Paranoid Personality Disorder (PDD)

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Paranoid Personality Disorder (PDD)

Paranoid Personality Disorder (PDD)

A Round of Recreational Therapy

IN THIS ARTICLE

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is one of a group of conditions called “Cluster A” personality disorders which involve odd or eccentric ways of thinking. People with PPD also suffer from paranoia, an unrelenting mistrust and suspicion of others, even when there is no reason to be suspicious.

This disorder usually begins by early adulthood and appears to be more common in men than in women.

What Are the Symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder?

People with PPD are always on guard, believing that others are constantly trying to demean, harm, or threaten them. These generally unfounded beliefs, as well as their habits of blame and distrust, might interfere with their ability to form close relationships. People with this disorder:

  • Doubt the commitment, loyalty, or trustworthiness of others, believing others are using or deceiving them
  • Are reluctant to confide in others or reveal personal information due to a fear that the information will be used against them
  • Are unforgiving and hold grudges
  • Are hypersensitive and take criticism poorly
  • Read hidden meanings in the innocent remarks or casual looks of others
  • Perceive attacks on their character that are not apparent to others; they generally react with anger and are quick to retaliate
  • Have recurrent suspicions, without reason, that their spouses or lovers are being unfaithful
  • Are generally cold and distant in their relationships with others, and might become controlling and jealous
  • Cannot see their role in problems or conflicts and believe they are always right
  • Have difficulty relaxing
  • Are hostile, stubborn, and argumentative

What Causes Paranoid Personality Disorder?

The exact cause of PPD is not known, but it likely involves a combination of biological and psychological factors. The fact that PPD is more common in people who have close relatives with schizophrenia suggests a genetic link between the two disorders. Early childhood experiences, including physical or emotional trauma, are also suspected to play a role in the development of PPD.

How Is Paranoid Personality Disorder Diagnosed?

If physical symptoms are present, the doctor will begin an evaluation by performing a complete medical and psychiatric history and, if indicated, a physical exam. Although there are no laboratory tests to specifically diagnose personality disorders, the doctor might use various diagnostic tests to rule out physical illness as the cause of the symptoms.

If the doctor finds no physical reason for the symptoms, they might refer the person to a psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a personality disorder.

How Is Paranoid Personality Disorder Treated?

People with PPD often do not seek treatment on their own because they do not see themselves as having a problem. When treatment is sought, psychotherapy (a form of counseling) is the treatment of choice for PPD. Treatment likely will focus on increasing general coping skills, as well as on improving social interaction, communication, and self-esteem.

Because trust is an important factor of psychotherapy, treatment is challenging since people with PPD have such distrust of others. As a result, many people with PPD do not follow their treatment plan.

Medication generally is not a major focus of treatment for PPD. However, medications, such as anti-anxiety, antidepressant or antipsychotic drugs, might be prescribed if the person’s symptoms are extreme, or if they also suffer from an associated psychological problem, such as anxiety or depression.

What Complications Are Associated With Paranoid Personality Disorder?

The thinking and behaviors associated with PPD can interfere with a person’s ability to maintain relationships, as well as their ability to function socially and in work situations. In many cases, people with PPD become involved in legal battles, suing people or companies they believe are “out to get them.”

What Is the Outlook for People With Paranoid Personality Disorder?

The outlook for people with PPD varies. It is a chronic disorder, which means it tends to last throughout a person’s life. Although some people can function fairly well with PPD and are able to marry and hold jobs, others are completely disabled by the disorder. Because people with PPD tend to resist treatment, the outcome often is poor.

Can Paranoid Personality Disorder Be Prevented?

Although prevention of PDD might not be possible, treatment can sometimes allow a person who is prone to this condition to learn more productive ways of dealing with situations.

 
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Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains

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Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains

Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains

Millions of artifacts from Native American cemeteries and other sacred locations are housed in museums globally. Human remains abound in those collections, the consequence of nearly a century of professional archeology and physical anthropology, hardly mentioning a considerably longer, interspersed history of collection by serious amateurs, tourists, and grave thieves. Human remains have been crucial in stitching together Native American societies’ biological and cultural histories (Licata, 2020). Most scholars interested in these artifacts despise the hobbyist collectors and scavengers; however, over the last twenty years, research scientists and museum professionals have found themselves at the heart of heated debates over the continuation of their own Native American materials-related endeavors.

Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains

The repatriation of human remains and sacred materials makes archeology increasingly political, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Australia, where indigenous people hold concerns over the removal of human remains from their burial sites. International and US laws have forced a change in perspectives and a significant cultural shift on the side of archeologists and museums regarding the repatriation of human remains, which will have a pervasive impact on archeology, indigenous communities, and the role and responsibilities of museums (Goldstein, 2015). Conclusively, archeology will remain within the confines of political influence.

(Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains)

Some Native American groups see the collection of human remains as part of a long history of political and racial abuses against the continent’s indigenous peoples. Researchers, on the other hand, argue that these physical relics are critical for unique data collection that offers insight into the past, demographics, and health of aboriginal peoples (Licata et al., 2020). Similarly, museum personnel contrast their facilities’ security and custodial care with unguarded (and lootable) reburial grounds. Towards the end of the 1980s, requests for the repatriation of human remains and sacred items to descendants were increasingly vociferous, prompting congressional hearings and federal action (Buikstra, 2017). The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which became law in 1990, established a new ethical norm in authority over the handling of human remains and holy artifacts. The essential principles are straightforward: burial grounds are sacred spaces that ought not to be disturbed; removing human remains from graves under any conditions is an act of desecration; remains taken out of graves must be returned to descendants, who possess the right to determine how ancestral remains and sacred artifacts will be handled (Buikstra, 2017). The obligation for researchers and institutions to return ownership of human remains to their closest ancestral or cultural relatives lies at the heart of NAGPRA’s regulatory framework (Buikstra, 2017). Those descendants may opt for remains to be reburied in the ground rather than in museum boxes, or they may select any alternative approach, including storage in a museum. The emphasis here is that the choice is entirely theirs.

The NAGPRA-mandated repatriation is a complex administrative process, but the ethical foundation is clear: Museums and universities do not hold the authority to regulate human remains; whenever a grave is disturbed, its nearest lineal or cultural descendants presume ownership and the right to choose the way those human remains should be handled (Buikstra, 2017). Although the majority of archaeologists and museum experts agree with this fundamental premise, conducting repatriation on a daily basis puts them in several legal and ethical binds. Despite NAGPRA prohibiting activity and disputes over repatriation raging on, time does not stand still, work must be completed, and researchers must continue with their jobs.

Research shows archeologists remain core advocates in the control and return of human remains and cultural property, although they still hold an interest in investigating the past through the lens of human remains. According to Fforde (2020), archeologists have a public responsibility to ensure the protection and return of human remains once they are studied. It is important to note that not only archeologists’ access indigenous cemeteries but also grave thieves and other looters. It is the archeologists’ interest to protect these sites from destruction and theft; hence they find themselves advocating for laws that limit operations at the burial sites. Archeologists hope that these policies and laws will counter and discourage illicit looting and archeological sites’ destruction (Bauer et al., 2016). However, so far these laws have not indicated clearly whether they have been effective in protecting the burial sites, although significant strides have been made in the control and repatriation of human remains. Archeologists also advocate for developing and implementing these laws from a moral perspective or lesson because they see them as appropriate measures to correct past injustices committed through colonization and imperial activities.

Archeologists aim to empower groups linked to human remains by advocating for repatriation, which has emerged as a significant moral concern in the international community (Bauer et al., 2016). Allowing Indigenous people to control their patrimony is a privileged right today, and it will act as the basis for negotiations of identities and an approach to mediate between historical perpetrators and victims (Licata et al., 2020). Archeologists join the criticism of the Western hegemonic power structures that were dominant in the world in the 19th and 20th centuries and which facilitated the looting and removal of human remains from their indigenous settings (Bauer et al., 2016). Postcolonial criticism is perceived as a way archeologists show respect for other people’s culture and history and somehow as sympathy for the less powerful.

(Repatriating Indigenous Human Remains)

Research concludes that the repatriation of human remains will remain a subject of discussion and at the heart of archeology. Human remains maintain their dignity regardless of how back they date and allow the community to reflect on the ethical issues associated with their removal from burial sites and their analysis, curation, and display in public (Licata et al., 2020). Archeologists should continue to give voice to multiple approaches and identity-shared routes on managing human remains, ensuring they are treated with dignity and that individuals involved respect the cultural values of the communities. Human remains should be treated as culturally sensitive materials, acquired and handled with respect regardless of how old they are or whether they can legitimately be proven of their descendants. There should be increased awareness of the ethical issues and guidelines attached to the repatriation of human remains and ensure the respect of human dignity and cultural values. Conclusively, the discussion should continue to devise ways and solutions to this sensitive matter.

References

Bauer, A. A., Lindsay, S., & Urice, S. (2016). When theory, practice, and policy collide, why do archaeologists support cultural property claims? In Archaeology and Capitalism (pp. 45-58). Routledge.

