Political Science and Federal Bureaucracy Essay

Develop a detailed outline of your second main point. (For assistance with your writing skills, check out the Ashford Writing Center at https://awc.ashford.edu/essay-dev-essay-structure.html) 1. Federal Policies: a. Provide a topic sentence that briefly describes one advantage and one disadvantage to a national policy that must be implemented by one agency of the federal bureaucracy. One advantage of a policy that must be implemented by one agency of the federal bureaucracy is the actual federal experts in the bureaucracy. The people set up the policy know much more about the issues than the president and this creates bureaucracy power. One disadvantage is that at any time the president can rearrange the organization chart of the bureaucracy. b. Provide a topic sentence that recommends one option to maintain the advantage and one to improve the disadvantage. One option to maintain the advantage is to keep the detail of the policy inside the bureaucracy. The less the president knows about the issue, the more the bureaucracy has control of the issue. One way to improve the disadvantage is implement order. The reorganization should be authorized through congress. 2. Scholarly Support: (For assistance with your research see the Tutorials provided by Ashford University’s Library at http://library.ashford.edu/tutorials.aspx, the APA Style Aid at https://www.wou.edu/provost/library/clip/apa/, and for Annotated Bibliographies at https://awc.ashford.edu/tocw-sample-annotated-bibliography.html for additional help) a. Provide two credible sources in APA format to support your main points. O’CONNELL, A. J. (2014). BUREAUCRACY AT THE BOUNDARY. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review, 162(4), 841-927 Scholz, J. T., Twombly, J., & Headrick, B. (1991). Street-Level Political Controls Over Federal Bureaucracy. The American Political Science Review, (3). 829 b. Briefly discuss how these sources support your main points. Both articles provide a vast amount of detailed information on what the president can and cannot control in the bureaucracy. Also it provides information on their limitations as well as to why they generate polices. c. Briefly evaluate your sources for bias, validity, and reliability. Both sources have been reviewed for bias, validity and reliability. The source were found on Ashford’s peer scholarly reviewed sources in the library which makes them credible.

