Googles New Values Usable, Shareable Sites

by Constant Content Arecent article on SearchEngineWatch.com highlighted a change in Google’s advice to webmasters on ranking. Where Google once advised webmasters who wanted to improve their sites’ rank to increase â€Å"the number of high quality sites that link to their pages,† it now says that, â€Å"†¦webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by creating high-quality sites that users will want to use and share.† This is a subtle, but important, shift. Instead of rewarding webmasters who entice other webmasters to link to them, a somewhat unnatural approach, Google seems to be placing a greater emphasis on the user experience. Rather than focusing on getting backlinks, webmasters should be focusing on creating high-quality sites. What makes a site a high-quality site? Below are the three most important aspects: The user – The user is by far the most important part of any website. If your site is useful to users, easy to navigate, and pleasant, pat yourself on the back. There’s a word for this: usability. Website usability is a concept that considers how easy a site is for users to use, navigate, and enjoy. According to Jakob Nielson, a renowned usability expert, â€Å"utility† means whether a design provides the features you need; â€Å"usability† describes how easy and pleasant these features are; and a site is â€Å"useful† if it has both utility and usability. The design – Your website design should meet the usability definitions above. After all, your users need to be able to find useful, relevant information with minimal fuss – otherwise, they’ll go elsewhere. It should also be attractive and load quickly. You may need to update your site’s design every few years in order to keep it from looking dated. The content – It doesn’t matter how pretty a site is, however, if it doesn’t contain fresh, unique content. Not only should your site’s articles and blog posts be relevant and informative to users, they should also be shareable. Google now emphasizes the creation of high-quality sites that users want to â€Å"use and share.† As a webmaster, you’re likely well-versed in the art of usability and website design. Now that Google is less concerned with backlinks and more concerned with quality, and usability, you can focus on your area of expertise. Filling your site with fresh, informative, and shareable content, however, may be a challenge. Let Constant-Content help. That’s our area of expertise.

Arabic Loanwords In English

Arabic Loanwords In English Arabic Loanwords In English Arabic Loanwords In English By Sharon The Arabic language has contributed hundreds of words to the English language by many different routes. Thats partly because in what my daughter likes to call the olden days (from around 700AD to the Middle Ages), the Arabic kingdoms had a great influence on Europe and the world. In part this was through colonisation, but there were also many great mathematicians, alchemists and astronomers. Of course, language development is not that simple. Not all the words that have entered English via Arabic originate from that language. Linguistically speaking, the Arabs borrowed as freely as they lent and their language included words originating from Spanish, Latin, Greek, Persian, Hebrew and many others. Many of the words start with the Arabic definite article al, which also appears in silent form without the l in words such as admiral. Heres a list of some of the common words that the Arabic language has bequeathed to English. admiral adobe alchemy via Greek alcohol the quintessence of earthly substances, originally from alchemy alcove algebra restoration of missing parts, later used in a 9th century mathematical book written by a Persian scientist whose name gave us algorithm almanac amber apricot arsenal factory assassin hashish user artichoke aubergine burnoose via Latin caliber carat via Greek checkmate coffee possibly from the name Kefa, where the coffee plant originates cotton divan elixir medicinal potion, via Greek gauze from the Persian for raw silk gazelle genie giraffe harem hashish henna jasmine from Arabic via French kohl lilac, from Persian for indigo lime loofah lute magazine storehouse mocha named after a city in Yemen monsoon mummy via Persian muslin nadir orange safari from Arabic via Swahili saffron sequin sugar tamarind tariff typhoon zenith zero Theres a fun quiz on Arabic loan words here and more words can be found here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsAbstract Nouns from AdjectivesPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms

Students will be required to research the topic of Effective Assignment

Students will be required to research the topic of Effective Advertising and write a literary review and analysis - Assignment Example Marketers can use different mediums like TV, Radio, internet, billboards, public personnel, celebrity, electronic display boards etc to communicate the message to viewers and in some case press releases are being used to communicate the message. Dube and Manchanda (81-95) stated that important thing is to measure the effectiveness of advertisement and due to non-tangibility of parameters; it becomes very difficult to measure effectiveness of advertisement. In such context, this essay will try to address the theme â€Å"Effective Advertising† with the help of research works conducted by various research scholars on that subject. Although, key objective of the paper is to answer the question â€Å"What Makes Advertising Effective† but the essay will take funnel approach to concentrate on specific aspect like â€Å"role of internationalization on advertising† in the later part. Understanding concepts or factors that might affect the effectiveness of advertisement wo uld also be important part of the discussion. Discussion Literature Review Nguyen and Shi (965-973) pointed out that it is very difficult to summarize all the factors that may affect the effectiveness of advertisement and they also identified macro and micro influencer of advertisement. For macro factor, synchronization of advertisement theme with socio-cultural dimension of particular population or theme variation can play important role in influencing purchase action of viewer. On the other hand, Bruce (659-673) identified micro factors like product involvement and ad/context congruency or cognitive appeal of the advertisement can play important role in determining the effectiveness of advertisement. Considering the vastness of the topic, it is to be understood that addressing or identifying all the factors that may influence effectiveness of advertisement is beyond the scope of this short essay. Therefore, in this literature review, the researcher will focus on issue like impact of internationalization on advertising, theme effects and ad/context congruency etc in order to address key deliverables in the assignment. Theme Effects Bass, Bruce, Murthi and Majumdar (179–195) stated that quality of advertisement might vary over the time and alteration of themes might affect effectiveness of the advertisement. According to these scholars, quality of the advertisement is intangible and relative measure which has indirect link with the themes of the advertisement. For example, these Bass, Bruce, Murthi and Majumdar (179–195) used advertisement example of a fast food joint which has changed its theme over the course of time in order to remain relevant and effective. Bass, Bruce, Murthi and Majumdar (179–195) found that repetition of the same advertising theme in longitudinal manner might decrease the effectiveness of the advertisement. In such context, MacInnis, Rao and Weiss (391–407) found that effectiveness of the advertisement is dec ided by the existence of pooling effects like emotional appeal, logical appeal, sense of benefits etc in the promoted advertisement. For example, Chandy, Tellis, MacInnis and Thaivanich (399–414) gave examples of argument based advertisement themes in consumer durables sector and stated that effectiveness of the advertisement gets increased when marketers compare the benefits of offering with