Buikstra, J. E. (2017). Repatriation and bioarchaeology: Challenges and opportunities. Bioarchaeology, 411-438.

Fforde, C. (2020). Vermillion accord on human remains (1989)(indigenous archaeology). In Encyclopedia of global archaeology (pp. 11016-11019). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://archaeologicalethics.org/book/vermillion-accord-on-human-remains-1989-indigenous-archaeology-reference-work/

Goldstein, L. (2015). Archaeology, Politics of. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.13024-7

Licata, M., Bonsignore, A., Boano, R., Monza, F., Fulcheri, E., & Ciliberti, R. (2020). Study, conservation, and exhibition of human remains: the need of a bioethical perspective. Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis, 91(4), e2020110. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i4.9674

 
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Personal Worldview

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Personal Worldview

 NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview

Personal worldview encompasses basic assumptions and concepts people have of the world. Personal worldviews offer structure to people’s thoughts and influence their actions. Personal worldviews might offer answers to core issues, including finding meaning and purpose in life, perception of good and evil, and the belief in a higher power. Personal worldview accounts for the majority of a person’s identity, including their political identity. Worldviews are highly dependent on religion, culture, and spirituality. This paper discusses personal worldview, a nursing theory that aligns with the personal worldview, examples in practice in relation to the personal worldview and nursing theory, and how the worldview and the nursing theory can help future practice development.

Personal Worldview

Personal Worldview

My personal worldview is greatly influenced by Christianity, family values and practices, life experience, and the American culture. Christianity is central to my personal values, beliefs, and practices, and my spirituality is based on the Christian faith and doctrine. There is a definite way Christians view things, which possesses character, coherence, and unity and sharply contrasts with other religions, theories, and speculations (Dockery et al., 2022). The Christian worldview influences my reasoning and view of reality. The Christian worldview is founded on a universal principle, and it is all-embracing, shaping other multiple fields, including law, history, arts, humanities, social sciences, and the general application in life. I have applied the Christian worldview all my life, including across the educational curriculum, given that I was born in a Christian family. The Christian worldview challenges how I view the truth and morality, and interpret frameworks, including the teaching of Christ. As a Christian, I am expected to love others, which is considered the Greatest Commandment, as I love myself with all my heart, soul, and mind because God’s love for people is unconditional (Rieg et al., 2019). I follow Jesus’ footsteps, striving to embrace his life on earth, including loving His enemies. Loving others unconditionally has been instrumental in shaping my relationship with others, including patients and colleagues at the practice site. I am also taught to care for others and extend a helping hand where I can. I adopt these principles when caring for patients, treating everyone with dignity and respect.

My spirituality entails faith, meaning in life, belonging, forgiveness, and connectedness, which are highly influenced by the Christina faith. I have struggled sometimes to find meaning in life, experiencing spiritual distress, but I find comfort within the confines of Christian teachings and principles. I adopt my spirituality to relieve suffering from others and self, especially patients who indicate signs of spiritual distress (Wisconsin Technical College, 2023). Christianity embraces everyone and stresses Christians love their neighbors, which makes it possible to utilize my spirituality to empower another individual’s spirituality, even when it’s different from mine without conflict (Dockery et al., 2022). The basic principles of my spirituality are treating everyone with inherent dignity, respect, and worth, which is applicable across all forms of spirituality. My spirituality allows me to treat others compassionately and provide holistic care, including physical, emotional, social, religious, and spiritual well-being.

Cultural elements in my worldview have roots in my family background, which is also Christian. My parents taught me to respect others and treat everyone indifferently. These aspects have been significant in helping me develop and experience relationships with self, family, friends, colleagues, patients, community, and nature. The cultural values and practices learned from my family have shaped how I view the world, places to find meaning in life, understanding of suffering, illness, and life in general, and developing vision and mission for my life. I intend to continue utilizing these aspects of religion, spirituality, and culture in practice and patient care.

Nursing Theory that Aligns with Personal Philosophy

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring aligns with my personal philosophy of practice and approach to patient care. I adopt this theory as it embraces the positive energy flow from an intertwined mind, body, and spirit, which is mutually rewarding to the healthcare provider and the patient. The theory stresses that the nurse’s central role is to be at the heart of healing, maintaining an authentic presence and intentionality to optimize the patient’s capacity to heal from within (Gunawan et al., 2022). The theory, just like my personal philosophy, stresses the need for holistic care, which involves catering for the patient’s physical, emotional, psychological, religious, and spiritual needs (Nikfarid et al., 2019). It guides me in maintaining emotional sensitivity and a caring attitude in an overly demanding and stressful workplace.

I value caring for others because it helps regenerate life energies that potentiate my compassion capacity. Caring for others also helps me toward self-actualization, individually and professionally, which is also a concept of the theory of human caring. I am selfless, but I also understand that to care for others effectively, I should embrace self-care, which Watson’s theory promotes. It encourages nurses to practice self-healing by adopting self-care strategies to rejuvenate their energies and replenish the spiritual bank (Gunawan et al., 2022). Conclusively, most of the principles of human caring align with my personal philosophy in nursing practice and reinforce my approach to care.

A Specific Example of a Past Practice and How My Worldview and The Nursing Theory Could Assist Me in Resolving This Issue

My life experiences impact my personal philosophy and view of the world. My life has been eventful, and one particular example I would use would be watching a patient’s health deteriorate on my watch even after adopting almost entirely available interventions. It does not happen often, but I have had these experiences severally throughout my career. Such an example included a patient who presented with symptoms of kidney failure and abdominal edema. The patient experienced excess swelling as the kidney was unable to remove the excess fluid from the body. The condition was significant, and we started the patient on medication to help alleviate the edema. It was impossible to carry out a biopsy before addressing the excessive swelling. However, as the patient received treatment, she experienced more complications, including blood clots that made her veins swell and body unable to maintain optimal potassium and phosphorus levels. This experience was distressing, and I developed a feeling of inadequacy because there is nothing we did seemed to work. In such cases of distress, my Christian worldview is fundamental as it helps alleviate the distress and maintain a positive attitude, giving the patient hope for a better outcome. The human caring theory requires nurses to be present emotionally and maintain intentionality, which is integral in helping the patient heal from within (Gunawan et al., 2022). These principles would encourage me to be there for the patient regardless of her response to treatment.

How My Worldview and The Nursing Theory Will Assist in Further Developing my Future Practice

My primary goals as a nurse are to provide quality care to patients, optimize current patient care approaches and practices, and advocate for more holistic and individualized patient care. These goals call for high moral values, a positive attitude, compassion, respect for patients and colleagues, and individual discipline, principles I can borrow from my personal philosophy. To advocate for patients, a nurse must be empathetic, compassionate, and caring. A nurse must be present emotionally and physically to understand patient needs to promote care that centers on these needs and support them through their difficult journey. The theory of human caring will help actualize these goals as it provides principles that promote human caring, including practicing loving kindness with self and others, inspiring and honoring others, nurturing individual beliefs, listening authentically, accepting positive and negative feelings, and creating a healing environment (Gunawan et al., 2022). I also expect to continue developing my career readiness and professional experience. Continuing education is integral in improving patient care practice. I will continue to embrace my personal philosophy, which is highly guided by the Christian worldview, and Jean Watson’s theory of human caring in my current and future practice.

Conclusion

Personal worldview provides a structure of reasoning and action and influences relationships in the practice environment. I base my personal philosophy on Christian worldview and faith and family values I learned from my parents. Jean Watson’s theory significantly aligns with my personal philosophy of practice and patient care and reinforces my approach to care. My personal philosophy and the theory of human caring are integral to my individual and professional development and will continue to shape the course of my future practice.

References

Dockery, D. S. (2022). Shaping A Christian Worldview: An Introduction (Part I). Union University. https://www.uu.edu/centers/faculty/teaching/article.cfm?ID=364

Gunawan, J., Aungsuroch, Y., Watson, J., & Marzilli, C. (2022). Nursing Administration: Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Nursing science quarterly, 35(2), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/08943184211070582

Nikfarid, L., Hekmat, N., Vedad, A., & Rajabi, A. (2019). The main nursing metaparadigm concepts in human caring theory and Persian mysticism: a comparative study. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 11, 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150916/

Rieg, L. S., Newbanks, R. S., & Sprunger, R. (2019). Caring from a Christian Worldview: Exploring Nurses’ Source of Caring, Faith Practices, and View of Nursing. Journal of Christian nursing : a quarterly publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship, 35(3), 168–173. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000474

Wisconsin technical College. (2023). 18.2 basic concepts – Nursing fundamentals. WI Technical Colleges Open Press – Publishing open resources for students. https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/chapter/18-2-basic-concepts/

 
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Trade Policy

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Trade Policy

Trade policy

ECO 615 Week 6 Final Research Paper

Trade policy has been greatly influenced by economists, who also offer a compelling case for free trade and the elimination of trade obstacles. Even though the goal of a trade agreement is to liberalize trade, domestic and international political realities have a significant impact on the actual provisions. The world has changed significantly since David Ricardo originally put forward the law of comparative advantage, and economists have recently updated their theories to take into account trade in production variables like capital and labor, the expansion of supply chains that now account for a large portion of global trade, and the achievement of neo-mercantilist nations in accomplishing rapid growth. This paper puts forward an argument in support of the comparative advantage theory’s influence in supporting globalization and enabling international trade.