Bulgaria Economy Essay

Alongside the north coast of Black Sea, the Bulgarian state was first founded in 635 A. D with the Slav and Bulgar peoples. Between the year 893 and 927 the first Bulgarian Kingdom was established which is known as the â€Å"Golden Age† in the history of Bulgaria. In the early 20th century social and political disorders blemished Bulgaria and forced the country to participate in the First Balkan War in 1912 and then in the Second Balkan War in 1913. Bulgaria also took a part in the World Wars first by associated with the Central Powers and then with the Axis Powers. In the beginning of the Second World War, the country united with the Germany, but towards the end of the war it changed its position for fighting with the German troops that resulted in the killing of 30,000 Bulgarian soldiers. Communism came forward and materialized dominantly in the political environment of the country in 1944 when the Soviet soldiers entered into the territory of Bulgaria and the Axis power crushed in the Second World War. Gradually the country turned as the protectorate of the Soviet Union during the era of Cold War. With dethrone of Todor Zhivkov, thethen head of the Communist Party of Bulgaria, democratic change took place in the country. In 1991 the first egalitarian parliamentary elections occurred in Bulgaria. In 1992 the country experienced its first ever direct presidential elections. Bulgaria, which comes out through the agonizing struggle and trouble of communism, faced various social disorder and economic turmoil that ultimately ended with the huge economic and financial crisis in the period of the late 1996 and the early 1997. However, the economy of Bulgaria came back to the stabilizing path with a series of reforming initiatives taken by Ivan Kostov, the former prime minister of the country. (Background Note: Bulgaria, November 27, 2009). Overtime, Bulgaria has gradually emerged as a market-driven economy from an old command economy. In 1996, the country experienced major economic crises in the form of banking system disorder, depreciation of currency, reduction of production as well as foreign trade. Dwindling foreign exchange reserves and significant increase in rates of interest further aggravated both the burden of domestic debt and growth of the country. Within a period of one year gross domestic product dropped by almost 11% in 1996 while it experienced a 2% increase in 1995. In the late 1996 privatization model was accepted, but the privatization of the public sector industries declined. During this period the IMF disbursed almost $580 loan to Bulgaria. But the country failed to augment its structural reform process. This lack of progress of Bulgaria insisted the IMF to postpone the loan sanctioned to the country. For avoiding needless spending and huge inflationary pressure, the IMF proposed to form a currency board to renovate the confidence of the country. In this case Mr. Ivan Kostov (UDF), the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, who got the crown in 1997, played the leading role to launch the ambitious reform programs. With such initiatives the currency board was set up on July 1, 1997 to bring back the stability and growth in the economy of Bulgaria. The outcome of the formation of the currency board was seen by the fall in inflation rate. While the rate of inflation was a three digit number in 1997, it was slashed to 1% in 1998. A decrease in the inflation rate, a decrease in interest rate and an increase in the foreign investment were followed by the formation of the currency board. The government of Bulgaria also assured to sell off some of the assets of the country. Though the country faced a 7. 4% drop in its GDP in 1997, it expected the GDP to bounce back in 1998 to an estimated level of 2%. The government of Bulgaria also took some other initiatives like achieving the success of land reform policy, the process of privatization and the reform of the banking system, etc. as its other prime objectives. The government of Bulgaria has taken the steps to provide a strong and sustainable growth in the GDP of the country by learning the lessons from the fall of GDP in the years 1996 and 1997. For reducing the level of unemployment and sustaining the growth of production of the economy, Bulgaria has taken all the required steps from time to time. The governments have taken the necessary measurements to reduce the level of both the individual and the corporate taxes, curb the corruption and draw the flow of foreign investment into the country. The government of Bulgaria has also taken the steps to restructure the foreign debt policy of the country, restore and stimulate the stock market and aggravate the process of privatization of the some of the major state monopolies. All such steps of the country have led the European Commission to declare that Bulgaria is â€Å"Functioning Market Economy† in October 2002 as its main economic policy. (Background Note: Bulgaria, November 27, 2009). All the successive governments have maintained such reform and ultimately Bulgaria has taken the membership of the European Union in 2007. A World Bank report suggests that Bulgaria has been able to draw the maximum levels of flow of foreign direct investment among all the nations of Eastern Europe as a percentage of GDP in 2006. The government of Bulgaria has brought down the rate of corporate tax to 10% in 2007 to magnetize the additional flow of foreign capital in the country. Such a corporate tax rate has been reported as the lowest rate in the whole Europe. The cost of domestic labor has also dropped through the legislation of the flat personal income tax level of 10% in January 1, 2008. To enhance the stability in local economic functioning, the Bulgarian parliament has taken the policy of fiscal decentralization for the municipalities so as to provide them the power of collection and supervision of some taxes. Such a step was taken by responding the increasing demand for independence of financial procedures of the local governments of the country. The achievement of the country towards the restructure of its fiscal policies and tax reforms, however, somewhat wiped out by the recent global financial crisis and economic turmoil that started from the middle of 2007. Such a worldwide global dwindling phase has forced the Bulgarian economy to be trapped by the vicious circle of recession at the end of 2008 after experiencing a prolonged 10 years steady growth. The effect has been seen in the mounting household debt and the increased rate of unemployment in the country. In this situation the government has responded by taking an â€Å"anti-crisis† strategy for strengthening fiscal recovery and promoting economic stability. To increase the power over the funds of the European Union, the government has also given its commitment. Such governmental steps are also expected to fight the crime and the corruption in the Bulgarian economy in an organized way. (Economy in Bulgaria, n. d. ). Let us look at some of the basic statistics which are very helpful to assess the present economic structure of the Bulgarian Economy and its overall development. It is a known fact in the history of mankind that the identification of the goals of economic development has not been properly done by human. (Todaro and Stephen, 2009, p 16) The Bulgarian economy has been designated as an economy with an upper and middle income nation by the World Bank. Though in the recent past the country has exhibited a steady trend in its growth, it is one of the least developed nations of Europe. The economy of Bulgaria heavily dependent on the industrial sector, but in recent past the service sector has also contributed to the growth of the country’s GDP. Petroleum, copper, gold, coal, beverages and tobacco, fruits, electronic tools and items, vehicle machineries, nuclear fuel, iron, construction items, sunflowers, wine, barley, etc. , are some of the major products of the country. From 1996 to 2008, over a period of 12 years, the country has able to maintain a growth of 6% and more. The huge inflow of foreign direct investment in the country has helped it to maintain such a significant rate of growth. However, the latest global recession has adversely affected the country on its export sector as well as on its capital inflow. This in turn has affected the growth of the country. The GDP of the country has fall to 5% in 2009. In terms of purchasing power parity, the GDP of Bulgaria has dropped to $90. 54 billion in 2009 from the level of $95. 1 billion of 2008. In terms of absorption of the work force of the country, the agriculture sector contributes 7. 5%, whereas industry contributes 27. 6% and service sector contributes 64. 9%. According to the estimation of 2009, the total work force of the country is 2. 63 million. The share of unemployed population in 2009 stands almost 9. 1% in the total working population. The corrupted system of public administration, feeble judiciary system and the increasing criminal activities has led almost 14. 1% of the population of Bulgaria to live their lives below the poverty line and under a greater hardship. (Bulgaria Economy, n. d. ). The estimated per capita GDP of the country has dropped to $12,600 in 2009 from the level of $13,100 in 2008. The estimated percentage of GDP of the country in agriculture, industry and services sector are 7. 5%, 27. 6% and 64. 9% successively. The estimated level of unemployment of Bulgaria has risen to 9. 1% in 2009 in comparison with 6. 3% in the previous year 2008. Total estimated gross investment in 2009 of the country is 28. 6% of GDP. The estimated amount of public debt has risen to 21. 4% of GDP in 2009 from the level of 14. 1% in 2008. The growth rate of industrial production in 2009 has been estimated as negative and stands at -14% of GDP. The estimated foreign exchange reserve and gold has also dropped to $16. 49 billion on December 31, 2009 from the level of $17. 93 billion on December 31, 2008. In response to the unfavorable effect of the global financial turmoil on the economy of Bulgaria, the government has taken many steps to strengthen the economy. Such governmental initiatives are supported by various statistics. The estimated public debt of Bulgaria has dropped to 21. 4% of GDP in 2009 as compared to the 14. 1% of the year ago. Estimated rate of inflation in terms of consumer prices has also decreased to 2. 7% in 2009 from that of 12. 3% in 2008. The prime lending rate of the central bank of Bulgaria has been increased to 10. 86% in December 31, 2008 from that of 10% in December 31, 2007. The stock of domestic credit has increased to $32. 04 billion in December 31 which was $17. 03 billion in December 31, 2007. (Bulgaria Economy 2010, February 8, 2010). According to the latest available data as published by Nation Master, the external debt of Bulgaria has increased to $3488 million which is a very high amount. In terms of Gini index, which is the measure of degree of inequality in the distribution of family income, the country has been ranked as 103rd out of 133 nations in case of its equal distribution of family income. (Economy, 2010). For analyzing the socio-economic structure and development issues of Bulgaria we should study the basic education system, healthcare system, urbanization process and migration and the strategies of the country to develop the economy in the presence of corruption. The minority communities of Bulgaria are protected by many international instruments according to the 1991 new Bulgarian constitution. Such a constitutional structure has established the superiority of the international law over the national law of Bulgaria. Such international norms and regulations have made the basic principles of the legislation of the country through which the government of Bulgaria is able to control and adjust the common rights of its citizens who vary across the languages of their respective communities, religions and cultures. However, there are many problems in the country associated with the minorities. Such problems are not only related with the cultural or religious variations but also basically with the economic and social values of the citizens. (Karasimeonov, n. d. ). The government of Bulgaria is very concerned to respect its citizen’s human right. In past, there were, however, some problems in many areas. The citizens who were the member of minority population of the country were suspected by the law enactment officials. The prisoners were also mistreated and misbehaved. The degree of arbitrary arrest, police violence and exploitation were very common in the country. The prevalence of corruption and other problems associated with the system led the judicial structure of the nation to suffer greatly. The press was also restricted to freely expose the views. In Bulgaria there were also many barriers on some of the religious groups of the nation. They were strictly deterred to present their cultural and religious outlooks. Communal harassment was very common in the country. Social discrimination between the men and women was very high and the violence against the women was vastly prevalent in the society. The increasing problem of child labor in the country have also setback the economy of Bulgaria. Throughout the ruling of all the political organizations in Bulgaria, corruption and crime has remained the basic concerning factors of all the governments. To fight against the corruption and to increase the awareness of its citizens, the government of Bulgaria has formed the inter-ministerial anticorruption commission in 2002. To combat against corruption though the Bulgarian government has taken various methods, the European Union, however, has argued that the country is still facing many problems associated with the presence of corruption in the economy. The Union has recommended for the requirement of rehabilitated efforts to tackle such advanced and sophisticated corruption. (Corruption and Anti-corruption Policy in Bulgaria, 2002, pp 102-104; Bulgaria, February 28, 2005). The education system of Bulgaria is basically national in nature, but also affected significantly by foreign controls. In the 19th century the educational system of the country was highly motivated and influenced by the impact of Soviet Russia. The influence of Western Europe and the American educational culture are also significant on the overall educational environment of Bulgaria. However, to bring the country’s educational system in the line of Western European process of education the educational system of Bulgaria has been reformed. With such initiative to reform the educational system of the economy, Bulgaria has supported the agreement with the European Union. (Bulgaria- Educational System- overview, 2010). Development is the concept of freedom of human. The Human development index consists of the status of health, education and the income (Todaro and Stephen, 2009, p 19-21). The Human Development Index of Bulgaria is . 808 which has given it the rank of 55 among the 178 nations. (Economy 2010). In the early 20th century the proportion of residents who lived in the cities with their counterparts who lived in the villages were merely 20 percent. In 1945 the proportion has increased to almost 24 percent and at the end of 1990 it has been seen that more than 6 million people resided in the cities while less than 3 million population of Bulgaria resided in the villages. Such a change in demographic movement is well enough to argue that Bulgaria has experienced the pace of urbanization with the passage of time. Since almost 66% of Bulgarian migrants has relocated in the same states of the country, so there has not been seen any sharp decline in the regional population ratio. The demographers, however, are very concerned over the decline of the population of the villages. They are very concerned over the skewed distribution of population towards the cities. The 1990 democratization activities have raised many debates over the issue of agricultural privatization program of the government. (Curtis,1992). References: 1) Todaro, P, M and S, C, Stephen (2009), â€Å"Economic Development†, Pearson Education Limited, 10th Edition, England. 2) â€Å"Background Note: Bulgaria† (November 27, 2009), Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U. S. Department of State. Available at: http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3236. htm Access On: May 18, 2010 3) â€Å"Economy in Bulgaria† (n. d. ), World66 Available at: http://www. world66. com/europe/bulgaria/economy Access On: May 18, 2010 4) â€Å"Bulgaria Economy† (n. d. ), EconomyWatch Available at: http://www. economywatch. com/world_economy/bulgaria/ Access On: May 19, 2010 5) â€Å"Economy† (2010), Bulgaria, Europe, NationMaster. com Available at: http://www. nationmaster. com/country/bu-bulgaria/eco-economy Access On: May 19, 2010 6) â€Å"Bulgaria Economy 2010† (February 8, 2010), Countries of the World. Available at: http://www. theodora. com/wfbcurrent/bulgaria/bulgaria_economy. html Access On: May 19, 2010 7) Karasimeonov, G, (n. d. ), â€Å" The constitutional Rights of Minorities in Bulgaria† Available at: http://www. cecl. gr/RigasNetwork/databank/REPORTS/r9/BU_9_Konstantinov. html Access On: May 20, 2010 8) â€Å"Corruption and Anti-corruption Policy in Bulgaria† (2002), Open Society Institute Available at: http://info. worldbank. org/etools/antic/docs/Resources/Country%20Profiles/Bulgaria/OpenSocietyInstitute_CorruptionBulgaria. pdf Access On: May 20, 2010 9) â€Å"Bulgaria† (February 28, 2005), Bureau of Democr

Reaction paper on the book Lucky by Alice Sebold Essay

Reaction paper on the book Lucky by Alice Sebold - Essay Example ed the course of her life when she was 18 and a freshman at Syracuse University in 1981, Sebold invites her readers into the lifelong effects of that one event. From the intricate description of police action following her report, through the days and weeks following both in facing other students back at her dorm room and in returning to her parents home for the summer break, to the recognition and trial of the man who raped her, Sebold gives a real life account of the various ways in which rape can hurt a woman, physically, psychologically, socially. By including the stories of several of her friends and acquaintances that she meets along the way, Sebold also sheds light on the ways in which others reacted to similar experience or to herself as a victim. Told with her characteristic forthright style, Sebold paints a picture of the reality of rape as she has experienced it over the course of the approximately 18 years since it happened. I especially liked the way in which Sebold approaches the subject with a frank, tell-it-like-it-is approach that typifies her writing style. As she described the way in which her attacker painfully manipulated her breasts, she narrates the way in which she dissociated herself from the experience. â€Å"’Nice white titties,’ he said. And the words made me give them up, lobbing off each part of my body as he claimed ownership – the mouth, the tongue, my breasts† (Sebold, 1999, p. 16). By painting the picture in such straightforward language, without appeals to sympathy or apology, Sebold immediately drew me in to her story, allowing me to sympathize with the experience in a way that has not often been presented. â€Å"’I was raped’ I said. †¦ I felt I had to say it. But I felt also that saying it was akin to an act of vandalism. As if I had thrown a bucket of blood out across the living room at the blue couch, Myra, the winged chair, my mother. / The three of us sat there and watched it drip† (Sebold, 1999, p. 76).

