Case study in ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case study in ethics - Essay Example Thus, the popular appeal of a certain depiction that is rendered in an advertisement creates a condition of biased, shallow perception. This kind of perception is highly reductive. In this case study, I shall focus on the issue of the image of Obama in an advertisement that has a certain pedigree of racism and political labeling. This discourse shall be explained and engaged further in the succeeding parts of the paper. At the same time, aside from the construction of the image, the impression derived thereof shall be put into account by looking into the formal elements that make up the image. At the same time, there is also a need to clearly assess why the image creates an impression through certain sensibilities, which are political, cultural and sociological in nature and must be discussed in conjunction with the signs that parts of images create for the spectator to gaze. Looking at the elements of the image, Obama’s image is presented with sickle and hammer, which are embodiments of communism (â€Å"Image†). Another crucial thing to look at the image is the use of the terms â€Å"somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot Obama† (â€Å"Empty Suit†). Together with the image comes the face of Obama, smiling and wearing formal attire that befits the campaigning needed for the elections. The advertisement has these elements that evoke a totally different level of problematic propositions and discourses of representation. To understand the points to be raised in this paper, there is a need to understand that the context of presidential elections must be duly considered since this defines how the image works and creates a certain standard for judgment. The first thing that must be understood is that the image is highly offensive, given that the signs and symbols that have been incorporated in the advertisement are tantamount to