The arbitrage theory of capital asset pricing Literature review

The arbitrage theory of capital asset pricing - Literature review Example At the same time, the risk factor offers price to investors for investing their money in risky securities. The sum total of both these factors gives a clear view regarding the expected rate of return on a particular asset. It is generally calculated by using a risk measure called beta. The arbitrage pricing theory is a well known alternative to capital asset pricing model that is beneficial for the investors to determine whether an asset is correctly priced or not. This paper tends to evaluate various aspects of the arbitrage theory of capital pricing. Structure of Arbitrage Pricing Theory Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) is an alternative to capital asset pricing theory and it is formulated by the economist Stephen Ross in 1976. In order to clearly evaluate the potentiality of arbitrage pricing theory, it is necessary to understand the range and terms of capital asset pricing model (CAPM). As discussed above, CAPM calculates rate of return of an asset by adding the value of risk taken with duration of investment. It is relevant to understand the working method of CAPM also. Assume that risk-free rate is 5%, the beta measure of the stock is 3 and the expected rate of market return for this period is 12%; then the expected rate of stock becomes: 5%+3(12% - 5%) = 26% In the opinion of Roll and Ross (1980), this theory had considerable significance in empirical work during the periods of 1960’s and 1970’s. However further researches on this concept have questioned its reliability and authenticity of the computation of empirical constellation of asset returns; and, many related theories have detected ranges of disenchantment with the CAPM (ibid). Authors say that this situation led to the demand for a more potential theory and it caused the formulation of APT. Although, APT was developed recently, CAPM is considered as the basis of modern portfolio theory. Huberman and Wang (2005) claim that both the CAPM and APT show relation between expected returns o f assets and their co-variance with other random variables; and an investor cannot avoid some types of risks by diversification and the concept of covariance is interpreted as a measure of such risks. While comparing with CAPM, the APT contains fewer assumptions; and at the same time, this theory is very difficult to use. Roll and Ross (1980) clearly tells that the basic idea behind arbitrage pricing theory is that the price of a security is varied by mainly two groups of factors such as macro factors and company specific factors. Since no ‘arbitrage assumptions’ are employed, this theory is popularly known in this name. The group categorization and thereby macro as well as company specific factors are very crucial to form the following formula: r = rf + ?1f1 + ?2f2 + ?3f3 + †¦ where r represents the expected rate on the security and rf is the risk free rate. In this formula, f stands for a separate factor and ? is a relationship measure between the security price and that factor. Cho, Eun, and Senbet (1986) have conducted an empirical investigation so as to evaluate the international performance of the arbitrage pricing policy. In their research, they mainly employed two valuation techniques such as inter-battery factor analysis and Chow test. The inter-battery factor analysis helped the authors to estimate the international common factors while they could test the validity of the APT using Chow test method. A

Historical analysis of recent events Research Paper

Historical analysis of recent events - Research Paper Example Once the protests were successful in Tunisia, all other North African Countries in the vicinity of the Arab League joined protests in their nations to protest over similar demands. Specifically, the demonstrators were successful to remove from office presidents in countries such as Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq. Strong protests had since been recorded in areas such as Syria, Sudan, Palestine and Oman. It is safe to mention that there was some coercion and influence in the way in which people strove and joined the protests. It is important to contextualize the causes so as to understand the reasons which made the countries take up arms against their governments. Firstly, it was held and believed that there was some level and degree of dissatisfaction by young people and labour unions due to disparities in the levels of incomes and poverty. The youths were the backbone of the protests due to unemployment and the varying gap that existed between the level of wealth between them and the ruling class. Equally of interest was the issue of mass or grave violations of human rights, monarchy and exclusivity of power concentrated to the hands of a few people and corruption or misuse of public resources. The youths and the Arabs nations by extension were particularly concerned by the extravagance of the ruling elites yet they did not have even jobs or any meaningful source of income. Equally unsettling to the protestors was the fact that there was no room for dissent or difference of opinion from the ruling autocrats. The word of the ruling autocrats became rule and law without following any due process of legislation or constitutionalism. A practical case and instance in this respect and line of thought was the Libya case where there so many political prisoners. The prisoners in Libya