Law Of Banking And Financial Institutions Benchmark Assignment

Law Of Banking And Financial Institutions Benchmark - Assignment Example When dealing with people and capital, conditions are always at stake. These conditions and the possible conflicts warrant legislation and regulations. Banking and the financial institutions, in general, are intensely regulated by the law. The legislation that has been set aside focus on regulating relationships between the financial institutions and its clients, the institutional securities, transaction and also regulate the tax compliance of the institutions. The need for legal help in banking is a common observation in the financial world. One section of banking that requires strict regulation is private banking. This is the part that involves personalized financial depositing of capital into a financial institution by an individual who has access to high income and therefore has no problem investing in the financial institution in large sizable assets (OConnor & Faille, 2000). The services are, therefore, offered in more personalized terms. In this case, the possibility of entering into a contract without full information is real. In addition, there is a danger of being shortchanged in the process. The legislation, therefore, co mes in to secure the instability of private banking. The risk with private banking including money laundering and litigation must be controlled by the government through the Office of Comptroller of Currencies (Schooner & Taylor, 2010). 2. The instability in the US banking sector in the early years was based on two issues. First, there was a level of inexperience that covered the banking industry. The lack of experience in identifying risks and responding to them led to the ultimate vulnerability. This failure was seen as many of the banks, especially those that were started just before the great recession in the 1930s failed to survive the crisis.

How well does insurance contract regulation work Research Paper

How well does insurance contract regulation work - Research Paper Example An insurance policy is documented properly and the insured is handed over a contract which signifies the terms and conditions under which the insurance policy will be processed and the circumstances under which the financial compensation will be carried out1. Insurance has gained wide popularity after big global incidents and financial crises such as the 9/11 catastrophe and the financial meltdown of 2008/09. These events have spread a wing of insecurity among people in many areas of their lives, be it their life, their finances, their property or their relatives. This has escalated the demand of insurance all over the world and insurance companies have shown fruitful results in their financial statements. To have a clear and comprehensive description and analysis of insurance and its operation, the economics of insurance have to be taken into account and the understanding of insurance law and insurance contract regulation and its working is essential2. As every law in the world, there is a separate and credible law for insurance. Insurance law is a name designated towards the acts of law covering insurance comprising of insurance claims and policies. It contains all the principles of insurance including claim technicalities, compensation conditions, policy termination circumstances, indemnity, so on and so forth. Insurance law is based mainly on Insurance Contracts Regulations 1985 which have been established using the Insurance Contracts Act 1984. The presence and importance of insurance contracts regulations is utmost and considering a serious and delicate contract like insurance, a set of stringent regulations based on solid laws must be existent and implementable3. Insurance contracts regulations assist in numerous ways to the insurer as well as the insured and it created a specific, planned, professional progress way for the insurance policy throughout its tenor. As mentioned above about the

Bioinspired tough structures Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Bioinspired tough structures - Literature review Example Their self-organization is also a contributing factor to the mechanical properties of biological materials together with the manner in which the structures are assembled at the molecular level. Nacre is one of the iridescent layer found in most mollusk shells. It has a high amount of mineral that makes it tough and also stiff. The toughness of nacre is three times harder than its mineral constituents. Nacre has thus become a biomimetic model due to this property since it is the only material with an enormous amplification of its toughness. In this work, different bio-inspired materials shall be analyzed basing on the mechanical and structural properties. The development process of various types of artificial shell will also be analyzed. It is expected that Nacre mineral constituent are in microscopic polygonal tablets and has an ability to slide over one another when loaded under tension. This property has made nacre become a quasi-ductile material with significantly increased toughness and damage tolerance. Natural and biological materials can depict a considerable combination of stiffness, strength, toughness and even low weight which cannot be matched by artificial materials. For this reason, researchers are turning to nature for different design of artificial structures. The high-performance structural materials produced by nature inspires the scientist in the natural design. Also their ability to combine the building blocks and even amplify its properties (Xia, 2015). Nacre currently serves as a sole biomimetic model in the new generation of composite materials. Nacre found in the mollusk shell serves to protect the soft body parts against the harsh environment and the predators. These shells are highly mineralized tissues with at least 95% of it being mineral content. As a result, they have high stiffness and hardness.

Snapchat Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Snapchat - Speech or Presentation Example Technology defines the collection and adoption of knowledge tools, equipment, and machines to address various issues in the modern world. The recent technological developments rely on the technological experiences of the past since technological development is a continuous process that depends on industrial growth. The internet, mobile phones, printing press, networking, and improved software define the recent technological developments (Eastern Mennonite University, n.y). The world is using the scientific and technical knowhow derived by technological developments to address the goals and needs of the users. It may also relate to the use of a new concept, design, or technological tool for specific cases. Indeed, the recent technological developments apply in the design, modification, machinery, techniques, and technological tools, and improvement of an organization (Eastern Mennonite University, n.y). Various reasons enhance the growth use for technological development. Indeed, the recent industrial development has fostered technological development by offering the required tools and knowledge (Healy, 2014). The need for social networking that defines a simpler, quick, and convenient mode of communication has led to internet growth. Another factor that motivates the growth use for technological development is the increased popularity of E-commerce, E-learning, and E-marketing. Indeed, the continued dependency on computers to perform various tasks enhanced the growth use for technological development. The government is equally investing a lot of resources in technological research, which is enhancing innovations, and improvements in technology. Moreover, the continued need to establish global communication and networking systems to develop easier and effective communication and interactions enhanced the growth use for technological development. The challenges faced in different fi elds like medicine, manufacturing, and science led to the growth

Foreman (1991) states that we must change our personal life-styles to Coursework

Foreman (1991) states that we must change our personal life-styles to make them more harmonious with natural diversity. Discuss to what extent humans are able to do this - Coursework Example Although this knowledge has been passed through generations in form of art, ceremonies, dances, stories and direct instructions, the indigenous practices to preservation of natural diversity have faded immensely due to globalization, industrialization and colonization. Today, the knowledge has been incorporated in formal education in subjects such as social studies, geography and science. Furthermore, there are many documentaries advocating for the harmonious co-existence between humanity and the natural environment by imploring on the human beings to make lifestyle changes to accommodate the natural thriving of the ecosystem. Foreman’s defines of protection of the ecosystem advocates for the principle of self-realization that one is part of the natural ecosystem. In this case, defending the land and protecting natural diversity is equivalent to protecting human life and the future generation. In support of this, he illustrates that, â€Å"when we fully identify with a wild place, then, monkey wrenching becomes self-defence, which is a fundamental right† (Foreman, 140). Destruction of the earth and disturbance of the ecosystem is taken as an insult. Edward Abbey, in the prologue to Foreman’s Ecodefence, compares the destruction of natural diversity with a situation of burglary. In the event of the burglary, â€Å"the householder has both the right and obligation to defend himself, his family and his property by whatever means are necessary. This right and this obligation is universally recognized, justified, and even praised by all civilized human communities.†(Abbey, 3). By co ncurring the argument posited by Abbey, it is an acknowledgement that when earth, which is our land and our home, faces destructive threats, then it is out obligation and our right to guard it by application of all means that are effective. As such, this study seeks to explore the extent

Best Vacation Essay Example for Free

Best Vacation Essay Are you in the mood to relax, take in the sun, and have people cater to you? If so, you should take my advice and go on a cruise. My family and I took a four-day, three-night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas three years ago and it was the best vacation we have ever had. Nothing else mattered but what was in that moment. Though getting to the ship took a lot of time, the cruise was a place to get away, have no worries, and feel like a queen. I packed, wondering if I had forgotten anything I would need and thought to myself, is it worth all this hassle? My family and I planned to drive from Austin, Texas, to Galveston, Texas and stop in Texas City, Texas for the night. We did not want to waste a moment of our vacation so we stopped and visited our family in different towns on the way. We arrived at Texas City that night, rented a room and went right to bed. The drive had exhausted all of us and all we could think about was a good night’s sleep and the hopes of a better, less exhausting day tomorrow. We got up the next morning around six a. m. ate breakfast, and got on the road to the ship. Finally, we made it. There it was, the biggest ship I had ever seen in my life. It was a city on water. We checked in and walked into the main lobby of the ship. When we entered, my family and I looked at each other as if to say â€Å"Oh my god. Do we belong here? This is the classiest place I have ever seen. † A gentleman who reassured us we were in the correct place greeted us. He made us feel as if he would have spent all day with us just making sure we had everything we needed. We then went to our room and found chocolates on our pillows, a cute monkey made out of towels hanging from the ceiling, and a mini bar full of all the drinks we could drink. We all knew that at this moment we were going to have a vacation of a lifetime. That evening we spent the rest of the day exploring the ship as if it was a maze that needed solving. The next morning my family and I decided to have breakfast. There were so many places to choose from it was hard to decide. We could dine at one of the buffets, in a formal dining room, or out on the deck. We finally made the choice to dine in one of the formal dining rooms. At once, a waiter was at our table assuring us we were the most important customers he had and anything we needed was his pleasure to provide. After breakfast, we spent that first day going in and out of shops and resting on the deck looking out over the ocean. At this point, we were so relaxed we felt like we could melt. There were no worries here and the hardest job we had was deciding what to wear that day. I wondered if this is the way the rich and famous feel. The next day was a very exciting day for us. We were stopping at Cocoa Cay, a small private island. My family was ready to explore and I was ready for the snorkeling excursion. Everyone loaded up on small boats and little by little, we all made it to the island. As soon as I stepped off the boat, I stepped into sand that was as white as snow. The water was crystal clear like the water coming from a mountain spring. My family hurried away to start exploring and I headed for the snorkeling gear. I put all the gear on and into the translucent water I dove. As I submerged myself into this undersea world all the sounds around me ceased. I could hear the heart beat of the ocean swishing around me. As I looked around, I noticed the colors were shimmering in this underwater world. I could see luminously colored fish and coral all around me. Spectacularly colored fish of all shapes and sizes swam around me as if to say hello. I caught a glimpse of a stingray as he glided by aimlessly. The next day we woke up with a sense of wretchedness. It was our last day and we were not looking forward to going back to our everyday life. We were treated as if we were royalty and hated to give this up. We went back home to the same routine. We had to go back to work and do our daily chores. I caught myself daydreaming about the cruise and the carefree life we experienced there. If anyone would like to relax, take in the sun, and have people cater to you, a cruise is definitely the vacation you should choose.