Understanding the affordable care act Essay Example for Free

Understanding the affordable care act Essay Understanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA or ACA) can be difficult but it is not as confusing as it may seem. This paper will highlight some of the provisions that have already been implemented and will discuss how it affects me, healthcare workers, and the citizens of Arkansas. There are two provisions I will discuss that went into effect on January 1, 2011. One is known as the Medical-Loss Ratio(MLR) and the other is a policy focused on Bringing down healthcare premiums. The MLR policy will put an end to insurance companies being able to raise rates without explaining their actions, or justifying the reason for their high premiums. The policy aims to bring transparency to the healthcare rate changes by requiring â€Å"that all insurers seeking rate increases of 10% or more in the individual or small group market publicly disclose the proposed increases and the justification for them†. (Insurance Rate Increases, Posted: December 21, 2010, para. 4) These proposed increases will be analyzed further by the affected state before approval to determine if they are in fact reasonable. The ACA provides funding to states in order to strengthen or create rate review processes and consumers will be provided with detailed information on proposed increases from their insurance provider. The other significant policy made effective at the same time is one that will bring down the cost of insurance premiums. Under this provision, insurers must spend 80% (for individual or small group insurers) or 85% (for large group insurers) of premium dollars on health costs and claims, leaving only 20% or 15% respectively for adminis trative costs and profits. If an insurer fails to meet this requirement, there is no penalty, but a rebate must be issued to the policy holder. (Key Features of the ACA, n.d.) This affects me by protecting me from unreasonable rate increases. As I get older, I make more frequent visits to a healthcare provider for both acute and chronic illness. The costs add up quickly and with a limited source of income, anything that I can save helps greatly. A common feeling among insurance holders is that we are paying for something that we never use so the idea of a rebate for overpayment of premiums will be welcomed by all. There is one provision that became effective on September 23, 2010 that was a relief to my family in a time of despair. My mother underwent many procedures and surgeries in the last few years of her life and we were concerned about limits on annual or lifetime coverage placed on her by the insurance company. Under the law, insurance companies are prohibited from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits, and their use of annual dollar limits on the amount of insurance coverage a patient may receive will be restricted. Her medical bills were significant, but we never had to worry about her coverage expiring. The American Nurses Association has fighting for health care reform for many years. By doing so, the ANA is promoting our core value of patient advocacy. We have been taught that we should represent our patients’ best interests in regards to healthcare at all times. So supporting measures that will allow for more affordable healthcare, is what nurses should do. The ANA has been working to ensure that RNs are â€Å"fully included as leaders and eligible health care providers in new, patient-centered, team-based models of care, and accountable care organizations. ANA continues to urge federal agencies to include advanced practice registered nurses as primary care providers, and for nurse-managed clinics to qualify as essential community providers.† (Still The Law, August 2012, para. 7) Arkansas has put much effort into forming our Health Insurance Benefits Exchange, called the Arkansas Health Connector. It is a program through which our more than 500,000 uninsured Arkansas can shop for affordable health insurance. The plans are required to offer 10 essen tial services. Some of which include prescription drugs, emergency and hospital care, doctor visits, maternity and mental health services, rehabilitation and lab services. â€Å"The Arkansas insurance Department(AID) has been awarded a one year, $1 million planning grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight CCIIO) to assist with studying options for development of the best possible Insurance Exchange for Arkansans.† (Planning for HBE, n.d., para. 2) This Arkansas Health Connector makes it easier for uninsured individuals to shop for comparable and affordable health plans. The requirements placed on these plans are also greatly needed in order to provide complete healthcare and prevent future healthcare related costs. The only cons that I will mention are that not enough people know about the availability of this program and that if people do not already know, they will found out rather abruptly when they are assessed a $95 penalty on their filed income tax return. The ACA  outlines plans to reduce episodic based care and increase population(community) base d care. The idea is to provide a higher value of healthcare instead of volume, while reducing readmissions for nosocomial infections, preventable diseases, or complications from chronic conditions and illnesses. By implementing community based programs to promote healthcare, we can reduce healthcare costs and help patients live healthier lives with reducing the risks of significant and recurring medical problems as well as their associated costs. Regardless of arguments against the ACA, the most important aspect is that it helps Americans to become and remain healthier people. It teaches our next generation to value healthcare, and to take an active role in being healthier adults. The ACA will affect me professionally as well as personally. Another provision of the ACA provides for the increase of payments for rural healthcare providers. The majority of communities who are most in need of higher quality and more affordable healthcare, are located in the rural areas of our country. These communities often have trouble attracting and retaining medical professionals. My wife is also a nursing student, and we live in a rural area, so we plan to take advantage of these incentives to provide a hig her standard of healthcare to those in need. A similar provision worth mentioning calls for the rebuilding of the primary care workforce. In order to strengthen the availability and quality of healthcare, there has been increased funding for scholarships and loan repayments for primary care physicians and nurses working in underserved areas, as well as tax free student loan payments for these health professionals. (Key Features of the ACA, n.d.) Again this affects my wife and I directly through scholarship opportunities and reduced financial burden after we graduate. Also affecting me is the increase in the number of patients seeking healthcare due to more people have health insurance. This will increase the demand for both registered and advanced practice nurses in episodic based care as well as in the community. Our role as an educator will be more important than ever when teaching patients who have never had affordable health care. There are many arguments against this legislation, but as an aspiring nurse, I have yet to fin d one that suggests ACA is not the best option we have for making a healthier future for America. References Affordable care act is still the law. (August 2012). Retrieved from http://www.theamericannurse.org/index.php/2012/08/06/affordable-care-act-is-still-the-law/ Key features of the affordable care act by year. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/timeline/timeline-text.html#2010 Planning for the arkansas health benefits exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hbe.arkansas.gov/Planning.pdf Shining a light on health insurance rate increases. (Posted: December 21, 2010). Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/ratereview.html

Columbus Day Debate Essay -- Christopher Columbus Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The spirit and values of a nation are reflected in the nation’s heroes. Christopher Columbus has been regarded as an American hero since 1792. Every year Columbus Day is held on the second Monday in October to honor the man and his legacy. However, many people debate whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated in the United States because he opened up the New World to Europe, inspired a spirit of exploration and adventure that still lasts today, and he showed the importance of diversity and understanding of different cultures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Columbus landed on the beaches of the Watling Islands of the Bahamas in October, 1492, he had inadvertently opened up a whole new world for the Europeans, Asians, and other countries of the Eastern hemisphere. Although Columbus was not the first man to truly discover the Americas, he can be credited as the man who made their existence known worldwide. The discovery of the Americas launched an era of discovery and exploration, especially in Europe. Many new foods and animals were brought to the Old World from the Americas. This would not have been possible with out Christopher Columbus. In addition, Columbus’s explorations eventually led to a period of economical growth in Europe. It is important that we take time to remember Columbus’s achievements on Columbus Day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Columbus must always be honored for his ...

