Monday, September 30, 2019

Nyorican Dream

NyThe Nuyorican Dream is a documentary about the construction of identity and how family, race, class, and sexuality can collapse on top of you. It follows the daily struggles of a migrant lower-class Puerto Rican family living in New York. The Nuyorican Dream is an ambitious and often heartbreaking case. Nuyorican are of second generation who are born and live in New York City. The difference between Nuyorican and Puerto Ricans is the country they are born in and that Nuyorican barely speak Spanish.This film follows three generations of mother Marta Torres’s, forty-six, family. In the year 1940’s – 60s Puerto Ricans suffered of a lot of poverty. You could barely find jobs and if you did the payments could not provide enough money to support your family. Millions migrated to New York City in search for a better life, mainly economically. Marta Torre’s decides to come to Brooklyn, New York around the 1960’s with her family. She comes to aim for a bet ter life,but it doesn’t result how she wished it could of.She is a mother of five kids who only her eldest son Roberto graduated from college and has job as a teacher and administrator in a public school. Her other kids can be considered to be less successful. Eldest sister Tati is addicted to heroin and crack but tries to quit and leave it back so she moves to Florida with her husband but still remains hooked to this addiction. Didn’t finish her education and now is hard for her to find jobs. Has a daughter who is five years old.She struggles through for money and ends up losing her apartment so she moves back to Brooklyn. After years of trying she becomes drug free. Then we have Betty who is 26 years old and is also addicted to heroin and crack. She didn’t finish her education either and got pregnant of 3 kids whom she lost custody for. Marta gets the custody of these three innocent kids. You probably asking yourself why she kept having children after the firs t one if she couldn’t afford to and wasn’t responsible. Well Betty says,† It just happens and I don’t believe in abortion†.Millie the young of the Torres family, thirteen years old, attends school and hopes to get out of the life she is in. Danny, twenty-three younger brother, spend most of his time behind bars due to robbery and drugs. When he thinks he is finish with a life of crime he find himself back in jail till he is thirty. This family was from all corners facing problems and was not what Marta had expected for her kids. Marta brought her kids here mostly to give them a better education and opportunities because Puerto Rico in her time was phasing poverty and political issues.The status of Puerto Ricans based on this film wasn’t as good as what you would imagine. All these migrants came for the American Dreams but in order to have success in it they have to go through many obstacles. Puerto Ricans use both Spanish and English put toget her for is known to us Spanglish. Puerto Ricans are not the only group of Latinos which phase these problems. We have for example Mexicans, Dominicans and Colombians who come to New York City in search of a better life for their kids but they have struggles as well.Many kids don’t take advantage of the opportunities and get peer pressure or hang out with the wrong crew and get to drugs and cutting school. This film taught me that we should always take advantage of the opportunities we get in life and in having a good education. In order to be successful in the United States you will always need education. We should be satisfied and grateful with what we have, because there are others who don’t have half of what we have. We should always be proud of our background because although it has poverty it has beautiful natural resources.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Impact of Advertising on Children

RESEARCH PARADIGM – According to (Bell, 2007) â€Å"paradigm is a cluster of beliefs and dictate which for scientists in a particular discipline influence what should be studied, how research should be done, and how results should be interpreted†. The definition points up that a paradigm is a collection of reasonable hypothesis, notion or intention that how the research should be studied, done and interpreted.The theoretical paradigms are basically based on two main approaches; Positivist approach also referred as ‘scientific process' or ‘postpositivist' or ‘scientific study, is based on rationalistic beliefs (Mertens, 2005) . Positivist approach is Inductive with results that are qualitative in nature (O'Leary, 2004). And, Interpretivist approach which is also referred as ‘constructivist' or ‘phenomenological' paradigm (Mertens, 2005). Creswell, 2003) explains that in Interpretivist/ phenomenological approach the researcher relies upon the partakers outlook of the situation being calculated and familiarizes with the impact of the study on his/ her personal surroundings and knowledge. Phenomenological approach results are most likely to be qualitative in nature or it can be a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research will develop the use of phenomenological approach and not positivism approach.To address the variety and density of such research aim both qualitative and quantitative methods are necessary as this will provide our research the appropriate understanding of how the entertainment advertisement affects the culture of the youth of U. A. E. The aim of the research is to identify how does the entertainment advertisement impact the culture of the youth in U. A. E. The research's results will be based on theory testing or deductive method where available evidence of the authors and researchers will be taken into consideration to achieve the aim of our research.REFERENCES Bell, A. B. ( 2007). Business Research Methods(Revised Edition). New York: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. California: Sage Publications, Inc. Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research Methods in Education And Philosophy: Intergrating Diversity With Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (Vol. 2nd Edition). California: Thousand Oaks: Sage. O'Leary, Z. (2004). The Essential Guide To Doing Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Impact of Advertising on Children RESEARCH PARADIGM – According to (Bell, 2007) â€Å"paradigm is a cluster of beliefs and dictate which for scientists in a particular discipline influence what should be studied, how research should be done, and how results should be interpreted†. The definition points up that a paradigm is a collection of reasonable hypothesis, notion or intention that how the research should be studied, done and interpreted.The theoretical paradigms are basically based on two main approaches; Positivist approach also referred as ‘scientific process' or ‘postpositivist' or ‘scientific study, is based on rationalistic beliefs (Mertens, 2005) . Positivist approach is Inductive with results that are qualitative in nature (O'Leary, 2004). And, Interpretivist approach which is also referred as ‘constructivist' or ‘phenomenological' paradigm (Mertens, 2005). Creswell, 2003) explains that in Interpretivist/ phenomenological approach the researcher relies upon the partakers outlook of the situation being calculated and familiarizes with the impact of the study on his/ her personal surroundings and knowledge. Phenomenological approach results are most likely to be qualitative in nature or it can be a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research will develop the use of phenomenological approach and not positivism approach.To address the variety and density of such research aim both qualitative and quantitative methods are necessary as this will provide our research the appropriate understanding of how the entertainment advertisement affects the culture of the youth of U. A. E. The aim of the research is to identify how does the entertainment advertisement impact the culture of the youth in U. A. E. The research's results will be based on theory testing or deductive method where available evidence of the authors and researchers will be taken into consideration to achieve the aim of our research.REFERENCES Bell, A. B. ( 2007). Business Research Methods(Revised Edition). New York: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. California: Sage Publications, Inc. Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research Methods in Education And Philosophy: Intergrating Diversity With Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (Vol. 2nd Edition). California: Thousand Oaks: Sage. O'Leary, Z. (2004). The Essential Guide To Doing Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Biochemistry and Technology Essay

What specific topic did you choose to research and evaluate? (2 points) -I chose genetic engineering/recombinant DNA technology/transgenesis of biotechnology to research and evaluate because that interests me the most, personally. List the resources that you used in your research of your topic. (3 points) – I used sites such as, wikipedia.org, and slideshare.net. Describe, in a few paragraphs, the biotechnology that you researched. How is it currently being used and/or what are the hopes for its use in the future? (10 points) -Genetic engineering is an area in biotechnology that induces cell alterations in any kind of organism. It is based on artificial manipulation and transfer of genetic material from one organism to another. Basically the cells coded in with the new genetic information will pass those selected traits on to their offspring. Genetic combinations might be useful but not often found in nature. Genetic engineering now a days, is used in medicine to produce insulin and growth hormones, for those who lack it. The genes in humans are isolated using enzymes produced by bacteria which cleave DNA at specific base pairs, and then inserted into a a virus. The virus then is inserted into the bacteria DNA, ten the bacteria produces the hormones, which are then collected and given to patients who most need them. The hope for genetic engineering is soon a cure can be found for diseases by either inserting a corrected gene or even performing a genetic surgery. Currently many pregnant women like to have the fetuses screened for genetic defects so it can allow them and there physician to prepare for the arrival of the child who may need to have special needs. Describe the positive aspects of this biotechnology, being as specific as possible. (5 points) -One possible benefit for genetic engineering is is that with gene therapy, a fetus a genetic defect could be treated and even cured before it is born. Specific traits or characteristics can be inserted in a species, for example pest resistant genes inserted into crops to enable more crops to be harvested. Artificially produce vital hormones or proteins that are essential by inserting the coding genes into bacteria cells.†¨ Describe the negative aspects of this biotechnology, being as specific as possible. (5 points) -Genetic pollution occurs where the artificially produced species reproduce at a higher rate compared to the wild species present and cause extinction. Species that are produced have side effects such as a short life span, prone to diseases and mutations and physical defects. Expensive and advance technologies need to produce and maintain genetically engineered species. Hybrid species created may harbor new statins of diseases or viruses that is produced from the altered genes. Based on your research, what is your conclusion about whether or not this biotechnology should be used? Be sure to explain your answer. (5 points) In my opinion, I think biotechnology can benefit us all in a lot of different ways, but only if we use it right and only if we are really in need of it. For example, I think genetic engineering could help actually save a lot of lives and troubles that one might have when born. If treated right, a disease or disorder can be cured before one is born.

Friday, September 27, 2019

How resilience works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How resilience works - Essay Example From depicting a quality of stability in physics, to psychology where resilience has come to be defined as the capacity of people to cope with and stress and catastrophe, this term is now a major trend in the corporate world. Or so says Diane L Coutu in her article titled, How Resilience Works, where she etches the nuances of the use of the term. This paper is essentially a critique of the article. Where the issue of family strength and crises are concerned, the author has demonstrated that resilience does not necessarily come from the genes and it is more commonly found among children from troubled homes - they seem strong from inside. Resilience itself comes up in diverse ways like humour, an ability to laugh at oneself, etc. The author has been fascinated by the issue of resilience in one's daily life - and it shows in her case studies and examples she has cited. Even the references of people she has used for professional takes on the subject, demonstrates people who are from various backgrounds, yet by and large, a resilient lot who have gotten where they have through a strong dose of determination. But is that all there is to resilience Apparently not, if the author is to be believed - she talks of resilience from the psychological point of view, where to start identifying the basic features of this trait, she finds that a sense of humor, sometimes bordering on the black, is not a surprising quality