Trade Policy

Comparative Advantage Theory

Global commerce and trade have gradually changed over the past few decades, and many developing countries have adopted export-led industrial development strategies and grown in importance as trading partners for countries with advanced economies. For instance, the East Asian countries that have seen rapid industrialization since the early 1960s and have improved their populations’ living conditions and overall national strength have benefited most from these policies, especially Japan and the Four Asian Tigers (Krist, 2022). The East Asian marvel model of this region’s economic growth techniques emphasizes the importance of swift integration into the global supply chain and encouraging exports of domestically produced goods. Comparative advantage theory helps understand this trajectory and how countries ensure sustainability in international trade.

Comparative advantage theory focuses on a country’s ability to produce a specific good or service at a lower opportunity cost than other countries or trade partners. The theory explains why countries, especially weaker economies, can benefit from trade with advanced economies like US, UK, and Germany (Krist, 2022). When adopted to understand international trade, comparative advantage theory describes products that countries can offer more cheaply and easily than others, illustrating the benefits of trade. It is a fundamental provision of the argument that all actors, in all situations and in all periods, can mutually benefit from each other in a cooperative and voluntary trade. Comparative advantage theory is a fundamental principle of international trade theory.

Understanding comparative advantage theory involves understanding opportunity cost, which is the probable benefit a country can lose out when they select one option over the other. Everyone wants the best deal, and countries as traders understand this and take advantage of it. For instance, when a country seeks to outsource labor, the most suitable destination is East Asian countries, where cheap labor is available compared to European countries. Opportunity cost can also be thought of as the best available option on a trade-off basis (Hayes, 2023). To demonstrate comparative advantage, David Ricardo used England and Portugal and showed that both benefited mutually by specializing and trading per their comparative advantage. In this illustration, Portugal made wine cheaply, and England manufactured cheap cloths. Therefore, Ricardo concluded that “a country would stop producing a product that is costly to generate and focus on the product they have a comparative advantage” (Krist, 2022). It was the case when England stopped producing wine and Portugal terminated cloth manufacturing, which was to the advantage of both countries, resorting to trading with each other. This case clearly indicates how comparative advantage facilitates globalization and international trade.

China’s trade with the US is another example of comparative advantage involving cheap labor. China has captured a significant share of the US market by producing simple consumer goods at a lower opportunity cost due to the availability of cheaper labor. Unlike China, the US’s comparative advantage is in labor specialization and capital-intensive labor (Hayes, 2023). Most industries in the US produce sophisticated goods at a lower opportunity cost. Therefore, both countries have significant market shares in either market environments, meaning that people in the US can access cheaper and simple goods from China, and Chinese people can access more sophisticated products like the iPhone from the US.

The comparative advantage theory demonstrates the unsuccessful protectionism most countries have attempted to adopt to protect local industries because cheaper and more available products and services will always find their way into a country. Most countries have removed themselves from international trade agreements like the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which works well for the local market through increased jobs and industry growth (Krist, 2022). However, this approach is short-term and unsustainable in the long term because, at some point, a country experiences a disadvantage relative to the neighbors or trading partners already producing the products or offering services at a lower cost. Countries cannot survive without each other, and eventually, the US will enter another trade agreement with the same or different countries with relative comparative advantage (“The theory of comparative advantage,” 2019). Countries engaged in international trade begin by identifying trading partners with comparative advantages so that the trading relationship can be mutually beneficial.

The comparative advantage theory justifies globalization because countries can possess greater material outcomes when producing only goods they have comparative advantage and trading with partners, although it is vital not to overspecialize. For instance, China and South Korea have gained significant productivity through economic specialization in particular export-focused industries where they enjoy comparative advantage (Hayes, 2023). Comparative advantage enhances production efficiency by focusing on tasks and goods one can generate cheaply and easily and importing products that are costly and time-consuming to produce. Eliminating less-efficient production increases a country’s or organization’s margins.

Adopting the comparative advantage theory allows countries to trade even when one country possesses an absolute advantage in generating all the traded products and services, per Ricardo’s observations. For instance, the US can trade with nations like Burundi, although the US can produce all traded goods cheaply (Bashir et al., 2023). Trade takes place because of comparative advantage and relative efficiency. The total production increases, and consumers have more goods to use when countries specialize in products they have a comparative advantage. Focusing on factors of production, comparative advantage theory, as enhanced by Bertil Heckscher and Eli Ohlin, looks at what factor of production a country has in abundance. Therefore, a country would produce more of a product in which it has a relative abundance of a factor of production and import goods and services where it has relatively less abundance of a factor of production (Krist, 2022). The England-Portugal example can also be used in this case. Cloth production is cost-intensive, and England was able to specialize in it because it has relatively abundant capital. Similarly, wine production is labor intensive, and Portugal managed to specialize in it because it has relatively abundant labor. Therefore, both countries would benefit more if they freely traded, whereas England would export clothes and import wine. This approach maximizes efficiency, increasing the total production of both wine and cloths; hence there would be more available for consumers to utilize. This theory is also true in scenarios involving multiple products and multiple countries.

Most economists, including Dominick Salvatore, perceive the theory of comparative advantage as fundamental. Salvatore, in his book, International Economics, posits that “comparative advantage theory is one of the most significant and remains an unchallenged law in economics” (Krist, 2022). It is the cornerstone of international trade and other principles for international trade. Besides capital and labor, the comparative advantage theory holds for other factors of production like natural resources and technology, although these have divided discussions because some countries produce goods cheaply, although they import raw materials than it would for the country producing the raw materials. Additionally, factors of production can change with time, impacting comparative advantage (Krist, 2022). For instance, countries with cheap labor can enhance their education system to produce a highly skilled labor force. Conclusively, although comparative advantage holds for most factors of production, it is not constant, and countries can enhance their comparative advantage.

In concluding the argument for comparative advantage, the theory holds that all nations can benefit from free trade because specializing in what a country is good at increases production efficiency and total production, availing more goods and services for consumer utilization. Countries identify partners with comparative advantages and develop trade agreements that focus on streamlining trade relationships by, for instance, creating free trade policies, including reducing foreign barriers to imports and exports and helping strengthen more competitive industries that can provide a more comparative advantage, shifting focus from less productive activities to more economic ones.

Opposition

Oppositions to comparative advantage theory criticize it for basing primarily on the labor theory of value. The assumption of labor cost is deemed unrealistic because only labor costs are involved in determining comparative advantage when in reality, non-labor costs are also vital in producing goods and services (Meoqui, 2021). Money costs, rather than labor costs, should be the basis of this determination because national and international transactions on goods and services are based on money costs. The labor cost assumption is also based on homogenous labor, which is highly unrealistic because labor is typically heterogenous, with different levels of grades.

The free trade assumption is also argued to be unrealistic. The opposition asks why some countries continue to be poor and others enrich themselves through trade relations (Chand, 2019). Take the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example because this nation continues to languish in poverty despite being the most mineral-rich country in the world, while advanced economies acquiring minerals from it continue to enrich themselves by turning the minerals into pricy finished goods. The DRC continues to remain poor at the expense of others, raising concerns about the theory of comparative advantage in regard to factors of production, in this case, raw materials.

The opposition also argues that the determination of comparative advantage cannot be based on similar tastes because tastes differ within a country’s different income brackets, and most countries’ economies grow, changing their trade developments and relationships with other countries. Widely, the comparative advantage theory assumes that costs remain static for the products and services a country specializes in (Chand, 2019). Specialization means increasing production, hence a parallel increase in production costs, which are unaccounted for in the theory’s assumptions.

Moreover, the theory does not account for other costs, including transport costs, that are a significant determinant in international trade. Ricardo does not consider transport costs when determining comparative advantage in international trade. Transport costs are core in determining world trade patterns. It is an independent factor of production like the others. For example, high transport costs can nullify a country’s comparative advantage and gains from international trade. Also, Ricardo’s model adopts the relationship between two countries and two commodities, focusing on the example of England and Portugal, which is unrealistic because international trade involves multiple countries and multiple products. Additionally, the theory assumes full employment like other classical economic theories, which makes this theory static (Chand, 2019). According to Keynes, full employment is not ideal, and most economies experience underemployment. Some economists argue that the theory does not apply in a country that seeks to protect its self-interest, therefore, choosing not to import a commodity from another country for strategic or military considerations (Chand, 2019). The existence of self-interest opposes the theory of comparative advantage. Conclusively, the opposition provides that most comparative advantage theory assumptions are unrealistic and fail to capture the realism of international trade.

