Advantages and Reasons of Being Bilingual

Advantages and Reasons of Being Bilingual Saunders (1988) states that Fishman, a well-known writer in bilingualism, declares that more than half of the worlds population today uses more than one language while engaging in activities basic to human needs (Saunders 1988 p.1). Numerous causes contribute to the emergence and dominance of bilingualism. There are various optional or compulsory factors. Immigration is a major factor of being bilingual, whereas Immigrants move from one country to another, because of various reasons. For example, some of them escape from wars or poverty in their countries to search for better life in foreign linguistic communities. As a result, they will be forced to learn the language of the host countries and become bilingual in order to have wider contact opportunities and getting jobs. According to Saunders (1988), most immigrants speak the language of the new culture and environment. In Australia, for instance, 86.3% of immigrants speak their second language more than their home languages. Geogr aphical proximity of two countries is a possible factor of being bilingual, where people of the two communities need the communication among each other for different purposes like trade and other social relations like marriage resulting in bilingual families. Saunders also states that commerce and trade are critical factors motivating people to acquire a second language. Most economic business and commercial markets involve bilingual individuals to deal with customers from multicultural areas. 2.3.1 Education as a great reason of being bilingual: Education is one of the most fundamental factors pushing or motivating individuals to learn a second language. Being bilingual through education can be optional or obligatory. I notice that, in all Arab Gulf countries, most school students become bilingual due to their learning of English as a compulsory subject. However, there are some students, including colleges and universities students, who learn their second language English as an optional subject. The learning of English in these countries seems to be the result of the international relations between them and the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that the main focus of my research paper is being bilingual due to education. According to Baker (1988), bilingual education refers to any program aiming to teach students a second language besides their mother tongue at school. It takes various classifications based on the following factors. First of all, bilingual education is classified to elitist bilingualism and folk bilingualism according to the incentive of being bilingual. Elitist bilingualism is regarded as a reward offered to certain special individuals by government. Some students, for instance, are rewarded by being allowed to study abroad or study in prestigious universities in their countries. On the other hand, folk bilingual education is deemed a crucial need people have to meet in order to remain alive. When immigrants move to a new place, they acquire the language of that place so that they can interact with people there. Bilingual education is also categorized into immersion and submersion bilingual education based on the use of both languages in learning. In the immersion education, student s are allowed to speak their mother tongue while experiencing their subjects and communicating with teachers. They learn the second language gradually as time goes by. In contrast, students are not allowed to speak their home language in the submersion bilingual education. They are taught all their subjects in their second language. According to the major used language, bilingual education can be also categorized into transitional and maintenance or enrichment bilingual educations. Transitional bilingual education essentially aims to develop and make students fluent in one language only, which is the majority language. Therefore, this bilingual education focuses on the bilingualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s first language in the learning procedures with few extra classes to learn the second language. For example, in the USA and Europe, the minority of languages are taken into account and cured in order to make the minority groups to be able to continue the education in English or other majority languages. Huddy and Sears (1984), state that bilingual education is improved in the United States by the Bilingual Educational Act in order to meet the needs of children who speak minor languages (Huddy and Sears 1984). On the other hand, maintenance or enrichment bilingual education aims to teach children their subjects with both languages to guarantee that children get good levels of proficiency in both languages. Baker indicates that some students are taught some subjects such as grammar in their native language, while mathematics is learned in the second language. Consequently, students master both languages, and the two languages are developed simultaneously. This type of education is used for example in Canada and Wales as Baker shows that à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"English speakers are taught French or Welsh to enable them to be fully bilingualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  (P, 47). I assume that maintenance or enrichment bilingual education refers to th e same kind of education used in Oman but, here, the government uses the term dual education to refer to it.

