Unemployment in America Essay Example for Free

Unemployment in America Essay Here is good news for you: according to the New York Times, the unemployment rate in America dropped to 7.7% which is the lowest rate in four years. But is this rate low enough? The answer is no. The labor market is far from recovery. There are around 11 million people who still need jobs. Throughout American history of unemployment, The United States has experienced 11 recessions since the end of the postwar period in 1948. The U.S. unemployment rate rose steadily from 5% in January 2008 to a peak of 10% in October 2009. For college students, when we graduate and are getting ready for the taste of the real world, we will find out that the real world is not easy and it is not always fair. Good jobs are very few and far between, especially during the high unemployment rate period. The reason we care about unemployment so much is because the unemployment has many bad influences. First, the unemployment has psychological consequence. According to the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues: the stress of unemployment can lead to declines in individual and family well-being. The burden of unemployment can also affect outcomes for children. The stress and depressive symptoms associated with job loss can negatively affect parenting practices such as increasing punishment. As a result, children report more distress and depressive symptoms. Second, the unemployment affects the social stability. The unemployment will result in low-quality housing, underfunded schools and lack of money, and all these factors can link to the increase in the property crime. The unemployment also causes the loss in consumer spending which is the significant driver of economic growth. The main reason of unemployment is the lack of demand. There are several reasons that cause the demand is less than supply. The first reason is high tax rate. Businesses need to pay more tax in America than many other countries, and if the costs that companies need to pay are too high, the companies may cut some jobs in order to reduce the training and wage costs. Since the tax costs and wage rates are very high in America, businesses may choose to move their companies to other countries, such as china and India, thus leading to huge amount of job loss in America. For example, the labor costs in China are much lower than in America, so if one business chooses to outsource some parts of the company, it will save lots of money, but decrease the potential job opportunities in America. Automation also affects the demand. The technology plays more and more important role nowadays; hence, people are placed by machines. For example, there are many self-check machines in groceries and airports, and these turn out the decreases in needs of jobs. In general, employment is still a big problem in America. The main reason for unemployment is the lack of demand. The unemployment has psychological and material influences for people, and it also affects the national economy and social stability. We all want jobs; we all want better lives. Job does not mean anything, but without a job, what can we do as college students? Not only for us, but also the family members and friends around us; we need chances to prove ourselves, and enjoy the life in the steady environment.

1920s in The Great Gatsby Essay example -- essays research papers

Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel. Dubbed the ‘roaring 20s’, because of the massive rise in America’s economy, this social and historical context is widely remembered for its impressive parties and sensationalist attitude. However, Fitzgerald also conveys a more sinister side to this culture through numerous affairs, poverty and a rampage of organised crime. By exposing this moral downfall, Fitzgerald reveals to the responder his value of the American dream and his belief of its decline. As a writer, Fitzgerald was always very much concerned with the present times, consequently, his writing style and plot reflects his own experiences of this era. So similar were the lives of Fitzgerald’s characters to his own that he once commented, â€Å"sometimes I don't know whether Zelda (his wife) and I are real or whether we are characters in one of my novels†. In 1924, Fitzgerald was affected by Zelda’s brief affair with a young French pilot, provoking him to lock her in their house. A construction of this experience can be seen in the way Fitzgerald depicts the 1290s context. For example in ‘The Great Gatsby’, there are numerous affairs and at one point, Mr Wilson locks up his wife to pre... ...der an intense image of the pretence that he believed the upper-class felt during the 1920s. In literature, the rose is usually a symbol of beauty and love, however Fitzgerald makes the comment that in reality, the 1920s are not entirely the wonderful era they are portrayed to be. While the issue of materialism is still very relevant in a modern-day context, the force behind it is quite different. Materialism is less a result of society’s search for love and happiness in an unethical culture, rather, high wages and relatively inexpensive commodities mean that modern, upper-class society obliges to the world of consumerism simply because it can. Through his remarkable use of techniques and style, Fitzgerald has created a realistic construction of his experience of the 1920s which is also heavily shaped by the present-day responder’s own beliefs and practices.

