Neighborhood Project Checklist

Project Due: Wed. June 11th

❑ 6-10 PHOTOS taken by you
❑ MAP OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
❑ 1 INTERVIEW
❑ ESSAY / VIDEO with 4 sections:

1. History
2. Demographics
3. Economy/Business Community
4. Your Choice (i.e. a place, person, event, or issue that has impacted the community)

❑ WORKS CITED PAGE
❑ 4 SOURCES minimum (including interview)
NOTE: must include other sources besides just interviews

EXTRA CREDIT!!
• Powerpoint
• More than one interview
• A typed transcript of the interview

Works Cited Guides

If you're having trouble remembering (and/or lost the various sheets I handed out this year) how to do a works cited page... check out these sites for clear instructions & examples:

• University of Arizona Works Cited Guide

• C.W. Post Works Cited Guide

Note: These sites basically contain the same information. I prefer the University of Arizona site (shout out to Andy Hoffman!!), which is very clearly laid out. However, the C.W. Post site has a pretty nice color-coded scheme, if you're into that sort of thing.

How to Cite an Interview in MLA Format

1. For a works cited entry, format as follows:

Lastname, Firstname. Type of interview. Day Month Year. Ex: Hawking, Stephen W. Personal interview. 6 June 1990.

NOTE: For a telephone interview, write “Telephone interview” in place of “Personal interview.”

2. For an in-text citation, format as follows:

(Lastname)

Ex: Black holes emit radiation (Hawking).

Neighborhood Project

Due Date: Wednesday June 11th

OVERVIEW: This assignment asks you to research any neighborhood in New York. You will be trying to find out as much as you can about the social, political, economic, and geographic character of the neighborhood.


MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• 1 interview with a resident, business owner, or politician from the neighborhood (extra credit if you interview more than one person)
• 1 list of interview questions (must be turned in before you conduct the interview)
• 6-10 photographs of the neighborhood
• 1 essay or documentary film on the neighborhood (see below for directions)

ESSAY/DOCUMENTARY FORMAT:

I. INTRO

II. BODY

a. History of the neighborhood: name, boundaries, landmarks, map
b. Demographics: ethnic, religious, and economic character/statistics
c. Business/Industry in the neighborhood

PLUS ONE of the FOLLOWING:
• Government, community, and charity organizations
• Political character of neighborhood
• Public space: parks, schools, transportation

III. CONCLUSION

IV. WORKS CITED (at least 4 sources including the interview)


NOTE: The essay must have proper citations any time you state a fact that you learned from another source. For example:

In 1846, the Hamilton Avenue Ferry opened in order to ship goods from the Red Hook docks and factories back to Manhattan (Lockwood 216).

RESEARCH TIPS

IN PERSON:

• Walk around the neighborhood as if you’re seeing it for the first time. What do you notice?
• Ask a librarian for help at the New York Historical Society, the Brooklyn Historical Society, or Queens Historical Society
  
• Ask a librarian for help at your local branch of the public library
  
• Visit the Brooklyn Collection at the Brooklyn Public Library
• For info on Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island, visit the Long Island Division of the Queens Public Library
  

ONLINE:

• NYC.gov Neighborhood Maps and Profiles
  
• NYC.gov Community Health Profiles
  
• NYC.gov My Neighborhood Statistics
  
• Search the New York Daily News
  
• Search the New York Times
  
• Search the New York Post
  
• Do not use Wikipedia.org as source in your paper, but feel free to use it to get links to other sites/sources by looking at the “References” or "Notes" section at the bottom of the page

The State of Health Care in the United States

As we enter the twenty-first century, it is easy to argue that Americans have access to the best health care in the world. Technological advances, the vast majority of which are developed in the United States, make diagnosis and treatment more effective. Life expectancies have increased, and people’s lives are healthier in their later years. More and more communities now have access to sophisticated medical technology.

However, there are some disturbing trends in American health care that taint this rosy picture. Health care costs, overall, are increasing. U.S. health expenditure grew 14.6 percent in 2002 alone. That rate is expected to repeat itself over the next several years. Outpatient care and prescription drugs have led the way in cost increases, but the increased use of new technologies also contributes. Another important cause of rising costs is the aging of the American population. Older people require more – and more expensive – health care.

Higher costs of health care lead to higher insurance premiums. As a result, more employers are unwilling or unable to offer health insurance to their employees. The number of employees covered by health insurance dropped 4 percent between 2000–2004 to 60 percent. And those still offered insurance through their employment are paying higher premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. Employee-paid premiums rose about 60 percent between 2000–2004, and are expected to continue to rise more than 12 percent per year for the foreseeable future.

Fifteen percent of Americans, 43.6 million people, do not have health insurance and must either pay medical expenses themselves or rely on the health care system to absorb their costs. In turn, those who cannot pay raise costs for those who are insured. Those uninsured also are less likely to seek care and, as a result, are sicker and, thus, more costly when they do get treatment.

How did the American health care system get where it is today?
In 2000, 69 percent of all health insurance coverage for those under 65 was provided through employment-based programs. An employment-based program is a benefit provided to workers allowing them to obtain health insurance at no cost or reduced cost from an insurance company that has contracted with the employer. These programs generally offer lower premiums than individuals could find independently since the insurer offers group rates, thus spreading the risk.

Employment-based health insurance programs began in the early 1900s. Companies saw the programs as a means to provide non-wage benefits to employees and to improve the health and productivity of their workforce. During World War II, when the National War Labor Board enacted a wage freeze, employers expanded employment-based health insurance coverage as a way to attract and retain workers during the labor shortage of wartime.

In the 1950s post-war era, the number of employment-based programs continued to grow. In 1954, employer contributions to health plans were excluded from taxation by the federal government. Further, it was enacted that workers’ health benefits were not subject to federal income or Social Security taxes, thus giving workers a tax-free benefit, preferably, in many cases, to a wage increase.

These decisions established the provision of health care coverage in the United States to be a private good. A private good is a good that is produced and consumed by individuals through interaction in the marketplace. This path differed from most other industrialized countries that chose to treat health care as a public good, one that is produced by government to provide all citizens with some form of government-based health care program.

The private provision of health care insurance in the U.S. was modified during the Great Society era, in 1965, with the passage of Medicare and Medicaid legislation. These programs established the provision of some health care insurance as a public good. Medicare is government-provided health insurance for Americans over 65 years old, regardless of income, and Medicaid provides health care coverage for low-income Americans. In 2000, 14 percent of all health insurance coverage in the U.S. was provided by federal and state governments.

What effect has the current U.S. health care system had on the health care market?
The reliance on private insurance to pay for health care has led to a disconnect between buyers and sellers in the market for health care. Insurance companies act as a third party in the market, in the sense that consumers (patients) do not directly pay the cost of health care to the suppliers (doctors and hospitals).