Major studies of conformity

Major studies of conformity This essay will describe and evaluate several major studies of conformity. Conformity has been defined in number of ways. Crutchfield (1955), defined conformity as yielding to group pressure. Mann 1969 agrees with Crutchfield, however Mann (1969), argues that it may take different forms and be based on motives other than group pressure. (Gross p 479) Conformity is a change in belief or behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure where there is no direct request to comply with the rest of the group norm Zimbardo and Leippe (1991). A lot of research has been done to try and understand the situations individuals need to be in to conform and the factors affecting conformity. However there are various cultural and methodological considerations that affect the understanding of conformity research. The first study would be Jenness in 1932. Jenness was the first person to study conformity. Jenness asked students to estimate the number of beans in a bottle. Taking individuals estimates first then placed the individuals into groups and asked them to discuss their estimates. Once the findings had been calculated he found that the students in particular groups would conform to a group average. According to Jenness in a situation where the answer was unknown they listened to their peers and would in his view conform. His research was criticised by Sherif (1935) because the experiment was not taken out in ecologically valid circumstances. The students were not in surroundings that were familiar to them thus behaving differently. Critics have argued that the students may have conformed in order to make the results easier for the psychologist. This demonstrates informational social influence and is explained in a classic study by Sheriff. Methodologically the first major problem encountered when testing conformity was the ambiguity of the situations the participants were placed in. This was highlighted by Mustafer Sherif (1935) when he used the auto-kinetic effect to test conformity. The Auto-kinetic effect is a perceptual illusion where participants perceive light moving when in fact it is stationary. Participants were placed in a darkened room in which they could see a light that was stationary. They were asked to record how far the light moved and on their own they settled on individual estimates however when the participants were put in a room together with other participants they were encouraged to shout out their estimates. Sherif found that they started with different answers but then all came to agree on the same answer. Then after they split up the group into individuals again Sherif found that they gave the answer they had settled on with the group. In Sherifs research into conformity (1935), the aim was to see if people conform to a group norm. The results of the test showed that individual responses differed to those from the group response. The post-experimental interviews said that the participants denied being influenced, they struggled to get the correct answers, and they never actually felt part of the group. The conclusions drawn from this said that the participants conformed towards the group norm because they were uncertain about their own individual responses. Sherif then argued that his results showed conformity however there was a problem with the methodology. This conformity research was criticised to be artificial and lacking ecological validity. Also, because the task was thought to be ambiguous and that there were no real answers, the participants were more likely to conform. As the answer was very ambiguous and there wasnt an obvious answer it was argued that participants are more likely to conform as they are never completely certain of their answer. This methodology therefore affects Sherifs interpretation of conformity as it is not very reliable Solomon Asch (1951) was the psychologist that challenged Sherifs methodological and in 1951 he created The Asch Paradigm where he tested conformity rates to very unambiguous situations. In his experiment there was one participant and seven to nine other confederates who knew about the experiment. The group was asked to identify lengths of vertical lines and match up a given vertical line to one of three in another display. Each confederate gave their answer and the participant sat in the next-to-last seat. On some questions all the confederates would give the wrong answer and Asch observed the conformity rate of the participant agreeing with the wrong answer even though the answer was very obvious. Asch found that 32% of the trials, the naive subject conformed to answer given by the rest of the group, and 72% of naive subjects conformed at least once. 13 out of 50 naive participants never conformed. When he interviewed the naive participants afterward, he found that conformity existe d on three levels: distortion of judgement, distortion of perception and distortion of action. Those who experienced distortion of judgement conformed because they trusted the groups judgement over their own. Those that experienced distortion of action knew that they were right, but changed conformed to avoid ridicule from the rest of the group. Finally, those who experienced distortion of perception actually believed that they saw the groups choice as matching the line on the card. The aim of the experiment was still to see if people would conform towards the group norm. The results showed that the individuals conformed to the group norm, even if the answers were wrong. The naive participant explained their reasons for conforming to be because they didnt want to spoil the experiment, look stupid, their eyes must have been deceiving them, and because they felt that the group was probably right. This experiment also told us that the influence from three or more stooges gave more of a reason to conform than if there was one stooge. The conclusions for this study were that the people conformed for public compliance rather than public acceptance. Also it seemed like people with low self esteem were more likely to conform. The methodology in this experiment was a lot more accurate then Sherifs experiment as the answers are very unambiguous and if the participants were on their own or first then they would almost certainly have given the right answer. The results from this experiment are therefore can be a better explanation of conformity than Sherif; however there are other methodological