Arranged Marriages Essay Example for Free

Arranged Marriages Essay Love is a many splendored thing: well thats what Ive heard. Eyes meet, birds sing, hearts beat and the world turns upside down; unless you are in a arranged marriage. Only the parents are happy, and of course we want our parents to be happy but at whose expense? For centuries arranged marriages were a tradition and in some cultures they still are. There may be a good reason why arranged marriages are good for the people in the east. However today, arranged marriages are still ongoing because its traditional, I dont think thats a good tradition. I mean celebrating New Years Eve in Times Square New York is a good tradition. Its a good tradition because I feel and know that no one ever gets hurt celebrating New Years Eve. Arranged marriages can hurt and deny a persons certain civil rights. There are plenty of cultures where there are no such things as civil or human rights but it still doesnt make it right. Arranged marriages are a tradition from a past era, I believe that arranged marriages are a way of controlling people, especially women. Around the world there has been a custom or tradition of subjugating women. Eastern cultures or religions believe that it is their right to make women 2nd class citizens. To me it means much more, like controlling a life. If you have the desire to control women and to control their lives start with the marriage. In the western societies they tend to frown upon that kind of control inflicted upon women. Im sure that women tend to frown upon that as well, any control over anyone is frowned upon. There must be a certain lack of respect for both the bride and groom in arranged marriages, these marriage ideas might be old but who said that theyre a good idea? Some traditions should be destroyed faster than a Scotsman can clean out a free bar at a wedding reception. Arranged marriages are one of those traditions. Romeo and Juliet is a classic example of why arranged marriages are outdated and ends in tragedy. Those times required most young women and men to enter into a relationship, that werent of their own choice, but their parents. You would not think that in todays society that arranged marriages still existed, however the parents are still planning their childrens life; albeit, the children are adults. The purpose of this is to maintain the wealth for both families. If the case was that a young girl was being made to marry a adult male, that is being labelled as paedophilia. Yet in India or in the east it is still ongoing and it doesnt make a difference, here in England its a different story for that matter and is illegal. These children are brainwashed into believing that this is normal and that love or any other emotion is not their right but to blindly allow the wishes of their parents. We have not stepped forward in time but have fallen into biblical proportions. That may have sounded too descriptive (biblical proportions), but we have to realize that in biblical times children were married off to other family members for the purpose of continuing their ancestors and that was thousands of years ago and yet its still happening in todays society. One might consider that arranged marriages are more like a business deal than a true marriage, often with the engaged couple being used as pawns on a chess game. Marriage should not be only a business proposition. Call me a hopeless romantic but I dont believe that two people can be truly happy together unless it was themselves who saw valuable qualities in their partner, what is more is that it completely defies the law of nature. More importantly a marriage should be based on usual trust and affection, as well as common goals. Anything less than that and all you end up with is an emotionless, false union. Arranged marriages are a mockery or the true nature of marriage, a worthless document to be filed into our court systems. What is love? That is said to be one of the hardest questions to be answered as many people dont know what it is. In all truth I dont think anyone knows the answer unless they are in love and even so its a unexplainable feeling that someone cant describe to another. You can only know what it is when you are in it. In a arranged marriage I feel that you cant find that love feeling between the two people in the relationship. As I said earlier we do want to make our parents happy and yes theyre the ones that know whats best for us and only want us to make the right decisions. But I dont think they know or understand that even though they might think the man/women were going to marry may not be the right choice, were in love with them. Whatever love is. We care about them and at the time you know that you want to be with them for the rest of your life and most importantly theyre yours forever and youre theirs. And it doesnt matter what people say and if they disagree with your choice. Because you know what you want and thats him/her. But this is not what you get in a arranged marriage. In a arranged marriage I would imagine that the woman would feel somehow trapped, thats how Id feel if I was in the situation. Id be so cooped up on trying to keep my parents happy and not being able to express how I felt to anyone and would feel as if it were my duty. If more couples were matched up through class, education, family background, life goals and earnings Thats quoted from a women called Aneela Rahman. She was on BBCs 2 programme Arrange Me a Marriage. The programme was about finding a partner for each contestant she had, she had one month to match someone with another. Traditions are one thing but outdated, irrational, new age slavery is another thing, I realize that whether you marry for love or not, it can either turn out good or bad, but there should be the opportunity of choice not mandatory rule. On the whole I am against arranged marriages. I think that it is not needed to please parents and not the actual bride and groom. If you want your children to get married and fall in love then let them do it in their own time. Its not something that can be rushed into and found straight away or first time round. Love should be experienced and not just felt.