Case Study: Liver Disease and Hepatitis B

Case Study: Liver Disease and Hepatitis B Case study   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Liver Disease Introduction A 60 year old woman with a history of hepatitis B and cirrhosis presents with oedema and constipation. The GP takes the following tests on her and these are the results. Albumin 30g/L Platelet count Alpha – fetoprotein 450 ng/mL Test results The test results can be used for analysis to clarify what disease the 60 year old woman has, and by linking her symptoms with the test results. Hepatitis B is a virus that affects the liver, chronic hepatitis can develop without proper treatment. Having hepatitis B will eventually cause scarring to the liver which is known as cirrhosis. The 60 year old woman has developed Chronic hepatitis, the hepatitis is ongoing and serious, this will eventually cause the liver tissue to produce scares and stop functioning as it should .A liver biopsy (tissue sample) can be taken to find out how serious the hepatitis is. One of the function of the liver is to produce a protein called albumin, having liver cirrhosis will cause permanent damage to the liver and when this happens the liver will find it had to produce albumin.(Aspinall et al 2011:Pubmed) Albumin is a protein that is made by the liver which measures the exact amount of protein in the clear liquid portion in blood. The test is usually t aken place to determine whether a person has a sort of liver or kidney disease which is the main reason why the test was carried out. The normal range in human is between 3.4 – 5.4g/dL. The woman’s albumin level shows that it is below average, low albumin may cause oedema which is a symptom that the woman is experiencing. Cirrhosis results in an increase in fluid retention. Cirrhosis also leads to low levels of albumin and other proteins in the blood which could also be the cause of oedema. (Gupta and Lis, 2010) Platelet count determines the amount of platelet in the blood, normal adults produce 1 x10^11 platelets every day, portal hypertension is a complication of cirrhosis of the liver. Portal hypertension always takes place in the liver at all times, an increase in the pressure within the portal vein is caused by barrier of the blood flow to through the liver (Kotoh et al 2012). Portal hypertension causes symptoms to patients that are linked to their liver disease which could be hepatitis B,C or cirrhosis, patients that have cirrhosis had a very high chance of developing portal hypertension and it was increase over years. Patients who have portal hypertension usually have low platelet count which is the case of the 60 year old woman whose platelet count is Alpha fetoprotein is a protein that is found in the liver, it is considered a tumour marker for liver cancer, the test may be done to diagnose possible liver diseases. The normal values in males or non-pregnant females is generally less than 40 micrograms/litre.High levels of alpha-fetoprotein indicates that there could be liver cancer which is the key factor which shows that there is something wrong with the liver.If your AFP level is unusually high but you are not pregnant, it may indicate the presence of certaincancers or liverconditions.so a liver transplant could be an option for the woman. In adults, high blood levels can be a sign of certain types of cancer, including liver cancer. (Alejandro et al, 2012) Symptoms and Diagnosis Constipation is a liver related issue, in this case It was most likely caused by her progressing tumour formation this may press on her digestive system causing constipation, having cirrhosis may also not allow her to properly digest fatty lipids because her bile might possibly be blocked resulting in constipation.  Hypothyroidism  can cause constipation. Blood tests to check thyroid hormones / TSH will help in diagnosing hypothyroidism. Oedema is swelling that is caused by fluid trapped in the bodies tissues, oedema can be a sign of lots of things including malnourishment and low albumin level in the blood and the woman’s albumin level is below average these are the results of having liver failure and cirrhosis. Having history of cirrhosis is the main reason she has oedema. (Gaw et al 2013) Because of the woman’s age cancer would need to be tested for cancer as old people are much more prone to have cancer. Albumin is produced by the liver meaning that her liver is affected inducting liver cancer. Some patients with chronic liver diseases are more likely to develop thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism through autoimmune mechanisms (Huang, Liaw 2008). The woman may have Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) which is most common and popular type of liver cancer. The main risk factors associated with HCC are hepatitis B,C and cirrhosis which the woman has a history of. HCC develops in patients with chronic liver disease and patients with cirrhosis are more likely to develop HCC and people over the age of 50 are more likely to develop HCC. The most common diseases that affects the liver are cirrhosis and hepatitis (Marshall and Bangert 2008). HCC is a serious disease in which alpha-fetoprotein will be elevated in a person, alpha-fetoprotein is a gene that becomes expressed when lots of damage has occurred to the liver in HCC. The normal range for AFP is 10-20 ng/mL.A level of >400 ng/mL may be regarded as diagnostic for HCC by some. Further tests A test that can be proposed is an ultrasound of the liver, an ultrasound test uses sound waves to create pictures and to see what is going on with organs inside the body. If any tumours are found in the liver then this can be furthered to test for cancer. An MRI scan can be useful for looking at liver cancers, MRI are sometimes good at telling which cancers are a tumour. Another tests that can be carried out is biopsy which involves actually taking the tumour and inspecting it under the microscope for further analysis which is likely to be more effective and reliable. Alanine aminotransferase(ALT)An alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test measures the amount of this  enzyme  in the blood. ALT is found mainly in the  liver, ALT is measured to see if the liver is damaged or diseased. Low levels of ALT are normally found in the blood. But when the liver is damaged or diseased, it releases ALT into the bloodstream, which makes ALT levels go up. Most increases in ALT levels are caused b y liver damage. Treatment and Prognosis Some treatment for HCC can include a liver transplant or surgery which can remove small or small-growing tumours.Sorafenib tosylate (Nexavar), which is an oral medication can be taken to block and stops tumour from growing.The prognosis is often poor, because only 10 20% of hepatocellular carcinomas can be removed completely using surgery. Radio frequency ablation can be used to kill cancerous cells. If the cancer cannot successfully be removed or killed, the disease is usually deadly within 3 6 months. However, this is not always the case as everybody is difference and so on some occasions people will survive much longer than 6 months. (Forner at al 2012: Pubmed) References Alejandro Forner, Josep M Llovet, Dr Jordi Bruix. (2012). The Lancet.  Hepatology. 379 (9822), P1245–1255. Allan Gaw, Michael J. Murphy, Rajeev Srivastava, Robert A. Cowan, Denis St. J. OReilly. (2013).  Clinical Biochemistry. 5th ed. London: Churchill Livingstone. p197-202. Aspinall EJ, Hawkins G, Fraser A, Hutchinson SJ, Goldberg D.. (2011). Pubmed:  Occupational Medicine. 8 (2), p531-540. Digant Gupta and Christopher G Lis. (2010). Nutrition Journal. Pubmed:  Pretreatment serum albumin as a predictor of cancer survival: A systematic review of the epidemiological literature. 9 (69), p112-120. Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, Pratt DS (2010).  Liver chemistry and function tests. 9th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevie. p436-450. Kazuhiro Kotoh, Marie Fukushima, Yuki Horikawa, Shinsaku Yamashita, Motoyuki Kohjima, Makoto Nakamuta, Munechika EnjojiJanuary. (2012). Experimental and theurapitcal mediine.  Serum albumin is present at higher levels in alcoholic liver cirrhosis as compared to HCV-related cirrhosis. 3 (1), p166-170. Miau-Ju Huang and Yun-Fan Liaw. (2008). Wiley Online Library.  Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 10 (3), P237–364. William J Marshall, Stephen K Bangert (2008).  Clinical chemistry. 6th ed. Edinburgh: Mosby Elsevier. p40-50.

