Sunday, January 26, 2020

Deconstructing the Third Front

Deconstructing the Third Front Daniel Steven Bressner After decades spent cultivating economic growth along its eastern seaboard, the PRC’s western interior is rapidly developing. In Sichuan province, Chengdu alone is now home to over 1,000 U.S. companies including General Electric and Mazda.[1] However, one of the most ambitious efforts to industrialize western China actually took place decades earlier. In a sweeping project known as the Third Front, central government planners reconfigured the economy of western provinces, with a special emphasis on defense industrialization. This paper provides an overview of the international factors that led to the creation of the Third Front and its key projects. Furthermore, it analyzes the economic strategies used by the Chinese government during this period to complete these projects. Background The Third Front, or da sanxian, derives its name from a development concept put forward Mao confidant Lin Biao, who became Minister of Defense in 1959. In a speech in 1962 known as the â€Å"7,000 Cadres Conference†, Lin pushed for the military fortification of Anhui Province as a safety measure in case the government needed to retreat from its eastern seaboard.[2] While China faced a myriad of international crises during the 1960s, Lin’s speech was most concerned with a possible attack on mainland Chinese cities by Kuomintang (KMT) forces in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward. In 1964, Mao himself played in active role in revising the 3rd Five Year Plan so that it would emphasize national defense.[3] The final version highlighted the threat of looming war and called for increased development in transport infrastructure, science and technology, and national defense.[4] While Lin was focused on the KMT, Mao’s preoccupation was the growing American military presence in Southeast Asia. China scholar Barry Naughton is one of the leading researchers on the political economy of the Third Front. He identifies the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and subsequent start of the Vietnam War, as the primary catalyst for the acceleration of the Third Front development strategy.[5] From 1964 to 1971, the combination of defense concerns over the KMT, United States, and Soviet Union all created an environment politically conducive to intensive defense development. Structure Key Projects The primary objective of the Third Front was establish an entirely self-sufficient industrial base that China could rely on in the event of war. If eastern coastal cities like Shanghai were attacked, the area surrounding Suzhou could work as a â€Å"Second Front.† A massive stretch of mountainous terrain that included parts of Guizhou, Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces would serve as the â€Å"Third Front.†[6] China’s nascent nuclear weapons program, including the Lanzhou Gaseous Diffusion Plant, also fell under the territory designated as the Third Front.[7] Figure 1 illustrates the geographic regions of the project. Fig. 1: The regions of the Third Front grouped by phase. Source: Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 354. While there were several high-profile projects in the first phase of the Third Front, which lasted until 1969, this paper emphasizes the creation of transportation networks in the region that revolutionized how resources were moved across western China. Naughton claims that the Panzhihua iron and steel complex was the â€Å"keystone† of the Third Front.[8] Mao’s own statements during the 1960’s support this view. In 1964, Mao told a meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee: â€Å"Unless Panzhihua Steel Plant is fully developed, I cannot go to sleep at night. If there is no Panzhihua Steel Plant, I will have to ride a donkey to my meetings.†[9] However, this project could not exist without the development of rail infrastructure. Development was accelerated on rail lines in the southwest, with the Chongqing-Guiyang and Chengdu-Kunming lines, completed in 1965 and 1970 respectively, being the most important in linking the region together. The Chengdu-Kunming line alone cost 3.3 billion yuan, or nearly 21% of the national budget for capital construction in 1965.[10] The first phase of the Panzhihua complex cost an estimated 3.74 billion yuan.[11] The factories and labor serviced by this new rail network were brought into the region using a strategy known as yi fen wei er, or â€Å"one divided into two†, which Naughton likens to an economic â€Å"mitosis.†[12] Tsinghua University students Bin Xu and Linxing Xiao use the Panzhihua complex as an example to demonstrate how this concept worked. â€Å"If there were two sets of equipment, move one to Panzhihua. If there was only one set, move it to Panzhihua.†[13] This idea was replicated for manpower, technical know-how, and financial investment from across China. Factories on China’s eastern seaboard would send a significant portion of their resources to the southwest and be left responsible for making up the difference in capability, whereas the newly transplanted western workforce received additional state investment to accelerate development. Figure 2 shows the massive spike of state investment in Sichuan province following the prioritization of Panz hihua after 1964. Fig 2: State investment into Sichuan province from 1964 to 1972. Source: China Geo-Explorer, All China Data Center, http://chinadataonline.org/cgepublic/cityclient33/#. The second phase of the Third Front, lasting from 1969 to 1972, occurred under the shadow of continually deteriorating relations with the USSR. The focus of the second phase was on machine building, with its centerpiece project being the No. 2 Automobile Plant in Shiyang, in Hubei province’s northwest region.