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis Introduction: Our choice of storybook is The Great Big Turnip edited by Bob Williams, published by KohWai and Young. This book is appropriate for children aged four to six as it is specially designed and created to assist children who have mastered basic reading skills. Marchado (2010) states that the success of any book for young children depends on its presentation of basic human tasks, needs, and concerns based on childrens perceptions, and at a level at which they can respond (p. 289). Thus, after examining our selected choices of books, we decided to choose The Great Big Turnip because it has met many aspects of selecting the right book for young children. The story revolves around a farmer who had discovered a giant turnip in his garden. He could not pull it out alone hence he sought help from his family members and other animals in the house. Together, they managed to pull the turnip out of the ground and enjoyed plenty of food for many years. From this synopsis, the story is able to inculcate the value of teamwork in the readers as it teaches that joint effort makes it easier to complete a task. Its print and vibrant illustrations had captivated us instantaneously. The language used is age appropriate for children to learn and comprehend. The moral of the story is that we should always help others when they are in need, even if you may think that your help is insignificant. Literary elements: Plot: The plot is good because it creates suspense in the story to develop the childrens interest in reading the book. It is also simple and straightforward as it focuses on how the farmer gets help to pull the giant turnip out of the ground. Machado (2010) states that simple plot necessitated by the length of a picture book allows young children to become involved immediately in action, discover problem, and understand the resolution (p. 289). The story is in a chronological order as it unfolds sequentially. In the beginning on page 3, it talks about the farmer planting turnip seeds on the ground. In the middle on page 7, the farmer asked his wife for help when he could not pull the turnip out all by himself. Eventually, they still needed more people to help out. On page 14, it reveals how the turnip was pulled out from the ground. From the plot, readers are able to pick out problem-solving skills from the characters, such as asking for assistance. The climax of the story happens on page 13 when six more characters were involved in pulling the turnip out of the ground, and it arrests the childrens attention to find out how the characters overcome the situation. Characterization: The characters in the storybook are life like as they appear like normal living being. Machado (2010) states that characters should be portrayed realistically and have experiences and emotions with which children can immediately identify (p. 289). Thus, this book has definitely met the book selection criteria. The protagonist in the story is a farmer. As the story continues, other characters develop one after another throughout the story to help the farmer. The story does not talk about the characters past, present and future as it focuses on how the farmer gets help from his family to pull the big turnip out of the ground. Based on the farmers dialogue, it shows that he is a jovial person. On page 5 and 7, the farmer was elated to find out that his plant had grown into an enormous turnip. At the end of the story on page 16, the farmer shows a sense of happiness as it states that the happy farmer ate turnip for years (William, 2002). Besides, this book also portrays an array of emotions based on the other characters dialogue on page 7, 9 and 11. It shows excitement yet their struggles in pulling out the turnip. Setting: The farmers garden is the main location where the story took place during daytime. Based on a western context, readers are able to visualize a realistic event that occurred in the story which helps to build on their prior knowledge of the images. Theme: The theme of the story is able to relate to childrens understandings, needs and interests because underlying concept educates the importance of teamwork and unity. The farmer would not be able to pull the big turnip out of the ground without the help of his wife, son, daughter, dog, cat and mouse. It shows the significance of working towards a goal in harmony; oneness of mind. Style and Diction: The language used is simple and age-appropriate for children aged four to six. The language used is able to create mood from text such as exclaimed, cried and excited. The story involves a careful choice of words and rhythm such as they all pulled and pulled, but the turnip still would not come out! With a predictable text, children are able to participate by reading aloud to themselves or a storyteller. And the book contains good diction as it contains phrases like eyes popped out from her head, luckily, fell backwards in a heap. Point of View: The author used a third person point of view to write the story using pronoun like He, She and They. Objective point of view was used in the story as the author only tells what happen without stating more than [what] can be inferred from the storys action and dialogue (Literature, No Date). Stereotypes: It is not reflected in the storybook. Personification: It is not reflected in the storybook. Visual elements The picture-books visual variety would kindle the interests of the children and arrest their visual attention. It is slightly smaller than an A4-sized book which words inside are of Arial font and appropriate font size. The space in between words and line spacing are not cluttered. Hence, this popular fairytale facilitates easy one-on-one readings and independent reading. Cover page: On the cover page, yellow, embroidered images on the borders of The Great Big Turnip give volume to the title and front illustrations. Every word in the title is capitalised and dark turquoise in colour. Below the title is a bright and colourful cartoon of the climax of the story, which is also slightly similar to the cartoon on page 14 and page 15. The clever illustration will intrigue readers as it shows just the giant turnip spinning out of the soil and several characters falling behind. It allows readers to think about what happened in the story. Texture: Illustrations are two-dimensional which gives a visual texture and promotes imagery development. Line: Heavy lines used give more precision and curved lines used depict fluidity which brings the characters to life. Jagged lines can be found on page 15s illustration of the spinning turnip, which enables the readers to sense danger. Colour and Shape: Furthermore, the cartoon characters stand out more as additional colours and geometric shapes are used to allow the reader to clearly differentiate all of them. Illustrations from page 13 are good examples, as when the characters are pulling the turnip out, the reader would not focus on other things such as the house far away or even the forest in the background. Colours such as brown used compliment the settings like the farmers wooden house and the soil in his garden. There is also more assertion and rigidity in the illustration of the farmer due to the geometric shapes used (Scott, 1989). Free-form shapes such as the cursive ends of the turnip on page 15 enable the reader to imagine the great amount of force when the turnip was pulled out (Scott, 1989). All in all, the visual elements of the picture-book nurture visual literacy which builds on the language development of child. They allow the facilitating readability and influencing recall of the text (Machado, 2010).