Education In The Early Soviet Union Essay

The early 20th century was a time of change for many parts of the world; advances in all areas of technology and changing mindsets made a huge difference in the way that human civilization progressed. One significant example of this was the overthrow of Czarist Russia and the establishment of the Soviet Union . While far from a revolution in freedom, the Soviet Union was revolutionary in many ways that are still worthy of discussion. With this in mind, this paper will present an account of the historical period of the Early Soviet Union and of the impact of education on that period. EDUCATION EVOLVES WITH THE BIRTH OF THE SOVIET UNION An understanding of the birth of the Soviet Union, as well as its educational system, requires first an overview of the political and educational system which preceded it. Russia, under control of the Czars, was a land of great darkness- politically, economically and educationally. For the Czars, the rule of law was intended to keep the masses as oppressed as possible; there were limited job opportunities, leading to widespread famine, poverty and deprivation from all vantage points. In many ways, these factors can be directly linked to a lack of available education for the masses , and vice versa. The insistence of the government in place to keep the populous ignorant and ill-educated kept the collective skill set of the people at a bare minimum, relegating them to menial jobs for low pay. Even with the oppressive taxation imposed by the Czars, there was little money available to support decent education, even if the Czars wanted to have such institutions in place. At any rate, the change of education definitely came with the change from Czarist rule to the establishment of the Soviet state. With the 1917 Russian Revolution, not only were the people shifted from the essentially dictatorial system of government they had known before to one that was largely driven by Socialism , a system which relied on the sheer power of the people to provide the muscle needed to power the factories, build the roads, and brandish the weapons that would keep the state economically viable, physically strong, and able to meet the challenges of enemies foreign or domestic. A key to this power, it was immediately discovered, would in fact come from the education of the common people. Previously, the upper classes were guaranteed education through private means, as they had the ability to pay for such instruction, but there existed an entire class of people for whom the books of knowledge had essentially been sealed shut for generations upon generations. To ensure that education would be delivered to towns large and small across the Soviet Union, from the earliest days of the Revolution, boards of education were established in each of the republics which comprised the Soviet Union. In this way, education could likewise be customized for the needs of any particular locality. This should not give the impression, however, that education was autonomous in each of the republics, or that there was no agenda behind education. As much as education aimed to teach marketable and practical skills to the average Soviet, it was also designed to indoctrinate impressionable minds about the superiority of the Soviet governmental systems, ideologies, and theories, for it was the compliance of the people that would allow the Soviet Union to grow to dominance over a period of several decades. A MISSING ELEMENT FROM SOVIET EDUCATION From the very beginning of the Soviet Union, its educational system and political ideology were unavoidably entwined. One of the key tenets of the Soviet philosophy, which was consequently built in to the educational system is the entire lack of a spiritual element, as Soviet leaders subscribed to the assertions of Dostoevsky that without having to wrestle with the idea of the existence of God, the mind is thereby free to imagine that anything is possible, as many of the moral dilemmas which complicate decision making are effectively erased. CONCLUSION In conclusion, what can be seen in the parallel development of the Soviet Union as a state and its accompanying educational system is the introduction of political ideology and practical instruction, both with the collective goal of advancing the state. This worked for decades and brought the Soviet Union to the status of world superpower in a remarkably short time. Therefore, in conclusion, what can best be said about education and the early history of Soviet Union is that they were inexorably linked, and each enhanced the other. REFERENCES Daniel, Wallace. 1996. Religion, Science, Russia: An Interview with Boris Raushenbakh. The Christian Century, 28 February, 232+. Dundua, Shalva. 2003. The Legacy of the Soviet Education System and Attempts to Introduce New Methodologies of Teaching in Georgia. Childhood Education 79, no. 6: 347+. Nearing, Scott. 1926. Education in Soviet Russia. New York: International Publishers. Zlobin, Nikolai. 1996. Things Fall Apart. World Affairs 158, no. 3: 148-155.

