American Government Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Government - Personal Statement Example It is feared only a percentage of payment of benefits will be raised from FICA taxes, thus causing an imbalance that will need to be found from the Social Security Trust Fund, which as years go by will diminish. Recent economic events have increased levels of unemployment; meaning less people are paying into the Social Security system. Some may invest into an unsuitable private system or none at all; this raises questions as to what would happen to them and their surviving relatives in the event of disability/retirement or death, thus the effectiveness of privatisation is doubtful. For those who invest privately, this may mean better benefits are paid, than the Social Security system offers (Shipman, 1995). However, an element of risk concerns private investment, whereby people could lose out if private companies collapse/become bankrupt due to the economy (or due to dishonest investments), and that amounts paid could vary according to stock markets (Campbell and Feldstein, 2001). If Social Security is privatised, I will need to give greater thought to the future, much earlier. Private plans need to be put in place to ensure financial stability in retirement, and in case of long-term disability or death.

Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Industrial Revolution Essay Friederich Engels), The Sadler Commission Testimonies, and the selections from Elizabeth Gaskells novel North and South we are able to witness how the Industrial Revolution impacted both economic and social aspects of life during that time. No one can doubt that the Industrial Revolution provided advantages that ultimately helped mold our society into the modern world that we know and love. However, the disadvantages were way more detrimental to those that lived through the Industrial Revolution. Harsh polluted living and working conditions, social class tension and cruel child and family labor ere all drawbacks that can not be ignored and overlooked by the Industrial Revolutions now present successes. The Industrial Revolution brought about Emigration and Urbanization. Prior to the Industrial Revolution many families resided in rural farming areas on the countryside. They were considered peasants that used farming and agriculture as a means for money and stability. Although many families stayed in the life of farming, many other families decided to move into the cities to look for Jobs doing industrial work in the coalmines and cotton mills. Living conditions in the urban cities were definitely a dramatic change. Instead of rural wide-open fresh-aired land, they were cramped up in overpopulated and polluted cities. Overall the cities were not exactly the cleanest places to live. They were also filled with both air and water pollution. The factories expelled harmful toxins likes soot and ashes into the air, causing the quality of air to be terrible. Many families that worked in these factories lived in tenement housing, which were very cramp, crowded and all stuck together. These housed did not have indoor plumbing or sewage, so waste and trash would be thrown into the streets. That would then run into the water supply to be used. Overall families had to endure very harsh living conditions Just to be able to work in these also harsh factories. Most of todays children have the luxury of going to school and having their parents work to support the household. However, most times in the days of the Industrial Revolution everyone in the family had to work to support life. Men, women and children as young as six did work in the factories. This was because parents alone could not earn enough money and needed their childrens help as well. In the Sadler Commission Testimonies, Michael Sadler interviews individuals to gain information and shed light on the troubles from the Industrial Revolution. He records Why do you allow your children to go to work at those places where they are ill-treated or over-worked? † Necessity compels a man that has children to let them work. Then asks Then you would not allow your children to go to those factories under the present system, if it as not from necessity? † No. (Sadler) This explains how it was absolute necessary to kids to work and help out in most tamilies. Also, unlike the stereotypical social gender norm that men are more useful and suitable for labor working Jobs, women and children were more desired by factory owners to work for them because of their ability to be more nimble and petite in size was more helpful to operate the machinery. FromFactory System: Two Views (Dr. Andrew Ure vs. Friederich Engels),Friederich Engels explains When spinning or weaving machinery isinstalled ractically all that is left to bedone by the hand is the piecing togetherof broken threads, and the machinedoes the rest. This task calls for nimblefingers rather than muscular strength. The labour of grown men is not merelyunnecessary but actually unsuitable. (Engels 457) . This ultimately lead into women and children being exploited the most in the work place. Not to be confused, everyone that worked in factories were taken advantaged of by their wealthier factory owning bosses, Those who owned factories were called the Bourgeois which developed as a new middle lass and those who worked in those factories were called Proletanats, which were the working low class laborers.

Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Symbolism is traditionally a sign or token of something. In the matter of literature, the definition of the literary device, symbolism, is more complicated. Symbols of literature are usually metaphysical. The main symbol of The Scarlet Letter is the red "A" that Hester Prynne was sentenced to wear on her chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne's intention was to make the meaning of the crimson token worn on the bosom of Hester Prynne is highly ambiguous. In this he was successful. Although the "A" means "adulteress" to the people of Boston, to reader the "A" may have other meanings such as "American" or "able". To the townspeople, author, and reader clearly the original intention of the "A" was to stand for "adulteress". When Hester Prynne became pregnant during the absence of her husband she was accused and convicted of adultery. Her sentence was to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to let everyone know that she was an adulteress, forevermore. Because of her unique sentence everyone knew that she was, in fact, an adulteress and people treated her that way. Society condemned her for her sin, without knowing anything else. Hester was forced to live alone on the outskirts of the city. She was a seamstress, but got very little business. When she used her skills to decorate the "A", things only got worse. People felt that she was trying to show off the fact that she was an adulteress, or that she was proud to be. Hester's daughter, Pearl, was constantly ridiculed by other children for being an "evil", "devil" child. Clearly it was the first intention of the symbol to reve! al that Hester Prynne was an adulteress. Although the first intention of the "A" was to mark Hester Prynne as an adulteress, it also has other, more abstract meanings. The letter has a relation to the word, "American". Hester Prynne's "A" reflects an "American" meaning in various ways. For one, America is a melting pot of many peoples and ideas, as was Hester's "A". She earned that "A" under certain situations. She was in a loveless marriage. She had been separated from her husband for 2 years. She thought he might be at the bottom of the sea. She was in love with another man. She was perceived and punished under a strict Puritan eye. Like the development of America, the were many conditions that led to the developed of Hester's "A". Another way that Hester Prynne's "A" symbolizes America, is that they were both shaped by past actions. No matter how Hester had changed, since her act of adultery, at any point

Voyager Interstellar Mission

The Voyager Interstellar Mission is rooted in the Grand Tour – an alignment of the outer planets which allowed for a single space probe to visit each of them rapidly.The Voyager spacecraft were constructed to do just that – obtain close up views and observations of the outer planets. Together, the two spacecraft brought unprecedented observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their corresponding satellites and ring systems.Having completed their planetary mission after the visit of Neptune in 1989, the two Voyagers are now continuing their journey out of the Solar System. Instead of fading into obscurity, the Voyagers are still transmitting back observations in its new mission – the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Instead of observing planets, the two spacecraft are now giving us our first glimpses into the edges of the solar system.To do this, mission scientists had to use instruments meant for observing planets for observing the environment at the area at the edge of the Solar System. Five distinct and specialized scientific groups are currently engaged on analyzing the data coming from Voyager. Together with Voyager, these groups have expanded our understanding of the outer solar system.Power and funding challenges continue to hound the Voyager mission. Since its launch, Voyager's power source has been continually declining. To cope with the lowered power output, components of Voyager have been shut down one by one which means that some measurements have already been or will be stopped in the near future.The mission ends when the power sources cannot anymore power any single instrument. Some earth bound problems remain however as budget cuts threaten the existence of the mission.Voyager Interstellar Mission – Paper ProposalFor this paper, I plan on discussing the Voyager Interstellar Mission.   The proposed   outline is attached below.My interest in the Voyager Interstellar Mission lies in their wonderful history and u nique position. In this sense, the Voyager spacecraft are like â€Å"the little space probes that could†.The Voyager spacecraft were initially launched more than thirty years ago to take advantage of a unique arrangement of the outer planets.   This arrangement made The Grand Tour possible, visiting each of the outer planets consecutively within a short amount of time.The spacecraft were originally meant to take closeup observations of the outer planets, observations which were not possible to make from Earth. They were successful in doing this, having sent back pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Their discoveries adding to and refining our knowledge of the outer planets.Having finished their original mission, the two spacecraft continue on their voyage out of the Solar System. With no forces holding them back, the two will continue on their journey indefinitely and will soon be traveling in Interstellar space.The Voyager Interstellar Mission takes advantage o f this fact, exploiting the location of the twin Voyagers to gather data and observations about the edge of the Solar System. If the planetary mission helped to add and refine our knowledge of the outer planets, the interstellar mission is currently helping add and refine our knowledge of the environment and processes at work at the solar system's edge.In line with this, I also plan on discussing current knowledge about the edge of the Solar System. This knowledge will help the reader comprehend the scope of the Voyager Interstellar Mission as well as what the Voyager probes are expected to understand.A discussion of the spacecraft is also needed to understand the mission. The instruments used in the interstellar mission are the same instruments used in observing the outer planets.By understanding these instruments, we get an understanding of the kind of observations that the Voyagers are doing in Interstellar space. We also gain an understanding of the operations that enable the mi ssion to communicate with Earth. Understanding the spacecraft also allows us to understand the main challenge facing the mission – the loss in power.Even if the success of the Voyager program has already been established, it still faces some challenges. Due to its age its power generating system has had severe losses in capacity. Because of this several instruments and systems aboard the craft have already been shut down due to the loss in power. Earth bound troubles also hound the craft as budget cuts threaten the existence of the mission.To complete the paper, I plan on giving a few samples of the scientific advances that the Interstellar mission has brought. It is also important to realize the amount of research that the thirty year old Voyagers have enabled. I also point out some researches from Voyager that have helped us in our understanding of the Sun.In this way, I point out that these spacecraft even if they are very far are even giving us new insights to something t hat is quite close to home.  