[14] Reflecting the security concerns of the central government, additional plants in the area were hidden deep in mountain valleys and even caves to minimize potential damage from airstrikes. Three critical rail lines were constructed during this period in order to facilitate the transit of labor and material resources; the Luoyang-Yangtze, Hunan-Guizhou, and Chongqing to Wuhan (via Ankang) connections.[15] The Third Front’s national significance, and level of national investment, was as high as 45% in 1966, but dropped again as the decade came to a close.[16] The total proportion of national investment into the Third Front during the Fourth Five-Year Plan, from 19 71-75, was 41.1%.[17] From 1971 onwards, changes in the larger political environment lead to a dismantling of many of the Third Front’s ongoing construction operations. Domestically, the fall of program architect Lin Biao played a role. However, more important was the softening and eventual normalization of diplomatic relations with the United States, whose previous perception as a strategic threat was a major justification for the entire Third Front. Impact and Legacy Economic data on the total government investment during the Third Front is difficult to calculate, in part because projects that fell under the military’s jurisdiction, like development of the Chinese nuclear program, were not included alongside regular construction data. C.Z. Lin, drawing from anonymous Chinese sources, estimates that total investment was 200 billion yuan.[18] The two largest companies to have developed out of the Third Front era are Panzhihua Steel and Dongfeng Motor Corporation, the latter of which stems from Shiyang’s Automobile Plant No 2. Dongfeng, China’s second largest automobile producer, posted a 2012 net income of $1.3 billion USD. Swedish automobile firm Volvo bought a 45% stake in the company the following year.[19] One of the lasting positive legacies of the Third Front era is the existence of rail infrastructure across China’s western provinces, which were an inevitable step forward in linking the region’s economy with the rest of the country. Despite this, the way in which these projects were undertaken dramatically inflated their costs and misallocated resources. Historian Robert Cliver notes that the decision to make Third Front rail lines a priority above all others diverted progress from the rest of the country’s national rail network. The result was that cost per kilometer of rail infrastructure on Third Front projects was five to six times the national average.[20] The largest source of developmental issues within the Third Front likely came not from the sheer cost of the project, or even from its remote location. While these were serious issues, the construction principle of sanbian, or what Naughton identifies as â€Å"three simultaneous†, was the most dama ging.[21] This concept of simultaneously designing a site, constructing it, and producing from it ensured that proper site planning was often not conducted. More importantly, it led to additional costs from avoidable errors that slowed down overall production. An additional 40 million yuan was pumped into the Chengdu-Kunming rail line from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s to provide the manpower necessary to fix track deficiencies.[22] If the Third Front era is judged purely on whether it made China more prepared for war with the U.S. or the Soviet Union, it can be regarded as successfully accomplishing its key objectives. It spurred investment into China’s mountainous west, led to the fortification of industrial sites, and generally created an economic base designed to support an extended war on the mainland. It fulfilled the purposefully vague objective set out in the State Planning Commission’s Third Five Year Plan, which sought to â€Å"strengthen national defense and make breakthroughs in technology.†[23] However, the Third Front development strategy was based on short-term strategic concerns at the cost of long-term economic growth. Projects with flawed designs and the drawing away of wealth from China’s eastern seaboard made the Third Front an undeniable economic failure. Naughton draws on statistical analysis conducted by Chinese economist Chen Dongsheng to illustrate the misallocation of resources that drew growth away from the east coast. Using Chen’s data, Naughton estimates that â€Å"China’s industrial output is 10-15% below what it would have been if the Third Front had never been undertaken.†[24] Thus, while the Third Front was an economically unviable project that placed a heavy burden on the Chinese economy, it demonstrates how seriously Mao took the perceived strategic encirclement the country was facing from the United States, Republic of China forces, and the Soviet Union. Further analysis of the Third Front is a valuable endeavor for those s tudying both China’s economy and the history of its international relations. Works Cited Bramall, Chris. Chinese Economic Development. London: Routledge, 2008. China Internet Information Center. â€Å"The Third Five-year Plan (1966-1970).† China.org.cn. Last modified May 21st 2007, http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/157608.htm. Cliver, Robert. â€Å"Third Front Policy.† In the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, edited by Linsun Cheng, Kerry Brown, Winberg Chai, Xiejun Chen, and Karen Christensen, 2244-2247. Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2009. Dickie, Lance. â€Å"Sichuan: A Land of Abundance and Opportunities.† The Seattle Times, January 21st 2014. http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2014/01/21/sichuan-a-land-of-abundance-and-opportunities/ Lin, C.Z. â€Å"Employment implications of defence cutbacks in China.† In Defense Expenditure, Industrial Conversion, and Local Employment, edited by Liba Paukert, 189-204. Geneva: International Labor Office, 1991. Mohanty, Deba R. â€Å"The Chinese Security Dilemma in the 1950s and 1960s: Story of the Third Front.† Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, January 17th 2011. http://www.idsa-india.org/an-jan-4.html. Naughton, Barry. â€Å"The Third Front: Defense Industrialization in the Chinese Interior.