problems which make this experiment fairly inaccurate in the interpretation of conformity. However there are also ethical issues about the experiment. The main criticisms for this experiment was that it was artificial, time-consuming, time-dependant and unethical. The experiment lacks ecological validity due to a lack of both experimental and mundane realism. It lacks experimental realism as some participants worked out what the experiment was or at least thought the experimenter wanted them to answer the same as the others and therefore the conformity rates could be unreliable. It also lacks mundane realism as the situation does not reflect a real life situation and therefore people may act differently in real life and maybe the conformity rate would be lower. Crutchfield (1954) criticized Asch that the type of experiment undertaken by Asch is very time consuming, as only one person can be tested at a time. Richard Crutchfield decided to change the experimental method so that several people, usually five, could be tested simultaneously. The same kind of problem as Asch used, was used. Each participant sat in a booth with an array of lights and switches in front of them. They were told to give their answers and each were told that they were last to guess and the others guesses were indicated by the lights on the panel. However each participant was actually given the same display, which on about half the trials was actually incorrect. Crutchfield aimed to find out whether people conformed to unambiguous tasks when the pressure from others was more imagined than real. Crutchfield found that 37% conformed all of the time but 46% some of the time. The results found were really similar to Aschs but had a lower conformity rate. This concluded tha t there is conformity to imagined pressure. The experiment was criticised to have specific people used that were perhaps more conforming. Also it lacked external validity. The time the experiment was done in (1950s) was generally a more conforming time, so that could have been one of the reasons why the people conformed more. This experiment was also thought to be unethical as the participant were lied to and could have been embarrassed. Stanley Milgram (1963) conducted an experiment on obedience that highlighted the persuasive power of authority in social psychology for the first time. His experiment exceeded all expectation and led to greater awareness of authority and how much power it credited the perpetrator of it. Participants were made to give increasing electric shocks to someone (who was an actor pretending to be receiving the shocks through wires) when the person gave the wrong answer to a question. Many of the participants continued to the highest voltage (450V). There were many reasons why participants obeyed, such as the fact that the experiment was in a professional setting (Yale University). The experimenter was an authority figure and so was trusted; and the subjects were told that anything that went wrong would not be their responsibility. It was also because the participants could not see the victim which made it seem less real to them or it could have been because the participant had taken on a rol e so they felt that they were someone else. Milgrams work has been criticised both on ethical and methodological grounds. Baumrind (1964) believed that Milgram showed insufficient respect for his participants, there were insufficient steps taken to protect them, and his procedures could have long term effects on the participants. Orne and Holland (1968) argued that the participants did not believe they were giving electric shocks and they were just playing along with their role in the study. A famous example showing conformity was the experiment Zimbardo et al., (1973) carried out the prison simulation experiment at Stanford University. The aim of the experiment was to see the psychological effects of making an average person into a prisoner or guard. After less than 36 hours one of the prisoners had to be released from the experiment due to severe depression. Others who were acting as prisoners also showed signs of anxiety and depression. According to Zimbardo, these results showed how easily people could adapt to a new role in a new situation and behave out of character to fit that role. He quoted Note that anyone ever doubted the horrors of prison, but rather it had been assumed that it was the predispositions of the guards (sadistic) and the prisoners (sociapathic) that made prisons evil places. Our study holds constant and positive the dispositional alternative and reveals the power of social, institutionalised forces to make good men engage in evil deeds. (Gross p 500) There have been many criticisms levelled at his study, (Savin 1973) argues that the prisoners did not give fully informed consent; they didnt really know what was going to happen to them. They were humiliated and dehumanised by the procedure when reaching the prison (strip searched and deloused). Savin also argued the point the ends did not justify the means. The study had become too real and should never have been carried out. Perrin and Spencer (1980) tried to repeat Aschs study in England in the late 1970s. They found very little evidence of conformity, leading them to conclude that Aschs effect was a child of its time. However the low levels of conformity found in Perrin and Spencers study may have occurred because they used engineering students who had been given training in the importance of accurate measurement and therefore had more confidence in their own opinions. Bond and Smith (1996) also considered changes into conformity over time based on studies carried out in the United States. They conclude as follows; Level of conformity in general had steadily declined since Aschs studies in the early 1950 (Bond Smith p 124). The conformity rate has been found to alter across time within a culture, though overall trends are far from clear. There is also variation between cultures. These differences are related to social norms. As a conclusion, it is fair to say that people conform for many reasons, all that have is one main aim and that is to fit in with the group. Mainly, people want to be accepted in their society and because they have the need for certainty. People who are within any society or culture and its beliefs, with regards of what is expected and acceptable can be forced in certain situations to behave in anti-social ways. As their behaviour becomes adaptive to