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Discussion Topic: Module 8: Medical Social Work’s Role in Public Health (graded)Module 8: Medical Social Work’s Role in Public Health (graded)

Module 8Medical Social Work’s Role in Public Health Discussion Purpose

Discussion Prompt Critically reflect on the content of this module as it relates to public health, and discuss your thoughts and ideas related to medical social work practice within a public health setting.

Review the Discussion grading rubric by clicking on the ellipsis (3 dots) on top right corner of this page.

 

Textbooks and Resources Required Textbooks The following books are required for this course:

Title: Publication Manual of the American Psychological AssociationAuthors: American Psychological AssociationPublisher: American Psychological Association (APA)Publication Date: 2019-10-01Edition: 7thAPA Citation

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

Title: Social Work in Health SettingsPractice in ContextAuthors: McCoyd, J. & Kerson, T.Publisher: RoutledgePublication Date: 2016Edition: 4thAPA Citation

McCoyd, J. & Kerson, T. (2016). Social work in health settings: Practice in context (4th ed.). Routledge.

This textbook is is not available through the Bookstore and must be purchased from a third party vendor.

Textbooks available through publishers other than Cengage may be available as eBooks through Vital Source. Please review this information for details

RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS.  Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.

Rosie Post

 

y name is Rosie Delgado. I am a student of the MHA program and work in community health where I see first-hand how quality relates to the patient experience. I am interested in how quality improvement can improve health care.

I have read through the “Six Domains of Healthcare Quality” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], 2022) and patient centered care would be the most advantageous domain overall for an organization. According to the Institute of Medicine, patient centered care is “providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions” (Six Domains of Healthcare Quality, 2025). I feel this domain is important because it speaks to the inherent subjectivity of quality that we have discussed in our module: one person’s quality care may be quite different from another. By considering the patient’s perspective first, an organization can tailor all its processes, down to appointment scheduling and treatment decision making, to the patient’s needs.

Patient centeredness is also a tool to improve the other five domains. By routinely engaging patients in decision making, for example, clinicians decrease the risk of unnecessary care, which also improves efficiency and safety (AHRQ, 2022). This is especially critical in the era of rapidly increasing health care spending. As far back as 1980 the U.S. Office of the Inspector General foresaw the unsustainability of healthcare spending (U.S. Office of the Inspector General, 1980); this is now a reality and is only exacerbated by wasteful care. What’s more, Khan and Khan (2004) highlight that quality management requires a customer focused culture, in which improvements are based on meeting patient needs. When patient centeredness becomes a core concept for an organization, it automatically enhances effectiveness (by providing evidence based care that meets patient preferences), timeliness (by removing delays that annoy patients) and equity (by considering consumer needs of diverse populations).

So patient centered care is not merely one domain of quality, but the key element that makes all of the other domains meaningful. I would be interested to hear what others thought.

Jenna post

 

My name is Jenna. I’m currently finishing my MBA while working as a Business Manager at a pediatric hospital in Cincinnati, where I support research and global health initiatives. My background is in accounting, so I tend to think analytically, but this program has helped me grow more strategically. I also recently became a mom, which has given me a new perspective on healthcare from the patient side.

Of the six domains, I believe efficiency would be the most beneficial to an organization as a whole. In my role, I see how inefficient processes can lead to delays, increased costs, and frustration for both staff and patients. Improving efficiency is not just about cutting costs, but about reducing waste in time, resources, and workflows so that more effort can be focused on delivering quality patient care.

Efficiency also supports other domains like timeliness and patient-centered care by improving access and the overall patient experience. From an organizational perspective, it is critical for long-term sustainability, as healthcare systems must balance high-quality care with financial pressures. Overall, I see efficiency as a key driver that can positively impact performance across the entire system.

The Company I’m assigned is Walmart. This is financial analysis 3rd segment. I have provided the 1 and 2 i submitted earlier just for reference. I have attached the questions as well.

Finance Analysis Segment 3 Questions

Download the Value Line of the company on which you will answer  4  of the following questions.  For each question you choose to not answer, type “skip” in your paper.

 

For each answer, do not forget to include analysis from the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement .  Concepts to include are assets, debt, equity, net income, dividends, retained earnings, cash flows, sales, earnings, interest expense, and stock price .

 

Assume the Value Line is current.  You are free to make assumptions as you conduct the analysis but just be sure to state them clearly in your answers.

 

Do not waste time searching for other analysts’ information and referring to it.  You are assessed based on your unique discussion, not on your ability to parrot other people’s work. Other than the Value Line, you need no other outside information.

 

 

Finance – general questions – Pick 4 to answer.  

 

1. Discuss the current macroeconomic environment, including the current interest rate environment, and how the current policies and conditions should affect the performance of the firm’s industry and the capital structure of the firm.  How will equity and debt investors respond?

 

2. Choose to discuss either the firm’s equity or debt.  Regarding industry structure and performance, what industry-specific characteristics of the structure of the firm’s industry are beneficial for the equity/bond?  What industry-specific characteristics are not beneficial for the equity/bond?  How will equity and debt investors respond?

 

3. Discuss the entry barriers for new competitors in this industry?  Say that the firm is considering an expansion.  What are some of the financial and investment considerations that should come into play?  How will equity and debt investors respond?  Relate the entry barriers to the firm’s financial statements.

 

4. What fixed costs does the industry have and how do these costs affect financial performance?  How will equity and debt investors respond?  How can your firm increase revenue, net income and stock price in this situation?

 

5. Is the firm’s dividend policy appropriate?  How will equity and debt investors respond?  How does this policy affect the firm’s long-run financial performance?  How does this policy affect the stock price?

