Abstract This paper examines how, within the field of healthcare, there is an identifiable need to implement an effective form of communication and how personnel at all levels may need instruction for appropriate use of these communication skills. It summarizes how these facilities would allow for training which would implement communication technology such as, voicemail and email with acknowledgment, cellular telephones for mobile communication and improved support for role based contact and message screening. It looks at how the healthcare facility would benefit tremendously with greater communication and develop more successful relationships with their patients and how this training would prove to be cost effective and how the long term use of better communication would help all people involved to benefit from the use of effective communication skills.
From the Paper "There currently is a need for individual healthcare workers to consider carefully the effects of their communication behavior on their own efficiency and effectiveness as well as on that of others. Ineffective communication behaviors may result in an interruptive work place, which possibly contribute to inefficiency in work practice. People working in the healthcare area are highly mobile during their working day. The mobility of staff and the difficulty contacting these "moving targets" suggest that support for mobility through the use of wireless technology, such as cellular telephones or pagers might be beneficial."
Abstract This paper examines how the practice of confining a prisoner to a state prison offering only the most minimal of human contact remains as controversial as it is well-established. It looks at the history of the practice and analyzes how the reasoning behind the action often is described as being proactive but whether to protect the prisoner from harm at the hands of other inmates or to minimize his own potential for harming others, it cannot be denied that the step also represents a profound form of punishment. It puts forward the argument of how a nation which proudly bears the banner of "human rights" when negotiating with other countries can continue to exercise an activity which, in the minds of many, is a very real form of psychological torture.
Outline
Introduction (Posing the Question)
Super-Max Prisons (Defining the Activity)
The Residents (Those Who Live In Solitary Confinement)
Cruel and Unusual? (Can We Afford to Continue?)
From the Paper "The effectiveness of solitary confinement promoted its widespread use throughout the following centuries within the borders of the United States. There were occasional variations of the theme, such as in the early existence of the very famous Alcatraz Prison, where prisoners were allowed to physically associate but were strictly forbidden to speak to one another. But in general, the original blueprint remained the most widely-utilized model while evolving toward the exaggeration of the concept, the "Super-Max" prisons. "
This paper looks closely at non-profit organizations, studying what makes an organization non-profit and how these organizations generate volunteers and raise funds.
Abstract The writer asserts that it is not so easy to define non-profit. Typically non-profit organizations exist to improve societal conditions or to advance a specific cause; however, non-profit organizations are significantly diverse in size, origin, finances and types of activities. The paper looks at the difficulties in attaching the title 'non-profit' to an organization.
From the Paper "According to Frances Hesselbein, president of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management there are 20 million non-profits worldwide, generating one trillion dollars USD in revenue annually; they change lives and build community and as such, represent a mighty force with immense capabilities. While nonprofit organizations enjoy a moral and philanthropic foundation of support based upon donors? views as to causes worthy of support from which to gather and dispense charitable resources, nonprofits do exist in a global marketplace. Only 27 percent of their revenue from private gifts, so their relationships with the business community are extensive. (Hammack and Young, 1993.)"
This paper discusses the historical origins, impact and success or failure of the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program enacted into law in 1996.
Abstract This paper discusses that TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Families (AFDC) portion of federally financed welfare assistance and was radically different than it. This paper describes that TANF consists of block grants of fixed amounts of federal funds to the states, which are free to provide welfare assistance to the poor on such terms as they individually see fit, subject to only to constitutional requirements and federal guidelines. The author feels that the aim of the TANF is to reduce the welfare rolls and associated costs by imposing time and other limitations on the availability of welfare benefits and by encouraging the transition of recipients from welfare to work.
