Coca Cola and Pepsi Essay Example for Free

Coca Cola and Pepsi Essay Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola has been in the cola wars for centuries now. They had strategies to stay in the business competitively; both companies did their best to stay up by making contracts with celebrities, making banners and posters, TV commercials. Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola has the same core benefit for their products, which is to quench the thirst of their consumers as well as selling a non-alcoholic soft drink. Core benefit is the fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service. The Coca Cola products are constantly produced in a red background with Coca Cola writing. Conversely, Pepsi products are packaged with their blue writing. Brand knowledge is important for the health of the company. The Coca Cola brand was worth $79 billion in the year 2013 in comparison to Pepsi Cola brand, which was only $17 million worth. A consumer from a different country can identify a Coca Cola product, even though it’s in a foreign language and they may still recognize the product immediately. Coca Cola is much more widely available than Pepsi. Coca Cola creates a sort of convenience for consumers for being widely available thus getting the loyalty of the consumers. There is a higher demand for Coca Cola than Pepsi thus restaurants are more favorable towards Coca Cola. For example, McDonalds is providing Coca Cola, but KFC and Hardees provide Pepsi. Pepsi has always had the younger generation in mind. Their advertising and marketing strategies are fixed to target teens aged 14 or even younger with a fun and most often interlaced with music. This is evident over the years as Pepsi had musical celebrities like Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and now Beyonce. Coca Cola also targets diversifying their audience and taking geographical aspects in high consideration as they target the world filled with different cultures. The ingredients of these products also can be differentiated as Pepsi has slightly more sugar, caffeine and calories while Coca Cola has slightly more sodium. Coca Cola is a much fizzier drink due to its high percentage of carbonation in comparison to Pepsi. In Kazakhstani market Coca Cola is preferred more than Pepsi. As it was already mentioned, everyone can find Coca Cola everywhere, even far from populated cities. Also, Coca Cola is open to present the process of its creation.

Definition of Recession and the Predicted Recession in the Malaysian economy

Definition of Recession and the Predicted Recession in the Malaysian economy What is economic recession? Economic recession is defined as a decline in the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for about two or more consecutive quarters in a particular year. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) consists of the monies spent by consumers, the investments made by private companies and the government, government spending on labor and products, and the net total of a countrys exports. As a part of a normal business lifecycle, when an economy that grows over a period of time tends to slow down. An economy typically grows for 6 to 10 years and later is likely to go into a recession for about 6 months to 2 years. Thus, economic recession is a declining phase of the business life cycle when there decline in economic activities spread across the economy, lasting for more than a couple of months, normally visible in Gross Domestic Product or GDP, employment, real income, industrial production and wholesale or retail sales. A recession has many characteristics that can occur simultaneously and can include declines in real-time measures of overall economic activities. Recessions are the result of reduction in the demand and may also be associated with falling prices also known as deflation, or on the other hand it could also be due to increasing prices also known as inflation or a combination of increasing prices and stagnant economic growth. A prolonged or severe recession is referred to as an economic depression. Although the difference between a recession and a depression is not clearly stated, it is often believed that a decline in Gross Domestic Product or GDP of more than 10% constitutes a depression. The cause of an economic recession primarily depends on the actions taken to control the money supply in an economy. The Federal Reserve is the agency responsible for maintaining the delicate balance between money supply, interest rates, and inflation. When this delicate balance is tipped, the economy is forced to correct itself. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve sometimes deals with these situations by dumping huge amounts of money supply into the money market. This helps to keep interest rates low, even as inflation rises. Inflation is the rise in the prices of goods and services over a period of time. So, if inflation is increasing, it means that goods and services are costing more now than they did before. The higher the level of inflation, the smaller the percentage of goods and services is which can be bought with a certain amount of money. There can be many contributing factors for inflation, which include but are not limited to increased costs of production, higher costs of energy and the national debt. In an environment where inflation is prevalent, people tend to cut out things like leisure spending. They also budget more, spend less on things they usually indulge in, and start saving more money than they did. As people and businesses start finding ways to cut costs and derail unneeded expenditures, the GDP begins to decline. Then, unemployment rates will rise because companies start lying off workers to cut more costs, because consumers are not spending like they were. It is these combined factors that manage to drive the economy into a state of recession. An economic recession can be expected before it actually happens. There are many ways to spot a recession before it actually happens. For instance, by observing the changing economic landscapes in quarters that come before the actual onset we can predict whether a recession is about to occur or not. You will still see GDP growth, but it will be coupled with signs like high unemployment levels, housing price declines, stock market losses, and the absence of business expansion. When an economy sees more extended periods of economic recession, it goes beyond a recession and is declared that the economy is in a state of depression. On the other hand, the benefit of an economic recession is that it will help to cure inflation. As a matter of fact, the delicate balancing act that the Federal Reserve struggles to pursue is to slow the growth of the economy enough so that inflation will not