The behavior in violent video games Essay Example for Free

The behavior in violent video games Essay In today’s society video games can cause many behavior problems. The violence in video games can affect children in many ways. Violent video games affect a person’s brain and health. At last, violent video games also affect the player’s personality in various ways. Acting violently and having nightmares are two ways of how violent video games affect children. Some games contain some graphic content, and may give children ideas that they do not understand. These games also make children believe that killing someone is acceptable and the reality of people dying can be compared to situations seen previously in games. Children’s learning abilities are also affected since they tend to do as they see, kind of like monkey see, monkey do. Basically, they learn to be violent so they will be violent in their life and react aggressively. The human brain is affected by violent video games in many ways. After so much playing the human brain believes the game is real. Video games stir up tension, and a feeling of fear, and this could have long term affects on the autonomic nerves. The autonomic nerves are connected with breathing and heart rate. If a person, who is playing video games, has suffered from seizures and continues playing, the chances over seizures coming back are extremely high. The video game player’s personality will be affected in many ways. For example, playing decreases prosocial behaviors, this includes activities such as giving to charity, volunteering, and overall â€Å"helping† behaviors. Some studies have proved that video game players lead to an increase in antisocial behavior. These frequently users rather isolate from others and play than socialize. When playing becomes an addiction, their personality has completely transformed into an isolated antisocial person. In conclusion, violent video games can cause many different behavior problems for children. It affects their brain, their health, and their personality. Finally, children should be careful when choosing the type of video game to play.

Ethics Theories and the competing values framework

Ethics Theories and the competing values framework Ethics Theories and the Competing Values Framework Introduction Management theory and practice implicitly endorse some ethical values over others and this provides the basic ethical orientation of managers. But managers have to understand different ethical theories to find out best for a particular situation â€Å"Ethics can be defined as the systematic attempt to make sense of individual, group, organizational, professional, social, market, and global moral experiences in such a way as to determine the desirable, prioritized ends that are worth pursuing, the right rules and obligations that ought to govern human conduct, the virtuous intentions and character traits that deserve development in life, and to act accordingly. Put more simply, ethics is the study of individual and collective moral awareness, judgment, character, and conduct.†[1] Researchers propose three types of ethics namely, descriptive, normative and analytical. Ethical Theories There are a number of ethical theories. All these theories can be exhibited in four quadrants in the figure below[2]: Teleological Ethics Theories Teleological ethics theories proposes that beneficial ends and/or results determine the ethical value of actions. If, on balance, any action provides more benefits than costs to the relevant stakeholder (s) than by any other alternative, teleological ethics endorses the goodness of that choice. Three major types of teleological ethics are eudaimonism, utilitarianism, and egoism. Ethical Egoism Ethical egoism, is a teleological theory that holds that an action is good if it produces or tends to produce results that maximize a particular persons self-interest as defined by the individual, even at the expense of others. Ethical egoism discourages a person to help others when the person gets nothing out of it. Enlightened egoism emphasizes long-range self-interest simultaneously endorsing altruistic concern for the well being of others. An enlightened egoist, for example, may well avoid cheating and support community projects, not so much because these actions benefit others, but because they help achieve some ultimate goal for the egoist, such as social image enhancement that could lead to carrier advancement within an organization. Utilitarianism Principle of Utilitarianism proposes that an action can be considered as right only if the action produces most utility for all the people affected by the action. Utilitarianism principle holds that the action whose net benefits are greatest relative to the net benefit of all other alternative actions. Both future as well as immediate costs and benefits are taken into consideration in this principle. Utilitarians have come up with an alternate version of the principle of Utilitarianism called rule utilitarianism. According to this, an action is ethically right, if the actions would be required by moral rules which are correct. A moral rule is correct if the sum total of the utilities produced is greater than sum total of utilities produced if everyone follows an alternative rule. Rule Utilitarianism is applicable to a great extent to an organizational context. In an organizational situation, according to Rule Utilitarianism the correct moral rule is the one that would produce greatest utility for everyone affected. Eudaimonism or Theories of Happiness Eudaimonism is a teleological theory that endorses a course of action if it promotes or tends to promote the fulfillment of goals relating to human nature and its happiness. For example, this theory says that a manager enforces employee health and safety standards at work to ensure that employees derive happiness and satisfaction out of it. This theory is based on the premise that when a choice has to made between having a good time (maximizing pleasurable utility) and leading a good life (maximizing happiness) and the latter outcome was to be preferred to the former. Deontological Ethics Theories Deontological ethics theories maintain that responsibly fulfilling obligations, following proper procedure, â€Å"doing the right thing†, and adhering to moral standards determine the ethical value of actions. Deontological ethics maintains that irrespective of the consequences of an action, an action is ethical if it is morally right. Among the major types of deontological ethics are negative and positive rights theories, social contract theories, and social justice theories. Negative and Positive Rights Theories Negative rights theories hold that an action is right if it protects an individual from unwarranted interference from government and/or other people in the exercise of that right; for example, if a person has a right to privately use, sell, or dispose of his personal property as he chooses, this means that every other person has the correlative duty not to prevent him from privately using, selling, or disposing of his property as he freely chooses. Positive rights theories hold that an action is right if it provides any individual with whatever he or she needs to exist. For example, if he has a right to adequate health care to survive, this means that other agents (perhaps the government) have the correlative duty to provide him with entitled adequate health care, not merely to avoid interfering with its competitive acquisition. Social Contract Theories Social contract theories hold that an action is right if it conforms to the terms agreed upon, conditions, or rules for social well-being negotiated by competent parties. Social Justice Theories Social justice theories hold that an action is right if it promotes the duty of fairness in the distributive, retributive, and compensatory dimensions of social benefits and burdens. For managers, this approach stresses monitoring adherence to standard operating procedures and rewarding persons for adhering to contractual agreements in a coordinated manner. Virtue Ethics Theories Virtue ethics theories maintain that habitual development of sound character traits determines the ethical value of persons. For the virtue ethicist, sound, balanced character, motivation, and intention of an individual is more important than the persons actual conduct and its consequences. Three major types of virtue ethics theories focus on individual, work, and professional character which defines the required characteristics of the character of an individual or work or professional. System Development Ethics Theories System development ethics theories maintain that the ethical value of actions is determined by the nature and extent of the supportive framework for continuous improvement of ethical conduct. Managers should assess and develop work cultures supportive of ethical conduct. Ethical problems faced by Personnel Managers: The ethical issues faced by individual employees and managers are very different, since managers are responsible for the entire range of human resources activities such as hiring, firing, disciplining, and performance evaluation. A large number of the ethical issues that arise in business are human resources related and these can usually be addressed by local managers, who act quickly, fairly, and with compassion.3 Hiring and Work Assignments: A manager hires, or brings new people into the organization, and determines employee work assignments once employees are on the job. The new people may be permanent employees, or they may be part -time employees, temporary workers, or consultants. Performance Evaluation: Many times performance evaluation is not done objectively but is based[3] on the relationship of the executive with his appraiser. This defies the entire purpose of Performance Appraisal System which should ensure that a fair and transparent appraisal is done. This kind of favoritism may lead to demotivation of star performers and sends a bad signal in the company. One good way to ensure continuous performance evaluation is to establish a formal appraisal system where performance of an employee is measured continuously and through quantifiable parameters. By measuring the objectives and targets are quantifiable and objectively measured, the process becomes fair and ethical. An ongoing process can greatly reduce misunderstanding, resentment, and charges of discrimination or bias. Terminations: Termination done in any form is never pleasant and should be avoided at all times but at times management is faced with no choice but to terminate the employees. Layoffs can result from many kinds of reorganizations such as mergers, acquisitions, relocations, or as the result of economic reasons, or changes in business strategy. A layoff can stem from a decision to trim staff in one department, or from a decision to reduce head count company-wide. 4 There are steps a manager can take to make it easier for the employee being terminated. The main goals are to be fair, ethical and to allow the employee to maintain personal dignity. Manager should ensure that this step is taken as a last possible resort and if it is inevitable, manager should ensure that the employee is given sufficient notice to get a new job or come up beneficial schemes like voluntary requirements. Also, it would be more beneficial if management engages outplacement counselors or human resources professionals to meet with people who are laid off. Managing workforce diversity Managers are often placed with ethical issues of discrimination and unfair favoritism on the basis of the society and community that the employee belongs to. It is important for a manager to discourage any kind of bias based on religion, community and gender. Importance of Ethics in Business context Enron Scandal Enron Scandal a saga of how the truth unfolded and the one-time most reputed business of America went into trash. As the Consequential Theory of Utilitarianism says, an act is ethical or morally right only if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. As in the case of Enron, it can be seen that whatever the top management did was favourable to only a bunch of officials while the sufferers were the stakeholders in the form of shareholders, employees, financial institutions, accounting firms etc. Also later, when the mask was off, all the culprit officials were penalized and punished which proves that truth cant be hidden for long. And the short-term benefit is too short when compared with long-term cost which one has to pay for its unethical acts. [4] Enron entered into a range of shady dealings, including concealing debts so they didnt show up in the companys accounts. This can be justified as according to the Normative Principle in Applied Ethics which talks about the â€Å"Right to information†. Enron lied about its profits as during its heyday from 1999 to 2000, the company reported very strong net income by dubious accounting exercises. But the actual amount of cash that Enrons businesses generated wasnt nearly as impressive. Wrong information is more catastrophic than no-information. This can be justified as according to the Normative Principle in Applied Ethics which talks about the â€Å"Principle of honesty† which says that one shall not deceive others. Insider Trading refers to the process where a person is in hold of certain information due to ones position in the organization and he uses it for his own advantage. Insider trading is both illegal and unethical. Enron CEO Ken Lay had been consistently selling Enron stock in 2001. Top management promoted Enron shares as a bargain to employees and linked all their pension plans to the same. These employees had lost up to 90 percent of their 401(k) retirement savings as Enrons shares trashed into ground. As per principle of Principle of Paternalism, one should assist others in pursuing their best interests when they cannot do so of themselves. In this case, employees were ignorant of the fact as to what was the company doing, moreover, they were ignorant of best practices so they relied on the advice of their CEO to invest in stocks.[5] Conclusion The collapse of Enron has made it clear that no matter how much profit an organization makes in short-run, for its survival in the long-run, it has to stick to the policies of ethical practice. Any organization that deviates from this, will suffer in the long-run. A manager would invariably be faced with ethical dilemmas in the daily working of an organization but he or she should not endorse unethical practices since it would harm the organization in the long run and no organization can sustain in long term on unethical practices and policies. References 1. Joseph A. Petrick John F. Quinn, (1997), Management Ethics: Integrity at Work, Sage Publications, Sage series in Business Ethics. 2. Ken Blanchard, Ch. 8. Managing by Values, P.33-36, in Integrity at Work, Edited by Ken Shelton, Executive excellence publishing, 1998. 3. Ken Blanchard, Ch. 8. Managing by Values, P.33-36, in Integrity at Work, Edited by Ken Shelton, Executive excellence publishing, 1998. 4. Willlmot Hugh, â€Å"Contributions of Poststructuralism and Posthumanism†, Ethics Organization, Sage Publications, 1998, Pg. 76 -121 5. Hart, O. , 1995, Corporate Governance: Some Theory and Implications, The Economic Journal 105, 678-689. 6. Retrieved from http://www.ethics.org/ [1] Joseph A Petrick John F. Quinn, Management Ethics: Integrity at Work, Sage Series on Business Ethics , 1997, p.43. [2] Ibid, p. 48 [3] Ken Blanchard, Ch. 8. Managing by Values, P.33-36, in Integrity at Work, Edited by Ken Shelton, Executive excellence publishing, 1998. [4] Willlmot Hugh, â€Å"Contributions of Poststructuralism and Posthumanism†, Ethics Organization, Sage Publications, 1998, Pg. 76 -121 [5]5 Hart, O. , 1995, Corporate Governance: Some Theory and Implications, The Economic Journal 105, 678-689.

