Mark Haddon Essay Example for Free

Mark Haddon Essay Throughout the novel, the chapter headings are labelled in prime numbers instead of the normal cardinals, which is an important fact. This helps us to understand the character behind the surface. At the start of chapter 2 (headed 3), he says he knows all the prime numbers up to 7,507. This tells us that he is very good at maths and enjoys puzzles. People with Aspergers syndrome are usually very intelligent, but find it difficult to express, since they easily get confused if somebody asks too many questions. At the start of chapter 7, Christopher says this is a murder mystery novel, which would indicate that there will be some detective terminology (a particular lexical register) used later on in the book. He also says that his hero is Sherlock Holmes (who incidentally solved a case called the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time where the title of the book comes from), who has the ability to detach his mind from anything not related to the problem, which is exactly what Christopher does. He could be detached when he does not do what he is told. In terms of semantics, Christopher only refers to the denotations of words, since he finds it difficult to understand connotations. The reader knows the literal meanings of the words, but also, they create certain negative connotations. When Christopher talks or writes, he does not take the connotations of the words into account. In the book, there are no metaphors, similes or any linguistic devices, as he tells us at the start of chapter 5, this will not be a funny book, because I cannot tell jokes, because I do not understand them. His lack of a sense of humour could be demonstrated by his total lack of understanding when Siobhan laughed. He does appear to feel anger when he tears the paper. He doesnt use euphemisms, because he cannot see the point in evading the truth (incidentally, he doesnt tell lies). For example, on page thirteen, he says and people will be burnt to death, even if they live in tunnels. Here, it is possible to detect a hint of pessimism. The choice of words that the author uses is not typical of the teenage social peer group. For example, he doesnt say wicked since this would be a metaphor. This also enforces Christophers social isolation. Christopher does not use any of the more common spoken English techniques, for example; contractions, But I could not be certain about this. The contraction would be couldnt. The language that Mark Haddon uses throughout the book is very formal. There are very few conjunctions since the book is written from Christophers point of view, and Christopher thinks very logically, in a structured, simple way. In conclusion, it can be seen that the opening chapters of this novel manage to seamlessly meld together the symptoms of Aspergers syndrome, with narrative devices. The use of numbers and illustrations, allow the reader to enter a world which although strange to us is a familiar and usual one of the main character. The language structures, such as the use of short sentences echo the thinking methods of Christopher, and the authors use of unemotional and denotative vocabulary is an excellent way to demonstrate Christophers own lack of complex emotions. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Project Management Institute Essay Example for Free

Project Management Institute Essay The main motive of the Project Management Institute is to make the project management indispensable for the generation of the ultimate business results. PMI functions in over 170 countries having members more than 265000 at their advantage, thus making it as a leading membership association for the profession of project management. It is one among the best not-for-profit and non-political organization which conducts programs with the governments, industries and organizations to deliver the best project management programs with the best results. PMI education foundation speaks on the knowledge gaining and portraying the skills and the art for educational and social welfare. PMI also promotes research and providing avenues for building up wealth of information and also indulging in offering certification, networking and activities involving the community at large, thus managing to attain its global presence and global certification in their noble profession. Scope of its Membership: Becoming a member of the PMI institute gives an opportunity for the members to get themselves certified as a professional imparting and demonstrating the skills required thereby helping themselves in standing out in the crowd. To become a member PMI has varied plans suiting the different segments based on their needs where in there are plans for an individual – for those willing to learn and update the best practices in businesses, student – those having degree program at a recognized institute, retiree – having retired from active employment and has a good reputation for 5 consecutive years and those interested in renewing their memberships (renewal). The various benefits which the memberships provide include the vast knowledge sharing and information search happening in generating the opportunities for themselves and the institute. It gives immense openings for capturing on the capability of getting them networked through the different PMI communities there by getting nurtured with respect to the leadership qualities and being an active participants as volunteers in the various communities, certification