Table of Contents
Background
Demands for Welfare Reform in the 1980s
First Three Years of Clinton Administration (1993-1995)
Passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Evaluation of the Impact and Success or Failure of TANF
Conclusion
From the Paper "Federal relief was originally intended as a temporary measure designed to alleviate the suffering caused by the economic dislocation produced by the Great Depression. President Franklin Roosevelt said at the time he introduced the Federal Relief Act in 1935 that "continued dependence on relief induces spiritual and moral degeneration." Primary reliance was on make work jobs as a source of income. AFDC was added as supplementary relief for families where the principal breadwinner was dead, absent or disabled. Over time, AFDC was expanded to include survivors and dependent coverage. In 1960s under Lyndon Johnson's anti-poverty program, additional federal and state financial assistance to poor families was provided in the form of free food stamps and school lunches, free or subsidized health care, education and housing, and aid to the elderly and disabled."
Abstract This paper discusses citizen involvement and other contemporary techniques of performance appraisal for public administration programs. The paper states that performance appraisal or performance measurement is a tool to explore the quality of an individual's or department's achievement in relationship to job objectives. The author prefers the performance appraisal system by J. Luthy that emphasizes objective criteria: Core/job-specific attributes, technical knowledge and skills, interpersonal characteristics and skills, job-related objectives and assignments, career management, peer-customer review and employee-to-supervisor feedback.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Performance Appraisal
Contemporary Techniques
From the Paper "The ICMA Center for Performance Measurement referenced in the introduction had several ideas about the future of performance appraisal. It has developed pilot programs so that groups with special interests can develop highly detailed and focused comparisons that contribute to the overall database. Three of the major emphases for the future in terms of performance appraisal include (1) on-line data collection and query capability; (2) identification of "best practices" associated with high performance; and, (3) regular collection of outcome information from citizen/customer surveys."
Abstract This paper presents an extensive review of the effects of HMOs to medical care in the U.S. and England. This paper concludes that HMOs demonstrated that they can be effective in the delivery of health care to any population group, including poor communities and low-income persons and households who live outside of poor communities. The author states that HMOs and other managed care organizations have in the past, are now and likely will continue in the future to sacrifice the care required by any population group that threatens to impinge on the bottom-line of these organizations.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Research Questions
HMOs as Health Care Providers
Access to Care through HMOs
Effects of HMOs and Managed Care on Hospitals and Low-Income Patients
Capitation
Purchaser-Oriented Management and Practice Guidelines
Case Management
Performance Analysis
Medicaid and HMOs: A Direct Impact on Poor Communities and On Low-Income Persons and Households
HMOs and Care Quality
Health Care Delivery in the United States Compared With the United Kingdom
National Health Care System in the UK
Similarities & Differences between the National Health Care Systems in the United Kingdom and the United States
The Case for Universality
Conclusions
From the Paper "Over the past 50 years, managed care programs have existed such as the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (California) and the Health Insurance Plan of New York City. These programs only affected a minority of patients and physicians, until the past six or seven years during which managed care has grown significantly. Rising costs of health care, particularly in industry, and the fact that approximately 15 percent of the United States population lacks health insurance, have provided stimulus for this growth. Health care expenditures account for over 14 percent of the gross domestic product in the United States. Management of medical services is attempted through managed care. It is estimated that around 100 million individuals are now covered by a managed care plan and that 77 percent of employers offer a managed care program."
This paper examines three examples of governments that have developed successful market-oriented programs in which the services are paid for not by tax dollars but by the market.
1,480 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 11 sources, 2002, $ 48.95
Abstract This paper discusses three cases: The funding of infrastructure improvements without creating unfair taxation in a city government, the returning of delinquent and abandoned properties to the tax rolls in a county government and the application of user fees to resolve a regional pollution problem. The author believes that even the schools can be more market oriented.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Tallahassee Florida: Market Orientation on a City Level
Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Market Orientation at a County Level
SCAQMD: Market Orientation on a Regional Level
User Fees
From the Paper "In doing this, Tallahassee was following the example of the Federal Government's user fees, which, according to a report to Congress generated more than $196.4 billion in revenues during FY 96. The fees were agricultural commodity grading fees, trademark registration fees, and park entrance fees- [and amounted to] 12 percent of all federal revenues collected...and was more than twice the amount collected from excise taxes, estate and gift taxes and customs duties combined. User fee collections have grown steadily since the early 1980s and have played several roles in the federal budget."
