Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Concept of Care and the Nursing Metaparadigm Research Paper

The Concept of Care and the Nursing Metaparadigm - Research Paper Example Historically there are four concepts in the nursing metaparadigm which have been used to describe the context and content of the nursing profession. As much as the four concepts; health, environment, person and nursing continue to be embraced in the nursing fraternity, they have been a number of challenges and proposals being experienced and given as alternatives (Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker and Danford, 2007). The nursing metaparadigm however, continues to be recognized by all professions in the field. Apart from the four components the concept of caring continues to be a contentious issue. For a long period caring has been ignored since it could not be subjected to scientific inquiry, measured and its impact determined (Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, and Kirkham, 2002). In many instances the ability to cure by use of scientific means through medicinal treatments alone renders the role of caring obsolete. This however, does not apply to those who are weak, aged and suffe ring from chronic diseases (Castledine, 2009).   These ones have to be cared for in order to boost their recovery process. Even with the many perceptions and definitions there seem to be an agreement on the components of care. The major focuses of these components are the physical, emotional and psychosocial requirements of the patients (Castledine, 2009). The patient needs to be cared for and in this case the staff is concerned primarily with giving care and little attention is given to end results.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

African American Gay Rights Essay Example for Free

African American Gay Rights Essay I cannot begin to argue about African American/Hispanic LGBT, living in New York City and their civil rights without remembering the public outcry against black civil rights. Although the focus of this paper is on African American/Hispanic LGBT living in New York City and Their Rights to Marriage I have decided to start my paper of by discussing the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The civil rights movement of the 1960s and the continuing struggle against race-based discrimination were rooted in the struggle against slavery. As early as the eighteen hundreds the United States legislative had laws known as segregation laws that limited certain freedom to them. They had to live in separate neighborhood, attend separate schools, drive in the back of public buses verses in the front where Whites were; African American would not dare go against these laws back then because if and when they did, they were unjustly imprisoned, beaten lynched and more for just trying to exercise human rights. In the 1960s African Americans led a fight to remove the legally codified vestiges of slavery from our constitution and from state and local laws. Most repulsive among these, were Jim Crow laws that required racial segregation; African Americans had to endure all these things until The Civil Rights Movement. The modern concept of civil rights was pioneered by African Americans in their long struggle to become full citizens of the United States. From the Civil Rights Movement to the Stonewall Riots of 1969 to May 17, 2004, the LGBTQ movement has made some tremendous gains into mainstream society, a reality that has not been afforded to African Americans. The African American Civil Rights Movement gave birth to many other civil rights movements in the 1960s. African Americans not only made new law, their success gave new hope. Among the many efforts sparked by the African American Civil Rights Movements were the efforts to end discrimination against women, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, people with disabilities and lesbians and gays. Some African American still has one more river to cross because now African American LGBT are fighting a new civil war, the fight for same sex marriage; the right to be legally married. Currently, marriage has two distinct components: civil marriage and the religious ritual of marriage. Mixed-gender couples can have a civil marriage without the religious ceremony/ritual. Couples can have a religious ceremony/ritual, without a civil marriage. Some couples can choose both. However, to receive the legal protections of marriage, a couple must have a civil marriage, which is the only marriage that can be addressed by courts or legislatures. The LBGT believe that the rights and legal protections of civil marriage that are given to mixed-gender couples and families should also be extended to couples and families who are headed by same-gender couples. These include the rights of survivorship, inheritance, insurance, joint income tax filing, and a myriad of rights that many mixed-gender couples take for granted. For African American LGBT, state regulation has been particularly harsh. State sodomy law has had a way of preventing LGBT from acquiring some of the rights they are entitle to. Today, fewer than half the state has sodomy laws. LGBT recognizes New York City for being the birth place for many modern gay movements; however, New York has not yet passed any law giving LGBT legal protection and political support, (right to marriage being on of them). New York State gay rights bill, first introduced in 1971, still has not become law. While other states, like Vermont has established civil unions for LGBT, New York has not. Andy Humm writes that the biggest gay-related debate throughout the country right now is over government sanction of same-sex elationships. Vermont has gone the furthest, establishing civil unions for gay couples that confer almost all of the rights to which a married man and woman are entitled, though stopping short of full legal marriage. New Yorkers may travel to Vermont for the civil ceremony as of July 1, but there is some question as to what legal weight it will carry back home. The federal government enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 when it looked as if Hawaii might give same-sex couples marriage licenses. It barred federal recognition of legal same-sex marriages performed in any state and gave the other states the right not to honor such a contract. Thirty-two states have passed laws barring recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, even though no state or nation allows gay couples to obtain a marriage license. (Holland will likely be the first in 2001. ) A New York version of the Defense of Marriage Act is pending in Albany, but has not had a vote in either chamber. Bibliography Diane Silver et al. , The New Civil War: The Lesbian and Gay Struggle For Civil Rights (New York; New York:1997), 25-26 Andy Humm, The State of gay rights in New York, Available http://www. gothamgazette. com/iotw/gayrights/ (Accessed May 16, 2005).