 

6. Is the firm’s overall cash position healthy?  Discuss the firm’s current cash flow status.  What are some things that the firm can do to better its cash position?  How will equity and debt investors respond?  How does this policy affect the firm’s long-run financial performance?  How does this policy affect the stock price?

 

7. What inventory constraints do the firm or the firm’s customers face?  How do these constraints affect purchase decisions, inventory management systems, and cash flow?  How does the current trade situation affect inventory management for this firm?  How will equity and debt investors respond?  How does this policy affect the firm’s long-run financial performance?  How does this policy affect the stock price?

 

 

Remember for each question:  Discuss in general terms of the financial statements and concepts from corporate finance and valuation along with a specific discussion of your assigned firm.

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Financial Ratio Analysis 2: Walmart

Alex Finn

College

Professor

BUSI 570- Managerial Finance

April 12th 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this paper, the intrinsic value of Walmart Inc. has been estimated based on four valuation models namely, Constant Growth Dividend Model, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Price-to-Earnings (P/E) and Price-to-Sales (P/S). It also makes comparisons of these estimates and the current market price and clarifies discrepancies.

Valuation Models

Financials	Amounts (Walmart Inc., 2026)
EPS (Diluted)	$2.73
Dividends per share (D₀)	$0.94
Shares outstanding	8.02 billion
Revenue	$713.16 billion
CFO	$41.57 billion
CapEx	$26.64 billion

Market data

· Current price (P₀) ≈ $126.77

· Beta (β) = 0.66 (Yahoo Finance, 2026)

· Risk-free rate (Rf) = 4.31% (10-year US Treasury)

· Market return (Rm) = 11% (given in assignment)

Growth assumption

· Walmart’s growth rate 6% (StockAnalysis, 2026)

CAPM (Expected Return)

 

Substitution

 

 

 

Expected return

3. Constant Growth Dividend Model

Formula

 

Compute next dividend

 

 

Compute price

 

 

Dividend model value

 

4. Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)

Step 1: Compute FCFE

 

 

Step 2: FCFE per share

 

Step 3: Forecast (5 years, g = 6%)

Year	FCFE
1	1.97
2	2.09
3	2.22
4	2.35
5	2.49

Step 4: Terminal value

 

 

Step 5: Discount to present

Using :

· PV (Years 1–5) ≈ 8.6

· PV (Terminal) ≈ 29.5

Final DCF Value:

 

 

5. P/E ratio valuation

Walmart P/E ≈ 45.01x

Formula:

 

 

P/E value

 

6. P/S ratio valuation

Step 1: Sales per share

 

Walmart p/s: 1.37

 

P/S Value:

 

Comparison with market price

The current price of Walmart in the market is around 126.77 (Yahoo Finance, 2026). The valuation outcomes are:

· Dividend Model: $36.63

· DCF Model: $38.10

· P/E Model: $122.88

· P/S Model: $121.79

The market price is much more than the intrinsic values of the dividend and DCF models but in line with the relative valuation models.

Explanation of discrepancies

The differences are due to the variations in methodology and assumptions. The Dividend Discount Model and DCF are based on the conservative growth and cash flow estimates. Walmart also has high re-investment and capital expenditure, which decreases the free cash flow and lowers the valuations.

Conversely, the P/E and P/S models are indicative of the market sentiment and investor expectations. Walmart is considered a large and stable retailer that has high growth opportunities in e-commerce and digital activities. These expectations are factored in its market price and this is why these models generate values that are closer to the observed price.

Also, growth rate and required return are some of the assumptions that are sensitive to valuation models. A small variation in these inputs can make a big difference especially in the dividend model where growth and the rate of return are near each other.

Growth rate justification

The growth rate of 6% is based on analyst forecasts of Walmart’s future earnings and revenue growth obtained from StockAnalysis (2026). This is a rate that indicates the maturity and stable growth prospects of Walmart and is therefore a reasonable and defendable assumption.

Expected return using CAPM

The capital asset pricing model is used to determine the expected return: which gives a return of 8.72, indicating that it has a low systematic risk.

Conclusion

Overall, Walmart seems to be a bit overvalued according to intrinsic valuation models but fairly valued according to market-based multiples. The variations underscore the significance of assumptions, investor expectations, and constraints of valuation methods.

 

 

 

 

 

References

StockAnalysis. (2026). Walmart Inc. (WMT). Retrieved from: https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/wmt/

U.S. Treasury. (2026). 10-year Treasury constant maturity rate. Retrieved from: https://home.treasury.gov/

Walmart Inc. (2026). Investor relations. Retrieved from: https://stock.walmart.com/

Yahoo Finance. (2026). Walmart Inc . (WMT) statistics. Retrieved from: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/WMT/

Case Study Assignment Instructions

Overview

You will complete 6 Case Study Assignments throughout this course. Below you will find the instructions and description assignment.

Instructions

• Provide a Biblically based support for your analysis
• Sources must be derived from Read items assigned for the Module: Week in which the Case Study is assigned, peer-reviewed journal articles, and your independent research.
• All citations and format must be in current APA format
• Include 8 – 10 sources, not including your Biblical analysis
• Double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, written in 12-point Times New Roman font.

Below is a chart with each Case Study Assignment and the Module: Week it is due.

Title of Assignment	Module: Week
Case Study: NASA Collaborative Transformation Assignment	Module 5: Week 5

 Case Study: NASA Collaborative Transformation Assignment

During and before the Apollo program years at NASA, it was the primary government organization involved in all space technology decisions.  Since the Space Shuttle Program, NASA has been reinvented.  It transformed from a closed system with a hierarchy that develops its technologies internally, to an open and collaborative network that promotes innovation and collaboration with other public and private organizations. NASA has become more interdependent.