Consumers who pay relatively small and capped costs have little incentive to seek lower prices for health care. If insurance covers the visit and the patient pays only a $20 or so co-pay, why would the patient care what the total bill is? Many argue this leads to overconsumption of health care services. Because Americans demand so many goods and services, they drive up health care costs.

Suppliers who are paid by insurance companies often have an incentive to provide more health care than is necessary. If insurance covers a test and protects a doctor or hospital from malpractice lawsuits, why would a doctor or hospital care what the total bill is? It can be argued that this mindset leads to over-supply and helps to drive up the cost of health care. The case can then be made that Americans consume and supply too much health care for the insured, thus driving up costs. On the other side of the coin, there are millions who have no or limited access to health care, which also drives up costs.

Consider a final note. Inefficiency in the current system drives up costs, as suppliers of health care attempt to deal with a large number of insurance companies, each of which has its own rules, regulations, and paperwork. An advantage is that the large number of health insurance companies offers the consumer choices. The downside is that the vast number of vendors creates unnecessary costs.

How can the United States reform the current health care system?
The answer to this question depends on whether you see health care as a private or public good. Most experts agree that not all Americans will be able to have access to all the health care they want. How then should society decide? Should the decision be based on the provision of health care as a private good in the market, tempered by the laws of supply and demand? Or, should health care be a public good, provided to all by government?


State of Health Care Q’s: Answer the following questions in complete sentences
1. What are three aspects of the health care costs have increased most in recent years?



2. What is employment-based insurance and how did it come about?




3. What is happening to employment-based insurance today?



4. What is the difference between a private good and a public good?



5. In what ways have consumers driven up the cost of health care?



6. In what ways have producers driven up the cost of health care?



7. What role has inefficiency played in driving up the cost of health care?

Stock Market Game

Log in to your team's account at http://www.stockmarketgame.org

Make sure everything is entered in uppercase letters.

Once you login, you can change your password if you want. Just click the link on the bottom of the screen.

You should then begin your company research on at least 3 companies, using the worksheet given out in class. You can click the link at the top of the screen which says investor research in order to begin.

You can also use the following links to complete your research:
http://finance.google.com/finance?hl=en&tab=we
http://www.thestreet.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/
http://www.hoovers.com/free/

Reading Stock Quotes and Ticker Symbols

Due: Wednesday 4/2


Columns 1 & 2: 52-Week High and Low - These are the highest and lowest prices at which a stock has traded over the previous 52 weeks (one year). This typically does not include the previous day's trading.

Column 3: Company Name & Type of Stock - This column lists the name of the company. If there are no special symbols or letters following the name, it is common stock. Different symbols imply different classes of shares. For example, "pf" means the shares are preferred stock.

Column 4: Ticker Symbol - This is the unique alphabetic name which identifies the stock. If you watch financial TV, you have seen the ticker tape move across the screen, quoting the latest prices alongside this symbol. If you are looking for stock quotes online, you always search for a company by the ticker symbol. If you don't know what a particular company's ticker is you can search for it at: http://finance.yahoo.com/l.

Column 5: Dividend Per Share - This indicates the annual dividend payment per share. If this space is blank, the company does not currently pay out dividends.

Column 6: Dividend Yield - The percentage return on the dividend. Calculated as annual dividends per share divided by price per share.

Column 7: Price/Earnings Ratio - shows how much investors are willing to pay for $1 of a company's earnings. The long-term average P/E is around 15, meaning most investors are willing to pay $15 for every dollar of earnings. A higher P/E often means investors are expecting future growth; a lower P/E means a stock that is already providing a sound investment

Column 8: Trading Volume - This figure shows the total number of shares traded for the day, listed in hundreds. To get the actual number traded, add "00" to the end of the number listed.

Column 9 & 10: Day High and Low - This indicates the price range at which the stock has traded at throughout the day. In other words, these are the maximum and the minimum prices that people have paid for the stock.

Column 11: Close - The close is the last trading price recorded when the market closed on the day. If the closing price is up or down more than 5% than the previous day's close, the entire listing for that stock is bold-faced. Keep in mind, you are not guaranteed to get this price if you buy the stock the next day because the price is constantly changing (even after the exchange is closed for the day). The close is merely an indicator of past performance and except in extreme circumstances serves as a ballpark of what you should expect to pay.

Column 12: Net Change - This is the dollar value change in the stock price from the previous day's closing price. When you hear about a stock being "up for the day," it means the net change was positive.

Directions: Answer the questions below based on the chart.

1. Is Revlon doing better or worse than yesterday? How do you know? What might explain it?


2. Is Rite Aid nearer to its yearly high or low? Would this be a good time to purchase the stock? Explain.


3. What are the stock ticker symbols for Revlon and Rite Aid? Are you surprised? Explain.


4. Did either Revlon or Rite Aid pay a dividend? What does that suggest about the company?


5. What is a P/E ratio?


6. Which two pieces of information shown on this stock chart would you consider most important for people to find out before purchasing the stock of a company? Explain.


7. Would the same information be the most important information for people who already own
stock in these companies? Explain.


8. What would you guess was the general trend of the market on this particular day? Explain
what information led you to this conclusion.


9. From this table can you tell the type of business that Revlon or Rite Aid conduct? Explain
how this information can be accessed.

Dividends and Earnings

In class Monday, we read the following article on dividends, and you were supposed to complete the questions for homework if you didn't finish in class.

A Simple Guide to Making Money in the Stock Market

You are almost ready to select your team’s initial investments. To manage your portfolio wisely, it is important for you to know the ways to earn money through investing. The first thing you must understand is that supply and demand has a lot to do with how well your team’s portfolio will fare. Simply stated, shareholders of stock in high demand can sell their shares for a profit and may earning dividends.

Most smart investors are in the market over the “long haul;” they expect to ride out the ups and downs of daily market changes and see their investments grow over an extended period. In SMG, your team, in most cases, invests for a three-month period. You will not be able to see the impact of long-range trends on your investments. However, as you invest, keep in mind that social, economic and political issues and events impact the market. You need to keep these factors in mind as you invest and decide to sell. Changes in the economy related to taxes, monetary policy, war, unemployment, holiday-seasonal buying, a national crisis such as Hurricane Katrina, the avian flu, and even the weather—like an extended heat wave across the country—can impact stock prices.

In addition to your portfolio growing when you buy low and sell at a higher price, you can make money from the company whose stock you own. When a company is doing well, there are several ways they use their profits or earnings. These include:

1. Reinvesting profits for expansion, new product development, modernization and other improvements.
2. Giving a percentage of profits to the shareholder in the form of dividends.