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 25

Case Study - Essay Example Integrating with another company allowed Wal-Mart to gain retail facilities and employees quickly, which saved time  and prevented lost profit. Additionally, it eliminated competition by doing business first with its competitors. This brought Wal-Mart time to gain excellent position in the market while avoiding tough competition with established retailers, which could result in huge losses for the â€Å"newcomer.† Once Wal-Mart opens its own stores, it employs its classic â€Å"pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap† strategy, which has a universal appeal to consumers. This strategy worked best at times of recession and in emerging markets since it is when and where buyers want to make the most out of their money. Because of its extensive reach and strong customer patronage, Wal-Mart virtually controls what goes into the households in the areas it dominates. Fears that Wal-Mart is becoming â€Å"too powerful† have been roared by activists and sufficiently echoed by the media. Many companies, producers, and buyers are afraid that Wal-Mart will soon be monopolizing the global retail market. Hence, activists and the media, backed by producers and retailers, are strengthening their opposition to Wal-Mart. Also, some retailers in Mexico, who were previously competitors, have begun collaborating to match the giant retailer. Yet the greatest challenge for Wal-Mart is the possibility that consumers may share the fears for a â€Å"too powerful† retailer. This fear could easily spread as many shops have already shut down as a result of Wal-Mart’s presence. In 2001, Wal-Mart earned more than three times that of its strongest competitor. However, the figures are not indicative of global performance since much of its revenue comes from North America. Considering its U.S. performance, it has fared badly internationally, particularly in countries which are drastically different

Writing for Criminal Justice Administrators Essay - 1

Writing for Criminal Justice Administrators - Essay Example It generally extends the normal working days to beyond eight hours. However, it minimizes the number of consecutive days a person works to less than five, for instance, in a schedule of around three days of 12 hours or four days of ten hours. In this instance, it will be a schedule of three days of 12 hours. Compressed workweek is advantageous, for the employers it is for their advantage because it permits the extension of working hours and; thus, it also results in the reduction of expenses linked with start-up costs (starting operations). For the employees, it gives them fewer working days. These are among the many advantages that compressed workweeks offer both to the employer and to employee. It will be imperative if the 12-hour day work shift is adopted. This is concerning the meeting held on Thursday 14 February 2013 about the adoption of a 12-hour day work shift. Enough research has been done on the viability of the changes, and it is in our view that the changes be adopted. After consultation with various stakeholders in the company, we have found that the 12-hour work shift will work for the benefit of all of us. Therefore, it is our expectation that the management team will give us the necessary support and attention. We have gathered all the resources needed for the realization of the changes. Compressed workweek has become popular in most organizations because of its flexibility and other benefits. The 12-hour work shift schedule is the preferred choice by most employees. The schedule offers extraordinary coverage during the peak times. The popularity of the 12-hour work shift is attributed to the fact that it tends to provide more off-days and compress the workweek. The schedule also stimulates greater effort and increases the motivation of the workers. It is essential that the population characteristics of the worker be considered during the selection of the work schedules. The way

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall Research Paper

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall - Research Paper Example Thurgood Marshall was a strong supporter of Martin Luther King and his efforts to liberate the black community from suppression. He has supported the anti-colonial struggles in Asia and Africa. In fact he has travelled the African countries in order to extend his support to the anti-colonial movements. At the same time he supported America’s involvement in the military conflicts with North Korea and Vietnam. Even though many of the Americans opposed the Vietnam War, Marshall was a strong supporter of Vietnam War as the Solicitor General and as a Supreme Court Justice. Many people believe that Marshall supported Vietnam War in order to avoid a possible clash between American judiciary and Executive or Legislative branches. Moreover, he was a strong opponent of communism which was another reason for the his support to Vietnam War. â€Å"Justice Marshall was an unyielding opponent of capital punishment, and voted to overturn every death sentence that came before the Court. He proved as strong a champion of freedom of expression as he had been for civil rights† (The Legacy of Thurgood Marshall, p11). Marshall’s effort to stop capital punishment has not been succeeded. Even then he has expressed his strong protest against capital punishment many times. In his opinion, human has no authority to take the life of a person even though it is necessary to punish the criminals. In his opinion, only the creator has the sole right over the life of his creations. At the same time he was a strong advocate of freedom of expression and civil rights. It was Marshall’s belief that government and society must permit each individual to achieve the limits of his or her intellectual and creative ability; to eliminate artificial barriers of bias, prejudice, arbitrary authority or paternalism and to the proposition that the ordinary person, whatever his or her color or sex, needs the protection of law (Shah) He has witnessed many incidents in American society itself with

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Argument analize 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argument analize 3 - Essay Example However, it is a fact that pain and suffering do exist in the world, and its occurrence is beyond our control, for the very concept of God is pre-established in our ontology, for, by definition, we understand God as a benevolent and omnipotent creator. Thus, if God were not benevolent, then there would be no problem of pain and suffering. Therefore, either God is not benevolent or he is not omnipotent, or he is not benevolent and omnipotent. 2. Reconstructing the Argument of Pain The argument can be logically reconstructed as follows: 1. God is the benevolent and omnipotent creator of the natural world 2. If God were benevolent, then pain and suffering would not exist in his creations 3. If God were omnipotent, then he would everything in his power to eradicate pain and suffering. 4. Pain and suffering nevertheless exist as experienced by God’s creations 5. God could not have created pain and suffering, for that would contradict his benevolent and omnipotent nature 6. Therefor e, given that pain and suffering exists, either God is not benevolent or is not omnipotent, or is neither benevolent nor omnipotent. 3. ... Likewise, third premise follows from the first and the second, for if God were omnipotent, then he would use his powers to eradicate pain and suffering, since by nature, God is benevolent. Thus, the third premise is also true. However, things get a bit more complicated come the fourth premise, which states that pain and suffering exist as experienced in God’s creations. As C.S. Lewis explains, this is problematic for the main reason that what we experience as ‘pain and suffering’ in the natural world may not be ‘pain and suffering’ for God. Likewise, what we understand as ‘benevolent and omnipotent’ may not be the same as God’s understanding of ‘benevolent and omnipotent.’ This complexity is exemplified due to structure of our language. We understand good and evil to be two conflicting terms for instance. So the problem of reconciling good and evil becomes a problem only because we understand these concepts to conflict with each other. Based on the problem of pain, it was proposed that it is due to God’s benevolent nature that the problem of pain becomes a problem; that if God were something other than benevolent, then the problem is solved. This is evident in premise five, wherein it was shown that God, who is good, could not have created something that was not good, that is, pain and suffering. It is in this regard that the author concludes that either God’s omnipotence or benevolence, or both, is thus questionable. However, I do not think that this conclusion will suffice, for the transition from premise five to its conclusion misses an important point. This is as follows: Following premise four, premise five states that â€Å"God could not have created pain and suffering, for that would contradict his

Monday, September 23, 2019

Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Anthropology - Essay Example The people of the Samoan Islands share a common language – Samoan, a common culture – fa’a Samoa and an indigenous form of governance called fa’amatai.2 â€Å"Due to colonialism, the Samoa Islands and people were divided by Western powers. Today, politically the islands have two jurisdictions, the independent country of Samoa at the western half of the islands, and the territory of American Samoa comprising the islands to the east. The two regions are separated by 64km of ocean. Most Samoans are full-blooded and comprise one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world.3 Fa’a Samoa means the Samoan Way.4 Fa’a Samoa dictates how Samoans should conduct themselves. This brings out the Samoan Identity and how they should fulfill their obligations towards their families, their communities, the Church and their fellow Samoans. At the heart of the Samoan Identity is Respect, an unquestioning respect for their established institutions, their systems and their elders. Religion is a very important part of the Samoan Culture. Samoa’s motto in fact is based on religion – â€Å"Samoa is founded on God†5 Originally Samoans had a polytheistic religion. This belief is divided in to two – the Atua (non-human) and Aitu gods (human) which also include ancestor worship.6 Thus, when religious expeditions arrived in Samoa, assimilation of the new world was not met by too much resistance. Today, the main religions in Samoa include Congregational, Catholic, Methodist, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist, Bahai,, the Latter Day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses.8 Paganism was replaced by the promise of eternal life of these new religions. But what remains is that religion plays a central part in the lives of Samoans. In Samoa, the aiga (extended family) is all important.9 Villages are composed of aiga’s and the greater

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Hammurabis Code Essay Example for Free

