Abstract This short paper outlines the problems of homelessness that exist in America. The author gives a few options for solutions and compares homelessness of today and of the past, suggesting that loss of community and social life add to the problem.
From the Paper "We"ve all seen them on the street. Many of us have given them our spare change while passing by. Maybe you"ve even served them Thanksgiving dinner in a shelter somewhere. Perhaps you?ve felt an overwhelming sense of pity for them, or maybe a sense of detest and disgust. The point is, homelessness is a major problem in America. You can go to any major city and find homeless people on park benches, street corners, doorways, and stairwells. And in every city, you will see almost the same thing ? the average American passing by them while doing their best to ignore them ? this is how we have trained ourselves as a nation to react to this problem ? ignore it. It seems to big a problem to solve, so we ignore it as well as we can. Unfortunately, the last thing we should be doing is ignoring it ? the fact that there are citizens of our country who do not have the basic needs that we need as humans ? food, shelter, and clothing ? is horrendous. I"m going to add one more necessity to that list: love and acceptance. Not only are we ignoring their physical needs, but we don"t even think about their emotional needs. Luckily, I am not alone in my call to action on this subject ? many groups such as the National Coalition for the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, PADS (a close to home organization ? PADS serves the southwest suburbs homeless community with shelters, food, and health care), Goodwill, newspapers and the rest of the media, and even some judges, lawyers, legislators, and other government officials join in the plea to solve this homelessness problem that seems so overwhelming."
This paper explores drug prohibition in America. It is written from a point of view that supports the legalization of drugs. Political, constitutional and financial affects on American government are discussed.
3,087 words (approx. 12.3 pages), 11 sources, 2001, $ 90.95
Abstract This paper examines the repercussions of drug prohibition. This paper is written from a point of view that supports the legalization of drugs. It explores the history of America's "War on Drugs" from a political and financial standpoint. Crime, civil liberties, foreign countries economies and medical uses for illegal drugs are discussed. Many of the statistics that are studied in this paper are taken from the DEA's web site and proven to be invalid through outside sources. This paper looks at where the government funding for drug prohibition goes; it also looks at drug prices, crime rates and statistics pertaining to the inmate population of drug offenders.
From the Paper "Every year America's drug policies are debated in Washington. These drug policies are never debated seriously, the only aspect our elected representatives focus on is how much more money should America spend battling drugs. Outside of Washington there is a growing unease about the war on drugs. Many Americans are concluding that the drug war has been given a fair chance to work and has failed. America's war on drugs is an unsuccessful battle, and it's time for a governmental reform."
Abstract This paper promotes the idea of a free immigration policy in the United States. It discusses the contributions that immigrants, of all nationalities, have made to the the growth of the United States economically and socially:
From the paper:
"The recent level of immigration that the United States of America has been experiencing is clearly beneficial to the economy. Today, and throughout the history of the nation, immigrants play key roles in society, and without them, regions of the country with the largest immigrant growth rates would suffer, as would the country as a whole. The immigrants to the United States at this time are not simply the poor and uneducated of the third world; they come from all social and economic classes."
Abstract This paper reviews how the Chinese government implemented a strict one-child policy decades ago in order to control its drastic population explosion. The author indicates that although the policy was enforced with reward and punishment, it has been largely successful. However, this policy, against natural process of reproduction, is creating serious social issues such as gender imbalance and orphans. The policy is very controversial due to its inhumane approach including mass sterilizations and forced abortions, and the policy also violates a human right of reproduction. This paper examines whether China can supply enough food, jobs and places to live for its people despite this policy and what problems China will face in the future.
From the Paper "More than a fifth of the world's population lives in China today. Even though Chinese government had implemented a fairly successful One-child policy, Chinese population will continue to grow until it is estimated to level off sometime before 2100. Chinese government was successful in making people believe that having more than one child is not good for China's future. On the other hand, strict and inhumane policy had raised some issues in terms of basic human rights in reproduction and also damage to traditional values. However controversial the policy was, it helped to control China's population growth. The question China must answer is; Can China support itself today, and in the future?"
Abstract Since its inception, the Social Security system has provided benefits to augment the income of people upon their retirement. However, current projections point to a crisis in Social Security. Experts believe that by 2038, the Social Security trust fund will have been depleted. This paper presents an overview of the current social security crisis and evaluates the plans to address this problem. The first part of the paper provides a history of the Social Security system, from its inception in 1935 to its current status under the federal government. The next part then studies how the Social Security system is funded. In the final part, the paper studies the problems facing many retirees who stand to be adversely affected by the Social Security deficit. It looks at the pitfalls of privatization and other methods now being used to address the problem, such as proposed tax credits, simplifying the tax process and key changes in retirement policy.