Voices of Protest :: essays research papers

Voices of Protest: The Politician and the Radio Priest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alan Brinkley, the author of Voices of Protest, wrote about Huey Long and Father Coughlin who launched attacks on Roosevelt’s administration during the years of 1933 – 1935. This period of time was during the great depression. The book described in great length and detail about Huey Long and Father Coughlin, who were extremely influential politicians, and their opposition to the new society of big business and high technology. They felt that the owners of large companies such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and Pullman were to blame for the financial woes of the United States. Long and Coughlin were successful in taking their arguments and beliefs to the American people in the 1930’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Huey Long was an energetic, passionate young man at a very young age. In fact, at the age of twenty he stated he planned to run for election. He said, â€Å"first to secondary stated office Louisiana, then for governor, then for United States Senator, and finally for president.† He wrote in the New Orleans Item, â€Å"that about 65 or 70 percent of the entire wealth of the U.S. is owned by two percent of the people†¦wealth is fast concentrating in the hands of the few.† He had the combination of ambition, along with the love and compassion of the less fortunate Americans. He was known throughout Louisiana as â€Å"the kingfish† because of the power and influence he possessed, almost to the point of dictatorship. For several years he was in the limelight and news constantly, in part before of his very colorful and extravagant lifestyle. Even after his death, the people of Louisiana still supported him even though his life was the center of greed and controversy. During his term as Governor, he built hundreds of miles of paved highways, provided free textbooks, constructed bridges, built hospitals, schools and a major university, Louisiana State University or better known as â€Å"LSU.† He obtained his law degree from Tulane and age the age of twenty-one, he moved back to Louisiana to practice law. At the age of thirty-five, Huey Long was elected Governor of Louisiana. He did a couple of things that no governor had ever done before such as consolidating his personal power over all levels of state government and forcing through a program of progressive legislation, thus enabling him to fulfill his promise to the common people of the state.