The company’s board of directors decides whether to reinvest the profits or pay dividends to their shareholders or both. A dividend is a cash amount distributed to everyone who owned company shares on a certain date. A dividend is allocated per share; therefore the more shares you own, the greater the dividend you receive. The annual dividend is distributed to shareholders quarterly. For example, if you own 100 shares of XYZ Company and the company declares a $2 annual dividend, you will receive $50 each quarter that you own the stock during that year. Dividends can and do change over time.

Declaring a dividend does not guarantee that the company is healthy. Sometimes a company will continue to declare a dividend during a slow period because they do not want to scare off investors by having them think that the company is not doing well. Or they may not want to break a long corporate history of declaring dividends. Companies like Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Pfizer, Inc, Eli Lilly and Bank of America have paid yearly dividends over 100 years. Each of them has weathered downturns in business during the past century. Over fifty percent of the Standard & Poor’s list of 500 leading companies declares a dividend.

Your SMG team portfolios are automatically credited with the cash value of dividends your stock has earned. You should know that if you sell shares right before the record date, you will not earn dividends even if you owned the shares for most of the previous quarter. Purchasers who buy the stock during the period just before the record date and up until the distribution date—called ex-dividend—do not receive dividends for that quarter. Your team’s dividends will appear in the cash balance of your portfolio. Your team can use these funds to purchase additional shares of stock in any company (not just in the shares of the company that has declared the dividend).

Some companies pay their dividends in the form of additional shares of stock; thus increasing the shareholder’s equity in the company. This is not a stock split. A stock split increases the number of shares of the corporation without changing the value of the shareholder’s equity in the company.

Most of the money your team will make or lose in the SMG comes not from dividends, but from price appreciation. Remember “buying low, selling high.” The wise investor also knows the rule of the marketplace: caveat emptor; let the buyer beware. Despite excellent research and careful monitoring your investments, there is nothing in the market is guaranteed to make a profit.

Name:_______________________________
Answer the following questions based upon the reading above.

1. How does an investor make money from an investment?

2. What do companies usually do with profits that are left after all expenses are paid?

3. What factors can influence the price of a stock?

4. Why do some companies continue to pay dividends even when they are not having a good year?

5. Can Stock Market Game portfolios earn dividends? Explain.


6. How will most teams make or lose money in the stock market game? What is the term for this process?


7. How will the information you learned from this reading influence your plans for investing as a member of your Stock Market Game team?

EXTRA CREDIT #5: A Question of Wright and Wrong

For EXTRA CREDIT, read this short Jeff Jacoby editorial about the Obama speech and either

1. Complete a response chart

OR

2. Respond to Jacoby's main points in 150 words.

EXTRA CREDIT #4: A More Perfect Union

For extra credit, write down your thoughts in response to the Obama speech we watched today in class.

What was his overall message? Did you agree/disagree? What was good/bad about the speech?

If you need some help focusing your thoughts, you may also consider the following questions:

• According to Obama, what was Reverend Wright's mistake?
• What is the point of the story about Ashley Baia?
• How would you describe his delivery of the speech?
• Was the speech a balanced and accurate view of race relations?
• According to Obama, what are the main causes of black and white unhappiness?
• What solutions does Obama propose? Do you agree/disagree?
  

What is a Stock?

When you buy stock you become part owner of a public company—no matter how many shares
you own. Most people buy stock to make money by: earning dividends (cash paid to investors from the company’s profits) or selling the stock at a higher price. If the stock price exceeds what you paid for it, your investment increases in value. If the stock price goes lower than what you paid for it, your investment decreases in value. However, stocks have limited liability, since you risk only the money you invest.

Not all companies are public. Private companies are composed of an individual/family or a small group of investors that have private sources for funding growth; their shares are not for sale to the general public. Mars Corp, the snack food giant, is privately held. Google, the search engine company, was privately held until 2005, when it went public, offering its stock for sale.

If a company’s product or service is in great demand, demand may outstrip the ability of banks and venture capitalists (who privately supply funding) to provide money for the company’s expansion to meet that demand. At that point company leaders may decide to “go public.”

Company management goes to investment bankers to negotiate an agreement to underwrite a stock offering known as an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The investment bankers buy all the shares that will be offered to the public at a set price (primary market). The investment bankers then sell the stock to the general public (secondary market) in the hopes of making a profit. These bankers also prepare what is known as a tombstone ad to announce the IPO in financial publications such as the Wall Street Journal. The underwriters may also organize meetings with people who buy large amounts of stock for institutions such as pension funds, mutual funds, banks or insurance funds that they hope will buy shares in the company.

A stock exchange provides a platform (live, electronic, or both) for investors to buy and sell stock with each other. There are three major US stock exchanges: the American Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Stock Market, and the New York Stock Exchange. Each exchange has its own listing standards, rules, and methods.

In addition to finding underwriters, company management must register its stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before “going public.” Generally, companies can offer two types of stock, common and preferred. Common stock entitles the owners (called stockholders or shareholders) to collect dividends, if the company declares them. It also entitles the owners to vote in company elections and decisions. Stockholders who purchase common stock share in most of a company’s profits and losses.

Stockholders who purchase preferred stock are usually guaranteed a dividend payment. This payment is made before any payments to common stock holders. If a company fails, preferred stock holders are repaid before common stock holders. Preferred stock holders do not share in most of a company’s profits or losses. Preferred stock holders also do not have any voting rights.

An important difference between common stock and preferred stock is that the price of the preferred stock tends to be more stable, changing little over time, than that of common stock.

Stockholders should make investment decisions based upon their “risk tolerance.” A number of issues contribute to an investor’s overall risk tolerance, including the investor’s age, health and their overall financial outlook. An investment with a lot of risk but great potential for return might make sense for someone who is 28 and financially stable, but not for someone who is sixty and plans to retire in five years.

Questions: Indicate whether each of the following statements is true or false. For true statements write a reason or example in the space below. For false statements, rewrite the sentence to correct it.

1. _____ Stockholders can only make money by collecting dividends.

2. _____ People who invest in the stock market will automatically make money.

3. _____ People can only buy stock in publicly held companies.

4. _____ Preferred stock means the company is preferred over other companies in a particular industry.

5. _____ A dividend is a portion of a company’s profits paid to its shareholders.

6. _____ Profits represent ownership of shares of a company.

7. _____ Risk is only associated with the purchase of common stocks.

8. _____ A person who is 25 should not be willing to take the same amount of risk when investing as someone who is 55.

9. _____ It is possible for stockholders to lose more money than they invested, if a company fails.

10. ____ A tombstone ad is prepared for companies that are facing bankruptcy and financial failure.

11. ____ Investment bankers buy shares of stock on the same type of market that the general public does.

12. ____ The general public buys new issues of stock on the primary market.

Procter & Gamble - How A Company is Organized

Due: Tuesday 3/18

Read the following text and answer the questions below.