Using the Moon to Mars Mission (Artemis-Orion), describe this new collaborative approach at NASA.

 

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Games at Twilight

by Anita Desai

(1) It was still too hot to play outdoors. They had had their tea, they had been washed and had their hair brushed, and after the long day of confinement in the house that was not cool but at least a protection from the sun, the children strained to get out. Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open the door, everything was still curtained and shuttered in a way that stifled the children, made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust and if they didn’t burst out into the light and see the sun and feel the air, they would choke.

(2) “Please, ma, please,” they begged. “We’ll play in the veranda and porch—we won’t go a step out of the porch.”

(3) “You will, I know you will, and then——”

(4) “No—we won’t, we won’t,” they wailed so horrendously that she actually let down the bolt of the front door so that they burst out like seeds from a crackling, overripe pod into the veranda, with such wild, maniacal yells that she retreated to her bath and the shower of talcum powder and the fresh sari that were to help her face the summer evening.

(5) They faced the afternoon. It was too hot. Too bright. The white walls of the veranda glared stridently in the sun. The bougainvillea hung about it, purple and magenta, in livid balloons. The garden outside was like a tray made of beaten brass, flattened out on the red gravel and the stony soil in all shades of metal—aluminum, tin, copper, and brass. No life stirred at this arid time of day—the birds still drooped, like dead fruit, in the papery tents of the trees; some squirrels lay limp on the wet earth under the garden tap. The outdoor dog lay stretched as if dead on the veranda mat, his paws and ears and tail all reaching out like dying travelers in search of water. He rolled his eyes at the children—two white marbles rolling in the purple sockets, begging for sympathy—and attempted to lift his tail in a wag but could not. It only twitched and lay still.

(6) Then, perhaps roused by the shrieks of the children, a band of parrots suddenly fell out of the eucalyptus tree, tumbled frantically in the still, sizzling air, then sorted themselves out into battle formation and streaked away across the white sky.

(7) The children, too, felt released. They too began tumbling, shoving, pushing against each other, frantic to start. Start what? Start their business. The business of the children’s day which is—play.

(8) “Let’s play hide-and-seek.”

(9) “Who’ll be It?”

(10) “You be It.”

(11) “Why should I? You be——”

(12) “You’re the eldest——”

(13) “That doesn’t mean——”

(14) The shoves became harder. Some kicked out. The motherly Mira intervened. She pulled the boys roughly apart. There was a tearing sound of cloth, but it was lost in the heavy panting and angry grumbling, and no one paid attention to the small sleeve hanging loosely off a shoulder.

(15) “Make a circle, make a circle!” she shouted, firmly pulling and pushing till a kind of vague circle was formed. “Now clap!” she roared, and, clapping, they all chanted in melancholy unison: “Dip, dip, dip—my blue ship——” and every now and then one or the other saw he was safe by the way his hands fell at the crucial moment—palm on palm, or back of hand on palm—and dropped out of the circle with a yell and a jump of relief and jubilation.

(16) Raghu was It. He started to protest, to cry “You cheated—Mira cheated—Anu cheated——” but it was too late, the others had all already streaked away. There was no one to hear when he called out, “Only in the veranda—the porch—Ma said—Ma said to stay in the porch!” No one had stopped to listen, all he saw were their brown legs flashing through the dusty shrubs, scrambling up brick walls, leaping over compost heaps and hedges, and then the porch stood empty in the purple shade of the bougainvillea, and the garden was as empty as before; even the limp squirrels had whisked away, leaving everything gleaming, brassy, and bare.

(17) Only small Manu suddenly reappeared, as if he had dropped out of an invisible cloud or from a bird’s claws, and stood for a moment in the center of the yellow lawn, chewing his finger and near to tears as he heard Raghu shouting, with his head pressed against the veranda wall, “Eighty-three, eighty-five, eighty-nine, ninety . . .” and then made off in a panic, half of him wanting to fly north, the other half counseling south. Raghu turned just in time to see the flash of his white shorts and the uncertain skittering of his red sandals, and charged after him with such a bloodcurdling yell that Manu stumbled over the hosepipe, fell into its rubber coils, and lay there weeping, “I won’t be It—you have to find them all—all—All!”

(18) “I know I have to, idiot,” Raghu said, superciliously kicking him with his toe. “You’re dead,” he said with satisfaction, licking the beads of perspiration off his upper lip, and then stalked off in search of worthier prey, whistling spiritedly so that the hiders should hear and tremble.

(19) Ravi heard the whistling and picked his nose in a panic, trying to find comfort by burrowing the finger deep—deep into that soft tunnel. He felt himself too exposed, sitting on an upturned flowerpot behind the garage. Where could he burrow? He could run around the garage if he heard Raghu come—around and around and around—but he hadn’t much faith in his short legs when matched against Raghu’s long, hefty, hairy footballer legs. Ravi had a frightening glimpse of them as Raghu combed the hedge of crotons and hibiscus, trampling delicate ferns underfoot as he did so. Ravi looked about him desperately, swallowing a small ball of snot in his fear.

(20) The garage was locked with a great heavy lock to which the driver had the key in his room, hanging from a nail on the wall under his workshirt. Ravi had peeped in and seen him still sprawling on his string cot in his vest and striped underpants, the hair on his chest and the hair in his nose shaking with the vibrations of his phlegm-obstructed snores. Ravi had wished he were tall enough, big enough to reach the key on the nail, but it was impossible, beyond his reach for years to come. He had sidled away and sat dejectedly on the flowerpot. That at least was cut to his own size.