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Feminist Geographies: Applications and Theories

Feminist Geographies: Applications and Theories Modern feminism began in 1960s in the United States with the Women’s Liberation Movement. This political movement subsequently spread to Europe and initially focussed on equality between men and women. Women saw themselves as ‘subordinate’ and nothing more than â€Å"imaginary figures, the objects of another’s desire, made real† (Mackinnon, 1987) and thus tried to raise awareness of the social inequality experienced by women. Social feminist geography (adopting a Marxist ideology) revolved around the question of how best to articulate gender and class analyses, with the theorisation of a ‘sexual division of labour’. Haraway (1991) thus claims â€Å"a feminist is one who fights for women as a class and for the disappearance of that class†. From these roots drawing inspiration from women’s movements of the 1960s, feminist geographies have developed considerably and diversely over the last 30 years and now hold, without doubt, a considerable institutional presence. This essay will overview the development and progression of feminism as a ‘critical discourse’ and argue that although scholars such as Bondi, in McDowell and Sharp (eds) (1997), contend â€Å"†¦feminism has never achieved a high profile in geography†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that the â€Å"†¦potential of feminism is ignored†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this is NOT necessarily the case. I will argue feminist theory has shaped theory and practise in geography through raising the awareness of gender issues, helping remove blatant sexism from academic journals and institutions and contributing hugely to the ‘cultural turn’ within the discipline. A huge volume of literature has amassed on feminist geographies over recent decades meaning that in the current era there are numerous ‘feminist geographies’ spanning across the discipline. This is clearly apparent in the number of books that have been published on the topic, the formation of the journal Gender Place and Culture in 1994 and the volume of articles that can be found in other contemporary human, cultural and social geography journals. Although feminist perspectives and outlooks vary in theory and content, common concerns cut across them all (Johnston et al., 2000). Developing out of the radical separatist ideas and oppositional politics associated with the ‘global sisterhood’ of the 1960s and 70s, came a more theoretical outlook associated with the ‘cultural turn’. Feminism thus developed as a critical discourse. The discipline of geography itself was criticised for its inherent masculine bias and for â€Å"excluding half the huma n from human geography† (Monk and Hansen, 1982). Haraway (1991) argued that women â€Å"do not appear where they should in geographical literature†. However, as part of the cultural turn, the shift away from grand theories and a concentration on diverse and interconnecting global micro-geographies, gender was understood to interact with race and class and therefore to understand gender, one â€Å"had to constantly go beyond gender† (Connell, in McDowell and Sharp, 1997). The massive literature on contemporary feminism thus reflects criticisms that ‘Western feminism’ has played down sexual, racial and class differences. Western feminism had been strongly criticised for being ethnocentric, as it obscured or subordinated all other â€Å"Others† (Haraway, in McDowell and Sharp (eds) 1997). Black women argued they were not constituted as ‘women’ as white women were, but instead constituted simultaneously racially and sexually as marked female (animal, sexualised and without rights), but not a women (human, potential wife, conduit for the name of a father). This critique expanded into development studies where it was argued although ‘cultural barriers’ can impede policy progress, many of these barriers may in fact have been magnified and reinforced by Western interventionist ‘gender blind’ development policies, through an ignorance of local traditions (Crewe and Harrison, 1999). The further development of ‘feminist geographies’ and the attempt to make women visible through ‘geographies of women’ has also resulted in a large literature on feminist methodologies (Moss, 1993; Nast, 1994, Farrow, Moss and Shaw, 1995, Hodge, 1995), including experimental writing and self-reflexivity (Rose, 1997). Work by Rose (1993) criticised geographical fieldwork as being â€Å"masculinity in action†, using historical examples such as Tansley’s (1939) ‘Man and Nature’. McDowell (1992) also details sexist biases in research methods, culminating in an absence of statistics about women, for example, detailing their unpaid labour (i.e. housework). In many studies there also seems to be a lack of women that were interviewed. For example, William Whyte’s Street Corner Society (1955), in which he seemed unaware that he had only interviewed men! There has thus been an application of feminist ideas to research and fieldwork. F eminist enquiry now works for an egalitarian research process between the researcher and her ‘subjects’. A further similarity between ‘feminist geographies’ is that they trace the inter-connections between all