P&G — Production & Growth

What’s 99.44% pure and floats? The answer is Ivory soap. But it didn’t always float, and it wasn’t always called Ivory. An accident changed that. In 1879, Procter & Gamble Company was producing a new white soap by boiling and stirring various ingredients with a steam-powered mixer. One day, a worker went off to lunch and forgot to turn the mixer off. Upon returning, he discovered a foamy mixture overflowing from the vat. The unusual mixture still looked like soap, so workers poured it into molds, cooled it, cut it into cakes, and shipped it off for sale.

Floating Soap
Not long afterward, customers began asking for “the floating soap.” At first, no one at Procter & Gamble knew what their customers meant. But someone remembered the accident, and the company decided to conduct more experiments. Once they figured out what had happened, the soap floated from that day on.

These events would not have occurred had it not been for two terrible illnesses. When James Gamble was 16 years old, he and his family left their home in Northern Ireland to go to Illinois. Towards the end of that trip, they were floating down the Ohio River on a flatboat when James became very ill. So his parents rushed him ashore at Cincinnati to find a doctor. Luckily, James recovered, but he and his family stayed and made Cincinnati their home. The year was 1819.

At the time, Cincinnati’s main business was the slaughtering of hogs. Soap making was also an important industry because a main ingredient of soap was animal fat from local packinghouses. No wonder James eventually entered the soap-making business.

During that same period, William and Martha Procter were traveling from England to a new home in Kentucky. They, too, were traveling down the Ohio River on a flatboat when illness suddenly struck. In this case, Martha became seriously ill with cholera, so they also stopped in Cincinnati to look for a doctor. Tragically, Martha died a few days later, leaving William Procter alone and grief- stricken. He decided to stay in Cincinnati, however, where he eventually started his own candle-making business.


The Proprietor
The business William started was a proprietorship because he was the sole owner. A proprietorship is a company owned and run by one person who receives its profits and bears its losses. William had no trouble starting a proprietorship because he didn’t have to fill out any legal papers or sign any agreements. He just opened his small store in Cincinnati and started selling his candles.

Okay, Partner
The work was hard and his life was lonely, so William must have been very happy when he found a new wife. His new wife’s sister was married to James Gamble, so James Gamble, the soap maker, and William Procter, the candle maker, became brothers-in-law. After a few years, James and William decided to combine their businesses by forming a partnership. A partnership is just like a proprietorship, except two or more people own and manage the business. Like a proprietor, partners in a business receive any profits or bear any losses. James and William signed a formal partnership agreement in 1837, and Procter & Gamble was born.

The partners became widely known as honest people who produced high quality soap and candles. As years passed, the company prospered and grew. In 1851, William’s oldest son joined the company and eventually became a third partner. In later years, sons from both families joined the partnership. Still later, a member of the third generation, Cooper Procter, joined the business. By the company’s 50th birthday in 1887, annual profits had grown, and the number of family partners had risen to seven. The company’s future looked bright, and the partners wanted to develop and market many new products. But producing new products costs a lot of money. The company would have to build new plants, buy new equipment, and conduct new research.

Let’s Incorporate
These new projects would cost more than the
partners could afford. So the youngest partner, Cooper Procter, suggested that the partnership become a corporation. Cooper believed that, as a corporation, the company could raise enough money to develop and sell its new products.

A corporation exists independently of the particular stockholders who own it and of the managers who run it. It’s a legal entity with rights and responsibilities just like a person. So changing the partnership into a corporation was a big step. In a partnership the owners and managers are usually one and the same. As partners, the family members were legally responsible for all taxes, expenses, or debts their business produced — even if they had to pay with their savings or sell their property.

A corporation, however, conducts business and pays its expenses as a separate legal entity. The owners risk their money when they buy shares of stock in a corporation. But, unlike a proprietor or a partner, their potential loss is limited to the amount invested in their shares of stock.

Having this “limited liability” is an attractive feature of corporations. But a corporation’s separate legal status also gives investors another advantage: They know they’re investing in a business that will last. The stockholders and managers of a corporation may change, but the business will continue.

Compare the life of a corporation with that of a proprietorship or a partnership. If an owner of a proprietorship or a partnership dies, the business dies, too. As a result, these types of businesses usually don’t last as long as a corporation.

A corporation’s long life and stockholders’ limited liability help make this type of business appealing. Investors also like corporations because they can easily sell their shares of ownership in the stock market. Investors in a corporation may also benefit from managers who have specialized knowledge and abilities. As a corporation, for example, Procter &
Gamble was able to hire managers with special skills and knowledge. The abilities of these managers then benefited stockholders by helping to make the business more profitable.

Potential investors in a corporation see the benefit of limited liability, long life, ease of transferring ownership, and specialized management. These benefits allow corporations, in general, to raise more money for expansion and growth than a proprietorship or a partnership could. No wonder Cooper Procter recommended that Procter & Gamble become a corporation. The partners agreed, and the company was incorporated in 1890. As a corporation, Procter & Gamble was able to raise lots of money for growth by selling new shares of stock to many investors.

Procter & Gamble has since grown to one of the largest companies in the world. It produces nearly 300 different products for consumers and employs more than 100,000 people. On sales of more than $40 billion in 2002, it earned about $4 billion for its many shareholders — or about $3 per share, from which it paid an annual dividend of more than $1.50.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What type of business organization did William Procter use when he began to produce and sell candles in his small shop in Cincinnati?



2. Name a business in your community that illustrates the same type of organization used by William Procter in his original candle-making business.



3. When James Gamble and William Procter started the Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, the business was a partnership. Briefly explain the difference between a partnership and proprietorship.


4. What is “limited liability”?


5. Did limited liability apply to William Procter's candle-making business or to the partnership formed by William and James Gamble in 1837? Explain


6. By 1887, the partnership had grown to include five sons. Why did Cooper Procter recommend ending the partnership and turning the business into a corporation?


7. What is a corporation?


8. Compared with a proprietorship or a partnership, a corporation is usually better at raising funds for growth. Describe at least two features of a corporation that make it attractive for potential investors.

Photography Project#2

• Choose 5 terms from the vocab list below and demonstrate them using the photographs you took in class (located in Student Share>12th Grade Civics/Economics>Photography).

• If you weren't in class, you may use images from the internet.

• In either case, you must write a 1-2 sentence caption for each picture in order to explain how it demonstrates the term.