programs, research programs, standard programs etc. The members also have scope of getting accessed to the knowledge resources of PMI known as the Project Management Body of Knowledge and also their career frameworks. Along with this opportunity which the members can acquire, they also have an edge over non-members in terms of getting access to the various publications, journals, e-links, virtual library, eReads and References which are set by PMI. The reason one should join PMI is to allow them to be build relationships, improvise on once skills, gain the latest and the first hand information and learn some of the best known practices. Memberships in PMI showcase certain features and characteristics to the peers which indicate their enthusiasm in quality, productivity and return on investments, their seriousness about their own individual development and their own profession and finally their commitment to the ethical business practices shown by the institute. The services which PMI provides to its members – With respect to the career development provided to the members of PMI, the association helps in availing the Certification and the Credentials, providing an extensive job search database which is availed by Career Headquarters at PMI, Making themselves groomed by undertaking various Training and Events happening by seminar worlds, to e-learning initiatives and providing the ultimate solution to the best practices and opportunities in the field of learning and in turn meeting up to the schedules, goals and the interests of the institution. PMI also guides the members in customer services, flexibility in changing and viewing orders, information on payment, pricing and promotions opportunities, shipping and handling assistance, privacy and security all under one umbrella known best for its marketplace. PMI has a strong Business Solutions concept which keeps the members get going by the challenges they have in career framework, Business and Government solutions on a global front to build up the institution on a worldwide basis and providing Organizational maturity in terms of managing the projects, programs and portfolios to generate and plan for its growth. This PMI provides project management implementation and consultancy services to their members and customers by providing added benefits in terms of the latest releases, news archives, articles of interests etc. The five major groups which PMI builds upon its profession are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and closing phases and the various knowledge areas which they address to are integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk management and procurement.

CRIMINOLGICAL REVIEW OF MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING

CRIMINOLGICAL REVIEW OF MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING Murder on a Sunday morning is a documentary film based on a real life incident that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida in the May of 2000. This 111-minute movie was directed by the French documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and was originally released under the title Uncoupable ideal. It won the Oscar award for the best documentary in 2002. The film brilliantly depicts an ignominious false conviction of an innocent 15-year old for a crime he never committed, the cover-up of the real culprits behind the crime, and finally the clemency of a public defender coming to his rescue in the courtroom. The plot originated from the incident of Mary Ann Stephens, a 65-year old tourist from Georgia being shot dead by a black assailant. The police arrested the first convenient black culprit available, a black African American teenager, Brendon Butler, who was on his way to a job interview. The teen was subsequently denied the right to make his phone call or contact an attorney, interrogated mercilessly for an unreasonable amount of time, threatened, racially abused, tortured physically and psychologically, and forced to sign a false confession admitting to having committed the crime. The dead womans husband, though having caught a glimpse of the real culprit during the shootout, was forced by the police to publicly identify and proclaim Butler as the assailant. The motive behind the forceful arrest and the subsequent psychological torture of the innocent Butler was simply the preservation of the tourist trade in the state. A public defender, Pat McGuinness, however, takes up the case and defends Brendon Butler in a case that is extraordinarily riveting. The courtroom scenes enacted by McGuinness could probably be counted among the top classics of this genre. The well-written trial speaks volumes about the perils of instant justice meted out or more aptly, justice of convenience that is as common as real justice these days. A criminological analysis on why Brendon Butler was framed should take into account the facts that his residence was just about a mile from the place of the incident; he was an African-American, a member of an ethnic group historically infamous for being convicted in racial crimes and his locality being a lower-class urban one, with high crime rates. The victims husband, a white man in a state of trauma, might also have been under pressure to identify the victim with unclear images of a black man shooting his wife. The next question to be answered is about the instantaneous arrest and conviction of Brendon. Could they not have made a broader search? The answers may be obtained when one