occur, but also so that a recession will not be triggered in the process. Now, the Federal Reserve performs this balancing act without the help of fiscal policy. Fiscal policy is usually trying to stimulate the economy as much as is possible through such things as lowering taxes, spending on programs, and ignoring account deficits. Currently the global economy is facing a downturn; In Malaysia the economy has been spotted declining since the first-half of 2008 .This decline may spell bad news for us as it may result as a recession. However, it has been predicted by the government that the economy is not going to be insulated from the global downturn. It was clearly stated by the current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that Malaysia would be able to weather the storm brought on by the U.S. credit crisis as we still have strong economic fundamentals as well as being politically stable. In his statement he said We have very strong reserves, our surplus is still strong, our domestic savings are also very high and our currency is also stable and not subject to fluctuation, He also said We have the strength and the resilience of Malaysians as we have faced it before and our banking system is still strong, theres stability in the country and predictability in terms whats going to develop politically,. The Prime Minister admitted that it was not going to be easy, but with good cooperation with the public and the government our country could get through the recession with not much damage. On the other hand, it has also been predicted that the Malaysian economy will most probably see a full blown recession this year given the steep deterioration in recent economic activities both locally and globally. Based on an article in The Star Online of 5th March 2009, it was predicted that the economy may contract by1.19% in 2009. It was clearly stated in the phrase A poll of economists expectations for 2009 projects the economy would contract by 1.19% this year as the slump in exports and slowing domestic demand bite hard especially in the first half of the year. However, there were also predictions that the contractions of the Malaysian economy would be temporary and would recover later in this year. The Affin Investment Bank economist Alan Tan said The first half will be weak but I am expecting stabilization late in the year on a recovery in exports and domestic demand. This statement was also supported by another statement by the RHB Investment Bank Bhd economist Peck Boon S oon, however this time the economy was predicted to rebound in 2010. The table below shows the forecast growth of the Gross Domestic Product by Malaysias top financial institutes. Besides that, in view of the deteriorating global economy and as a step to be ready for an economic recession, the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) has lately reduced the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent. Its clearly stated in the Malaysian Economy-Update Blog that the Malaysian economy is getting or expecting to get worse if no monetary and fiscal policy changes. To add liquidity into the system and reduce the cost of funds, the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) has been cut from 4.0 per cent to 3.5 per cent effective Dec08. If domestic conditions worsen, amid subsiding inflation, the OPR may be slashed to 3.0 per cent or even lower. The reduction of interest rate has to be done cautiously as it may unintentionally lead to a weaker ringgit that would push up the cost of imports. The deficit fiscal target for 2009 has also been raised to 4.8 per cent of GDP, from 3.6 per cent previously. This may be justified as difficult times call for drastic measures. However, there are concerns that government revenue would be adversely affected by the falling commodity prices, which could subsequently enlarge the deficit to even exceed 5.0 per cent of GDP. All of this signs clearly states that the Malaysian economy is going into a recession. The graph below shows the decline of the GDP growth. The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) has also defined Malaysias current economic situation as a recession. Based on the article in the Malaysian Economy-Update Blog dated 5th of March 2009, MIER says Malaysia stands on the brink of recession as falling demand hits exports and manufacturing with growth expected to reach 0.5% this year. MIER forecast the economic growth for first half of 2009 will be negative which will put Malaysia in a technical recession, but will show positive figures in the second half of 2009. The Executive Director of MIER Mohamaed Ariff said overall, it will be 0.5% growth for this year in the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is there is a 50% chance of a full-blown recession this year. Furthermore, this has also lead to the reduction of employments which results in the downfall in the Consumer Sentiments Index (CSI). This is shown in the graph below. Based on all the evidence provided above, it could be seen that the current Malaysian economy is going into a downfall and may result in a recession. Even though the government has not officially declared a recession its very important for us to be ready to face one as we do not know how bad it may result as. The predicted contraction of the economy by 1.19% will be one of the major causes of the recession as there will be a massive reduction in exports and domestic demands. The reduction of the Overnight Policy Rate by the Central Bank (Bank Negara Malaysia) is also one of the signs that Malaysia is going into a recession, this is because the reduction of the Overnight Policy Rate would result in the reduction of the GDP growth because less money would be invested in the economy and would lead to the downfall of the economy. On the other hand, as stated by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) the reduction of employments and downfall of the Consumer Sentiments Index (CSI) shows that Malaysia would be facing a recession. However, as said by our respected Prime Minister, the downfall that is about to be faced by our country may not last long as, because Malaysia has very strong reserves, high domestic savings and also our currency is quite stable. This forecast recession is predicted to rebound in the third or fourth quarter this year this year or latest by 2010. To sum it all up, a recession is not an event that is waited for, however its a part of a normal business lifecycle and its natural for it to occur in an economy every 6 to 10 years once. The best step to take during a recession is to minimize all of our expenditures and save as much as we can. Therefore we should always be prepared to face such situations as we may not know how bad the recession may be and how long it may last.