Abstract This paper looks at the incidences of fires that have occurred in public places and reviews the social, economic and political impact each has had on our society. In particular, the paper surveys those fires that have caused significant loss of life, namely the Cocoanut Grove Lounge fire in Boston, Massachusetts, the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky, and the Happy Land Fire in Bronx, New York. It examines their impact on social and governmental action details and the advancement of our knowledge of fire prevention and safety which often comes at the cost of great loss of life through these fire tragedies.
From the Paper "The Supper Club fire also has a significant impact on the way personal injury claims are litigated for injuries to large numbers of people while in a place of assembly. While attorney Stan Chesley's approach to the case has been criticized for years, there is little doubt that it changed the way major lawsuits are litigated in America (Fisher, 1997a). Chesley became involved after a man who was injured in the blaze came to him for help. However, instead of lining up behind the hundreds of other personal injury lawyers hoping for a small piece of a settlement, Chesley filed the first lawsuit in the case and promptly tried to consolidate the case with the other plaintiffs. Chesley's theory was to share the costs and the risks with the other plaintiffs in the hope that together they could win a much bigger settlement (Horn, 1999)."
Abstract The paper looks at the health-care system in the United States, first defining the HMO as the blend of insurer and health-care provider that was born in the 1970s and became an important element of American society by the late 1980s. The writer argues that among the most important drawback to this system is the limited choice that HMOs allow patients in choosing their physicians. The paper looks into these and other limitations of the HMOs.
From the Paper "Alternatively, all prescribed medical expenditures, in and out of the hospital, may be covered by a comprehensive major medical policy. Such policies, also issued by large medical insurance companies like Blue Cross and Blue Shield as well as by general commercial insurance companies, typically require the patient to pay an initial fee (the deductible) and a percentage of any amount above the deductible; this percentage is called the coinsurance rate. Usually, an upper limit is specified on the benefits payable under the policy, but this amount may be extremely high (perhaps $250,000) (Court and Smith, 1999, p. 27)."
Abstract This paper discusses how Oregon's original Medicaid reform law provided for the centralized allocation of a broader array of health care services. It looks at how the policies applicable to the functioning of the Medicaid program in Oregon required a federal waiver for the state to deviate from federal laws governing the Medicaid program. It describes the Medicaid policy in Oregon and assesses Oregon's approach to the administration of the Medicaid program within the context of the overall effects of the approach on the state.
Outline
Introduction
Description of the Policy
Justification for Government Intervention
Assessing Efficiency and Equity
Evidence of the Benefits and Costs of the Policy to Oregon and Oregonians
Conclusion
From the Paper "The state's controversial plan to prioritize Medicaid-funded services initially was rejected by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the grounds the plan would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The federal government contended that the original law tended to value of the life of a person with a disability less than the value of the life of a person without a disability. Oregon changed the law and the reform measure was approved by HHS through a waiver process for the state, and the new law was implemented in Oregon (Sage, Hastings, and Berenson, 1994)."
Abstract The paper looks at the financial situation of the Cobb County School District which has been described as one of the three largest school systems in Georgia and the thirty-fifth largest in the United States. The writer discusses ways in which the district has dealt with the growth of the student body and how the county has managed to re-allocate funds in order to keep up with the growth.
From the Paper "Funds for the operation of the Cobb County School District come from a variety of sources. Local sources, including property taxes, real estate transfers, alcoholic beverage taxes, and miscellaneous fees accounted for $227,631,627 in 1998-1999 and is expected to increase to $250,856,553 in 1999-2000. This represents a monetary increase of $23,224,926 or 10.2 percent. State funds are obtained from the Quality Basic Education Funding from the State of Georgia. In 1998-1999, this funding provided $297,655,312. The amount was reduced to $289,037,487 for 1999-2000. This represents a reduction of $8,617,825 or 2.9 percent. Federal funding is obtained from ROTC Instructor Salary Reimbursements, Impact Aide, other federal programs and indirect charges. In 1998-1999, this amount totaled $491,500 and increased to $498,500 in 1999-2000. This increase of $8,000 represents a 1.6 percent increase (p. 12)."