External & Global Environment of Louis Vuitton in Japan Essay

Introduction This case study is on the external and global environment of Louis Vuitton (LV) in Japan. For many years, Japan has been Louis Vuitton’s most profitable market but the economic crisis has had a negative effect on sales; sales have declined in the past few years. According to Tokyo Fashion News in November of 2008, LV has â€Å"seen more than a 5% decline in sales in Japan so far this year† (para. 3). They attribute the decline to one of two things, the decline in the Japanese economy or that LV has fallen out of favor with the Japanese people. Synopsis of the Situation With a decline in the economy, Louis Vuitton has been forced to open stores that offer a lower priced collection. The Japanese economy can no longer support the high-end collector name brands that it used to but Japan is in love with LV. â€Å"Based on sales figures and brand image indicators, we have compiled Asia’s Top Ten. It confirms what every luxe-loving Asian already knows: There is nothing to beat the charms of Louis Vuitton and Rolex† (Chadha, R. & Husband, Paul, 2006, para. 5). Key Issues The number one key issue would be the decline in the economy. The second key issue is that the Japanese are looking for a good deal, good value to product. The third key issue is the number of competitors in the Japanese markets that offer luxury products. Define the Problem In 2008, the economy in Japan and all over the world took a nosedive; people  were worried about making ends meet and severely cut down on buying luxury items. People started looking for products that offer a better value for their yen and became more cost conscious of what they were buying. There is serious competition in Japan for the luxury market. Among the competitors are Rolex, Cartier, Gucci, Chanel, and Prada to name a few (Table 1.1). Alternative Solutions One alternative solution would be to create a less expensive product and market it to a larger segment of the market. A second solution would be to improve the quality of their product and continue to market as a luxury item. A third solution would be to offer a middle of the line product available online that would draw the customers away from the other luxury item companies that would not require a storefront. Selected Solution to the Problem The selected solution to the problem would be to offer a middle of the line product available exclusively online. By offering the products online the company would not be require to have a physical store for customers to come into. This would cut costs dramatically; there would not be the overhead of operating a store, paying employees, or paying the costs of running a store. This would also offer customers the convenience of shopping from home. Implementation Implementation of this plan could be tricky. The company needs to make sure they have the capacity to handle a large volume of internet orders and they need the inventory on hand so they could ship items in a timely manner. Probably a million small details will need to be dealt with so the company needs to do some brainstorming with employees and management as to what problems may arise at implementation. Being prepared for any unforeseen problems would be very important before implementation, do not wait until problems arise to brainstorm solutions. By making sure they are prepared for orders, word-of-mouth advertising could be a huge advantage. Secondly, the company would have to make up a great advertisement campaign targeting the middle-class and the products that would be available. Recommendations Louis Vuitton should start a marketing campaign focusing on the middle class in Japan offering mid-priced products that are available exclusively online. The company should focus on smaller, out of the way cities first that do not have access to the higher priced stores and move out from there. Depending on the success of the marketing campaign in the smaller cities, the company should move to the larger cities where they have stores in order of population starting from smallest to largest. If these campaigns are successful, they could consider moving outside of Japan into China. Conclusion While Louis Vuitton is very popular in Japan, the decline in the economy has affected sales. Because there are so many other luxury stores in Japan, the company should focus on the larger, middle class segment of the population. By offering a lower priced, quality product the company could gain market share by attracting more customers from a larger population of people. Offering these products online opens the door for customers that do not live in an area where their stores are located. References Louis Vuitton Japan Lowering Prices. (2008, November 29). Tokyo Fashion News RSS. Retrieved June 9, 2014, from http://tokyofashion.com/louis-vuitton-japan- lowering-prices/ Chadha, R., & Husband, P. (2006, January 1). The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair With Luxury. . Retrieved June 9, 2014, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/results?sid=d07a16b5-4279-45c4-925174ed637b11f1%40sessionmgr4004&vid=3&hid=4110&bquery=DE+%22Brand+name+products++Social+aspects+Asia%22&bdata=JmNsaTA9RlQmY2x2MD1ZJnR5cGU9MCZzaXRlPWVkcy1saXZl and image scores.