The Struggle for Emancipation of Women :: Papers

The Struggle for Emancipation of Women Describe and compare the progress made to secure rights for women (Economically, educationally, legally, politically, etc.) between 1870 and 1900) Before 1870 Women's education depended on their class. If you were born into an Upper or Middle class family a Governess would have tutored you privately, while Working class women might of gone to a Sunday school to learn the basics of reading and writing. Women didn't need an education before 1870 as they wouldn't need to work unless if you were Working class, and also because a women's opinion never mattered, they had to sit there and look pretty. There were many changes after 1870, such as Elementary, Public and Universities were being founded. All children, both boys and girls, were made to go to elementary school till the age of 9. Also the Universities and Colleges such as the Cheltenham Ladies College were a break through in women's education. These new laws Guaranteed education of Middle and Working Class women. Women started to think for themselves after this but sexism was still there, it was an improvement but wasn't a huge improvement. The Elementary schools may of given opportunities to the lower classes but these were largely overcrowded and they had to leave at the age of 9, which doesn't help them much as at this age they were still too young for jobs. There was progress during this period, due to the fact of before this time there was no guaranteed education for the working class, as after 1870 this was made possible. Before 1870 women's jobs were very menial and repetitive and also were often at a much lower rate than of a man doing the same job. Upper and Middle Class women were very idle before 1870 and spent most of their time playing the piano or just looking pretty. The working class women had low paid jobs such as; Domestic service, working in fields and Factory working, the Upper and Middle Class women of the times duties

Rips Character and Symbolism in Washington Irvings Rip Van Winkle Ess

Rip's Character and Symbolism in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" has been a well-known story told throughout time. There is not a doubt that as a child, many of you heard the words of Washington Irving's famous tale of the man who slept for twenty years. Nor can one forget the "elves" that Rip Van Winkle spent the night with in the amphitheater. Like many stories, Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" has been told so many times throughout American history that it has lost its original purpose. The story is now remembered for its fairy tale like quality and its appeal to the children and the young at heart. However, when given the chance to delve into the depths of what Irving was trying to portray, one may see the symbolism that played a hand in Irving's development of Rip's character throughout the tale. In writing this tale, Irving compares the character of Van Winkle and his wife to that of Great Britain and the Colonies. Rip Van Winkle was Irving's portrayal of the American colonies. Rip's character was described by Irving as a "simple, good-natured fellow; he was, moreover, a kind neighbor, and an obedient, hen-pecked husband." This description fit the ideal of what American colonist wanted to be. The colonist came over to the colonies to gain freedom from the crown of Great Britain, and in doing so, sought the life full of peaceful things. However, still being under the rule of Great Britain many of the colonists felt that they were still being pecked away by the hand of the crown. Although in a new country, they were expected to follow the rules and the ways of their countrymen over seas. However, by coming to the Colonies, these individuals as portrayed in Rip's character, although... ...ence a freedom that their parents only knew for the last part of their life. Irving does state that Rip had a flaw within the composition of his character. He defines Rip's character as easily distracted and averted from any sort of profitable labor. However, Irving does mention that it was not from want or perseverance. In other words, Great Britain would love to believe that because the colonists want to diverge from the rule of Great Britain that they are lazy and undisciplined. Unfortunately for the Great Britains this was not the case for the colonists. Since the American colonies were such a new entity profitable work was hard to come by. Therefore, many of the colonists found it beneficial to help others along he way. This unselfish attitude aided one's neighbor in getting one step closer to a goal of independence from the rule of the crown.