meet the needs of normative social influence without doing so could lead them to receiving social and/or cultural rejection. The researches briefly tells us how conformity works, however do psychologists tend to bother what happens after the research has been carried out on the naive participant? Some of the naive participant reported feeling quite stressed on the critical trials, which had a psychological harm on them. Do psychologists use deception to have their researches carried out? or should I say, Are they justified?! Above all, the researches have further broadened my knowledge on how individuals react in certain situation and has taking me one-step closer in understanding the world. REFERENCES Asch, S. E. (1955). Opinions and social pressure. Scientific American, pp. 31-35. Banyard, P, Grayson, A. (2000) Introducing Psychological Research; Seventy Studies that Shape Psychology, 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan. Bond, R, Smith, P. (1996) Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Aschs (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 111-137. GROSS, R. (1996) The Science Of Mind And Behaviour, 3rd Edition. London: Hodder and Stoughton. GROSS, R. (1999) Key Studies in Psychology, 3rd Edition. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Milgram, S. (1983) Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper/Collins. Moscovici, S, Faucheux, C. (1972) Social influence, conformity bias and the study of active minorities. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental psychology, (pp. 149 202). New York: Academic Press. Myers, G. (2005) Social Psychology, 8th Edition. London: McGraw-Hill. Savin, H.B (1973) Professors and Psychological Researchers: Conflicting Values In Conflicting Rolls. Sherif, M. (1936) The Psychology of Social Norms. New York: Harper Collins.

Being My Own Advocate :: English Literature Essays

Being My Own Advocate â€Å"Oh my, Lauren, I can’t believe my eyes!† This is all I could hear ringing in my ears when my parents opened my report card. You see, growing up dyslexic, I always needed to work harder, and I did so successfully until I began high school. I never really knew how to be my own advocate; my parents were always there for me. I grew up with private tutors and learning programs throughout my whole life. Being gifted, I was able to compensate until high school. I know we were both overwhelmed when I received my first C on a report card. I kept asking myself over and over again, how could this happen? I knew I learned differently, but for some reason, now things were not going well for me academically. Being accepted into the four year, signature Honors Magnet Global Ecology Program was quite an accomplishment. I thought my strengths in both math and science would help carry me through this rigorous academic curriculum. I was wrong! I hit a brick wall and I hit it hard. Having a parent who was a special educator and dyslexic as well kept me afloat; however, I needed to use the resources available both inside and outside of the school to begin my journey to academic success. It took me until my junior year of high school to understand just how and what I needed to do to be all I could. I learned this the hard way on my own; it cost me admission in to the National Honor Society, being recommended to AP Biology and AP US History. I needed to begin to take charge of my life and set the goals necessary to get back on my feet. I needed to prove to myself that wanting to go on to a pre-med major in college was a possible dream. Junior year, I began listening to those who loved and cared about me first by getting organized, communicating with my teachers, using all the accommodations I was entitled to and, for the first time, attending a resource class. The last step was the hardest for me, I just did not know what to think; what would the other kids say, â€Å"Oh you’re in the stupid class.† â€Å" Why are you in there?† After being in resource class, I realized that it would help become more organized, both in school and out it would help me to find the needed balance between all my classes and all my extra curricular activities. Being My Own Advocate :: English Literature Essays Being My Own Advocate â€Å"Oh my, Lauren, I can’t believe my eyes!† This is all I could hear ringing in my ears when my parents opened my report card. You see, growing up dyslexic, I always needed to work harder, and I did so successfully until I began high school. I never really knew how to be my own advocate; my parents were always there for me. I grew up with private tutors and learning programs throughout my whole life. Being gifted, I was able to compensate until high school. I know we were both overwhelmed when I received my first C on a report card. I kept asking myself over and over again, how could this happen? I knew I learned differently, but for some reason, now things were not going well for me academically. Being accepted into the four year, signature Honors Magnet Global Ecology Program was quite an accomplishment. I thought my strengths in both math and science would help carry me through this rigorous academic curriculum. I was wrong! I hit a brick wall and I hit it hard. Having a parent who was a special educator and dyslexic as well kept me afloat; however, I needed to use the resources available both inside and outside of the school to begin my journey to academic success. It took me until my junior year of high school to understand just how and what I needed to do to be all I could. I learned this the hard way on my own; it cost me admission in to the National Honor Society, being recommended to AP Biology and AP US History. I needed to begin to take charge of my life and set the goals necessary to get back on my feet. I needed to prove to myself that wanting to go on to a pre-med major in college was a possible dream. Junior year, I began listening to those who loved and cared about me first by getting organized, communicating with my teachers, using all the accommodations I was entitled to and, for the first time, attending a resource class. The last step was the hardest for me, I just did not know what to think; what would the other kids say, â€Å"Oh you’re in the stupid class.† â€Å" Why are you in there?† After being in resource class, I realized that it would help become more organized, both in school and out it would help me to find the needed balance between all my classes and all my extra curricular activities.