Graphical User Interface For The 3 Axis Cnc Milling Machine Computer Science Essay

Graphical User Interface For The 3 Axis Cnc Milling Machine Computer Science Essay This paper details the design and development of a Graphical User Interface for the 3-Axis CNC Milling Machine, which was designed in-house for testing and research purposes at the University of the South Pacific. The 3-axis CNC Milling Machine used COM Port terminal software, TeraTerm to communicate with the electronics hardware via RS232 link. The GUI was developed using Microsoft ® Visual Basic 2008 Integrated Development Environment. The end result is an interface that is user friendly and is capable of controlling various tasks of the Milling Machine. This paper aims to explain how simple components of Microsoft ® Visual Basic 2008 has been used to design a Windows ® based user interface which is capable of complete control of CNC milling machine. Keywords: GUI, Serial Port, CNC, G Codes, STEP NC 1. INTRODUCTION Over the years a number of methods have been developed to control machine tools. The most widespread used throughout the industry is the G Code language for NC machine tools programming. It is based on the data model stipulated by ISO6983, and has been used for over 50 years [1]. G codes, however, limits the usage of todays fast evolving high-performance hardware [2]. The latest development in NC machine tools programming is ISO 14649 or STEP NC. It is a new standard for data transferring between CAD/CAM systems and CNC machines. It remedies the shortcomings of ISO 6983 by specifying the machining processes rather than machine toolmotion by means of Workingstep, as the basic entity [1] Whichever method of programming NC machine tools is used, it is always important to verify the program before doing actual testing. Verification of NC part programs using a PC is inexpensive compared to testing on model parts. Cutting simulation as a means of testing and verifying NC cutting paths has become an important part of modern machining [3]. With the latest advancements in PC technology and 3D graphics it is much easier to simulate NC cutting paths. A common CNC executes G-code programs, which are generated as a result of planning and scheduling in CAM tools [4]. However an interface is required to send or execute NC part program to the CNC. The user interface is the communication Tool between the operator and the PC-based CNC drilling machine, via the computer screen [5]. The recent advancement in software development technology using Object Oriented Programming (OOP) has made it possible to create simple user interface with a sound communication link to control NC machines. In 2002 [5], a GUI was developed at the University of the South Pacific for a PC-Based computer numeric control drilling machine. The platform for the graphical user interface (GUI) was written in Borlands new rapid application product, C++ Builder ®. Gordon and Hillery [6] developed a Windows ® based graphical user interface for their CNC cutting machine. The user interface communicated with the machine via RS232 serial link. The programming environment used was Borland C++ Builder 3, which allowed the visual development of the program interface. The user interface developed also had features for homing the three axes, editing of NC part program (G Codes) and also previewing the two dimensional cutter motion. This paper mainly focuses on the design of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the 3-Axis CNC milling machine. The user interface has been designed in Microsoft ® Visual Basic 2008 Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The features of the GUI are explained in detail. 2. OVERVIEW OF CNC MILLING MACHINE The CNC Milling Machine was designed in-house at the School of Engineering and Physics (SEP) at the University of the South Pacific (USP), for testing and research purposes. It uses an absolute three dimensional coordinate system to create its tool path. It sequentially passes instructions which are in the form of three dimensional coordinates to the Milling Machine for controlling the tool, similar to how G Codes are used. The operational framework of the CNC milling machine is shown in Figure 2.1. It consists of a dedicated PC running Graphical User Interface Software which is used to upload a text file containing X, Y and Z coordinates. It also has features to control the milling operations and to get a two dimensional cutter path preview. The software is linked to the electronics hardware via RS232 serial link. Figure 2.1 Operational framework of the CNC Milling Machine The current CNC Milling machine is only capable of linear interpolation (G01), in terms of G Codes, or moving linearly from one point in the three dimensional space to the next point. To mill different geometries other than straight lines the milling machine has to be given a number of coordinate points which can be used to approximate that particular geometry. For instance to mill a curve the milling machine needs to be given a set of points which lie on the curve. Similar method was used by Min-Yang Yang and Won-Pyo Hong [7] in their three dimensional linear interpolation algorithm. The CNC Milling Machine uses an absolute three dimensional coordinate system (X, Y, and Z) for its tool path generation. The three dimensional coordinates are defined in a text file. Each of the three coordinates has three characters in the text file for instance the X coordinate 0 is defined as 000 in the text file. The Basic Length Unit (BLU) is in millimeters. The electronics architecture of the CNC milling machine consisted of five PIC microcontrollers (PIC16F877) in a distributed architecture, with one master controller and several slave controllers. The master controller of the CNC Milling Machine consists of a PIC16F877 microcontroller which is responsible for coordinating and controlling the overall operations of the Machine. It is the central intelligence system of the CNC Milling Machine. It receives its commands from the user through a user interface and commands other co PIC16F877 Microcontrollers in a distributed architecture to carry out their respective tasks. The mechanical hardware consists of three stepper motors which drive the three axis of the CNC Milling Machine. It also has a 24V DC Motor which is the spindle motor. The worktable consists of clamps to clamp the workpiece firmly on the worktable. For feedback, the machine constitutes of limit switches which control the limit of the worktable. 3. USER INTERFACE Until recently, the CNC machine was using COM port terminal software, TeraTerm, to communicate with Master Controller via RS232 link. The GUI was designed to provide a user friendly interface instead of typing coordinates in TeraTerm. The GUI was designed using Microsoft ® Visual Basic 2008 and coded in BASIC (Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code). The overall design of the main form of the user interface is shown in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1 Main form of the GUI It was decided to incorporate the following features in the GUI Opening of text file which contains the coordinates. Previewing of coordinate file (or tool path) in two dimensional X and Y axis Communication with the CNC Machine via RS232 link Milling control features such as homing, manual jog etc Displaying coordinate file 3.1 File Input The GUI contains a MenuStrip at the top of the main form on which there are three menus, File, Setup and Help. The File menu contains an Open menu which opens a file browser window as shown in Figure 3.1.1. The software utilizes an OpenFileDialog control of Visual basic 2008 to prompt the user for the files path. It allowed the user to choose which text file to open in the program. The OpenFileDialog control contains the Filter property which