aspects of daily life, across sub-disciplinary boundaries of economic, social, political and cultural geography. From Linda McDowell’s extensive research on the feminist geographies of the labour force involving ‘glass ceilings’ and discrimination (McDowell, 1997), to Hoschchild’s (1997) ‘dual role’ women and the ‘second shift’ (women having to be carers and mothers as well as career women). There has also been a huge volume of literature over recent years regarding the rise of women workers in the service industry (for example, call centres) and women as the ‘new proletariat’. Conversely, as part of this new ‘identity politics’, gender is argued by some to be a competitive advantage for women in the current workforce in terms of their roles as ‘emotional managers’ (Hochschild, 1983). McDowell (2001, 2004) has also recently tracked the development of a ‘crisis of masculinity’ associated with the collapse of Fordism, unemployment and a ‘lost generation of males’. Thus, it is argued by some the best ‘man’ for a job is now a woman. This thorough, multi-disciplinary application of ‘feminist geographies’ at a variety of different scales in various sub-fields of the discipline clearly highlight its impact in shaping modern theory and practise within geography. From its beginnings of liberal feminism and oppositional politics (1960s and 70s), feminist geography has developed through feminist Marxism involving a gender/class interface (late 70s/80s) to feminist geographies of difference (late 80s-present) as part of identity politics and the ‘cultural turn’. Feminist geography now concentrates on gendered identities within a post-structural, post-colonial, cultural theoretical framework, studying gender relations across races, ages, ethnicities, religions, sexualities and nationalities. Most recently of all, the discipline has undergone further internal-critique, calling for more intensive study of relations and equality between women themselves. It is for these reasons I believe ‘fem inist geographies’ have had a huge ideological impact on geographical theory and practise over recent decades and will continue to do so for years to come. References: Crewe, E. and Harrison, E. (1999) Whose development?: an ethnography of aid, London, St Martin’s Press. Farrow, H., Moss, P. and Shaw, B. (1995) Symposium of feminist participatory research, Antipode, 18:2, 186-211. Haraway, D. (1991) Simians, Cyborgs and Women: the reinvention of nature, London, Free Association Books. Hochschild, A.R. (1983) The Managed Heart: Commercialisation of Human Feeling, University of California Press, Berkeley. Hochschild, A.R. (1997) The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work, Henry Holt, New York. Hodge, D. (ed) (1995), Should women count? The role of quantitative methodology in feminist geographic research, The Professional Geographer, 47, 426-66. Johnston, R.J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G., Watts, M. (2000), The Dictionary of Human Geography, Blackwell. Mackinnon, C.A. (1987) Feminism unmodified: discourses on life and law, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press. McDowell, L. (1992) Defining women: social institutions and gender divisions, Cambridge, Polity Press. McDowell, L. and Sharp, J. (eds) Space, gender, knowledge: feminist readings (London: Arnold, 1997). McDowell, L.M. (1997) Capital Culture: Gender at Work in the City, Oxford, Blackwell. McDowell, L.M. (2001) Father and Ford Revisited: Gender, Class and Employment Change in the New Millennium, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 26, 448-64. Monk, J. and Hansen, S. (1982) On not excluding the other half from human geography, The Professional Geographer, 32, 11-23. Moss, P. (1993) Feminism as method, The Canadian Geographer, 37, 48-61. Nast, H. (ed) (1994) Women in the field: critical feminist methodologies and theoretical perspectives, The Professional Geographer, 46, 54-102. Rose, G. (1993) Feminism and Geography, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press. Rose, G. (1997) Situating knowledges: positionality, reflexivities and other tactics, Progress in Human Geography, 21, 305-20. Whyte, W.F. (1955) Street Corner Society: the social structure of an Italian slum, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Countee Cullen Essay -- essays research papers

Countee Cullen was a prominent American poet and was known as the â€Å"poster poet† of the 1920 artistic movement called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance produced the first African American works of literature in the United States. There were many leading figures in the Harlem Renaissance such as James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and Arna Bontemps. Cullen was simply an amazing young man who won many poetry contests throughout New York, published two notable volumes of poetry (Color and Copper Sun), received a master’s degree from Harvard University and married the daughter of W.E.B Du Bois, a founder of the NAACP. Cullen grew up in the â€Å"heart† of New York since he was an adopted son of Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, minister of the Salem African Methodist Episcopal Church. Prior to being adopted his mother, Elizabeth Lucas, abandoned him leaving