Singing with Corrrect Posture

Singing with corrrect posture MAny people love to sing. They sing along with the radio in the cars or in their room. One may even be in a choir and still not being singing with the correct posture. singing with courrect posture consist of various techniques that can improve singing dramatically. Whether singing in the car or performing in front of hundreds. In this paper there will be steps on how to sing with correct posture. Step one, be standing up. This allows the body to be in the up right postition.Not to be slacking or hunchted over. After establishing standing up, slightly place one foot infront of the other. Preferbly the oppostie of your dominate hand. This construces balance,which is the equal distrubutation of weight. Also keep knees slightly bent if knees are locked up one may be become faint or want to past out. The third step in our process is alowing the back to be perfectly straight so that the chest can stick out. Standing against a wall is a perfect example on just how straight the back should be.Then place chin parrell to the floor. All these steps are setting up a base structure for the most important step, taking that deep breath right before the first note sung. The goal is to not allow the chest to come up, for example when some one is scared by another person that person will grasp for air becuase of shouck and most likely the shoulders will rise when recieving the air. So the goal is to keep your chest up and take a deep breath but only letting your stomach come out.Filling the ribcage expand allowing the diaphragm, a muscular, membranous or ligamentous wall separating two cavities or limiting a cavity, to fill up with air. Therefore the only thing moving is stomach musclues coming in and out. Problems of not breathing correctly are that people breath incorrectly so they will not have breath support for very long. a singer must take a deep breath and withstand the temtation of taking another breath to soon. any songs wont sound just ri ght when a singer is breathing every five seconds because they dont have enough breath support and in acheiving great breath support one must have the correct posture. It also conduct great body language when having the correct posture it let the audience know that their is effort put into this song.With good posture comes good breath support with good breath support comes succes becase it is allowing talent to come out of a singers voice. It may not matter that a singer is getting all the notes right, yes that is great, but f a singier can hit all the notes but has to take a breath every few seconds it cuts off some of the emotion that can come from a song. And when someone can see the talent in a singer and truly appriciate him then the singer has already achieved succes. In conclusion if someone really wants to be a great singer, have a great and correct posture is one step closer into achieving that goal. it may not be esay at first but with lots of practice and dedication succe s will fallow.