Life and Health Plan Essay -- Personal Narrative Health

I am in pretty good health right now where I am at in life. My family does not have a history of anything that can be described that could be foreseen as a problem. What I can talk about is a generalized health maintenance and plan for staying healthy that should be easy to follow and quite rewarding. I will talk about eating disorders specifically so as to adhere to the instruction of the assignment. Eating disorders are some of the top concerns with any person that has health concerns regarding food. To make sure that someone can be successful in achieving a healthy body it is important to set goals that you can adhere to. One goal that is very important to me is easily to live a long and productive life. This can be considered a physical exercise goal in the sense that without exercise you can not really expect the same rewarding health as you would with regular exercise. As another goal that would help in maintaining health I would like to set monthly targets for weight and physical fitness that are realistic and obtainable. By setting a personal target weight you can compare your weight once a week and see an accurate model of what is happening with your diet and exercise plan. Developing an exercise plan that keeps you motivated and makes the time spent fun and rewarding is important to ensure the best results from any plan. On the nutritional side of a goal oriented approach to health the best idea is the simplest. By watching your caloric intake and serving sizes you can c ut out a large amount of the fat causing nutrients as well as high sodium and other things that could potentially jeopardize your health plan. In order to achieve your goals you must keep to your plan easy to follow and keep it fun and motivated ... ..., December 31). Dripping With Sweat . Retrieved June 8, 2008, from Firstpath.com Web site: http://www.firstpath.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=firstpath/story.html?article=1219 Lawlor, Debbie (2001, March 31). The effectiveness of exercise as an intervention in the management of depression: systematic review and meta-regression analysis of randomised controlled trials. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from BMJ Web site: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/322/7289/763 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, (2007, Dec 7). Food and Nutrition. Retrieved May 13, 2008, from Mayo Clinic Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/NU99999 Swenson, Jim (2006 October). Ask a Scientist. Retrieved May 13, 2008, from Argonne National Labrotory Web site: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/aas.htm med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_fluids_sma.htm

Johann Sebastian Bach Essay -- essays research papers

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in the town of Thuringia, Germany where he was raised and spent most of his life. Due to a shortage of expenses, he was confined to a very limited geographical space, as was his career. This greatly affected his, in that his music was not as widley known as other composers of the time. On traveling he never went farther north than Hamburg or farther south than Carlsbad. To look back on the life of Bach many have referred to him as â€Å"one of the greatest and most productive geniuses in the history of Western music†, particularly of the baroque era.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born to a family that produced at least 53 prominent musicians within seven generations, Bach received his first musical instrument from his father. Johann studied music with his father until his father’s death in 1695, at which point he moved to Ohrdruf to study with his brother, Johann Christoph. In the early 1700’s Bach began working as a chorister at a church in Luneburg. In 1703, he became a violinist in the chamber orchestra of Prince Johann Ernst of Weimar, but later that year he moved to Arnstadt where he became church organist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1705, Bach took a one month leave to study with the renowned Danish-born German organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude who was staying in Lubeck. Later, Buxtehude’s organ music would greatly influence that of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s stay was so rewarding that he overstayed his leave by two months to be greatly criticized for his breach of contract by the church authorities. Fortunately, Bach was too highly respected to be dismissed from his position.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1707, Bach married his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, he also moved to Mulhausen as organist for a church there, but, 1708 brought him back toWeimer. He came back as an organist and violinist at the court of Duke Wilhelm Ernst, where he stayed for the following nine years to become concertmaster of the court orchestra in 1714. In Weimer he composed about 30 cantatas, including his well-known funeral cantata â€Å"God’s time is the best†, and also wrote organ and harpsichord works. Bach also began traveling throughout Germany as an organ virtuoso and a consultant to organ builders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ... ...sical equivalents of verbal ideas, such as an undulating melody to represent the sea, of a canon to describe the Christians following Jesus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bach’s ability to assess and exploit the media, styles and genre of his day enabled him to achieve many remarkable transfers of idiom. For instance, he could take an Italian ensemble composition, such as a violin concerto, and transform it into a convincing work for a single instrument, the harpsichord. By devising intricate melodic lines, he could convey the complex texture of a multivoiced fugue on a single-melody instrument , such as the violin or cello.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The controversial rhythms and sparse textures of operatic recitatives can be found in some of his own works for solo keyboard. Technical facility alone of course was not the source of some of Bach’s greatness. It is the expressiveness of his music, particularly as manifested in the vocal works, that conveys his humanity and touches listeners everywhere. That is why Johann Sebastian Bach was considered one of the greatest musical composers, but more specifically one of the greatest baroque composers of all time.