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What is the author’s main argument Was it clear When relevant, suggest ways that the argument might be improved.
Reviewer:
Author: Caroline KrystonTitle of essay: Created to be Broken
1. What is the author’s main argument? Was it clear? When relevant, suggest ways that the argument might be improved.
The author presents an argument relating to the use of Dogu dolls by the Jomon people. The argument centers on the basic ways that these people used the dolls not just in their cultural life but also in social, agricultural, and ritual spheres. The argument is developed gradually. In the beginning of the essay, it does not come out very clearly. However, as the paper develops, it becomes increasingly clear what the author intends. I would suggest a more succinct statement of purpose at the end of the first paragraph, followed by a thesis statement that clearly outlines the argument.
2. What is the evidence the author presented?
The author presents a variety of evidences. First, factual timelines are presented relating the time period that saw the Jomon people use the Dogu dolls. Other data relating to how and when these dolls were used is given, including details on these findings and so on. Other evidence provided include images dug up from different sources and ritualistic sites.
3. Was the author’s argument convincing? Is there something in the artwork under discussion that contradicts the claims made? Is there something in the artwork that the author doesn’t write about that might further support the claims made?
The author’s argument centers on presenting evidence of usage including timelines and dates. The structure of the argument for every paragraph is very easy to follow, using a simple topic, evidence, example structure. This makes it very convincing. The author does not make any contradicting claims. The author seems to have done a lot of research on the artwork, making it a very interesting read.
4. Was there anything you did not understand or would like further clarification about? Do you have any questions you would like to ask the author?
The work is well-articulated and easy to follow. What I did not find mentioned is whether the artwork was only used in one region or whether it was spread across cultures. I would like to ask the author whether there is evidence of usage of these dolls elsewhere in the world.
5. Give specific examples of where you thought the essay shined.
The introduction shined. It is excellent. It is well presented and straight to the point. It allows the reader to see exactly what is being discussed and the position that the author takes.
6. Give specific examples for improvement.
The conclusion should be made better. For example, it should be a restatement of the main arguments presented in the essay. It should not introduce new ideas but rather focus on giving a summary of what has already been discussed.
Health Care Financing
Health Care Financing
Name
Institution
Health Care Financing
In order to decide whether to accept the offer by the federal government to form an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), I will put a number of factors into consideration. The first step will be to review the contracts that need to be signed before participating, with the help of an experienced legal counsel. This is because the contract could contain provisions that could broadly affect my practice of medicine in the context of ACO. For example, the contract may contain restrictive covenants that may preclude the physicians from joining any other health provider networks after deciding to join ACO. Before accepting the offer, I would also ensure that I review the policies and procedures for participating in the ACO to ensure that they abide by quality measures and clinical protocols and the ability to retain payment records and clinical documentation for a period of ten years.
I would then formulate my compliance plan before participating in the offer and then compare it with the compliance plan for the offer. I would then accept the offer if my compliance plan is similar to that of the offered ACO. The next factor to put into consideration would be to check if there is an equal representation on clinical committees and governance between specialty physicians and primary care. I would also determine whether the hospital’s interests and those of the community are adequately represented in the ACO board in terms of physical representation and voting authority. I would then consider questions such how long the ACO has been into existence, the number of available primary care physicians and specialty physicians, and the size of the provider network, and mostly importantly, the terms and conditions of joining the ACO.
I would argue against accepting the offer because, given the culture of my practice and the culture of the community where the hospital is located, it may not fit so well with the mission, vision and goals of the ACO. The hospital’s financial status is also not viable and is not able to give it enough authority to effectively negotiate with health insurers and other hospitals. In addition to that, my present practice is not able to utilize other payment methodologies beyond the fee-for-service. However, if I were to accept the offer and participate in that ACO, I would choose to lead it rather than being just part of it because as a CEO of a large techno-intensive hospital, deciding to sit back and watch would mean that our role in the participation would never be felt. I would choose a leading role since this would give me the opportunity to change the way care is currently organized in the community by the use of new embedded financial incentives. I would ensure that the ACO has robust and strong primary care infrastructure and information technology systems or electronic medical records to help capture quality metrics and performance data of my hospital.
The tools for health information technology will be very vital in sharing the informed best practices and evidence based data with all the physicians. In order to achieve the ACO design objective for savings, I would consider adopting new approaches other than the system of the traditional fee-for-service. In order to improve the performance of the hospital in my community, I would also consider such practices as bundled payments, quality performance payments, shared savings, risk-based compensation, case-management fees, and outcome-based reimbursement. These schemes will most likely stimulate a provider network that focuses on cost and quality performance goals and also ensure alignment to hospital and physician incentives.
Review Paper
Review Paper
Name
Institution Affiliation
Review Paper
Chappell, A. T., Monk‐Turner, E., & Payne, B. K. (2011). Broken windows or window breakers: The influence of physical and social disorder on quality of life. Justice Quarterly, 28(3), 522-540.