† The China Quarterly 115, September (1988): 351-386. Pike, John. â€Å"Lanzhou – Chinese Nuclear Forces.† Federation of American Scientists. Last modified May 12th 2000, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/lanzhou.htm. Tejada, Carlos. â€Å"Truck Maker Volvo Sets Alliance to Enter China.† The Wall Street Journal, January 27th 2013. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324039504578264611071184722. Xu, Bin and Linxing Xiao. â€Å"Planning and Construction History of Panzhihua during the Three-Front Strategy Period: Backgrounds, Process, and Mechanism.† (paper presented at the 15th International Historical Planning Society, Sao Paolo, Brazil, July 15th-18th, 2009). Page | 1 [1]  Lance Dickie, â€Å"Sichuan: A Land of Abundance and Opportunities,† The Seattle Times, last modified January 21st 2014, http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2014/01/21/sichuan-a-land-of-abundance-and-opportunities/ [2] Deba R. Mohanty, â€Å"The Chinese Security Dilemma in the 1950s and 1960s: Story of the Third Front,† Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, January 17th 2011. [3] Barry Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front: Defense Industrialization in the Chinese Interior,† The China Quarterly 115, September (1988): 353. [4] â€Å"The Third Five-year Plan (1966-1970),† China Internet Information Center ­ – China.org.cn, last modified May 21st 2007, http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/157608.htm. [5] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 369. [6] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 354. [7] John Pike, â€Å"Lanzhou – Chinese Nuclear Forces,† Federation of American Scientists, last modified May 12th 2000, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/lanzhou.htm. [8] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 357. [9] Chris Bramall, Chinese Economic Development (London: Routledge, 2008), 268. [10] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 358. [11] Ibid. [12] Ibid., 356. [13] Bin Xu and Linxing Xiao, â€Å"Planning and Construction History of Panzhihua During the Three-Front Strategy Period: Backgrounds, Process, and Mechanism† (paper presented at the 15th International Historical Planning Society, Sao Paolo, Brazil, July 15th-18th, 2009). [14] Robert Cliver, â€Å"Third Front Policy,† in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, ed. by Linsun Cheng et al. (Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2009): 2246. [15] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 359. [16] C.Z Lin, â€Å"Employment implications of defence cutbacks in China,† in Defense Expenditure, Industrial Conversion, and Local Employment, ed. by Liba Paukert (Geneva: International Labor Office, 1991): 202. [17] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 365. [18] Lin, â€Å"Employment implications of defence cutbacks in China,† 201. [19] Carlos Tejada, â€Å"Truck Maker Volvo Sets Alliance to Enter China,† The Wall Street Journal, January 27th 2013, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324039504578264611071184722. [20] Cliver, â€Å"Third Front Policy,† 2247. [21] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 376. [22] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 376. [23] â€Å"The Third Five-year Plan (1966-1970),† China Internet Information Center ­ – China.org.cn, last modified May 21st 2007, http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/157608.htm. [24] Naughton, â€Å"The Third Front,† 379.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Diagnosis Of Acute Appendicitis Health And Social Care Essay

Among patients showing to an exigency section ague hurting of the lower venters is a frequent clinical characteristic ; really frequently taking to the intuition of acute appendicitis.The determination to execute surgery is normally based merely on research lab trials and the clinical rating by the sawbones. In order to better the diagnostic truth in these patients ultrasound and computed imaging have been used as clinical AIDSs with decreased negative laparotomy rates as a consequence. 1,2,5 Ultrasound in adept custodies can accomplish a high grade of truth 1, but the drawback of the technique is its perceiver dependence, with important differences in truth. Acute appendicitis ( AA ) is a common surgical status of the venters, the prompt diagnosing of which is rewarded by a pronounced lessening in morbidity and mortality 1. Although the determination to research a patient with suspected AA is based chiefly on disease history and physical findings, the clinical presentation is rarely typical. Therefore diagnostic mistakes are common, ensuing in a average incidence of perforation of 20 % and a negative laparotomy rate runing from 2 % to 30 % 1. During the past few old ages, there has been a turning tendency toward the usage of formal probabilistic logical thinking or quantitative informations as a usher to clinical determination devising. In this regard, several hiting systems, computer-based theoretical accounts, and algorithms 2-12 have been developed for back uping the diagnosing of AA on the footing of rating medical history, clinical symptoms and marks, and indexs of inflammatory response. Harmonizing to initial rating studies, these determination tools are cost-efficient and may supply considerable diagnostic AIDSs to doctors 13. However, the aforesaid theoretical accounts have non been routinely applied in general pattern because they have failed to accomplish equal truth in proof surveies 14-17. Roll uping grounds has suggested that US in experient custodies improves diagnostic truth in instances of suspected AA 18, 19. Therefore, sonographic imagination has been proposed as a diagnostic tool even in patients with a clinically high chance of AA, because it accurately depicts a high per centum of normal appendices and alternate diagnosings 20. However, these