Basic Economic Terms

Economics – The study of how society chooses to satisfy wants and needs by using its scarce resources to produce goods and services for present and future consumption

Wants – things that people value but are not basic necessities

Needs – things needed for human survival (food, clothing, and shelter)

Scarcity – when there are not enough resources to satisfy people’s wants or needs

Goods – material objects that satisfy people’s wants or needs; commodities

Services – actions that satisfy people’s want or needs

Consumption – buying or using goods or services (unless it is an investment)

Investing – spending money in hope of making a profit

Profit – the money left after all the costs of production have been paid

Means of Production – the things needed to produce g/s: land, labor, capital, and
entrepreneurship

Labor – human effort necessary to produce goods and services

Asset – anything of value that is owned

Capital – assets used to invest or produce goods/services (stocks, equipment, technology, money)

Entrepreneurship – willingness to take on the risk of producing goods/services

Capitalism – an economic system where individuals own the means of production

Laissez Faire – the policy of government keeping its “hands off” business (pure capitalism)

Invisible Hand of the Market– Adam Smith’s idea that L.F. benefits society as a whole by letting individuals pursue their own self-interest (1. More motivated workers ; 2.
Talented workers in every profession; 3. Better, cheaper g/s in the right amounts)

Market – a system of exchange in which things are sold for money

Supply – the amount of a good or service that producers are willing or able to sell

Demand – the amount of a good or service that consumers are willing or able to buy

Monopoly – when there is only one supplier of a certain good or service

Competition – rivalry among businesses to win the same customer or market

Efficiency - producing something with a minimum of waste, expense, or effort

Productivity – the ability to produce more goods and services faster

Division of labor – breaking down a job into small tasks performed by different workers (assembly line)

Adam Smith Document Worksheet

If you want an extra credit assignment, you may complete the worksheet given out in class today using the documents below.

Document 1 – Adam Smith

It is not from the benevolence [goodness] of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
...By pursuing his own interest, [man] frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.

Document 2 – Adam Smith

The desire of food is limited in every man by the narrow capacity of the human stomach; but the desire of the conveniences and ornaments of building, dress, equipage and household furniture, seems to have no limit or certain boundary.

Document 3 – Adam Smith

The property which every man has is his own labor; as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred… To hinder [prevent] him from employing this strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper without injury to his neighbor is a plain violation of this most sacred property.

Document 4 – Adam Smith

Where competition is free, the rivalship of competitors, who are all endeavoring [trying] to jostle one another out of employment, obliges every man to endeavor to execute his work with a certain degree of exactness...

Document 5 – Adam Smith

The natural effort of every individual to better his own condition ... is so powerful, that it is alone… capable of carrying on the society to wealth and prosperity.

Document 6 – Adam Smith

Such is the delicacy of man alone, that no object is produced to his liking. He finds that in everything there is need for improvement.... The whole industry of human life is employed not in procuring the supply of our three humble necessities, food, clothes and lodging, but in procuring the conveniences of it according to the nicety and delicacy of our tastes.

Document 7 – Adam Smith

Capital has been silently and gradually accumulated by the private frugality [thriftiness] and good conduct of individuals, by their universal, continual, and uninterrupted effort to better their own condition. It is this effort… which has maintained the progress of England towards opulence [wealth] and improvement in almost all former times...

Document 8 – Adam Smith

The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is ... that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence [carelessness].

Document 9 – Adam Smith

According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign [ruler] has only three duties to attend to ... first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, so far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice, and thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain...

Document 10 – Adam Smith

In exchanging the complete manufacture either for money, for labor, or for other goods over and above what may be sufficient to pay the price of the materials and the wages of the workmen, something must be given for the profits of the undertaker of the work who hazards his stock in this adventure… He could have no interest to employ them, unless he expected from the sale of their work something more than what was sufficient to replace his stock to him; and he could have no interest to employ a great stock rather than a small one; unless his profits were to bear some proportion to the extent of his stock.

Economics Independent Reading Project

Overview: You must finish reading at least 250 pages of your book by Monday, April 14th. To do so, you must read your book every day. If you read 6 pages every day, you will finish by the due date.

The TWO parts of the IR project are described below. You must turn in all parts of the IR project and receive a passing grade (65% or above) on them in order to pass Economics.

WEEKLY RESPONSES

• Two-paragraph response on the reading you complete each week (should be roughly 50 pages)
• Due on the following Mondays: 3/10, 3/17, 3/31, 4/7, 4/14
• Each one counts as two homework grades
• In the HEADER for your weekly assignment, be sure to include the following information:

1. Author's name
2. Title of the book
3. Date the assignment is due
4. Pages read that week

• PARAGRAPH #1: summarize the most important/interesting aspects of the week’s reading

• PARAGRAPH #2: will be based on one of the following options:

1. Quote: Copy a significant passage from the book (with a citation), explain briefly the context of the quote, and then describe its significance. Why did you choose it? What does it mean to you? How is it important in the book?
2. Economics Reflection: How does the book relate to economics? What “economics” concepts do you see at work in the book? How so?
3. Personal Connection: Write about something in the book that relates to something you’ve experienced or felt. Describe the moment in the book. Then, discuss how you can relate.
4. The Curious Mind: Research something that catches your attention in the book that you want to understand a little better. Explain what you find out and cite any sources.
5. Bias: Discuss whether the author of your book lets his/her personal opinions affect the way they write about their subject. Where do you think they fit on the political spectrum? Use specific examples from the book to support your ideas.
6. Vocabulary: Find at least 5 challenging vocabulary words in your book. For each word, quote the sentence from the book that contains that word (include the page number), and write the dictionary definition. Note: You must also use the vocab words in your 1st paragraph summary

• You may only repeat an option once except #2 for which there is no limit.

FINAL BOOK REPORT

• 750 word (minimum) essay due Monday, April 28th
• Counts as a test grade
• A first draft of your introduction will be due on Wednesday, April 16th
• Choose 1 of 3 essay options below to write about
• Whatever option you choose, your essay must have at least 4 citations and a works cited page

Essay Options

1. ECONOMIC TERMS: Choose at least 4 economics terms from class and explain how these ideas are illustrated in the book. Give specific examples from the book to support your claims.


2. ECONOMIC LESSONS: Discuss what we can learn about “economics” from this book. Use specific examples from the book to support your claims.