considers the fact that in Florida, tourism is a major industry. The people who earn their livelihood from this industry would definitely not want Florida to be known as a risky place to visit. The image of a family oriented place was to be associated with Florida at any cost. The police would have been under pressure to dispose off the case as quickly as possible to create an image of a strong and efficient administration. Also the fact that the victim was a tourist and the news of the murder being reported by the media might have put the police under a lot of pressure to come up with a suspect who would at least approximately match the descriptions available at that time. Another question to be answered is the gruesome way in which the teenager was tortured. It could be guessed that the officers are often puppets in the hands of their superiors. They are put under pressure to clear as many cases as quickly as possible. As per the law, as soon as an arrest is made, the case will be considered cleared notwithstanding the truth behind the crime. As far as they were concerned, the killer was caught. However, this argument does not prove the meticulousness of the police. We may also look at why the whole bunch of the police team was so unequivocal in putting the blame on Brendon and torturing him to the extreme. The incident details show that the main third degree interrogator was the son of the sheriff of the area. Hence, he might have had the unofficial authority to take decisions on the kind of interrogation and on seeing this; the others would have felt that they are only respecting their superiors authority in joining hands to torture him. The only saving grace is McGuinness, who played a major part in this case by defending Butler. Butler was fortunate enough to acquire such a savior in his time of extreme distress. Not all defenders are so gutsy or articulate. It was only because of McGuiness skills and dedication that Brendon Butler was proved to be innocent. Usually, it is seen that in such cases, the conviction of an innocent is used by the system to maintain their pride. Though there are hues of a racial kind of movie of the likes of Cry Freedom, when one sees that the main interrogator who was instrumental in making Butler confess a crime he never did is himself a black man, the similarity ends there. The basic and most convincing underlying message is that of a deep and ingrained insincerity in the US administration in matters of justice and a business-like attitude towards the commercial progress of the country which makes them place it above everything else. Obviously, there are quite a lot of unanswered questions in this episode. A more sensitive and unbiased approach to such incidents would be the first step towards molding a perfectly upright society. References Dooley, B. and Delisi, M. , 2007-11-14 Racial Profiling: Rhetoric Or Reality? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, Georgia Online . 2009-05-23 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p201257_index.html

Skyscrapers, Damping Systems, and Physics :: physics buildings skyscraper architecture

Skyscrapers are amazing! Architectural defeats. Wonders of the world. How are they able to withstand even the strongest of winds and earthquakes? Today, engineers rely on damping systems to counteract nature's forces. There are many types of damping systems that engineers can now use for structures, automobiles, and even tennis rackets! This site focuses on damping systems in structures, mainly architectural variations of the tuned mass damper. How Tuned Mass Dampers Work A tuned mass damper (TMD) consists of a mass (m), a spring (k), and a damping device (c), which dissipates the energy created by the motion of the mass (usually in a form of heat). In this figure, M is the structure to which the damper would be attached. From the laws of physics, we know that F = ma and a = F/m. This means that when an external force is applied to a system, such as wind pushing on a skyscraper, there has to be an accleration. Consequently, the people in the skyscraper would feel this acceleration. In order to make the occupants of the building feel more comfortable, tuned mass dampers are placed in structures where the horizontal deflections from the wind's force are felt the greatest, effectively making the building stand relatively still. When the building begins to oscillate or sway, it sets the TMD into motion by means of the spring and, when the building is forced right, the TMD simultaneously forces it to the left. Ideally, the frequencies and amplitudes of the TMD and the structure should nearly match so that EVERY time the wind pushes the building, the TMD creates an equal and opposite push on the building, keeping its horizontal displacement at or near zero. If their frequencies were significantly different, the TMD would create pushes that were out of sync with the pushes from the wind, and the building's motion would still be uncomfortable for the occupants. If their amplitudes were significantly different, the TMD would, for example, create pushes that were in sync with the pushes from the wind but not quite the same size and the building would still experience too much motion. The effectiveness of a TMD is dependent on the mass ratio (of the TMD to the structure itself), the ratio of the frequency of the TMD to the frequency of the structure (which is ideally equal to one), and the damping ratio of the TMD (how well the damping device dissipates energy).