The Social Effects of Industrialization

The Industrial revolution began during the 1700s in Great Britain. This was mainly due to the large textile production during this time. The grow in textile production was because of the increase in the demand in the wool and cotton industries. New machines were made to help control these demands. But, because the new machines couldn't fit within the homes of the people like previous times this led to the beginning of Textile mills. But as these mills became more involved and advanced the lives of the workers became harder and much less safe in the working environment.Great Britain was the ideal situation to begin the Industrial Revolution because it received raw materials from the colonies, commerce was encouraged because of political stability, and their shipping was defended and protected by the world's most powerful navy. Due to all of this, the government supported business, agriculture, and other factors the contributed to production. Plus, during this time in history there was a substantial increase in the population of Europe as well. The first factories were powered by water mills but eventually these were replaced with steam engines that were improved by James Watt in 1763.After this improvement there were other inventions that were made as well. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney, removed the seeds from the cotton. The spinning jenny, invented by James Hargreaves, allowed weavers to spin the threads more quickly. Lastly, the Flying Shuttle, invented by John Kay, allowed the weavers to push thread back and forth on the six foot wide loom much faster than was previously possible. After the start of factories began, life in society changed immensely.Farmers started leaving to work for more profitable jobs in the factories and most of the time, owners would provide housing but the families were usually overcrowded in the small living areas. Pollution was crazy because there weren't any environmental standards like there are today. Most of the factor ies had very few toilets and trash was left on the streets. Over time, factory jobs became known as â€Å"woman’s work†. The reason being because most factories hired women and children over men because they could pay them less for the same amount, or more, work.Children were small, so they were used to make repairs and adjustments to the machine parts as well as crawl through small tunnels to get more coal. But working conditions were poor and hazardous to the people. Many were injured or killed because of unsafe working conditions. Finally unions were made to try and help better the work environment for the employees. One of the men who helped make a huge difference during this time was Lewis Hine. Lewis Hine took pictures of the work conditions and the workers themselves to provide evidence for cases to help create laws to make things better.After a short time, with the help of Hine's photographs they were successful in betting the working environment for the people and those laws actually still influence the work environment to this very day. So the Industrial Revolution effected many people and created many inventions for many things that help to make the base of what led to many of today’s inventions but it also led to many new laws that help to influence their time as well as still influences our time to help keep people safe.

Free Middle School Science Fair Projects

Its hard enough to come up with a middle school science fair project, but its even more challenging to find one that wont cost you any money. Heres a selection of ideas for middle school science fair projects that use materials you likely already have on hand or else allows you to collect data from free sources. For a middle school project, try to propose a hypothesis and design an experiment to test it. Choose a project you can do fairly quickly so that you will have time to work on the report or poster. Do you have a pet? Devise an experiment to determine whether it can see in color or is right/left pawed, etc. If you have multiple pets, see if their handedness is related to gender (male or female).  Do any household chemicals repel (or attract) insects?What ratio of vinegar to baking soda produces the best chemical volcano eruption?What type of plastic wrap prevents evaporation the best? Is plastic wrap more effective than aluminum foil?What plastic wrap prevents oxidation the best?What percentage of an orange is water?Are night insects attracted to lamps because of heat or light?Do white candles burn at a different rate than colored candles?Does the presence of detergent in water affect plant growth?Can a saturated solution of sodium chloride still dissolve Epsom salts? Can it still dissolve sugar?Does magnetism affect the growth of plants?How does the shape of an ice cube affect how quickly it melts? What effect does size have?Do different brands of popcorn leave different amou nts of unpopped kernels?Can you determine how long it takes people to fall asleep? What factors affect how quickly they fall asleep?How do differences in surfaces affect the adhesion of tape?If you shake up different kinds or brands of soft drinks (e.g., carbonated), will they all spew the same amount?Are all potato chips equally greasy? How about chips made from other vegetables (e.g., beets, sweet potatoes)?Do the same types of mold grow on all types of bread? Does the same mold grow on bread as on tortillas?Does light effect the rate at which foods spoil?Can you use a household water filter to remove flavor or color from other liquids?Does the power of a microwave affect how well it makes popcorn?Compare labels on foods. Is the nutritional content of different brands of a vegetable the same?How permanent are permanent markers? What solvents (e.g., water, alcohol, vinegar, detergent solution) will remove the ink? Do different brands/types of markers produce the same results?Is lau ndry detergent as effective if you use less than the recommended amount? More?Do all hairsprays hold equally well? Equally long? Does type of hair affect the results?What effect do additives have on the crystals? You could add food coloring, flavorings, etc.What steps can you take to maximize crystal size? You can affect vibration, humidity, temperature, rate of evaporation, purity of your growth medium, and time allowed for crystal growth.How do different factors affect seed germination?Is a seed affected by its size? Do different size seeds have different germination rates or percentages? Does seed size affect the growth rate or final size of a plant?How does cold storage affect the germination of seeds?What conditions affect the ripening of fruit?How are different soils affected by erosion? You can make your own wind or water and evaluate the effects on soil. If you have access to a very cold freezer, you can look at the effects of freeze and thaw cycles.How does the pH of soil r elate to the pH of the water around the soil?How effective are natural pest deterrents?