The document provides instructions for the second writing assignment in a Sociology 100 course on Los Angeles and the American Dream. Students are asked to write a paper focusing on a field site in LA of their choice. They must conduct research on the area using library resources and media representations. Students then visit their chosen field site to make observations and take field notes. The paper requires students to analyze how their observations compare to the academic and media representations of the area. It must include sections on the representations, a description of their fieldwork, and a conclusion analyzing their findings. The paper aims to have students connect their field site to the themes discussed in class like stratification, contradiction, and reinvention in LA.

1. PEER RESPONSES FOR Patient Outcomes and Sustainable
Change
QUESTION: Reflecting on the "IHI Module PS 101:
Introduction to Patient Safety," summarize why it is essential to
improve patient safety. Use one of the articles from this week's
topic Resources and describe the framework or theory that was
used to improve the patient outcome. What outcome measures
were identified and how did they align with the improvement
project? Explain how the authors learned from the error or
unintended events to ensure patient safety. Provide supporting
evidence.
Dr. Mary Sizemore
Thank you for your response. You provided some good
information regarding the quality of care and patient safety. In
my practice, many facilities work to improve patient outcomes
through the use of electronic health records to reduce errors
with medication prescribing. Consider ordering a new
medication for a patient. What are some measures you can take
as a provider to reduce possible errors with the process?
Kristen Williams
Dec 2, 2022, 12:11 PM
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Module PS 101:
Introduction to Patient Safety provides the structural foundation
of the vital role patient safety has in a healthcare institution.
High reliability was a central theme of the module. A culture of
safety is when the employees share a central belief that a
healthcare organization supports root cause analysis in patient
care (Leape, 2021). It is a significant theme that humans have a
predisposition to error, and it is vital to create systems and a
safety culture to have a safe environment for patients. It is
crucial to develop systems to track and analyze errors as they

2. occur to improve future outcomes by creating safer systems.
When people interact with a healthcare system, they are often at
their most valuable state. The number of people dying from
medical errors in 2018 was equivalent to a daily jumbo
crash (Leape, 2021). Our society would not stand for one plane
crash a day, yet often a place whose purpose is to heal hurts.
Although humans are prone to error, it is essential to create
policies, procedures, and phycological safety to increase safety
when people seek healthcare. A facility that commits to
embedding safety into policy and procedures and a culture of
phycological safety are often referred to as a high-reliability
organization (HRO).
Education and empowerment of staff are essential components
of building physical safety. Haley & Fritz (2019) used a
framework of education and empowerment to improve the rate
of urinary tract infections (UTI) in a long-term care (LTC)
facility. Haley & Fritz (2019) assessed that evidenced-based
signs and symptoms were not consistently utilized in obtaining
urine samples to diagnose UTIs. A culture of safety examination
showed improvement that could be made. Education and
empowerment were done to improve the signs and symptoms
used to initiate obtaining a urine sample (Haley & Fritz, 2019).
Phycological safety is a vital foundation within an HRO and
essential to improving the safety of patients. Having the central
theme of an organization as a root cause analysis of errors to
improve future outcomes is essential. Haley & Fritz (2019)
looked for opportunities for improvement and changed systems
to improve patient outcomes.
References
Haley, T., & Fritz, S. (2019). Treat the resident, not the urine:
Using patient safety to reduce urinary tract infections and
overuse of urine culture in long-term care.
American Journal of Infection Control,
47(6), S8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2019.04.148
Leape, L. L. (2021).

3. Making healthcare safe. Springer International
Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71123-8
Shabnampreet Kaur
Dec 2, 2022, 11:41 PM
Patient safety is one of the biggest needs of healthcare today.
The IHI module PS101 explains how patient safety is
jeopardized in various healthcare settings, and how medical
errors lead to the loss of life or deterioration in patient
condition. In order to improve patient outcomes in terms of
value and quality of life patient safety should be improved.
Polypharmacy is one such issue that is raising questions about
patient safety (Sherman,2017). Patients receiving managed
long-term care services in their homes, especially older adults
fall prey to the negative impacts of polypharmacy. Not only is it
leading to an increased cost of healthcare but it is giving birth
to a cascade of negative impacts on patients' daily lives such as
an increased number of falls, functional and cognitive decline,
and adverse reactions. So one such issue is making patient
safety at risk. There are numerous other examples from
hospital-based and long-term based care settings, and even
primary care settings where patient safety is put at risk. The
main goal of improving patient safety is to prevent the loss of
life, reduce disabilities, provide value-based care to the patient,
and thereby reduce the burden in terms of costs. In the article
"Treat the Resident, Not the Urine: Using Patient Safety to
Reduce Urinary Tract Infections and Overuse of Urine Culture
in Long Term Care"(Haley & Fritz, 2019), the authors have
given the example that according to the Infectious Disease
Society of America (IDSA, screening, and treatment of
asymptomatic bacteriuria is not recommended for elderly,
institutionalized patients. Physicians in the Lebanon VAMC
were requesting many urine cultures which were noted during
the implementation of a Nurse Driven Protocol for Foley
catheter removal. According to the guidelines by IDSA and the