was used to control the type of file to be opened in the program. The only extension allowed was the *.txt. The ShowDialog() method was used to display the Open Coordinate File dialog box on the screen. The FileName property was used to get the path specified by the user. The dialog box is shown in figure 3.1.1 Figure 3.1.1 Open Coordinate File dialog box After getting the path from the user, the program used a FileOpen() function to open the file specified by the user. The end of file function, EOF() was used to iterate through the file until the no more coordinates are left. The LineInput() function was used get a line of coordinates into a string variable. This string variable was then extracted to get the X, Y and Z coordinates in a separate array. The array containing the X, Y and Z coordinate was then used later to generate two dimensional previews and to send to the CNC milling machine. Finally the FileClose() function closes the text file. 3.2 Tool Path Preview The graphical user interface that is designed also contains a two dimensional preview feature which can be used to preview the path taken by the milling tool on the workpiece. The GUI uses the system.drawing.graphics namespace to create tool path. The preview panel, as shown in figure 3.2.1, gives a two dimensional (X, Y) preview of the tool path which will be followed by the cutting tool. It is also to check and verify that the input text file does not contain errors. A Preview command button is used to generate preview. This is activated only when a valid coordinate file is loaded. The GUI utilizes system.drawing namespace which includes system.drawing.graphics class to draw the preview. The DrawLines() method was used to draw a series of lines according to the X and Y coordinates in the coordinate file. Figure 3.2.1 Tool Path Preview control The use of three-dimensional absolute coordinate system has made the previewing algorithm much easier since the preview is two dimensional (X, Y), the program utilizes these X and the Y coordinates to draw a preview of the shape in the preview panel. Once the Preview command button is clicked, the btnPreview_Click event procedure gets the array containing the X and Y coordinates which was previously read from the text file. The procedure then used these coordinates as points to draw a series of lines using the DrawLines() method. Since absolute coordinates are used, the lines connect from the end point of the first X, Y coordinate to the start point of the next X, Y coordinate. In this way the path taken by the cutter is drawn by connecting the series of points. 3.3 Milling Controls The GUI on the main form contained a group box with a number of command buttons for commanding the milling machine. The Home command button was used to command the milling machine to rapidly move to its home position. Figure 3.3.1 Milling Control panel The advantage of using a software interface to control the CNC Milling Machine is that it acts like a control panel of the CNC which resides on the PC. Several command buttons have been used on the main form to command the CNC Milling Machine to carry out various tasks. The Home command button is used to command the CNC Milling Machine to move to its home position. The milling control also contains a command button Start to run or to send the coordinates to the milling machine to start milling. The flowchart in figure 3.3.2 shows this. Figure 3.3.2 Flowchart showing the start subroutine 4. COMMUNICATIONS The user interface for controlling the milling machine resides on a dedicated PC. Therefore there should be some means of communication between the software and the electronics hardware. A standard desktop personal computer consists of several communications ports. These include parallel port (LPT1), serial port (COM), PS/2 ports and Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. Serial port communications has been used to with the electronics hardware. The Serial port or RS232 has several port settings that need to be set. The advantage of this obsolete technology is that it best suits the application we are designing, and the amount of data that needs to be sent to and from the milling machine. Figure 4.1 shows the dialog box that appears to the user when the user chooses Serial Port from the Setup Menu. On this dialogue box the user can choose the port settings. The reason for including this control is so that the application may work on different PCs. The default port setting is shown in figure 4.1. Figure 4.1 Serial Port Configuration dialog box The communications via RS232 was made possible using the system.IO.ports namespace, and the SerialPort class of Visual Basic 2008. The SerialPort class consisted of properties/attributes, methods and events which was used in the communication algorithm. The ReadExisting() method was used to read data from the PCs serial port receive buffer (Rx). The Write() method was used to send string data to the electronics of the CNC Milling Machine. The flowchart in figure 4.2 demonstrates how the communication to the milling machine is made when the user clicks ok on the dialog box in figure 4.1. Figure 4.2 Flowchart showing the communication algorithm followed. 5. TESTING AND DEBUGGING One problem faced during the development and testing of the GUI was run time errors or exceptions. Runtime errors or exceptions occur as a result of normal operating conditions [8]. For example errors when the GUI is trying to open a COM port which is being used by another program. The problem was overcome using structured error handling or the Try†¦Catch code block in Visual Basic. The GUI used message boxes to display appropriate messages to the users when an exception occurred and allowed the program to continue. The preview part of the GUI was tested by opening a text file containing 165 X, Y, Z points. These points resembled a circle in two dimensional (X, Y) planes. The result is depicted in Figure 5.1 which shows the tool path generated on the preview panel. Figure 5.1 Tool Path preview showing the preview of a circle Furthermore, the same file was used to mill a circle on softwood with the following settings: Feedrate 75mm/min Spindle Speed 2500RPM Cutting Tool Diameter 5mm The result is shown in Figure 5.2. The result shows that the Graphical User Interface made no errors while sequentially sending coordinates to the milling machine. Figure 5.2 Output of the CNC Milling Machine 6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK Based on the result in the previous section of this paper, it can be concluded that the GUI design was successful. The GUI was able to communicate with the electronics hardware of the CNC Milling Machine using RS232 serial link. The preview algorithm of the program also worked well. Finally the GUI was able to sequentially send (X, Y, and Z) coordinates representing cutter path in three dimensional space, to the CNC Milling machine. However, a number of tasks can be carried out in the future to improve the performance of the GUI and to enhance the output of the CNC Milling Machine. One such include the implementation of the industry standard G Codes which is based on ISO6983 data model, instead of X, Y, Z coordinate file. The G Code programming is a standardized way of controlling cutter motion. The CNC milling machine is capable of moving in steps as small as 1 tenth of a millimeter. Thus it is also recommended to improve the GUI so that it can cater for coordinates with one decimal point. The output of the CNC milling machine will improve drastically by having coordinates in mm to one decimal point. Another improvement that can be implemented on the GUI is using an abort button to cancel or abort the operations of the CNC Milling Machine. This is a standard safety feature which exists on most industrial machines including CNC machines.