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 11

The mist rose up around my feet as I walked toward the willow tree. The sun was quickly setting, but I could still make out a shadowy figure nestled between the roots. I glanced again. It was Rosalyn, her party dress shimmering in the weak light. Bile rose in my throat. How could she be here? She was buried, her body six feet underground at the Mystic Falls cemetery. As I walked closer, steeling my courage and grasping the knife in my pocket, I noticed her lifeless eyes reflecting the verdant leaves above. Her dark curls stuck to her clammy forehead. And her neck wasn't torn out at all. Instead, her neck displayed only two neat little holes, the size of shodding nails. As if guided by an unseen hand, I fell to my knees next to her body. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I whispered, staring at the cracked earth below. Then I raised my eyes and froze in horror. Because it wasn't Rosalyn's body at all. It was Katherine's. A small smile curved her rosebud lips, as if she were simply dreaming. I fought the urge to scream. I would not let Katherine die! But as I reached toward her wounds, she sat straight up. Her visage morphed, her dark curls faded to blond, and her eyes glowed red. I started backward. â€Å"It's your fault!† The words cut through the still night, the tone hollow and otherworldly. The voice belonged neither to Katherine nor Rosalyn–but to a demon. I screamed, gripping my penknife and slicing it into the night air. The demon lunged forward and clutched my neck. It lowered its sharpened canines to my skin, and everything faded to black†¦. I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting upright. A crow cawed outside; in the distance, I could hear children playing. Sunbeams were dappled along my white bedspread, and a dinner tray was sitting on my desk. It was daylight. I was in my own bed. A dream. I remembered the funeral, the ride from the church, my exhaustion as I climbed the stairs to my bedroom. It had just been a dream, a product of too much emotion and stimulation today. A dream, I reminded myself again, willing my heart to stop pounding. I took a long gulp of water straight from the pitcher on the nightstand. My brain slowly stilled, but my heart continued to race and my hands still felt clammy. Because it wasn't a dream, or at least not like any dream I'd ever had before. It was as if demons were invading my mind, and I was no longer sure what was real or what thoughts to trust. I stood up, trying to shake off the nightmare, and wandered downstairs. I took the back steps so as not to cross paths with Cordelia in the kitchen. She'd been taking good care of me, just as when I had been a child in mourning for my mother, but something about her watchful gaze made me nervous. I knew she'd heard me call out for Katherine, and I fervently hoped she wasn't telling ta les to the servants. I walked into Father's study and glanced at his shelves, finding myself drawn yet again to the Shakespeare section. Saturday seemed like a lifetime ago. Still, the candle in the silver candlestick holder was exactly where Katherine and I had left it, and The Mysteries of Mystic Falls was still on the chair. If I closed my eyes, I could almost smell lemon. I shook that thought away and hastily picked out a volume of Macbeth, a play about jealousy and love and betrayal and death, which suited my mood perfectly. I forced myself to sit on the leather club chair and glance at the words, forced myself to turn the pages. Maybe that's what I needed in order to proceed with the rest of my life. If I just kept forcing myself to take action, maybe I'd finally get over the guilt and sadness and fear I'd been carrying with me since Rosalyn's death. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. â€Å"Father's not here,† I called, hoping whoever it was would go away. â€Å"Sir Stefan?† Alfred's voice called. â€Å"It's a visitor.† â€Å"No, thank you,† I replied. It was probably Sheriff Forbes again. He'd already come by four or five times, speaking to Damon and Father. So far I'd managed to beg off the visits. I couldn't stand the thought of telling him–telling anyone –where I'd been at the time of the attack. â€Å"The visitor is quite insistent,† Alfred called. â€Å"So are you,† I muttered under my breath as I strode to the door and opened it. â€Å"She's in the sitting room,† Alfred said, turning on his heel. â€Å"Wait!† I said. She. Could it be †¦ Katherine? My heart quickened despite itself. â€Å"Sir?† Alfred asked, mid-step. â€Å"I'll be there.† Frantically, I splashed water from the basin in the corner on my face and used my hands to smooth my hair back from my forehead. My eyes still looked hooded, and tiny vessels had broken, reddening the whites, but there was nothing more I could do to make me look, let alone feel, more like myself. I strode purposefully into the parlor. For an instant, my heart fell with disappointment. Instead of Katherine, sitting on the red velvet wingback chair in the corner was her maid, Emily. She had a chair in the corner was her maid, Emily. She had a basket of flowers on her lap and held a daisy to her nose, as if she didn't have a care in the world. â€Å"Hello,† I said formally, already trying to come up with a way to politely excuse myself. â€Å"Mr. Salvatore.† Emily stood up and half- curtseyed. She wore a simple white eyelet dress and bonnet, and her dark skin was smooth and unlined. â€Å"My mistress and I join you in your sorrows. She asked that I give you this,† she said, proffering the basket toward me. â€Å"Thank you,† I said, taking the basket. I absentmindedly put a sprig of lilac to my nose and inhaled. â€Å"I'd use these in your healing, rather than Cordelia's concoctions,† Emily said. â€Å"How did you know about that?† I wondered. â€Å"Servants talk. But I fear that whatever Cordelia's feeding you may be doing you more harm than good.† She plucked a few blossoms from the basket, twining them into a bouquet. â€Å"Daisies, magnolias, and bleeding heart will help you heal.† â€Å"And pansies for thoughts?† I asked, remembering a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet. As soon as I said it, I realized it was a foolish statement. How would an uneducated servant girl possibly know what I was speaking of? But Emily simply smiled. â€Å"No pansies, although my mistress did mention your love of Shakespeare.† She reached into the basket and broke off a sprig of lilac, which she then pushed gently into my buttonhole. I held the basket up and inhaled. It smelled like flowers, but there was something else: the intoxicating aroma that I'd only experienced when I was near Katherine. I inhaled again, feeling the confusion and darkness of the past few days slowly fade. â€Å"I know everything's very strange right now,† Emily said, breaking my reverie. â€Å"But my mistress only wishes the best for you.† She nodded toward the couch, as if inviting me to sit down. Obediently, I sat and stared at her. She was remarkably beautiful and carried herself with a type of grace I'd never seen before. Her movements and manners were so deliberate that watching her was like watching a painting come to life. â€Å"She would like to see you,† Emily said after a moment. The second the words left her lips, I realized that could never be. As I sat there, in the daylight of the parlor, with another person rather than being lost in my own thoughts, everything clicked into focus. I was a widower, and my duty now was to mourn Rosalyn, not to mourn my schoolboy fantasy of love with Katherine. Besides, Katherine was a beautiful orphan with no friends or relations. It would never work–could never work. â€Å"I did see her. At Rosalyn's †¦ at the funeral,† I said stiffly. â€Å"That's hardly a social call,† Emily pointed out. â€Å"She'd like to see you. Somewhere private. When you're ready,† she added quickly. I knew what I had to say, what the only proper thing to say was, but the words were hard to form. â€Å"I will see, but in my current condition, I'm afraid I'm probably not in the best mood to go walking. Please send your mistress my regrets, although she will not want for company. I know my brother will go wherever she wishes,† I said, the words heavy on my tongue. â€Å"Y es. She is quite fond of Damon.† Emily gathered her skirts and stood up. I stood up as well and felt, even though I towered a head taller, that she was somehow more powerful than me. It was an odd yet not altogether unpleasant feeling. â€Å"But you can't argue with true love.† With that she swept out the door and across the grounds, the daisy in her hair scattering its petals into the wind.

Disadvantage of Science Essay

* Due to advancement of science, the identity and cultures are faded; the diseases are produced at an alarming rate and pollution is increased in geometric ratio. * Because of the advancement of science in unwanted business, people are so busy that even a child cannot recognize a father. * Many illegal and prohibited works are increased. * One is not able to take a sound sleep and breathe fresh air. * The black history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shows how dreadful the unwanted advancement in science has been made. * The misuse of science and its inventions have bought human life in complete destruction. It has invented very powerful weapons like nuclear bomb, missiles, hydrogen bomb and so on which can destroy the property and can lost large sum of money, which has negative effects on other aspects but we minutely realized it, it will surely lead to success. * Nuclear energy is useful but disposal of nuclear waste poses a serious problem to humanity. * Insecticides have increased the food supply but they a lot of harm to birds, fishes and useful insects. * Chemistry which is also a branch of science has given many drugs like cocaine, brown sugar etc. which are proving a curse to the society. * Vibration coming from mobile phone affects our heart and brain, touch sreen mobile phones can lead to finger cancer and its result can be much too dangerous for us. * Science and technology has made our life too smaller. It can be proved by comparing the life time of our ancestors and us. Our ancestors lived for more than 80 years but now the life ratio has come down and reached to maximum of seventy years. * The disadvantages of science has not only grabbed us but also grabbed the living creatures like animals, insects, bees, etc. * The vibration produced from mobile phones kills bees. Some years after end of honey bees’ whole life of human life will also finish. * Animals get problem in taking breathe due to harmful gases being produced from industries and factories dependent on science and technology. From all above comments we can say that although science and technology has great advantages but all are small near its disadvantages we should use it only in necessity, not in the work which can easily be done by us. Homemade Egg Cake(Without Using Oven) /Pressure Cooker cake Ingredients: Plain flour (maida) – 1 and 1/2 cup Powdered sugar – 1 cup Egg – 1 Plain butter – 1/2 cup Baking soda – 1 teaspoon Milk – 1 cup Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon Method: Cake Preparation Mix powdered sugar and butter together and stir them pretty hard till the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Beat the egg very well until it becomes lighter and looks like double the original quantity. Add the beaten egg to sugar-butter mixture and Mix well thoroughly. In a bowl, add plain flour (maida) and baking powder and sieve it to avoid any lump. Now gradually add this maida mixture, to the egg-sugar-butter batter. As you stir the mixture, it will become dense. Add some milk in small amount to make it smooth. Repeat the process of adding maida and then milk as required, till batter should look fluffy and soft. Add Vanilla essence to the batter and again blend thoroughly. Now grease the baking tin (or cake tin) with butter.Use aluminium tine for baking and it can easily get into the pressure cooker.Pour the mixture into the greased baking tin. Put the sand in the pressure cooker 1/4 filled and heat the pressure cooker on high flame for 2 minutes. Lower the flame from high to low after 2 minutes. Now put the cake tin containing the cake batter, inside the cooker.( Do not put water inside the pressure cooker) Close the cooker with cloth(use of keeping the cloth is to absorb water vapour) and put another plate over the cloth( see the below image). Let it cook for 40 minutes, then switch off the heat. Do not open the lid immediately. After 10 minutes open the lid to check whether the cake is done. Put a knife inside the cake to test whether the cake is completely cooked or not. If the mixture will not stick on it, means that cake is done.