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Religion Essay

Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Paganism are among the principal religions in Ethiopia. Yet, Ethiopia is a chiefly Christian nation whereby most of the Christians are Orthodox Tewahedo Christians (Merahi, 2002). Nevertheless, there are still Christians residing in the country who are either Roman Catholic or Protestant. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is lead by a patriarch and is associated to the communion of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Church of India, Coptic Orthodox Church, and the Syrian Orthodox Church. Christianity started in Ethiopia upon the arrival of the two Syrian Christians named Frumentius and Aedissius (Meinardus, 2006). They went to Aksum and began to inform people about the Christian faith and Jesus Christ. The two had also persuaded King Ezana, who was the ruler of Aksum during the early fourth century. They became successful in converting the king to become Christian. As a result, the king officially declared Christianity as the chief religion in the entire kingdom in 341 AD. Afterwards, he commanded Frumentius to proceed to Alexandria where he was sanctified bishop having the name of Abba Selama in 346 AD. Frumentius then went back to Ethiopia and was hailed as its first bishop and established the first Ethiopian Church (Meinardus, 2006). With the institution of the Christianity in whole kingdom, Ethiopia became a dominant Christian empire until the fifteenth century. Discussion Ethiopian Orthodox Church is considered as the primordial of all Eastern Christianities though the Armenian Orthodox Church is also termed as the oldest strand of Christianity (Yesehaq, 1997). There are, at any rate, three distinct organizations of Tewahedo Church with their own governments in North America and Addis Ababa, Jerusalem, and even in Europe and Jamaica. Occasionally Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is referred as Copic for the reason that until before the fifties the leader of Ethiopian Church was chosen from Egypt and this custom was modified when Haile Sellassie ascended the throne (Merahi, 2002). The doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is broader than any other Christian associations. The Ethiopian more contracted Old Testament doctrine is consisted of the books included in the Septuagint and recognized by other Orthodox Christians (besides Enoch, Jubilees, 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras, 3 books of Maccabees, and Psalm 151) (Yesehaq, 1997). Nonetheless, the three books of the Maccabees are indistinguishable in label only and rather various in substance from those of the other Christian churches which contained them. The arrangement of the other books is quite diverse from other groups’, in addition. The Church, moreover, has, to some extent, an imprecise wider doctrine that is comprised of more books (Meinardus, 2006). All contemporary written bibles confine themselves to the more contracted canon. Prior to the revolution, there were many Ethiopian clergy since Orthodoxy is generally bestowed in frugal order. Some say that all through the Red Terror, which began in 1975 and lasted for three years, over 200 thousands priests were put to death in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox priest is the greatest expression of the distinction involving Western and Eastern Christianity. The Ethiopian Orthodoxy claims that there is only one nature of Christ and such is entirely celestial (Yesehaq, 1997). In effect, the Orthodoxy established to realities, the Material reality, which belong to man; and Celestial or Divine reality, which belong to God. Alongside with the Roman Catholic doctrine and principles, the Ethiopian Orthodoxy does not admit the concept of purgatory and argues that there is only Heaven and hell. Another difference in terms of the history of Christianity in the Roman Catholic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is that, the latter directly moves away from the earthy matters such as social and political spheres (Marsh, 2004). The Ethiopian Orthodoxy is only concerned about spiritual upbringing and nothing more which is in opposition with how the Roman Catholic Church influenced the founding of the earliest form of government. The Ethiopian Orthodoxy, on the other hand, has been disparaged for its passive character when it comes to politics and government. However, the separation among the social and divine concerns or aspects is an inherent theory and not merely an issue of stratagem and diplomacy. The sole character of Christ is to give emphasis to the idea that there are two realities founded on diverse doctrines (Merahi, 2002). The Orthodox iconography refused to accept the amendment of the art breakthroughs through realism, together with the third dimension point of view. The Orthodox artists believed that God’s time and space are prearranged in a different way from man’s reality (Yesehaq, 1997). The well-known upturned point of view in symbols expressed their consideration that in beatific reality the distant is close and the close is distant. There are various corollaries of the Ethiopian Orthodoxy belief on religion, including the notion of Trinity as well as the philosophy of history. The division between the Western Church and the Orthodox Church is not just about historical such as the thousand years of the Byzantine Empire (Marsh, 2004). However, such is a theological as well as philosophical in thought. There is no way that the Orthodox Church would admit the concept of evolution as how the Catholic Church, in a way, accepts it. In an analysis, there is very modest development entrenched in the Orthodox mindset which is predominantly observed in the Ethiopian Orthodoxy. As how the Orthodox Church expressed the principle, man does not progress gradually. But what is more appropriate to say is that man reaches his full transformation through God’s radical character which He uses to make us updated in every way it may serve for us. In this line of thinking that the Ethiopian Orthodoxy and the Protestant thought are the same (Marsh, 2004). The two regard the role of the Church as one’s personal institution and not merely a social establishment. Having this Orthodox character, the Ethiopian Christianity, on no account, had full-blown â€Å"holy wars† and had been more predisposed to missionary activities (Meinardus, 2006). The Ethiopian Orthodox Church co-existed with various leaders and administrations, lived alongside with pagans and Muslims and had no record of rectification or â€Å"religious wars† as how the Western Christianity underwent (Marsh, 2004). Summary To sum up, the Ethiopian Orthodox (Tewahedo) Christian religion has been regarded as one of the most foremost strands of the Christian religion. Though many of its features as well as its character have an enlarged difference in relation with other strands of Christianity such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestantism, it still goes with the principle of one all-powerful and absolute God. The great differences revealed between the Western Christianity and the Eastern Christianity are said to be observed in the entirety of the Ethiopian Orthodoxy. While the Western Christianity is hailed as one of the foundations of government primarily in the European regions, the Eastern Christianity, particularly the Ethiopian Orthodoxy, remained distant with the workings of politics and societal affairs. The Orthodoxy reveals itself as a religious organization which holds no concern on political activities in opposition with how the Western Christianity does. For the Ethiopian Orthodoxy, religion is something which is very personal. With this, Ethiopian Orthodoxy lasted for so may years surpassing other religious associations without undergoing intricate changes and amendments.

