mantone, J. , (2003, November 24). Letting Someone Else Do It Better. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 33 Issue 47, S10McKinney, M. , (2010, September 20). Outsourcing Sees Stimulus Effect: Health Reform, Ailing Economy Prompt a Closer Look at Use of Contractors. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 40 Issue 38, pS1-S5, 5p. Morrissey, J. , (2003, May 12). Not Paying Off: Baylor, EDS Terminate Revenue Management Deal. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 33 Issue 19, p3, 1/2p. Robeznieks, A. , (2012, April 2). Partnering up: As Consolidation Begins to Sweep through Healthcare, Hospitalists Expect to See the T rend Accelerate in their Sector. Modern Healthcare, Vol. 42, Issue 14. Schechter, K. , (2000, July 24).Compare Costs, Benefits of Billing Service vs. In-House. American Medical News, Retrieved from http://www. ama-assn. org/amednews/2000/07/24/bica0724. htm Sharma, A. , Worthen, B. , (2010, November). Qualms Arise Over Outsourcing of Electronic Medical Records. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052748704865104575588252907738276. html Stevens, L. , (2007, April 16). The Ins and Outs of Billing: Pros and Cons of Outsourcing. American Medical News, Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://www. ama-assn. org/amednews/2007/04/16/bisa0416. htm

Froussart essays

Froussart essays The kingship was a position which bestowed great power and authority. During its peak, it was a status that commanded the utmost of respect, and entailed many characteristics that the average man did not have. Froissart wrote about many of the attributes of a king while he prepared for battle, fought in battle, and behaved afterwards. The communication of a king was also greatly outlined in respect to interaction with ambassadors, with their advisors and with civilians. While a kings actions during wartime and his communication with his empire were important, they were not the only traits which a king must possess to be considered successful. Froissart, having worked as a secretary for King John of France , knew a great deal about pinpointing exactly what these other qualities were. He also considered what it was that made a king inferior and inefficient. A king must have certain qualities if his subjects were to love and respect him. He must have a strong will to complete a task und ertaken, whatever the obstacles. He must be able to foresee the results of every step he took. The capacity to plan his work was one of the most essential qualities of a good leader. The king should also know how to deal with his enemies and how to earn the friendship of other kings. Some other attributes include the fact that a king must be charismatic and smart. Daring, bold and a good military strategist are just a few more of the important characteristics a king must possess. Froissart also believed that a king should be brave and decisive. Uncertainty and pettiness were some features he strongly disapproved of. All of these factors contributed to his opinion of each of the kings he wrote about, especially when he compared Edward the III to Philip the VI. Froissarts bias for certain kings is extremely evident in his writings. His differences of opinion between kings can most likely be attributed to the different governing characteristics...

How to Use a Colon - Proofeds Academic Writing Tips Blog

How to Use a Colon - Proofeds Academic Writing Tips Blog How to Use a Colon The colon (Â   :Â   ) can be a tricky punctuation mark to use. As such, it is often used in the wrong places. If you want to make sure you are using it correctly in your documents, read on for a comprehensive explanation! When to Use a Colon: Lists You can use a colon to show the reader that a list of items will follow, like so: I went shopping and bought three things: a pen, a dress and a hat. This also applies if the list is bullet pointed or numbered. Its also important to note that you shouldnt use a colon if the list follows a verb or preposition that incorporates the list into the sentence (a common example is including): I went shopping and bought various things, including a pen, a dress and a hat. Correct I went shopping and bought various things, including: a pen, a dress and a hat. Incorrect To Introduce an Example or Clarification A colon can also be used when introducing a new independent clause (i.e., something that could be a sentence by itself) than clarifies or explains the previous sentence. For example: Punctuation is still important: Using a colon in the wrong place can be confusing. To Introduce a Quotation This punctuation mark is common in academic writing, where it is used when introducing a quote. For instance: Moore (1997, p. 86) makes strange claims about the heavens: A sunspot will be carried slowly across the Earth-turned disk, and eventually it will vanish over the limb. Note that a colon should only be used to introduce a quote like this when it follows from a full sentence. They can also be used to introduce block quotes, which start on a new line indented from the main text. Shorter quotes can be incorporated into the flow of your sentence and signaled with quote marks. Capitalization and Colons There are no hard and fast rules for whether you should use a capital letter after a colon, so it is important to check your style guide if youre not sure. A good rule of thumb is to capitalize the first word after a colon if it is part of a complete sentence that could be written separately (especially if the clause preceding the colon is quite short). Its not necessary to capitalize the first item in a list following a colon unless it is a proper noun. If you are in any doubt over your use of punctuation, you can send your paper to the professionals at Proofed. They will provide a full proofreading service and show you clear ways to improve your writing.

Arson Investigation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arson Investigation - Research Paper Example An arson scene is not confirmed as an actual crime scene until days, hours or even weeks after the fire has been suppressed. The criminal fire scene would thus comprise various by-products of the combustion process that compromise the scene of criminal fire (Ross, 2009). These parameters include flame, heat, smoke, flame impingement and also the suppression operations. Besides setting up the protective yellow barrier tape, it is important to have individuals guarding the scene and who will testify against any claims of interference of the scene. Where an explosive reaction may have taken place, bomb technicians and emergency services must be called in. A security perimeter must be set up and access into and out of the scene should be restricted. This applies to the media, nonessential personnel and bystanders. Staging areas should be established to ensure that emergency vehicles have access to the area. Documentation of the scene should begin as soon as conditions permit. This includ es identifying witnesses, taking notes, photographing and videotaping bystanders. The fire department personnel reach the fire scene before the fire investigators. The roles of these marshals according to Wayne and Karen (2007) include the recognition of any fire and smoke conditions, determination of the cause of a fire and detection of arson evidence. They would be expected to know about building construction and about various components necessary for ignition, explosion and general fires. In most jurisdictions, the fire department chief has a legal responsibility to determine the cause of the fire. The fire department personnel should observe, identify and preserve possible evidence, as well as report and recall objective findings (Russell, 2009). The actions and observations of the fire department personnel are at times useful in the process of apprehending and possibly convicting arsonists. They serve as the ears and eyes of the fire investigator and must therefore pass on thei r observations after extinguishing the fire, and as such may need to be interviewed or required to prepare a written report to document their observations. The state fire marshal’s office is charged with several responsibilities in the designated state. According to the National Association of State Fire Marshals (2011), the state fire marshal is responsible for adoption and enforcement of fire safety codes, fire and arson investigation and public education about fire and arson. The agency also advices state legislators and governors on fire protection and also fire incident reporting and analysis. It also maintains public records regarding fire inspection and prevention activities and fire investigation activities. At an arson scene, the state marshal’s office employs fire inspectors, fire safety technicians and forensic laboratory staff to assist with the investigations. It works hand in hand with law enforcement personnel in that it has extralegal powers to take sta tements through recognizing, summoning and questioning witnesses present during an act of arson. Insurance companies also work closely with the state fire marshal’s office. When there are fatalities at an arson scene, the medical examiner has the responsibility to examine and supervise the collection of the body. A series of tests will be run on the body starting with a detailed physical examination to a series of X-rays of the full body and document the extent of the burns for the report (Russell, 2009). The throat and mouth should be examined to see if there is soot. The nose will also be examined for soot, as the victim may have inhaled and exhaled the air with soot, leaving