Hammurabis Code Essay I am going to discuss the source of Hammurabi’s Code from our book, Sources of World Societies. During this time, there were a lot of different social classes, and the rich were definitely favored more than the poor. The Code contemplates the whole population as falling into three classes, the amelu, the muskinu and the ardu. The amelu was a patrician, the man of family, whose birth, marriage and death were registered, of ancestral estates and full civil rights . In the book, Sources of World Societies, Hammurabi’s code was not the first known law code, but it is the earliest one to survive largely intact . The code deals with the family, commercial activities, and agricultural life. The laws stated in the book dealt with medical practices, explaining the phrase an â€Å"eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,† the most common law, meaning that a person who has injured another person receives the same injury in compensation. The example used for that is Law 196, â€Å"If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out . Hammurabi’s Code was very to the point, meaning that there was most likely a law for everything possible in a wrongdoing. For example, Law 218 states, â€Å"If a physician performed a major operation on a freeman with a bronze lancet and has caused the freeman’s death, or he opened up the eye-socket of a freeman and has destroyed the freeman’s eye, they shall cut off his hand . † I understand that the physician did mess up a crucial surgery, but I do think it’s a little outrageous to cut off his whole hand! Perhaps it would be better if he just got punished for the mistake. I do think it’s unfair that if he messed up a slave’s surgery, he received shekels of silver. Law 217 states, â€Å"If it was a freeman’s slave, the owner of the slave shall give two shekels of silver to the physician . † How messed up is that? Slaves were killed for almost every minor offense. Hammurabi’s Code consisted of around 282 Laws. Hammurabi’s Code was established around 1780 B. C . Hammurabi was the ruler who chiefly established the greatness of Babylon, the worlds first metropolis . Hammurabi had many accomplishments other than the law code. He unified Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule, and established the supremacy of the Babylonian god Marduk . Hammurabi’s Code was arranged in orderly groups, so that all men might read and know what was required of them. The code was carved upon a black stone monument, eight feet high, and clearly intended to be reared in public view. This noted stone was found in the year 1901, in a city of the Persian mountains. It begins and ends with addresses to the gods . The Code clearly stated the rules of marriage, having children, and what they were able to do with their children. For example, if a married couple got a divorce, and the woman was a â€Å"bad wife,† the Code allowed him to send her away while he got to keep the children and her dowry, or he could degrade her to the position of a slave in his own house . Women seemed to be treated poorly during this time, and men seemed to always be in charge. For example, Law 110 states, â€Å"If a sister of a god open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death . Honestly, this one kind of shocked me a bit. Women go to taverns all the time, and if it was this day and age, it would be considered a huge crime if a woman got put to death from going to a tavern. The most common penalty was a fine, but many resulted in death. For instance, Law 2 states, â€Å"If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser . † This law actually makes a lot of sense. If a man is wrongly accused, then the accuser should get punished. Why should the accuser go without getting a penalty, but he should just get a fine, and not be put to death. It does seem a little weird that their letting the river determine their fate. It seemed like they had a lot of beliefs in nature, and let nature decide their fate. I have read these Code laws over and over multiple times and a few of them has made me chuckle a bit. I just think to myself, what were these people thinking?! Law 25 says, â€Å"If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same fire . † This law confused me a bit, does it mean that if the person coming to put out the fire looks at the property of where the fire is at, he must be thrown into the fire? If so, that definitely doesn’t make any sense. Law 132 states, â€Å"If the finger is pointed at a mans wife about another man, but she is not caught sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river for her husband . † I understand that cheating a a very wrong thing to do, but if she was not caught why should she have to jump into the river? What is she going to learn about doing such a thing. Jumping in the river probably was a big penalty back then. In conclusion, after I looked and went over Hammurabi’s Code, I have learned quite a bit about how life was lived back then. Just thinking that all of our ancestors had to go through that, and how many lives were lost for doing certain crimes that we would consider minor offenses nowadays. If our ancestors lived in the world we lived in today, they would probably think it’s so easy, when we think it’s super hard. The laws were taken very seriously and hardly went unseen. We think these laws are very outrageous and uncalled for, when in reality, they probably weren’t that big of a deal back then. I chose this source because it seemed really interesting to get to know about how the law was made back in 1800 B. C. E. It is important to understand this period of history to see how laws were even made or thought of. Every law that we have is most likely a revised version of one of Hammurabi’s Code Laws. Hammurabi’s Code informed me that early World History is very different than what it is today. This is my first time ever hearing about Hammurabi’s Code, and even learning about 1800 B. C. E. I have really enjoyed learning more about this topic.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay Myanmar is one of the few countries in Asia which has reserved interest in what happens outside its border. This is often reflected in the countrys external relations policy. Perception of outside threat to her national security and sovereignty made Myanmar play an independent but inactive role in external affairs. Historically, though Myanmars immediate neighbours were tortured by strong kings of Myanmar in different period of history, Myanmar also suffered in the hands of the neighbouring kingdoms. Thus, the people of Myanmar have general fear and indifferent psychosis towards outside world. This is closely related to nationalism, xenophobia and insular habits. From geographical standpoint also, Myanmar has favourable physical structure and geo-strategic position that has a lot to hide from the outside world. It has been mentioned in the second chapter that Myanmar is surrounded by mountains on three sides and by sea on the forth (south), which do not provide easy access to inside Myanmar. Myanmar was also situated in a vulnerable geo-strategic location with India and China between which Myanmar is sandwiched; and between contending cold war sphere of influence represented by Communist China and pro-western Thailand, Myanmar stood huddled. During the heyday of cold war, Southeast Asian region became a hotspot of the global power politics with many countries of the region taking side either with the western bloc headed by United States of America or the eastern bloc under the erstwhile Soviet Union. But Myanmar tended to look inward in the name of maintaining sovereignty and independent action. This is reflected in the foreign policy of the country as evolved, first as policy of neutralism and nonalignment under U Nu, and second, as policy of isolation under Ne Win, until it adopted policy of opportunistic engagement with the world outside particularly since late 1988. The parliamentary democracy era of 1950s avoided active international engagement in pursuanc e of non-aligned policy. The establishment of military rule in March 1962 brought Myanmars nonalignment and neutral ideology into a strong xenophobic and paranoid nationalism, clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influence on Myanmars politics, economy and society. Only international engagement beneficial to militarys perceived ideology and interest was allowed. In response to the military regimes monopoly of power and adverse human right records, many liberal democratic countries of the west imposed sanctions against Myanmar, and ostracised the country. In the meantime, global geo-political shifts occurred with the end of cold war in early 1990s following the disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union. Geo-economics rather than geo-politics gained greater credence in the changed international environment. Economic integration and regionalism ushered in with globalization as the thriving force. Internally, the crisis of 1988 necessitate shift in the country internal politics and appr oaches to external countries. Accordingly, Myanmar made adjustment in response to changes in domestic and external environment. With western liberal democratic countries still following policy anti-thetical to the militarys ideology, Myanmar focussed to its immediate neighbours and region. While the western countries used sanction policy, neighbouring Asian governments followed a policy of constructive engagement. In doing so, they have filled much of the international political and economic vacuum in Myanmar, giving the military leaders to pursue its self-proclaimed political road-map. This chapter is structured to highlight Myanmars foreign policy, the status of Myanmar in the world community, the countrys government-to-government relationship and relative integration with the world community, especially focussing its relationship with its three important neighbours namely China, Thailand and India. It will be conducted in three phases: period of neutrality and non-alignment under parliamentary democracy, period of isolationism under Ne Win and the period of engagement aftermath 1988. This chapter shows that Myanmars isolationism in external front is a necessary corollary of its domestic political setting. This chapter proves that Myanmars retreat from world of nations is premised on fear, security, non-interference, national interest, sovereignty and development. Though in its foreign relations, Myanmar has maintained regular relationship with all countries, in practice; Myanmar discourages the relationship between its people and those of other countries, so much so that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. This chapter also deals with how domestic political-economic changes since 1988 have affected its external affairs policy. This chapter will show that Myanmars foreign policy and status in the international community was characterised by varying degrees of isolation, in response to its internal political setting and global political scenario. International isolationism became a comfortable state of the isolationist political system under the military leaders to deny the attention of the foreign powers as to what happen inside the borders of the country. From the militarys angle, international isolation was in pursuance of a strong, cohesive and developed Myanmar the basis of which was to ensure the military continue to stay in power until acceptable time had emerged to vacate seat of power. As the goal suggest, it will be shown in this chapter that Myanmar opens to outside world only it wo uld serve its highly self-centred interests. Myanmars direct neighbours are often forced to undergo a difficult balancing act. Myanmar in International Context One fact of the pre-colonial Myanmar was that the Burmans were generally indifferent towards foreigners. Historically, Myanmars political and military ties with the outside world had feared the country. The Thais, Manipuris, Chinese or Europeans provided ill-experience of dealing with outsiders. The Myanmese never accepted the British presence in Myanmar; they saw the British institutions and practices had undermined the Burman culture. Myanmars ill with the outsider strengthened during the World War Two, when its ties with the British made it a Japanese target. The resulting oppression and destruction during the World War Two left Myanmar even more apathetic to outsiders. With such fear psychosis, Myanmar became independent in 1948, also with new hopes and vigour. But the period coincided with the onset of cold war, where the world was divided into two rival camps headed by United States on the one hand, and Soviet Union, on the other, and most of the lesser powerful states followin g them. Two traditional rivals, China, a communist country in the north, and Thailand, a pro-western ally to the east, were allegedly expressed sympathy for Myanmars anti-government rebels and insurgents in the border areas. Very differently from them, Indian, a non-aligned partner under the leadership of prime minister U Nus close friend Jawaharlal Nehru, had been emerging as a distinct force in the world. This situation was well commented by U Nu in 1950. U Nu lamented his country as ..like a tender gourd among the cactus. We cannot move an inch. If we act irresponsiblyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and thrust the Union of Burma into the arms of one bloc, the other bloc will not be contented to look on with folded arms (U Nu, 5 September 1950 quoted by Thomson 1957:266 ). Back home, ethnic and political disunity erupted into rebellion and the ever increasing economic deterioration greatly disrupted legitimacy of the government and stability of the country. The new external and domestic challenges made materializing Aung Sans world-view difficult.  [1]  In response to the challenges, the new countrys leaders adopted neutralism and non-alignment as the cornerstone of the foreign policy of the country. At the same time, as Choudhary (2000:423) mentions, Myanmar also accepted the principles of maintaining friendly relations with all countries especially with her neighbours without being engaged too closely with any one of them, and of receiving no economic aid with string attached. Commenting on the genesis of Myanmars neutralism in dealing with outside world, Silverstein (1977:169) concludes: The policy of neutralism was based on certain realities that imposed themselves on either a civilian (before 1962) or a military (after 1962) Burmese government. Among them were Burmas small memories of World War Two and the suffering and destruction inflicted upon its people and the land; its internal political instability; and its ethnic and political disunity. These were superimpos ed on Myanmars traditional withdrawing and isolationist attitude and influence of personality of U Nu (Bandyopadhaya 1983:152), the first prime minister of independent Myanmar.  [2]  These factors, among others, shaped Myanmars world-view, that Myanmar would be a neutral and non-aligned country in an effort to maintain friendship with all countries in the world. Myanmar joined United Nations and it became a leading voice and founder-leader of the non-alignment movement, organizing the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia along with like-minded leaders such as Nehru, Nasser, Tito and Sukarno; Myanmar also attended the first NAM summit held in 1961as the movements founder member. The foreign policy of Myanmar also sought a delicate balancing role between USA and USSR, and between India and China. India served as a model for Myanmars neutralism, non-alignment and democracy, but it never allied itself too closely with India, which could have upset its relations with China (Lintner 1 992). Thus, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to recognise the new government of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 (Seekins 1983:54). When it feared its neutral policy would cease if it had joined the British Commonwealth of Nations, it wisely declined to join the body of former British colonies. Myanmar wanted to sever all ties with the outside world provided if it did not serve its interest, and if it proved against the principle of neutralism and non-alignment. Myanmars neutralism and non-aligned policy was first tested in the Korean Crisis of 1950. Myanmar voiced U Nus call for a halt to North Koreas aggression against the South Korea. When the United Nations forces crossed the 38th parallel, Myanmar withdrew its support on the belief that UN had overstepped its original mandate. In several other international issues such as Russian intervention in Hungary in 1956, Egypt crisis in 1956, Cuban crisis in 1961 etc. Myanmar did not followed big power line. Myanmar became a member of the Colombo Plan, but it refused to join SEATO founded in September 1954. Amidst hesitations, Myanmar received aid from both the US and USSR throughout the cold war period. The USSR offered specific gifts of a hospital, hotel and technological institutions, while US funds off and on after 1951 for agricultural and land reclamation projects. The government of U Nu tried to befriend with both India and China through his personal link with their respective leaders nam ely Nehru and Chou-en-Lai. In other words, throughout the parliamentary democracy period, Myanmar gained respect internationally by managing to live alongside large and powerful neighbours without compromising its independent foreign policy (Lintner 1992). It, thus, became one of the most respected leading governments in the region and its neutralism was much appreciated by western chanceries. The is proved by the fact that Myanmars U Thant was appointed, first, as the acting Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1961, and, later, twice elected to the position. U Thant led the world body for the next ten years. When the military rule took over power in March 1962  [3]  neutralism of the era of parliamentary democracy became isolationism and non-involvement or negative neutralism (Maung Maung Gyi 1981). Ne Wins Revolutionary Council followed an ideology called the Burmese Way to Socialism, mixed with a strong xenophobia and nationalistic policy, and corollary to it, Myanmar withdrew from international community, shunning most of the diplomatic ties established during U Nus period. Ne Win heading the new military regime exhibited deep-seated antagonism towards the west and its support for Kuomintang (KMT) troops in Myanmar, distrusted India, and feared Chinese communist influence in the country (Turku 2009:124). Contact with the outside world was kept to an absolute minimum. The military denied joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when it was formed in 1967 and even stunningly left the NAM in 1979, considering these organizations not neutral. Soon after coming to power, the Revolutionary Council enacted several laws clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influences over Myanmars economy and society. The government announced that it preferred only government to government aid of bilateral and multi-lateral programmes (Holmes 1967:189), and discontinued acceptance of aid from the American philanthropic organizations, the Ford and Asia Foundations, and also the Fulbright British Council programmes, as the military considered it belittling to accept aid from private organizations (Silverstein 1964:167). Freedom of press was denied and the government also acted forcefully to curb propaganda and information activities of all foreign diplomatic missions (Holmes 1967:189), thus denied people to deal directly with the outside world. Foreign diplomats and party officials (BSPP officials) were also subject to very strict set of rules (Turku 2009:192). If the party official sought to speak to a foreign national or issue/accept an invi tation from a foreigner they had to seek specific permission from the party, and upon return they had to give specific details on the conversations they had with foreigners (ibid.) The nationalisation programmes launched in February 1963 by the military government directly affected the Indians, Chinese, Anglo-Myanmese and Western agricultural, trade and banking communities, most of them were force to flee the country. The effort was indigenization of the economy by placing the private foreign owned enterprises in the hands of the people of Myanmar. Cynics argued that Myanmars new foreign policy basically meant no foreign policy at all apart from the concept of group survival; its embassies and consulates abroad did very little to improve relations with the host countries (Lintner 1992). Officially, the dictum friendship with all the countries of the world still remained a cornerstone of Myanmars foreign policy, but in practice, the country did not take any positive interest in furth ering friendly relations with other nations, except few (Singh 1977:181). As Lintner (1992) argues Myanmar under the military rule invented an intensely new dogma in foreign relations, that is, bilateralism, and preferably only with neighbours. General Ne Win made few official visits to Moscow, Peking and Washington, but few meaningful outcomes could be seen from the visits. For example, Ne Wins visit to USA in September 1966 related to some business affairs, military support for its anti-communist military campaign and to play golf. There were no real diplomatic ties and this diplomatic vacuum was well commented by one-Rangon (Yangon) based foreign envoy in 1988: We had no meaningful contact with any element of the Burmese government. They had a designated group of foreign ministry types who could come to our dinners and talk about golf and tennis, the weather and what fruits were in seasonduring my first three months in Burma, my backhand improved immensely, and I even took up the game of golf, which I had thought was just a waste of time. But I had time to waste (quoted in Lintner 1992, also see Lintner 1990:60-61). Under the leadership of the Ne Win, Myanmars military government sank into deep isolation. At the same time, because it had denied the economic benefits of engaging with other countries, and also since the military leaders lacked knowledge of managing economic affairs, the country gradually encountered economic recession. In response, the BSPP government showed inclination to international development assistance and projected its vast mineral wealth opportunities to the outside world. The government entered into development programmes with the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB and UNDP, as well as accepted increased bilateral aids. In 1976, World Bank set up an aid consortium, including Britain, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Australia and Canada for consultation and the establishment of a common policy regarding Myanmar (Charney 2009:145 ).The BSPP regime also softened its state-controlled and autarchic economic policy, and by mid 1980s, foreign aids and loans began to enter Myanmar. Although Japan and West Germany were the largest of the foreign aid donors, the Peoples Republic of China also emerged as a major source of loans to the country from 1970 (ibid.). However, the inflow of foreign loans also led to corresponding increase in long-term debt, producing a critical state of indebtedness by the mid 1980s. This together with internal political isolation and economic mismanagement produced socio-economic devastations forcing Myanmar to become one of the least developed countries in 1987. This shocked the proud and highly nationalistic people of Myanmar. It spurred the 1988 protests attracting the greatest international interest into the countrys political and economic situations. The brutal crackdown and suppression of the protest by the military junta was swiftly publicised in the international community and even tually western governments imposed sanctions to Myanmar. Many western governments including Japan, non-governmental organizations and business bodies ended operations in Myanmar. Immediately after the crackdown, US withdrew its ambassador from Myanmar. Sanctions by United States were formally enacted in 1997, which was further tightened after 2007, following the crackdown on the monks protest, until it was uplifted recently in 2012.  [4]  Some businesses such as Ciz Claiborne, Osh Kosh BGosh and Pepsi (which was a joint venture with a native businessman) ended operations in Myanmar due to pressure from American-based activists. Contrary to western governments, most of Myanmars neighbouring countries adopted policy of constructive engagement and as mentioned, in doing so they followed much of the vacuum created by international isolation of Myanmar. The country had normalised relationships with two neighbouring powers, China and India (see later), by skilfully exploiting the oppo rtunistic intention of the two countries. Thailand was also captured by the economic prospects which engagement with Myanmar could provide. Following these events, Myanmar made changes to its external relation positions. It gave up its strict non-aligned neutralism  [5]  and isolationism and joined the regional GMS-EC (1992), BIMSTEC (1997), ASEAN (1997) and ACMCES (2003). Myanmar joining ASEAN in 1997 had greatly enhanced the credibility of the legitimacy hungry military government, because the ASEAN, citing their doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of the member countries rallied to the Myanmar governments defence. All these indicate government of Myanmar willing to integrate with the world community, but as evident, it could be when it could provide more benefit to the country. The military regime undoubtedly preferred no foreign attention and involvement in its affairs. For example in 2005, the ruling military government SPDC shifted capital of the country f rom Yangon to a more reclusive region Naypyitaw where influence of outsiders would be so profound. Similarly, aftermath of cyclone Nargis 2008, Myanmar thought a long before letting in any humanitarian and relief aids to the affected people, and when it was allowed, the aid agencies and countries were often obstructed by the military. Moreover, preference was given to neighbours over the western countries. For the last six decades, Myanmar has lived in varying degree of isolationism and opportunistic engagement. During the period of strict isolationism, Myanmar maintained diplomatic relationship with all the countries; it discourages relationship between its people and those of other countries, to such an extent that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. The military junta certainly not liked foreign attention and involvement in its internal affairs. Myanmar is interested in foreign aids and loans, external trade and investments, but it did not preferred to abandon its policy of isolation. The pro-democracy uprising of 1988 divided international communitys perception on Myanmar. The western role with regards to Myanmar had long been policy of sanction and isolation, which proved counter-productive. The western countries such as USA, countries of European Union, France, Australia and Asian country-Japan and South Korea, imposed sanctions o n Myanmar thus supplemented Myanmars policy of isolation. Myanmar juntas poor human right record and denial of democracy invited western ostracism. Certainly, the sudden international isolation and sanction policy hampered Myanmars economy badly, and this prompted Myanmars attention and open policy towards its immediate neighbours. The immediate neighbours of Myanmar have acted as a balancing act for the military junta. Myanmar and China China is the largest, the most powerful and practically the nearest of Myanmars neighbours. Historically, Myanmar experienced memory of fear, distrust and entrenched relationship in relation to its northern neighbour. In different periods of history, China posed a threat to the security and sovereignty of the monarchical Myanmar. Many strong Chinese dynasties had intervened in Myanmar kings affairs in different periods of history and caused considerable havoc. Kublai Khan sent armies from Yunnan in late 1980 to subjugate the kingdom of Pagan, effectively bringing to an end the first unified Burman kingdom (Seekins 1997:527). The last king of the Pagan dynasty, king Narathitrapate, earned the nickname Tarok Pye Min, meaning the king who ran away from the Chinese (Trager 1966:234). Chinese had invaded Myanmar during the Chinese Qing dynasty. It was an important event in the history of Myanmar that when Chinese Qing king launched several mission to subdue the arrogant Myanmar king betwe en 1765 and 1768, Chinese professional armies was utterly outfought and its viceroy was forced to sue for peace (Tinker 1967:338). Professor Yingcong Dai (2004) writes, not only did one after another commander-in-chief of the Qing dynasty fail to conquer Myanmar, but the Qing troops also suffered extremely heavy casualties. When Myanmar was incorporated into British Indian Empire, China adopted a cautious attitude in dealing with Myanmar. Myanmar became an independent country in 1948. Next year, the civil war in China had ended with victory of the communist over the nationalist Chinese. China became a communist country under the leadership of Mao Zedong, which was given official recognition by the Myanmar authority. In fact, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to give recognition to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).  [6]  However, in a world divided by ideological and power competitions, Myanmar adopted a policy of non-alignment and neutrality, whereas China became a staunch proponent of international communism considering all countries beyond the socialist camps as imperialist or controlled by imperialist or anti-revolutionary forces. As a result, Myanmese neutralism and non-alignment policy could not win the trust of the Chinese authority. China believed, whether in economic, military or political dimension Myanmars nature has not been changed; it is still a typical country even after its independe nce (Hongwei 2012:15). Hongwei (2007:18) cites Chinese authorities comment on Myanmars neutralism and non-alignment as follows: On one side, Burma is bordering China, and hence do not dare to side with the imperialists [the West] and make China an enemy. At the same time, when Burma is having controversies with the imperialists, they want the support of China and the Soviet Union. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) On the other hand, the ruling class in Burma (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) is to a relatively large degree depending on the imperialists. On occasion, the Chinese government expressed its dislike for the Myanmese leaderships alleged readiness to let the western powers (Great Britain and United States) influence over Myanmars economy and politics. For instance, on September 3, 1952, when Chou-en-Lai visited Moscow and talk with Stalin, he stated that the Myanmese government conceal its real position on China, but it actually pursued the policy of anti-China following the UK and US lead (Hongwei 2012:15). In other words, during the period 1948-1962, China was not at all excited by the idea of Myanmar being an independent country as the Chinese still considered Myanmar to be under foreign influence. Conversely, Myanmars threat perception to its national security from China did not vanished even after independence. The Chinese factor, in turn, influenced Myanmar in adopting a policy of non-alignment and neutrality in a world divided by power politics and cold war. As Thomson (1957:336) writes, fear of antagonizing China ha s also been at least partially responsible for Burmas policy of neutralism. The first factor standoff in the Myanmar-China relations in the initial years of the independence was the unauthorised occupation by the remnants of the Chinese Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) in Myanmars northern border. When Mao Zedong had established a communist regime in China in 1949, armed forces loyal to Chaing-Kai-Sheik, the KMT leaders, by crossing over Yunnan province established base in the eastern part of the Shan state. It is alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supplied money and arms to the illegal KMT forces, and encouraged them to raid into communist China from Myanmars border soil (Choudhary 2000:424, Seekins 1997:527). The Myanmese authority feared that China would use this as a pretext to invade Myanmar, and occupy the unsettled border areas under the guise of the elimination of the KMT troops (Hongwei 2012:14). Myanmar also feared that China would misunderstood that it was intentionally proving shelter to the KMT remnants and supportin g Taiwan and the US anti-communist policy toward China (ibid.). Myanmars fear and distrust for China continued and as a result, Myanmar was very cautious in dealing with China. The two countries established formal diplomatic ties early in 1950s. While Myanmar attempted to deliberately avoid antagonizing China, China, in response, adopted a dual strategy. On the one side, China pursued a policy of establishing good diplomatic relationship with the government of the Union of Myanmar by establishing diplomatic ties and exchanging official visits, on the other side, it sympathized Communist rebel in Myanmar. It can be mentioned here that immediately after independence Myanmar faced severe threat to its national security from the communist rebels and ethnic insurgents. During this turbulent years of internal revolts, China extended covert sympathy in cause of the revolting communist rebels in Myanmar by endorsing party-to-party relations between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the White Flag Communist Party (BCP) of Myanmar led by Than Tun. The Chinese authority rendered psychological support and strategic advices to the BCP which was not liked by the Myanmese authority. So, the BCP with the support of the Chinese posed a serious threat to Myanmars national security.  [7]  This factor greatly held back the growth of a close and warmth government-to-government relations between Myanmar and China. Nevertheless, the bilateral relationship achieved significant milestone in 1954 when the Chinese Premier Chou-en-Lai visited Rangon in 1954, and with his Myanmese counterpart U NU issued a joint statement declaring the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence which henceforth acted as the basis for the Myanmar-China relationship.  [8]  The government-to-government ties were further strengthened when U NU paid back a visit to China latter in the year 1954. Not to attract communist Chinas wrath over the KMT issue, the previous year, the Myanmese authority had so ught attention and support of the United States and United Nations. In 1953, Myanmar asked the United States to cancel its aid programme to the KMT remnants, and took the question of illegal Chinese nationalist forces inside Myanmar to the United Nations (Choudhary 2000:242).  [9]  However, despite the efforts of the world body, only a partial repatriation of the Chinese nationalist troops to Taiwan was affected, and the remaining KMT soldiers settled down in the Shan state and became involved with the Myanmese ethnic and political dissents and active in the illegal opium trade (ibid.) until the forces had been uprooted in late 1980s. The more significant development between Myanmar-China relations came when the two governments had managed to reach agreement on the historical issue of border settlement in 1960. The Sino-Myanmar border treaty was signed in 1960 defining the international boundary between the two countries. The same year the two countries also signed a treaty of f riendship and mutual non-aggression which reinforced the treaty of 1954.  [10]  According to the treaty, the two parties would not invade each other and refrain from any military alliance directed against the other party. In 1961, Chinas People Liberation Army (PLA) and army of Myanmar launched joint operations against the KMT forces operating between their borders. The period before the military led By Ne Win had establish political control in Myanmar in 1962, Sino-Myanmar relation was nervously friendly. Myanmar, during this period, was very cautious not to offend PRC and courted its friendship because, unlike India, China posed potential threat to interfere in Myanmese internal affairs due to presence of KMT forces inside Myanmars northern border and also it adopted policy of export of revolution. Myanmar adopted and pursued policy of non-alignment and neutrality, and showed friendly gestures, which were largely grounded on maintaining its national security and freedom of action. The country maintained policy of neutrality during the Sino-Tibet affairs of 1950 and refused to brand China an aggressor in Korean Crisis of 1951 in United Nations meetings. But, the Chinese dual-track policy toward Myanmar continued. In 1957, U Nu spoke in Myanmars parliament that new Chinas relationship with the insurrectional BCP are not clear, but expressed some fraternal case (cited in Hongwei 2012:12). To China, Myanmars non-alignment and neutralism was not genuine, but fickle and unpredictable. Thus, though there was mutual suspicion and mistrust, the period 1949-1962 was a period of ambivalent peaceful co-existence in the bilateral relatio