In Cold Blood Analysis

Mandeep Kaur Analysis 3B The film Capote is based on the novel In Cold Blood about the murder of the Clutter family. The novel does in the depth about the charters and the plot but the movie leaves out many important details to leave the viewer’s wondering why something happened. Capote focuses on the text and characterization In Cold Blood, as the film Capote challenges the characterization of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Perry Smith was described in the novel with crucial details as in the film they skip the introductory details.Perry grew up under difficult circumstances as stated in the book â€Å"six of us riding in an old truck, sleeping in it, too, sometimes, and living off of mush and Hershey kisses and condensed milk. † (131) The film doesn’t’ tell Perry’s upbringing but instead skips to after the murder and his struggle to be free. Being abandoned by his family he went through many traumatic experiences and suffered severe abuse, â€Å"t here was this one nurse†¦ she'd fill a tub with ice-cold water, put me in it, and hold me under till I was blue.Nearly drowned. † (128) Smith later develops a lifelong aversion to which is written in the novel but in the film is not acted out which leaves the audience to wonder why he acts the way he does. The novel portrays Perry’s reoccurring dream about a large bird that saves him from bullies and abusers, â€Å"felt all breath and light leaving me,' he said, in a subsequent description of his sensations. â€Å"The walls of the cell fell away, the sky came down, and I saw the big yellow bird. †(257).While in jail the film shows Perry having a hard time sleeping but ne He is described as a small, muscular man whose body is unique and unproportional â€Å"†¦who could never find trousers to fit his truncated lower half, who wore blue jeans rolled up at the bottom and a leather windbreaker. † (32). Perry never passed the third grade but as an adu lt he has an incredible thirst for knowledge, vocabulary, and literature. His desire to be educated is well portray in the film when Capote gives him laws books to read ad he starts to learn that he may be able to escape death.In the book the author only hints around to his innovation to learn. This characters leaves a first impression that he is calm and gentle, but we later come to know that he is the more brutal of the two murders as we read in the novel, â€Å"'But a nigger,' said Perry. ‘That's different. ‘† (105) When Perry is quoted saying the killed a person for no apparent reason, he is portrayed as a cold hearted killer. The film focuses on only the Clutter murder and not the pervious murder that Smith has committed as we have read in the novel.Dick Hickock, motivated by carnal impulses such as lust, greed, and vanity, was the other murder of the Clutter family. He was described as the master mind and instigator of the murders in the novel. One of his pr ison friends had told him about the Clutter ranch and immediately Dick was drawn to what he called a â€Å"big score†, this was stated in the novel and not in the film Being told that there was a teenage girl living at the Clutter residence names, Nancy, he was further motivated by that fact as well, â€Å"Before I ever went to their house I knew there would be a girl there.I think the main reason I went there was not to rob them but to rape the girl. Because I thought a lot about it. That is one reason why I never wanted to turn back when we started to. † (270) In the film while interviewing with Capote, Perry admits that Dick was intending to rape Nancy. While reading the novel, the author hints around the idea of Dick having sexual desires for the innocent teenager. After the murders had happened Dick shows no remorse or interest in discussing the crime, he remains focused on finding a place to live, stealing, getting money and women.Once the murder had taken place Dick goes back home and acts like nothing ever happened, â€Å"Dick was consuming a Sunday dinner. The others at the table†¦ where not conscious of anything uncommon in his manner† (72) The film never gave background information on what Dick did or felt like when he killed the Clutter family. As described in the novel Dick is educated very street smart, athletic and charming, â€Å"Basketball! Baseball! Football! Dick was always the star player. A pretty good student, too, with A marks in several subjects. (158) The books goes into depth of his education and his sports career but the film leaves it out to give a sense the Hickock was uneducated and a slum. As stated in the book he is able to con shop owners and vulnerable women out of money and property. By conning shop owners is how the two murders were caught. In the film the show the capture of the two, but doesn’t show how or when. Challenging the characterization of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, the film Cap ote leaves out many descriptive details of the characters and the plot, while the novel In Cold Blood goes above and beyond to explain the characters.