3. PROBLEM/SOLUTION/PERSPECTIVE: Identify one social problem discussed in the book and answer the following questions:
a. According to the author, what are the root-causes of this problem? (1¶)
b. Does the author think this problem can be solved? Why or why not? Describe any solutions offered. (1¶)
c. Based on your answers to the questions above, where on the political spectrum would you place this author (ex: liberal, conservative, centrist, etc.)? Why? (1¶)
d. Do you agree/disagree with the way this problem is presented? Do you think the solutions offered by the author will work? (1¶)

Economics IR Book

For Monday:

1. Decide what book you will be reading for IR
2. Bring in a physical copy of the book (as I will give you time to read in class)

Below is a copy of the list of books I handed out in class (with some modifications). If you want audio copies of the book, I suggest you go to audible.com

Economics IR Book Suggestions

POVERTY AND CLASS
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickeled and Dimed. (AUDIO)
LeBlanc, Adrian Nicole. Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
Lipper, Joanna. Growing Up Fast.
Emmins, Alan. 31 Days: A New York Street Diary
Venkatesh, Sudhir. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
Daniels, Cora. Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless
Newman, Katherine S. and Chen, Victor Tan. The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America
Danaher, Kevin, and Biggs, Shannon, et al. Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots

U.S. ECONOMY
Draut, Tamara. Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead
Kamenetz, Anya. Generation Debt
Clark, Taylor. Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture
Moore, Michael. Downsize This!
Lewis, Michael. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Raviv, Dan. Comic Wars: Marvel’s Battle for Survival
Elizabeth Moore, Anne. Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity
Capparell, Stephanie. The Real Pepsi Challenge: How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s
Hirshberg, Gary. Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World
Frankel, Alex. Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee
Lewis, Michael. Next: The Future Just Happened (AUDIO)
Lewis, Michael. Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Szasz, Andrew. Shopping Our Way to Safety: How We Changed from Protecting the Environment to Protecting Ourselves


THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Mason, Matt. The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism
Rivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy
Thomas, Dana. Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster (on the fashion industry)
Burr, Chandler. The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York
Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Fishman, Charles. The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy (AUDIO)
Yunus, Muhammad. Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty (AUDIO)
Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (AUDIO)
Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Barlow, Maude. Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water
Chapman, Peter. Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World
Vaitheeswaran, Vijay and Carson, Iain. ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future
Kynge, James. China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future -- and the Challenge for America
Clissold, Tim. Mr. China: A Memoir
Easterly, William. The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill
Durning, Alan. How Much Is Enough?: The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth

HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Schwartz, Barry. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
Ariely, Dan. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (AUDIO)
Levitt, Steven D. and Dubner, Stephen J. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (AUDIO)
Wheelan, Charles. Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
Harford, Tim. The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! (AUDIO)
Harford, Tim. The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World (AUDIO)
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds (AUDIO)
Lewis, Hunter. Are the Rich Necessary?: Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values

IMMIGRATION
Castaneda, Jorge G. Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants
Rivera, Geraldo. His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.
Chomsky, Aviva. "They Take Our Jobs!" and 20 Other Myths about Immigration
Koser, Khalid. International Migration: A Very Short Introduction

WAR ON DRUGS
Schlosser, Eric. Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market (AUDIO)

Gray, Mike. Drug Crazy : How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out
Streatfeild, Dominic. Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography
Baum, Dan. Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure

FOOD INDUSTRY
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. (AUDIO)
Shiva, Vandana. Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Smith, Alisa and Mackinnon, J.B. Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally
Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Wynn, Jennifer. Inside Rikers: Stories from the World's Largest Penal Colony
Parenti, Christian. Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis.
Dyer, Michael. The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime
Humes, Edward. No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court
Davis, Angela Y. Are Prisons Obsolete?

Iraq Essay / Letter

For this Friday( 2/29), write a persuasive response to the following question:

What should we do about Iraq?

Your response must:

• Be either in essay form or in the form of a letter to President Bush

• Be at least 400 words long

• Correctly incorporate at least 10 vocabulary terms from the Iraq packet (listed below)

• Underline or bold the 10 vocabulary terms you use in your response

• Be turned in by Friday (2/29)

Note: If you choose to write a letter, you can bring in an additional copy in an addressed envelope and we will mail it for you for extra credit.

Iraq Terms

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons

Arab - the majority ethnicity in Iraq and most Middle Eastern countries

Kurds – an important minority ethnic group living mostly in Northern Iraq, which has been trying to win independence for many years.

Sunni – the minority Muslim sect in Iraq, which held powerful positions under Saddam

Shi’a – the majority Muslim sect in Iraq, which was oppressed under Saddam but now makes up the most powerful group in the government

Occupation – invasion and control of a nation by foreign armed forces

Pan-Arabism – the movement to unite Arab countries and fight against Western control

Ba’ath Party – the nationalist party that ruled Iraq from the 1960s until 2003

The West – Europe and the Americas

Iran-Iraq War – War during the 1980s where the US armed both sides in secret

Coup – a sudden takeover of power

Sanctions – when nations limit trade with a country in order to punish it

Regime Change – Replacing the government of a country. This was the main U.S. goal during the 2003 invasion of Iraq

Sovereignty – A country’s right to make its own laws and policies

Infrastructure - the basic facilities and services needed for a society to function normally (transportation, communication, education, sanitation, security, etc.)

Contractor – a company hired to provide a service (often construction)

Abu Ghraib – the prison facility where the US military was found to be torturing and abusing Iraqi detainees

Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) – the U.S. military government established in Iraq after the 2003 invasion

Interim Government – a temporary or transitional government

Ethnic Cleansing – the forced removal of an entire ethnic or religious group from an area

Sectarian Divisions – conflicts between different sects or groups

Militia – a body of citizens organized into a paramilitary group

Insurgents – rebels or those who resist a government with force

Diplomacy – relations or negotiations between nations

Dissent – to publicly disagree with one’s government or a majority opinion

Green Zone – the main US military base in Baghdad

Destabilized – upset or chaotic

Nationalists – those who fight for national independence in a country under foreign domination.

Bureaucrats – unelected officials who help carry out government functions

Secular – non-religious

Mandate – when a country is given control of another country

Immunity – being exempt from laws or punishment

Civil Society

Rogue State

Ideological

Proliferation

Imperialist

Partition

Fundamentalist

Democratization

Multilateral

Factions

Fundamentalist

Reprisals

Extra Credit #3: McCain Scandal Article

I hope you are all enjoying your vacations and the long overdue snow we have here in NY (for those of you lucky enough to still be here). If you're like me, the fact that we finally get a real snowstorm when we're already on a vacation either means that 1)there is no god 2) God has a cruel sense of humor or 3) God hates snowdays.

Either way, I'm not thrilled.

At any rate, the real reason I'm writing is to give you another extra credit assignment, one so steamy it just might melt all this snow. Some of you may have already heard, but earlier this week the New York Times broke a story about John McCain that suggested he had an affair with a lobbyist. McCain has forcefully denied these claims, and now many people are wondering whether the Times should have published the story.

So, my assignment for you is to:

1) Read the article that sparked the controversy

2) Tell me what you think in a 2 paragraph response. In the first paragraph, summarize some of the main points of the article. In the second paragraph, address some of the following questions:

• Did the Times have enough evidence to publish such a potentially damaging story?
• What kind of sources did they use in the article?
  
• Should we be skeptical of such sources? Why or why not?
  
• Was this responsible journalism?
• Is this just a case of the "liberal" New York Times attacking the conservative candidate?
  
• Do you think McCain did what the article claims he did?
• How could the timing of this story help or hurt McCain?