findings do non connote that sawboness may non use their clinical acumen to the direction of topics with suspected AA, inasmuch as series with false-negative sonographic rates of up to 24 % have been reported 21. Furthermore, merely light informations exist on the possible combination of US findings with clinical and laboratory variables as an incorporate determination tool 22. The purposes of the present survey were to develop a simple and dependable marking system that would integrate US appraisal and peculiar elements of clinical rating and research lab probe to supply high diagnostic truth in patients with suspected AA and to measure the public presentation of the derived categorization regulation as compared to that of antecedently proposed theoretical accounts in a independent database of topics with suspected AA.Patients AND METHODSThe present probe included overall 134 topics with suspected AA who were studied over a span of 2 old ages ( conducted between January 2005 and December 2006.The survey was experimental and no intercession was done except for the add-on of formalized informations aggregation. Subsequently, the public presentation of the mark in the above database was compared to that of 11 antecedently proposed diagnostic tonss for AA, which were besides calculated by utilizing informations from the population of the survey. The choice standards sing the aforesaid diagnostic tonss for AA were ( 1 ) development of each mark from patients showing with acute abdominal hurting, ( 2 ) old proof in at least one prospective survey and ( 3 ) feasibleness of each mark computation ( viz. no losing variables ) on the footing of the informations prospectively collected in our survey by utilizing a structured signifier that included a standardised questionnaire. Four independent forecasters of the presence of AA were expressed as an integer-based marking system, which were assigned a weight ( point ) to each forecaster and summed the weights of the forecasters that were present for a topic: [ figure of points = 6 for US positive for AA + 4 for tenderness in right lower quadrant + 3 for recoil tenderness + 2 for leucocyte count & A ; gt ; 12,000/?l ] identified in the analysis. Non-operated topics were assumed non to hold AA, because none of them developed appendicitis during followup of 3 hebdomads. Because the end of the present survey was to compare the new theoretical account with the legion old 1s, application of the new mark to the survey in order to cut down the negative appendicectomy rate was non possible without biasing the consequences. Hence, no score-based intercession took topographic point, and the determination to run or non was left to the judgement of the senior sawbones, who was non cognizant of the decision of each theoretical account for every person topic. All the ultrasound ( U/S ) scrutinies included in this survey were preformed by the senior graduate student occupant. In each patient the venters was ab initio examined at U/S by utilizing 2.5-5 MHz convex array transducer. This rating was supplemented with U/S appraisal of the appendix and the environing part by utilizing a 5 MHz additive array transducer and the ranked compaction techniqueStatistical AnalysisStatistical analysis was performed utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences package ( SPSS Inc, release 11.0 ) . Acute appendicitis at operation was used as the terminal point in the survey. Univariate correlativities between the presence of the aforesaid terminal point and clinical or laboratory characteristics were evaluated with the chi-squared trial, as appropriate for categorical informations, and with Student ‘s t-test for uninterrupted variables. Ninety-five per centum assurance intervals ( 95 % CIs ) were calculated for each comparing. 2 Ten 2 tab ular array was used to cipher the sensitiveness, specificity, negative prognostic value, positive prognostic value and truth. All trials of significance were two-tailed, and a p value less than 0.05 was considered to be important.ConsequenceThe above diagnostic mark was calculated for 134 indiscriminately selected patients ( 70 [ 52.2 % ] males, average age 28.7  ± 11.9 old ages [ scope ; 15-79 old ages ] ) hospitalized for suspected AA. Among the above topics, 73 ( 54.0 % ) went on to surgery and 58 ( 43.3 % ) had AA at operation. The application of the new categorization tool to the patients showed 96.5 % of topics with 8-15 points to hold AA ( Table 1 ) . The proposed dignostic theoretical account yielded a mark of & A ; lt ; 8 points for all 61 non-operated patients in the survey. The present theoretical account exceeded perceptibly the old 1s in diagnostic truth ( Figure 1 ) . The negative appendicectomy rate was 19.4 % ( 14 out of 72 operated patients ) . None of the 6 patients ( 4.5 % of entire ) who were in the subgroup with the lowest mark ( 0-4 points ) had AA, whereas in 56 ( 96.5 % ) of the patients with the highest mark ( 8-15 points ; n = 58 [ 41.8 % of entire ] ) , AA was the concluding diagnosing. Nevertheless, the proportion of topics with AA among patients with moderate tonss ( 5-7 points ; n = 70 [ 52.2 % of entire ] ) was really little ( 3 out of 70, 4.3 % ) . Therefore, utilizing the cut-off of ? 8 points for the diagnosing of AA in the survey, a really high chance of AA would hold been assigned to topics with 8-15 points ( 96.5 % , 56/58 ) as opposed to the really low chance for patients with 0-7 points ( 4.3 % , 3/70 ) .DiscussionThe theoretical account suggested in the present survey combines the diagnostic value of four variables: viz. two well-recognized clinical characteristics of AA ( tenderness in the right lower quarter-circle and bounce tenderness ) 1, US imagination, and leucocytosis, the latter reflecting the inflammatory response. The prominence of the aforesaid factors as independent correlatives of AA corroborates old studies, which have shown tonss non including the above clinical variables and leucocytosis to supply poorer favoritism 1, 15. With respect to the varied weighting of the four multivariate forecasters, a positive US happening surpassed any other factor by presenting an at least 5.5-fold addition to the chance of AA as suggested by 95 % CIs ( Table 3 ) . Harmonizing to the proposed threshold of ? 