Abstract This paper breaks down the process of judicial nominations in the senate, analyzes the system, relates it to current affairs and draws the conclusion that filibustering judicial nominations is an important right of the senate.
From the Paper "On Thursday May 1, 2003, CNN ran a story on CNN.com concerning the re-nomination of Judge Pricilla Owen, a judge on the Texas Supreme Court, to the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals court in New Orleans, a significant promotion that would make her a federal judge and thus overrule any local judges. Owen's nomination, along with the nomination of a host of right-wing activist judges by the Bush Administration is causing a ruckus among Democrats, Greens and many special interest groups. Republicans"President Bush in particular"argue that judges should be appointed in a timely fashion and that there are too many vacant slots on the Federal Circuit Courts, while Democrats argue that all of the Bush Administration's nominations have been politically motivated and thus must be struck down. When closely examined it becomes obvious that the ability of Senators to filibuster the President's judicial nominations is vital to keep extremists and judicial activists from either side of the political spectrum off the federal benches."
Abstract This paper explains the School to Work Act of 1994 (STWOA) goal was that each student receives an education which includes skills and opportunities leading to career development and entry into the work force. The author believes that this program is an example of a model of school-to-work program directed towards those previously qualified for general relief programs. The paper recognizes that the participants build their knowledge through the STWOA programs, recreate the knowledge they have learned and then become knowledge builders in their jobs and in the larger communities.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Background
The GROW Program
STOWA, Students & Employers
The Meaning of Community
Knowledge-Building, Knowledge Construction and Knowledge Builders
STWOA and Community Building
Summary and Conclusion
From the Paper "The welfare of the community lies in the well-being of the public school. Trends in schools also provide information as to how the future labor force will differ, including how diverse it will be. Unemployment within the community is affected by school-to-work programs since they result in lower school dropout rates which increase unemployment of these students. Without these programs, career potential and a hope of future had remained elusive for inner-city communities, where inadequate schooling prevailed. With high levels of unemployment, communities have been unable to achieve social organization."
Abstract This paper examines how public space should be democratically organized to support communal usage from people in all walks of life and how today access to true public space has become a scarcity. It evaluates how people are more commonly flocking to quasi-public privatized spaces such as Universal's City Walk, which is representative of a typical sequestered quasi-public space. It looks at how it is surrounded by high fences, set high upon a hill, how visitors are required to follow strict guidelines and how their activity is monitored. It analyzes how the development of quasi-privatized spaces such as City Walk are more representative of a demoralizing and hierarchical society, where certain groups feel more privileged than others. It shows how by creating walled cities and gated communities, Americans are shutting themselves off and creating exclusive mini-communities, that have nothing to do with democracy and everything to do with exclusion.
From the Paper "The creation of such quasi-public spaces are actually much more representative of the increasing paranoia that exists throughout the nation in urban cities like LA. Universal's City Park was created for the purpose of expression of the ideas and desires of a small group of people, not representative of the community as a whole, inclusive in reality of vagabonds and the elite alike. Steven Flusty, in his work "Building Paranoia" also describes the Park as a ?Jittery Space.?
He describes this as "space that cannot be utilized unobserved due to active monitoring by roving patrols and/or remote technologies feeding to security stations." People entering City Walk are subject to constant monitoring, whether on the walkways, in the shops or by the fountains. "
Examination of the collective bargaining process in state and local government according to John Piskulich in his book "Collective Bargaining in State and Local Governments".
Abstract This paper is a review of John Piskulich's book "Collective Bargaining in State and Local Governments". The paper covers Piskulich's discussion of policymakers, the role of unions, the various dimensions of the bargaining process, the history of the policy making process and the obstacles policy makers face.
From the Paper "In his book John Piskulich attempts to uncover why and how to manage collective bargaining. "Collective Bargaining in State and Local Governments" discusses how the collective bargaining process in the public sector has grown from a state of infancy to maturity. He makes note that policymakers are currently in a state of flux, constantly changing and modifying current regulations to keep up with the dynamic environments in which they work. John Piskulich emphasizes in his work that public-sector unions act as a significant force in operating government agencies."