Refutation

The concerns about the theory of comparative advantage are genuine and, in most instances, depict deficiencies in most assumptions. However, economists defending this theory counter critics by stressing that the opposition cannot base their argument on Ricardo’s initial development and example used to illustrate the theory, which was based on a two-country, two-commodity relationship (Krist, 2022). For instance, when the critics argue the theory is unrealistic for using the two-countries, two-commodities relationship, economists like Bertil Heckscher and Eli Ohlin come forward to show that the theory can apply for multiple countries and multiple products and also to other factors of production, including raw materials (Krist, 2022). The theory has been enhanced over the years to include concepts like relative abundance to increase its generality. Currently, the theory holds equally well for other production factors, countering concerns about unrealistic labor and transport cost assumptions.

In fact, economists continue to highly regard the comparative advantage theory, considering it as imperative and unchallenged and remains the cornerstone of the pure international trade theory. The arguments for this theory state that factor endowment may change over time, giving room for theory enhancement to fit the changes in the international market (Krist, 2022). Additionally, countries continue to adopt this theory to inform their trade partnership decisions, implying that the theory is still relevant and significant in international trade. Nonetheless, the critics cannot be overlooked, and can only be adopted to make the theory better in promoting equal and just international trade patterns.

Conclusion

Economic theories help explain how the economies work, describing various economic forces and variables that affect trading patterns. Countries might unintentionally decide irrationally on who to engage without a proper understanding of economic theories. Comparative advantage is an economic theory that helps understand international trade and how countries mutually benefit even when one country has an advanced economy and the other is still developing. Comparative advantage theory states that countries would specialize in producing and offering products or services they have a comparative advantage. This approach enhances production efficiency, which increases total production, and customers can access more goods and services. The opposing side critic the theory perceiving its assumptions as unrealistic, but these critics can be adopted to enhance the theory. Additionally, other theories have come in defense of the comparative advantage theory, stating that it can also apply to other factors of production and there is room for enhancement as the economies change.

References

Bashir, M. A., Dengfeng, Z., Radulescu, M., Secara, C. G., Staciu-Tolea, C., & Gong, Z. (2023). Sustainable FDI and comparative advantage for product export survival: A developing countries perspective. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2022.2164035

Chand, S. (2019). Comparative Costs Theory: Assumptions and Criticisms | Economics. Your Article Library. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/economics/comparative-costs-theory-assumptions-and-criticisms-economics/11069/

Hayes, A. (2023, November 19). What is comparative advantage? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/comparativeadvantage.asp#

Krist, W. (2022). Chapter 3: Trade agreements and economic theory. Wilson Center.https://www.wilsoncenter.org/chapter-3-trade-agreements-and-economic-theory

Machado, P. S., & Trigg, A. B. (2021). On absolute and comparative advantage in international trade: A Pasinetti pure labour approach. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 59, 375-383.

Meoqui, J. M. (2021). Overcoming absolute and comparative advantage: A reappraisal of the relative cheapness of foreign commodities as the basis of international trade. Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 43(3), 433-449.

The theory of comparative advantage. (2019). Four Central Theories of the Market Economy, 73-124. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315543109-3

 
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User Interface Design

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User Interface Design

Table of Contents

Project Outline. 3

Project Site Description. 3

Project Purpose and Discussion Topics. 3

User Interface Technical Requirements. 4

Kiosk Requirements. 4

Smart Devise Requirements. 5

User Interface Human Interaction Requirements. 6

Kiosk Interaction Requirements. 6

Smart Device Interaction Requirements. 7

User Interface Design Prototypes. 8

Kiosk Application. 8

Mobile Application. 9

Usability Test Questionnaire. 12

Section 1: User Demographic Information. 12

Section 2: Usability Questions. 12

Section 3: Application Function Specific Questions. 14

Section 4: Comments. 15

Usability Instruction Guide. 16

Usability Test Results. 17

 

User Interface Design

 Project Outline

Project Site Description

The project focuses on tourist attractions and things to do in Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is among the most beautiful tourist destinations in Arizona, with multiple activities to engage in and tourist attraction sites. The sceneries are stunning, and the views are outstanding across the whole region when walking, driving, or hiking. Sedona is often referred to as a spiritual center because of its energy vortexes. Tourists with different interests can have fun in the city because of its unique vibe. Multiple attractions are present, ranging from scenic natural areas and Native American ruins to galleries, sacred cities, and architecture. Tourists can engage in many activities in Sedona, including mountain biking, hiking, and stargazing, which are free.

For those who want to stay longer, which is worthwhile, there is adequate accommodation, with price ranges suitable for all classes of people. For those staying longer than a day, a trip to the Grand Canyon or Flagstaff is recommended. The most popular tourist attractions include cathedral rock, uptown Sedona, Red Rock Scenic Byway, Oak Creek Canyon scenic drive, hiking trails, jeep tours, Chapel of the Holy Cross, mountain biking trails, Vortexes, Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon, a day trip to the Grand Canyon, Slide Rock State Park, Palatki Ruins, Red Rock Crossing and Crescent Moon Picnic Site, Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village, Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park, 1st Friday in the Art Galleries, and Airport Mesa.

Project Purpose and Discussion Topics 

In a place like Arizona, it would be convenient if tourists can find their way around without needing a tour guide or asking around too much. Therefore, web applications like the Tourist Kiosk application are designed to help tourists find their way around using either their computers, laptops, or smartphones. The application will include attractions and activities such as restaurants, shops, transportation, real estate, entertainment, services, and many others. The major discussion points in the project include user interface technical requirements and user interface human interaction requirements for both the kiosk and the smart device, user interface design prototypes, usability test questionnaire, usability instruction guide, and usability test results.

User Interface Technical Requirements

Kiosk Requirements

The web application will be accessible through a computer, either a desktop or a laptop. The first prototype for the Tourist Kiosk will be developed per the following technical requirements. User insights are invited during the usability test of the prototype and additional requirements will be adopted in designing and developing the final product. Technical requirements for the kiosk include:

  • Operating System
    • Windows requirements: Windows 8 or later
    • Mac requirements: macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later
    • Linux requirements: 64-bit, Ubuntu 14.04+, Debian 8+, openSUSE 13.3+, or Fedora Linux 24+
  • Processor
    • Windows requirements: Intel Pentium 4 or later
    • Mac requirements: Intel
    • Linux requirements: Intel Pentium 4 or later
  • Memory: 2 GB minimum, 4 GB recommended
  • Screen Resolution: 1280×1024 or larger
  • Application window size: 1024×680 or larger
  • Internet connection: WIFI, LAN, modem, tethered.

(User Interface Design)

Smart Devise Requirements

The phone device will be available for Android devices and iPhones to ensure scalability. The requirements provided below are for the first prototype, which will be tested for usability, and in case of additional user requirements, like a call to expand specifications to cover more mobile devices, the specifications will be updated and integrated into the design of the final application. Technical requirements for smart devices include:

  • iOS and Phone requirements
    • iOS version >13
    • Phone hardware specifications: iPhone 6s onwards
  • Android OS and Phone Version
    • Android version >6.0.1
    • Phone hardware specifications:
      • ARM64, X86_64
      • Min 1GB RAM
      • Min Screen size: 5 inches
    • Provider web portal
      • Google Chrome (use latest version)
      • Firefox (use latest version)
      • Microsoft Edge (use latest version)
      • Minimum Resolution: 1024-pixel width

User Interface Human Interaction Requirements

Schneiderman’s eight golden rules of human interface interaction will guide the development of the Tourist kiosk. The design of the application will strive for consistency, consider universal usability, provide informative feedback, prevent errors, ensure action referrals, promote internal locus of control, and minimize short-term memory load. These rules will also be adopted during usability testing of the UI. The design seeks to ensure the application has simple task structures, visible controls, and correct mapping, is aesthetic and minimalistic, and promotes efficiency of use.

  • Regarding general interactivity for the kiosk and the smart device, the design will ensure consistency, provide meaningful feedback, require authentication, promote easy reversal of actions, minimize information that should be remembered, excuse mistakes, ensure context sensitivity, and utilize simple verbs and short phrases on controls.
  • The information displayed will be necessary and minimal to allow rapid navigation, labels and controls will be standard, colors probable, and visuals appropriate and not distractive. Tabs will be used to classify or categorize different information.
  • On data entry, the application will ensure fewer data input actions, steady information display and data input, and users can turn on their favorite input mode. Also, unsuitable demands per the context will be disabled and the user will be in control of the interaction. Help will be available for all input actions.

Kiosk Interaction Requirements

Developing the user interface for the tourist kiosk takes into perspective what the user values most when using an application or website and their perception of what the application should center on. Multiple principles guide the development of a user interface, especially ease of navigation, comfortable to use, and use of appropriate visuals and controls for the application to enhance user experience (Microsoft, 2022). The behavior and the UI of the application or site will be based on the what “feeling” the user gets from using the app. It will not be about how good-looking the application is but rather the great work it will perform in guiding tourists around Sedona. When designing the tourist kiosk user interface, these basic principles and guidelines will be adopted: spacing and positioning, size, grouping, and intuitiveness.

