Author: chris

Please watch this TED Talk by William McDonough titled “Cradle to Cradle Design” (20 minutes). There are some parts of the talk that venture into the political, but much of the talk is focused on design. It addresses some of the value-based criteria that can inform design and the idea that there is an ethic of design related to life. As you watch, consider the following:
⦁ What are some of these social values and ethical considerations for design he mentions? Do you agree that these are valid considerations in the design process? What do you disagree with?
⦁ What spatial factors, science and/or value based, were considered in the design of the Chinese city at the end of the video? Do you think this design will work?
⦁ What is meant by “Cradle to Cradle” design?

PSY2012
Research/Reflective Paper Instructions
This assignment allows students to conduct some basic research on the topic of their choice and then reflect on experiences
that were significant to them as a developing student. You will identify at least two (2) issues from a list of given topics and
then conceptualize the research and literature to the experiences that were significant for you as a developing student.
Students are to find at least 5 scholarly, peer reviewed articles that cover their topic of interest that have been published in
journals, textbooks, or articles in the past decade (NO INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET!!!!!!). They can (and
should) incorporate older references, non-peer reviewed sources, or additional peer reviewed sources. The paper should
include a literature review, synthesis, and reflection. Students will use 12-point font, double-spaced, a minimum of 1100 words
and will not exceed 6 pages (includes a cover page). THEY WILL BE SURE TO CITE REFERENCES ACCORDING TO
APA STYLE, 6TH EDITION.
Topics:
Attachment Theory: relationship to parenting style & psychological health as an adult
Antisocial Personality Disorder: influences of nature vs. nurture; prominence in the criminal justice system
Bullying: causes, who gets bullied; what can parents/teachers do to stop it?
Schizophrenia in Young Women and Men
Change of Perception Based on Attractiveness – Are the Attractive Treated Differently?
Hyperactive Children – The Role of Environment or Biology?
Motivation and its Varied Theories
Is Child Obesity a Reflection of Parental Negligence?
Dating Violence Among Teens
How Do Individual Differences Affect Stress
Role of the environment in the development of personality.
Compare and Contrast the Training, Scope, and Functions of Psychiatrists and Psychologists.
**Words of Advice**
Your research papers are to be prepared in APA format, and as such should include:
1. 1” margins all around
2. Title page centered horizontally and vertically
3. Abstract – second page – a brief summary of your findings
4. References within the document in APA format (NOT footnotes, but author and year in parenthesis).
5. References page after the body of the report (not numbered, but alphabetical by author’s last name – see examples below).
APA Format for References (fictitious samples, to show you the format):
For a professional journal article (as it would appear in the bibliography – alphabetically by author last name):
Freud, S. (1933). The interpretation of dreams. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 5(2), 144-148.
For a book:
Erikson, E. (1958). Psychological and social development through the lifespan. (pp. 104-155). New York, NY: Hardcourt Brace.
In-paper citations (using these two examples). Paraphrase the information, ending with the citation:
“For many adults, unresolved issues from childhood may show up in the latent content of their dreams, when interpreted from
a psychoanalytic point of view (Freud, 1933). In other cases, the difficulties may have more to do with their age and stage of
development. In later adulthood, conflicts may arise from career difficulties, and the feeling that it has become too late to
make major life changes (Erikson, 1958).”
Your paper should address the following:
1. Give a brief background of the subject or problem.
2. What is the significance of this topic/problem? Why is it important for people to understand? What areas of mental or
physical health may it have an impact on?
3. What is already known about this topic/problem?
4. What were the limitations that affected your efforts to research this topic/problem? Are there things that currently limit
what we know about this topic/problem?
5. APPLICATION: how can your research be applied? Address the various possible audiences: by psychologists? By other
mental health and/or medical professionals? By individuals and/or families? By institutions, governments or societies?
6. Relevance: is your research important to work going on currently in the field of psychology? How? Be specific.
7. Include a personal discussion of your thoughts, bias, feelings towards the subject or problem prior to the research you conducted.