3COM FAST ETHERNET VS. GIGABIT ETHERNET COMPARISON :: essays research papers

ABSTRACT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper, we will conduct a comparison on Fast Ethernet Network Switches and Gigabit Ethernet Network Switches offered by 3COM. We will review a few specific components, as well as compare features, pricing and preferred usage. DEFINITION In order to have a greater understanding of the terminology and descriptions offered in this paper, we must first understand what a network switch is. A brief definition of a network switch is a computer networking device that connects network segments. It uses the logic of a Network bridge, but allows a physical and logical star topology. It is often used to replace network hubs. A switch is also often referred to as an intelligent hub. A switch can be used to make various connections. Ethernet, Token Ring, and various other types of packet switched network segments together to form a heterogeneous network operating at OSI Layer 2. Traditional Ethernets, in which all hosts compete for the same bandwidth, are called shared Ethernets. Switched Ethernets are becoming very popular because they are an effective and convenient way to extend the bandwidth of existing Ethernets. PRODUCTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3COM offers a wide variety of networking solutions. From Switches to Hubs to Gateways, 3COM is one of the frontrunners in the networking industry. In this comparison of Fast Ethernet Networks and Gigabit Ethernet Networks, before discussing the similarities with the various components and their respective operations, we must discuss the differences between the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fast Ethernet Network was developed as an upgrade to traditional Ethernet Networking. Fast Ethernet improved traditional Ethernet by increasing transfer rates 10 times, from 10 Megabit to 100 Megabit speed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gigabit Ethernet Network is an upgrade on Fast Ethernet Network equivalent to Fast Ethernet Networks improvement over Fast Ethernet Network, offering speeds of 1000 Megabits (1 Gigabit). Gigabit Ethernet was first made to travel over optical and copper cabling, but the 1000Base-T standard successfully supports it as well. 1000Base-T uses Category 5 cabling similar to 100 Mbps Ethernet, although achieving gigabit speed requires the use of additional wire pairs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, Gigabit Ethernet Networks can process Traditional, Fast, and Gigabit Ethernet transfer rates, as opposed to Traditional – Traditional and Fast – Traditional/Fast. The products will be reviewed by cost as well as functionality, comparing components most closely related to one another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  COMPONENTS 3COM OfficeConnect Dual Speed 5 Port Switch This switch is a member of 3COM’s OfficeConnect family of products. It is used primarily for small business and small offices.

The Road to Abolishing HUAC Essay -- ACLU American Civil Liberties Uni

The Road to Abolishing HUAC: A Comparison of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee The history of the United States in the twentieth century was significantly influenced by the actions of civil liberties organizations. However, during the reign of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s, civil liberties organizations compromised their principles and did not protest HUAC’s repression of civil liberties. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) purged its Communist members and sympathizers, condoned congressional investigating committees, and failed to defend individuals whose civil liberties had been abridged. Although the ACLU sought to censure McCarthy and called for the abolition of HUAC, its policies had shifted to the right and it rarely took direct action against HUAC. As a result, several former members of the ACLU created the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (ECLC) in 1951 to pick up the initiative dropped by the ACLU. Corliss Lamont, a fervent defender of civil liberties who left the ACLU for the ECLC, cla ims that he â€Å"remained on the Board [of the ALCU] and fought for fundamental civil liberties principles as long as [he] was able to†¦[but] was fighting a losing battle† (Freedom 278). By 1957, the ECLC dedicated its resources to abolishing HUAC but could not engage the ACLU in its campaign. One questions why the ECLC was active in the condemnation of HUAC in the 1950s, but the ACLU was not. Historians have cited anti-Communism within the Union, a desire to preserve its reputation, and the Union’s lack of resources as reasons why it was not involved in an abolition campaign. Research best supports the claim that the ACLU did not joi... ...LU. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1999. Samuel Walker is a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He earned a Ph.D. in American History and is the author of books on civil liberties, policing, and criminal justice. He is also a member of the ACLU and this book is recommended in Ellen Shrecker’s Age of McCarthyism. He claims the ACLU was inactive during the Cold War because of weak leadership, poor judgement, an effort to keep the ACLU free of communism, and the belief that cooperation with the government was the best way to defend civil liberties. That he is a member of the ACLU lends questions to the objectivity of his analysis; William Donohue notes that the book â€Å"demonstrates as much independence of thought as would a tract written by a senior member of the Pentagon on the history of the Department of Defense†.