his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Porter, to raise him until she died in 1918. Do to Cullen’s childhood confusion many are unaware of his place of birth. According to different sources he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, Baltimore, Maryland and New York. Cullen stated that he was born in New York City but no one is sure if he truly meant it. Reverend Frederick Cullen and his wife gave Countee Cullen wonderful opportunities throughout his entire life. As a young schoolboy, he attended the well-known Witt Clinton High School in Manhattan where he began writing poetry at fourteen years old... Countee Cullen Essay -- essays research papers Countee Cullen was a prominent American poet and was known as the â€Å"poster poet† of the 1920 artistic movement called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance produced the first African American works of literature in the United States. There were many leading figures in the Harlem Renaissance such as James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and Arna Bontemps. Cullen was simply an amazing young man who won many poetry contests throughout New York, published two notable volumes of poetry (Color and Copper Sun), received a master’s degree from Harvard University and married the daughter of W.E.B Du Bois, a founder of the NAACP. Cullen grew up in the â€Å"heart† of New York since he was an adopted son of Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, minister of the Salem African Methodist Episcopal Church. Prior to being adopted his mother, Elizabeth Lucas, abandoned him leaving his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Porter, to raise him until she died in 1918. Do to Cullen’s childhood confusion many are unaware of his place of birth. According to different sources he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, Baltimore, Maryland and New York. Cullen stated that he was born in New York City but no one is sure if he truly meant it. Reverend Frederick Cullen and his wife gave Countee Cullen wonderful opportunities throughout his entire life. As a young schoolboy, he attended the well-known Witt Clinton High School in Manhattan where he began writing poetry at fourteen years old...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Critical Analysis of the Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels which contained all of the ideas and assumptions by Marx. The Communist Manifesto was able to inspire a number of philosophers and theorists.And as it was published at the height of the political turmoil in Europe, it also served as an engine for many revolutions that took place within the past century. Hence, following the publication of the Communist Manifesto, it inspired a number of revolutions to overturn the rise of Capitalism, particularly in Russia and China (â€Å"The Communist Manifesto,† n.p).The writings by Marx and Engels which composed the main tenets in the Communist Manifesto influenced revolutions not by just mere agitation through writing; rather they fueled revolutionary groups by confronting the capitalist forces through the forces of the proletariats. They discovered the special role of the proletariats, who they believed were capable of overthrowing the capitalist class (â€Å"The Comm unist Manifesto,† n.p).The Communist Manifesto is centered on the idea of class struggle and continuing antagonisms in the society. This according to the Manifesto, class struggle revolves between the bourgeoisie and the proletarians – the oppressor and the oppressed; the few and many. Hence, the Manifesto predicts the probable ways of eliminating oppression by abolishing the basic factors that instigate oppression – example: private property – which shall eventually lead towards overthrowing the bourgeosie (â€Å"The Communist Manifesto,† n.p).In accordance with this pursuit, Marx drafted the Communist Manifesto guided by Historical Dialectical Materialism in order to point out the problems that had been consuming the society. Using this guide, he predicted the changes that could happen in the society as the mode of production changes gradually.And these changes shall become the engine for a revolutionary overthrow of the current dominating class. And as capitalism will reach its peak, it will become saturated and will eventually meet its demise under the leadership of the proletariats.The Pursuit of a Stateless SocietyConsequently, Marx noted predictions on several factors that will help build a stateless society. This includes: (1) enforcement of progressive taxation. (2) abolition of inheritance, (3) equalization of wages and (4) the communal appropriation of lands. With these things in mind, Marx pictured a stateless society wherein antagonisms among classes can be eliminated.However, there are various sides that are to be looked upon if the society should be changed. There are specific levels wherein a country should cope with in order to effectively carry out these kinds of changes which can prove to be beneficial for the citizens.Different countries may react on certain circumstances if things are to be imposed on them. And there should be clarity of the possible outcomes that it may bring. In particular, communist cou ntries had deteriorated and has broken down in the last decades.None of the