Being Professional Nurse

The unsatisfactory professional conduct definition applies to the case study since the conduct of a nurse practitioner failed to meet of the reasonable standards that is accepted by the laws. According to New South Wales consolidated Acts, unsatisfactory professional conduct of registered health practitioner refers to the conduct demonstrated in skills, care excised or knowledge ether in omission or act that is below the reasonable professional standard. In the case study, the nurse shows unsatisfactory professional conduct. Firstly, nurse in case study failed to recognize the worsening health condition of the patient, failed to document assessment and plan of action despite the critical health condition of the client (Savage, 2015). The applicable law was National Laws section 139B meaning of unsatisfied professional conduct of Registered Health Practitioner Law (NSW). Conduct pathways notifications are notifications received that relates to the conduct of professional health practitioner. Factors in the case study that make case to fit the conduct pathway criteria include the misconduct of practitioner and omissions. Case involved misconduct of nurse that failed to provide medical assistance, escalation and document assessment despite client medical condition. Furthermore, practitioner failed to escalate the declining health issue to the health service manager. The practitioner exhibited unsatisfactory professional character and numerous omissions that are not in line with their professional training leading to death (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia 2008). Nurse needed to have done emergent medical review, provided immediate assistance, provided faster clinical assessment of the patient for accurate diagnosis and escalates the worsening health condition Health Service Manager to obtain immediate medical intervention. Firstly, the nurse is would have done emergent medical review due to patient’s blood pressure and respiratory rate examination result. Secondly, nurse need to have provided immediate assistance due to continuous abdominal pain which indicate deterioration in health. Thirdly, as a professional nurse there was need for faster clinical assessment by medical doctor as the patient was in red zone which require assessment with 10 minutes to prevent worsening health condition of patient. Finally, nurse would have escalates the worsening health condition of the patient to Health Service Manager for immediate medical assistance of the patient (Pairman and Pi be et al 2015). Medical doctor, laboratory personnel and pharmacist needed to be involved in the coordination of care. Medical doctor would be administering the necessary treatment for the patient. Medical laboratory personnel need for blood and other required medical diagnosis for the patient. Blood diagnosis would have provided the immediate conclusion on the nature and identity of the disease. Finally, pharmacist would obtain the r mended medications for emergent treatment of the patient. The three health care team officers were needed since septicemia is life threatening diseases that need emergency identification and treatment (Andre and Heartfield 2011). There are a number of mitigating factors that reduced the individual’s accountability in the case. Firstly, nurse was busy the afternoon when the patient’s condition was worsening. Secondly, nurse was attending and administering medicine to another emergency patient. Thirdly, patient had been given antibiotics by medical doctor and therefore hoped patient will improve. Fourthly, the regular doctor was not available and was to arrive later. Fifthly, there was lack of clear policies for emergency doctor to attend other patient. Finally, nurse was not aware that at time of â€Å"red zone† policy a doctor should be called to provide medical assistance despite training on the â€Å"Between the Flag† policies (Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia 2010). According to NMBA Codes and standards, Standard 1 statement 1:1 part requires one to assess plex unstable health care need of patient. This was not the case since the practitioner shows minimal concern on the continuous unstable health condition of the patient. Furthermore, the nurse did not asses the impact of co-morbidity and interprets assessment information correctly. This would have help change the plan of action to have the patient transferred to well equipped facility on time and therefore breach the expected standard of practice of nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia 2006). Standard 1 statement 1:2 requires timely use of diagnostic investigation for clinical decision making. In the case study, nurse did not exhibit timely response and effective munication of the patient deteriorating health. Furthermore, escalation of the issue to the health care officer in charge was not done in time. The transfer of patient to another better health facility also failed despite several attempts. Standard 2 Statement 2:1 indicates the need to translate evidences into plan of care which was not the case as the nurse ignored the medical examinations evidence of worsening patient health. The nurse did not do the medical review despite unstable blood pressure and respiratory rate and continuous diarrhea. In addition, the nurse was supposed to take personal responsibility to evaluate medical examination findings for correct decision making. Standard 4 Statement 4:1 is based on evaluating ou es of personal practice. Nurse was required to document treatments or interventions accordingly yet the practitioner asses the patient but fail to document the result. It was also expected that the nurse on duty should apply evidence available to identify appropriate ou e measures. The declining health of patient was placed patient at red zone as described in the between flag policy yet the practitioner did not document this result (Chang and Daly, 2016).   Professional behaviors such as faster response, personal concern, observational skills, medical assistance and good munication skills would made the situation different. Firstly, the worsening health of the patient required faster response in attending the patient (Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia, 2010). Secondly, continuous pain would attract the nurse to personal concern that is necessary for patient care.   As professional nurse immediate plan of action was required to reduce plications of the septicemia due to delayed treatment. This professional behaviour would attract different plan of action for instance, severe septicemia require patient admission into the medical emergency facility. Thirdly, good observational skills during examination, assessment and provision emergent plan of action or medical assistance would have further change the situation. Based on nurse experience it was important to municate deteriorating health to health service manager (Stein-Parbury, (20 14). Moreover, due to the declining of patient’s health condition the nurse was supposed to have close interdisciplinary engagement to ensure emergent assistance. Fourthly, provision of faster medical assistance to the client due to the continuous diarrhea and back pain was critical since there was no time for delay. Septicemia required quick administration of broad spectrum antibiotics as medical assistance.   I have learned to prepare to adequately to provide all the required care to patient during my professional practice. Firstly, it is my responsibility to provide medical assistance to patient depending on the urgency need of those clients (Pairman and Pi be et al 2015). Secondly, as a professional nurse my response in time of emergency case is highly required because this is necessary for life threatening diseases. Thirdly, documentation of medical assessment and examination result of patient is importance during my professional practice. Finally, escalating patient’s declining improvement to the required health care officers is important. This implies that I have to learn both munication and organization polices of hospital. Communication of the patient medical progress as an aspect of care is vital for new graduate nurse. According to Chang and Daly (2016), personal munication skills for graduate nurse is important for facilitating care plan between patient and other health care team officers. Professional nurse is accountable for effective munication of patient progress, deteriorating health and any medical assistance needs to health care officer in charge or to the medical doctor. In addition, nurse is accountable for documentation of patient’s medical assessment or examination. New graduate nurse need to learn the necessary organization culture and for ease of municating patient condition to other health professionals. American Psychological Association (2010), Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Andre, K. and Heartfield, M. (2011), Nursing and midwifery portfolios: Evidence of continuing petence (2nd ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Elsevier Australia. Chang, E. and Daly, J. (2016), Transitions in Nursing: Preparing For Professional Practice (4th ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Elsevier. Dempsey, J., Hillege, S., and Hill, R. (Eds.) (2014), Fundamentals of Nursing and Midwifery: A Person-Centred Approach to Care.   Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Duchscher, J. (2008). A process of b ing: The stages of new nursing graduate professional role transition. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 39(10), 441-450. Ebert, L. and Gilligan, C. et al (2014), They have no idea what we do or what we know†: Australian graduates’ perceptions of working in a health care team. Nurse Education in Practice, 14(5), 544-550. Fry, S. Johnstone, .J. and the International Council of Nurses. (2008). Ethics in nursing practice: A guide to ethical decision making (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia (2010), A nurses' Guide to Professional Boundaries. Canberra, Australia: ANMC Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia, (2010), National framework for the development of decision-making tools for Nursing and Midwifery Practice, 2007. Canberra, Australia: ANMC Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2008), Code of professional conduct for nurses in Australia. Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2006), National petency standards for the registered nurse (4th ed.). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, Australian College of Nursing & Australian Nursing Federation (2008), Code of ethics for nurses in Australia. Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2010), A midwives' guide to professional boundaries. Canberra, ACT: ANMC Pairman, S. and Pi be, J. et al (2015), Midwifery: Preparation for practice (3rd ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Churchill Livingstone. Savage, P. (2015), Legal issues for nursing students: Applied principles (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia. Staunton, P. J., and Chiarella, M. (2013), Law for nurses and midwives (7th ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Churchill Livingstone. Stein-Parbury, J. (2014), Patient and person: Interpersonal skills in nursing (5th ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Churchill Livingstone.