Health Care in California

Health Care in California Abstract This paper comprises of two sections. The first section entails an in-depth discussion of Managed Care and other Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) within the health care sector in California. The second section entails a detailed research on LaSalle Medical Associate, one of the vibrant health organizations offering community services in various countries in the United States.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Health Care in California Managed Care HMO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research has shown that HMO industry became increasingly visible in most of United States since 1980. The enrollment at the moment has increased fourfold rising from 9 million to 36.5 million by the end of 1990. Recent consolidations have created a channel for implementation of new health plans. California is among the top ten states that have the highest number of people enrolling for HMOs. The growth and benefit s of HMOs have drawn the attention of investors who are willing to venture into the larger health system to offer appropriate and competitive health services. This explains why the industry has continued to grow immensely amid some challenges. Growth and profitability of Managed Care HMO Managed Care HMO has grown immensely for decades due to the rise of healthcare insurances that give employees and the general public the option to seek alternatives in medical schemes that are cost –effective. The Managed Care HMO program also attracted many employees who enrolled in order to benefit from the health package that was on offer. However, it is important to admit that other better schemes have emerged thus posing stiff competition to this program. Actually, Baicker, Chernew and Robbins (2013) assert that for over one decade now, the enrollment rate for Managed Care HMO has declined. In other words, HMOs have historically dominated California health sector for long until recently when other groups of health insurance came up. An example is the Kaiser Foundation (Feldstein, 2011). Despite the competition, research has shown that Managed Care HMO takes 60% of the market share, implying that they are relatively stable (Copeland Zeber, 2013). Upon a careful analysis, there are numerous benefits derived from the industry. One the benefits is the cost saving services. Moreover, the industry provides reimbursement and physician compensation to its clients. Baicker et al. (2013) underscore that employees receive quality care particularly at a lower price due to increased pressure from the competitors. The chart below illustrates that the industry growth rate especially in regards to the managed care HMO since 1998.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Major groups of the industry Other major groups in the industry include Kaiser Foundation healt h plan and Kaiser Enrollees in California. It is important to note that the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is a vibrant national HMO. However, Kaiser Enrollees has been associated with strong allegiance since it remained relatively stable regardless of the employer-based health insurance decline. According to a study conducted by Baicker et al. (2013), it is evident that the Kaiser Foundation has secured permit to offer health insurance to self-employed individuals. Moreover, the Kaiser program has opened an avenue for self-insured employees to access their products Competitor Analysis HMOs industry in California is highly competitive at the moment due to various reasons. Baicker et al. (2013) explain that there have been significant changes such as business consolidation, legislative reforms, new strategic alliances and market pressures. These forces have brought better, organized and informed customer base. The presence of numerous healthcare plans has resulted into emergence of su bstantial competition between the for-profit and non-profit HMOs and self-funded plans. Some of the HMOs with largest market share include but not limited to the Kaiser Foundation, Blue Shield and Kaiser Enrollees. One of the strengths of these major competitors is that they are able to satisfy employees and employer choices (Feldstein, 2011). The presence of numerous HOM plans gives the clients an opportunity to select products that suits them. Moreover, due to increased competition, the HMO plans are made cheap and affordable in order to retain the consumers. Nonetheless, the competitors have weaknesses since most of them have compromised the quality of products offered. As the saying goes, â€Å"cheap is expensive†. Therefore, most of the Health insurance providers offer cheap products with very poor quality. On the other hand, those that offer high quality product mix escalate prices unreasonably thereby ending up reaping heavily from employers and self-insured employees. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Health Care in California Managed Care HMO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Structure of the industry using Porters 5 forces model In reference to Porters 5 forces model, there are 5 forces that have influenced competition of HMO plans. As a result, these forces have defined the structure of the industry. It is apparent that the structure of the industry is even since new entrants can venture into the market and sell their health plans. Moreover, the industry has matured hence there is no intense threat for substitute products (Feldstein, 2011). Consumers who are employers and employees have bargaining power for products in the market. At the same time, the suppliers who are insurance providers have bargaining power for products offered so long as they meet the expected standards. At the moment, there is slight competition rivalry thus attracting more competitors into the m arket (Feldstein, 2011). Key success factors in the industry The key success factors in the industry are quality, cost and uniqueness of products (Feldstein, 2011). For a firm to do well in the industry, it must maintain high quality of health services, products must be pocket-friendly and unique to ensure that they stand out in the market. Noticeable trends in the industry Baicker et al. (2013) point out that there has been immense growth in the HMO industry. Better products have emerged to replace the substandard ones. However, despite the positive trend, the industry has been engulfed by challenges. There are numerous growth problems that have engulfed the industry since its establishment in the 1980s. For instance, research has revealed that there was a speedy growth of HMOs where the number of plans shoots to 306 (Hibbard, Greene, Sofaer, Firminger Hirsh, 2012). It is important to note that growth was fastest between 1984 and 1987 when enrollment doubled. During this time, the financial implications of the growth pattern were unpredictable (Quinn et al., 2012). Increase of new plans lead to a considerable decline of prices due to competition. It is worth noticing that some health providers proved to be better managers than others so some plans were phased out. Besides this, profits fetched could not be enough to compensate the start-up costs thus some health plans ceased operation until in the 21st century when HMO consolidations were done (Feldstein, 2011). Another notable aspect in the industry trend is about employer influences. One of the significant influences that have shaped the industry is employers who have been quick to challenge the immense escalation of health insurance costs. Employers have actively analyzed the cost-benefits of every plan. Hence they have contributed to the designing of overall mix product as well as the integration of holistic benefit package. This has increased the demand of some of the HMO products.