communist countries have sustained its staying power, in particular, China and Russia. And for the case of Cuba, their existence in the communist realm has served as an example to no one.For the Communists, especially for Marx, a stateless society meant the establishment of a classless society and rendering common ownership of all the means of productions. It also entails equitable distribution of income among the citizens. However, it requires a number of processes and cycles that are to be undertaken in order to achieve it. Consequently, the factors mentioned above are the firsts on the list in attaining a classless society.As such, though these factors that Marx mentioned in the Manifesto may contribute greatly towards the attainment of a stateless society, they may have negative implications in the society.There are still downsides that are attributable with these steps that may have direct effect in the growth and development of the society, and also lies the possibility that it may serve detrimental outcomes for them. Thus, these policies should be analyzed to assess their reasonability and soundness if they can be beneficial to the people in general.Thesis and ArgumentThe purpose of this paper would be to carefully analyze the contents of the Manifesto, in particular, the four measures that Marx proposed towards attaining a stateless society. Thus, the thesis of this paper is to prove that there are adversaries that may be caused if those measures will be employed. And that the reasonability of each measure depends on the possible outcomes that may be derived from it.Hence, the arguments revolve on three parallel ideas: (1) these measures if employed, though may speed up the process of attaining a stateless society, may also impede social, political and economic growth; (2) ironically, though a stateless society aims towards eliminating class antagonisms, these four measures men tioned.Considerably increases the gap between the proletariats and the bourgeosie by the intentional disregard of the bourgeosie class; and (3) given the altruistic desire from the Manifesto to eradicate poverty, the ideals presented through these measures were really idealistic and utopian, hence may render these inappropriate and not feasible for most of the countries.Progressive TaxationProgressive taxation is one of the twelve measures that Communism intended to enforce. Progressive taxation is a system wherein tax rates are imposed based on the economic status and well-being of the person to be taxed. The tax rates are identified according to the ability of an individual to pay. In essence, if a person earns big, then he will be subjected to higher tax rates; the same way that a person who earns little will be taxed according to his capacity to pay (Lakoff and Budner, n.p).For the advocates of Communism, progresive taxation can provide redistribution of capital, which they beli eve can further hasten the process of eliminating class struggle. Through this, it is believed that redistributing the tax burden towards the people who can afford to pay can stabilize the flow of capital, and the economy in return. In addition, progresive taxation also serves as a monitoring device to limit acquisition of private property.Furthermore, progresive taxation eases the burden for those who cannot pay enabling them to allot a larger portion of their income for their family's basic needs. Thus, progressive taxation for the Communists render individuals to have a more equitable outcome so that they can make the most out of the fruits of their labor (â€Å"Capitalism, Socialism & Communism,† n.p).Although there are certain benefits that are attainable through progressive taxation, likewise there are downsides of it. There are individuals who consider this kind of tax policy as discriminatory and inefficient.Progressive taxation is discriminatory in such away that the people who work harder gets more compelled on paying higher taxes; while those who do not work and strive enough are being subjected to receive government subsidies and privileges.In addition, it caters inefficiency in the way taxes are being imposed on individuals, while tolerating income misappropriation bundled by the State's   deliberate interference which is then translated in the citizen's fear of crossing the edges between democracy and dictatorship. (â€Å"Few Words on the Nature of Taxation.† n.p).Thus, as progressive taxation can indeed eliminate class struggle and enhance the ability to create a stateless society through equitable sharing of tax obligations, it also harnesses the biased nature of the Communist government in their inclination towards the poor.   Though it is rational and reasonable to impose taxes on individuals who have higher capacity to pay, certain considerations are also ought to be given.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Personal Finance Essay