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Davis Weiss The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a federal statute that was signed into law in America by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. It is divided into 10 titles. The bill contains provisions that will go into effect on June 21, 2010 and September 23, 2010. Also, the additional provisions will go into effect in 2014. Title I of H. R. 3590 will ensure quality affordable health care for all Americans by eliminating discriminatory practices by health insurers such as pre-existing condition exclusions. Title I also extends dependant coverage up to age 26, caps insurance companies non-medical expenses, and prevents unfair termination of insurance policies. Title II expands eligibility for Medicaid to lower income persons and assumes federal responsibility for much of the cost of this expansion. These bills provide enhanced federal support for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, simplify Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, and improve Medicaid services. Title III will strengthen the quality of healthcare by establishing The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) which is a value-based purchasing program for hospitals that link Medicare payments to quality performance. Title IV puts into place a new interagency council to promote healthy policies and to establish a national prevention and health promotion strategy. Title V will encourage innovations in health care workforce training, recruitment, and retention, and will establish a new workforce commission. Title VI creates new requirements to provide information to the public on the health system and promotes a newly invigorated set of requirements to combat fraud and abuse in pubic and private programs. Title VII allows certain hospitals and treatment centers to receive discounted and/or generic drugs to aid their budget. Title VIII establishes a new, voluntary, self-funded long-term care insurance program, the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Independence Benefit Plan, for the purchase of community living assistance services and supports by individuals with functional limitations. No taxpayer funds will be used to pay benefits under this provision. Title IX levies an excise tax of 40 percent on insurance companies and plan administrators for any health coverage plan that is above the threshold of $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage. It also requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by the employer for each employee’s health insurance coverage on the employee’s annual Form W-2. And lastly, Title X requires employers that offer and make a contribution towards employee coverage to provide free choice vouchers to qualified employees for the purchase of qualified health plans through Exchanges. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reforms the health care system by expanding the availability of health insurance, regulating health insurance coverage, and restructuring health care delivery, including how it is paid for. The bill would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 31 million, leaving only 6 percent of nonelderly adults uninsured. A number of different mechanisms are used to increase coverage, including expanding Medicaid, which provides insurance to low-income parents and children at very small cost; establishing state-based insurance exchanges with subsidies for low- and middle-income households; requiring individuals to obtain coverage; and mandating that most employers offer health insurance. The new act would make Medicaid available to all individuals earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty line, or $14,500 a year ($29,500 for a family of four) while improving services for beneficiaries. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also create state-based health insurance exchanges, called Health Benefit Exchanges, which are marketplaces where consumers can shop for and purchase health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act include numerous reforms of the health insurance market, in many cases regulating this market for the first time. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 8 million such persons would remain uninsured. Additionally, the bill restricts access to abortion services in the Health Benefits Exchanges and, in particular, for people receiving federal subsidies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act saves money by reducing the cost of premiums that families and individuals pay to maintain their health insurance policies. It also saves money by getting rid of waste in the medical industry by establishing a center where physicians can report waste and by supporting comparison shopping for medical equipment. In addition, the act helps small businesses to save money by giving them the opportunity o offer health benefits to their employees without devastating the budget of their company. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act raise revenue by imposing an annual fee on the health insurance sector. Such fees would be imposed on insurance companies that sell high cost health insurance plans. The fee is designed to generate smarter, more cost-effective health coverage choices. The r econciliation bill delays this new fee until 2018 so that plans have time to implement reform and begin to save from its efficiencies. The amount of the fee is $8. 0 billion in 2014, $11. 3 billion in years 2015-2016, $13. 9 billion in 2017, and $14. 3 billion in 2018. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation will reduce the deficit by $138 billion over the first decade and by $1. 2 trillion in the second decade, as compared to current legislation. The CBO has recalculated its estimates several times, first projecting a savings of $132 billion, then $118 billion, and $143 billion. It also increases the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) tax rate by 0. percentage points on an individual taxpayer earning over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly). The revenues from this tax will be credited to the HI trust fund. The taxable base of the HI tax is also broadened by including net investment income. The act would also impose a ten percent tax on amounts paid for indoor tanning services. The tax is effective for services on or after July 1, 2010. Reduces the deficit in the next ten years and beyond. The bill is fully paid for with revenue provisions that focus on paying for reform within the health care system. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 1. Determine how this Federal law will affect market-driven and non-market driven decisions. This federal will affect the marketing aspect of the health care industry regardless if they are driven or not. If the companies are driven and market correctly then they will be able to attract people that are willing to pay for the services they provide. This will cause for private health insurance providers to change the way they provide services. The new marketing strategies will show how they are providing better care for those who have pre-existing conditions. This law will affect how the private health insurance sector markets the different types of services they provide. The companies will have to go back and look at how they are marketing their services to get the clients they want to attract. If they are market driven then they will market things that are more appealing to the clientele they currently serve or want to be serving, this could involve free health screening, more bang for their bucks, and the opportunity to understand all that the company offers to its insured. Some will be more ambitious to provide new marketing ideas to keep current clients and attract new ones while others might hate change and move slower towards new ideas. This will cause them to either loose current clients and not attract new ones. 2. Describe the circumstances at which you would prepare a strategic plan to include this new law in your marketing decisions, knowing this new law may or may not take effect. I would focus more on the issue of providing current policy holders that currently have pre-existing conditions with better options to health care. I would try to incorporate lower premiums or not charge them as much as competing insurance companies do. I would advertise free screening to all my customers and guarantee coverage. I would sit down with each of my potential policy holders and explain to them the ins and outs of what we offer and what would benefit them. I would want them to feel cared about and not just another policy number. They would feel comfortable coming to us with questions or concerns they may have about their policy. I would provide an around the clock support line just in case they came across a situation where they needed guidance. Also something that would be extremely important would be to have a website where all the needed forms can be accessed and they would also have access to their account information online. My marketing strategy would emphasize on family and hospitality, since that’s what’s most important to people. 3. Discuss how each of the five (5) environmental forces will be affected by the new law, which you believe will be the most affected and why. -Jockeying for position among current competitors. This is the aggressive competition between current firms or companies, the fact that these insurance companies will spend so much on having the best marketing strategy will cause the return compensation to be low. This is because they spend so much money on marketing and competing with its opponents. -Threat of new entrants. Since the new law applies to everyone that means everyone will most likely have to start from scratch or updater their antics. If it’s easy for new comers to come along and get their program up and running, the competitions between the difference companies will only become fiercer. Some barriers of entries for the new comers are if existing customers can trust their current companies, or if there are elevated fixed rates or not enough access to resources. -Bargaining power of customers. If the consumers can produce enough force to affect how many boundaries and capacity they can create, then they hold an incredible amount of power. Reasons why the consumers can have so much power is if they buy large amounts of the products being sold, if the company doesn’t have very many clients, or if they have the opportunity to change companies due to products eing so easy to come about. -Threat of substitute products or services. Depending on whether or not the cost of changing up providers is low and more efficient will determine if substituting is necessary. If the insurance companies are marketing the same products and services that one is already using depending on which more is appealing to the purchaser will determine who gets the service. -Bargaining power o f suppliers. If these insurance companies can produce enough force to affect how many boundaries and capacity the companies can create, then they hold an incredible amount of power. Reasons why the companies can have so much power is if there are limited or no alternates, not many companies with products of interest, or they have something of extreme interest to the buyers and they can’t go without it. I think the rivalry between the current firms will be affected the most, because they will be so wrapped up in their marketing strategy and trying to be the best that they won’t really notice how much money they are spending on the project. Once it starts to show that they are actually losing more money than they are making then it will be too late and another company would have come in and stolen the pie. 4. Describe one (1) new target audience and include the characteristics of their demographic and psychographic profiles. The new target audiences the insurance companies are focused on are lower middle income families instead of higher income families. They base this on income brackets, which neighborhoods theses potential clients live in blue collar workers versus white collar workers. Some companies only serve them through current employment under business aspects. Another target audience is expecting women; the insurance companies are looking to insure the baby as soon as it’s born. This way they can collect premiums on the infants from the start of their lives, while insurance policies for them are extremely high. They also allow young people to be insured who are likely to die soon due to illnesses in their families and based on current health conditions. This way they can assemble the premiums and not have to pay out so much money in the process. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Davis Weiss The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a federal statute that was signed into law in America by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. It is divided into 10 titles. The bill contains provisions that will go into effect on June 21, 2010 and September 23, 2010. Also, the additional provisions will go into effect in 2014. Title I of H. R. 3590 will ensure quality affordable health care for all Americans by eliminating discriminatory practices by health insurers such as pre-existing condition exclusions. Title I also extends dependant coverage up to age 26, caps insurance companies non-medical expenses, and prevents unfair termination of insurance policies. Title II expands eligibility for Medicaid to lower income persons and assumes federal responsibility for much of the cost of this expansion. These bills provide enhanced federal support for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, simplify Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, and improve Medicaid services. Title III will strengthen the quality of healthcare by establishing The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) which is a value-based purchasing program for hospitals that link Medicare payments to quality performance. Title IV puts into place a new interagency council to promote healthy policies and to establish a national prevention and health promotion strategy. Title V will encourage innovations in health care workforce training, recruitment, and retention, and will establish a new workforce commission. Title VI creates new requirements to provide information to the public on the health system and promotes a newly invigorated set of requirements to combat fraud and abuse in pubic and private programs. Title VII allows certain hospitals and treatment centers to receive discounted and/or generic drugs to aid their budget. Title VIII establishes a new, voluntary, self-funded long-term care insurance program, the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Independence Benefit Plan, for the purchase of community living assistance services and supports by individuals with functional limitations. No taxpayer funds will be used to pay benefits under this provision. Title IX levies an excise tax of 40 percent on insurance companies and plan administrators for any health coverage plan that is above the threshold of $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage. It also requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by the employer for each employee’s health insurance coverage on the employee’s annual Form W-2. And lastly, Title X requires employers that offer and make a contribution towards employee coverage to provide free choice vouchers to qualified employees for the purchase of qualified health plans through Exchanges. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reforms the health care system by expanding the availability of health insurance, regulating health insurance coverage, and restructuring health care delivery, including how it is paid for. The bill would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 31 million, leaving only 6 percent of nonelderly adults uninsured. A number of different mechanisms are used to increase coverage, including expanding Medicaid, which provides insurance to low-income parents and children at very small cost; establishing state-based insurance exchanges with subsidies for low- and middle-income households; requiring individuals to obtain coverage; and mandating that most employers offer health insurance. The new act would make Medicaid available to all individuals earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty line, or $14,500 a year ($29,500 for a family of four) while improving services for beneficiaries. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also create state-based health insurance exchanges, called Health Benefit Exchanges, which are marketplaces where consumers can shop for and purchase health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act include numerous reforms of the health insurance market, in many cases regulating this market for the first time. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 8 million such persons would remain uninsured. Additionally, the bill restricts access to abortion services in the Health Benefits Exchanges and, in particular, for people receiving federal subsidies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act saves money by reducing the cost of premiums that families and individuals pay to maintain their health insurance policies. It also saves money by getting rid of waste in the medical industry by establishing a center where physicians can report waste and by supporting comparison shopping for medical equipment. In addition, the act helps small businesses to save money by giving them the opportunity o offer health benefits to their employees without devastating the budget of their company. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act raise revenue by imposing an annual fee on the health insurance sector. Such fees would be imposed on insurance companies that sell high cost health insurance plans. The fee is designed to generate smarter, more cost-effective health coverage choices. The r econciliation bill delays this new fee until 2018 so that plans have time to implement reform and begin to save from its efficiencies. The amount of the fee is $8. 0 billion in 2014, $11. 3 billion in years 2015-2016, $13. 9 billion in 2017, and $14. 3 billion in 2018. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation will reduce the deficit by $138 billion over the first decade and by $1. 2 trillion in the second decade, as compared to current legislation. The CBO has recalculated its estimates several times, first projecting a savings of $132 billion, then $118 billion, and $143 billion. It also increases the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) tax rate by 0. percentage points on an individual taxpayer earning over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly). The revenues from this tax will be credited to the HI trust fund. The taxable base of the HI tax is also broadened by including net investment income. The act would also impose a ten percent tax on amounts paid for indoor tanning services. The tax is effective for services on or after July 1, 2010. Reduces the deficit in the next ten years and beyond. The bill is fully paid for with revenue provisions that focus on paying for reform within the health care system.