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Opportunities and threats in the industry One of the opportunities available in the industry is that health insurance providers are allowed to package their products in a manner that will help them retain their clients. For instance, most of the HMOs schemes allow cost-sharing between the employee and employer. For example, the Blue Shield is a health insurance provider that offers Core Flex services to employers who have a group of over 50 employees yet the package is designed in a way that there is a potential for employee cost-sharing (Hibbard et al., 2012). In regards to LaSalle Medical Associates, evidences from literature have shown that organization began as a pediatric clinic in Fontana. The clinic was set up in June 1984 by Albert Arteaga and his wife Maria (LaSalle Medical Associates, 2015). The clinic has, since then, continued to offer health services and it became an Independent Practice Associate in 1996 (LaSalle Medical Associates, 2015). Upon a careful review of lite rature, it is factual that the associate is one of the largest Independent clinics in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino. LaSalle’s main goal was to enroll children into healthy family program within the corporate location. However, it is evident that the goal broadened as the organization began to focus on the wider community. LaSalle Medical Associates (2015) outline that after its establishment and expansion, it has expanded thereby establishing several clinics in Hesperia, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, Kings and Fresno and San Bernardino countries (Copeland Zeber, 2013). The associate began with less than 3,000 enrollees and two staff model who offered managed care. Due to consistent support from health plan partners and healthcare institutions, LaSalle has expanded into a four-staff-model site and has a record of over 200,000 managed care clients (LaSalle Medical Associates, 2015). The Medial Associate has numerous networks offering specialty and primary c are services. Most of the healthcare services offered at LaSalle are community based. However, the prime target population includes children. Research has shown that the Medical Associate offer medical services at its highest level through partnership with numerous hospitals. Research has shown that LaSalle strives to maintain maximum and efficient delivery of health services (Copeland Zeber, 2013). This is one of the factors that have made the Medial Associate to maintain consistent financial records. LaSalle offers physician and surgical services. In Order to accommodate wide range of audiences, the organization incorporated gynecology and obstetrics services. It is therefore undisputable that LaSalle adequately meets the need of the community in which its offices are based. Besides, the organization provides diverse insurance products for patients. This has in the long run contributed to increased consumption of their products and services. Financial Analysis of LaSalle Medical Associates According to information presented by LaSalle Medical Associates (2015), there are no precise figures revealing the financial performance of the group. However, one can refer to various growth indicators such as the area overage, patient turn out and employee satisfaction. Using these benchmarks, one can analyze that the Medical Associate is doing well financially. LaSalle Medical Associates (2015) assert that the organization is one of the fast-paced healthcare institutions. Moreover, the organization’s growth is as a result of high quality services and an indication that the physician-patient ratio is up to date. The organization has a long-term financial wellbeing since it has managed to enroll and maintain highly trained and competent personnel (Copeland Zeber, 2013). The Organization’s output has continued to increase for over 3 decades and this can imply that services offered are profitable.  One of the strengths of LaSalle is that it is able to col laborate and partner with other health institutions in order to provide care to patients in various locations. It is evident that mutual partnership adds value to services and products offered by partnering parties. As a matter of fact, LaSalle has been able to increase its coverage to handle community needs in more than six countries. Upon examining the services offered when the organization began, LaSalle Medical Associates (2015) admits that a lot of growth has been registered thus making it possible to offer a wide range of services. Moreover, LaSalle has employed qualified and dedicated healthcare professionals who are able to attend to children and adults. Upon a careful review of Literature, one can discern that LaSalle primarily use Medi-Cal, Blue Shield, Care 1st, Molina, Inland Empire Health Plan and Health Net health products (Copeland Zeber, 2013). This gives the clients an opportunity to choose the best health products thus increasing consumer satisfaction. One of the weaknesses is that LaSalle has lagged behind in technology thus making it challenging to streamline healthcare delivery within its locations. However, empirical research has shown that LaSalle is upgrading its technology in order to embrace electronic health record management. Moreover, the corporate offices have begun to transform management procedures to ensure that patient information is secure. It is important to note that initially, LaSalle specialized on children care alone (Copeland Zeber, 2013). Therefore, it is certain that its personnel have more expertise in children’s matters than adults. Therefore, LaSalle does perfectly well in children affairs unlike when dealing with senior and adult patients. It is also important to note that LaSalle is good at partnering with other health organizations to provide the best to the community. Some of its affiliates include Central Valley General Hospital in Hanford, Arrowhead Regional Medical center and Community Hospital at S an Bernadino (LaSalle Medical Associates, 2015). There are packages that allow employers to subscribe and pay monthly costs for basic care delivery. Such a package is cost effective since the employers do not need to reciprocate the cost to the employees (Quinn et al., 2012). The other opportunity is that HMOs are becoming popular hence the products are at a high demand. This therefore, creates room for supply thus encouraging formulation of better health plans. One of the impending threats is that the HMO industry is becoming broader with variety of products (Hibbard et al., 2012). The health insurance providers look like they offer mix of products. Broadening of the market has adverse effect to for-profit health insurance providers since they are not able to get better returns through monopoly. The lack of monopoly lowers the costs of health services because employees will opt for the cheapest health product. At the same time, health insurance providers have to maintain quality wi thout which the employees will go for other options. References Baicker, K., Chernew, M. E., Robbins, J. A. (2013). The spillover effects of Medicare managed care: Medicare Advantage and hospital utilization. Journal of health economics, 32(6), 1289-1300. Copeland, L. A., Zeber, J. E. (2013). Advancing Research in the Era of Healthcare Reform the 19th Annual HMO Research Network Conference, April 16–18, 2013, San Francisco, California. Clinical medicine research, 11(3), 120-122. Feldstein, P. (2011). Health care economics. New York: Cengage Learning. Hibbard, J. H., Greene, J., Sofaer, S., Firminger, K., Hirsh, J. (2012). An experiment shows that a well-designed report on costs and quality can help consumers choose high-value health care. Health Affairs, 31(3), 560-568. LaSalle Medical Associates (2015). Quinn, V. P., Jacobsen, S. J., Slezak, J. M., Van Den Eeden, S. K., Caan, B., Sternfeld, B., Haque, R. (2012). Preventive care and health behaviors among overweight/obes e men in HMOs. The American journal of managed care, 18(1), 25-32.