(21) But next to the garage was another shed with a big green door. Also locked. No one even knew who had the key to the lock. That shed wasn’t opened more than once a year, when Ma turned out all the old broken bits of furniture and rolls of matting and leaking buckets, and the white anthills were broken and swept away and Flit sprayed into the spider webs and rat holes so that the whole operation was like the looting of a poor, ruined, and conquered city. The green leaves of the door sagged. They were nearly off their rusty hinges. The hinges were large and made a small gap between the door and the walls—only just large enough for rats, dogs, and, possibly, Ravi to slip through.

(22) Ravi had never cared to enter such a dark and depressing mortuary of defunct household goods seething with such unspeakable and alarming animal life but, as Raghu’s whistling grew angrier and sharper and his crashing and storming in the hedge wilder, Ravi suddenly slipped off the flowerpot and through the crack and was gone. He chuckled aloud with astonishment at his own temerity so that Raghu came out of the hedge, stood silent with his hands on his hips, listening, and finally shouted, “I heard you! I’m coming! Got you——” and came charging round the garage only to find the upturned flowerpot, the yellow dust, the crawling of white ants in a mud hill against the closed shed door—nothing. Snarling, he bent to pick up a stick and went off, whacking it against the garage and shed walls as if to beat out his prey.

(23) Ravi shook, then shivered with delight, with self-congratulation. Also with fear. It was dark, spooky in the shed. It had a muffled smell, as of graves. Ravi had once got locked into the linen cupboard and sat there weeping for half an hour before he was rescued. But at least that had been a familiar place, and even smelled pleasantly of starch, laundry, and, reassuringly, of his mother. But the shed smelled of rats, anthills, dust, and spider webs. Also of less definable, less recognizable horrors. And it was dark. Except for the white-hot cracks along the door, there was no light. The roof was very low. Although Ravi was small, he felt as if he could reach up and touch it with his fingertips. But he didn’t stretch. He hunched himself into a ball so as not to bump into anything, touch or feel anything. What might there not be to touch him and feel him as he stood there, trying to see in the dark? Something cold, or slimy—like a snake. Snakes! He leapt up as Raghu whacked the wall with his stick—then, quickly realizing what it was, felt almost relieved to hear Raghu, hear his stick. It made him feel protected.

(24) But Raghu soon moved away. There wasn’t a sound once his footsteps had gone around the garage and disappeared. Ravi stood frozen inside the shed. Then he shivered all over. Something had tickled the back of his neck. It took him a while to pick up the courage to lift his hand and explore. It was an insect—perhaps a spider—exploring him. He squashed it and wondered how many more creatures were watching him, waiting to reach out and touch him, the stranger.

(25) There was nothing now. After standing in that position—his hand still on his neck, feeling the wet splodge of the squashed spider gradually dry—for minutes, hours, his legs began to tremble with the effort, the inaction. By now he could see enough in the dark to make out the large solid shapes of old wardrobes, broken buckets, and bedsteads piled on top of each other around him. He recognized an old bathtub—patches of enamel glimmered at him, and at last he lowered himself onto its edge.

(26) He contemplated slipping out of the shed and into the fray. He wondered if it would not be better to be captured by Raghu and be returned to the milling crowd as long as he could be in the sun, the light, the free spaces of the garden, and the familiarity of his brothers, sisters, and cousins. It would be evening soon. Their games would become legitimate. The parents would sit out on the lawn on cane basket chairs and watch them as they tore around the garden or gathered in knots to share a loot of mulberries or black, teeth-splitting jamun from the garden trees. The gardener would fix the hosepipe to the water tap, and water would fall lavishly through the air to the ground, soaking the dry yellow grass and the red gravel and arousing the sweet, the intoxicating scent of water on dry earth—that loveliest scent in the world. Ravi sniffed for a whiff of it. He half-rose from the bathtub, then heard the despairing scream of one of the girls as Raghu bore down upon her. There was the sound of a crash, and of rolling about in the bushes, the shrubs, then screams and accusing sobs of “I touched the den——” “You did not——” “I did——” “You liar, you did not” and then a fading away and silence again.

(27) Ravi sat back on the harsh edge of the tub, deciding to hold out a bit longer. What fun if they were all found and caught—he alone left unconquered! He had never known that sensation. Nothing more wonderful had ever happened to him than being taken out by an uncle and bought a whole slab of chocolate all to himself, or being flung into the soda man’s pony cart and driven up to the gate by the friendly driver with the red beard and pointed ears. To defeat Raghu—that hirsute, hoarse-voiced football champion—and to be the winner in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children—that would be thrilling beyond imagination. He hugged his knees together and smiled to himself almost shyly at the thought of so much victory, such laurels.

(28) There he sat smiling, knocking his heels against the bathtub, now and then getting up and going to the door to put his ear to the broad crack and listening for sounds of the game, the pursuer and the pursued, and then returning to his seat with the dogged determination of the true winner, a breaker of records, a champion.

(29) It grew darker in the shed as the light at the door grew softer, fuzzier, turned to a kind of crumbling yellow pollen that turned to yellow fur, blue fur, gray fur. Evening. Twilight. The sound of water gushing, falling. The scent of earth receiving water, slaking its thirst in great gulps and releasing that green scent of freshness, coolness. Through the crack Ravi saw the long purple shadows of the shed and the garage lying still across the yard. Beyond that, the white walls of the house. The bougainvillea had lost its lividity, hung in dark bundles that quaked and twittered and seethed with masses of homing sparrows. The lawn was shut off from his view. Could he hear the children’s voices? It seemed to him that he could. It seemed to him that he could hear them chanting, singing, laughing. But what about the game? What had happened? Could it be over? How could it when he was still not found?

(30) It then occurred to him that he could have slipped out long ago, dashed across the yard to the veranda, and touched the “den.” It was necessary to do that to win. He had forgotten. He had only remembered the part of hiding and trying to elude the seeker. He had done that so successfully, his success had occupied him so wholly, that he had quite forgotten that success had to be clinched by that final dash to victory and the ringing cry of “Den!”