Benito Mussolini :: essays research papers

Benito Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Predappio. The son of a blacksmith he was largely self-educated. He became a schoolteacher and a socialist journalist in northern Italy. In 1910 he married Rachele Guidi who bore his five children. Mussolini was jailed in 1911 for his opposition to Italy’s war in Libya. Soon after his release in 1912 he became editor of the socialist newspaper in Milan, "Avanti!". When WWI began in 1914 Mussolini advocated Italy’s entrance into the war on the allied side and was expelled from the socialist party. He then started his own newspaper in Milan, Il Popolo d’Italia (The People of Italy) which later became the origin of the Fascist Movement. In 1916 Mussolini enlisted in the military. After his promotion to sergeant he was wounded and in 1917 he returned to his paper. During the Chaos that Gripped Italy after the war Mussolini’s influence grew swiftly. Mussolini and other war veterans founded Fasci di Combattimento in March of 1919. This Nationalistic antisocialist movement attracted much of the lower middle class and took its name from the Fasces, an ancient symbol of Roman discipline. The Fascist movement grew rapidly in the 1920’s, spreading through the countryside where it’s Black Shirt Militia won support of the land owners and attacked peasant leagues of Socialist Supporters. To take advantage of the opportunity Fascism shed it’s initial Republicanism gaining the support of the King and Army. On October 28, 1922 Mussolini led his Fascist March on Rome. Mussolini was immediately invited to form the Italian Government by King Victor Emmanuel III. Although Mussolini was given extraordinary powers to return order to Italy he governed constitutionally until 1924 after the violence of the 1924 elections resulting in the death of Socialist party deputy Giacomo Mattoetti. Mussolini moved to suspend constitutional government and establish a totalitarian regime. He proceeded in stages to establish a dictatorship by forbidding the parliament to initiate legislation, making him responsible to the king alone. By 1926 he had passed decrees issuing him the force of law, establishing total censorship of the press and suppressing all opposition parties. In 1929 Mussolini made one of his greatest diplomatic triumphs when he concluded the Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See. This settled the 60-year controversy concerning the power of the Pope within the Italian State. In 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany and was

Effect of Multiple Plots in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver :: essays research papers

The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, uses multiple plots throughout the novel. At the beginning, two plots are introduced. One involves Missy/ Taylor, the protagonist in the story, and the other involves Lou Ann. Kingsolver unites these two plot by having them move in together. Other minor plots describe the life of other characters such as Estevan and Esperanza, Edna and Virgie, and Mattie. Multiple plots in The Bean Trees increase suspense and depth in the story. The main characters in The Bean Trees are Taylor and Lou Ann. The first chapter is about Missy leaving Kentucky to find a better life. This chapter is written is 1st person, with Missy being the narrator. She is a person that is tired of her boring life, she changes her name to Taylor, and wants an adventure. She leaves home and goes on a road trip across America. Before Taylor began her trip, she stated, ?And so what I promised myself is that I would drive west until my car stopped running, and there I would stay? (Kingsolver 16). She later continued on Tucson, Arizona. On her trip, a baby girl is abandoned with her by a Native American woman. She decides to take care of Turtle as her road trip goes on. Taylor now has someone to talk to during her trip. Unfortunately for Turtle, her life has been ?Tempest-Tossed? (301). In other words, her life hasn?t been trouble-free and she?s gone through many things. It is possible to predict that the bruises on her body when she was abandoned with Taylor, was from being molested. Half her time with Taylor was on the road, and she was adjusting to a new life. The second chapter is about Lou Ann?s dilemma with her husband, Angel. This is written in omniscient limited point of view. Lou Ann and Angel have a young baby boy, Dwayne Ray. These two plots meet when Taylor responds to Lou Ann?s advertisement about a room mate, and they move in together. This gave the novel a unique introduction with two plots going on as the readers endure the suspense. The novel seems to be set in one tiny area in Tucson. Lou Ann is heading home and has just pasted the Jesus.Is.Lord?s and Fanny Heaven, when the narrator creates a clear picture of the area: ?She rounded the corner and stopped to do some grocery shopping at the Lee Sing Market, which faced the park directly across from where she and Angel lived?