Is the Nuclear Family Universal

Is the nuclear family universal? This essay will explore whether the nuclear family is in fact a universal sociological institution. The term ‘universal' means applicable to all cases, so, for this to be correct the nuclear family must be found in all families in every society. Nuclear family consist a husband and wife and one or more children, own or adopted, it is defined by Murdock and according to him, he believed that the nuclear family is ‘a universal social grouping. ‘ Functionalist George Murdock suggested an idea of universality of the family as family is the basic and vital institution in all societies.He looked at 250 societies and found four the most significant functions of the family: sexual, economic, reproduction and socialization. These functions are essential and meet needs in all societies and institution who best fits in performing them is family. Murdock defined the family as social group characterized by common residence, consisting of adults o f both sexes and dependant children. There are statistics that suggest the diversity of families is developing, such as cohabiting, single-parent and reconstituted homosexual families. All evidences seem to prove that nuclear family is not the dominant type of family.However, living in a nuclear family is a phase that most people, as children and adults, go through in the course of their life. The Government seems to be more preferable to nuclear family, as the nuclear family can be a nurturing environment in which to raise children as long as there is love, time spent with children, emotional support, low stress, and a stable economic environment. So, although there is an increasing diversity of family, nuclear family is still universal. The nuclear family is promoted by politicians and media. For example, Labour policy Supporting Families (1998) suggested different ways of all types of families.However Labours also pointed out that preferred type will be nuclear. Media created â⠂¬Ëœcereal packet image’ of the family where it was promoting ideal nuclear family. People being influenced by media and politicians start seeing other types of households undesirable or abnormal. However there is an opposing view to Murdock’s theory that goes against the idea of the nuclear family being universal. In 1959, Kathleen Gough provided a detailed insight of the Nayar society. This culture was mainly centred on the woman and known as a matrifocal family. In this society, when the woman reaches puberty, she is married to her Tali husband.This is a sacred and traditional marriage but although they are married by law the husband and wife have no obligations to each other, the woman is then allowed to take on up to 12 visiting Sandbanhan husbands who must come after tea and the stay the night and leave before breakfast the next morning. Husbands and wives didn’t form an economic unit. Also, husbands were not expected to maintain the wives and it was frown ed upon to do so. Moreover, he didn’t bond, look after or socialize with the children. Another opposing view of the universal nuclear family is the IK culture.This tribe lives in Africa were each member shows now emotional connection with one another. Family, to them, means very little and each member of that society fends for themselves, showing no maternal instincts. If a new baby shows signs of weakness and disability, it will be disowned into the wilderness. The same happens to an elderly member who has no ‘purpose’ in the society. The experience and lifestyle of the IK suggests that family life across the world is characterised by diversity. However, in the UK definitions are dominated by the nuclear family.However, there is a lot of support for Murdock’s theory of the universal nuclear family. One argument is that statistically, the female-headed family is not the norm either within black communities or in the societies in which they are set. Also, s ome sociologists believe that the mainstream model of the nuclear family is valued by blacks and regarded as the ideal. However, there are many opposing views to his theory. The supposed harmful effects on the children of the matrifocal family are far from proven, and, we know that children from a nuclear family are sometimes abused or neglected.Looking closely at all the evidence I have explored in this essay, I conclude to find that the nuclear family is not universal. Families are simply groupings of people brought together by blood, marriage or some kind of connection. By looking at groups such as the Nayar society and the IK culture, it shows that the nuclear family is not applicable in all circumstances. Finally, in British culture the times are changing and there is a more diverse range of families in our society today.

Douglas Spalding Essay

Douglas Spalding was the architect of ethology, the scientific study of animal behavior. He started his research in the mid 1800s. His studies discounted British empiricist claims that animal skill regarding depth, distance; perception and sound localization were learned by the animals while they were young. Spalding study of ethology involved the determiner of behavior such as instinct is behavior that is predisposed or shaped by natural selection or innate pre-programmed behavior. To address the British empiricist claim that perceptual abilities did not require experience, he conducted an study dealing with instinct. He open a portion of an egg where chicks, baby chickens, not girls, where about to hatch and just before their eyes opened, he opened a piece of the egg, and covered the chicks head with a hood. After removing the hood; the chick showed no effects of not being able to see and was able to locate insects to eat, thus showing innate behavior is extremely valuable in animal behavior and not experience. Critical period research is learning that occurs at a specific age or life stage. Critical period is behavior that’s developed within a specific time frame. Spalding withheld chicks from the mother for 10 days. The chicks didn’t hear or see their mother for ten days. Spalding introduced the chicks to the calls of the mother; however, the chicks did not recognize their mother. Spalding observation showed at particular stages in life innate behavior is developed with a specific time. Spalding experiments and observations supported the claim that animals innate behaviors not experiences is a determiner of behavior.

Barack Obama - Speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care Reform (9 September 2009)