From the Paper "A privatized pension allows employers to manage the plan's assets, while promising to credit the worker's pensions with a corresponding interest rate. However, employers have often changed this rate, reducing the value of their employees' pensions. For example, when companies like IBM, AT&T and Citibank switched from traditional pensions to cash balance plan, the pensions paid to longtime employees were significantly reduced. Because of the potential for abuse, conversions to cash-balance plans were banned in 1999. The Bush plan for privatization, however, would allow employers to return to such practices, under the guise of augmenting the Social Security trust fund (Leone)."
Abstract This paper looks at whether the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) or Average Daily Membership (ADM) provides a better way of allocating funding for schools. The paper also looks at provisions for funding of the No Child Left Behind Act, and how best to equalize funding resources.
From the Paper "The Ohio House budget called for a shift in the way students are counted because it believed that Average Daily Membership (ADM) counts phantom students and it preferred to count Average Daily Attendance( ADA). President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers testified before the Ohio Senate Education Committee that because a student is absent on a given day, the cost of the educating that student is not reduced at all. Students who have erratic attendance records actually cost more to educate he said..."
Abstract This paper argues that the current energy crisis in California has been manufactured by politicians through the intentional manipulation of the availability of energy sources for consumers. The author includes explanations for this accusation.
From the Paper "The Californian energy crisis is quickly demonstrating to politicians, environmentalists, and economists that there are certain flaws in the structure of how energy is produced and delivered to the people of the United States. Thus far, this problem has manifested mainly on the West coast due to several key factors in overall energy use statistics. These factors shall be examined later in this paper. However, the current issues of the energy crisis are often distributed between blaming economists for bad energy management strategies and blaming politicians for providing sanctions that open up the minimal power reserves for additional use. This paper shall examine this problem from the perspective of the economist, where it will be clearly shown how the meddling of politicians has resulted in the current energy crisis in California."
Tags: companies, company, economy, electric, management, wilson
Abstract A discussion of the influence of Protestant Reformations on State Sovereignty of the European States. The author discusses the way religion evolved from being a comforting concept of ever-lasting life to a powerful tool of reign. The author looks at the fall of the domination of the Christian church and how, as a result, the Protestant Reformation brought about a new school of thought and political structure independent of church.
From the Paper "The events of the Protestant Reformation that spawned through Europe at the beginning of that century came as a result of the corruption and domination of the church, and their purpose was to restore Christianity and its original mission. The aftermath of those events, however, went beyond cleansing of the church, and allowed not only for other religions to be born, but also for the European states to reclaim secular governments and ruling independent of the church."
Tags: christian, religion, state, politics, government, gods, church
Abstract This paper discusses the concept of liberalism with reference to Hobbes? and Locke's viewpoints. The author of this paper explains that both writers discuss the ideas of government and liberalism from a different viewpoint to other writers in that they refer to ideas of the nature of man and man's conduct in the ?state of nature' rather than ideas based on religion. While both refer to the concept of a social contract as a way to rule and govern, Hobbes stresses the importance of the monarch as the ruling and powerful entity, while Locke emphasizes the importance of the community and people as the superior aspect
From the Paper "In developing their theory of government, both Hobbes and Locke start with a hypothetical ?state of nature.? And both have reason and rationality as their base to arrive at their respective conclusions, rather than concepts derived from religion and divinity. The difference lies in their ideas of the nature of man and man's conduct in the ?state of nature.? Hence their different conclusions. Although both talk of a "Social Contract" while developing their respective ideas of government, Hobbes favors monarchy and holds the monarch, once the people give consent to him, as all powerful, whereas Locke holds that the people [i.e. the community] that give legitimacy to the ruler to govern are supreme."
Abstract This paper discusses the commonalities and differences between the budgets of individual, for-profit, non-profit and public-sector entities. This paper explains how the budget process is similar and different between all of these entities. Budgeting is a critical element in financial planning, explains the author--whether the budget applies to an individual, a company or public entity, the budgeting process, its application and execution forecast the expected future.
From the Paper "One of the most essential ingredients for a manager to effectively run an organization is the ability to develop and implement a good budget. The main objective of a budget is to establish a method of allocating limited resources in order to achieve the best return on their dollars. Furthermore a budget also outlines the various sources of revenue and the anticipated amount of money that will be derived from each source. Individuals, governments, non-profit organizations and profit making businesses commonly use this financial planning process. Each of these entity's budgets have many similarities and differences."