Clinical Issue Article Analysis -Step 4

Summary of Article Findings
Problem
Our team was asked to identify a clinical issue within the healthcare system that could be addressed by performing an in-depth research literature review.  The first step was to associate a problem with factual evidence that it exists.  Our team decided that heart failure readmission was an issue we were familiar with, so the process began.  One of the first articles we reviewed stood out with a statement by Elixhauser as cited by Hilbert, Zasadil, Keyser, and Peele (2014) that stated, “Table 1 lists the 30 most frequently treated conditions in U.S. hospitals, with their 30-day readmission rates.  Among these most frequent conditions, the highest readmission rates were seen for congestive heart failure (24.7%)…” (p. 2).  This article, supported by numerous others including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, demonstrated that heart failure readmission was a real problem in the United States.  Our team also wanted to demonstrate that there was an inherent cost factor to the health care system as it relates to this readmission dilemma, so our literature search continued.  A report by Hernandez et al. as cited by McClintock, Mose, and Smith (2014) states, “Approximately 90% of the readmissions attributed to HF are not planned and potentially preventable, translating into $17 billion or nearly 20% of Medicare’s hospital payments” (p. 430).  Further findings like the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Readmissions and Reduction program, which place penalties that are now as high as 3% of the total charge for admissions deemed excessive, gave final support to the validity of our initial question (CMS, 2014).
Solution. The next aspect of our search was to determine if there were acceptable practices that had been proven to reduce hospital readmission rates in the heart failure population.  In an article by the Veterans Administration, results of a quantitative study demonstrated a significant reduction in admissions using a nurse practitioner team in the first year, but not in year 2 (Lowery et al., 2012).  Numerous reasons were given, including disease progression in the second year versus the first.  Mortality rates were diminished between the intervention and the control group in both year 1 and year 2, which is a significant finding as well.  Overall, the use of trained NP staff demonstrated a reduction in overall admissions and bed days over the first year, which would represent financial savings for a healthcare facility.  Another study from the UK looked at non-medical prescribing nursing staff in the care of heart failure patients.  According to Shannon and Spence (2011), “This qualitative study employed focus group and one-to-one interviewing” p. (450).  Other studies that were reviewed prior the implementation of this project found that patients were satisfied or very satisfied with NMP (non-medical prescribers) since they were easier to get in touch with and demonstrated great compassion.  The conclusion of the study found that the HFNS (heart failure nurse specialist) could be beneficial but that communication and training were needed to ensure the success of the nurse.
As our team continued to review literature, we discovered a study that examined certain discharge criteria that health care providers could take to ensure patients are discharged appropriately and that health care does not end there.  These instructions include medication use, diet and exercise adherence, what to do if heart failure symptoms are noted, and the need for compliance with their future physician appointments (Feltner et al., 2014).  The problem we discussed would be that it will take close follow-up with the patient and family to ensure these measures are met.  Patients who are non-compliant and have multiple chronic health conditions will need extra assistance from skilled professionals.  The research article revealed that a high-intensity home visiting program prevented 30 day readmits of all the trial studied.  Finally, a study that explored current approaches to management of CHF and their challenges in Uzbekistan was reviewed. The article discussed the challenges and factors that affect the implementation of quality care about CHF, both physician and patient perspectives.  One barrier mentioned that could be overcome in the CHF population included hospitalization of CHF patients every 6 months on average.  This process did not show evidence of clinical effectiveness and posed a financial burden to patients and their families as well as the health care system (Ahmedov et al., 2013).  Multiple barriers were noted in Uzbekistan and included a lack of general overall consensus towards managing this disease.  As a result of the study, it was concluded that data collection would be needed to improve overall quality factors.  The study of these results would allow their health care systems to produce national standards that address multiple aspects of this care process.

References
Ahmedov, M., Green, J., Azimov, R., Avezova, G., Inakov, S., & Mamatkulov, B., (2013). Addressing the challenges of improving primary care quality in Uzbekistan:  A qualitative study of chronic heart failure management. Health Policy and Planning, 28(5), 458-466. doi:10.1093/heapol/czs091
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  (2014).  Readmissions reduction program.  (CMS FY 2015 IPPS Final Rule).  Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicaid-fee-for-service-payment/acuteinpatientpps/readmissions-reduction-program.html
Feltner, C., Jones, C. D., Cene, C. W., Zheng, Z., Sueta, C. A., Coker-Schwimmer, E. J.,…Jonas, D. E. (2014).  Traditional care interventions to prevent readmissions for persons with heart failure:  A systematic review and meta-analysis.  Annals of Internal Medicine, 160, 774-784.  doi:  10.7326/M14-0083
Hilbert, J. P., Zasadil, S., Keyser, D. J., & Peele, P. B. (2014).  Using decision trees to manage
hospital readmission risk for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia.  Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 12(6), 573-585.  doi:  10.1007/s40258-014-0124-7
Lowery, J., Hopp, F., Subramanian, U., Wiitala, W., Welsh, D. E., Larkin, A.,…Vaitkevicins, P. (2012).  Evaluation of a nurse practioner disease management model for chronic heart failure:  A multi-site implementation study.  Congestive Heart Failure (Greenwich, Conn.), 18(1), 64-71.  doi:  10.1111/j.1751-7133.2011.00228.x
McClintock, S., Mose, R., & Smith, L. F. (2014).  Strategies for reducing the hospital readmission rates of heart failure patients.  Journal For Nurse Practioners, 10(6), 430-433.  doi:  10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.04.005
Shannon, E., & Spence, W. (2011).  The attitudes and views of GPs and physicians to     prescribing by heart failure nurse specialists.  British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 6(9),     450-455.  Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.  (AN 2011326281)