4. American Geriatric Society, the staff members were educated on
the assessment of urinary tract infection among patients using
signs and symptoms of the infection, rather than taking urine
cultures and treating asymptomatic bacteriuria. Education to
staff members was provided based on the benchmarks by the
American Geriatrics Society, Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), and IDSA. The minimum data Set (MDS)
assessment tool was used for data analysis pre-and post-
implementation of the education program. The positive cultures
were reviewed based on guidelines by CDC. The results showed
that the long-term care MDS quality measures for UTI were
reduced from 9.29 in 2016 to 0.66 in 2018(Haley & Fritz,
2019). Also, fewer requests for urine cultures were received and
these requests were reduced by 54%(Haley & Fritz, 2019). To
bring a positive change behaviors should be altered. The
Behavior Change Wheel was developed to assist providers to
identify appropriate behaviors while trying to encourage the
adoption of a behavior (Seeparsand, 2021)r. The behavior
change wheel includes a behavioral model according to which
behaviors are functions of capability, opportunity, and
motivation. The component capability contains the
psychological or physical domain. In the above-mentioned
article, the staff members were motivated which created an
awareness about a certain practice. The knowledge thus
generated helped in behavioral regulation with education and
empowerment. The workers were able to retain the information
and acquired the new skill which was demonstrated by the
reduction in the rate of cultures. The opportunity contains the
domains of social influence and environmental contexts such as
interpersonal processes causing staff members to change their
behaviors and social environment respectively. (Seeparsand,
2021) Motivation contains beliefs about capabilities, beliefs
about consequences, emotions and goals., intentions, optimism,
reinforcement, and social or professional roles.
Haley, T., & Fritz, S. (2019). Treat the Resident, Not the Urine:
Using Patient Safety to Reduce Urinary Tract Infections and

5. Overuse of Urine Culture in Long Term Care.
American Journal of Infection Control,
47(6), S8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2019.04.148
Seeparsand, F. (2021, December 27). The Behaviour Change
Wheel: Using psychology to encourage healthier and more
sustainable choices.
Dunnhumby.
https://www.dunnhumby.com/resources/blog/science-
data/en/the-behaviour-change-wheel-using-psychology-to-
encourage-healthier-and-more-sustainable-choices/
Sherman, P. (2017, June 16). Addressing the Polypharmacy
Conundrum.
Uspharmacist August 4, 2020, from
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/addressing-the-
polypharmacy-conundrum
1
SOCI 100, Assignment #2, Fall 2022
Due: Monday, December 5, by 2 p.m. (see submission directions
below)
LOS ANGELES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM: INTO THE
CITY
WRITING PROMPT:
Throughout this class, we have explored the themes of
stratification, contradiction and reinvention in Los Angeles
– and connected these themes to the ongoing transformation of
space and place. While this course has utilized
L.A. as a metaphor for America, we have also highlighted the

6. history of individual neighborhoods, communities,
and places to illustrate some of the particular issues and
tensions of urban and suburban transformation. Now, it’s
time for you to get out into LA and see this in action.
For this second paper assignment, you will write an essay that
focuses on one field site in Los Angeles of your
choice. The paper should address a current issue, phenomenon,
or class topic in your chosen site. To do this, you
will synthesize some research on the area (newspapers, books,
USC library resources, other media) and your own
in-person observations. This gives you the flexibility to explore
a specific place and course theme that piques your
intellectual curiosity: redevelopment/gentrification,
demographic change, architecture and the built environment,
environmental justice, etc. Based on your research, how have
other authors and media sources addressed your
chosen field site and issue? And, how do you view this place
through your own observations and fieldwork
experience?
ASSIGNMENT STEPS FOR FIELD EXPERIENCE:
The first step in this paper is to choose a field site to do your
fieldwork. Possible choices include (but are not
limited to) the following:
• Old Historic Broadway Theater District
• Union Station to Chinatown
• The Downtown Arts District
• Little Tokyo
• Cornfield to Chinatown
• Watts Tower
• Boyle Heights in East LA
• The LA River

7. • Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, CA
• Koreatown
• Leimart Park
http://www.leimertparkbeat.com
• ThaiTown (by Hollywood Boulevard)
• The Grand Central Market downtown
• MacArthur Park (on a Sunday afternoon)
• Huntington Park (either the downtown or
Cottage Street where La Montana was)
• Bruce’s Beach (Manhattan Beach)
• Echo Park or Highland Park
If you would like to study a place not listed above (or, say, go
to a cultural event – not at USC – as your field
experience), ask your TA for approval. Alternatives are highly
encouraged but please screen with your TA.
The second step in this paper is to find and read relevant
academic texts and/or media representations of the
place (LA Times or magazine articles, videos, books,
documentaries, interviews, websites, etc.) to gain important
background information about your particular field site. These
can include readings we have assigned for the
course (for example, many of the reserve articles discuss some
of these places and the themes they raise; there’s
also a great book called A People’s Guide to Los Angeles that’s
worth buying and sharing but is also available online
through the USC library and will be available on Blackboard as
well) but you should find at least three or more
additional sources. Wikipedia and Google ARE NOT acceptable
sources.

8. The third step in this paper is to prepare for your field site visit.
Before visiting the field site, use the academic and
media representations of your field site to develop a key set of
investigatory questions that will help you to
thoughtfully explore and navigate your chosen site. Developing
a solid set of field site questions will guide you
through the observation process and will also help you to craft a
strong thesis/main argument. That is, go into your
fieldwork with some central issue or set of issues to frame your
observations. Perhaps there is a recent L.A. Times
article that leads you to ask further questions on the matter. Or,
maybe the Christopher Hawthorne articles inspire
http://www.leimertparkbeat.com/
2
you to explore similar issues of how the built environment
shapes public life and social interaction. By going into
your field site without some guiding concern, you run the risk
of walking away with nothing substantive from your
time there. [Your TAs will work with you to review and refine
your framing questions.]
The fourth step in this paper is to visit your field site; while it
is quite acceptable to go with friends, groups should
not exceed three or four people as your own crowd will change
the meaning of the place. Recall that the
preparatory readings were about how the site was represented
by various authors; it’s now your chance to
represent, describe, and analyze the meaning of the place. This
is an active process: write down the date and time
of your observations, and take field notes on the physical and
social landscape which include specific factual

9. details, sensory interpretations, personal feelings while
conducting fieldwork, and nuanced language to describe
your field site. You can choose to document your experiences
through photographs and video footage, or
interview relevant persons to supplement your overall fieldwork
experience. Your field site visit should total
approximately two hours – don’t move quickly but rather get a
rhythm of the place changing around you [You can,
if you wish, do two one-hour visits, perhaps at different times].
We encourage you to take public transportation to
at least some of these sites; you’ll find that will provide its own
set of observations.
The fifth step in this paper is to analyze your field notes and to
determine what you actually discovered there
versus the academic and media representations you read to
prepare. Make sure you thoroughly analyze how your
field work findings compare with those representations of your
field site. Please provide provide critical insights
and analysis, not just a factual summary or opinion about your
topic. Identify an overarching thesis or narrative
that can tie together the paper’s different argumentative and
observational threads.
PAPER ORGANIZATION:
Your paper should have the following sections (I’ll walk
through an example in class):
I. Introduction. State a thesis or argument, and tell your reader
what materials and ideas you will use to
argue your case.
II. Academic and Media Representation. Describe how authors
represent your field site, or how your field

10. site is a representation of the themes in their work.
III. Fieldwork. Describe what you actually did when you went
to your field site. First person is acceptable
and preferable. Analyze how your findings concur with or differ
from those represented in the
academic and media representations you studied – and how
those findings address your questions
and some of the main themes of the course.
IV. Conclusion. Summarize your main points effectively.
The paper should be approximately 1500 words (not including
bibliography); the acceptable range is 1400-1600
words. You must cite at least three sources in your essay (more
is better); we encourage you to include course
readings (it will actually help you tie it in better to course
themes). You are also encouraged to use what you have
learned in lectures to support your arguments or sharpen your
points.
Directions: Double-space your paper, with 12 point font and 1
inch margins. Words in your bibliography do not
count in the limit. Your paper is a standard piece of expository
prose (paragraphs rather than bullet points, etc).
Proofread your work.
Submission guidelines: You must submit your work
electronically no later than Monday, December 5 at 2 p.m.; no
hard copy is necessary. Label your electronic submission with
YOUR last name, first initial, SOCI_100, and essay
number (example: WongK_AMST_101_Essay_2.doc). LATE
WORK will not be accepted without a written,
legitimate excuse such as a doctor’s note. Be aware that your
work will be run through TurnItIn.

11. Citations: Follow guidelines presented in the first assignment
(available on Blackboard).