(31) With a whimper he burst through the crack, fell on his knees, got up, and stumbled on stiff, benumbed legs across the shadowy yard, crying heartily by the time he reached the veranda so that when he flung himself at the white pillar and bawled, “Den! Den! Den!” his voice broke with rage and pity at the disgrace of it all, and he felt himself flooded with tears and misery.

(32) Out on the lawn, the children stopped chanting. They all turned to stare at him in amazement. Their faces were pale and triangular in the dusk. The trees and bushes around them stood inky and sepulchral, spilling long shadows across them. They stared, wondering at his reappearance, his passion, his wild animal howling. Their mother rose from her basket chair and came toward him, worried, annoyed, saying, “Stop it, stop it, Ravi. Don’t be a baby. Have you hurt yourself?” Seeing him attended to, the children went back to clasping their hands and chanting, “The grass is green, the rose is red. . . .”

(33) But Ravi would not let them. He tore himself out of his mother’s grasp and pounded across the lawn into their midst, charging at them with his head lowered so that they scattered in surprise. “I won, I won, I won,” he bawled, shaking his head so that the big tears flew. “Raghu didn’t find me. I won, I won——”

(34) It took them a minute to grasp what he was saying, even who he was. They had quite forgotten him. Raghu had found all the others long ago. There had been a fight about who was to be It next. It had been so fierce that their mother had emerged from her bath and made them change to another game. Then they had played another and another. Broken mulberries from the tree and eaten them. Helped the driver wash the car when their father returned from work. Helped the gardener water the beds till he roared at them and swore he would complain to their parents. The parents had come out, taken up their positions on the cane chairs. They had begun to play again, sing and chant. All this time no one had remembered Ravi. Having disappeared from the scene, he had disappeared from their minds. Clean.

(35) “Don’t be a fool,” Raghu said roughly, pushing him aside, and even Mira said, “Stop howling, Ravi. If you want to play, you can stand at the end of the line,” and she put him there very firmly.

(36) The game proceeded. Two pairs of arms reached up and met in an arc. The children trooped under it again and again in a lugubrious circle, ducking their heads and intoning

(37) “The grass is green,
The rose is red;
Remember me
When I am dead, dead, dead, dead . . .”

(38) And the arc of thin arms trembled in the twilight, and the heads were bowed so sadly, and their feet tramped to that melancholy refrain so mournfully, so helplessly, that Ravi could not bear it. He would not follow them, he would not be included in this funereal game. He had wanted victory and triumph—not a funeral. But he had been forgotten, left out, and he would not join them now. The ignominy of being forgotten—how could he face it? He felt his heart go heavy and ache inside him unbearably. He lay down full length on the damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying, silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance.

‘Games at Twilight’ from Games at Twilight and Other Stories by Anita Desai. Published by Penguin Random House. Copyright © Anita Desai. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN

 

“New Chicago

by Kelley Armstrong (excerpt)

(1) As Cole hurried along River Street, the cries of the peddlers changed. One minute they were hawking mended shirts and worn boots and the next they were selling equally worn‑out dreams and promises. “Peddlers of hope, people called them. “Predators, his brother, Tyler, said. Preying on hope, because that was the only thing the people of New Chicago had left.

(2) If Tyler caught him here, Cole would get a lecture. There was no danger of that, though, because his brother wouldn’t set foot on this part of River Street. He said it was because he didn’t want to give the hope peddlers an audience, but Cole suspected Tyler feared temptation. Walk past the peddlers and he might hear a pitch that would make him dig into his pocket for coins they couldn’t afford to spare, wagering them on the dream of a better life in New Chicago.

(3) New Chicago. The name itself rang with promise. People from across the nation fought starvation and bandits and the infected to get to the great city. When they were finally admitted, after weeks in quarantine outside, they wept. But they did not weep for joy.

(4) They’d heard that New Chicago was like the metropolises of old, clean and safe and bursting with promise. Instead they found a ravaged place with peddlers selling maps to the city they’d just left.

(5) Tyler’s dream wasn’t to leave New Chicago. He knew there was nothing better for them out there. But there was something better in here: Garfield Park. Beyond its walls was a real city— safer, cleaner, better. To get in, though, you needed money. Lots of it.

(6) As Cole passed through the hope peddlers, he noticed a group gathered in front of one booth.

(7) “—guaranteed to ward off the infected, the young woman was saying.

(8) She was about Tyler’s age—twenty‑two—and dressed in not nearly enough, given the bitter wind driving off the river. That, Cole decided, explained her crowd.

(9) “—my friend Wally, she continued, waving at a barely upright drunk beside her. “He was out there, beyond the city walls, for three days and not a single one of the infected bothered him. Why? Because he was wearing this.

(10) Cole pressed into the crowd, as if straining to see what she held. His fingers slid into a man’s bulging jacket pocket. Out came a switchblade. Then he reached into a woman’s shopping bag and nicked two bruised apples. While the crowd absently shoved him back, he tucked his winnings under his jacket. Then he backed out and continued on.

(11) This part of the market was the best for lifting and picking. There were always crowds, and there were always distracted people, most who’d just finished their shopping farther up.

(12) If Tyler found out what Cole was doing, he’d get another lecture, this one about empathy. If they started stealing from other people, they were no better than the infected. But life here was a battle, and only the strongest would survive. Tyler knew that. He worked for Russ McClintock, the most feared man in New Chicago. Tyler wanted better for Cole, though. He always had. So he pretended he slung boxes and cleaned warehouses for McClintock, and Cole pretended he spent all day reading the books Tyler brought home. And both brothers slowly added to the small fortune they’d need to buy their way into Garfield Park.