Abstract This paper attempts to examine the phenomena of urban sprawl by identifying states that have been able to implement comprehensive growth management programs and by reviewing several historical cases.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Importance
Literature Review
Research Design and Methods
Results
Conclusions
Works Cited
Appendices
From the Paper "Urban spread has become a major concern for various reasons. According to some urban sprawl should be controlled through extensive planning campaigns. Proponents of this group argue that the open spaces for farmland, once considered an off limits arena for the urban commuters, today with the help of developers has slowly encroached on farm designated land. Opponents to sprawl are quick to point out that the zoning rules, higher taxes and fewer consumer choices all contribute to sprawl. It is the duty of the government to devise effective plans to control sprawl. The federal government is responsible for limiting the gradual undertaking of this new breed of consumers [Gordon and Richardson, 1997]."
Abstract This paper discusses the issues relating to diversity in the workplace and why this diversity is essential to the globalization of a corporation as it promotes customer relations, product innovation and investment opportunities. In particular it investigates diversity programs and their impact on racial and ethical relations in the workplace. Through a literature review, it examines how programs such as affirmative action have created hostility and racial tension due to white racism and how the current diversity programs have created ethical tensions due to their inclusivity of a broad spectrum of people. It examines how racial tensions lower morale and have a negative influence on the attitudes of employees. It concludes with an explanation of why these programs are necessary and important and are here to stay despite their seemingly ineffectiveness.
From the Paper "In the years following the formation of the Philadelphia Plan the concept of affirmative action was created. Affirmative action was designed to give minorities a fair opportunity to gain the education and employment that only whites had access to. Today the term affirmative action has been replaced with "diversity programs". While the basic concepts of the terms are virtually identical there are some obvious differences in their definitions. Affirmative action was designed primarily to help ethnic minorities while diversity programs cover a broader range of people to include homosexuals and those with physical and mental handicaps."
Abstract An essay reviewing theories concerning what factors affect the motivation and effort of government employees. The author also gives an opinion on what factors currently affect this issue and what should be done to increase this motivation. Employee motivation is a major challenge in the public administration, a topic that has received relatively little attention in this sector. Several factors past theorists have investigated include working conditions, leadership styles, and human needs. However, the public sector needs to look towards other factors and solutions in order to increase their employee motivation and production.
From the Paper "Keeping the job has been the primary goal of industrial workers ever since they abandoned their farms to find work in the factories of the city. Today, the recurring problem for managers is to motivate the workers to do more than is minimally necessary to keep that job. Employee motivation is a major challenge in the public administration, a topic that has received relatively little attention in this sector. This lack of attention is surprising since public sector organizations are under constant pressure to improve their productivity and reduce their costs. The public sector position has been portrayed as a calling, a sense of duty, rather than a job, but currently public sector employees frequently are stereotyped as lazy, self-serving, and misguided. A better understanding of work motivation is essential to any efforts to describe, defend, or improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public organizations to commit to the public interest."
Abstract This paper is a profile of Center for Disease Control, and reviews it's mission statement, functions, partnerships and alliances, global vs. national activities, funding and structure. This paper further reviews a grid that was prepared to compare and contrast the differences and inter-dependencies of the three levels of government support: federal, state and local.
From the Paper "The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is a federal agency that although portrayed in the media as mostly involved in the diagnosis of rare tropical and deadly diseases, is actually involved in much more far reaching areas of expertise ranging from birth defects and their prevention to on the job safety; all on a national level. This paper will describe the agency, its roles, funding and regulatory issues. Finally, a grid will present the differences and interdependent relationship of the CDC on the federal, state and local levels. While the CDC is a huge organization, performing many important functions with a vast number of sub-organizations and facilities that are administered by the CDC Office of the Director, this paper will only present a high level briefing on the topics mentioned; detailed presentations are considered beyond the scope of this presentation."
A discussion of the NSA's ability to intercept ordinary e-mails, faxes, telexes, and telephone communications carried over the world's telecommunications networks.
1,210 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 7 sources, 2000, $ 41.95
From the Paper "The National Security Agency, or NSA, is a branch of the U.S. government responsible for monitoring data, and encoding and encrypting top-secret messages. Originally set up in 1952, it coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information. It enlists hundreds of the country's most skilled mathematicians and uses state-of-the-art computers in order to ensure that information is not leaked from the country, as well as to intercept messages from potential threats to the nation's security ("About NSA"). "