Change in Family Relationships and Values Essay

Family has many different meanings to it but it seems as though we all want the same ideal family. The ideas of the â€Å"perfect† family come from old advertisements and television programs; they all have the same characteristics as one another. Everyone wants to live like families that lived in older times, but in reality it is nearly impossible for every family to be exactly the same and like old time families. Many things have influenced the change in families from how they used to be to how they are now. Social, economic, and historical changes have occurred that makes family relationships and family values different then they were. The ideal family of the past is no longer how modern families live but it is how they wish to live. In the 1950s, the impression of the ideal nuclear family was established. These families had a stable marriage, decent home, and enjoyed their children. The father worked all day but when he came home he was the head of the household and everybody listened to him. The mothers were in charge of cleaning the house, cooking the meals and tending to the children and her husband. Sons had more of an intimate and affectionate relationship with their fathers. Daughters were supposed to live up to their mother and be like them when they got older. Children also listened and respected their parents more back then (Coontz, 33-36). That is the basic description of what everyone wants his or her family to act. Times have changed but the ideal family of the past remains the same in today’s society. In reality there are more divorces, single parents, and more adoptions. Mothers do a lot more to support the family; they cook, clean, and have jobs during the day. Fathers work longer hours and do not have much time for their families. Children do not want to spend time or even talk to their parents in present day because they have better things to do. Things are very unbalanced today and there is not enough family time as there was back in the 1950s. The myth of the ideal family all began after World War II because there was child labor, income insecurity, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression before the war so it was hard to start a family and support each other. After the war is when families could focus on emotional and financial investments, reduce obligations and start anew (Coontz, 34). The return of soldiers also led to more marriages and childbearing increased. World War II began the economic recovery for that time. A lot of these changes have to do with economic growing and development. Back in the 1950s jobs were guaranteed for men and women did not have to work. Living arrangements were guaranteed as well. Husbands also made more than enough to support their family. The federal assistance was generous and welfare helped out with long-term life and housing. This made fewer worries for families and gave them more time to spend together (Coontz, 42-43). Now, men and women both are in the working industry and they still have a hard time keeping their jobs to supporting their family. There is not as much assistance as there was back then either. Now, men and women have to   work more so they have less time and more stress for their families, which causes more issues. Also, the development of technology has an influence on families. There was not a lot on technology back in the 1950s so individuals spent more time family bonding instead of playing video game or talking on their iPhones. Children now watch a lot of television and go on the computer instead of playing with their brothers and sisters outside or talking with their mom and dad. The technology has had a bad influence on families and taken away from family connections. New economic trends began to clash with social expectations. Many social changes have occurred from the 1950s to present day. Some social changes and conflicts that have occurred include same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was not even a subject in the 1950s. People never talked about gays or lesbians because it was not the ideal lifestyle (Sullivan, 102). As time went on more and more has come up about same-sex marriage. Some people think it is okay while others are completely against it. But society acknowledges it more by having reality show and sitcoms with gay or lesbian actors on the show. They also started to pass laws that make it legal to have same-sex marriage in certain states. (Sullivan. 104) It is still believed to not be the ideal life but it is accepted more in present day then it was in the past. Individuals, families, and groups were excluded from certain changes. The blacks and African Americans were not part of the ideal family that everyone looked up to. They were looked down upon much more because they had different style families, but in recent research they found that social class is more important a ethnicity (Gerstel/Sarkisian, 61-62). From my own observation, I noticed that my parents act towards their parents and how my brothers and I act toward our parents are very different. My parents treat their parents with respect and help them whenever they need help. My brothers and I are more concerned about our social lives and do not care what our parents tell us. Situations like these show how much has changed in a short amount of time. As you can see many things have changed about families from generation to generation. The ideal family was established over 50 years ago and yet we still live up to those expectations. Many influences dealing with social, economical, and historical changes have occurred that should have altered our idea of the ideal family, but because everyone is still living up to those expectations, it makes today’s families look corrupt, when in reality the ideal family is just different in society today.

Ethical Challenges in the Era If Health Care Reform

Ethics, Law, and Policy Vicki D. Lachman Ethical Challenges in the Era Of Health Care Reform n truth, the United States is at the beginning of a long overdue and a much needed health care reform. We have seen the dismal statistics about our high cost health care system and some of the less than stellar outcomes (e. g. , infant mortality) (Callahan, 2011; World Health Organization [WHO], 2011)). The purpose of this article is not to complain about the current health care system, but instead to focus on existing reform efforts — The Patient Protection and he Affordable Care Act (ACA), the ethical justifications for its creation, and ethical challenges it brings. I Key Features of the Law ACA offers new ways for consumers and providers to hold insurance companies accountable. The most important parts of the law are features described in the following discussion. Because of space limitation, I will highlight some elements of the law that are enacted through 2014 and clearly impact nursing. These selected features include insurance choices, insurance costs, rights and protection, and people age 65 and older. Insurance ChoicesThe intention of the law is to expand health care coverage to most U. S. citizens and permanent residents by requiring most people to have or purchase health insurance (HealthCare. gov, 2012a). Citizens will have a choice of private insurance, employer-paid insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or state-based insurance exchanges. Affordable Insurance Exchanges. Individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage through these exchanges, with premium and cost-sharing credits available to individuals and families with income between 133%-400% of the federal poverty guideline (in 2011, the overty guideline was $18,530 for a family of three) (Werhane & Tieman, 2011). Businesses with 50 or more employees need to make coverage available, and businesses with less than 25 employees will qualify for tax credits to offset their cost (Kaiser Family Foun dation, 2011). Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP). The ACA produces a new kind of non-profit health insurer, called a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP). CO-OPs are meant to offer consumer-friendly, affordable health insurance options to individuals and small businesses. By January 1, 2014, individuals will be able to buy a CO-OPVicki D. Lachman, PhD, APRN, MBE, FAAN, is Clinical Professor, and Director, Innovation and Intra/Entrepreneurship in Advanced Practice Nursing, Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA. 248 health plan through the Affordable Insurance Exchanges. Pre-existing condition insurance plan. All covered benefits are available to individuals, even to treat a pre-existing condition. This program offers temporary protection for people with pre-existing conditions until 2014, when insurance companies can no longer deny individuals coverage based on their health status.Young adult coverage. Individuals can add or k eep their children on their health insurance policy until they reach age 26. The law makes it easier and more affordable for young adults to get health insurance coverage. Insurance Costs ACA holds insurance companies accountable. It also helps individuals keep their costs down. Value for individual’s premium dollar. ACA requires insurers selling policies to individuals or small groups to spend at least 80% of premiums on direct medical care and efforts to improve the quality of care. Unfortunately, this does not apply to self-insured plans.Lifetime and annual limits. ACA restricts and phases out the annual dollar limits a health plan can place on most of its benefits. Furthermore, ACA eliminates these limits completely in 2014. Rate review. Insurance companies must now justify proposed rate increases for health insurance. Insurance companies cannot raise rates by 10% or more without first explaining the reasons to the state or federal rate review program. Rights and Protecti ons The ACA puts consumers in charge of their health care, not insurance companies. The following rights and consumer protections are available. Preventive care.Individuals may not have to pay a copayment, co-insurance, or deductible to receive recommended preventive health services, such as screenings (e. g. , mammograms and colonoscopies), vaccinations (e. g. measles, polio, or meningitis), and counseling (e. g. , smoking cessation, weight loss, healthy eating). Doctor choice and ER access. Individuals can choose any available participating primary care provider and they can access out-of-network emergency rooms without prior approval. ACA prohibits health plans from requiring a referral from a primary care provider before women can seek coverage for obstetrical or ynecological (OBGYN) care. People 65 and older. ACA offers eligible elders a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing. ACA also provides discounts on drugs when older adults are in the coverage gap known as the â€Å"donut hole. † July-August 2012 †¢ Vol. 21/No. 4 Ethical Challenges in the Era of Health Care Reform TABLE 1. Views of Liberal Egalitarians vs. Libertarians and Free-Market Advocates Liberal Egalitarians Libertarians and Free-Market Advocates Health care is a fundamental good and access to this good Role of government is confined to protecting the freedom of all allows us to become full members of society. ersons to choose their own goals and means to pursue them. This right to health care must be exercised by removing all People have a right to non-interference. barriers to access. Justice, equality, and community are values. Freedom and personal responsibility are values. Health care is a right. Health care is a commodity. Single-payer system is the solution. Decentralized market mechanisms with personal payment are the solution. Preventive services. The list is significant and begins with an annual wellness visit. Other important preventive services include bone mass measurement; cervical cancer creening, including Pap smear tests and pelvic exams; colorectal, prostate, and diabetes screening; influenza, pneumonia, and hepatitis B immunizations; and many other services. There are other services and features in the ACA that could be discussed, but we will now move to discuss the ethical justifications for the ACA. The controversy it has created in the eyes of individuals with a free-market or libertarian view will be compared to those with a liberalegalitarian outlook. Ethical Justifications for the ACA Since 1986, the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act has prohibited hospitals from refusing acute care to any ndividual who could not afford to pay (CMS. gov, 2012). â€Å"Consequently, $100 billion of care annually is ‘costshifted’ onto patients who can pay, almost all whom are insured. This shift raises the average annual health insurance premium roughly $1,000 for every insured family† (Crowley, 2009, p. 10). This lack of distributive justice for the insured is one reason why insurance is being mandated in ACA. It is equally unfair to mandate that all citizens have insurance if insurance is not affordable, as this could cause significant harm to individuals and families already struggling financially.Therefore, the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence are supported by the features of Affordable Insurance Exchanges and the development of Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans. Ethical reasoning for health care reform has relied primarily on distributive justice as justification for change, specifically due to lack of access to care for the underinsured and uninsured (Lachman, 2009). According to the U. S. Census Bureau, 46. 3 million people in the United States were uninsured in 2008 (ProCon. org, 2012). The United States is the only developed nation in the world hat does not guarantee health coverage. Table 1 offers a comparison of views of persons who support distributive justice, see health care as a right, and therefore want a single-payer system with those individuals who want to continue the free-market system. â€Å"To single-payer advocates, the primary goal of health policy is ensuring that everyone can obtain some minimal level July-August 2012 †¢ Vol. 21/No. 4 of health care† (Sade, 2007, p. 1429). Making access to health care widely available permits individuals to be fully functioning members of society and the moral ommunity (a group of people drawn together by a common interest in living according to a particular moral philosophy). On the other hand, Americans who are libertarians and free-market advocates mostly look beyond the natural (genetic) and social (upbringing) lottery that places some at a disadvantage and instead look to the individual’s free will and personal responsibility for actions (Callahan, 2011; Pariser, 2012; Trotter, 2011). They believe health care is one of the many options from which to choose to improve the ir lot in life. Their belief in personal responsibility can make them unsympathetic o people with unhealthy lifestyles for whom they would ultimately have to spend their insurance dollars. They also resent having to fund treatments they personally would not choose (e. g. , transplants, mechanical ventilation for person in persistent vegetative state). Though many wealthy individuals support health care reform out of benevolence, they do fear the loss of freedom which is central to their value system. However, two additional factors drive change for health care reform — significant cost and quality problems. In 2007, health care expenditures totaled $2. 2 trillion, 16. 