The design will ensure a professional-looking dialogue with proper spacing and appropriately placed controls. The labels will be aligned with the text baseline of the text boxes and other controls around them (Microsoft, 2022). Size consideration is fundamental when designing the UI. The design will ensure buttons are of perfect height and width, making it easy for users to notice them without fail. The third guideline is on grouping controls, and the design will employ intuitive grouping to make the controls easier to use. Tab controls will be used to group controls. Finally, the design will consider intuitiveness, which is imperative for a greater user experience. When designing tourist kiosk UI, color coding will be adopted to make navigation easier. It will enhance the recognition of texts using colors. The UI will contain easy-to-understand language and limited wording of controls.

Smart Device Interaction Requirements

The design of the smartphone or mobile user interface considers that tourists expect an almost perfect experience in their destination areas. To help tourists navigate Sedona with ease, the smartphone or mobile user interface will use well-known screens to help them feel comfortable when using the site or app. For instance, “Getting Started” and “Search Results” are among well-known screens that can be used (Baloh, 2023). The design will also ensure minimal clutter to enhance comprehension and eliminate anything unnecessary on the website or app. Gradual disclosures will be used, and additional information elements will be used. The design will also make interactive elements familiar and predictable for users. Because smartphone users depend solely on touch, the design will prioritize making controls accessible through familiarity and predictability. These design guidelines will enhance the tourist experience in Sedona.

User Interface Design Prototypes

The following prototypes represent the first design features of the kiosk and mobile applications:

Kiosk Application

For the Kiosk application, tourists are required to log in or sign up if they do not have an account. After signing in, users can engage with other pages and see some things to engage in in Sedona as tourists. There are categories, including attractions, activities, entertainment and family activities, arts and history, and fun activities, including sports, cycling, hiking, and drives. There is a category for people’s recommendations, which entails some images tourists can share on the website when reviewing it. To see what is under attractions, users will click on the attractions button to open up options. It is the case for the other categories. The buttons are links to options available for the specific category. For instance, if a tourist wants to see sporting activities, they will click the “Sports, cycling, hiking & drives” button or section. Each category is a link to its specific page with more details, including locations, maps, prices, and ratings of the various options. The information will make it easier for tourists to make their decisions on where to go based on their interests and budget. There is a category for the events calendar highlighting some events and dates specific to Sedona tourists might be interested in while there.

Mobile Application

The mobile application is a little different from the kiosk application, including its layout. The tourist will still be required to log in or sign up if they are using the application for the first time. After logging in, the tourist is taken to the “Things to Do” page with various categories of what to engage in while in Sedona. Categories include attractions and activities, restaurants and accommodations, entertainment and family, arts and history, sports, cycling, hiking, and drives. The user will have to click on a category to open a specific page for that category, which includes options and information specific to the options, including a map or location, prices, and ratings. Users can click on the “120 Posts” and similar buttons to view some of the images posted on the site.

Usability Test Questionnaire

Sedona’s Tourist Kiosk Questionnaire Purpose

The questionnaire intends to collect user perspectives on using the kiosk to determine the usability and functionality aspects of the first design prototype. The questionnaire results will help decide which features to maintain and which features to improve or remove when developing the final prototype. The aim is to develop a user-friendly kiosk by comprehensively adopting recommended user requirements in the design.

Section 1: User Demographic Information

The kiosk targets all tourists from all countries visiting Sedona. The application is age-fluid and suitable for tourists of all ages. The application also takes into consideration differences in nationalities, gender, age, language, religion, and cultures of tourists visiting Sedona. Therefore, people from different backgrounds can adopt the kiosk for easy navigation while in Sedona. Statistically, 90% of tourists visiting Sedona are from the United States, 35% of which are from Sedona and 14% from California (Sedona Visitor Information Center, n.d.). Tourists mostly visit Uptown (79%) and Oak Creek Canyon (74%) (Sedona Visitor Information Center, n.d.). Tourists who value sustainability practices are the majority, and their needs will be well addressed within the kiosk through specific destination recommendations. Generally, the kiosk suits all tourists interested in coming to Sedona.

(User Interface Design)

Section 2: Usability Questions

Participants are required to fill the following questionnaire by ticking a box that correspond with their rating of a specific usability question or statement.

On a scale of 1-5 (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree), how would you rate the following statements about the kiosk?

Strongly Disagree Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Agree
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. The kiosk was easy to learn
2. The kiosk was easy to use
3. The kiosk was unnecessarily complex
4. The functions were well integrated
5. The functions were consistence
6. I felt confident using the kiosk
7. I effectively completed my tasks
8. The error messages were helpful
9. The language is easy to understand
10. The instructions provided were helpful
11. I like the user interface of the kiosk
12. I felt comfortable using the kiosk
13. The features are well-organized
14. The kiosk has all functions and capabilities I needed
15. Overall, I was satisfied with the kiosk

 

Section 3: Application Function Specific Questions

Participants are required to complete the following questions by ticking a box that correspond with their answer to a specific question or statement.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Agree
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. Tabs, buttons, and instructions are well-labelled
2. I liked the layout
3. Pages are well-labelled and easy to navigate
4. It is easy to click buttons
Users are required to provide opinions on the following questions
5. Describe your overall experience with the kiosk
6. What did you like most about the kiosk?
7. What surprised you most about the kiosk?
8. What, if anything, made you frustrated?
9. How frequently would you use the kiosk?

Section 4: Comments

Participants are required to provide additional information or feedback they felt was not covered in the questionnaire and would like to share with the design team. Participants can also share their overall perspectives about the kiosk, including what they liked and did not like, and provide recommendations.

Usability Instruction Guide

Usability Test Results

 

References

Baloh, I. (2023, April 7). Mobile App UI Design: An Expert’s Complete Guide for 2023. https://relevant.software/mobile-app-ui-design-guide/

Microsoft. (2022, September 02). User interface principles. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/appuistart/-user-interface-principles

Sedona Visitor Information Center. (n.d.). Visitors. Visit Sedona. https://visitsedona.com/sustainable-tourism-plan/survey-results/visitors/

 
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Finance: Breakthrough Technologies

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Finance: Breakthrough Technologies

Finance: Breakthrough Technologies

Aligning Framework, Gap in Business Research, and Literature Matrix

Finance is integral to business operations, purpose, and functions. Financial status indicates the overall health of a business and plays a significant part in controlling business growth. Growth is multifaceted, and it can include increased market capitalization, increased number of employees, expanding to new locations, producing more or new products and services, and targeting a new demographic. Access to financial resources is an enabler of such expansion opportunities. This paper addresses how a lack of financial resources limits Breakthrough Technologies’ capacity to expand its plants and boundaries to more centralized locations.

Finance: Breakthrough Technologies

Business Problem and Gap in Practice: Lack of Financial Resources for Business Expansion

The identified problem is a lack of business expansion, and the associated gap in practice is a lack of financial resources. Breakthrough Technologies has not expanded its plants and boundaries to more centralized locations across the United States to enhance manufacturing and distribution, leading to decreased sales. Jerry Whitman and Betty West attribute the lack of expansion to a lack of financial resources to support strategic decisions regarding which areas in the country would be more suitable to expand to. It is a significant problem because, although the company wants to expand, it cannot do so because of financial constraints. There is a relationship between access to financial resources and business growth or expansion. Most companies, especially small-scale companies, struggle with access to financial resources, which limits business expansion and competitive growth. Conclusively, financial health is crucial for competitive growth.

(Finance: Breakthrough Technologies)

Scholarly and Practitioner Frameworks Supporting the Chosen gap in Practice

Expanding to new locations is a form of business growth. Business expansion is an advanced competitive strategy that would allow the company to serve more people, reduce the distance between its business operations and consumers, increase operations efficiency, and increase sales. As the competitive landscape becomes fiercer, businesses want to identify appropriate strategies and innovations adaptations and transformations to remain relevant and competitive. A lack of adaptations and transformations can lead to decreased revenue, as in the case of Breakthrough Technologies. The company has focused its efforts on business acquisitions that have not materialized. The long-term sustainability of the business depends on strategic business growth approaches, one being expanding the plants and extending boundaries to centralized locations. However, it is challenging due to financial constraints.

The selected frameworks are access to financial resources impact on business growth and expansion and financial development as an enabler to competitive growth. Research indicates a direct relationship between financial growth/development or access to financial resources and business growth. Minh and Thuc (2022) investigate the relationship between financial development and business growth. According to Minh and Thuc (2022), financial development is integral to business growth, and managers should focus on growth by bolstering the financial system depth to allow businesses to acquire favorable conditions to access external financial sources. Hossain (2020) explored the relationship between financial resources, financial literacy, and small firm growth and found that finance and financial literacy are positively and significantly related to business financial and non-financial growth. Therefore, businesses with better access to financial resources can achieve more financial and non-financial growth. Per Amadasun and Mutezo (2021), access to finance impacts competitive growth, and limited access to finance is a constraint to business growth. Businesses can access more funding with better access to financial resources. Additionally, Fiala (2019) found that access to finance is critical to enterprise growth. The study found a relationship between access to financial resources and increased profitability.