Note: The online classroom is designed to time students out after 90 minutes of inactivity. Because of this, we strongly suggest that you compose your work in a word processing program and copy and paste it into the discussion post when you are ready to submit it.
Learning Outcomes

This week students will:
Describe the role of economic theory in economics.
Analyze the mechanics of the circular flow model.
Explain how supply and demand interact to determine market equilibrium.
Introduction
Week One focuses on the foundation of economics. This week, we will learn that economics is the study of resources allocation in a given society to satisfy wants and needs of the people. We will also discover how unlimited wants with limited resources forces us to make choices.

The four factors of production include: labor, land, capital, and entrepreneurial ability. Key questions in economics are: What do we produce? Who do we produce it for?  How and where do we produce the goods and services?

This first week will discuss the supply and demand model, the factors that affect prices, and how prices will ration scarce goods and services. Economists use theories and models to make decisions and to explain economic ideas and concepts.

Required Resources

Required Text
Read the following chapters from Microeconomics Principles and Policies:
Chapter 1: Economics, Economic Methods, and Economic Policy
Chapter 2: Markets, Governments, and Nations: The Organization of Economic Activity
Chapter 3: Supply and Demand: The Basics of Economic Analysis

Recommended Resources

Articles
Bishop, J. A., & Yoo, J. H. (1985). “Health scare,” excise taxes and advertising ban in the cigarette demand and supply. Southern Economic Journal, 52(2), 402. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
Jamieson, A. & Giesecke, L. (2007, November 19). US gasoline supply deficit to more than halve by 2010. Oil & Gas Journal,105, 58-61. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.

Multimedia
Khan Academy (Producer) (n.d.). Law of Demand.  The Demand Curve [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/science/microeconomics/supply-demand-equilibrium/demand-curve-tutorial/v/law-of-demand. To view with subtitles, under the video window click on “Options” and check “Translated subtitles” in the drop down.
Khan Academy (Producer). (n.d.). Law of Supply. The Supply Curve [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/science/microeconomics/supply-demand-equilibrium/supply-curve-tutorial/v/law-of-supplyTo view with subtitles, under the video window click on “Options” and check “Translated subtitles” in the drop down.

Post Your Introduction
To post your introduction, go to this week’s Post Your Introduction link in the left navigation.
Post your introduction on the first day of class in the  discussion forum titled, “Post Your Introduction.”.  Respond to at least three of your classmates’ posts  In your introduction, please address how this economics course relates to your current or future career.

Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation.
Circular Flow Diagram

Explain how the circular flow diagram relates to the current economic situation. Using the circular flow diagram, explain a way that your family interacts in the factor market and a way that it interacts in the products market.

Guided Response:
Review the discussion board posts of your classmates. Respond to at least two of your classmates and comment on their descriptions of the circular flow diagram and factors of production. Discuss how circular flow relates to current economic situations.

Supply and Demand

Analyze how the law of demand applies to a recent purchase that you made. Describe how the product has changed in price and explain whether the price change is due to supply or demand. Did the change in price affect your decision to purchase the item?

Guided Response:
Review the discussion board posts of your classmates. Note their analysis of a recent purchase and respond to at least two of your classmates. In your responses, discuss the effects of a price change and how it might alter your decision to make a purchase, according to the determinants of supply or demand.

Quiz

To complete the following quiz, go to this week’s Quiz link in the left navigation.
Week One Quiz

This quiz consists of 10 questions. The amount of time the quiz will take to complete will vary by individual.