(13) Cole was moving slowly past the peddlers’ booths, as if reluctantly being pulled along by some other task. You had to act as if you were just passing through so you didn’t catch the attention of the peddlers themselves, who hated anyone stealing from their marks before they could.

(14) Cole came through every other day and picked only four or five pockets before moving on. It helped that he was small for his sixteen years, average looking and clean. The “clean part counted for a lot in New Chicago. Good water was so hard to come by, but Russ McClintock liked his employees to be shaven and scrubbed—it lifted them above the riffraff. So he had plenty of reasonably clean water, and he let Tyler bring Cole around for baths, in expectation of recruiting him someday.

(15) Cole was almost through the hope peddlers when he caught sight of something interesting. A man from Garfield Park. You could tell because his clothing didn’t look like it had been mended more than a time or two. Cole’s gaze slipped to the man’s right jacket pocket. It gaped open, ready for the picking. Unfortunately, the man looked uncomfortable here, his gaze darting about. Not an easy mark.

(16) The man finally found what he was looking for—an older man with a dragging leg, cheeks patchy with graying stubble, eyes dull with the “New Chicago look, that empty gaze, expecting nothing. When the old man saw the guy from Garfield Park, he lifted a hand in greeting. The rich man’s eyes narrowed, as if thinking the old guy looked vaguely familiar. Then he nodded and approached. They exchanged a few words and headed toward an alley. Cole followed.

(17) He knew his way through the alleys around the market. Now, seeing where the two men were going, he skirted down a side road and came out near the end of their alley.

(18) “I remember you had an interest in special items, Mr. Murray, the older man was saying, his voice a hoarse rumble. “A scholarly interest.

(19) “If you summoned me here to sell me some cheap bauble—

(20) “I wouldn’t do that, Mr. Murray. I know you’re a very busy man. This is something special. I’m told it’s well known in certain circles.

(21) “Everything is well known in certain circles, Murray snapped. “And almost all of it is as worthless as that crap they’re hawking out there, so if—

(22) “It’s a monkey’s paw.

(23) Silence. Cole inched toward the corner.

(24) “A what? Murray said finally.

(25) Fabric rustled, as if the older man was pulling something from his pocket. Cole leaned around the corner. He could see the old man holding something, but he couldn’t make out what it was.

(26) “There’s a legend— the old man began.

(27) Now it was Murray cutting him short. “I’ve heard it.

(28) “Three wishes. They say the paw grants three wishes.

(29) Murray snorted. “If it did, you wouldn’t be here trying to sell it to me.

(30) “I . . . made mistakes, the old man said. “I didn’t know you need to be very, very careful what you ask for. The gentleman who gave me the paw tried to explain, but I heard only the part about the wishes. He was a wealthy man I’d helped, as I used to help you. He wanted to help me in return. So he gave me this. He told me to take care, but I didn’t listen and I used up my wishes.

(31) “And now you want to sell it to me?

(32) The old man shook his head. “Not sell. Give it away, as it was given to me. That’s only right. You helped me, Mr. Murray, and I never thought I’d be able to properly thank you. But now I can.

(33) “If you expect me to believe—

(34) “Then don’t. It is, as I said, freely given. At worst, it would make an amusing addition to your collection.

(35) Murray snorted again, but he dug into his pocket and pulled out a couple of bills. He took the paw. When the old man didn’t reach for the bills, Murray let them drop. Then he walked away.

(36) Cole ducked back as Murray passed, but the man was busy shoving the paw into his pocket.

(37) Cole looked down the alley. The old man was walking away. He’d left the bills on the ground.

(38) Cole slid soundlessly down the alley. When he reached the bills, the old man looked over his shoulder. Cole froze. He could easily scoop up the money and run, but too many of his brother’s teachings had stuck and instead he pointed down.

(39) “You dropped those, sir.

(40) “Take them, the old man said.

(41) Cole hesitated, but the man seemed serious. Cole supposed Tyler would say it was the principle of the thing. The old man had tried to repay a debt, and if Murray was too uncouth to accept the gift, that was his problem.

(42) “Thanks, Cole said. “Here.

(43) He tossed one of his apples. The old man caught it and nodded, unsmiling. Then he continued on, dragging his bad leg behind him. Cole scooped up the cash and took off after Murray.

(44) Cole wanted that paw. He didn’t believe it had any special properties. There was no magic in this world. He wanted it because it would amuse Tyler. He’d tease Cole about it every time his little brother complained. You miss Pepsi and burgers, bud? Why don’t you ask the paw? Just be sure to ask carefully, or you’ll get rat and piss.

(45) Lately, making his brother laugh practically took magic. Hell, most people hadn’t found much to laugh about in ten years. Not since H2N3.

(46) Then the reports started coming in. Gangs of ordinary people roaming the streets, attacking passersby for pocket change. People on the subway being murdered for a sandwich or a cup of coffee. The victims who survived reported that it was like being savaged by a wild animal—clawing and biting and ripping. Then those who’d been bitten began to change, to become like their attackers.

(47) “It was a zombie apocalypse, people said, “just like in the movies. Which was crap. Cole had seen a zombie movie once, sneaking in when Tyler’s friends brought one over. The infected were not zombies. They hadn’t died; they weren’t rotting. They’d just changed. They’d become feral—that’s the word Tyler used. Whatever stops a hungry person from attacking a kid for an apple, that’s what the infection robbed from its victims.

(48) Ten years later, most of the population was infected. The rest had retreated to fortified cities like New Chicago. If there was any real hope left, it was that eventually the infected would annihilate themselves out there. But they sure weren’t hurrying to do it. In the cities, things weren’t much better, as the increasing shortage of food and clean water meant that you could still lose your life over an apple, murdered by a regular person who needed it to survive.