(Finance: Breakthrough Technologies)

How the Selected Scholarly and Practitioner Frameworks Apply to Current Trends in the Field of Strategy and Innovation

Current trends in the field of strategy and innovation increased technological adoption and competition in the business environment, new direction in strategic thinking, including reorienting corporate objectives and identifying complex sources of competitive advantage, including business expansion, differentiation, and making organization informal. For the selected case scenario, a relatable trend would be identifying complex sources of competitive advantage, including business expansion. This trend aligns with increased competition in the business world today, prompting businesses to be creative in their adaptations and transformation. For instance, Breakthrough Technologies expanding into more centralized locations is a source of competitive advantage. The selected frameworks, which include access to financial resources and financial development, apply to this trend. The frameworks provide that for businesses to expand, either they have access to financial resources, including external sources like loans or have healthy financial development or growth. Financial development, which entails increased profitability and finance, allows the business to fund its expansion initiatives. However, these initiatives can be costly, necessitating external financial support, which a business must be able to access to expand. Supporting evidence indicates a clear relationship between access to financial resources and financial growth and business expansion (Minh & Thuc, 2022; Hossain, 2020; Amadasun & Mutezo, 2021; Fiala, 2019). Expanding its boundaries would allow Breakthrough Technologies access to more markets and serve more customers, which is a competitive advantage.

Why the Selected Frameworks Properly Align with a Specific Problem and Gap in Practice

The business problem identified is the inability to expand plants and extend boundaries to more centralized areas. The gap in practice is the lack of financial resources to support this strategic decision. From the story, there seems to be a link between business expansion and finance. The frameworks identified and supporting evidence align with the identified business problem and the gap in practice as they indicate that access to financial resources and financial development impact business growth strategies and competitive growth. According to Minh and Thuc (2022), financial development is crucial to business growth, and managers should focus on growth by bolstering the financial system depth to allow businesses to acquire favorable conditions to access external financial sources. Hossain (2020) found that finance and financial literacy are positively and significantly related to business financial and non-financial growth. According to Amadasun and Mutezo (2021), access to finance impacts competitive growth, and limited access to finance is a constraint to business growth. Businesses can access more funding with better access to financial resources. Fiala (2019) also found that access to finance is critical to enterprise growth. Conclusively, the frameworks support the lack of financial resources as a limitation to Breakthrough Technologies’ lack of expansion to centralized areas.

(Finance: Breakthrough Technologies)

A Business Problem and Project Appropriate for The Field of Strategy and Innovation

The current approach to the expansion of Breakthrough Technologies practices has been unsuccessful and has led the business into financial struggles, which means the current policies are not working. To expand and achieve competitive growth, Breakthrough Technologies needs a project to help access more financial resources or enhance its financial development. The project would involve establishing an enabling policy that would see the business improve its financial management and decisions to enhance financial development. The story indicates that the company’s leadership have contributed significantly to the declining trend involving sales and profits. The policy would see the managers stop endeavors in financially risky and unrewarding projects like business acquisitions and focus on financial development through increased productivity and sales that would strengthen the company’s financial system and open it to more favorable conditions to access external financial sources (Hossain, 2020). The company needs a well-developed financial system and financially literate workforce that can ease constraints to accessing financial resources.

The Role of Removing Personal Biases in The Project Discovery Process

Personal biases can occur consciously or unconsciously, impacting negatively on the decision-making process. Managing personal bias in project discovery, development, and implementation is imperative to the success of the project. The company’s decision-makers have to be aware of bias in project discovery and create a safe environment to explore and reflect on it. It is crucial to ensure a diverse project team or decision-making team to ensure diversity in ideas and robust decision-making. Diversity thinking is critical in eliminating personal biases.

Reflection

This exercise offers an opportunity to relate to a scenario on strategic decision-making. Strategies to achieve advanced competitive advantage are crucial in the current competitive and ruthless business environment. This activity provides insights into how different variables interact, impacting a business; strategic decisions. From the activity, it is evident that businesses cannot expand or grow without adequate financial support, either from financial development internally o external financial sources like loans. I have learned strategies to enhance financial development and what managers can do better to reduce financial constraints that limit competitive growth. The lessons learned will be useful in future career spaces in business and financial management.

References

Amadasun, D. E., & Mutezo, A. T. (2021). Influence of access to finance on the competitive growth of SMEs in Lesotho. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1027267/v1

Fiala, N. (2019). Access to Finance and Enterprise growth: Evidence from an experiment in Uganda. International Labour Office. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_432287.pdf

Hossain, M. M. (2020). Financial resources, financial literacy and small firm growth: Does private organizations support matter? Journal of Small Business Strategy (archive Only), 30(2), 35–58. Retrieved from https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jsbs/article/view/1187

Minh, N. N., & Thuc, N. N. (2022). Financial development and business growth: A case of the Southern Key Economic Region. Cogent Economies & Finance. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2022.2099501

 
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Implementing Security Countermeasures

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Implementing Security Countermeasures

Implementing Security Countermeasures

The healthcare sector has seen a digital change due to the Internet of Medical Things, smart devices, information systems, and cloud services. Life is now much more pleasant due to the advancements made in digital healthcare services, which have made treatment simpler and more accessible. However, both internal and external threats have made the modern healthcare sector the principal victim. Data breaches affect customers, stakeholders, organizations, and enterprises in addition to being a problem and challenge for security specialists. Despite the variety of data breaches, they virtually always have the same effect. This paper discusses implementing security measures for Sutter Health, a healthcare organization in California.

Information to Protect

Adopting electronic health records and other digital platforms organizations use to collect and store information requires implementing security countermeasures. Healthcare organizations must protect electronic health information and patient health information (PHI) by ensuring data privacy and confidentiality (Isola and Yasir 1-3). Protected health information (PHI), also personal health information, is any information a healthcare provider gathers to identify an individual, including demographic data, medical histories, test and laboratory findings, mental health issues, insurance information, and other data (Isola and Yasir 1-3). This information should only be accessed by authorized individuals and shared with the patient’s consent. Failure to follow procedures and regulations violates The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) law.

Impacts of a Security Breach on The Organization

Patient safety risks are the most critical consequences of healthcare data breaches, which can also lead to data theft and reputational and financial damages. However, violations also have serious legal ramifications. According to research, in the days and weeks following a data breach, attorneys for affected patients increasingly filed duplicate lawsuits against healthcare organizations (McKeon 1-2). Given the frequency of breaches in the industry, negligence is a common defense used in data breach cases, according to which an organization should have established stricter security measures to prevent a breach. The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule and other breach notification laws may be violated, as evidenced by most litigations.

Implementing Security Countermeasures

Organizations may decide to settle the dispute outside of court even if there was no actual harm caused by the data breach to avoid protracted legal proceedings and high defense costs. Legal risk cannot be completely eliminated, and healthcare businesses may still be vulnerable to data breaches and the ensuing lawsuits even with the most sophisticated security posture (McKeon 1-2). However, HIPAA-covered entities and businesses that store health data can better safeguard themselves while simultaneously protecting patients and minimizing the potential effects of a data leak by concentrating on the areas an organization can control and seeing risk holistically.

Potential Attacks the Organization Can Experience

Criminals on the internet frequently target the healthcare industry. A total of 1,426 attacks per week were made against healthcare companies in 2022, per Check Point Research (CPR). It represents a 60% increase from the previous year and a huge number of the year’s most significant attacks targeted healthcare institutions (Kost 2). Ransomware is a frequent and costly risk to healthcare organizations, with about one out of every 42 healthcare businesses falling victim to a ransomware assault in the third quarter of 2022. The most common cybersecurity threat in healthcare is phishing. Phishing is inserting harmful links into a seemingly innocent email, the most typical phishing type (Pranggono and Abdullahi 69-70). Phishing emails sometimes refer to a well-known medical condition to encourage link-clicking. They can appear very convincing. Data breaches are also a threat, and comparatively speaking, the healthcare sector experiences a disproportionately high number of data breaches. In the healthcare industry, there were 1.76 data breaches on average every day in 2020 (Kost 5). HIPAA lays forth stringent rules for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as health records, but many health organizations struggle to put its security controls into practice, leaving holes that serve as entry points for cybercriminals (Pranggono and Abdullahi 69-70). A distributed denial-of-service is another attack involving flooding a targeted server with bogus connection requests to take it offline. This coordinated attack uses a large number of endpoints and IoT devices that have been forcibly recruited into a botnet through malware infection.