Symbolism in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

Hayley Hughes Professor Fowler English 1102 9 February 2013 Short Story Essay Guy de Maupassant’s short story â€Å"The Necklace† uses a diamond necklace to symbolize two different things. The first thing the necklace represents is that deceiving others will lead to one’s downfall. The necklace also symbolizes how the effects of greed can change a person. In the story, the reader sees the main character’s personal growth from beginning to end due to losing a diamond necklace.Mathilde Loisel’s life is turned upside down because she was materialistic, but by the end of the story Mathilde is wiser and more admirable. Mathilde changed in ways that could not have been possible had she not lost the necklace. The story opens with the beautiful Mathilde Loisel fantasizing about luxuries she and her husband cannot afford. When her husband comes home with an invitation to an exclusive party, she is upset because she does not have anything fancy to wear. Even after her husband gives her some money for a dress, she then complains about not having jewelry.Since she does not own any expensive jewlery, Mathilde goes to her friend Madame Forestier and borrows a diamond necklace. She absolutely loves the necklace and when she and her husband attend the party, everyone notices her and the necklace. After they return from the party, Mathilde is sees she has lost the necklace. However, instead of telling Madame Forestier that the necklace had been lost, Mathilde buys a replacement necklace worth 40,000 francs and gives that to her friend hoping she would not see the difference.She and her husband then spend the next ten years working to pay for the cost of the necklace only to find out that the original necklace had been a fake. Even though her hardship could have been avoided completely, Mathilde became a better person from of losing the necklace. The necklace is the main symbol in â€Å"The Necklace. † What is a symbol? According to Lite rature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, â€Å"a symbol is a substitute for the elements being signified,† (Roberts and Zweig, 382). The necklace could be considered a cultural symbol.A cultural symbol is universally recognized (Roberts and Zweig, 383). Out of all the jewelry Mathilde could have chosen, she chose the diamond necklace. Maupassant most likely chose a diamond necklace because people would recognize the gravity of the situation in the story; most people could understand the value of a diamond necklace as opposed to some of the other jewelry mentioned in the story, which makes the diamond necklace a cultural symbol. The necklace could also be considered a contextual symbol.Unlike a cultural symbol, a contextual symbol gets its meaning from the story (Roberts and Zweig, 383-384). In this story, the necklace represents the fact that appearances are not always what they seem and that the bitter truth of reality can lead to one’s downfall. Mathilde wants to wear a diamond necklace in order for people to think she is wealthier than she is. When she borrows it from Madame Forestier, who is wealthier than Mathilde, she has no reason to believe that the necklace is a fake.Because Mathilde thinks the diamonds as being real, she thinks that others will believe she is wealthy too. In deceiving others of her wealth, she essentially deceives herself. For example, when it is time for them to leave the party her husband gives her the shawl she brought; she does not want anyone to see her wearing the shawl because it reminded her that she was not wealthy and she did not want anyone to find out. She wants to live out this fantasy as long as she possibly can and runs outside with the shawl hoping no one will notice.When she loses the necklace, she is brought back to reality and must deal with the consequences. Instead of accepting her reality that she was not wealthy and being greedy, she set herself up for disaster. The necklace symbolizes gree d and how it can affect a person. In the beginning of the story, Mathilde is greedy. She pities herself for not being born into a wealthy family, claiming it was an â€Å"error of destiny,† (Maupassant, 200). She and her husband are most likely middle-class, but she is still unhappy with their financial status. Her husband, Mr. Loisel, is the exact opposite.He takes pleasure in the little things, even praising his wife’s beef stew while she daydreamed about the finest cuisines (Maupassant, 200). All he wants to do is please his wife, but Mathilde is never satisfied. It is because of her greed that she ends up borrowing the necklace in the first place. After losing the necklace and giving the replacement to her friend, not only had the Loisels’ lifestyle changed, but Mathilde also started to change. She had to do cleaning jobs to earn money, dressed in cheap clothes, and argued with food vendors about the price of their goods in order to save every penny.After th e ten years of hard labor, the story describes Mathilde as â€Å"the strong, hard, and rude woman of poor households,† (Maupassant, 204). Even though she still reminisced about the party, unlike before where she pitied herself for not being wealthy, now she contemplates what her life would be like had she not been so greedy in borrowing the necklace. She questions how something as small as a necklace could have such a big impact on her life saying â€Å"How little a thing it takes to destroy you or to save you,† (Maupassant, 204).The necklace both destroyed her and saved her. Even though she had to deal with ten long years of working to pay back the money, losing the necklace symbolizes Mathilde losing her greediness and gaining the knowledge that money does not lead to happiness. Works Cited Page De Maupassant, Guy. â€Å"The Necklace. † Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Roberts, Edgar V. , and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. Illinois: Pearson, 2012. 2 00-205. Print. Roberts, Edgar V. , and Robert Zweig. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 10th ed. Illinois: Pearson, 2012. Print.