examine critically the dramatic structure and relevance of the Cassandra scene in the Agamemnon essays

examine critically the dramatic structure and relevance of the Cassandra scene in the Agamemnon essays Examine critically the dramatic structure and relevance of the Cassandra scene in the Agamemnon. Cassandra, was a daughter of Hecuba and King Priam, the rulers of Troy during the Trojan War according to Homer's Iliad. Cassandra was a beautiful young woman, blessed with the gift of prophecy by Apollo, who was infatuated with her. Unfortunately, she shunned Apollo at the last minute and he added a twist to her gift; Cassandra was doomed to tell the truth, but never to be believed. "I promised consent to Apollo but broke my word... and ever since that fault I could persuade no one." [Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1208ff.] "Have I missed the mark, or, like true archer, do I strike my quarry? Or am I prophet of lies, a babbler from door to door?" [Cassandra. Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1194] For this reason Cassandra was not believed when, near the end of the Trojan War, she said that there was an armed force hidden in the wooden horse that the Achaeans had abandoned. King Priam did not know what to do with her, so he tried to keep Cassandra locked up and out of the way of the warriors of Troy. When Troy finally fell to the Greek invaders, Cassandra was attacked and supposedly raped by the Greek warrior Ajax of Locris, but eventually avenged by Athena. When Cassandra accompanied the Greek hero Agamemnon as his mistress to his homeland, she was killed by his vengeful wife, Clytaemnestra. Aeschylus's Agamemnon tells the story of the Greek hero Agamemnon's fateful return home to Myceneae, where his wife Clytaemnestra waits to kill him. Cassandra is a powerful figure in this play, foretelling the doom of the hero and herself through visions of a curse upon his household. On his arrival Agamemnon fell victim of a conspiracy conceived by his own wife Clytaemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, who murdered both Agamemnon and Cassandra. This too Cassandra predicted: "... for me waits destruction by the two-edged sword." [Cassandra. Aeschylus, Agamem...

Nuisance and Tresspass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nuisance and Tresspass - Essay Example This has caused David and his family to lose sleep through noise from the factory operations and noise from wagons coming to and leaving the factory. This is the background situation in this case where recent developments like the winning of many contracts for Harrington & Nephew Company has resulted in interference with the normal life for David and his family. David’s family has suffered a lot of harm from these recent developments. They include The rose tree that they were given on the day of their wedding has dried up. David’s wife has developed an allergy due to the dust that is emitted fro the factory. David’s family cannot sleep due to the noise that never ends day and night. The paintwork on David’s car has been destroyed because of the chemical smuts emitted from the factory’s chimney. As a result of the happenings described above, Wally, David’s son has stormed the factory and goes around searching for the manager so that he may giv e him apiece of his mind. Finding that the manager absent, he causes chaos and in the process a window breaks. The secretary insists that he leaves the factory but he defies. This paper is going to look at the liabilities that the construction company may have to David and his family and whether there may be any defences or remedies for the same. It is also going to explore whether the company may have any case against the family. The major concerns of the paper will be nuisance and trespass. After having explored what these two entail, we will advise Harrington & Nephew on any liabilities that they may have on David’s family. Nuisance Nuisance can be classified into either private or public. Private nuisance is committed where one person who is usually the defendant substantially and unreasonably interferes with another person’s right to use and enjoyment of their land. In our case, this is what happening to David’s family. Unlike trespass, interference can amo unt to a private nuisance even if it is not direct or intentional. A person’s use and enjoyment of their land might be interfered with by things such as dust, noise or vibration (Lemmon V. Webb (1894)). However, claims relating to an interference with privacy do not amount to nuisance as only Complaints about ordinary and reasonable uses of land are held viable. Private nuisance is therefore not available where the land is used for a particularly sensitive purpose or the one claiming to be affected is usually sensitive. In order to determine whether the interference is substantial and unreasonabl

Services Marketing of Ritz Carlton Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Services Marketing of Ritz Carlton - Assignment Example The standards of service offered are measured by the client or the customer’s experience. A customer or a client will look at a place where he is treated like a king of his time with all the attention from an unknown person accepting all his needs as his own and making the customer feel comfortable at the alien location. The important barriers to service are: Service is invisible that can only be felt. Service is providing experience irrespective of geography, culture, ethnicity, and traditions. Service is a global phenomenon but service providers vary with location. Thus each location has its own way of rendering the service according to the existing lifestyles of that region. Service includes effective communication irrespective of the region that creates another concern when dealing with people of a different horizon. Service providers need to adopt different pricing to brand themselves to target unique customers of different earning potential. Ambiance: A neat and tidy surrounding with pleasant fragrance creates a relaxing and welcoming ambiance in a service area whether in room, restaurant or at the lobby. A timely updating of the changing dynamic ambiance preferences will provide the repeated customer a chance to enjoy his stay Providing a new touch of experience with respect to taste, tradition, and ethnicity: A customer needs a unique experience with respect to ambiance either resembling the nativity or addressing a theme that exits a specific group.