(Implementing Security Countermeasures)

Counter Measures

Along with adhering to HIPAA requirements and local medical regulations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) created a framework for enhancing critical infrastructure cybersecurity in response to requests from the American Hospital Association and other healthcare-related organizations for enterprise network risk management. Additionally, based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF), HHS established Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) for the healthcare sector, which outlines the cybersecurity threats and mitigation strategies the sector must employ (Mavis 8). Adopting endpoint protection solutions that support operational security via operation lock, USB device lock, data lock, and configuration settings lock, which can fully safeguard intricate and numerous endpoints in healthcare operations, is one of these strategies. Asset management by adopting inspection scanning and clean-up solutions like Trend Micro Portable Security 3 Pro (TMPS3) is another countermeasure that helps mitigate the probability or threat of malicious code being introduced into the system. This solution generates comprehensive details about the scanned assets, helping identify any security threats (Mavis 9-11). Thirdly, a healthcare organization can adopt network management solutions such as Intrusive Prevention Systems (IPS) that control customer connections and content transmissions between the equipment in the network, ensuring no unauthorized devices can establish a connection or transmit content (Mavis 12-14). These strategies are some solutions to data security issues affecting healthcare organizations.

 

Work Cited

Isola, Sasank, and Yasir Al Khalili. “Protected Health Information.” StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, (2022): 1-3.

Kost, Edaward. “Biggest Cyber Threats in Healthcare (Updated for 2022).” Third-Party Risk and Attack Surface Management Software | UpGuard, (9 Nov. 2022): 2-7. http://www.upguard.com/biggest-cyber-threats-in-healthcare.

Mavis. “Potential Threats to Healthcare Ecosystems.” TXOne Networks, (7 Oct. 2022): 8-14. www.txone.com/potential-threats-to-healthcare-ecosystems/.

McKeon, Jill. “Key Ways to Manage the Legal Risks of a Healthcare Data Breach.” Health IT Security, (13 Oct. 2022): 1-2. http://healthitsecurity.com/features/key-ways-to-manage-the-legal-risks-of-a-healthcare-data-breach#.

Pranggono, Bernardi, and Abdullahi Arabo. “COVID‐19 pandemic cybersecurity issues.” Internet Technology Letters 4.2 (2021): e69-70.

 
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Economic Value of a Physician Assistant

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Economic Value of a Physician Assistant

Economic Value of a Physician Assistant

Many PAs are unclear about the financial contribution they make to practice. This module sheds light on the subject so that the PA can understand their financial worth. The PA will be more prepared for the compensation negotiation process if they understand these principles. The PA will also benefit from understanding how the organization makes financial decisions and how the PA affects the bottom line. The non-economic features of the PA will also be covered in this discussion.

Economic Value of a Physician Assistant

Institutions benefit from employing physician assistants (PAs) because they help improve economic productivity and efficacy while enhancing the quality of provided services. The effectiveness and efficacy of healthcare at the physician practices’ microlevel is increasingly becoming a topic in healthcare research and evidence-based practice to determine scientific validity and empirical research these healthcare organizations can adopt in financial decision-making. The United States introduced PAs in the 1960s to enhance and extend the healthcare workforce after experiencing a shortage of physicians in primary care following concerns that physicians chose to enter high-paying specialties instead of primary care to increase the ability to pay the high student debt.1 Since then, the PAs scope of practice has changed dramatically with increased job opportunities in the medical and surgical fields. In 2016, almost (47.1%) half of practicing physicians owned their practice, which significantly affected the economic value comparison of physicians and PAs.1 Most hospitals have acquired most physician-owned practices as hospital outpatient clinics, meaning they might be ineligible per Part B billing, which could lead to a 15% loss in reimbursement of “incident to,” forcing most claims to be billed directly by a physician, adding to the concerns over the hidden value of PAs.1 Nonetheless, there is an inherent value to the services PAs provide.

Researchers in the fields of labor, education, and organizational studies have been able to test some of the cornerstones of applied economics, such as substitution, complementarity, teamwork, opportunity costs, and productivity, due to the introduction of PAs into multiple settings.2 The results of more than four decades of research show that PAs are at least as productive as doctors in terms of annual outpatient visits, create about 2.4 times their salary in revenue, and can perform about 85% of the breadth of primary care jobs that doctors perform.3 The opportunity cost of producing a PA is roughly 20% that of a doctor, and they contribute to society for about six years before a doctor is working independently after training.3 Even while a PA cannot be considered a doctor and should not be treated as one, they do provide a service that would otherwise be unavailable without a doctor.

Physician Assistant work in multiple settings, and for those working for the federal government as a contractor conducting compensation and pension exams for active-duty service members, the economic value is evident. This student works as a federally contracted Veteran Affairs PA, the primary role being to evaluate veterans for their compensation after leaving active-duty military service. The student helps generate significant revenue, approximately $1200 per patient for the organization, directly paid from the federal government, implying the economic value of PAs. The research evidence and practice experience shared in this discussion conclude that PAs possess an inherent economic value for healthcare institutions.

References

Horak S, Mathews W. Quantifying the Economic Value of a Physician Assistant in Orthopaedics: A Revenue-Based Comparison of Postoperative Care of a Physician Assistant Versus Surgeon. JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants. 2020 Jul 1;8(3):e19.

van Den Brink GT, Hooker RS, Van Vught AJ, Vermeulen H, Laurant MG. The cost-effectiveness of physician assistants/associates: A systematic review of international evidence. PLoS One. 2021 Nov 1;16(11):e0259183.

Hooker RS, Cawley J, Everett C. Economic assessment of physician assistants. ResearchGate. 2019. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343236713_ECONOMIC_ASSESSMENT_OF_PHYSICIAN_ASSISTANTS

 
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Journal Entry Week 11 Assignment

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Journal Entry Week 11 Assignment

Journal Entry Week 11 Assignment

Goals and Objectives

During the course period, I have made significant progress towards achieving my goals and objectives. I can conduct psychiatric evaluations and assessments with confidence. I have conducted over five psychiatric examinations within the 11 weeks and communicated to the preceptor regarding every assessment. I have also integrated relevant evidence-based materials towards the successful completion of these assessments. I have acquired the skills necessary to conduct and interpret psychosocial assessments and gather family psychiatric histories. Embracing evidence-based practice has helped improve my clinical judgement and decision-making to ensure patient care quality and safety (Abu-Baker et al., 2021). Additionally, I have equipped myself with the competencies and knowledge to complete diagnosis per DMS-5 criteria for the patients encountered over the 11 weeks. I can rule out a diagnosis by accurately aligning the identified symptoms with the DMS-5 criteria. I can identify differential diagnoses for disease and comprehensively describe why a specific diagnosis was confirmed or refuted. Conclusively, I have achieved most of my course goals and objectives, and I intend to continue usly improve my career readiness.

Challenging Patients

I have encountered multiple patients during the practicum, and most were cooperative, except for two problematic patients and one patient who was reluctant to provide vital information to help with the diagnosis for personal reasons. One of the patients thought I was not good enough to provide appropriate care despite me being the only available nurse to take care of him during a busy shift. I was assigned the patient as my preceptor and other experienced nurses cared for more critical patients. However, the patient felt I was a novice, and it was not respectful and ideal for him to be assigned me. It was detrimental to my confidence significantly, but it is typical in the workplace, particularly for nurse students. I also encountered an aggressive patient who felt we were not quick enough to treat him and threatened to sue us in case something happened to him. The third patient refused to share data needed for a diagnosis for personal reasons. The patient feared that I would judge her on the information she would provide. My preceptor and other experienced providers were resourceful in all three resources, and they helped convince the patients that every provider at the facility is capable of taking care of the patients, which was uplifting. I also adopted insights from the literature on dealing with problematic patients (Tanoubi et al., 2021; Jackson et al., 2021). If I encounter difficult patients in the future, I intend to use the effective communication skills I have acquired to engage the patients and better manage the situation.

Communicating and Feedback 

I have grown tremendously over the 11 weeks, and I am a better individual and professional. However, there are areas I still need to improve, particularly patient engagement, considering I had issues communicating with several “difficult” patients. I intend to enhance my patient engagement skills and develop therapeutic relationships. I will improve my communication skills, physical and psychological endurance, critical thinking skills, empathy and compassion, and technology skills for digital engagement to achieve this goal. I intend to seek feedback from my workmates and my preceptor regarding my progress in skills and knowledge development. I will also use performance appraisals to measure goal and objective achievement and overall progress. I will engage in research and evaluation to acquire the competencies needed to improve my practice experience and capacity to care. I will share my goals and objectives for improvement through meetings with my preceptor, which are often informal. I also have a checklist that I share with the preceptor regarding my achievements and performance self-assessments. My preceptor has been integral in my continuous improvement, providing timely and meaningful feedback. Informal feedback is through typical conversations during practice and patient care, which have been effective in improving my on-the-job skills and knowledge. The preceptor provides formal feedback through performance appraisal forms, giving comments about my progress and what areas I need to improve.