Indication of a schools capabilities Essay

The current era’s education is known to be defined by students themselves, including their academic success, the value of educators and instructional quality in America, learning standards adopted by each individual state, anxiety, the role played by parents outside of a school setting, and much more. Most Americans believe that student’s standardized test scores are the only legitimate indicator of a school’s efficiency. Since 1965, when the United States Elementary and Secondary Education Act became a law, standardized testing has been used to evaluate American public schools. The ultimate goal of standardized testing is to examine how well teachers are preparing students and to improve student achievement. Some people would argue that standardized testing accomplishes the goal of examining educators, allowing them to better their skills for the future, while others would argue that the idea of standardized testing damages the educational system altogether. The leading debate that concerns most, but is brushed off by many, is whether the success of standardized testing should be used to indicate a student’s, teacher, and/or school’s capabilities. The key objective of the American educational system is for every student to graduate from high school, college and career ready. In 1959, when Everet Lindquist launched the _American College Test_ (ACT), it was â€Å"designed as a test of student’s general educational development and could be used with other criteria to predict student success at the college level.† After the launching of this well-known assessment, testing was being put in use in many educational settings. In 1954, as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s, _†WAR ON POVERTY†_ , the _Elementary and Secondary Education Act_  _(ESEA)_ was introduced. This act was reauthorized in 2001, which is now known as _No Child Left Behind_ _(NCLB)_ . This reauthorized act â€Å"requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. States must give assessments to all students at select grade levels in order to receive federal school funding.† Race to the Top was introduced by President Barack Obama in 2012, which is a school district competition across the United States. This initiative was put forth to raise standards, with the goal of college and career readiness. In addition, Race to the Top has lead states to develop â€Å"rigorous standards and better assessments†, â€Å"support teachers and school leaders to become more effective†, and provide intervention for low performing schools. (Whitehouse.gov) Now that Race to the Top has become worldwide, it has become a controversial topic. Civil Rights organizations have argued that â€Å"federal funding should be based on need, not competition.† As a result of the Race, teachers will be evaluated in relation to their students test scores. In a Huffington Post, updated in 2011, research professor and author Diane Ravitch stated that â€Å"it will make the current standardized test of basic skills more important than ever, and even more time and resources will be devoted to raising scores on these tests.† The new era of Race to the Top will cause the importance of standardized testing to increase, and the demand for privately managed charter schools to increase. In June of 2010, â€Å"North Carolina adopted the Common Core State Standards in K-12 Mathematics and K-12 English Language Arts.† Beginning in 2012-13, the course of study was implemented in public schools across the state. In conjunction with these standards, â€Å"common exams† were put into effect. â€Å"†Common exams† or â€Å"Measures of student learning† refers to new assessments being developed to measure teacher effectiveness.† A teacher’s effectiveness can reflect on how well a student performs on his or her exams. Since teachers are not told what is on exams or standardized tests such as this, they must prepare their students based on the standards put forth by the state and assume it will be the same material when testing. A common exam is â€Å"given in classes where students are not given an end of grade or end of course tests† and is â€Å"created by local educators and the North Carolina  Department of Public Instruction to show the impact of teacher performance on student learning.† The success of these standardized tests â€Å"provides students with feedback on their knowledge and skills† (Astro.Temple.edu). On the other hand, it â€Å"motivates teachers to identify their areas of strength and weakness in teaching plans so that they can reconstruct them† (Astro.Temple.edu). This forms a relationship between teacher performance and student learning. On the other hand, many parents, students, as well as educators believe that standardized testing isn’t a great indication on a student’s knowledge. Standardized testing evaluates a student’s performance in one day, excluding any external factors. Many teachers are known to â€Å"†teach to the test† which can hinder a student’s overall learning potential† (Office of Work/Life Columbia University). There are many students who â€Å"are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test. Many students develop test anxiety which hinders performance† (Office of Work/Life Columbia University). For federal funding, schools depend on their student’s to perform well. â€Å"Competition among schools† can sometimes take place (Office of Work/Life Columbia University). This could be a hard factor to overcome, when schools have exceptional and special education students. Special education include â€Å"individual or small group instruction, curriculum or teaching modifications, assistive technology, transition services and other specialized services such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy† (CHADD: National Resource Center on ADHD). Students that are considered â€Å"exceptional† are required to take the same standardized test as student without learning restrictions, so how exactly is someone at a lower level given such high standards? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, enacted in 1990 and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004, was designed to â€Å"ensure services to children with disabilities throughout the nation† (idea.ed.gov US Department of Education). This was designed to ensure that all student, ages 3-21, receive appropriate education regardless of any disability. In addition to this, the  disability they are diagnosed with must â€Å"affect his or her educational performance and must need special education in order to receive an appropriate education† (CHADD: National Resource Center on ADHD). â€Å"Many children in exceptional children’s programs have physical, mental, or social disabilities. In North Carolina, these academically gifted children are classified as EC, because they have different educational needs than the average child† (Exceptional Children UNC School of Education). Since No Child Left Behind was passed, â€Å"students with disabilities must be included in state testing and assessed against the same standard of proficiency as other students to determine whether schools are making the required â€Å"adequate yearly progress† towards goals for academic proficiency. The regular assessment is given to students with special needs, and they are given appropriate accommodations. Appropriate accommodations include extra time to take the test, larger print, a quiet room, Braille, having the instructions repeated periodically, or more breaks than normally allowed† (Boehner 10). In addition to the special benefits granted, an Individualized Education Program, (IEP), is designed for each child with a disability. Students under this program have a customized â€Å"learning plan† on how they will be evaluated and not whether they will be evaluated. â€Å"Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as a Nation’s Report Card, standardized test, which is used and measured the same in all states, provide useful information on the achievement and progress of students with disabilities. The results from the Nation’s Report Card show progress, as well as gaps, between students with disabilities and nondisabled students† (Aron and Loprest 112-113).