Quality and Risk Scenario Essay

The HIM professional can have a direct impact on the quality or compliance of specific operations or employees within a healthcare institution. Healthcare institutions, such as hospitals, can be huge institutions made up of hundreds or even thousands of treatment or operation specific areas operation. This can include anything from the surgeon who performs coronary artery bypass to the neonatal intensive care nurse who directly cares for struggling newborns to the physical plant worker who makes sure all the lights in the building stay on and the operating room is maintained at a certain temperature. As an overall institution the thought of identifying risk and liability within the organization can be quite overwhelming and daunting. The best way to approach this is to break things down into specific issues or areas and focus on one thing at a time, with the overall goal to be improving quality and reducing risk to the institution. This paper will focus on three specific scenarios that represent an area of risk and liability for the institution. These three scenarios will include the safety of blood transfusions within a hospital, dealing with power failure risks within a hospital and using operational checklists to improve employee efficiency, consistency and reducing the human factor of making mistakes. Scenario one is to be specific to a scenario involving patient care and safety. The specific discussion here will be the use of blood transfusions within the hospital setting. This is a procedure that has been done for dozens of years even as medical science has made tremendous progress. The reality is that science just hasn’t found a synthetic way to carry oxygen through the blood stream and blood infusions still remain today the best way to do just that. While the best procedure out there for this, blood infusions don’t come without their risks and financial impacts. A study by the University Healthcare Consortium analyzed over 29,000 blood transfusions over a 7 year period from 2003-2009 (Williams, 2011). These transfusions ranged anywhere from scheduled routine outpatient surgeries to unexpected traumatic injuries brought in through the emergency room. The analysis identified many risks associated with blood transfusions, including poorly trained staff, lack of trained staff, minor hemolytic allergic reactions all the way up to severe anaphylactic reactions. The study was even able to identify that the time of day that the transfusion was performed could positively or negatively affect the patient outcome. So, while this can be a lifesaving procedure a blood transfusion should not be taken lightly. Another study published in the April, 2012 issue of the professional journal Anesthesiology was conducted by Johns Hopkins Hospital analyzing the outcomes of over 3000 patients who received blood transfusions. This study reveals that measuring the hemoglobin level in patients can be an accurate indicator of when a patient should receive a blood transfusion. This is a significant study because it could have a positive effect on both patient outcome and the financial costs involved in giving a blood transfusion. The Johns Hopkins study revealed that patients were being given blood transfusions when they really didn’t need it. A normal hemoglobin level ranges between 12-14 and the study reveals that a level as low as 7 or 8 is safe. Prior to this study the leading specialty societies, including the FOCUS research group (Functional Outcomes in Cardivascular patients Undergoing Surgury), set parameters that transfusions were definitely needed if the hemoglobin was below 7 and probably did not need a transfusion if the hemoglobin was 10 or above. But nobody ever set any parameters on what to do if the hemoglobin ranged between 7 and 10. This left the physician to decide when to start a blood transfusion. The Johns Hopkins study revealed that because of this most physicians always erred in the side of â€Å"safety† by ordering a transfusion any time the hemoglobin was at or below 10. But the Hopkins study has now determined that a hemoglobin of 7 or 8 can be considered safe. Giving blood to patients who have a hemoglobin above 7 shows no real benefit and truth is that the risk due to side effects may actually be increased. Remember that this procedure has been in place for decades and this new research was a game changer. The benefits to a hospital from the Hopkins study are tremendous. The study revealed that the costs to the hospital for one unit (300ml) of blood can cost as much as $1,100. While the donor gives the blood for free it must be analyzed for toxic diseases including Hepatitis and HIV (IMVS 2012). The blood is then separated into red blood cells, platelets and plasma, to be distributed specifically where needed. Include the storage and transportation costs and you can start to understand why blood is so expensive. Only giving blood when truly indicated has been shown to reduce the use of blood by up to 66% per institution with no change in outcomes to the patient including â€Å"length of stay, heart attack, stroke, death, and even the ability to walk† (Clark, 2012). This is where the HIM professional can come into play. The HIM can take research articles like this or even acquire their own research and then do training to educate the hospital staff. The Hopkins tudy indicated that when the HIM spoke directly with the surgeons and showed them the research there was a tendency to accept the new mindset and start delaying blood transfusions until the patient hemoglobin dropped below 7. This resulted in extra blood supply for those