References

Abu-Baker, N. N., AbuAlrub, S., Obeidat, R. F., & Assmairan, K. (2021). Evidence-based practice beliefs and implementations: A cross-sectional study among undergraduate nursing students. BMC Nursing, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00522-x

Jackson, J. L., Kay, C., Scholcoff, C., Becher, D., & O’Malley, P. G. (2021). Capturing the Complexities of “Difficult” Patient Encounters Using a Structural Equation Model. Journal of general internal medicine, 36(2), 549–551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06013-8

Tanoubi, I., Cruz-Panesso, L., & Drolet, P. (2021). The Patient, the Physician, or the Relationship: Who or What Is “Difficult”, Exactly? an Approach for Managing Conflicts between Patients and Physicians. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(23), 12517. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312517

 
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NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview

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NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview

NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview

Personal worldview encompasses basic assumptions and concepts people have of the world. It offers structure to people’s thoughts, influences their actions, and provides answers to core issues, including finding meaning and purpose in life, perception of good and evil, and the belief in a higher power. It also accounts for the majority of a person’s identity, including their political identity. Worldviews are highly dependent on religion, culture, and spirituality. This paper discusses personal worldview, a nursing theory that aligns with it, examples in practice in relation to an individual’s philosophy and nursing theory, and how the worldview and the nursing theory can help future practice development.

NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview

Personal Worldview

My personal worldview is greatly influenced by Christianity, family values and practices, life experience, and the American culture. Christianity is central to my personal values, beliefs, and practices, and my spirituality is based on the Christian faith and doctrine. There is a definite way Christians view things, which possesses character, coherence, and unity and sharply contrasts with other religions, theories, and speculations (Dockery et al., 2022). The Christian worldview is founded on a universal principle, and it is all-embracing, shaping other multiple fields, including law, history, arts, humanities, social sciences, and the general application in life (Flanagan, 2020). I have applied the Christian worldview across the educational curriculum, including how I interpret and interact with course concepts, how faith is woven into each learning area, and understanding God’s purpose in my academic success. Moreover, the Christian worldview challenges how I view the truth and morality, and interpret frameworks, including the teaching of Christ. Per Christ’s teachings, love is the greatest commandment, and as a Christian, I am expected to love others with all my heart, soul, and mind as I love myself because God’s love for people is unconditional (Rieg et al., 2019). I follow Jesus’ footsteps, striving to embrace his life on earth, including loving my enemies. Loving others unconditionally has been instrumental in shaping my relationship with others, including patients and colleagues at the practice site. I am also taught to care for others and extend a helping hand where I can. I adopt these principles when caring for patients, treating everyone with dignity and respect.

My spirituality is founded on Christian faith. It informs my meaning in life, belonging, forgiveness, and connectedness. I have struggled sometimes to find meaning in life, experiencing spiritual distress, but I find comfort within the confines of Christian teachings and principles. I adopt my spirituality to relieve suffering from others and self, especially patients who indicate signs of spiritual distress (Wisconsin Technical College, 2023). Christianity does not create a diversion from other people or faiths, but encourages acceptance, making it possible to utilize my spirituality to empower another individual’s spirituality, even when it’s different from mine without conflict (Dockery et al., 2022). The basic principles of my spirituality are treating everyone with inherent dignity, respect, and worth, which is applicable across all forms of spirituality. My spirituality allows me to treat others compassionately and provide holistic care to promote physical, emotional, social, religious, and spiritual well-being. Conclusively, my spirituality informs my approach to care.

Furthermore, cultural elements in my worldview have roots in my family background. My parents taught me to respect others and treat everyone indifferently. These aspects have been significant in helping me develop and experience relationships with self, family, friends, colleagues, patients, community, and nature. The cultural values and practices learned from my family have shaped how I view the world, places to find meaning in life, understanding of suffering, illness, and life in general. These values have informed my vision and mission in life, including what I aspire to be in the near future as a friend, parent, practitioner, and spouse. I intend to continue utilizing these aspects of religion, spirituality, and culture in practice and patient care.

Nursing Theory that Aligns with Personal Philosophy

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring aligns with my personal philosophy of practice and approach to patient care. I adopt this theory as it embraces the positive energy flow from an intertwined mind, body, and spirit, which is mutually rewarding to the healthcare provider and the patient. The theory stresses that the nurse’s central role is to be at the heart of healing, maintaining an authentic presence and intentionality to optimize the patient’s capacity to heal from within (Gunawan et al., 2022). The theory, just like my personal philosophy, stresses the need for holistic care, which involves catering for the patient’s physical, emotional, psychological, religious, and spiritual needs (Nikfarid et al., 2019). Determinately, the theory guides me in maintaining emotional sensitivity and a caring attitude in an overly demanding and stressful workplace.

I value caring for others because it helps regenerate life energies that potentiate my compassion capacity. Caring for others also helps me toward self-actualization, individually and professionally, which is also a concept of the theory of human caring. I am selfless, but I also understand that to care for others effectively, I should embrace self-care, which Watson’s theory promotes. It encourages nurses to practice self-healing by adopting self-care strategies to rejuvenate their energies and replenish the spiritual bank (Gunawan et al., 2022). Conclusively, most of the principles of human caring align with my personal philosophy in nursing practice and reinforce my approach to care.

(NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview)

A Specific Example of a Past Practice and How My Worldview and The Nursing Theory Could Assist Me in Resolving This Issue

My life experiences impact my personal philosophy and view of the world. My life has been eventful, and one particular example I would use would be watching a patient’s health deteriorate on my watch even after adopting almost entirely available interventions. It does not happen often, but I have had these experiences severally throughout my career. The scenario included a patient who presented with symptoms of kidney failure and abdominal edema. The patient experienced excess swelling as the kidney was unable to remove the excess fluid from the body. The condition was significant, and we started the patient on medication to alleviate the abdominal swelling. It was impossible to carry out a biopsy before addressing the excessive swelling. However, as the patient received treatment, she experienced more complications, including blood clots that made her veins swell and body unable to regulate potassium and phosphorus levels. This experience was distressing, and I developed a feeling of inadequacy because there is nothing we did seemed to work. In such cases of distress, my Christian worldview is fundamental as it helps alleviate the distress and maintain a positive attitude, giving the patient hope for a better outcome. The human caring theory requires nurses to be present emotionally and maintain intentionality, which is integral in helping the patient heal from within (Gunawan et al., 2022). These principles would encourage me to be there for the patient regardless of her response to treatment.

How My Worldview and The Nursing Theory Will Assist in Further Developing my Future Practice

My primary goals as a nurse are to provide quality care to patients, optimize current patient care approaches and practices, and advocate for more holistic and individualized patient care. These goals call for high moral values, a positive attitude, compassion, respect for patients and colleagues, and individual discipline, principles I can borrow from my personal philosophy. A nurse must be empathetic, compassionate, and caring to advocate for patients. Moreover, nurses should be present emotionally and physically to understand patient needs to promote patient-centered care and support them through their difficult journey. The theory of human caring will help actualize these goals as it provides principles that promote human caring, including practicing loving kindness with self and others, inspiring and honoring others, nurturing individual beliefs, listening authentically, accepting positive and negative feelings, and creating a healing environment (Gunawan et al., 2022). I also expect to continue developing my career readiness and professional experience. Continuing education is integral in improving patient care practice. I will continue to embrace my personal philosophy, which is highly guided by the Christian worldview, and Jean Watson’s theory of human caring in my current and future practice.

(NUR 513 Essay: Personal Worldview)

Conclusion

Personal worldview provides a structure of reasoning and action and influences relationships in the practice environment. I base my personal philosophy on Christian worldview and faith and family values I learned from my parents. Further, Jean Watson’s theory significantly aligns with my personal philosophy of practice and patient care and reinforces my approach to care. My personal philosophy and the theory of human caring are integral to my individual and professional development and will continue to shape the course of my future practice.

References

Dockery, D. S. (2022). Shaping A Christian Worldview: An Introduction (Part I). Union University. https://www.uu.edu/centers/faculty/teaching/article.cfm?ID=364

Flanagan R. (2020). Worldviews: overarching concept, discrete body of knowledge or paradigmatic tool?. Journal of Religious Education, 68(3), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-020-00113-7

Gunawan, J., Aungsuroch, Y., Watson, J., & Marzilli, C. (2022). Nursing Administration: Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Nursing science quarterly, 35(2), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/08943184211070582

Nikfarid, L., Hekmat, N., Vedad, A., & Rajabi, A. (2019). The main nursing metaparadigm concepts in human caring theory and Persian mysticism: a comparative study. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 11, 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150916/

Rieg, L. S., Newbanks, R. S., & Sprunger, R. (2019). Caring from a Christian Worldview: Exploring Nurses’ Source of Caring, Faith Practices, and View of Nursing. Journal of Christian nursing : a quarterly publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship, 35(3), 168–173. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000474

Wisconsin technical College. (2023). 18.2 basic concepts – Nursing fundamentals. WI Technical Colleges Open Press – Publishing open resources for students. https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/chapter/18-2-basic-concepts/

 
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