Probably the most overlooked process in any type of security system is the vulnerability assessment. Vulnerability assessments are incredibly useful (and necessary) tools. They provide a structured method for determining what assets need to be protected, what threats against the assets exist, what security vulnerabilities currently exist, the cost of losing the asset, and mitigating the risk to the asset. In a nutshell, a vulnerability assessment done properly will form the basis of your entire security plan(s) for your organization.
If vulnerability assessments are so important, why are they often only partially completed (if they are even completed at all)? The answer is simple, they take time, and require the identification and fixing of current security problems (two things that most people would rather just ignore). For this lab, you will conduct your own vulnerability assessment. Your finished assessment will be a multi-page written document containing the following sections.
Part 1: Asset Identification
Although this course concerns IT security, I find it is much easier to learn the vulnerability assessment process using physical items instead of things like computer network assets. Your first step in this lab is to identify the ten most important personal assets you own. These assets could be anything from your laptop or television, to your car or motorcycle. Also, do not simply pick the ten items you own which are worth the most amount of money. It is very possible that your top ten asset inventory might include items which hold a great deal of sentimental value instead of only monetary value. Think about what you own, and pick the top ten items which mean the most to you. For this section of your assessment document, provide your ten asset inventory listing your most prized possession first, second most prized possession second, and so on.
Part 2: Threat Evaluation
The best way to determine what threats against your assets exist is to create an attack tree. An attack tree is a visual representation of how a given asset might be attacked. In the case of this lab, attacked most likely means stolen or destroyed. On the following page, I have included an attack tree for one of my most prized assets. I only included theft based attacks for this particular attack tree because the destruction route was just a little too morbid!

To complete this section of your assessment, pick the number one item from your asset inventory and build your own attack tree. Take your time and try to think of, and document, every possible attack that could result in the theft of your most prized possession. While my example attack tree looks pretty good, I can think of a few more potential attack routes for stealing my cat. If necessary, break your attack tree into multiple pages to cover all potential attacks. Part of your grade for this lab will depend on the thoroughness of your attack tree.
Part 3: Vulnerability Appraisal
Now that you have completed your attack tree, you can move onto identifying your current security vulnerabilities. In order to determine how you can better secure your asset, you need to identify the weaknesses which allow attacks to take place. To begin, number the potential attacks from your attack tree from left to right starting with one. For my example attack tree, the attack beginning with “Break Basement Window” would be attack #1. After you have created a numbered list of all the attacks from your attack tree, determine what current security weakness(s) allows each attack to take place. For example, in my list for attack #1, the security weakness might be a large ground-level basement window with no bars or other security feature. For attack number two, I can think of at least two vulnerabilities; parking my truck on the street at night, and keeping a garage door opener in my truck. For this section of your assessment, list the security vulnerabilities for each of your numbered attacks. Part of your grade will depend on your identification of the possible vulnerabilities relating to the attacks shown in your attack tree.
Part 4: Risk Assessment
At this point you probably have a pretty long list of attacks, and associated vulnerabilities which allow those attacks to be carried out. The next step is to categorize the different security vulnerabilities (risks) you identified in Step 3. Some of these attacks and corresponding vulnerabilities will have the potential to be much more harmful than others. This section is where you rank the possible attacks and vulnerabilities.
Risk factors (or what makes some attacks/vulnerabilities worse than others) depend on several factors. How likely is the attack to succeed (the more likely, the worse the risk)? How damaging is the actual attack (the more damage caused, the worse the risk)? How damaging will it be if the asset is actually stolen (the more expensive or irreplaceable the asset, the worse the risk)? The highest risk attack/vulnerability combination are those which include an attack which is easy to execute, causes a lot of damage, and succeeds in stealing or destroying an asset which is extremely valuable.
Looking at my example attack tree, I would rank the first attack as high risk. It is easy to break the basement window, and the result is not only the theft of an irreplaceable asset (my cat), but a house which is now unsecure until the attack is noticed. I would rate the last attack in the tree low risk. While obtaining a key to my house is very damaging, and my cat would still be stolen, the chance of someone picking my pocket and stealing my keys without me noticing is low. It’s not that I think it would be impossible for a professional pick-pocket to steal my keys, but rather that I really doubt anyone is going to hire a professional pick-pocket just so they can steal my cat. In addition, my key chain includes not only my house key, but my office and car keys…I’ll notice they are gone quickly even if they are stolen. For this section of the assessment, work through your numbered list from Part 3 and designate each attack/vulnerability combination as high, medium, and low risk. Include a descriptive sentence for each item in your list describing why you assigned the high, medium, or low risk rating.
Part 5: Risk Mitigation
The final step in a vulnerability assessment is to decide what to do about any of the major security risks you have developed through the proceeding steps. While the ultimate goal would be to attempt to address all risks you identified in Step 4, due to difficulty or expense, this is rarely accomplished (or even attempted). Most organizations will certainly attempt to address the high risk items on the list from Step 4. If enough organizational resources (money, time, expertise, etc.) is left after addressing the high level risks, then medium level risks are addressed. Often times low level risks might not be addressed at all, or might be partially addressed (putting a fake alarm system sticker on a window for example).
Keep in mind that there may be several ways to address the vulnerabilities. For example, there are a few different ways to address attack 3 in my example attack tree. I could buy a metal front door (much more secure than the wood door I have now). I could install an alarm system (this might address many potential attacks in the tree, but would be expensive). I could train my friendly dog to be an attack dog. I could install a locking door between main level of the house and the basement. I could buy a comfortable cage for my cat, bolt the cage to the floor, and lock the cat in the cage whenever I leave the house (effective, but not very nice for the cat, and I’d probably forget to put the cat in the cage anyway).
To complete this section of your vulnerability assessment, list your high risk level items from Step 4, and describe how they could be addressed as demonstrated above. If you have fewer than three high risk items, explain how you would address your medium risk items.
Finally, provide a short summary which describes the best possible way in which you think your asset should be secured. This summary should address why you decided on this particular course of action, and should consider things like cost or time necessary to implement your decision. Keep in mind that the best possible plan might be too costly, or just not realistic in terms of time commitment (I’m not going to hire a body guard for my cat, or take the time to physically secure my cat in a panic room every time I leave the house no matter how secure that makes my cat).
When your vulnerability assessment is complete (I would also like it to be professionally formatted), submit it on the Lab 2 assignment page. As mentioned during several steps above, your grade will depend heavily on the completeness and comprehensiveness of your assessment.