Is Genetic Modification of Foods Good Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is Genetic Modification of Foods Good - Essay Example They are a wave for the future since they provide an alternative that helps in increasing food production. However, much concern has been brought to light by farmers, citizens and scientists on the conduct of research and merits of genetically modified foods. They benefit humankind, animals and their environment. Genetic modified foods have increased food security in the growing population. In the environment, they provide a friendly environment by repelling bio herbicides and bio insecticides. They conserve water, soil and energy by reduction of irrigation and solar energy. Due to their ability to grow and mature fast, they give food security during times of hunger and food shortage. They facilitate growth in both animals and crops. In crops, they enhance quality and taste, this by increasing its nutrient content and maturity of the crop. They reduce maturation time, by speeding up the growth period. They improve the resistance to pests, diseases and herbicides affecting growth of p lants. In animals, they facilitate better yield of eggs, milk and meat by providing animals with the required nutrient for their productivity. They improve diagnostic methods of handling animals and promote health by ensuring constant supply of animal feeds with the required nutrients. ... microbes in soil), unintended shift of transgenics by means of cross-pollution, and loss of fauna and flora biodiversity (Eugene and Santaniello 102). Genetically modified foods affect ethics, access and intellectual property by violating intrinsic values of natural organisms by changing their metabolism and meddling with nature through genes mixing. They stress animals by objecting to consume their genes in plants and vice versa. In access of property there is unethical practices as modified food production is dominated by a few organizations thus it increases dependence on industrialized foods by many developing countries. This leads to exploitation of developing countries and their natural resources by foreign nations. They pose the danger of mixing different metabolisms that result to food poisoning, once different substances have been mixed, it may result in early expiry of the product, which may affect the health of an individual. Combination of different enzymes results in rea ction of foodstuff in the human body, whose result may be unknown even to the researchers (Eugene and Santaniello 112). In an article by Jones he asks, â€Å"Does the human race really need genetically modified food?†, given that in the field of agriculture, small biodiversity farms are actually productive and the food produced is healthy for human consumption (Simmons 62). He argues that people should use food produced from farms rather than the modified food, which pose dangers to the human health. Politics and economics at all levels have often prohibited food from getting to hungry people, not a deficit in production. These similar causes have also contributed to a lot of poverty, which prevents citizens’ ability to meet