1. Are you considered a default risk? How would a lender evaluate you based on â€Å"the five C’s† of character capital, collateral, and conditions? How could you plan to make yourself more attractive to a lender in the future? I do not believe I would be considered a Default Risk because I have a good credit score and I try to pay off what I spend on my credit cards that same month or fairly quickly so I don’t have to pay high interest rates. Based on the five C’s†¦ Character-I would be considered as a good character due to employment, residential, and repayment history. Capacity- I try not to carry high balances on my credit cards, therefore, my debt obligation is fairly low. Capital-Capital would be considered mediocre due to my asset and collateral base. Collateral- I would no have much collateral because most of my assets are in my spouses name. Conditions-I may be considered a risk under conditions considering I work for the auto industry. To make myself more attractive to a lender, I would probably use my credit cards more often and build up my credit history to make it stronger. I would also add my name to my spouses mortgage because he owned the home before he met me. I would also increase my income by working full-time opposed to part-time that way I could show that I would be able to afford to have a higher balance on my credit card. 2. Identify the last two items (consumer goods and durable goods) you purchased. Alternatively, select any two items you purchased during the last two months. Choose diverse items and analyze each item interms of the following factors: a. Why did you buy that item? How did you decide what to get? I recently bought an Ipad and a new pair (good) of running shoes. I bought the Ipad basically for a portable electronic reading device and something I bring with to keep up with my school work and it will also assist me with my job at work. I also decided to buy a really good pair of running shoes for walking & jogging. I usually purchase shoes that cost around $40-$50 but have never been happy with them. Where did you get your information about the item? I did a lot of research online and I also asked some of my peers who have these items their opinions and I also read reviews. Where did you go to buy the item? I bought my Ipad at the Apple store and I bought my shoes online. In what kind of market did you make your purchase? The market seems to be picking up so I would say it is a striving market. Where did the money come from for your purchase? I used money that was given to me as a gift from my parents to buy the Ipad and the shoes came from money I earned at work. How much did you pay for the item, and how did you pay for it? The Ipad was approximately $400.00 and the shoes were approximately $150.00 h. How would you rate your satisfaction with your purchase? I am very happy with both of my purchases. I am glad I did the research before I bought them and sometimes it’s better to get the more expensive item because I do believe you get what you pay for. i. If or when you purchase that type of item again, what might you do differently? The only thing I would do differently is be a little more patient and wait for the items to go on sale or find a coupon to use. 3. For a car you would like to drive, calculate and compare what it would cost you to buy it and to lease it. Use the Lease versus Buy Calculator athttp://www.leaseguide.com/leasevsbuy.htm. What would be the advantages of owning the car? What would be the advantages of leasing it? For your lifestyle, needs, and uses of a vehicle, should you buy or lease? 2014 Ford Explorer to lease it for 24 month, 12,000 miles per year with an A-Plan discount and $2500 down payment the payment would be $335 per month. To Purchase the vehicle on a 60 month loan with $2500 down would be $589 per month. The advantages of buying a vehicle is that it is a major investment, better finance rates, you do not have worry about miles, you can sell it to recover some equity or trade it in to purchase something new, you can keep it as long as you would like. It is your vehicle once it is paid off. The advantages of leasing a vehicle would be a low monthly payment, no down payment, getting a new car more often, fewer maintenances concerns, not having to worry about selling the vehicle, and GAP coverage is usually included if the vehicle is totaled. In our family we do both we have one vehicle we purchased and one we lease. I do not drive a lot of miles and I work at a dealership so I like to get a new vehicle every 2 years. I also like not having to worry about the vehicle breaking down etc†¦ We also own a vehicle so we do not have to worry about going over mileage if we take road trips, we have something that is ours to use as equity and we have a very good interest rate. 4. You are considering purchasing an existing single-family house for $200,000 with a 20 percent down payment and a thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.5 percent. a. What would be your monthly mortgage payment? The payment would be $908.46 per month. b. If you decided to buy two points for a rate of 5 percent, how much would you save in monthly payments? Would it  be worth it to buy the points? Why, or why not? The payment would be $888.75 and yes it would be worth it because you are saving $22.71 per month and that would add up over a 30-year period to $8175.60. c. When should you consider an adjustable-rate mortgage? If you are only planning on having a mortgage for a short time it would be wise to consider an adjustable-rate mortgage because the rate stays the same for 5 years then it could change afterwards either or the better or the rates could go up significantly.