2% of the U.S. economy. Health care employs more than 14 million people and is the largest industry in the United States. Of the 193 WHO member states, the United States is ranked first in per capita health care expenditures ($6,719) (ProCon. org, 2012). The present health care system is not giving the utility f or the dollars spent. This cost problem is a reason that ACA has a focus on physicians counseling individuals on end-of-life options. It found that about 30 percent of Medicare dollars are spent during the last year of life, and half of that is spent during the last 60 days. In 2009 dollars, Dr.Gordon calculated, that amounts to $70 billion a year, much of it spent on futile care that prolongs suffering (Brody, 2009, para 20). Unfortunately, politics initially got in the way in 2009 with the â€Å"death panel† jargon and this counseling was dropped from ACA; however, this end-of-life options counseling was incorporated into 2011 Medicare reimbursement for health care providers (HealthCare. gov, 2012b). 249 Ethics, Law, and Policy WHO (2011) statistics also indicate the money spent is not putting us at the top of the list in quality outcomes. The infant mortality rate for the United States in 2009 was even deaths per 1,000 live births, ranking the United States 43rd among WHO nations. Rates for Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Iceland are all half of the United States rate. Quality is a focus of ACA in the preventive realm and with quality measurement. Two essential principles of the ACA are that: 1. Provider reimbursement for health services is based, in part, on the relative quality and patient experience of the care provided. 2. Information about that comparative quality and patient experience will be publicly accessible. Quality and patient satisfaction will be rewarded by ata from hospital comparison required by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems for Medicare patients. â€Å"The implications of Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) regulations for hospitals are clear — FY2013 implementation at 1% of base DRG payments, rising to 2% by FY2017† (Acton, 2012, para 2). Hospitals will have to earn it back by achieving and maintaining high quality and positive patient experiences. T his consequential focus in the patient care experience supports the autonomous choice of the patient for hospitals and physicians. Ethical Challenges of ACA Legal ChallengeBefore discussing three key ethical challenges health care providers will face, the legal challenge before the Supreme Court needs to be addressed. This challenge determined if the ACA requirement to purchase health insurance violates Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U. S. Constitution: Congress shall have the Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and the general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States†¦ (Werhane & Tieman, 2011, p. 83)The argument against this mandate is that the government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. However, every working person is required to pay into Social Security and Medicare. The counter argument is that these are government-mandated and governmentrun programs. This argument ultimately could support a Supreme Court decision of only a government-run singlepayer system, an action libertarians and free-market advocates oppose. Second, there are requirements for car insurance for drivers, and flood insurance for persons ho live within authorized distance from a possible flood plain. Because all people will need health care at some point in their lives, the argument could be made that insurance should be a requirement so as not to burden the moral community with the costs of those who do pay for insurance (Hamel & Nairn, 2011). 250 On June 28, 2012, the U. S. Supreme Court endorsed most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the contentious individual mandate that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the federal government has he power to fine Americans who do not ac quire insurance because it is considered a tax (Jaslow, 2012). Electronic Medical Records The requirement for electronic records could generate a significant ethical challenge for privacy and confidentiality. Unfortunately, the $20 billion for health information technology from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) did little to change the current HIPPA privacy paradigm (Crowley, 2009). Furthermore, it is likely patients will carry their personal health records in their own electronic devices or retrieve them through the Internet.A transformation in rural health care is likely through telehealth and telehomecare. These innovations will bring expertise to patients to facilitate the best choice in their treatment decisions. The challenge will be to assure informed consent and confidentiality in this expanded digital age. Chronic Disease Management Individuals with chronic illness benefit significantly from palliative care services, not just at end-of-life care but througho ut the disease progression. The ACA focus on chronic disease management is best exemplified by this phrase: â€Å"An integrated care approach to managing illness hich includes screenings, check-ups, monitoring and coordinating treatment, and patient education† (HealthCare. gov, 2012b, para 1). Feministic ethics, with its focus on managing the particulars of any person’s situation, celebrates this personalized service to individuals who must manage illnesses often for many years. In her book, Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education, Nell Noddings (2003) argued that a morality based on rules is inadequate. She contended this approach loses the richness of the moral dilemmas people face, and nly situational and contextual knowledge of the individual can help resolve the moral quandaries of life. Shaping Health Care Policy According to the Code of Ethics for Nurses, provision 9 (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2001), nurses have an obligation to  "work individually as citizens or collectively through political action to bring about social change† (p. 25). This responsibility to shape social (health care) policy calls for nurses to voice concerns about the meaning of the rejection of the individual mandate for society. The libertarians and free-market advocates reinforce a caricature of American individualism and weaken a sense of responsibility for oneself and fellow citizens†¦It neglects one side of the equation, forgetting that we are not only individuals with the freedom to choose, but also members of society called to uphold a common good. (Hamel & Nairn, 2011, p. 94) continued on page 245 July-August 2012 †¢ Vol. 21/No. 4 Ethics, Law, and Policy REFERENCES continued from page 250 Therefore, nurses and nursing associations have the ethical challenge to stand firm for patients and ensure the long-term sustainability of our health care system.Nurses need to advocate for the people without a voice — t hose discriminated against because of health status and lack of insurance. Conclusion ACA has provided a forum for debate about not only health care insurance, mechanisms to maintain financial stability of its systems, and strategies to ensure access to millions of people, but also has contributed to defining American society’s values. It is easy to argue against the individual mandate impingement on choice and freedom. 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The moral basis for healthcare reform in the United States. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 20(1), 102-107. Werhane, P. , & Tieman, J. 2011). Clearing the brush: Myths surround the Affordable Care Act. Health Progress, 92(4), 82-84, 86-87. World Health Organization (WHO). (2011). World health statistics 2011. Retrieved from http://www. who. int/whosis/indicators/WHS2011_ IndicatorCompendium_20110530. pdf 245 Copyright of MEDSURG Nursing is the property of Jannetti Publications, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listser v without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.