8 points, if the appendix is sonographically shown to be inflamed, the presence of at least one extra factor is required to set up AA, whereas in the absence of US showing AA, all three staying variables are necessary for the diagnosing. For illustration, the above theoretical account would propose the diagnosing of AA in a patient with leucocytosis and a positive US determination ( entire score 8 points ) , even if recoil or right lower quadrant tenderness were missing. The application of the new system to the external database yielded an impressive diagnostic truth of 96.5 % , which exceeded perceptibly the public presentation of old tonss. The high quality of the new mark could be attributed to the incorporation of an imaging mode in a formal determination tool for AA, which is the fresh diagnostic process introduced in the present survey. Although sonographic imagination of the venters has been established as a utile tool in diagnosing of AA being of peculiar value in patients with untypical presentation 23, its truth has been doubted in more recent big surveies and meta-analyses 18, 19, 21, 24-26. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that, when US is used as the finding factor for operative therapy, it can non be relied on to the exclusion of the sawbones ‘s careful and perennial rating 21. Furthermore, a prospective multicenter experimental test on 2280 patients with acute abdominal hurting reported no correlativity between the sonographic findings of the appendix and the diagnostic truth of the clinician, the rate of negative appendicectomy, and the perforation rates, therefore proposing no clear benefit of US scanning of the appendix in the everyday clinical puting 19. In add-on, echography failed to better the diagnostic truth or the negative appendicectomy rate and was even found to detain surgical aud ience and appendicectomy in a big survey that included 766 topics 24. However, it has been shown that US is unneeded when there is a high grade of clinical intuition as expressed by a positive Alvarado mark, whereas the extra information provided by US improves diagnostic truth in the instance of a negative or ambiguous Alvarado mark 25. Furthermore, a meta-analysis published in the in-between 1990s suggested that US is most helpful in patients with an undetermined chance of the disease after the initial rating and should non be used to except AA in topics with authoritative marks and symptoms because of the underlying comparatively high false-negative rate 18. Finally, a more recent meta-analysis on the value of US in the diagnosing of AA revealed dissatisfactory consequences in multi-center tests, proposing that the equal public presentation of echography in single-center surveies may non reflect surgical mundane life 26. Ultrasound is rapid, noninvasive, cheap, and requires no patient readying or contrast material disposal 23. Because it involves no ionizing radiation and excels in the word picture of acute gynaecological conditions, it is recommended as the initial imagination survey in kids 27 and in adult females 28, particularly during gestation 29. Yet, the restrictions of US include its decreased truth in corpulent or muscular topics, every bit good as in patients with pierced AA ( about 50 % ) compared to that observed in nonperforated AA ( 80 % ) 23. Furthermore, US is known to be extremely operator-dependent, the larning curve required to develop the technique for sonographically scanning the right lower quarter-circle is considerable, and there are many interpretative booby traps to be avoided 23. It has been shown, nevertheless, that even if radiology occupants or inexperient sawboness conduct the imagination, the truth of US is non lessened 30, 31. In any instance, although the standards for the US-based diagnosing of AA are well-established and dependable, the inexperient tester, working with hapless equipment and/or technique, will supply suboptimal consequences, and this possibility should be taken into history when integrating sonographic standards in the diagnostic form. The usage of US in the scene of suspected AA might be questioned in an epoch when appendiceal computed imaging ( CT ) has been demonstrated to supply an truth rate every bit high as 98 % in the diagnosing of AA, taking to improved patient attention and reduced usage of hospital resources 32. Furthermore, CT has repeatedly been shown to exhibit superior discriminatory capacity compared to US in both grownups and striplings with suspected AA 33-35, proposing that the proposed categorization system may non use to geographical countries where CT scanning is readily available on a 24-hour footing. In this survey, the inability to routinely execute CT scanning may account to a great extent for the comparatively high false positive rate of about 20 % . This figure of false positive diagnosings would be unacceptable in most Westernized states, where the appropriate CT use in community infirmaries has been shown to cut down the negative appendicectomy rate from 14 % -20 % to 2 % -7 % 36-38. H owever, because many parts of the universe wellness community may still non be able to afford CT scanning but can afford US equipment, the combined systematic execution of sonographic rating and clinical acumen could be valuable as suggested by the present survey. Because the coincident application of the preexisting theoretical accounts and the new mark to the same database has favored the latter, the several clinical deductions should be farther evaluated. A prospective interventional large-scale rating in different clinical environments, in an adequate controlled survey comparing a baseline stage