Biomes and Diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biomes and Diversity - Assignment Example This big shift with the invention of farm implements and tools enabled Man to vastly increase his food supplies, stabilize food sources, made food production a secure and predictable undertaking and this incidentally also allowed the arable land to support a much higher population density. Increased food availability made the entire human population grow exponentially. It has also put pressure on the other species of plants and animals, as there is a growing competition for the available food, space, and other requirements for life. Ever since Man burst unto the scene, so to speak, a good number of species had become extinct due mainly to Mans prolific activities. It is a dangerous development, as biodiversity is necessary for ensuring survival of the remaining species. There are strong ancestor-descendant links between various species and their biomes, so the main concerns should be both conservation (wise use) and preservation (leaving untouched). The past century saw the extinction of about 100 species of birds, mammals, and amphibians (Hassan & Scholes, 2005, p. 105) but this background (natural) extinction rate is expected to be 10,000 higher in the next two centuries if based on ancient fossil records, current trends, and computer modeling of extinction rates (M iller & Spoolman, 2011, p. 191). The loss in genetic diversity becomes a serious threat to Mankinds survival as well, because of the links that was mentioned earlier. There are still many undocumented species, in addition to those already well known, which can provide ecological, economic, and medicinal benefits to Man. People can help to slow down the extinction rate by avoiding environmental degradation, reducing their carbon footprint, minimize pollution, mitigate climate change, refrain from introducing invasive or harmful species to a biome, prevent over-exploitation of open common

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement Essay

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement - Essay Example This dysfunction in turn causes a need for re-operation of the patients, due to complications arising such as the structural deterioration of bioprosthesis. Though the chances of patient mortality when undergoing a repeat operation are high, there has always been re-operations to such patients (Antunes, 1992). An ethical question arises to why a patient should be re-operated, yet in so doing, the chances of that patient’s death are increased. In the subsequent operations after the first one, the causes of patient’s death changes from the structural deterioration of the bioprosthesis to valvular leak. This is what further increases the chances of death. With such knowledge though, MVR has continued to be done over the years. Furthermore, subsequent re-operations have continued to be undertaken on patients, even though they increase their chances of death. However, the justification to this is that there are chances of saving the lives of the patients, even though such chances continues to diminish with each re-operation done (Antunes, 1992). Although performing re-operation to patients well knowing that it increases their chances of death seems unethical, there is a need to have it since the patient’s chances of surviving are increased by the re-operation, than when they are left to die of valvular

Intro to c&b (u3ip&db) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro to c&b (u3ip&db) - Essay Example There are certain factors that are imperative to correctly evaluating and choosing the correct evaluation and management code when a patient comes into a medical facility. These include where services are carried out (whether the patient is an inpatient or outpatient), the type of service that is performed (such as a consult or problem-oriented examination), the type of patient history that is taken down, the extent to which the physical examination is carried, and how complex the medical decision-making is (Chiang, 2005). According to Mitchell (2003, pg. 1), there are eight elements. These are, â€Å"location, quality, severity, duration, timing context, modifying factors, and associated signs and symptoms.† The types of visits include initial impatient consults, nursing facility visits, subsequent nursing facility care, domiciliary care, follow-up inpatient consult, home services, and prolonged services (Mitchell, 2003). Chiang, S. (2005). Coding and documentation part 3: Evaluation and management codes. University of Alabama at Birmingham. Retrieved August 6, 2008, from http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:koHmR7QEXzUJ:www.obgyn.uab.edu/medicalstudents/obgyn/uasom/documents/CodingPart3E%26M.pdf+%22evaluation+and+management+codes%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=11&gl=us Mitchell, R. (2003). Evaluation and management coding and Medicare Part B. Applied Medical Systems, Inc. Retrieved August 6, 2008, from http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:pkVtzGq-Md4J:www.appliedmedicalservices.com/sb_sections/sectionmain_aboutams/newsroom/articles/em_presentation.ppt+%22evaluation+and+management+codes%22+eight+steps&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=12&gl=us According to Outsource Strategies International (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"Medical diagnostic coding is a procedure used to help health care professionals digitize medical information and thereby make their record keeping and practice management more reliable and simple. Medical codes are