Microsoft Opens the Gates: Patent, Piracy, and Political Challenges in China Essay

Microsoft faced many macro risks when operating in China. Many of these risks included software piracy, Chinese government pressure to transfer technology, host government promotion of competitor products, discriminatory procurement practices by sub-national authorities in China, and the strong encouragement for Microsoft to enter joint ventures with local firms. One main micro risk that Microsoft faced was when the Beijing Municipal government avoided Microsoft by awarding operating system software contracts for 2,000 PCs to Red Flag Linux. I see these risk increasing due to the fact that the Chinese Central Bank has put new restrictions to foreign exchange transactions in attempt to control the flow of convertible currency out of the country. This restriction set in place by the Chinese Central Bank was described as a â€Å"crackdown† on illegal transactions. This change will effectively make it more difficult for both domestic and international companies to move capital in and out of China. In result, only increasing the risks for MNCs to do business in China. Another main reason why I see the risks increasing is that the Chinese government has not made an effort to control the piracy/counterfeiting issues. Counterfeiters are China’s largest state owned factories. These risk are also found in other developing countries such as India where piracy and counterfeiting is a big issue. After the U. S. – China accord on intellectual property rights in 1992, it encouraged Microsoft to explore further opportunities in China. In order to manage political risk in China, initially, Microsoft signed various agreements with Chinese PC producers to pre-load its software on their computers. Other approaches to manage political risk included opening Microsoft Research China (Microsoft’s second international research lab and the first one in Asia) and signed agreements with China’s top four computer makers to preinstall Windows XP on their machines. One of the most notable approaches was when Microsoft signed an accord with the Shanghai Municipal government whereby agreed to help develop Shanghai’s software sector, expand its Shanghai regional support center into a global support center, and train thousands of software architects. Ultimately, Microsoft continued to manage political risks throughout the years by continuing to build agreements with Chinese PC manufacturers, develop new partnerships and better its relations with the Chinese government. I favor the strong ties that Microsoft built over the past two decades with the Chinese government and feel that all the techniques they used to manage political risk were needed in order to conduct profitable business in such a scrutinized country and economy. Going forward, Microsoft should continue to try and enforce IPR and keep healthy relationships with the Chinese for obvious reasons. They should keep developing partnerships and build a Microsoft oriented software sector in China through training/certification to strengthen the company’s forecast. By having to deal with lower levels of government, it created an initial challenge to â€Å"win† over the lower level of government in order to strengthen Microsoft’s overall relationship with China. Specific challenges included when the they signed agreements with China’s State Development & Planning Commission to invest in education/training, signed a large investment and cooperation deal with the Beijing Commission on Science & Technology and struck partnership deals with various Chinese companies such as Petro China. Although Microsoft kept making strong efforts to strengthen the relationship with China, they still faced many challenges to overcome China’s discrimination towards the company by requiring all ministries to purchase Linux based software. These challenges created new opportunities for Microsoft to create new initiatives to benefit the Chinese economy which in result helped them build a strong footprint in China. Yes other firms do have the same risk management options as Microsoft did. Other firms did have the same risk management options because all MNCs faced the same macro/micro issues that Microsoft faced when entering the China markets which included pressure to transfer technology, host government promotion of competitor products, discriminatory procurement practices by sub-national authorities in China, and the strong encouragement to enter joint ventures with local firms. Microsoft is creating serious risks by supporting, financing, and transferring technology to local Chinese software firms but had to do so in rder to have success in China. By them giving back to the Chinese economy, in return a large percentage of software users are using Microsoft product legally and illegally. In result, the end user is most likely using a Microsoft product and creates brand awareness. Microsoft used the appropriabiltiy theory to manage their risks by only sharing information with their partners that is only appropriate in order to make the partnership work.