Poem analysis. Essay -- English Literature

Poem analysis. POEM The deathly child is very gay, He walks in the sunshine but no shadow falls his way. He has come to warn us that one must go who would rather stay Oh deathly child With a hear of woe And a smile on your face, Who is it that must go? He walks down the avenue, the trees Have leaves that are silver when they are turned upon the breeze He is more pale than the silver leaves more pale that these He walks delicately, He has a delicate tread. Why look, he leaves no mark at all Where the dust is spread Over the cafà © tables the talk is going to and fro An the people smile and they frown, but they do not know That the deathly child walks. Ah who is it that must go? I think that this poem is about the angel of death who is here to take the soul of a person. The first text gives us a brief outline of the poem. From the second to the fourth text we find a description of the deathly child and the last text gives the perception of the public as from the deathly child's own perspective. The deathly child decides whose soul to take as he passes the people. The language of the text has an interesting rhythm effect which has some underlying regularity mixed with variation. In the first, middle and last text, the last word in each stanza all rhyme, however the last word in the second and fourth stanza rhymes.which appears to look like this: - 1st text all rhymes 2nd text 2nd and 4th stanza rhymes 3rd text all rhymes 4th text 2nd and 4th stanza rhymes 5th text all rhymes I have also noticed that when looking at the poem, these rhythmic words have only one-word syllables, when pronounced they are stressed. The first, third and fifth texts have... ...e leaves no mark at all where the dust is spread". I think that the writer writes in this particular way, because the writer is describing the deathly child as something different from the humans. If someone does not have a shadow, it means that they do not have a soul. When it says "he leaves not mark at all where the dust is spread" is shows that the deathly child cannot be seen. Graphology: all lines begin with a capital letter because to give relations between speech and writing. And there are no two sentences within the same line, except the last stanza, which not only has a capital at the beginning of the line but also in the next sentence. I have also noticed that all the stanzas in the middle text begin with the letter "h" and the first letters in the first and second texts are also represented in the third and fifth text but in different order.

Feminist Perspective of Paulina in Shakespeares The Winters Tale Ess

A Feminist Perspective of Paulina in The Winter's Tale  Ã‚     Ã‚   Feminist criticism explores gender themes in literature, assesses the worth of female characters, promotes unknown women writers, and interprets the canon from a politically-charged perspective. Shakespeare has proven more difficult to categorize than other white male masters of the written word, precisely because of the humanity of his female characters. Critic Kathleen McLuskie urges feminists to "assert the power of resistance, subverting rather than co-opting the domination of the patriarchal Bard" (McLuskie 106). Yet many feminists find strength in Shakespeare. Irene Dash, for instance, proclaims that "Shakespeare's women characters testify to his genius .... they learn the meaning of self sovereignty for a woman in a patriarchal society" (Dash 1). Paulina of The Winter's Tale provides support for Dash's argument. With courage and passion, Paulina defends Hermione against chauvinistic paranoia and enshrines female virtue.    Perhaps the best testimony to Paulina's power is the historical reaction of male critics. In 1733, editor Lewis Theobald condemned Paulina as "too gross and blunt" for daring to call the King "downright a Fool" (Dash 135). In 1863, scholar Charles Cowden Clarke whined that Pauline was excessive: "... she does play the tattoo upon his skull with amazing vivacity  ­ and after he is down, too .... Paulina cannot forego the gratification of punching him in his maundering distress" (Clarke 356). In 1969, Fitzroy Pyle acknowledged Paulina's "goodness" but applied the label "militant" (Pyle 41).    With a similar sentiment but more blatantly hostile language, the fictional King Leontes abuses his adversary Paulina with sexist insults... ...ti. Webster's First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language. Boston: Beacon Press, 1987    Dash, Irene. Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare's Plays. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981    McLuskie, Kathleen. "The Patriarchal Bard: Feminist Criticism and Shakespeare." Political Shakespeare: New Essays in Cultural Materialism. Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield, editors. London: Cornell Univ. Press, 1985    Neeley, Carol Thomas. "The Winter's Tale: Women and Issue" (1985).   Reprinted in the Signet Classic Edition of The Winter's Tale. New York: Penguin, 1988.    Pyle, Fitzroy. The Winter's Tale: A Commentary on the Structure. New York: Routledge & Paul, 1969.    Schweickart, Patrocinio. "Reading Ourselves." Speaking of Gender. Elaine Showalter, editor.   New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1989.   