Database Architecture and Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Database Architecture and Administration - Essay Example As the paper declares the navigational Model encompasses the â€Å"network model† and â€Å"hierarchical model† of database interfaces. The network model was developed by Charles Bachman in 1971 to define and set a standard for database systems. This model had a collection of records, connected to each other through links. Various record types were interconnected to each other, thus allowing a many-to-many relationship. IDS and IDMS are both examples of the network model. A network model can be explained using this schematic diagram. This discussion explores that navigational databases are open-ended and are best suited to handle small-scale data. However, it is difficult to search for data in this system since it does not have the search functionality. The system had to be navigated â€Å"manually†, that is to reach a particular record, one had to start at the parent record and then navigate step-by-step until one reaches the desired record. Due to these limitations, navigational database models became outdated by 1980s, though a form of the hierarchical model is still used in XML applications. The main distinguishing feature of the relational model is that the data is organized in a tabular form in rows and columns. The rows list the data while columns list the attributes. A key is chosen that uniquely identifies every row in the table and links different records from different tables. To find a particular set of data, a â€Å"query† is generated which mines the entire database to return the requi red answer.

The American food stamp program should continue and the World Food Term Paper

The American food stamp program should continue and the World Food Program should continue supporting and funding it - Term Paper Example erly people or the disabled.   In contrast with other means-tested initiatives that are specific to certain groups of low-income families/individuals, almost all low-income households can benefit from the program. This paper will attempt to explore and divulge the benefits of the program and why it deserves to be funded long-term; all this while the aim will be to defend and support the enthymeme that has been stated above. 1.0 Introduction According to Ohls & Beebout (2009), the food stamp program is an initiative of the American government that was initiated in 1989. Since then it has become a central component of America’s public assistance system that serves over 30 million participants of low income families and has outlays of over $25 billion. It is primarily meant to offer some form of assistance to low income families and low income households on the sole basis that they require financial aid to have meals and eat irrespective of age, race, creed, sex and disability (Ohls & Beebout, 2009). It is also viewed as the cornerstone of almost all nutrition aid programs initiated by the federal government, as well as being the core line of defense against poor nutrition, hunger and if necessary, starvation. The program helps s lower-income families acquire a variety of food products at retail (Slomba, 2008). It is also referred to (officially) as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and there are two key aspects that are examined in order to determine one’s eligibility. These are assets and income (Ronald, 2007). The other criterion applied is the gross income redline, which is set at a certain percentage of the poverty level (usually 130%). In 2009, federal taxpayers contributed $56 billion towards the program, more than three times the $18... According to the research findings the food stamp program is an initiative of the American government that was initiated in 1989. Since then it has become a central component of America’s public assistance system that serves over 30 million participants of low income families and has outlays of over $25 billion. It is primarily meant to offer some form of assistance to low income families and low income households on the sole basis that they require financial aid to have meals and eat irrespective of age, race, creed, sex and disability. It is also viewed as the cornerstone of almost all nutrition aid programs initiated by the federal government, as well as being the core line of defense against poor nutrition, hunger and if necessary, starvation. The program helps s lower-income families acquire a variety of food products at retail. It is also referred to (officially) as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and there are two key aspects that are examined in o rder to determine one’s eligibility. These are assets and income. The other criterion applied is the gross income redline, which is set at a certain percentage of the poverty level (usually 130%). In 2009, federal taxpayers contributed $56 billion towards the program, more than three times the $18 billion it cost them in 2000. Also in 2009, a household of four was guaranteed a maximum monthly stipend of $668. Currently, the number of beneficiaries is almost 30 million, marking a huge rise since the 17 million recorded in the year 2000.