Extra Credit #2: Maureen Dowd on the Clinton Campaign

This next article might provide an interesting response to the NOW piece. It is by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who is generally considered rather liberal. It was cited in the NOW piece, but it is worth reading in full as it provides a different analysis of the Clinton campaign.

Again, if you want to receive credit on this, you can read the article and turn in a response chart by Friday after break.

Extra Credit: Sexism and the Election

If you are looking for extra credit, check here regularly, as I will be posting different assignments that you can choose to do.

Many of them will be like this one, which asks you to read an article and complete a response chart.

This first article is from the National Organization of Women (NOW) and discusses the way in which the media has displayed ingrained sexism in their discussion of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

If you want to receive credit on this, you can read the article and turn in a response chart by Friday after break.

Iraq Policy Presentations

Project Overview

Your Assignment: Your group has been called upon to appear before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Your assignment is to persuade the committee members that your assigned option should be the basis for U.S. policy in Iraq. You will be judged on how well you present your option.

Organizing Your Group: Each member of your group will choose one of the following roles. Below is a brief explanation of the responsibilities of each role.


1. Foreign Policy Advisor: Your job is to explain why your group’s option best addresses the foreign policy challenges presented by the war in Iraq.


2. Iraq Specialist: Your job is to explain why your option best serves Iraqis.


3. Military Expert: Your job is to explain why your group’s option best addresses the military challenges in Iraq.


4. Domestic Policy Advisor: Your job is to explain why your group’s option best addresses the domestic policy challenges presented by the war in Iraq.

Preparing Your Presentation

Due Wednesday (2/13):

1. Finish reading through your group's Policy Option. (Click here to download the policy handout)

2. Define all assigned vocabulary words for your option.

3. Question 1 on Presentation Worksheet. (Click here to download the worksheet)



Due Thursday (2/14):

1. Questions 2-4 on Presentation Worksheet

2. Be ready to present with your group to the class.

NOTE: Each member of the group should be prepared to present the key parts of their option related to their area of expertise

Making Your Case

After your preparations are completed, your group will deliver a 5-7 minute presentation to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Worksheets and notes may be used, but speakers should speak clearly and convincingly. Each member of the group should be present the key parts of their policy option related to their area of expertise.

NOTE: Feel free to enhance your presentation with visuals such as images, charts, or powerpoint, but it is not required.

During the presentations of other options, you should try to identify their weak points.

After each presentation, there will be a short question and answer period. Any member of your group may respond during the cross-examination period.

Key Terms: Iraq Policy Options

Directions: Members of each group are responsible for developing a firm understanding of all the terms associated with your policy option.

OPTION 1: INCREASE OUR PRESENCE IN IRAQ
• Civil Society
• Rogue State
• Ideological
• Proliferation

OPTION 2: PROVIDE IRAQIS WITH THE MEANS TO SUCCEED
• Imperialist
• Partition
• Fundamentalist
• Democratization

OPTION 3: WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ NOW
• Multilateral
• Factions
• Fundamentalist
• Reprisals

Iraq Terms

Hello class,

I'm writing to remind you which terms you need to define for tomorrow. Here is the list:

• Infrastructure
• Contractor
• Coalition Provisional Authority
• Militia
• Insurgents
• Green Zone
• Destabilized
• Secular
• Immunity

Think of me kindly as you complete them.

All the best,

Your Devoted and Humble Teacher

Iraq Unit Schedule

Here is the schedule of assignments for the next week as we work through this unit on Iraq.

Due Tuesday Feb 5th: Iraq Maps Packet


Due Wednesday Feb. 6:

• Read pp. 1-5 of the Iraq packet.
• Fill in any terms that you come across in the reading on the Term Sheet.
• Answer A Brief History questions 1-5
  

Due Friday Feb. 8th:

• Read pp. 5-12 of the Iraq packet.
• Fill in any terms that you come across in the reading on the Term Sheet
• Answer Early History questions 1-7
• Answer Life Under Saddam Hussein questions 1-6
• Answer The First Persian Gulf War questions 1-4

Due Monday Feb. 11th:

• Read pp. 13-26 of the Iraq packet.
• Fill in any terms that you come across in the reading on the Term Sheet
• Answer Regime Change questions 1-6.
• Fill out the Iraq Challenges organizer. Be sure to have at least 2 different challenges under each category (political, economic, social)

Middle East Map

Use the map above to finish filling in your blank map for Tuesday (January 29th).
Here are the directions again in case you need them:

Part I: Find and label the following items on your map

1. The Indian Ocean
2. The Mediterranean Sea
3. The Caspian Sea
4. The Black Sea
5. The Red Sea
6. The Persian Gulf
7. Turkey
8. Iraq
9. Iran
10. Saudi Arabia
11. Afghanistan
12. Kuwait
13. Israel
14. Syria
15. Lebanon
16. Jordan
17. Egypt
18. Sudan
19. Pakistan

Extra Credit:
20. India
21. China
22. Russia
23. Greece

Part II: Using colored pencils shade the following areas. Be sure to include a key somewhere on your map.

• Use brown to shade in all areas that used to be part of the Soviet Union.
• Use red to shade in the 2 countries invaded by the U.S. in this decade.
• Use green to shade in 3 allies of the U.S. in the War on Terror
• Circle the country that Iraq invaded to start the first Gulf War.

Deciding which candidate to support

For those of you who are caught up in campaign fever but still feel confused as to which candidate best matches your own feelings on the issues... technology has once again come to the rescue.

The good people at selectsmart.com have put together a site where you can take a brief survey of your feelings on various political issues and then it will tell you how closely your views match up with those of the different candidates.

So follow this link to become a more informed voter (or potential voter).

To make it more interesting.... if you complete this survey and give us a printout of the results, we will give you extra credit!! yay!!

Note: you can also view a summary of the candidate's views on different issues by following this link.

CIVICS FINAL EXAM REVIEW

The Final Exam is scheduled for Thursday, January 17th from 8:30-10:45 a.m.

The following is a study guide which you can use to prepare for the exam.

Unit 1: Government and Citizenship

• Be able to identify key politicians and presidential candidates

• Know the 4 purposes of government and be able to provide examples of each.

• Be able to explain the difference between a primary, caucus, and general election

• Be able to recognize and explain the differences between radical, liberal, centrist, conservative, and reactionary political perspectives.

• Be able to correctly answer a sampling of questions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization Self-Test available at http://tinyurl.com/2llrdq

• Be able to define “Civics” and “Citizen”

Rights of citizens:
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________

Responsibilities of citizens:
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________

Responsibilities of the different levels of government:

Federal:

State:

Local:

Concurrent:

Unit 2: Civil Liberties

• Be able to explain the 6 key civil liberties discussed in class and recognize how they can be applied in different situations.