(49) In a world like that, if you could do something to lighten someone’s spirits, you did it. So Cole wanted that paw for Tyler.

(50) When Cole caught up, Murray was holding it again, looking down on it with distaste, as if he wanted to be rid of the thing.

(51) Just toss it in the trash, Cole thought. Or in the gutter.

(52) Murray paused outside a soup shop. The smell made Cole’s mouth water, but even with those bills in his pocket, he wasn’t tempted. Before Tyler worked for these shops—killing rats down at the river and digging rotted vegetables out of the market trash. That’s what you could expect from prepared food in New Chicago.

(53) Murray didn’t seem to know that. The rich scent of hot soup caught his attention, and he followed it to the shop door. Then he paused and fingered the paw.

(54) It’s dirty. Filthy, Cole thought. You’ll need to wash before you eat now. Just get rid of it.

(55) Murray shoved the paw into his pocket and walked inside.

(56) In the old days, this place wouldn’t have been considered a shop at all, much less a restaurant. Cole remembered restaurants. Fast food ones mostly. Sometimes, now, he’d wake thinking he smelled fries and it would set him in a lousy mood all day. Tyler would tease that, of all the things you could miss, fried potatoes should rank near the bottom. But they both knew it wasn’t really the fries—it was the idea that you could walk into a big, gleaming restaurant, scrub your hands with free soap and water, and order hot, safe food for less than half the twenty bucks your dad gave your brother when he decided to take you to the park that morning.

(57) This soup shop would have fit in one of those fast-food restrooms. Hell, it probably had been the restroom for this place, once a big department store, the top two floors now destroyed in the bombings, the remainder divvied up into a score of tiny, dark “shops. There were certainly no tables or chairs. You pushed your way up to the counter, got your soup, and pushed your way to a spot to eat it, standing. You could take it outside, but with November winds blowing through threadbare clothes, Cole suspected most patrons didn’t even really want the soup—it just gave them a chance to squeeze in someplace warm.

(58) Murray would take his soup and go—Cole could tell that by the contemptuous gazes the man shot around him. He even seemed to be reconsidering whether he wanted to remain long enough to get a meal. Cole had to act fast. He slid up behind Murray and got into position. Then, when a man left the counter, jostling and elbowing through the crowd, Cole knocked into Murray.

(59) Murray spun on him, scowling.

(60) “Sorry, Cole said.

(61) He offered a chagrined smile. Murray muttered something, turned, and pushed his own way through the crowd, stalking out.

(62) Cole watched him go. Then he glanced down at the paw in his hand. He smiled, shoved it deep into his pocket, and made his way out.

(63) Tyler was in a foul mood, which was rare. It was usually Cole who grumbled while Tyler soldiered through. Today was different. Cole knew that as soon as he saw the candle burning.

(64) Tyler often joked that they had a penthouse apartment. Not only was it on the top floor, but they even had a second story. The roof had been blasted off, so their upper floor was four walls with no ceiling. Those walls, though, cut most of the wind and they could spend the daylight hours up there and save their candles and lantern oil. If Tyler was staying on the first floor and burning a candle mid‑afternoon, something was wrong.

(65) “Where were you? Tyler demanded as Cole crawled in.

(66) His brother was sitting on a chair—actually a crate, but they called them chairs. He was playing solitaire with a worn deck, slapping the cards down onto another crate, this one known as “the dining room table.

(67) “Just walking. Getting some air.

(68) “Did you finish your schoolwork?

(69) “I read three chapters in history and two of Moby-Dick. I also swept and emptied the piss bucket, as you can see—and smell.

(70) Tyler sighed and gathered up the cards. “Sorry, bud. Rough day.

(71) “I see that. Catch.

(72) He tossed Tyler the remaining apple. The corners of his brother’s mouth quirked. “Thanks. He started to take a bite and stopped. “Do you have one?

(73) “Already ate it.

(74) “Are you sure? You need more fruits and vegetables. I—

(75) “I ate one, Ty. Go ahead.

(76) His brother worried that poor diet was the reason Cole was so small. He doubted it. He remembered kindergarten—his only year of school before the world went to hell. He’d been the smallest kid there, too. But Tyler still worried. Some days, Cole thought that was the only thing keeping his brother going— worries and problems and the faint hope that he could fix them.

(77) Tyler didn’t ask where the apple came from. Cole was in charge of the money and the shopping. Tyler considered it a practical application of his math lessons, which made it easy for Cole to sneak extra cash into the kitty and put extra food on the table.

(78) Tyler took a bite of the apple, snuffed out the candle, and waved for them to go upstairs, where they pulled pillows and thick old blankets out of a box. Cushioned and bundled against the cold, they rested, enjoying the faint warmth of the late‑ day sun.

(79) “So what happened at work? Cole asked.

(80) Tyler paused and then looked over. “When you were out, did you hear anything? Rumors? News?

(81) “Like what?

(82) Another pause, longer now, until Cole pressed.

(83) “They say one of the infected got in, Tyler said.

(84) “Again? What’s that? Third time this month?

(85) “Yeah. It’s getting worse. They always catch them, but the fact that they’re getting in . . . Tyler shook his head. “Just . . . be careful, okay? When you’re out?

(86) “I always am.

(87) After a moment, Tyler asked, “So, how much money do we have so far?

(88) He said it casually, just an offhand question, but Cole knew it wasn’t offhand at all. This was what was really bothering his brother—that the situation in New Chicago seemed to worsen so much faster than their stash grew.

(89) “Four hundred and sixty‑eight dollars to go, Cole said. Tyler swore.

(90) “We’ll make it, Cole said. “Less than a year, I bet.