Character education programs are one strategy schools use to provide consistency in message and approach school wide. This is a list (not exhaustive) of common character education programs adopted by schools or districts for their curriculum:

• Second Steps
• Steps to Respect
• Life Skills
• Heartwood Program
• Character Counts!
• Center for the 4th and 5th Rs
• Wise Skills
• I CAN Character Curriculum
• STAR (Success through Accepting Responsibility – K-6)
• How to be Successful (7-9)
• Values in Action
• Positive Action
• The 4 Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect, and Resolution)

For this post, do the following:

1. Select one character education program and complete a web-based search for information about the program.

• You may elect to review one not included in the list above, however, present the program to your instructor prior to beginning the work.
• If your school uses a character education program, you may review it to learn more about the nuances and other ideas about it that may exist.

Compile a PowerPoint or Prezi that addresses the following:

• Target age and demographics
• Approach of the program—classroom-based for individual teachers, school wide, flexible, etc.
• The focus of the curriculum/content as well as the intended outcomes
• If there is research reviewed about your chosen program, also review that for another lens on the efficacy of the model.
• Your perceptions of the pros and cons of the approach and program
  • This is an evaluative set of statements from you and your opinion is expected.

Post your presentation to the Discussion Board, making sure to put the program name in the title as well as your name. Share a brief summary that highlights the required information so that others may learn about your program and consider its relevance for their own professional use. You may provide your answers in bulleted form, but be sure to write in complete thoughts.

Note: You are not expected to purchase any program, but to base your review on what is publicly available on the web and/or available to you through your district/school.

Support your statements with evidence from the Required Studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.

Complications of asthma can be sudden. Consider the case of Bradley Wilson, a young boy who had several medical conditions. He appeared in good health when he went to school, returned home, and ate dinner. However, when he later went outside to play, he came back inside wheezing. An ambulance took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead (Briscoe, 2012). In another case, 10-year-old Dynasty Reese, who had mild asthma, woke up in the middle of the night and ran to her grandfather’s bedroom to tell him she couldn’t breathe. By the time paramedics arrived, she had passed out and was pronounced dead at the hospital (Glissman, 2012). These situations continue to outline the importance of recognizing symptoms of asthma and providing immediate treatment, as well as distinguishing minor symptoms from serious, life-threatening symptoms. Since these symptoms and attacks are often induced by a trigger, as an advanced practice nurse, you must be able to help patients identify their triggers and recommend appropriate treatment options. For this reason, you need to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation.

To prepare:

• Review “Asthma” in Chapter 26 of the Huether and McCance text. Identify the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation. Consider how these disorders are similar and different.
• Select a patient factor different from the one you selected in this week’s Discussion: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior. Think about how the factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of both disorders. Reflect on how you would diagnose and prescribe treatment of these disorders for a patient based on the factor you selected.
• Review the “Mind maps—Dementia, Endocarditis, and Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)” media in the Week 2 Learning Resources. Use the examples in the media as a guide to construct two mind maps—one for chronic asthma and one for acute asthma exacerbation. Consider the epidemiology and clinical presentation of both chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation.

To complete:

Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:

• Describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation. Be sure to explain the changes in the arterial blood gas patterns during an exacerbation.
• Explain how the factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of both disorders. Describe how you would diagnose and prescribe treatment for a patient based on the factor you selected.
• Construct two mind maps—one for chronic asthma and one for acute asthma exacerbation. Include the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation, as well as the diagnosis and treatment you explained in your paper.