patients who truly need it and a significant reduced operating cost to the institution. It’s the HIM’s job to establish or change procedures that reflect changing and beneficial modalities and to get the information out to the hospital physicians and staff so they can help reduce institutional costs and ultimately benefit their own livelihood. This process can be done for hundreds or even thousands of processes currently in place within a hospital institution. Now we move on from our blood transfusion scenario to one involving the infrastructure of the hospital. The specific example to be used here is the hospital power supply. Hurricane Sandy revealed for many healthcare institutions in the north eastern United States that they were not as prepared as they thought. Some of these hospitals did have emergency generators in place, but they did no good for providing electricity when they were located in the basement of the building submerged in water from the flood. Sometimes it takes a real catastrophe for us to truly see how prepared we really are and how to improve. It’s crucial that a hospital be able to maintain electricity at all times. Almost every part of the building depends on electricity for staff to function and take care of their patients. Without electricity the lights won’t work, the furnace and air conditioners won’t work, the pumps won’t pump water through the pipes, ventilators will stop working and elevators won’t even be able to transfer sick patients between floors. These are some examples, but surely you can find many more failures if you look hard enough. For this reason, it is important that a hospital evaluate and have a plan in place to reduce the possibility of losing electricity and also have a plan in place if all safe guards fail. The concerns can truly be specific to a geographic area. For example, a hospital in the Midwest may not have to worry much about being hit by a hurricane, but it could be hit by a tornado. I spoke with hospital administrator Robyn Mazzolini at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois regarding how their hospital has addressed the issue of maintaining electricity to the facility. Robyn indicated that there were three specific issues of highest concern. They included the loss of power from the local utility company, flooding of the existing generators in the basement of the main hospital and damage from tornados. Robyn indicated that about ten years ago the hospital installed a generator in the basement of the main building that is capable of providing power to the entire ten story hospital, including all lights and HVAC. The problem was that the unit was very large and heavy and, as a result, had to be installed in the basement. A second generator was installed right next to the first to act as a backup generator should they lose power from the power company. These generators are also designed to operate on both natural gas or stored gasoline in the event the gas lines become compromised. This seemed to solve 90% of the scenarios that could come up. Then the neighboring community experienced a flood that shut down utilities for days and a few weeks in some areas. The hospital was concerned that they would be shut down in the event of a flood in their generator rooms in the basement. So, they added a third generator inside a remote area on the south perimeter of the hospital. This generator is located inside a concrete structure three floors above ground level. This is a smaller generator that will run specific areas in order for the hospital to stay functional. For example, this generator only supplies certain lights so that there is always enough visibility to operate. It also is designed to operate all electronics in the operating rooms, emergency room and critical care areas so there is no compromise to patient care. On the remaining medical floors there is one or two red colored electric outlets that operate off this third generator. In addition, this generator is not connected in any way to the basement level so that it can power the upper floors of the hospital even if the ground level is buried under 20 feet of water. The third generator is also enclosed in walls of reinforced concrete with the thought that it could withstand a tornado. It was the HIM and the HIT who were involved in the process to help determine the essential power needs of the hospital. The HIM evaluated the staff and the various facilities to determine that they could function treating most patients as long as there was one dedicated outlet within each patient room. The HIT also identified that the operating rooms, critical care areas and emergency room pretty much needed full power capabilities no matter what. The HIM and facilities managers both have a critical role in communicating the needs of the patients, staff and hospital to the engineers, administrators and building designers. And while Lutheran General Hospital was able to spend millions to prepare for a power disruption and pretty much covered every scenario, they still need to be ready to operate should all power to the facility cease. It is the HIM who can evaluate the various areas of the hospital based on resources, staffing and needs to determine the most critical issues to address first in the event of a total power failure. This takes a lot of time and energy and is probably an evolving process as conditions and resources change. But, in the end, it is the HIM professional who is able to connect all the dots to help bring the best solution for the organization. The third and final scenario presented here is related to staffing and how the HIM can