without hiting to a subsequent stage with hiting would likely be the optimum attack 15, 16. To cut down prejudice with such a design, unvarying informations aggregation should be carried out harmonizing to changeless definitions, with standardised public presentation standards used to guarantee nonsubjective rating 16. Any diagnostic support for AA should be heartily welcomed if it has been proven to be clinically valuable, because intolerably high negative appendicectomy and perforation rates are still reported in many parts of the universe wellness community. However, apart from being familiar with elements non included in a quantitative theoretical account, doctors may be able to supply superior imputations of losing informations for an single patient and to incorporate the diagnostic estimation as portion of their overall patient appraisal. Therefore, including the proposed mark in the diagnostic process is deserving seeking and may heighten a sawboness prejudiced capacity, under the requirement that it will be considered as an adjunct in determination devising that can non replace careful surgical judgement. Table 1 Performance of the proposed diagnostic mark in the survey.Number of pointsNumber of patients [ n=134 ] ( % of sum )Acute appendicitis [ n=59,44.0 % ]Non appendicitis status [ n=75, 56.0 % ]Percentage of patients with appendicitis among patients with the several mark0-4 06 ( 4.5 % ) 0 06 0 % 5-7 70 ( 52.2 % ) 3 67 4.38 % 8-15 58 ( 43.3 % ) 56 2 96.5 % Table 2 Demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of the patients with suspected appendicitis.Patients ‘ features ( n = 134 )Acute appendicitis ( % ) [ n = 59, 44.0 % ]No appendicitis ( % ) [ n = 75, 56.0 % ]P valueDemographic informationsMale sex 35 ( 59.5 ) 40 ( 53.5 ) 0.292 Age [ mean  ± SD ( scope ) ] 27.2  ± 12.2 ( 15-85 ) 29.4  ± 14.7 ( 15-86 ) 0.889SymptomsAnorexia 40 ( 67.8 ) 53 ( 70.7 ) 0.675 Vomiting 28 ( 47.3 ) 28 ( 37.2 ) 0.076 Migration of hurting 36 ( 61.0 ) 25 ( 33.3 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Duration of symptoms & A ; lt ; 48 hours 49 ( 83.0 ) 49 ( 65.3 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001SignsTenderness in right lower quarter-circle 53 ( 89.8 ) 31 ( 41.3 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Rebound tenderness 36 ( 66.1 ) 19 ( 25.3 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Guarding 29 ( 49.1 ) 14 ( 18.6 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Rectal tenderness 16 ( 27.1 ) 24 ( 32.0 ) 0.321Laboratory informationsLeukocyte count & A ; gt ; 12,000/?l 36 ( 61.0 ) 8 ( 10.7 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Neutrophils & A ; gt ; 75 % 50 ( 84.7 ) 34 ( 45.4 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Temperature & A ; gt ; 37.5 & A ; deg ; C 43 ( 72.8 ) 44 ( 58.7 ) 0.008 Ultrasound positive for acute appendicitis 48 ( 81.4 ) 39 ( 5.2 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Table 3 Comparison of the proposed mark with the old 1s.Scoring instrumentTrue positiveFalse positiveTrue negativeFalse negativeTinSPCPPV ( 95 % CI )NPV ( 95 % CI )P ValueVan Way 71 29 85 16 81.6 74.6 71.0 ( 61.5-78.9 ) 84.2 ( 75.8-90.0 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Teicher 77 19 95 10 88.5 83.3 80.2 ( 71.1-86.9 ) 90.5 ( 83.4-94.7 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Arnbj & A ; ouml ; rnsson 71 33 81 16 81.6 71.1 68.3 ( 58.8-76.4 ) 83.5 ( 74.9-89.6 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Alvarado 78 27 87 9 89.7 76.3 74.3 ( 65.2-81.7 ) 90.6 ( 83.1-94.9 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Feny & A ; ouml ; 79 17 97 8 90.8 85.1 82.3 ( 73.5-88.6 ) 92.4 ( 85.7-96.1 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Lindberg 74 14 100 13 85.1 87.7 84.1 ( 75.1-90.3 ) 88.5 ( 81.3-93.2 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Izbicki 70 34 80 17 80.5 70.2 67.3 ( 57.8-75.6 ) 82.5 ( 73.7-88.8 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 De Dombal 70 31 83 17 80.5 72.8 69.3 ( 59.7-77.5 ) 83.0 ( 74.5-89.1 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Christian 74 17 97 13 85.1 85.1 81.3 ( 72.1-87.9 ) 88.2 ( 80.8-92.9 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Eskelinen 72 9 105 15 82.8 92.1 88.9 ( 80.2-94.1 ) 87.5 ( 80.4-92.3 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Ohmann 81 19 95 6 93.1 83.3 81.0 ( 72.2-87.5 ) 94.1 ( 87.6-97.2 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Our Proposed mark 55 2 74 3 95.4 97.4 96.5 ( 90.2-98.8 ) 96.5 ( 91.4-98.6 ) & A ; lt ; 0.001 Tin: sensitiveness ; SPC: specificity ; PPV: positive prognostic value ; NPV: negative prognostic value ; ACR: truth ; CI: assurance interval.Figure I. Accuracy of tonss in assorted surveies

Friday, January 10, 2020

Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement

In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA is the course of action that will be taken by a party if the current negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be reached. BATNA is the key focus and the driving force behind a successful negotiator. A party should generally not accept a worse resolution than its BATNA. Care should be taken, however, to ensure that deals are accurately valued, taking into account all considerations, such as relationship value, time value of money and the likelihood that the other party will live up to their side of the bargain.These other considerations are often difficult to value, since they are frequently based on uncertain or qualitative considerations, rather than easily measurable and quantifiable factors. The BATNA is often seen by negotiators not as a safety net, but rather as a point of leverage in negotiations. Although a negotiator's alternative options should, in theory, be straightforward to evaluate, the effo rt to understand which alternative represents a party's BATNA is often not invested.Options need to be real and actionable to be of value,[1] however without the investment of time, options will frequently be included that fail on one of these criteria. [citation needed] Most managers overestimate their BATNA whilst simultaneously investing too little time into researching their real options. [citation needed] This can result in poor or faulty decision making and negotiating outcomes. Negotiatiors also need to be aware of the other negotiator's BATNA and to identify how it compares to what they are offering. 