Veneration Without Understanding: Analysis

Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda, our national hero who is known for his nationalism and patriotism usually come side by side with these words; the doctor, the writer, the philosopher, the clairvoyant, and most of all the hero who died for the country. More than a hundred and fifty years ago, that hero was born and history says that he was the one who revolutionized a new uprising. Not through the literal bloody and violent revolutionary way but by unravelling the skeletons in the colonizers closet through his works and writings.Though he died in the hands of the colonizers, he fought the bloodless way and sparked the spirit of nationalism of the Filipino as an individual. Renato Constantino’s essay, â€Å"Veneration without Understanding† is not one those articles about Dr. Rizal which we typically see in our grade school history books. It is a much more intricate analysis behind the life of Rizal and his being a hero, the factors that made him condemn the idea of the revolution, his recognition and all the angles we don’t usually see and read around history books which turned to be neglected over time.He also discussed how Rizal viewed the words †liberty† and â€Å"independence† differently, the concept of Filipino nationhood and how Rizal influenced the recognition of the Filipino race and elevated the term â€Å"Indios†. Shrouded with the mantel of sainthood and perfection, we all see Rizal as one of the best role models that we have. We look up to him and see him as the praiseworthy hero who died for the country’s freedom. It’s alarming how the previous generations including ours are blinded with all the information necessary to judge whether he is fit of all these acknowledgement that is being showered upon him.After all, he is still a human being vulnerable to selfish mistakes and wrong decisions. I agree with what the author said that our vision has been narrowed or worse, bli nded by the adoration of the greatness of the said hero and how he became a martyr and died for our country in the hands of the enemy. But in my opinion, contrary to what most has to say, Constantino is not against Rizal. He is trying to show us how important it is to search deeper and investigate the defining characteristics of Rizal’ heroism and make us see the important details which we tend to overlook most of the time.Reading his essay made me think about what really makes a hero. Is it his martyrdom and how he died for the country? Or is it the way he stood up against the colonizers? Another angle that the author tries to tackle is the question whether Rizal was really sponsored by the Americans to become our national hero. Quoting an article from the essay, Constantino stated, †History cannot deny his patriotism. He was a martyr to oppression, obscurantism and bigotry. His dramatic death captured the imagination of our people.Still, we must accept the fact that h is formal designation as our national hero, his elevation to his present eminence so far above all our other heroes was abetted and encouraged by the Americans. † It seems plausible that Rizal was really favored by the Americans and gave him the status but this does not change the fact that he was the most important movement in Philippines’ journey towards freedom. We can never deny that he was the one who sparked the revolution and gave the Filipinos a sense of unity and identity.Also, as the part of today’s youth, I can say that he is a great role model even though he condemned the idea of the revolution. I still give him the credit on innovating revolution. Seeing Rizal as a model does not mean that we should follow every step he has made in the past. This simply means that there are many paths in arriving towards the goal we seek just like Rizal who found a bloodless way in informing our brothers and sisters about the hell they been forced to live in. Now, so ciety has come to an era where oppression is not as evident as it used to be.This calls for an evolution of heroism within us. In order for this evolution to take place, we should rediscover the heroes from then and now and see them as human who stood up in the moment of desolation and gave their people the hope that they need. We should examine not only their strengths but also their weaknesses in order to learn their way correctly. Just like how the author Renato Constantino approached his study with our great and famous national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

Obama Care

OBAMA CARE Obama Care and health care reform is the same thing. The official name for â€Å"Obama Care† is the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act, a bill signed into law to reform the health care industry. Some aspects of Obama Care health care reform are already enacted. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law March 23, 2010. Over 100 million Americans have already benefited from the new health care law.The Obama Care insurance requires that all insurance plans cover preventive services and stops insurance companies from dropping you when you are sick, as well as offering a number of other reforms and protections. Obama Care's goal is to provide affordable health insurance for all US citizens and to reduce the growth in health care spending. Obama Care does not replace private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. The Fact is that Obama Care gives 47 million women access to preventive health services and makes it illegal to charge women diff erent rates than men.Obama Care also gives seniors access to cheaper drugs, free preventive care, reforms Medicare Advantage, and closes the Medicare Part D. The AARP agrees, costs won't rise because of Obama Care, if anything, the improvements to the system will decrease the average cost of health care for seniors. Obama Care also states that â€Å"affordable insurance† means that you pay no more than 8% of your annual income on insurance. Obama Care ensures that there are no out-of-pocket costs on patients receiving mammograms and colonoscopies which are two of the most widely used forms of preventive health care.Obama Care's new Medicare Value-Based Purchasing Program means hospitals can lose or gain up to 1% of Medicare funding based on a quality v. quantity system. Hospitals are graded on a number of quality measures related to treatment of patients with heart attacks, heart failures, pneumonia, certain surgical issues, re-admittance rate, as well as patient satisfaction . Obama Care Mandates that those who choose not to purchase insurance will have to pay a tax â€Å"penalty† unless they qualify for an exemption. Exemptions from Obama Care's tax â€Å"penalty† mandate are available to a number of Americans.The mandate exemptions cover a variety of people, including: members of certain religious groups and Native American tribes; undocumented immigrants (who are not eligible for health insurance subsidies under the law); incarcerated individuals; people whose incomes are so low they don't have to file taxes (currently $9,500 for individuals and $19,000 for married couples); and people for whom health insurance is considered unaffordable (where insurance premiums after employer contributions and federal subsidies exceed 8% of family income).Starting Oct 1st, 2013 the Obama Care online health insurance exchange is where all Americans can buy affordable quality health insurance. Those under the 400% FPL and employers will be able to use s ubsidies to purchase plans at an average of 60% less than they pay now. The Obama Care Insurance Exchanges Online Market Place are implemented in 2014 health insurance premiums is projected to drop dramatically for many Americans. Low-income Americans will enjoy more Obama Care pros than cons.Since Obama Care works on a sliding scale most low income Americans, especially those without insurance, will see nothing but benefits. Medicaid expansion will cover over 15 million previously uninsured low-income individuals and families below the 133% FPL mark. All Americans (including Congress) will be able to buy their health insurance through the exchange as long as they are above the poverty level (those Americans will be covered under Medicaid expansion).Anyone (except congress) can opt out and keep their current health insurance, pay a tax, purchase private insurance or stay with their private health insurance company. The cons of Obama Care for low-income Americans are that some states will have the option of opting out of coverage for their poorest, despite 100% federal funding for the first year and 90% thereafter. In some cases rejecting Medicaid Expansion isn't just about saving money. It’s actually a politically driven move to â€Å"break† Obama Care.The opt-out is projected to leave 2 to 3 million low-income Americans without coverage. Some State reps are trying to â€Å"break† Obama Care. It's no secret a portion of the GOP wants to repeal Obama Care, they just so happen to have a strategic plan that includes â€Å"breaking† the Exchanges and Medicaid Expansion. Obama Care isn't just going to go away, but while the battle goes on Americans continue to be caught in the crossfire. It's also worth noting that the amount of uninsured Medicaid eligible Americans differs from State to State.Obama Care is projected to cost $1. 1 trillion over the next ten years, and in order for the program to work as intended this is going to include funding from the tax payers and from the States. However, the end result of Obama care spending is a $200 billion dollar reduction of the deficit over the next decade, states also receive between 90 – 100% of funding for most Obama Care related programs they set up. A few states including Nevada and Michigan have done studies that show how the States can save billions with Obama Care.Health Insurance companies stand to make billions, despite a loss on profit per plan, since they will be insuring millions of new Americans. In conclusion the Obama Care health care program will benefit all Americans from the bottom of the barrel to the top dogs in the congress. It will also help the US repair the economic deficit. The states that are trying to opt-out need to see the benefit of this plan. They are putting too much Infosys on money and not enough focus on the well-being of the American people. Clarence Boyd 16 April 2013 Obama Care OBAMA CARE Obama Care and health care reform is the same thing. The official name for â€Å"Obama Care† is the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act, a bill signed into law to reform the health care industry. Some aspects of Obama Care health care reform are already enacted. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law March 23, 2010. Over 100 million Americans have already benefited from the new health care law.The Obama Care insurance requires that all insurance plans cover preventive services and stops insurance companies from dropping you when you are sick, as well as offering a number of other reforms and protections. Obama Care's goal is to provide affordable health insurance for all US citizens and to reduce the growth in health care spending. Obama Care does not replace private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. The Fact is that Obama Care gives 47 million women access to preventive health services and makes it illegal to charge women diff erent rates than men.Obama Care also gives seniors access to cheaper drugs, free preventive care, reforms Medicare Advantage, and closes the Medicare Part D. The AARP agrees, costs won't rise because of Obama Care, if anything, the improvements to the system will decrease the average cost of health care for seniors. Obama Care also states that â€Å"affordable insurance† means that you pay no more than 8% of your annual income on insurance. Obama Care ensures that there are no out-of-pocket costs on patients receiving mammograms and colonoscopies which are two of the most widely used forms of preventive health care.Obama Care's new Medicare Value-Based Purchasing Program means hospitals can lose or gain up to 1% of Medicare funding based on a quality v. quantity system. Hospitals are graded on a number of quality measures related to treatment of patients with heart attacks, heart failures, pneumonia, certain surgical issues, re-admittance rate, as well as patient satisfaction . Obama Care Mandates that those who choose not to purchase insurance will have to pay a tax â€Å"penalty† unless they qualify for an exemption. Exemptions from Obama Care's tax â€Å"penalty† mandate are available to a number of Americans.The mandate exemptions cover a variety of people, including: members of certain religious groups and Native American tribes; undocumented immigrants (who are not eligible for health insurance subsidies under the law); incarcerated individuals; people whose incomes are so low they don't have to file taxes (currently $9,500 for individuals and $19,000 for married couples); and people for whom health insurance is considered unaffordable (where insurance premiums after employer contributions and federal subsidies exceed 8% of family income).Starting Oct 1st, 2013 the Obama Care online health insurance exchange is where all Americans can buy affordable quality health insurance. Those under the 400% FPL and employers will be able to use s ubsidies to purchase plans at an average of 60% less than they pay now. The Obama Care Insurance Exchanges Online Market Place are implemented in 2014 health insurance premiums is projected to drop dramatically for many Americans. Low-income Americans will enjoy more Obama Care pros than cons.Since Obama Care works on a sliding scale most low income Americans, especially those without insurance, will see nothing but benefits. Medicaid expansion will cover over 15 million previously uninsured low-income individuals and families below the 133% FPL mark. All Americans (including Congress) will be able to buy their health insurance through the exchange as long as they are above the poverty level (those Americans will be covered under Medicaid expansion).Anyone (except congress) can opt out and keep their current health insurance, pay a tax, purchase private insurance or stay with their private health insurance company. The cons of Obama Care for low-income Americans are that some states will have the option of opting out of coverage for their poorest, despite 100% federal funding for the first year and 90% thereafter. In some cases rejecting Medicaid Expansion isn't just about saving money. It’s actually a politically driven move to â€Å"break† Obama Care.The opt-out is projected to leave 2 to 3 million low-income Americans without coverage. Some State reps are trying to â€Å"break† Obama Care. It's no secret a portion of the GOP wants to repeal Obama Care, they just so happen to have a strategic plan that includes â€Å"breaking† the Exchanges and Medicaid Expansion. Obama Care isn't just going to go away, but while the battle goes on Americans continue to be caught in the crossfire. It's also worth noting that the amount of uninsured Medicaid eligible Americans differs from State to State.Obama Care is projected to cost $1. 1 trillion over the next ten years, and in order for the program to work as intended this is going to include funding from the tax payers and from the States. However, the end result of Obama care spending is a $200 billion dollar reduction of the deficit over the next decade, states also receive between 90 – 100% of funding for most Obama Care related programs they set up. A few states including Nevada and Michigan have done studies that show how the States can save billions with Obama Care.Health Insurance companies stand to make billions, despite a loss on profit per plan, since they will be insuring millions of new Americans. In conclusion the Obama Care health care program will benefit all Americans from the bottom of the barrel to the top dogs in the congress. It will also help the US repair the economic deficit. The states that are trying to opt-out need to see the benefit of this plan. They are putting too much Infosys on money and not enough focus on the well-being of the American people. Clarence Boyd 16 April 2013