Friday, September 20, 2019

The International Style in Architecture

The International Style in Architecture From the 1920s until 1930s, the international style has gained its popularity globally, and it is expressed in all kinds of expressions, including the expression of volume rather than mass, where the spaces have more priority than the solidity of the building. There is also a stress on balance rather than symmetry, where the function of different parts of the building is arranged in balance, and the shape and form of the building is unlikely to be in symmetry. The international style also presents itself by regular and basic geometric forms, open interiors and the choice of materials such as glass, steel, and reinforced concretes. It is read as the style that broke free from the conventional style of architecture, where the buildings are of simplicity and without decorations and ornaments without specific function. The style is most adopted in the design of skyscrapers, where the faà §ade is made up of structural steel and glass as the envelope. The floor plans are always logical, functional and balanced in the sense that the whole building has the same usage rate all over. Few of the most pioneering architects in international style are Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe himself. One thing that relates closely to the international style is the modern architecture, or known as the modern movement. Modern architecture uses materials similar to the international style, which is mostly of steel, glass and concrete. It is also a style that explores more abstract forms of a building, and always played with space and light to enhance the quality of space. Buildings of this kind of architecture also favor the use of only grey, black, white and off-white in their facades. Form follows function is one of the famous maxims that follow the modern movement, which stressed the utility of the building rather than just on the exterior aesthetic. It was said that, the aesthetic from the simplicity in design is more significant than those with unnecessary ornamentations. Ludwig Mies van der Rohes biography Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born the youngest of five children in Aachen, Germany on March 27, 1886. He did an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and worked in his fathers stone-cutting shop, gaining valuable experience that later on helped him much in doing architecture. Before leaving his family and hometown, Mies worked for several local design firms and gained some experience. At the age of nineteen (1905), he moved to Berlin and worked under Bruno Pauls interior design office. It was then he was exposed to and worked on furniture designs. Miess architectural career started at the age of 22 when he enroll himself as Peter Behrens apprentice (1908-1912), learning together with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. An architect specialized in designing factories and houses, Peter Behrens taught Mies through exploring modern design theories and exploiting his own talent in doing architecture. It was during this time Mies received his first commission, a private residence for a professor at the university in Berlin. After his apprenticeship was finished, Mies worked for the German Embassy in Saint Petersburg, Russia as one of the construction manager. Soon, his talent was recognized and steadily embarked on his own professional career in architecture. To celebrate his rapid transformation from a craftsman to an established architect, he adopted his mothers surname van der Rohe which is what people known of him now. 1912-1914, Mies worked as an independent architect until he was called to serve the army. Mies was enrolled into the military service during the World War One (1915), only to participate in construction companies and exempted from all the battles. The war changed how Mies perceive architecture, and how he conveys it in his designs. Previously designing more towards neoclassical approach, Mies then has the intention to express his ideas of the modern era and revolution through architecture. Still designing conventional residential units in Germany, Mies started to explore futuristic and modern design approach, producing several proposals that made him recognized as one of the most potential progressive architect, although the proposals were not built at all. Examples of the proposal are the competition proposal for the FriedrichstraÃŽÂ ²e skyscraper in 1921 and the Glass Skyscraper in 1922, both with ornaments totally ripped off from the faà §ade. Soon, he also adds in futuristic furniture into his designed spaces to create a modern environment as a whole. In August 1930 Mies became the director of Bauhaus in Dessau upon the request from Walter Gropius. The Nazis then forced him to end the government-financed institute. Felt restricted from furthering his intention in architecture, Mies moved to United States in 1937. Living in Chicago, Mies was offered and served as the head of department for the Illinois Institute of Technology. There, he had the chance to further develop his own steel and glass structure style by designing the new buildings and master plan for the department building. Mies became an official American citizen at 1944. His architectural ideas and projects soon gave impact to the locals and with the20th century new style of expressing architecture, Miess idea eventually merged into the local Americans culture, and soon the global culture. His style was imitated extravagantly but none of it is compatible with his original creation. Some of Miess crowing works during his lifetime are the Barcelona Pavilion the Tugendhat House, the Crown Hall (home of the architecture department, IIT), the Farnsworth House, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive, the Seagram Building, the New National Gallery, the Toronto-Dominion Centre and etc. Miess pioneering intention and project works were also been recognized officially by several awards, namely the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1959, the AIA Gold Medal in 1960, and the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Medal in 196. The American Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 was awarded to Mies, and he was the first architect to receive that award in history. Mies lead some other awards too, they are the prizes from the city of Munich and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and from the Bund Deutscher Architekten in 1966. Mies was the first recipient of the prizes. Mies passed away at the age of 83 in Chicago, on August 17, 1969. After cremation, his ashes were buried in the Chicagos Graceland Cemetery. Ludwig Mies van der Rohes philosophy I felt that it must be possible to harmonize the old and the new in our civilization. Each of my buildings was a statement of this idea and a further step in my search for clarity. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe For over the first half of the 20th century, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was famous for his philosophy less is more, and his skin and bone style of building design. Mies favors the use of simple rectilinear and planar form in his building designs. He is not interested in inventing new forms, rather, preferred to present buildings as clear and simple structures in terms of construction and the current technology. He expressed these ideas in these words: It is absurd to invent arbitrary forms, historical and modernistic forms, which are not determined by construction, the true guardian of the spirit of the times. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe To him, attention should be put on the construction of structure itself, and that structure is composed of elements that relates to each other, or a form constructed with all details perfectly planned. Mies is very concern about the properties of building materials, and favors the use of luxurious and expensive materials in expressing his simplicity and elegancy in building design and despised ornamentation that are functionless and deceiving. These intentions can be further traced from his words: The unswerving determination to dispense with all accessories and to make only what is essential the object of the creative work, the determination to confine oneself to clear structure alone is not a limitation but a great help. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwid Mies van der Rohes lifelong effort had developed a new era in architecture world. Along with le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, the international style became an identity of the times. Besides that, Mies also experiments with new materials and their potentials. He favors the use of materials which can be industrially manufactured, light weight, weatherproof, soundproof and insulating. Mies also opt to produce all parts of building material in factory so that he can save construction cost. Less manpower is needed on site as compared to the traditional construction method because only the assembly of precast parts takes place on site. As one of the pioneer in developing and introducing the Modern Movement, or so called the International Style, Mies did not discover this piece of theory or principle over night. Through experience and his own perception or point of view towards the conventional design styles, along with some inspiration from other architects ideas and opinions about the traditional architecture, Mies soon developed his own style in expressing his favorite quote, less is more. Several expressive art and design thinking that broke out at the time also influenced how Mies sees and conveys his own style in architecture. One of the most prominent is Adolf Loos, who declared that ornament is a crime, similar to what Mies had in mind. Adolf Loos too, despised the unnecessary and meaningless ornaments that hide the true beauty of a building. Adolf Loos also has the idea that, out of the most simple and humble forms of modern building, we can find the elegancy and nobility that are most outstanding of all. This particular piece of idea was what Mies admired and impressed of. Some other conceptual influence such as the Russian Constructivism and the Dutch De Stijl group with their principle in using industrialized modern materials in constructing a structure and using simple rectilinear, straight forward combination of planes and openings, and simple use of pure colour in design too, impressed and affected how Mies do in architecture. The Seagram Building The Seagram Building Less is more. It is Mies van der Rohes functional architecture philosophy, potrayed in the Seagram Building. Many people, including Mies himself, assume the Seagram Building as one of his crowning masterpiece. The Seagram Building is a more complete and refined piece of work as compare to the in Chicago finished in 1951. Mies van der Rohe adopted most of the latters design element and reassemble them, creating a better planned and more detailed building out of the Seagram Building. Both buildings have glass enclosed lobby, raised tower, slab marquee, and continuous pavement, only that they are more refined in the Seagram Building. The Seagram Building was designed in collaboration with Phillip Johnson, a well known American architect. Phillip took care of most of the interior designs in the building and even their material choice. The Severud Associated was the structural engineering consultants while Kahn Jacobs were the associate architects, in charged of the technical drawings. The building is designed for office use, with the design concept of minimalism, simplicity and honesty based on the technology of the time. Being the most expensive building at the time, the Seagram Building cost a total of 4.1 million pound plus a 5 million for the building parcel. The fact that Mies dislikes unnecessary ornaments to the building, he put a lot of attention material wise, which cost a 3.2 million pound. Upon completion, the building used up some 1500 tons of bronze and other expensive materials of high quality such as marble and travertine. The interior was extravagantly decorated too, designed to have glass and bronze finishing and decoration scheme to express the building as a unified whole. Located at 375 Park Avenue, New York City, the 516-foot (517m) tall, 38-storey Seagram Building was design as the new headquarter for the Seagrams Company Ltd, replacing the old one at Montreal, Canada. Samuel Bronfman, the owner of the building, was persuaded by his daughter, the architect Phyllis Lambert to commission Mies for the project. Phyllis said, Mies draws you in. You have to go deeper. You might think this is austere strength, this ugly beauty, is terribly severe. It is, and yet all the more beauty in it. Architecture And true enough, the Seagram Building, upon its completion of construction in 1958, immediately gained its fame globally, for the outstanding international style, and how Mies express his idea of modern architecture so detailed and sophisticatedly. Built out of the International Style, the characteristic of the building is to express the structure of the building externally. This style then influenced the American architecture style greatly, leading to mass production of similar skyscrapers in the area. The strength of the style is that the functional utility of the buildings structure elements, when made visible as the facade, are able to express greater aesthetic value than any additional building embellishments. A buildings structural elements should be visible, Mies thought. The Seagram Building was built put of steel frame structure and non-structural glass walls hung in between. Mies preferred the stee l frame to be visible, but the American building codes required all structural steel to be covered in fireproof materials, usually concrete, because improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires. To add in the concrete part totally opposes Miess design intention, thus he came out with the idea of using non-structural bronze-toned I-beams to create a sense of structure from the facade. Thus, the facade shows the mullion-like beams running vertically surrounding the large glass windows. People from the street will see the unreal tinted-bronze structure, which covers the real one. Since then, the method of construction using an interior reinforced concrete shell to support a larger non-structural covering has been widely used in other buildings. Corner detail of the Seagram building Mies wanted the facade to look organized and to have a uniform appearance, thus the interesting window blinds he installed. He designed the window blinds in a way that they can only be adjusted into three positions, that are either fully closed or opened, and half way opened. This design overcame the problem of the irregularity seen from outside the building, which Mies dislikes. The Seagram Building combines a steel moment frame and a steel and reinforced concrete core for lateral stiffness. The concrete core shear walls extended up to the 17th floor, and diagonal core bracing extending up to the 29th floor. According to Severud Associates, the structural engineering consultants, the Seagram Building is the first tall building using high strength bolted connections, the first to combine a braced frame with a moment frame, one of the pioneers to use a vertical truss bracing system and the first skyscraper adopting a composite steel and concrete lateral frame. The Seagram Building is set back from the street by ninety feet and thirty on the side, the setting back of the building from the street creates a granite forecourt which eventually became an urban open space in town, achieving Miess initial intention of doing so. The forecourt is decorated by reflecting pools and low boundary in green marbles, which are designs taken from Miess previous Pavilion of Barcelona (1929). The low polished granite north and south walls made of dark green marbles that slopes gently towards Lexington Avenue are one of the favorite seating place in that area. The two rectangular reflecting pools are located at the north and south ends of the plaza. Previously, a huge Henry Moore sculpture was placed off-center, and then replaced by several sculptures one after another. View to the west from the lobby of the seagram building, showing the Racquet and Tennis Club across Park Avenue The Seagram Buildings plaza is believed to prompt the enacting of the 1916 Zoning Resolution of New York City. Seeing the success of the plaza as a popular gathering place for the public, the government encourages the installation of privately owned public spaces by offering incentives to the developers involved. However, the resolution did not show much success. William H. Whyte, an American sociologist, took the Seagram Buildings plaza as his site for a landmark planning study. Produced in conjunction with the Municipal Art Society of New York, the film Social Life of Small New York plots the daily routine of the public socializing and using the plaza area. The objective is to compare how the public use the space and the intention of the architect that designs the space. Designed by Philip Johnson, the Four Seasons Restaurant was one of the most elegant design and one of the citys most expensive restaurants, competent enough to locate itself in the Seagram Building. All of its retail frontage was designed to face the avenue and suggests discretion. Thus, the building appears more personalized yet institutional, disagreeing speculations and commercialism. The restaurant has a large entrance. Upon entering, a staircase then leads to a dining room at the south, and a bar in the south base wing of the building. A corridor stretches the restaurant to the north base wing. There, a huge work of Pablo Picasso is hung, namely The Three-Cornered Hat. The walls and floor are made up of travertine. The upper part of the wall of the dining room is decorated with expensive French walnut panels with high quality. A Richard Lippold brass sculpture found in the room appears floating in the space. A dining balcony and a private dining room can be found in the east end of the restaurant. The north dining room has a different approach as compared to the south dining room. It has more landscaping elements and a large square pool at the centre. Similarity is that both rooms have large windows, along with long chain curtains that highlights the glistening of the water pool and the Lippold sculpture. However, the south dining room is comparatively more popular among visitors than the north dining room, which is relatively more nicely decorated. Some said that it is simply because; visitors have to pass through the south wing to reach the north dining room. Thus most people prefer the south dining room so that they can see everyone entering the restaurant, provided they stayed long enough. The restaurant has gained its fame as the citys most expensive and high class dining place. It is also its highlight that the restaurant changes its menu seasonally. An Abstract Expressionist painter, Mark Rothko was initially commissioned to draw murals for the restaurant, but he decided to give up on the project because he felt that his art is not suitable for the space. Another restaurant is found in the basement, namely the Brasserie Restaurant. The entrance is on the 53rd street. This restaurant claimed its name that it is opened for 24 hours a day. This restaurant is relatively more affordable than the Four Seasons Restaurant, and it offers a nice experience at its entrance. Going down a flight of stairs, the visitors can enjoy the whole brightly lit space with many Picasso art pieces. Seagram Building Commentary The inescapable drama of the Seagram Building in a city already dramatic with crowded skyscrapers lies in its unbroken height of bronze and dark glass juxtaposed to a granite-paved plaza below. The siting of the building on Park Avenue, an indulgence in open space unprecedented in midtown Manhattan real estate, has given that building an aura of special domain. The commercial office building in this instance has been endowed with a monumentality without equal in the civic and religious architecture of our time.The use of extruded bronze mullions and bronze spandrels together with a dark amber-tinted glass has unified the surface with color.The positioning of the Seagram Building on the site and its additive forms at the rear, which visually tie the building to adjacent structures, make for a frontal-oriented composition. The tower is no longer an isolated form. It addresses itself to the context of the city. -A. James Speyer. Mies van der Rohe. p30. The Creators Words Skyscrapers reveal their bold structural pattern during construction. Only then does the gigantic steel web seem impressive. When the outer walls are put in place, the structural system, which is the basis of all artistic design, is hidden by a chaos of meaningless and trivial formsInstead of trying to solve old problems with these old forms we should develop new forms from the very nature of the new problems. We can see the new structural principles most clearly when we use glass in place of the outer walls, which is feasible today since in a skeleton building these outer walls do not carry weight. The use of glass imposes new solutions. -Mies van der Rohe. from Martin Pawley, introduction and notes. Library of Contemporary Architects: Mies van der Rohe. p12. Conclusion It is no doubt that the Seagram Building is one of the most iconic indications of the success of the international style and its architect, Mies van der Rohe. Thoughtout his life, Mies explored and introduced his construction method in skyscrapers and successfully gained the fame for his courage and innovation. Following this is the imitation of his skin and bone construction all over America, and then globally and the construction of glass and steel structures. Yet, none of the latter creations are compatible with his work in terms of detailing and functional planning of the space. This can be traced form one of his famous quotes, God is in the details. To him, design simplicity and structural detail is the perfect combination to convey his style in architecture. Mies also favor the use of expensive and top grade materials such as bronze, travertine, marble, plate glass, steel and etc. Thus his buildings are all elegant and classy although the design might be as simple.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Hobbes, Conatus and the Prisoners Dilemma :: Philosophy Essays