Barack Obama Speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care Reform delivered 9 September 2009 Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, and the American people:When I spoke here last winter, this nation was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Credit was frozen. And our financial system was on the verge of collapse.As any American who is still looking for work or a way to pay their bills will tell you, we are by no means out of the woods. A full and vibrant recovery is still many months away. And I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them until those businesses that seek capital and credit can thrive; until all responsible homeowners can stay in their homes. That is our ultimate goal. But thanks to the bold and decisive action weve taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink. I want to thank the members of this body for your efforts and your support in these last several months, and especially those whove taken the difficult votes that have put us on a path to recovery. I also want to thank the American people for their patience and resolve during this trying time for our nation. But we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came here to build a future. So tonight, I return to speak to all of you about an issue that is central to that future and that is the issue of health care. I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. And ever since, nearly every President and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way. A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session. Our collective failure to meet this challenge year after year, decade after decade has led us to the breaking point. Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans. Some cant get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed, and cant afford it, since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer. Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or too expensive to cover. We are the only democracy the only advanced democracy on Earth the only wealthy nation that allows such hardship for millions of its people. There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two-year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone. But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem for the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, youll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or wont pay the full cost of care. It happens every day. One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadnt reported gallstones that he didnt even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer had more than doubled in size. That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America. Then theres the problem of rising cost. We spend one and a half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we arent any healthier for it. This is one of the reasons that insurance premiums have gone up three times faster than wages. Its why so many employers especially small businesses are forcing their employees to pay more for insurance, or are dropping their coverage entirely. Its why so many aspiring entrepreneurs cannot afford to open a business in the first place, and why American businesses that compete internationally like our automakers are at a huge disadvantage. And its why those of us with health insurance are also paying a hidden and growing tax for those without it about $1,000 per year that pays for somebody elses emergency room and charitable care. Finally, our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. When health care costs grow at the rate they have, it puts greater pressure on programs like Medicare and Medicaid. If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close. Nothing else. Now, these are the facts. Nobody disputes them. We know we must reform this system. The question is how. There are those on the left who believe that the only way to fix the system is through a single-payer system like Canadas where we would severely restrict the private insurance market and have the government provide coverage for everybody. On the right, there are those who argue that we should end employer-based systems and leave individuals to buy health insurance on their own. Ive said I have to say that there are arguments to be made for both these approaches. But either one would represent a radical shift that would disrupt the health care most people currently have. Since health care represents one-sixth of our economy, I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesnt, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch. And that is precisely what those of you in Congress have tried to do over the past several months. During that time, weve seen Washington at its best and at its worst. Weve seen many in this chamber work tirelessly for the better part of this year to offer thoughtful ideas about how to achieve reform. Of the five committees asked to develop bills, four have completed their work, and the Senate Finance Committee announced today that it will move forward next week. That has never happened before. Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses; hospitals, seniors groups, and even drug companies many of whom opposed reform in the past. And there is agreement in this chamber on about 80 percent of what needs to be done, putting us closer to the goal of reform than we have ever been. But what weve also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have towards their own government. Instead of honest debate, weve seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned. Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care. Now is the time to deliver on health care. The plan Im announcing tonight would meet three basic goals. It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance for those who dont. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. Its a plan that asks everyone to take responsibility for meeting this challenge not just government, not just insurance companies, but everybody including employers and individuals. And its a plan that incorporates ideas from senators and congressmen, from Democrats and Republicans and yes, from some of my opponents in both the primary and general election. Here are the details that every American needs to know about this plan. First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have. What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it the most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick. And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies because theres no reason we shouldnt be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives. Now, thats what Americans who have health insurance can expect from this plan more security and more stability. Now, if youre one of the tens of millions of Americans who dont currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan will finally offer you quality, affordable choices. If you lose your job or you change your job, youll be able to get coverage. If you strike out on your own and start a small business, youll be able to get coverage. Well do this by creating a new insurance exchange a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage. This is how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance. Its how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And its time to give every American the same opportunity that we give ourselves. Now, for those individuals and small businesses who still cant afford the lower-priced insurance available in the exchange, well provide tax credits, the size of which will be based on your need. And all insurance companies that want access to this new marketplace will have to abide by the consumer protections I already mentioned. This exchange will take effect in four years, which will give us time to do it right. In the meantime, for those Americans who cant get insurance today because they have preexisting medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill. This was a good idea when Senator John McCain proposed it in the campaign, its a good idea now, and we should all embrace it. Now, even if we provide these affordable options, there may be those especially the young and the healthy who still want to take the risk and go without coverage. There may still be companies that refuse to do right by their workers by giving them coverage. The problem is, such irresponsible behavior costs all the rest of us money. If there are affordable options and people still dont sign up for health insurance, it means we pay for these peoples expensive emergency room visits. If some businesses dont provide workers health care, it forces the rest of us to pick up the tab when their workers get sick, and gives those businesses an unfair advantage over their competitors. And unless everybody does their part, many of the insurance reforms we seek especially requiring insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions just cant be achieved. And thats why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance just as most states require you to carry auto insurance. Likewise likewise, businesses will be required to either offer their workers health care, or chip in to help cover the cost of their workers. There will be a hardship waiver for those individuals who still cant afford coverage, and 95 percent of all small businesses, because of their size and narrow profit margin, would be exempt from these requirements. But we cant have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves or their employees. Improving our health care system only works if everybody does their part. And while there remain some significant details to be ironed out, I believe I believe a broad consensus exists for the aspects of the plan I just outlined: consumer protections for those with insurance, an exchange that allows individuals and small businesses to purchase affordable coverage, and a requirement that people who can afford insurance get insurance. And I have no doubt that these reforms would greatly benefit Americans from all walks of life, as well as the economy as a whole. Still, given all the misinformation thats been spread over the past few months, I realize I realize that many Americans have grown nervous about reform. So tonight I want to address some of the key controversies that are still out there. Some of peoples concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Now, such a charge would be laughable if it werent so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple. There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms the reforms Im proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina: You lie! President Obama: Its not true. And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place. Now, my health care proposal has also been attacked by some who oppose reform as a government takeover of the entire health care system. As proof, critics point to a provision in our plan that allows the uninsured and small businesses to choose a publicly sponsored insurance option, administered by the government just like Medicaid or Medicare. So let me set the record straight here. My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition. Thats how the market works. Unfortunately, in 34 states, 75 percent of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company. And without competition, the price of insurance goes up and quality goes down. And it makes it easier for insurance companies to treat their customers badly by cherry-picking the healthiest individuals and trying to drop the sickest, by overcharging small businesses who have no leverage, and by jacking up rates. Insurance executives dont do this because theyre bad people; they do it because its profitable. As one former insurance executive testified before Congress, insurance companies are not only encouraged to find reasons to drop the seriously ill, they are rewarded for it. All of this is in service of meeting what this former executive called Wall Streets relentless profit expectations. Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable. And the insurance reforms that Ive already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. It would only be an option for those who dont have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up. Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies dont like this idea. They argue that these private companies cant fairly compete with the government. And theyd be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they wont be. Ive insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits and excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers, and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities. Now, it is its worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort Ive proposed tonight. But its impact shouldnt be exaggerated by the left or the right or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and shouldnt be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage available for those without it. The public option the public option is only a means to that end and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have. For example For example, some have suggested that the public option go into effect only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Others have proposed a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring. But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans cant find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice. And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need. Finally, let me discuss an issue that is a great concern to me, to members of this chamber, and to the public and thats how we pay for this plan. And heres what you need to know. First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future. I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period. And to prove that Im serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised dont materialize. Now, part of the reason I faced a trillion-dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for from the Iraq war to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care. Second, weve estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system, a system that is currently full of waste and abuse. Right now, too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care dont make us any healthier. Thats not my judgment its the judgment of medical professionals across this country. And this is also true when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, I want to speak directly to seniors for a moment, because Medicare is another issue thats been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. More than four decades ago, this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. Thats how Medicare was born. And it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. And that is why not a dollar of the Medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. The only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud, as well as unwarranted subsidies in Medicare that go to insurance companies subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but dont improve the care of seniors. And we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years ahead. Now, these steps will ensure that you Americas seniors get the benefits youve been promised. They will ensure that Medicare is there for future generations. And we can use some of the savings to fill the gap in coverage that forces too many seniors to pay thousands of dollars a year out of their own pockets for prescription drugs. Thats what this plan will do for you. So dont pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut, especially since some of the same folks who are spreading these tall tales have fought against Medicare in the past and just this year supported a budget that would essentially have turned Medicare into a privatized voucher program. That will not happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare. Now, because Medicare is such a big part of the health care system, making the program more efficient can help usher in changes in the way we deliver health care that can reduce costs for everybody. We have long known that some places like the Intermountain Healthcare in Utah or the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania offer high-quality care at costs below average. So the commission can help encourage the adoption of these common-sense best practices by doctors and medical professionals throughout the system everything from reducing hospital infection rates to encouraging better coordination between teams of doctors. Reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of this plan. Now, much of the rest would be paid for with revenues from the very same drug and insurance companies that stand to benefit from tens of millions of new customers. And this reform will charge insurance companies a fee for their most expensive policies, which will encourage them to provide greater value for the money an idea which has the support of Democratic and Republican experts. And according to these same experts, this modest change could help hold down the cost of health care for all of us in the long run. Now, finally, many in this chamber particularly on the Republican side of the aisle have long insisted that reforming our medical malpractice laws can help bring down the cost of health care. Now there you go. There you go. Now, I dont believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but Ive talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs.So Im proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. I know that the Bush administration considered authorizing demonstration projects in individual states to test these ideas. I think its a good idea, and Im directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on this initiative today. Now, add it all up, and the plan Im proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration. Now, most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent but spent badly in the existing health care system. The plan will not add to our deficit. The middle class will realize greater security, not higher taxes. And if we are able to slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of 1 percent each year one-tenth of 1 percent it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term. Now, this is the plan Im proposing. Its a plan that incorporates ideas from many of the people in this room tonight Democrats and Republicans. And I will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead. If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to listen. My door is always open. But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that its better politics to kill this plan than to improve it. I wont stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent whats in this plan, we will call you out. And I will not and I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now. Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it the most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true. That is why we cannot fail. Because there are too many Americans counting on us to succeed the ones who suffer silently, and the ones who shared their stories with us at town halls, in e-mails, and in letters. I received one of those letters a few days ago. It was from our beloved friend and colleague, Ted Kennedy. He had written it back in May, shortly after he was told that his illness was terminal. He asked that it be delivered upon his death. In it, he spoke about what a happy time his last months were, thanks to the love and support of family and friends, his wife, Vicki, his amazing children, who are all here tonight. And he expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform that great unfinished business of our society, he called it would finally pass. He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that it concerns more than material things. What we face, he wrote, is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country. Ive thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days the character of our country. One of the unique and wonderful things about America has always been our self-reliance, our rugged individualism, our fierce defense of freedom and our healthy skepticism of government. And figuring out the appropriate size and role of government has always been a source of rigorous and, yes, sometimes angry debate. Thats our history. For some of Ted Kennedys critics, his brand of liberalism represented an affront to American liberty. In their minds, his passion for universal health care was nothing more than a passion for big government. But those of us who knew Teddy and worked with him here people of both parties know that what drove him was something more. His friend Orrin Hatch he knows that. They worked together to provide children with health insurance. His friend John McCain knows that. They worked together on a Patients Bill of Rights. His friend Chuck Grassley knows that. They worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities. On issues like these, Ted Kennedys passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick. And he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance, what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better, but I just cant afford it. That large-heartedness that concern and regard for the plight of others is not a partisan feeling. Its not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character our ability to stand in other peoples shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise. This has always been the history of our progress. In 1935, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism, but the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it. In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress Democrats and Republicans did not back down. They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind. You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter that at that point we dont merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves. That was true then. It remains true today. I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them. I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term. But that is not what the moment calls for. Thats not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when its hard. I still believe I still believe that we can act when its hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet historys test. Because thats who we are. That is our calling. That is our character. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Source: WhiteHouse.gov