(91) “I used to earn that much in a month, mowing lawns. Then I’d blow it on video games and movies.

(92) “We’ll get there.

(93) Silence fell for at least five minutes. Then, without looking over, Tyler said, “We have enough to get you in.

(94) “No.

(95) “But we could—

(96) “No. We go together, or we stay together. If you want to make money faster, let me work. McClintock offered me a job—

(97) “No.

(98) “But if I was working, we’d have enough by—

(99) “No.

(100) And there was the impasse. Cole wouldn’t go without Tyler, and Tyler wouldn’t let him work for McClintock. Cole’s “job was studying. There were real careers in Garfield Park, like in the old days—doctors and businessmen and teachers. Most kids Cole’s age couldn’t even read and write. That would give him an advantage, Tyler said. Cole couldn’t see how taking a few months off would make much difference, but he knew it wasn’t really about that. It was about Cole staying away from McClintock and the life he offered.

(101) “We’ll get there, Cole said.

(102) Tyler tried for a smile, pushed to his feet, and rumpled his brother’s hair. “I know we will. I’m just in a mood. I need to go back to work. Big job tonight. It’ll be late.

(103) “I’ll lock up.

(104) Tyler laughed. “Yeah. You do that. And see if you can’t get another couple of chapters read before the light’s gone.

(105) It was only after Tyler left that Cole remembered the paw. He was sitting there, trying to come up with other ways to make money, when he remembered it. Even then, he didn’t think “I can wish for money! He wasn’t that stupid. Instead, he took it out, turned it over in his hands, and wondered how much he could get for it.

(106) You could just wish for the money, he imagined Tyler saying.

(107) His brother would laugh when he said it, but there’d be a little piece that wouldn’t be laughing. A piece that would be hoping, even if he’d never admit it. Tyler would make that wish, just in case.

(108) Cole chuckled softly to himself as he fingered the mangy fur. “All right, then. I wish—

(109) No, the old man said he had to be careful. Be specific.

(110) Cole closed his eyes. “I wish for five hundred dollars.

(111) He sat there, clutching the paw. It felt familiar, and it took him a moment to realize why. Because it reminded him of another paw he’d had once—a rabbit’s foot that he’d insisted on buying on their last family road trip before H2N3 hit. His lucky rabbit’s foot. He’d carried it everywhere for a month and then stuffed it away in a drawer. The last time he’d seen it, he’d been making a wish. Clutching it and praying that the bite on his mother’s arm hadn’t infected her. Praying she’d walk out of the quarantine ward and come home and see the rabbit’s foot, laugh, and say, “Good god, Cole. Do you still have that flea‑bitten old thing?

(112) Of course, she hadn’t come out. She’d been infected, so they put her down.

(113) Put down.

(114) They had a dog once that had to be put down. It wasn’t the same thing.

(115) When Cole opened his eyes, he could feel tears prickling. He swiped them away with a scowl and then turned that scowl on the monkey’s paw.

(116) Yeah, you’ll make me some money all right. As soon as I figure out how to sell you.

From Rags & Bones by Melissa Marr, copyright © 2013. Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc

You may select a career from any of the industry sectors covered in class (i.e., tourism, lodging, food and beverage –restaurants and beverages, managed services, clubs, spas, cruising, theme parks, gaming entertainment, meetings, and events).

Your assignment must include the following details:

• What is your ideal “dream” job in the hospitality and tourism industry?
• Why do you want this job?  What are its advantages?  Explain what attracted you to this position.
• What are some concerns regarding this job?
• What is your career plan to get this job?
• What are some resources you can use to get this job? (Networking, internships, etc.)
• Which professional organizations/associations can you join to help you get this job? List at least one organization/association and explain how its membership can help you.

discuss the history and future of Web 2.0

Complete a rough draft of the following assignment. Make sure you have in-text citations showing the use of a minimum of five sources.

This assignment is an analysis of local, state, or federal health policy.

1. Select a state health policy reform innovation
2. Discuss the rationale for the policy, how it was adopted (e.g., federal waivers, passage by state legislature), the funding structure, and (to the extent statistical data are available) its impact. ethical outcome based on evidence.
3. Examples of state innovations include Maryland’s hospital rate setting, Vermont’s single payer system, and Massachusetts’ health reforms

The DNP scholarly project is not simply a requirement for a degree. It should be a synthesis of knowledge and skills gained by the DNP student in the course of study, and it should establish the basis for the scholarly work. Discuss how you anticipate your project will impact the profession of nursing. Please include the finance aspect of the project by explaining how your DNP project will seek to make a substantial contribution to improve healthcare system cost and quality.

Define how the applicable DNP essentials were explored or associated with the weekly discussion topic.

Describe which of the Leadership role competencies were accomplished in this week’s discussion.

Participation Requirements

The student must answer the graded discussion with a substantive reply to the graded discussion question(s)/topic(s) posted by the course instructor by Thursday, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time of each week. Two scholarly sources references are required unless stated otherwise by your professor.

Remember that a new discussion rubric was approved by the professors, committee members, and a majority of the students. Please review the rubric before posting to ensure a maximum of points.

Here are the categories of the new discussion rubric:

Initial Post relevance to the topic of discussion, applicability, and insight. (20%)

Quality of Written Communication Appropriateness of audience and words choice is specific, purposeful, dynamic, and varied. Grammar, spelling, punctuation. (20%)

Inclusion of DNP essentials explored in the discussion as well as the role-specific competencies as applicable.(10%)

Rigor, currency,  and relevance of the scholarly references. (Use articles that are below 5 years). (20%)

Peer & Professor Responses. The number of responses, quality of response posts. (20%)

Timeliness of the initial post and the answers to the peers. (10%)