Hobbes, Conatus and the Prisoner's Dilemma ABSTRACT: I want to show the importance of the notion of conatus (endeavor) for Hobbes' political philosophy. According to Hobbes, all motion of bodies consists of elementary motions he called 'endeavors.' They are motions 'made in less space and time than can be given,' and they obey the law of persistence or inertia. A body strives to preserve its state and resist the causal power of other bodies. I call this the conatus-principle. Hobbes' argument for social contract and sovereign is based essentially on this model. He proves that the natural conatus makes people (i) strive to preserve their lives and therefore to get out of the destructive state of nature; (ii) commit to mutual contracts; (iii) keep the contracts unless some external cause otherwise determines; and (iv) establish a permanent sovereign power that Hobbes calls 'an artificial eternity of life.' All this is determined by the fundamental laws of nature, essentially, by the conatus-principle. I also show that the Priso ner's Dilemma interpretation of the Hobbesian state of nature does not represent all of the essential features of Hobbes' argument. I. Conatus and Motion Philosophers in the 17th century made hard efforts to explain the beginning and continuation of the motion of bodies. The notion of conatus ('striving' or 'endeavoring') was commonly used in the explanations. It refers to the power with which the motion of a body begins and is kept on. What is this power? Descartes explained it to be an active power or tendency of bodies to move, expressing the power of God. He distinguished between motion and the tendency to move, but Hobbes was anxious to argue that conatus actually is motion. In The Elements of Law he says it to be the "internal beginning of animal motion" (EL I.7.2), and in his later writings the notion of 'endeavor' refers to the beginning or first part of any kind of motion. Because motion is for Hobbes "a continual relinquishing of one place, and acquiring of another" (De Corp II.8.10), the beginning of a motion of a body must be an infinitely small change in the place of the body. Accordingly, Hobbes defines endeavor "to be motion made in less space and time than can be given; ... that is, motion made through the length of a point, and in an instant or point of time" (De Corp III.15.2). For Hobbes, the conatus is not an inherent power of a body but is determined by the motions of other bodies.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Symbol Of A Lion :: essays research papers

The symbol of the lion represents everything in the short story â€Å"A Lion on the Freeway†. It was written by Nadine Gordimer in her short story book called The Embrace of a Soldier. Gordimer was an African writer, and her stories have been translated into many languages including English for many people to enjoy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story â€Å"A Lion on the Freeway† is about a lion which has escaped onto the freeway. Gordimer describes the scenery of a town with a zoo in it and how the main character can always hear the animals making noise, especially the lion. This fiercely described story is short, but makes a very important point about the lion in general.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To Gordmer, the lion is a symbol of wild power, and its original home in Africa was also where this author once lived. A popular phrase people hear of the lion is that it is the â€Å"king of the jungle†. That single phrase describes the lion perfectly, because the lion is a being of great power and passion and its strength and boldness is recognized throughout the world. In this story, it is contained in a cage, not taken from the wild, but born there. The lion may have been born in captivity, but its wild instincts are definitely still alive within the lion’s spirit. This is why the lion would yearn for a way out of its cage and search for freedom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end of the story, though, Gordimer explains of how the people must capture this lion and stop it once again, if not kill it. Because of its great power and strength, the people are afraid of it and therefor must find a way to stop the lion before he causes damage. This may represent raw human emotions and feelings from deep inside the human race. People cannot let these raw instincts escape to keep order in the world, so then we must keep them locked away inside where no one can see them. Secrecy. As in the lion, these feelings are powerful, but in society instincts must be controlled. However, do people always control their emotions and what they feel at heart? Definitely not, but the public would usually like to think so, except perhaps when it may come to cliches or advertisements (because they ironicly admire those who stand out).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If one does not look at â€Å"A Lion on the Freeway† carefully, it seems dull and unimaginative.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Observational Learning Essay

During this course we studied that behaviors can be learned through our own experiences or observing others. Learning is the knowledge obtained in life through education, interacting with people, experiences and practice. There are three types of learning: Classical Conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. There are many topics that grabbed my interest during this course, but observational learning made me think about my personal life and reminded me of many experiences that I went through in life. Observational learning means that we learn through watching others and then imitating them, this can happen through observing our family, neighbors, friends or TV. I remember when I was a child, I used to watch my mother cooking and then I go back to my room and pretend that am cooking as well. Even though, I grew up and became a very bad cooker. Albert Bandura suggested in his theory â€Å"The social learning theory† that children tend to imitated adults by observing them. He supported his theory in his famous experiment â€Å"Bobo doll†, which shows an adult acting aggressively toward a Bobo doll, and after that when they allowed the children to play with the doll they acted in the same aggressive way. I remember last year I was with my aunt and her 7 years old son in the car going to a restaurant. My aunt is a smoker, so she took out a cigarette and started smoking. After sometimes, her son told her: † When I grow up I will smoke cigarettes†, she told him: â€Å"No, you are not allowed to smoke it’s bad for health†, he replayed: â€Å"But you smoke, I want to be cool like you† and when we reached to the restaurant, her son took a straw and started acting as if he is smoking. In addition, Banduara’s study showed that people also learn through imitating others who receive punishments and rewards. It means that when a child sees his older siblings getting punished for doing something wrong, the child is more likely to avoid doing it so he/she won’t get punished. On the other hand, if a child noticed that one of his siblings are rewarded for behaving in a certain way or doing something good, the child will do the same to get a reward. When I was 9 years old, my parents bought a new toy for my older brother because he got a full mark on one of his subjects at school, I was very jealous that day and decided to study hard to get a full mark so my parents can get me a gift. Learning can be either positive or negative. Positive observational learning is when a person learn a good behavior from someone. When I was young, every time we go to a mall there were these small charity cabinets were you can donate money. I used to see my mother donating money like every time we go to a mall, and now I do the same thing. In contrast, negative observational learning is when a person learn a bad behavior from someone else. It is true that people can learn negative behavior from their siblings, family, friends or neighbors, however; I believe that TV and media content is more dangerous and have more powerful impact on people. For example, my small cousin began to act violently since he started watching WWE (a wrestling show) and he even memorized all the wrestle moves. Everyone in the family and school is complaining that he beats other children so hard. For him, he finds it cool and believe that in this way more people will like him as they like these wrestlers. Finally, I believe that observational learning is an effective way. Children have the right to explore their own world and determine the wrong action from the right one. Of course, parents should act in a proper way in front of their children and be careful of what they are watching, and advice them to do the right thing when the make a mistake.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Health Insurance and Medicare Essay