2] BATNA was developed by negotiation researchers Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON), in their series of books on Principled negotiation that started with Getting to YES, unwittingly duplicating a game theory concept pioneered by Nobel Laureate John Forbes Nash decades earlier in his early undergraduate research. [citation needed] Contents [ hide] 1 Definitions 2 Examples 2. 1 Selling a car 2. 2 Purchasing 3 See also 4 References 5 External links [edit]Definitions BATNA An acronym defined by negotiation researches Roger Fisher and William Ury which means Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. 3] It is the alternative action that will be taken if your proposed agreement with another party result in an unsatisfactory agreement or when an agreement cannot be reached. Historical Theories The Nash Equilibrium as developed by John Forbes Nash, the father of Game Theory, is described in Getting to YES[3] as the underlying idea for the concept of BATNA in negotiation (Roger B. Myerson, April 1996). [4] In a nutshell, Nash Equilibrium theory explains that, if in a group of players, each player has in consideration the other player’s decisions, then no one will benefit from altering their decisions, if the other players haven’t either. 5] Example of Nash Equilibrium Theory Amy and Phil are in Nash Equilibrium i f Amy is making the best decision she can, taking into account Phil's decision, and Phil is making the best decision he can, taking into account Amy's decision. Likewise, a group of players are in Nash Equilibrium if each one is making the best decision that he or she can, taking into account the decisions of the others. We cannot think of BATNA without first understanding the notion of negotiation. Negotiation has been part of the â€Å"business† mentality of human beings as we know it, since the beginning of mankind.Take for example the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the longest ongoing negotiations of the kind, based primarily on the dispute over land (UN, 1948). We negotiate every single day of our lives; whether it is goods, commodities, ideas, positions, or money. The list could be endless. For this reason knowing how to negotiate is very important. The idea is to have all parties mutually satisfied with the results achieved through the highest standards of (Ethic s) and legitimate standards.In no other time of world history as the modern days, has the ability and the necessity of knowing how to negotiate, using sophisticated tools and civil discourse been so essential to society. As explained in Getting to YES, â€Å"We are each participants in a pioneering generation of negotiators†¦ it is central to human life and the survival of our species. â€Å"[3] Negotiations Concepts Leading to Good BATNA A ruthless, aggressive and cold blooded negotiation style is the framework approach most people have when it comes to negotiation,[6] a theoretical example of that is Adversarial Approach Style Negotiation. 6] But in reality, as mentioned by experts and researchers such as Fisher and Ury [3] it doesn’t have to be that way. As the world moves to more sophisticated platforms of communication, negotiation follows the trend and Problem-Solving Approach(citation) is in a way, the â€Å"antidote† of Adversarial Approach Style Negotia tion. Getting to YES[3] suggest an Interest-Based Model for the use of Problem-Solving Approach. Interest-Based Model focus on separating the person (positional) from the problems (resolution) and then concentrate on the resolution.This way allowing for both parties in a distributive way to get the results they both want. ABC's of BATNA Having a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) as part of the negotiation is imperative as the name explains. No one should come to the negotiation table without a BATNA. [7] This will allow for intelligent negotiation and bargain zones. In addition to having a BATNA, parties should have a Bottom Line or Reservation Price. What this prevents is that neither party will come out with agreements they don’t need[3] Often, parties go to the negotiation table with what they imagine is a great BATNA.For example, how many times have you walked into a job interview with no other solid job offers in hand, let alone perspective of solid sala ries, benefits and other great things you are looking for in a job. [3] The ability to be in a powerful position so the negotiation can be intelligent and satisfactory to both parties requires preparation and research. So do not cut yourself short for the lack of having a better BATNA at all times. [3] If having a good BATNA in essential, developing a BATNA is equally important. Let’s assume that you are going to work for a company that is not offering you the salary you desire.Instead, you know that they offer other perks such as, company cars, luxurious vacation homes, and state-of-the-art computers and laptops to their employees. In other words, Alternatives. [3] Attractive Alternatives is what you want to explore in order to develop a very strong BATNA. In Getting to YES, the authors give 3 suggestions of how you can accomplish this: Inventing a list of actions you might take if no agreement is reached Converting some of the more promising ideas and transforming them into tangible and partial alternatives Selecting the alternative that sounds bestBATNA rules Parties should never disclose their BATNA, unless, the alternative is better. In other words, if your best alternative to a negotiated agreement is better than what the other