help reduce risk and liability when it comes to the behavior of hospital staff. Hospital employees by their human nature are susceptible to making mistakes or forgetting to do certain things in the course of their patient care. Every health care institution, and any other business for that matter, strives to find ways to provide the best service possible to its customers. The challenge in improving service and reducing liability is finding a process that actually works. Ohio State University Medical Center found a way to improve the quality and consistency of patient care from its medical professionals. Ohio State did created a system of check lists to be used by hospital staff in their particular department and area of responsibility. So, there were many different checklists, but each employee only had one checklist that they were specifically responsible for. The University compared the outcome of over 3000 patients both before the check lists were used and then an additional 3000 plus patients after the checklists were used. The results were staggering. The study showed, for example, that the surgical death rate of patients decreased 47% when check lists were used compared to none used. Surgical infection rates were found to have decreased by 45%. These are dramatic results that clearly show a huge improvement in patient care and reduction of risk and liability. A possible cause for such improvement is that using checklists prevented medical staff from skipping a stop that could have caused a serious complication or infection. The aviation industry has proven that checklists work. When a pilot has a sudden engine failure there is plenty of room for panic and impulsive missed steps. This is why pilots are trained to immediately pull out their check lists, even if they have them memorized, and go systematically down the list to make sure that all steps are completed as indicated. This following of check lists has proven to significantly improve survivability of the aircraft during an emergency. The use of check lists seems to hold true for the health care industry, too, as the data clearly shows. The HIM plays a critical role in the development and rollout of these check lists to the various departments. The HIM must involve the hospital staff, managers and physicians in the process of developing a check list that easily and safely covers the needs of both the patient and the hospital. Once developed the HIM must develop and take the time to train the staff so that they understand the intent of the check lists as well as the individual steps and why they are to be completed. This training will ensure that the employees buy into the use of the check lists and choose to use them consistently with every patient. Theoretically, this should provide the same process and the same desired outcomes each time. Besides implementing the checklist program through training the HIM also plays an important role in developing a policy that says how the plan is to be implemented. Employees appreciate it when everything is clearly spelled out of what is expected of them. The HIM is in a position to deal with both the hospital administrator and the front line nurse who is physically caring for patients. This allows the HIM to obtain feedback and recommendations from all involved in the process and create or modify the plan as it is determined that changes need to take place. The HIM is possibly also in the best position to analyze the data to present the findings of the continued analysis to administrators to determine if the check list process is working or not. An example of a checklist that Ohio State University Medical Center used was the Pre-Op holding RN checklist that ends with transfer to the operating room RN checklist. Each nurse has specific duties to complete with their patient as they prepare them for their surgical procedure. The Pre-Op nurse can follow the check list to ensure that all required actions have indeed taken place. When transferring care to the operating room nurse the pre-op nurse passes on her check list to verify to the next nurse that everything has been completed properly. Each nurse is also required to ask the next receiving nurse if they have any questions. As you can see, this process really does maintain a high quality of continuity of care for the patients as they move throughout the various areas in the hospital during their stay. Cutting corners and skipping steps in the patient care process is significantly reduced if not completely eliminated and the HIM or HIT professional is involved all along in helping to create and improve the process within that hospital. This paper only discussed three scenarios in the process of seeking to maintain quality while reducing financial liability within a hospital environment. These processes can be used and applied towards the thousands of specific areas of responsibility that exist within a large health care facility like a hospital. The HIM professional really does play a crucial role in connecting the various departments and providers within a small or large healthcare institution. The HIM is in a position to know the pulse of the front line operations as well as the upper office administration’s intended direction going forward. The HIM professional can pull everyone together to compile data and make recommendations or changes that benefit the patient, the physicians and nurses, the facilities operators and even the top level administrators. There are few other individuals who are in such a good position to create such positive change. Quality HIM professionals will be in demand for many years to come.