• Know which documents provide us with civil liberties

• Be able to identify key aspects of the Patriot Act and why it is controversial

Unit 3: Race

• Be able to describe the concept of white privilege and examples

• Compare racial segregation today with that from before 1965

• Be familiar with the terms de jure and de facto

• Explain the concept and origins of redlining and discuss whether it occurs today

• Identify the Community Reinvestment Act and ways that banks try to get around it

• Define wealth, assets, liabilities, mortgages, and provide examples.

• Be able to identify the average person’s most valuable asset.

• Explain the concept of white flight and how it affects minorities

• Describe the origins of the Federal Housing Administration (What is it? When was it created? Why?) and how it impacted minority communities

• Explain the idea of gentrification

Unit 4: Gender

• Be able to define the following terms: Masculinity, Femininity, Objectification, Patriarchy, Glass Ceiling, Occupational Segregation, Prochoice, Prolife, and Misogyny

• Know what the national gender Wage Gap is today

• Be able to identify the Equal Pay Act

• To be able to explain the debate over Emergency Contraception or the Morning-after pill

• Identify the F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration)

• Identify Roe v Wade

• Identify the Sexual Revolution and its effects on gender roles

Unit 5: Human Rights

• Be able to define human rights and treaty

• Be able to identify the United Nations (What is it? When/Why was it founded? What are it major activities?)

• Be able to identify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how it represents a compromise between different versions of freedom

• Be able to identify which historical figure was most influential in creating the UDHR

• Be able to discuss the 2 major functions of the UDHR

• Be able to identify Guantanamo Bay

• Be familiar with Human Rights Treaty Bodies and be able to give an example

Unit 6: Research and Writing Skills

• Know how to correctly paraphrase information

• Know how to correctly incorporate a quote from a source

• Know how to correctly cite a source within the body of a paper using MLA (parenthetical citation)

• Know how to correctly format a works cited entry for a book, website, and periodical page

Final Civics Research Project - World Conflict

You have been assigned the following research project as part of your final exam grade in civics. At this point, all students have chosen a conflict to research. Here is the outline of the assignment as well as the rubric on which you will be graded.

INTRODUCTION - Researchers have calculated that during the last 5000 years, there has been peace on earth for a total of only 292 years. At any given time, there are anywhere from 50-100 wars going on in the world. Most of them are insurgencies or internal security problems in places known as "flashpoints" or "hot spots" -- all synonyms for the same thing -- political violence.

PROJECT OVERVIEW - Each student will choose and research one such “trouble spot” in the world today. Students will prepare a 7-minute oral presentation for their classmates and turn in a written summary of their research.

ORAL PRESENTATION

Your presentation must incorporate the following elements:

• 2 Images: photographs, etc.
• 1 Map of the region
• 1 Visual Aid: a chart, graph, cartoon, etc.

Note: These are minimum requirements. Feel free to enhance your presentation in other ways, such as bringing in a video clip, making a power point, designing an activity, etc.

WRITTEN SUMMARY

Number your responses to the following questions:

1. Who are the groups and key figures involved?
2. What are they fighting about? When and how did the conflict begin?
3. How has it evolved over the years? What is the situation today?
4. Discuss what human rights or civil liberties are at stake in the conflict. Be specific.
5. What is the official U.S. position on this conflict?
6. What is the official U.N. position on the conflict?

➢ Your response to each question must be at least ONE paragraph long and include at least ONE parenthetical citation.

➢ Your summary must also include a Works Cited page with at least TWO sources

➢ ONE of your sources must be a print source i.e. a newspaper, book, or magazine. (You may use www.wikipedia.org, but it will not count as one of the 2 required sources)

GRADING:

You will receive two grades for your project. The average of these grades will count as 50% of your midterm grade for the course.

1. One grade will be based on your presentation itself: how well you communicate to the class, if you incorporate all the required elements, etc.

2. The other grade will be based on the written summary: how well it answers the assigned questions, whether it cites sources correctly, spelling, grammar, etc.

Ongoing Conflict Areas in the World Today:

Chechnya (Russia)
Sri Lanka
Israel / Palestine
Darfur (Sudan)
Tibet
Kashmir (India/Pakistan)
Chiapas (Mexico)
Colombia
East Timor (Indonesia)
Rwanda
Angola
Sierra Leone
Algeria
Somalia
Cambodia
Northern Ireland
North Korea vs. South Korea
China vs. Taiwan
Haiti
Basque Country (Spain)

Here are a couple of links to help you get started with research:

EBSCO Database:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx

U.S. State Department:
http://www.state.gov/issuesandpress/

Global Security: World Conflicts
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/index.html

Did You Know: Theatres of Conflict
http://www.didyouknow.org/story/conflicts.htm

FINAL PROJECT RUBRIC

I. Presentation

The presentation is graded holistically based on the degree to which the student met the following criteria:

==> 2 Images: photographs, etc.
==> 1 Map of the region
==> 1 Visual Aid: a chart, graph, cartoon, etc.
==> Student demonstrated a clear understanding of material
==> Organization: information was organized in a clear and logical manner
==> Public speaking: student spoke clearly and confidently
Grade: __________

II. Written Summary

GENERAL (8 pts)
_____/2 – Name, Class, Title, Double-Spaced, 12” Times New Roman font
_____/6 – Grammar and Spelling
_____/8 TOTAL

FOCUS QUESTIONS (60 pts): Provide accurate, relevant, detailed, and organized answers to each of the focus questions.
_____/10 – (1) Who are the groups and key figures involved?
_____/10 – (2) What are they fighting about? When and how did the conflict begin?
_____/10 – (3) How has it evolved over the years? What is the situation today?
_____/10 – (4) Discuss what human rights or civil liberties are at stake in the conflict. Be specific.
_____/10 – (5) What is the official U.S. position on this conflict?
_____/10 – (6) What is the official U.N. position on the conflict?
_____/60 TOTAL

CITATIONS (32 pts)
_____/18 – Appropriate citation of sources in body of paper
_____/4 – Works Cited page with correct format: hanging indent; punctuation; order of names and dates; alphabetical order; underlines, italics, and quotes.
_____/10 – Incorporated 2 sources including 1 print source
_____/32 TOTAL

Subtotal _____/100
-____ Late
Grade: ___________

C-SPAN

If for some unknown reason, you happen to be checking the blog right now, tune your TV to C-SPAN if you want to see a real-time broadcast of one precinct's caucus. You can thank me later. Call me crazy, but I think it's pretty fascinating...

Iowa Caucus

Tonight Iowa holds the 1st presidential primary election of the 2008 campaign.

Your Assignment:

1. Print a picture of the candidate who you were assigned earlier in the year. (For extra credit, mount it on a piece of construction paper)

2. On the back of the picture, write down the following information:

• The percentage of votes your candidate received in Iowa
• How they rank among the rest of the candidates in their party in terms of the Iowa results

Due tomorrow (Friday 1/4)