party is offering, then disclosing it, is to your advantage. If on the other hand it is worse, then do not disclose it. BATNA in Cross Cultural Frameworks Currently in the United States and due to recent world events, there are more and more individuals with a different cultural background and approach to negotiation.When individuals come to the negotiation and bargaining table ready to use their BATNA, and one of the parties is from a different culture, there is a tremendous game change in approach. Both parties need to think and account for cultural cognitive behaviors. Both parties must expand their thinking negotiation hats by not allowing external judgment and biases to affect the negotiation. As mentioned earlier, sep arate the individual from the objective[3] For example imagine you are negotiating with a party from an Arab Nation. Is this going to effect your view of how you are going to negotiate?Or even if you are the party from that nation, are you prepared to receive an offer lower than your BATNA because you know you are from a different culture. The previous is a very simple example, but the purpose here as Gulliver[8] mentioned, is for negotiation parties to be aware. Disclosure This is a very new topic in negotiation and there aren’t many frameworks in place to help this scenario. Nonetheless, preparation at all levels, including prejudicial free thoughts, emotional free behavior, biases free behavior are just a few ways according to the Handbook of Negotiations and Culture[9] that can helps in the right direction. edit]Examples The following examples illustrate the basic principles of identifying the BATNA and how to use it in further negotiations to help value other offers. [ed it]Selling a car If the seller of a car has a written offer from a dealership to buy the seller's car for $1,000, then the seller's BATNA when dealing with other potential purchasers would be $1,000 since the seller can get $1,000 for the car even without reaching an agreement with an alternative purchaser. In this example, other offers that illustrate the difficulty of valuing qualitative factors might include: An offer of $900 by a close relativeAn offer of $1,100 in 45 days (what are the chances of this future commitment falling through, and would the seller's prior BATNA (the $1,000 offer from the dealership) still be available if it did? ) An offer from another dealer to offset $1,500 against the price of a new car (does the seller want to buy a new car right now, and the offered car in particular? ) [edit]Purchasing Buyers are often able to leverage their BATNA with regards to prices. This is done through buying from the lowest cost or best value seller. [edit]See also Getting to YES Getting past No Conflict resolution researchAlternative Dispute Resolution in a Nutshell [edit]References ^ Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement | Negotiation Experts ^ Negotiation, Readings, Exercises and Cases, Roy J. Lewicki ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fisher and Ury, Roger and William (2011). Getting to YES. Penguin Books. pp. 1–170. ISBN 978-0143118756. ^ Myerson, Roger B. â€Å"Nash Equilibrium and the History of Economic Theory†. Nash Equilibrium and the History of Economic Theory. Journal of Economic Literature. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ Hawkins and Steiner, Jeff and Neil. â€Å"The Nash Equilibrium Meets Batna†.Gamed Therory Varied Ueses in ADR. Harvard University Press. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ a b Nolan-Haley, Jaqueline M (2001). Alternative Dipute Resolution in a Nutshel. Thomson West. pp. 39–50. ISBN ISBN 978-0314180148. ^ Honeyman and Schneider, Andrea and Chistopher (2006). The Negotiators Fieldbook: Desktop Reference. American Bar Association. pp. 200–300. ISBN 978-1590315453. ^ Gulliver, P. H (1979). Disputes and Negotiation: A Cross Culture Perspective. Academic Press. p. 287. ^ Brett and Gelfand, Jeanne and Michael (2004). The Handbook of Negotiations and

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Images Of Women And Women - 2057 Words

Images of Women and the Role of Gender in the Tang Dynasty Throughout China’s feudal era, society was purely male dominated. A consequent belief in the superiority of men over women emerged as the normal ruling ideology during feudal culture. Thus, in feudal China, women held no honorable images and status in the society but were viewed somewhat as bond servants. During this era, male superiority was absolute and was maintained through various norms. With very low social, economic, political and family status, women hardly dreamed of occupying any of these realms. In the course of the long, dark epoch of the Chinese feudal history, however, there was a glimpse and sunny relief for the antique subjugated Chinese women. It was during the zenith of the Tang Dynasty that women enjoyed a time marked by tolerance and freethinking. Understanding the role of women in the realms of art during the Tang Dynasty in China provides a unique recognition of how perceptions have altered in man y regards in the years since. Before the dispensation of Tang Dynasty, male superiority was brutal particularly on the women and was upheld by certain standards. There were three fundamental guides; the ruler guides the subjects, a father guides the son, the husband guides the wife. Five invariable virtues that characterized social behaviors were observed; righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, propriety, and sincerity. Similarly, three obedience were required of the China woman; obedience to the fatherShow MoreRelatedThe Media Image Of Women1129 Words   |  5 Pagesnaturally glamorous trans woman, distorts the image of what it actually is like to be transgender. The trans community have expressed their opinion on the topic stating Jenner is not an accurate example of the lifestyle experienced by most trans women. 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