Why did the researchers conduct this research? What did they hope to learn?
The research seeks to discern whether an intricate relationship exists between disorder and the quality of life. The researchers would like to know the relationship that exists between broken window theory or what is referred to as neighborhood disorder and individual quality of life. With this information, they will be able to add more input into the broken windows theory and examine whether one critical supposition of the theory has empirical evidence to support it. Broken windows theory assumes that the improvement in the quality of life is reliant on addressing disorder; therefore, the researchers sought to learn whether disorder is essentially connected to the quality of life (Chappell, Monk‐Turner, & Payne, 2011). There is no empirical answer as to whether the main assumption of the broken windows theory is prognostic of the quality of life.
Would you classify this research as exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? Would you classify it as pure or applied? Would you classify it as pure or applied? Explain your Answers
This research is explanatory as it seeks to develop a better understanding of a problem that has not been researched in-depth in the past. The researchers say that although past research has been able to relate disorder with fear, demoralization, anger, and hopelessness, no studies have taken a general perspective and examined the relationship between disorder and personal quality of life (Chappell, Monk‐Turner, & Payne, 2011). The research seeks to discuss the theory of broken windows in depth. Explanatory research focuses on explaining a certain facet of a study from a more in-depth angle. The aim of explanatory research is providing evidence or details where a small amount exists on a certain idea that is in the mind of the researcher. In general, this research is explanatory as it aides the researcher to solve a problem or answer a question that was not studied before in depth.
This research is pure research as it entails the testing of a theory. It is aimed at expanding the existing knowledge. The researchers, in this case, understand that other studies have connected the improvement of the quality of life by fixing disorder. However, there is no empirical evidence indicating the connection between disorder and the quality of life. In general, this research is pure or basic as it developed scientific knowledge and was aimed at adding knowledge to the existing one.
To what extent has this topic been studied by previous researchers?
Existing research has established well the connection between neighborhood disorder and fear. It has come to the understanding of people studying the topic that incivilities better predict fear than actual and severe crime does. Previous research has concluded that broken windows theory, the social and physical disorders of neighbors, causes fear among residents, and results in them retaliating or moving away from their neighborhoods. The idea is that disorder results in fear, and fear results in retaliation causing serious crimes. According to how the authors of this particular research describe previous research, it is safe to say that the work already done is extensive, and the remaining part that this research aims to study is icing on the cake.
How did the researchers collect, analyze, and interpret their data?
The researchers used telephone surveys to collect data. They developed survey questions that sought to obtain information on the quality of life issues, health, interactive relationships, neighborhood disorders, and social networks. Because of the nature of telephone surveys, the authors employed descriptive analysis to identify outliers, provide an idea of the distribution of data and facilitate the researchers to identify the association between variables and prepare the data for further analysis. The researchers then used the ordinary least square (OLS) regression to estimate the relationship between the quality of life index and various independent variables (Chappell, Monk‐Turner, & Payne, 2011).
What are the researchers’ findings?
The researchers found that demographic variables such as age, gender, or race had no significant effect on the quality of life. Other variables such as income, education levels, and how often one interacted with friends and family significantly formed differences in stated quality of life. There was a positive association between the completion of a university degree and regularly interacting with family and friends. Respondents reported a decrease in the quality of life with an increase in income. Fewer health problems and the feeling that one had enough economic means to meet their necessities positively impacted the quality of life.
How did these researchers add to the body of knowledge on this subject?
The researchers found that disorder has a significant impact on the quality of life, particularly physical disorder, which has a more significant impact than social disorder in creating the quality of life. By addressing social disorder when creating “quality of life” policies, the focus is taken away from other types of disorder, and the policies will not impact the quality of life.
How might this research affect the practice of criminal justice?
This research suggests that the practice of criminal justice cannot be left entirely in the hands of law enforcement, and other agencies need to be involved. Collaboration is required between law enforcement and other agencies that are better suited to address issues associated with disorder. The research, however, advises against labeling these units and policy associations as quality of life policing as it is misleading and creates the impression that they possess the ability to better the quality of life.
How would you improve this research and/or conduct additional research to expand the body of knowledge on this subject further?
The work conducted by the researchers in this article is commendable thus far. My contribution would be to correct their limitations and ensure a better representation of all races in the population. It is very important to include low-income residents, so replicating this research with these demographics considerably represented will be essential. In my opinion, the possible indicators of disorder excluded from the study owing to the various constraints mentioned by the researchers are crucial and should be included in the next research.
References
Chappell, A. T., Monk‐Turner, E., & Payne, B. K. (2011). Broken windows or window breakers: The influence of physical and social disorder on quality of life. Justice Quarterly, 28(3), 522-540.