I. Introduction The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama. Along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA), it represents the momentous transformation of the U.S. health care system. Its main goal is to decrease the amount of uninsured citizens as well as to reduce the overall costs of health care. It is a vastly complex reform that will affect many people in aspects of their health care, costs, and the country. There are many opinions about how this reform will affect the nation, some saying it will make us better off, others saying we will be worse off, and those who do not think it will make a difference. But regardless of these opinions, what the majority does agree on is that these laws may be difficult to understand and that many are not even aware of these changes. There are many problems that the health care industry is facing. The cost of health care may arguably be the most important factor that people are concerned about. Many think that health care policies and premiums are too expensive. Coupled with the fact that our population is aging, meaning that there will be more elder people with more health problems, health care costs are rapidly growing and take up a huge chunk of the federal budget. There are also many loopholes within the current health care system. Individuals who are looking to buy insurance can be denied based on their pre-existing conditions. Some insurance policies even have a lifetime limit on benefits. What all these examples basically sum up is that the people who are in need of health care the most are those who are also the most unlikely to be insured, or are under insured. In an attempt to address these issues, the PPACA and Reconciliation Act were established. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act was enacted to amend the PPACA. It is divided into two titles, one addressing the health reform and the other addressing student loan reform. It makes changes to some parts of the PPACA. That is why many people commonly refer to the overall health reform as just the PPACA. The most noted change this brings  is that it requires almost all citizens to have health care insurance, or to pay a penalty. Some examples and cases regarding this issue will be discussed later on. The PPACA also considerably expands public insurance as well as funds private insurance coverage. It will close loopholes such as setting life time limits as well as making it illegal to reject coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. In terms of affordability, the PPACA will expand Medicaid to cover low-income families and individuals across the nation. It also aims to cut down and reconstruct Medicare spending, which will be the main focus of this paper. II. The Impacts of the PPACA and HCERA on Medicare and Health Physicians The PPACA is made up of 10 titles. I will be discussing selected provisions in Titles II, III, IV, and V regarding Medicare. These include program modifications and payment to Medicare’s fee-for-service program, the Medicare Advantage, prescription drug programs, Medicare’s payment process, changes to address, waste, fraud, and abuse, and other miscellaneous Medicare changes. As for the HCERA, the first title has provisions detailing health care and revenues. Subtitle B of Title I involves provisions that change provisions PPACA relevant to those listed above (Medicare Advantage, fee-for-service, and prescription drug programs). Subtitle D has provisions regarding decreasing fraud, abuse, and waste in Medicare. Subtitle E discuses revenue related provisions such as a provision that changes Medicare tax provision in PPACA. A. Impacts on Medicare According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the provisions in PPACA as amended by the HCERA will reduce direct spending by an estimated $390 billion (CRS, 2010). The provisions that are predicted to produce the largest savings include the following: (1) developing an Independent Payment Advisory Board to create changes in Medicare payment rates is presumed to save about $16 billion (2) decreasing Medicare payments to hospitals that aid a vast number of low-income patients, is expected to reduce expenditures by an estimated $22 billion (3) permanent deductions to Medicare’s fee-for-service payment rates (4) changing the high-income adjustment for Part B premiums, and (5) making maximum payment rates in Medicare Advantage closer to spending in fee-for-service Medicare. However, it is critical to  note that these are just estimates. Medicare is made up of four parts that are each accountable for paying for various benefits, dependent on different eligibility criteria. Under traditional Medicare, Part A and Part B services are usually paid by a fee-for-service basis (services supplied to a patient is reimbursed through a separate payment). Part A supplies coverage for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services, inpatient hospital services, hospice care, and home health care, which are subject to some limitations. Provisions that reduce Part A spending make up a large part of the savings related to this legislation through either payment changes or constraining payment updates. PPACA will alter Medicare’s payment updates to Part A hospitals to account for cost savings, which will significantly reduce Medicare spending in the next 10 years. Under PPACA (Title III Subtitle A Section 3001), beginning for discharges on October 1, 2012 hospitals will acquire value-based incentive payments from Medicare. The first year of the value based purchasing (VBP) program will aim at collecting data and assessing performance. Starting in 2013, adjustments to hospital payments will be made based on performance by the VBP program. There will also be VBP standards established (i.e. levels of improvement and accomplishments), as well as a method for assessing how hospitals perform. Hospitals with the highest score will obtain the biggest VBP payments. Those that meet or go beyond the standards are able to receive an increased DRG payment for each discharge within the year. However, to provide for these VBP incentive payments the DRG payments will be reduced by a certain percentage: 1.0% in 2013; 1.25% in 2014; 1.5% in 2015; 1.75% in 2016; and 2.0% in 2017. An alternate choice to receive covered benefits would be Medicare Advantage (MA). Private health plans are paid a per person amount to supply all Medicare-covered benefits to those who enroll in the plan under MA. The payments made to MA plans are decided by comparing the maximum amount Medicare will pay for benefits with a plan’s cost of providing those required benefits. If the plan’s cost is below the maximum, then it is paid  the cost plus a rebate equal to 75% of the difference to the maximum. But if the plan’s cost is above the maximum, then it is paid and must also charge the enrollee the difference between the cost and the maximum. PPACA modifies how the maximum payment is decided. Beginning in 2012, it will implement benchmarks (maximum amount Medicare will pay for benefits) calculated as a percentage of per capita FFS Medicare spending. It will also increase benchmarks depending on the quality of the plan. Those with a high quality rating will get an increase in their benchmark while new plans or those with lesser enrollments may also qualify to get an increase. PPACA will also vary the plan rebates based on quality with new rebates set from 50% to 70%. In regards to changes affecting Medicare’s prescription drug benefits, the health reform makes a few changes to the Medicare Part D program. PPACA increases the premiums held by higher income enrollees. The income standards are set to be at the same manner and level as that in Part B. Beginning in 2011, those enrolled in Part D will have a 50% discount for drugs during the coverage gap. In extension, HCERA will supply a rebate of $250 to those who enter the gap in 2010. Hopefully this phases out the â€Å"donut hole† (coverage gap) by slowly lessening the cost-sharing and coverage gap for generic and brand name drugs. Medicare’s finances are operated through two trust funds, the Hospital Insurance (HI) and the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund. The main provider of income to the HI fund, which pays for Medicare Part A, is the payroll taxes paid by employers and employees. Medicare Part B and D are funded by general revenues and monthly premiums. In addition to all the previous provisions addressing Medicare’s financial issues, there is another precautionary step being taken. The PPACA has a provision to establish an Independent Payment Advisory Board with the goal of decreasing Medicare spending. B. Impacts on Physicians The PPACA and HCERA make various changes to the Medicare program, which in turn affects physicians and how they practice. Some of these provisions have clear consequences, such as immediately changing physician reimbursement, while others have indirect influences on how physicians may practice in the  future by modifying the incentives to improve the delivery and quality of care. PPACA broadens the Medicare Physician Quality and Reporting Initiative (PQRI) incentive payments though 2014 and administers a penalty for those who fail to report quality measures starting in 2015. It also supplies for a further bonus to physicians who meet the requirements of an assessment program, such as the Maintenance of Certification Program, while penalizes the physicians who fail to meet those standards in the future. Under Section 3002 of Title III, Medicare claims data will be used to provide reports to physicians that measure resources used to provide care for Medicare beneficiaries. Under Section 3007 of Title III, the Secretary of HHS is obliged to create and administer a separate payment modifier to the Medicare physician fee schedule. This payment should be based on the relative cost and quality of the care provided by physicians. The quality of care should be assessed based on risk-adjusted measure of quality determined by the Secretary. Costs are also assessed based on measures determined by the Secretary. Risk factors such as ethnicity, demographic, socioeconomic characteristics, and health status should be taken into account. By January 1, 2012 these explicit measures of cost and quality, along with implementation dates of the adjusted payments should be published. III. Regulations & Implementation With such significant changes and provisions being made, there should be a way to keep track of how each is being regulated and implemented. I will discuss the regulations, time limits, and effective dates on how each are being done so by year. The first changes of 2010 start with Medicare provider rates. This includes reductions in the annual market basket updates for hospital services. Currently, there have been productivity adjustments added to market basket update in 2012. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued these updates for varying provider types starting in August 2010. The  implementation of the Medicare Beneficiary drug rebate, which supplies a $250 rebate to those in the Part D coverage gap, started January 1, 2010. In May 2010, the CMS published a brochure containing information about the coverage gap in Medicare Part D. As of March 22, 2011, about 3.8 million people have received the $250 rebate (HHS, 2011). As for closing the Medicare drug coverage gap, on December 17, 2010 CMS sent a letter to pharmaceutical companies addressing guidelines to the Medicare Coverage Gap Discount Program. This program became effective on January 1, 2011. Moving onto provisions implemented in 2011, Medicare payments for primary care will provide a 10% bonus payment for services. It will also provide the same bonus to general surgeons working in areas with a shortage of health professionals. This is being implemented starting in January 1, 2011 through December 2015. As for the MA payment changes, they will restructure payment to private plans and prohibit higher cost-sharing requirements. This has been in effect since January 1, 2011. The CMS issued a notice to MA plans in April 2010 addressing the freeze in 2011 payment rates at 2010 levels. A Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board made up of 15 individuals to arrange proposals and recommendations to decrease the per capita rate of growth in spending if it exceeds targeted rates was planned to be established. On October 1, 2011, funding was made available and the first proposals are due January 15, 2014. In 2012, the second part of the MA plan payments, which reduce rebates paid and provide bonuses to high quality plans, went into effect on January 1, 2012. On February 28, 2012 the CMS sent out a letter to MA plans addressing the payment rates for 2012. Fraud and abuse prevention was also implemented on January 1, 2012. It establishes procedures for screening and reporting those who participate in Medicare. On March 23, 2011 CMS issued a notice addressing the fee that providers would have to pay to fund the screenings. Later on in the year, on October 1, 2012 Medicare value based purchasing was put into effect. This creates a program to pay hospitals based on their quality of performance. This coming year in 2013, there will be a few provisions to come into effect  starting off the new year. On January 1, 2013 the Medicare tax increase (increases the Medicare Part A tax rate on wages by 0.9% on incomes of $200,000), Medicare bundle payment pilot program (program to create and assess payments for certain services), and the latter part of the prescription drug coverage gap (reducing coinsurance) will be put into effect. As for 2014, the last of the Medicare provisions will be implemented. The Medicare Advantage plan loss ratios are mandated to be no less than 85%; this will begin at the start of the year on January 1, 2014. The second implementation for that year will be Medicare payments for hospital-acquired infections; it will decrease payments to those hospitals for their hospital-aquired conditions by 1% and this process will continue onto 2015. IV. Cases Challenging PPACA When the PPACA and HCERA were signed into law, many people opposed and sued claiming that the reform was unconstitutional for a number of reasons. The most controversial was the mandate that require most citizens to obtain health insurance coverage, and if failing to do so would have to pay a penalty in the form of an individual tax. Another debated provision was the expansion of the Medicaid program to cover even more individuals, such as those with low income. All of these separate cases were then merged into a single case, The National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. (2012). When ruled, it was a momentous Supreme Court decision in which the Court maintained Congress’s authority to enact the provisions of the Affordable Care Act and the Reconciliation Act. In December 2011, it was announced that there would be a 6 hour oral argumentation heard by the Court over a time span of three days beginning on March 26, 2012 and ending on March 28, 2012 discussing varying debatable topics of these provisions. By a vote of 5 to 4, the Court maintained the Individual Mandate aspect of the PPACA as a binding exercise of Congress’s authority to lay and collect taxes. The critical characterization of this financial penalty as a tax is what passed the mandate as constitutional. Preceding this landmark case there were many previous hearings held, all  having similar conflicting opinions. The Eleventh Circuit was also dealing with arguments in relative cases challenging PPACA. While it was assumed that the Fourth Circuit, which had heard oral arguments before the Eleventh Circuit, would issue a decision on PPACA first, the Eleventh Circuit was actually the second to issue its opinion, on August 12, 2011. In Florida ex rel. Bondi v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2011) the plaintiffs of the case were two private individuals, the National Federation of Independent Business, and 26 individual states. The Eleventh Circuit then published a 300-plus page opinion finding by a 2:1 majority that the Individual Mandate (requiring health insurance coverage) is unconstitutional, and thus created a split of authority between the two Circuits. The Eleventh Circuit heard this appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, which saw the Individual Mandate to be an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s authority. The district court also found that the Individual Mandate was not applicable to the rest of the PPACA, meaning that the whole act was invalid. The plaintiffs in the district court case also debated that the PPACA’s expansion of Medicaid was unconstitutional, but the district court granted the government judgment on that issue and the Eleventh Circuit agreed to that court’s decision. These two cases show how divided opinions can be and how difficult it was and is to pass a health reform law. Opinions are still divided, concerning many aspects such as the Medicaid expansion, the Commerce Clause, and the Necessary and Proper Clause. On the issue of Medicaid expansion, no one, single opinion had the support of the majority of the Justices. Also, on the issue of if the Individual Mandate was within the authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, again there was no single opinion that was supported by the majority of the Court. Despite all these controversies, and even though the act has passed, there are still those who are continuing to pursue litigation in order to repeal and defeat the PPACA. V. Conclusion Medicare spending has been increasing much more rapidly compared to the general economy, and this definitely raises concerns about Medicare’s  long-term sustainability. The provisions in the Affordable Care Act and the Reconciliation Act were established to decrease Medicare program costs by about $390 billion over the following 10 years through modifications in payments to various providers, by leveling payment rates between fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and by boosting efficiencies of how health services are delivered and paid for. Overall, the PPACA and HCERA are momentous pieces of legislation that will restructure the future of the U.S. health care system. It is still unclear of how well these provisions have been implemented, with some still having yet to be so. The main concern is probably how well costs will be contained or reduced. With all of these new taxes, hopefully the reform will actually reduce the federal deficit over the next ten years that these provisions are being implemented. There is still much work to be done within the next few years, to see how this reform works out. Many people are glad that it has passed and support this reform as well as encourage it to be expanded, while others oppose the reform arguing that it creates too much government involvement in the issue. But since it has passed and is enacted in the present, people should make use of what is being provided. Some are not even aware of the changes in the health care industry and are oblivious to how they are being affected. That is why it is important to stay informed and make decisions, after all this is what directly affects your future. References CRS Analysis of CBO (March 20, 2010). Estimates of the effects of PPACA and the Reconciliation Act combined. Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/113xx/doc11379/AmendReconProp.pdf Barrett, Paul M. (June 28, 2012). Supreme Court Supports Obamacare, Bolsters Obama. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved November 3, 2012 from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-28/supreme-court-supports-obamacare-and-bolsters-obama Congressional Budget Office (March 2009). An Analysis of Health Insurance Premiums Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Letter to the Honorable Evan Bayh. Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC. Retrieved November 3, 2012 from: http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10781. Kaizer, J. (2010). Implementation Timeline. Health Reform Source. Retrieved November 5, 2012 from: http://healthreform.kff.org/timeline.aspx Hilgers, David W. (February 2012) Physicians post-PPACA: not going bust at the healthcare buffet. The Health Lawyer, Vol. 24. Retrieved November 4, 2012 from: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publishing/health_lawyer/health_mo_premium_hl_healthlawyer_v24_2403 Pozgar, George D. (2009). Legal essentials of health care administration. Missisauga, Ontario: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Michael Brown. National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Secretary of Health & Human Services 567 U.S. (2012) No. 11-393 Argued March 26-28, 2012 – Decided June 28, 2012 Florida ex rel. Bondi v. U.S. Department of Health a& Human Services, 780 F.Supp. 2d. 1256 (N.D. Fla. 2011), order clarified by 780 F.Supp. 2d. 1307. (N.D. Fla. 2011).